Thompson Speedway Icebreaker Weekend

We pulled the sportsman car out of its winter storage in time to attend Icebreaker weekend at Thompson Speedway. Luckily the car was race-ready when put into storage, so limited prep time was good enough. I was able to leave work from my night shift assignment, catch a short nap of about 2.73 hours, and make it to the track before the Saturday AM practice. My last minute decision to attend the icebreaker, along with many of my crew members having to work, ended up with a one-person crew on Saturday. David Nichols was there at Thompson for his first time ever!  I drew a #2 chip (very rare for me to draw well), and then headed out for practice. Car was awesome. No need for more practice.

I started in the front row in the heat race and pulled away leaving the others to battle. NO issues.

Then comes the “Best of the Rest race”. I was asked to participate. I was there to race as much as I could, so I agreed, based on the other cars that were expected. The plan was for me to start dead last. I was penalized for going three wide (even though that wasn’t the cause of an accident) part way through the race. I had to start last yet again. Car was perfect, and I slowly picked off the cars. I was able to pass multi-time winner Bill McNeil, Kevin Mason, and eventually former champ Scott Cook with three laps to go to take the win. I thought it was one hell of a win. Far from any walk in the park for sure.

Win # 64

Sunday: Another great race. A couple of race starts vs.  Steve Kenneway in which I was able to inch my way to the lead, then a side-by-side battle vs.Jesse Gleason. What a race. He had me beat - I thought, but I fought my way back over about 5 laps to finally take back the lead. Lots of fun. Win #65 in the books.

Win #65

My Spotter duties for the day did not go quite as well. Todd Ceravolo would finish a lonely 5^th in his Sunoco Mod, Danny Gamache joined the masses with a DNF is his light mod debut, and then Bobby Santos finished 18^th in the Tinio Whelen Mod. All will do better the next time around.

Modified plans:  I will not be attending the monadnock vMRS race. The car is nearly ready for a visit to North East Race Parts to get the frame checked and repaired. If that goes well, we might be able to race at Thompson on May 19^th.  Sportsman car? Depending on the modified, crew help etc. I will consider racing the May 19th show with the Sportsman car.  Stafford: I will be at the Sizzler to play Spotter for the Tinio / Santos # 44 Whelen Mod. Looking forward to running up front where we belong!

Boston Marathon: On the Monday after the IceBreaker I was finally able to manage going to see my big brother David run his 19th Boston Marathon.  His goal was to finish in 3 hours 10 minutes, so his son Jake, daughter Marie, and her boyfriend Xander joined the race at ~ mile marker 18 to help him power up the hills and maintain a pace needed to complete the race at his goal. All three kids (ok, not kids...in their 20's) are excellent runners and figured their presence would give him a kick in the pants.   

LB and Mom Janet wait at mile marker 25 for David to come by.

David runs every year in memory of our father Phil, our brother Jack, our uncle Bud, and others who have passed away due to cancer.  He has raised an astronomical amount of money for the Dana Farber team, and this year was no different. David beat his goal of 3 hours 10 minutes with an official finish of 3:07:52.

Marie, David, Xander, and Jake approach the family at mile marker 25.  Nice to see these smiles.

Sounds like his son Jake will join him next year, and his goal is to beat his own personal best Boston Marathon performance of 2 hours 46 minutes. Way to go, guys, we were all very proud of each of you on Monday!  Thankfully none of the family was directly involved in the chaos that ensued about an hour after David crossed the finish line.

LB's niece Marie, her boyfriend Xander, and his nephew Jake after they helped their Dad run the hardest 8 miles of the marathon.  They weren't even winded -- ah, youth.  

Waterford Speedbowl 4-6-2013

After a great team effort by LB and so many friends and family, LB did not qualify for the race yesterday.  That’s what makes it so depressing.  Even worse is seeing your car hit driver’s side square up against the turn one wall in the consi.

The day started out crappy; LB drew 49th out of 50 to qualify.  So, he started 10th in his heat out of 11 cars. He got stuck behind a slow car for a lap or two, and his car wasn’t responding to his efforts to get it to pass other cars.  He ended up spinning out in turn two by trying to force a pass.  The car seems not to be responding as it should be.  Consensus on what would be causing this crappy handling is that the frame is bent. 

Failing to qualify in the heat had the crew making some adjustments to the car to make it less tight.  In the consi, LB noticed a definite improvement to the heat but still the car was still not right.  Enter a tap from behind during a tense and all-out effort to qualify, and the turn one wall ends the hopes of qualifying in Sunday’s 100 lapper. 
 
LB planned to next race the modified at Thompson at the end of May.  LB and crew will be stripping the car down to the frame so that it can get tested to see if it’s bent. From there, we’ll make a plan on how to proceed.