Tale of the Tape

Hello everyone. Once again its been awhile since I last wrote to you. Truth be told, I had been in the process of writing a long entry, describing the strenuous traveling schedule I've been going through of late and how I've been able to manage school during that process. However, if any of you tuned in to Speed this past Friday and watched the ARCA Racing Series 250 from Talladega, you'll know that of the past month, the last 250 miles was much more exciting than the all the others before.

Despite how well the would end, the first day at the track was pretty frustrating. On Thursday, my two man crew of Shayne Summerfield and Andy Shaver unloaded my APS Credit Ford with high hopes that this might be the race that our season took its next step forward. I too was very anxious to get the car on the track, as Talladega is probably one of my best tracks on the schedule.

As the morning practice began, we were one of the first out, hoping to get a good time on the boards quick. Unfortunately, despite a brand new Ford engine, we found ourselves at the bottom of the charts for most of the day. Needless to say, all of us were frustrated. I, especially, was reading to throw in the towl, and I probably would have too, had I not had the support of my spotter Charlie Vest. Charlie has always been my eyes on the race track, and has proven someone I can always trust to look out for my best interests. He told me to keep my head up, and reminded me that you don't win anything during practice and qualifying. I make it habit to trust the guy with my life, so needless to say I took his advice.

The next day our whole weekend turned around. Focusing on my own disappointment with the car to that point, I had over looked the commitment and motivation that my crew had to give me the best piece possible. The whole night after practice my crew chief, Andy Shave, stayed up and racked his brain, trying to find anything to make the #14 faster. He found the answer from some trusted friends at Roush Yates Engines, who told him that the speed was in the aero. After speaking with them, Shaver heeded their advice, and put four strips of tape on the front grill of our car. For those of you at home going "Tape?," yes, just tape. And those 4 strips gave us a rocket ship.

The proved to be gold to us in the race. Starting 30th, we quickly climbed our way through the field, and got into the mix with the other lead competitors. The climb, however, didn't come easy, as with the guidance of Charlie I was able to avoid three accidents, two of which by less than inches. The car was on a set of rails, as we rode our way up to the top five. Everything was going great, until the water temperature started to spike, which meant that engine failure would quickly follow. This prompted us to make a pitstop, in which we removed 1/8 of an inch of tape off the grill. This move allowed the car to run at a cooler water temperature, yet took away from the speed the tape gave us.

Then, as I started to shuffle back through the field, Andy Belmont himself got on the radio. He told us, "I don't care if you blow that car up, put the tape back on!" Anyone who knows Belmont knows that when he says something, you better do it. After putting the tape back on, speed quickly returned to the car and I began my charge back to the front. Coming down the to final laps, I had the leader in my sight and was ready to pounce. Unfortunately a last lap caution came out, and the #14 team had to settle for a 13th place finish.

Some of you might be thinking that this story is kind of anti-dramatic or even pointless. But for us, this story is going to be the first of many triumphs. At Talladega, the #14 bunch showed that a car with little sponsor support can roll with the big dogs. We showed that passion, determination, and trust between 4 guys is far more powerful that a few hundred horse power. And we were reminded the old adage, "Duct tape can fix everything."