Monday, July 27, 2009

Just another week.....

And who says this is hard work?!?!

I think it fits.....

Heading out to wash the cars!!!!






The week was filled with work to do on the cars, so we never did make it to a Wednesday show. Shane's A-mod motor broke the week prior, so Shane and Grandpa worked on it Wed night. Scott from Scott's Engine Shop delivered it around 10 pm, so it was a late night! Thursday Shane broke his transmission in the B-mod at Willmar, so Friday, Grandpa took the car to Natco to get that fixed. Shane ended up 3rd in the A-mod, with Ryan Aho picking up the win, and Brandon Davis winning in the MWM! Thank you to Tim at Natco and Scotty for getting things done in such a short notice...It really is appreciated!! This whole racing 4 nights a week isn't all that bad...It's more of the working on the cars 3 nights a week, and all day on the weekend, that is getting old!

Friday worked out quite well, with Shane picking up wins in both the A-mod and the MWM, in a great battle with Travis Saurer, and Dan Ebert, respectively. Saturday was back to Brainerd, where Shane won with the B-mod. Thankfully for us, there was no late caution, as Dan Ebert charged from 20-something to 2nd in 12 laps! Shane finished 5th with the A-mod, and Dave Cain took home the trophy! Sunday was the Golden Spike, where Shane finished 2nd behind Dan Ebert!

This week is racing in Brainerd on Tuesday, then the regular weekly tracks Thurs-Sun.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Better Late, Than Never!





Sorry I'm a day and a half behind!....This past weekend at Willmar, Shane finished 3rd with the B-mod, and 2nd with the A-mod. Congrats to Brandon Davis in the mwm, and Craig Christianson in the mods on their wins. Friday at Sauk Centre, he ended up wrecking a bunch of stuff.... The B-mod ran fine in the heat, and broke a slider in the feature, resulting in a DNF (did not finish), with Dan Ebert winning in a very intense and entertaining fashion! The A-mod actually went much worse. In the heat, he DNF'd because of the gears breaking, and then put in the "wrong" gear for the feature, and finished 3rd. But after the tech shed, it wouldn't start. I'm not that smart at the terminology of engines, but the cam timing retarded itself, and the pistons hit the valves???IDK....
Anyway, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Pat drove it to Wisconsin on Saturday morning, and thankfully the guys at Rapid Performance let us borrow a spare for the night. Thanks to John & Joe at Rapid Performance!!! Saturday night Shane picked up a win with the B-mod at Brainerd, and finished 3rd with the A-mod, where Dave Cain picked up the win! Sunday he got 2nd with the B-mod at the Spike, behind Dan Ebert!

Back to racing again tomorrow evening! Grand Rapids is having a Wednesday show, so again, this week will be 5 nights of racing......

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Happy Birthday, Slade!



"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain." ...



Today is Tuesday, July 14th, and there is no race report!!!! Shane even took the night off from working on the car, because Mason has been bugging him to play with him for a few days! Today our first born would be 4 years old, so we spent the evening enjoying the gifts God has given us, and taken away.... I thought it would be a good idea to pick flowers and bring them to Slade's grave, until I looked back at Mason holding the flowers, and saw ants crawling all over my back seat! I don't think Mason will understand what a brother is til he's older, but it sure is cute when he says "my brothers (Slade & Brady) live with Jesus". After we sat at the cemetery for a while, we decided to make an icecream run to the DQ, and could only drive 40 mph because of the heavy rain! When we got home, there was a huge puddle in the corner of our yard, so Mason spent a good hour running in the "river" and jumping in the puddle. All in all, it was a good day!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Too Much Racing!!!

THERE ARE ERRORS IN LOADING PICTURES! I tried 4 times, and it's not working. I refuse to waste anymore time than I already have!!!! SORRY

This past week was the Ethanol Challenge Series for the midwest mods, so Shane has raced 10 of the last 11 days.... The tour started in Alex on Tuesday, where Shane finished 2nd behind Marshall Tofte. Wednesday they headed to Madison, where Shane finished 4th, and Brock Gronwald picked up the win. Thursday was KRA (willmar), where Shane got 5th, and Brandon Davis won the mwm feature. Keith Tourville won the Mod feature, and Shane 2nd. Friday was Sauk Centre where Shane finished 4th in the mwm, and Jeremy Kerzman won. And in the big mod Shane finished 3rd, with Eric Martini winning. Saturday was Brainerd, where Shane won the mwm feature, and finished 2nd in the Mod behind Eric Martini. Sunday was the Golden Spike where Shane won the mwm feature. Sorry for the long, boring ramble! CONGRATS to BROCK GRONWALD on winning the Ethanol Tour feature on Friday, as well as the series points....Heck of a payday!!!



A side note: Mason has been practicing up for his big racing debut. Shane built him a track in the front yard out of orange cones, so he's been cruisin in his hot wheels, getting the hang of turning left! He still needs a bit more practice, as every cone is ran over by the end of the first lap! He did manage to steer the truck and trailer out the pits on sunday night all by himself, without hitting anything!

Monday, July 6, 2009

2009 Modified Nationals



To be honest, I don't feel like writing lately...If ya didn't notice, I missed last Monday too, and nobody gave me any grief..LOL! Well, results first...Thursday, KRA-Willmar finished 3rd with B-mod (Nate Barber has been on a roll lately), and 4th with the A-mod (Keith Tourville took home the $1,500 check)!

Friday was off to Viking Speedway in Alexandria for the 5th annual Minnesota Modified National! In this event they base your performance off of passing points, basically meaning whoever passes the most cars in their heat makes it into the main event, along with the heat winner. Shane started pole, so of course didn't have the opportunity to pass a single car. He had to win the heat, which didn't happen...Jason Thoennes passed him after a late race caution. Thus, Shane ran a B-main on Saturday and qualified through that. He started 20th in big show, and ended up 7th. CONGRATS TO DALE MATHISON ON TAKING HOME THE $7 G's!!!! They also raced midwest mods, where Shane finished 9th on both Friday and Saturday. He's been on a losing streak with the B-mod, but finally picked up a win on Sunday night at the Spike.


On to things other than racing....Fourth of July weekend was quite tragic for the Foley community. Kayla Lien (who I don't know personally, but know her older siblings) died from injuries resulting from an ATV accident. Shawn Pohlkamp (who I rode the school bus with) died from a tragic automobile accident. And Kim Blaisdell (who was a friend of mine since the 4th grade) is currently on life support, after she suffered a traumatic brain injury from a fall. She will be donating her organs later tonight, and joining her mom in heaven. Please keep Kim's young daughter, dad, brothers and sisters in your prayers, as well as all the families of these young adults. Life just doesn't seem fair sometimes, but cherish it while you have it......