We approached this week with a focus on helping the newer Epic Ventures crew members get further training on the routines and general procedures that occur on race day. We kept the T&K Motorsports Modified #11 at home so the crew would have fewer cars and complexities to deal with. However, the day turned in to far more of a hectic pace and the training was more of a “hands on” experience. 

I crashed the #50 in practice after spinning out by myself. Our crews replaced the front bumper, nose and realigned the front end in time for my heat. While I was scrubbing the dirt off the tires I felt something bounce off my right arm (and it hurt). It was the fire extinguisher! Apparently it had broken loose during the crash and no one had noticed. As we took the green and I was trying to assess the fire bottle problem, I entered the turn too low, hooked the rumble strips and tore open the oil pan. I ran one slow lap and exited the track trailing a long oil stream. We were done for the night. This now puts us in a very deep hole in the point standing towards our Rookie of the Year goal.

The #5 had a bad night as well. Terry got wrecked hard by another driver while scrubbing the dirt off his tires. Smashed side bars, a crushed rim and a destroyed new tire was the cost of an accident the likes of which I had never seen before. Our great crew repaired the car and got him entered in to the last heat where Terry finished second. With a row three starting spot we were optimistic for the feature. At the start, Terry got shuffled back on the outside, and with a back up carburetor and the temperature dropping rapidly, the #5 just wasn’t up to par. Just past half way, and running about in the 11^th spot, there was a caution flag when one of the front cars spun and stalled on the track. As every one slowed down, a car behind Terry some how missed the slow down warning and plowed in to Terry sending him spinning in to the stopped car and wrecking the other side of the car hard. The #5 was done for the night. The accumulated pile of bent steel and destroyed rims and tires summed up the day.

Our crew chief Doug Cheetham began the damage assessment on Saturday and was joined later by Terry. A quick trip to the Troyer race car shop and our NAPA sponsor, and they had the parts to start the rebuilding process. I joined them Sunday to continue the process. The #5 is now ready to go with lots of new parts and our better carburetor back on top. My #50 is waiting for a new oil pan that will provide more ground clearance but it may or may not show up in time. We are optimistic that we will have both cars in action this Friday however, the upcoming Holiday weekend is proving popular for weddings and our crew will be depleted significantly. I guess that means it’s time to have some good fortune for both cars.