As all the Epic Venture cars rolled in to the pits together, we eagerly awaited what lied ahead on a double points night for the SST Modifieds. The answer would leave us both pleasantly surprised and self reflective.

Having tried to push the limits of some recent chassis improvements, the #50 found where those limits were located. During practice, Tom had his hands full with a car that was too loose for his still developing skills. After some hands on help from Super Six driver Kris Hillegeer, changes were quickly made to get the #50 under more control. Tom and Terry would run in the same heat race and Tom could only watch as every car pulled away as he continued to wrestle with this new driving challenge. However, priorities would change quickly when during a red flag stoppage; Terry's car would be towed to the pits while leaking oil rapidly. Tom completed the heat but anticipated receiving bad news about the #5 team car.

The #5 was indeed done for the evening with an unrepairable gash in the oil pan. Immediately the decision was made to have Terry drive the #50 in order to protect his 5th place point's position. The Epic Venture crews combined to change tires on the #50 so that Terry could test the car during intermission and make last minute preparations. During the test, the loose condition reared its ugly head, except that Terry was able to attain some serious speed in the car. With adjustments completed, Terry and the #50 were put to the test.

Starting 19thout of 22 cars, Terry quickly moved up through the field and caught a few breaks as wrecks and spins were aplenty this evening. The early plan was to shoot for a top 10 finish but circumstances kept presenting themselves until Terry found himself in 5th place. A great battle for 4th place with the #81 of Matt "Bones" Lees had the fans off their seats for the last 3 laps with Terry unable to complete the pass. Terry's performance gave the team a great emotional uplift and improved his points total to 4th place for the season. Because of other driver's misfortunes and Terry's performance, he had actually GAINED a spot with what was thought to be the weaker team car. Fellow competitor Scott Combs stopped by and commented to Tom "I'll never put Terry in my car, 'cause I couldn't handle seeing how much more I have to learn". Tom just shook his head and said "Boy do I know what you mean".

Terry's enthusiasm carried over to his ROC Modified #11. What was scheduled to be a test session, Terry turned in to a full race effort with a 9th place finish on tires that were quite obviously used up. I guess when you're on your game, there's just no sense in slowing down.

Next week will bring two challenges as Tom will have to find a way to take advantage of the #50's capabilities, and fellow racer Jody "Gater Boy" London debuts his #89 SST Modified. See you all again next week.