October 25 and 26, 2008

The Halloween Howler.

Jack is still getting over his bronchitis so we left it up to him whether or not he wanted to race this weekend. Sure enough he does. Not only is Jack racing in his regular Tiger B class but also is trying his hand at the Tiger A money class to gain some experience.
The weekend started on Friday night when we drove up to the track to drop off the trailer.
Saturday's practice session started early. Gates opened around 8:00. We got to the track a little late and missed the first couple of rounds of practice. Because Jack is still getting over his bronchitis we didn't want to wear him out and so we only had him practice with the Tiger A's. Jack had to prove to the track officials that he could keep up or they wouldn't let him in the race. He did an excellent job keeping up and stayed in the draft proving that he could handle the big race. After practice was qualifying. We did time trials this week which Jack is usually pretty good at so we had high hopes for him. Tiger A's went out first. It was a really cold day and Jack's tires didn't have enough time to heat up, We saw others lifting the back ends of the cars and scrubbing the tires on the ground to build some heat but we opted not to. Jack got a little sideways in turn 4 and managed to hang on but it was enough to slow him down for an 8th place starting position. The Tiger B's qualifying round went a little better. He had no mistakes, went out and drove 2 perfect laps which was enough for him to take home a first place starting position. Time to pack up and prepare for tomorrow.
Rain was in the forecast for overnight and into the morning so even though the gate opened at 7 we weren't in too much of a hurry to get up there. We knew they'd have to spend a couple of hours drying the track. Turns out we were right. You could see the water line on our trailer tires about 6 inches above the ground. After a couple of hours of re- setting up the car we were ready to go. A couple of rounds of practice and then it was off to feature racing. Tiger A's, the money race, was the Second race of the day. Jack started dead last in eighth place. He would have to work really hard if he wanted a shot at the money. Jack started off pretty good, lined up with the field and kept up with them for the first few laps. Jack rode around in last place for the first seven laps sizing up the field and trying to make his move. An attempted pass by the 12 over the 25 resulted in the 12 driving over the 25 and Jack's excellent reflexes kept him out of the wreck. With all cars continuing on no caution flag flew and Jack was now shown in seventh. On lap 12 a caution would fly when the 43 and 13 got tangled and the 7 went around in turn 4 trying to avoid the wreck. The 3 also went around when he hit the brakes too hard seeing the turned car and Jack got into the back of him. The 43 would be taken off the track unable to continue. After a couple of caution laps to get the cars back on track Jack started in 5th place. On lap 15 Jack made a pass on the 3 to put him in 4th place. Lap 18 would bring out another caution when the 3 went around in turn 4 all by himself. Jack starts in 4th place with 12 laps to go. The 43 of Devin O'Connell comes back onto the track in 8th place. The 7 of Brad Zahensky, starting just in front of Jack in the second position gets an excellent restart and takes Jack with him to run first and second by the time they hit the backstretch. Jack runs a very smart race looking to make a pass for the lead but knowing finishing 2nd is better than crashing out with an unsafe pass. With 1 to go Jack gets an awesome run and crosses the finish line neck and neck with Brad just missing first place by half a car length...

The Tiger B race had Jack starting first ahead of TJ Bleau and Justin Barry. Jack gets out to an early lead bringing Justin with him. With no one in front of him Jack is able to drive his line to perfection and creates an awesome lead on the field. 5 laps into the race he's already lapping traffic. On lap 9 the 15 goes around on the backstretch drawing the caution flag. The cars get all lined up and go racing again. On lap 15 Jack's lapping cars again. He's out to about a 1/4 lap lead when he tries to make it three wide on the backstretch to pass two cars at once. He thinks better of it and slows down enough to pass just one car at a time. The 17 goes around in turn 4 just after Jack passes him. They line them back up for the third time with 9 laps to go. Single file restart this time. Jack leads Justin Barry, TJ Bleau, Will St George, and Gabriel Camuso. Jack takes the green but the officials call it a jumped start so they throw the caution and Jack slows on the backstretch making everyone think somethings wrong with his car. Little did we all know Jack saw what nobody else could. He saw the caution and slowed down before anybody else even knew it was out. They start them racing again and Jack jumps out to an early lead one more time. With 5 laps to go Justin's car gets jumpy on the front stretch and he loses a lot of ground. Two laps to go Jack's lapping traffic again. Jack takes home the feature win with ease to wrap up an incredible day. Second place his first time out with the big boys in the Tiger A money division and a win in his second straight Halloween Howler event in his division. What a way to end the season!!!