August 17th...............
Delaware Speedway
My Last Show At Delaware
Race #15
High Lites
* 16 cars
* Dale Reinhardt wins
* Another long race with one caution
* I have another terrible night at the big half (old tires)
* 504 gears.....not hitting the chip
* 602 come back not the best...hopefully next week
Results
Heat.........7th
Feature.....12th
Winnings
$285
Repairs
Routine, gears, prepare for Flamboro August 27th
Crew
Louie, Jim Bunting, Wally Wilson, Buttons
Conclusion
......Got my computer fixed but couldn't do a conclusion over the past few months, all that I did post after the racwes was lost. But I am good from here forward.
Well finally, things are starting to show up with me leaving Ontario and moving to Nova Scotia. It was very hard for me to think about the move without getting emotional. One of the reasons was the many people, family and friends I am going to miss. Yes I have family and friends in NS, but my children are here, my grand children, some very close family including aunts and cousins, as well as many many friends, good friends. All I am going to miss very much, even my enemies.
I'm also going to miss the race tracks I loved to go to. Sauble Speedway was always one of my favorite, that I didn't get to race this year, and won my 40th career feature at in 2018. On this night, I raced my last time at Delaware Speedway. Perhaps not my favorite track driving wise, I still liked all those involved, owners, racers, fans and staff. I kept the wrist band from this night and will put it in my scrap book for 2019. As I inch closer to the end of 2019 in Ontario, my heart is racing. All the many friends, business acquaintance people, like my Doctor, banking staff who are so nice, places where I shop often, Canadian Tire, they all know Buttons, my barber shop etc. It will be a tough few weeks trying to settle in, knowing Grisdale's isn't there anymore, I can't go to Walmart, or the places I visit and know the owners and staff. I will miss visiting my son at the Dealership, but will see him when he comes east. Maybe it's good I don't see him every day, but I do drop in to do a Stone Chip or visit once in awhile. Can't do that anymore.
All my racing friends, there are so many. Very nice great people that I love, promoters etc. Not going to be easy, but it is going to happen because we already have a house. So though it will be more lonesome when the time gets closer to move, I hope I also get more excited about going back to the province I was born. I have family in Nova Scotia and many racing friends, I won't be alone, but I will be sad for a time. God is great and will bring me and Buttons through this....so I am happy but also sad.
I decided tonight to run the tires I ran at the last 2 races. Flamboro Speedway July 27th and Peterborough Speedway August 3rd. By the time I got to Delaware these tires were tried. 145 laps, 12 cycles but still somewhat okay.....so I thought.
The car handled terrible all night. I made chassis adjustments to correct a tight situation, then another adjustment for a loose condition and nothing worked. I had the gear wrong and decided to change the gears before our heat race, and that was almost a disaster in that I narrowly missed starting in my heat race.
Louie had gone over to the grandstand to spot and Wally Wilson stayed with me to help with the gears. I had put in 486 gears, but were not enough. We put in 504 and while half way through it OSCAAR came by telling me I was out next. I was thinking as they were "we're not going to make it". We kept hustling and got the car on the ground and I started to get dressed. As I was putting on my fire suit I remembered I didn't put the plug in the quick change and thought for sure I was going to miss the race but Allen Adams came over and said "just get dressed, I will get this done"....and he did. The next time killer was putting on my Hans and hooking up the radio but the cars were heading out and I was just finishing tying up my shoes. "Hey Wally, forget about the Hans and radio, I'm just going out without them". That's a no-no, but I reasoned I was going to take it easy and just get the race in.
I made it out, caught up to the pack before the white, waved to the started to say thanks, although I don't know if he added a lap for me, but regardless I barely made it was thankful praising God that we would make this race. There's always something good about being in the race even though you're scrambling and not running good.
I was able to hold off 2 cars, the #11 Norman Newman was one, and though I had no radio I drove as fast as I could with the car not right at all....terrible....like it seems it always has been here. I think it's my mind, I think negative and don't do well. Anyway I did manage to be Norman at the line and finish 6th I think.
We made very little changes for the feature because there was nothing I could do. I did have a positive attitude really but my tires were 30 laps past scrap and I didn't buy new ones. Earlier in the night when Randy Roberts came by to ask if I had any tires to put in my inventory I said no. Then I asked how many tires I could add to my inventory and he said.....7. Wow, maybe 3 of them would have made a difference. I decided to run older tires at this track and save new tires for both August 24th at Flamboro and then September 21-22 at Sunset for their Fall Velocity. So I knew I would be off tonight and accepted my decision and why I did it.
Since our last race at Peterborough I pulled the 604 out of the Modified and the 602 out of my Show Car and put it in the Modified. Unfortunately for the 602, it didn't have a chance with 160 lap tires. But we will have 4 new tires for our next Modified race.
The feature went non stop long enough for Dale Reinhart to lap me, but the yellow came out and I got the Lucky Dog. I battled the final 10 laps with Rookie Bryan Batty #39 who eventually got by me. I could not drive this car into the corners, too hard to steer and it was all over the place. I started 16th and would finish 12th.....terrible period, but no damage and a chance during the week to tweak it for our next show at my home track Flamboro Speedway.
Congrats to Dale Reinhart for the win and to OSCAAR for putting on another great show.
After a dismal show at Delaware Speedway August 17th, I decided to rescale the car first thing Monday. What did I find? Nothing, nothing with the chassis that is. All the numbers were good, the ride heights were right on and all the weights were good.
Then I checked the tires and found everyone, including the left front wore out
I went to Grisdale Enterprises, the supplier for our American Racer tires and while there Adam Lockwood asked me how I did at Delaware Speedway. I explained that my car was terrible, he looked surprised and said "what happened". Then I told him:
"I put 4 new tires on the car on July 27th and ran great. I used those same 4 tires the next week at Peterborough, but the car wasn't that good but decided to use them again for Delaware Speedway August 117th, reasoning that the big track might get the heat back in them, but the car was terrible". Adam looked at me and said "really". I thought for a second "was he saying "really" because they should have been good still"......nope.....he was saying "really"?.....that I would think I could get 3 nights out of a set of tires that ended with close to 200 laps and 14 cycles each....
You didn't have to think long before you start to laugh.....I bought 4 new tires....after all Randy Roberts, our tire monitor for OSCAAR, told me I had 7 tires available to me.
Yikes, so we are all hoping Flamboro Speedway August 24th is a success with 4 new tires
PS....I am driving the Late Model at Flamboro Speedway as well on the 24th, but will most likely be staying clear of any chance of wrecking because the car is sold, both are, but I can race the Modified, I feel very comfortable in that little rocket
Hope to see you there, thanks for visiting my site
