The Ultimate Experience

It's hard to believe that the week is over already. Doug's team and the IRWIN machine didn't take home the trophy, but it was still a great week. I traveled back home yesterday and now I have to get back in to real life. Thanks to the Doug Herbert race team for their hospitality and thanks to IRWIN for awarding me this Ultimate Experience.

Day 6: Kieron's Play by Play of the Day

We got an early start on the car today, since our first run was at 12:30. We toned the IRWIN machine down a little bit, but still spun the tires. The track conditions were not ideal. Other race teams were having the same problems we were. There were numerous oil downs and almost everyone spun the tires, at least once. With our first pass of the day behind us, we toned the Herbert-IRWIN machine down even more to better suit track conditions. The next pass of the day would be our last qualifying run and we had to lay down a great pass because we were barely getting by up to that point. We brought the car to the line but one of the drivers that went before us ended up blowing the engine and we had to sit for about 30 minutes. It wasn't as bad for us as it was for Doug to wait; he was strapped into his hot car for that entire time. Doug went up to the line and laid down an awesome pass of 3.98 seconds, at over 300mph. That was motivating for all of us. Running at that speed put us in the number 12 position and got us into the show tomorrow. Everyone is pumped to tear down the track because we feel we have a great combination. Our first run is at noon tomorrow against Tony Schumacher, who is qualified 5th.

Day 6: We're in the Show!

Well, in the last four seconds, of the last hour of the day, we finally got the car hooked up and down the track to make it in the show. Talk about drama. Tomorrow we get to go racing. Our first round match up is a tough one, though. We have to line up against Schumacher in the 1st round. He usually does pretty well. We just need to be consistent and get down the track. Let's hope for the best.

Day 6: Watching Super Stock Hang the Front End

We had another early start today. We got everything unloaded and set up, with some time to spare. So I ducked away for a few minutes to check everything else going on at the dragway. I'm sitting down for a minute and actually watching some racing. These are the first cars I've seen go down the track, other than the Herbert-IRWIN machine. I'm watching Super Stock right now and it's pretty neat watching these cars hang the front end. I guess I better get back to the pits and see if they need a hand. We really need to get the car down the track with no issues today.

Day 5: Making Tweaks to Improve Traction

Yesterday, we got to the track around 10 am and got the car ready for our first pass later in the afternoon. During the first pass, the car spun the tires early in the run and ran 7.47 seconds, which isn't 100%. We brought the car back, serviced it and made a few changes. By the time we were ready for our second pass, the sun had set and it was dark. The second pass went the same as the first, with tire smoke early. We met up after that run and came up with a game plan for today to improve our traction. We feel confident we can really lay down 2 solid passes today and qualify much higher.

Day 5: Sending the Car Down the Track

They fired up the car for the first time around 3:00 pm today. Very impressive. It's pretty incredible when you can feel the horsepower. Around 6:00 pm, we sent the car down the track on it's first qualifying pass. The first qualifying pass didn't go so well. We spun the tires, which is never a good thing. There was plenty of horsepower but not enough traction. It is quite a feeling, though, when those cars take off. It literally shakes your entire body. Hopefully, we can get it all the way down the track on the next pass.

Day 4: B.R.A.K.E.S. Charity Dinner Raised a lot of Money

We had a great time at the B.R.A.K.E.S dinner at the Speedway Club, overlooking the Charlotte Motor Speedway track. (The first picture is the entry walk into the track and the second picture is what you see when you look out the windows from inside the Speedway Club.) There was a silent auction, as well as a live auction, with tons of motor sports memorabilia up for grabs to raise money for Doug Herbert's charity, B.R.A.K.E.S.. http://www.putonthebrakes.com/. Dinner was great and we learned more about the B.R.A.K.E.S. program and their mission. By far, the coolest part of the evening was the dog that was auctioned off. The bidding got up to $5,100 and wasn't going much higher. Then Allen Johnson came up to the stage and took the mic. Allen Johnson is sponsored by MOPAR and races in the Prostock class. http://www.allenjohnson.com/ When Allen took the mic, he said he would donate $5,000 if he could get 5 donors to donate $1,000 each. Five hands quickly went up. Then Allen extended his offer to another 5 people. Of course, 5 more hands were raised. The dog brought in $25,100 for the BRAKES program. The dinner was a success and everyone had a great time!