Hi Y’All, Before I even say a word about my brief encounter with The Monster Mile, I want to go back to last week’s race in Charlotte. As y’all know, my expectations going into that race were very high; I mean the last time I raced there I became the youngest driver to ever win an ARCA race. Besides that, I consider Charlotte to be my ‘home track’, you know? Making matters worse, I had a car that was capable of winning that race. Add it all up and you can understand why I felt so devastated after finishing in dead last through nobody’s fault but my own. Man, I was feeling down and out. But not for long. I was overwhelmed by the way y’all rallied around me at a time when I needed it most. Reading your comments felt like 100 people reaching down to help me get up and knock the dust off, you know? I can’t thank y’all enough for believing in me at a time when I needed it most. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, y’all are the best fans in the world! As for yesterday’s disaster in Dover, well it was just one of those unlucky deals. Unlike Charlotte, there wasn’t much I could have done to aviod the wreck. Getting into the back of Randy though is not what put me out of the race though. What put me out was when I ran over a piece of debris from Tony Roper’s demolished car. In doing so, I ripped open my oil pan, which caused me to lose all of my oil before I was able to limp the car back to the pits. Without any oil to lubricate the motor, it doesn’t take long for it to fries itself; which is exactly what happened. As for my first racing experience at Dover, I must admit that it took my crew and me a while to figure this Monster Mile out. But after getting the car dialed in by Happy Hour, I really started to enjoy the fast concrete surface and high-banked turns. It’s definitely a driver’s track. Like so many other tracks that I’ve raced for the first time, I am really looking forward to taking what I learned the first time around and applying it when we return for round two later this year. For that reason alone, I strongly believe that we are going to be really tough in the second half of the season. Before I move on to answering your questions, I want to apologize to Courtney Young. Courtney was the first of 4 winners in the Spree Prepaid Foncard “Million Dollar Crew Chief” promotion. For those that may not be aware of this really cool promotion here’s how it works: When you buy a Spree Prepaid Foncard, you have the opportunity to call in and register to win a trip to one of 4 races (Dover, Indy, Charlotte, Homestead) to become my honorary Crew Chief. Here’s the kicker: If I win the race, you win $1 MILLION DOLLARS! Tell me that’s not cool! Needless to say, poor Courtney’s hopes for winning were over before the race had really even begun. Courtney, all I can say is that I’m sorry that things did not work out. You may not be a million dollars richer, but I hope you still had a good time hanging out with me and the guys at the track yesterday. As for the 3 races that are left in the promotion, all I can say is that if you do buy a Spree Prepaid Foncard, make sure to enter the Million Dollar Crew Chief Promotion because another one of my goals this year is to make at least one of y’all a million dollars richer! Hey, I also want to say thanks to all the people who came out to meet me at my souvenir trailer after Happy Hour practice on Friday. I couldn’t believe how many people came out; it was awesome! Thanks to everyone that spent their hard-earned money on my merchandise. I hope it is all the more special to you with my signature on it. Judging by how well things went, I can promise you that I will be making more Happy Hour appearances at my souvenir trailer in the future. With the busy schedule they have us on next week, unfortunately South Boston will not be one of them. I’ll let y’all know next week about Watkins Glenn. Speaking of which, someone asked if I have ever tested on a road course. Unless you count certain windy roads in NC (LOL) no, I have not tested on a road course. I am very much looking forward to racing at Watkins Glenn though! I think the race there will be a blast. As far as new tires from Goodyear, I have heard that they will in fact be coming out with a new road course tire. Hey, I’m all for anything that will make the racecar perform better! I had to laugh when I read that question pertaining to what does a driver do if he has to go to the bathroom during a race. It reminded me of that great ad for M&M’s: the one where Ernie tells that one M&M character sitting in the car with him that he should have gone before the race started (LOL) Anyway, you are right that because of the dehydration factor, it is rarely a problem. But then again, it has been known to happen. In that case, and I know this may sound gross, you just, how can I say this, wet your pants?!. Still think driving a racecar is glamorous (LOL) Y’all will be extremely happy to know that the Fan Club WILL officially be launched on June 28. Everything’s coming together nicely. I’m tell you what, this Fan Club is going to be cool. Nothing but the best for y’all. If things work out the way I want them too, the Fan Club will be launched in conjunction with a chat session on June 28. You know, I was thinking that we need to come up with a name for the Fan Club itself. Seeing how y’all were so creative in thinking up names for my Bonus program, I would like to ask you to come up with a name for my Fan Club. I’ll go out on a limb this time and say that if we end up using your suggestion, you will receive a FREE lifetime membership to the Fan Club! How’s that for motivation? I look forward to reading your suggestions! Before I sign off, I want to thank you once again for picking me up and dusting me off last week with your incredible words of love, support and encouragement. Now if only y’all could get this darn monkey off my back!(LOL) Not to worry, I’ll see too it that we leave him in South Boston next week! God Bless, Adam
