~Pikes Peak~

Hey Y’All, Not quite what I was hoping for this weekend at Pike’s Peak but there were definitely some bright spots; namely our top 10 qualifying run. As promised, my teamates and I were definitely fired up when we arrived at the track on Thursday! More than just qualifying for the race, we wanted to prove to everyone, most of all ourselves, that this team has what it takes to qualify well. I think we accomplished that, don’t you? In any case, I’ve got to give most of the credit to my crew because they put a great, and I do mean great, racecar under me. I know that a lot of drivers use that expression but I don’t think any of them have ever taken the time to explain exactly why having ‘a great racecar’ it so important. You see, having a great racecar under you is about more than just having a fast racecar. The fact is, the fastest cars on the track do not always win the race. Far from just being fast, the real value of having a great racecar is the mental edge it gives you during the race. You see, when you KNOW you have a great race car underneath you, you can attack those turns a little harder because you KNOW that the car will stick; you can exit those turns faster and go for those bold, daring passes because you KNOW the car will handle well through traffic. The point is, the more confidence you as a driver have in the car, the faster you will make your way around the track. In any case, I was real happy with the way we qualified on Thursday. Hopefully we can keep that momentum and continue to qualify well in the weeks ahead. One thing’s for sure, starting the race up front sure is a lot more fun than starting in the back! As far as finishing the race goes, I know that y’all are real anxious to know what happened out there. I had to laugh after reading your comments concerning the so-called ‘consistency’ of NASCAR’s caution flags. As far as my comment on that goes, I think it’s safe to say that there is no NASCAR conspiracy going on (although maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start handing out Spree Prepaid Foncards to all the NASCAR officials! LOL) Seriously though, as much as it would have helped us, I think it was the right call not to throw the caution when I got into the #90 car simply because I was out of the groove when it happened (meaning more or less that I was out of everyone’s way who was behind me). As far as why it happened, I’ve got to take most of the blame on that one. It happened shortly after the restart around lap 169. The field was real bunched up going through turns 1 and 2(the area of the track where I was running the best all afternoon long) I thought I had made it past the #90 car when in fact he was in my ‘blind spot’. A racecar’s blind spot is more or less the same blind spot that any passenger car suffers from only worse because, as you know, we don’t have any side view mirrors on our racecars. In any case, when I went to move back into the groove my left rear tire blew when it clipped the side of the #90 car. Needless to say, I lost a lot of valuable time trying to limp the car back to the pits for a new tire. Making matters worse, there was some damaged sheet metal that started rubbing on the new tire shortly after I left the pits. Unfortunately, the problem forced me to come back in for yet another unscheduled pit stop. By the time I got back out onto the track, I was 5 laps down in 34th position. What made the whole deal so hard to accept was the fact that we had a great racecar. I’m not so sure we had anything for Andy, but I can tell you that we were definitely were capable of a top 10 finish. It was a real heartbreaker to be sure. Rather than sit here and whine to y’all about our streak of bad luck, I’m going to stay focused on the positives; namely that we qualified well and ran up front. What we need to do now is build on that momentum with a great finish in St. Louis! Speaking of which, St. Louis will be a homecoming of sorts for me. For those that might not be aware, St. Louis was the site of my first ever Busch Series race last year. It’s a track that suits my style of driving and I fully expect us to get the job done there next week. As far as the Fan Club goes, Rhonda tells me that your packages should be going out next week; so expect them very soon! I hope y’all don’t think it’s to weird that Rhonda is calling you at home. I guess it just my way of letting y’all know how much I appreciate you joining my Fan Club. Besides, I told y’all that my Fan Club was going to be different! Anyway, Rhonda is a great person! I’m really lucky to have someone like her running my Fan Club. If you need help, or have any questions with your Fan Club membership, just pick up the phone and say, “help me Rhonda…help, help me Rhonda!”(LOL) Before I say goodbye, may I make one comment about all of those crazy superstitions I keep reading about on the discussion page: for at least one race anyway, forget about the wacky superstitions and just say a prayer instead. Not for a victory, but for God to give me the strength and grace to perform my very best. Just a suggestion. As always, thanks for your all of your love and support. Have a great week! God Bless, Adam