~Texas Journal~
Hi Y’all,
I know y’all are very anxious to know my
thoughts from the race so I’ll start with
that. Ready? Here goes:
!@#$%^&*()!&*(!#$%^&*(!#$
What I’m trying to say is that there are no
words that could possibly describe how
upset and dissapointed I was after my
wreck on Saturday.
The whole day got off on the wrong foot with that rain delay. I can’t
begin to tell you how tough it was for me to mentally prepare for the
biggest race of my career not knowing when or even if the race was
going to start. All I could do was think and wait. That 3-hour rain
delay felt like 300 hours as far as I was concerned. Then out of the
blue, the announcement is made for drivers to report to their cars.
Less than 10 minutes later I was in my car running 15 laps under
caution prior to the start of the race. It was all very strange and far
removed from my normal per-race routine.
Was I was nervous starting next to Jeff Gordon? Not at all. Hey, he
puts his pants on one leg at a time just like me. Far from nervous, I
was actually excited to be starting next to Jeff because I knew that it
would challenge me to perform my best. I guess it goes back to what
I told y’all earlier; the best way to become a great driver is to
compete against great drivers. And compete we did.
After taking the green flag, Jeff immediately made a move to try and
get underneath me through turns 1 & 2 and then again through 3 & 4.
No way was I going too let that happen. To be real honest, fending off
a 3-time defending Winston Cup champion gave me a huge shot of
confidence. So much so that I ran the next few laps wide open
passing Mark Martin in the process. Before long, I was on Blaney’s
bumper challenging for the lead. Looking back, I probably should
have just held my line and been content to run in 2nd for a while.
Maybe it was the thought of leading my first Busch Series race.
Maybe it was the thought of earning the bonus points needed to
shore up our Busch Series standing. Whatever the case, I was
feeling very confident in myself and the great racecar that my team
had put underneath me. That said, I simply was not content to sit
back in 2nd; if I saw an opening, I was going for the lead.
On lap 8 Blaney let up a little going into turn 1. Seizing the
opportunity, I ran wide open through 1 & 2 hoping to slingshot past
him on the outside as we exited turn 2. The tricky transition out of
2—which caused a number of drivers to wreck yet hadn’t given me a
problem with all week—sent me scraping into the wall with just
enough force to knock my incredibly fast racecar completely out of
whack. Suddenly, just keeping the thing in line on the
straight-aways, let alone through the turns, became a real challenge.
With each car that passed me, the realization that our day was over
sunk deeper and deeper. Before long I felt the need to let my crew
know how sorry I was for destroying their unbelievable racecar and
with it our chance of winning the race. Much to his credit, Lance
would hear none of my negative thinking. He told me that he could fix
the car and then reminded me that there’s still a lot of racing left
where anything can happen. When the first caution came out, Lance
and the rest of the crew lived up to their word by fixing 90% of the
car’s handling problems. Exiting pit row, I remember thinking how
much I wanted to salvage the day by turning in a decent finish; if only
for my guys who had worked so hard to build this great racecar from
scratch in less than a week. Unfortunately this thinking lead me to
drive more aggressively than I should have with a car whose handling
was not functioning 100%. Before I knew it, I was way out of shape
again coming off that tricky turn 2; only this time I was not able to
compensate and ended up in the wall with enough force this time to
completely wreck my #45 Spree Prepaid Foncard Chevy. The wreck
did not hurt nearly as much as the realization that I had completely
destroyed an awesome racecar along with our best chance yet of
winning our first race. To say that I was upset would be an
understatement! As furious as I was, there was no way I was going to
talk to the mob of reporters that I could see running towards my
hauler. Can you blame me? I mean put yourself in my shoes: how
would you feel if immediately following one of the worst days of your
entire life, you were forced to go on camera and tell the entire country
about it in every detail?! As I found out yesterday, it’s one of the
hardest parts of this job. I was really thankful that Lance was willing
to step into the heat of the spotlight for me immediately after the race
because I just wasn’t up to it.
Ok, enough of all this negative talk surrounding yesterday’s race.
Let’s stay focus on the positives: I qualified great after running less
than 10 laps at TMS, I fended off Jeff Gordon, I passed Mark Martin
and I challenged for the lead. Better still, my crew proved that they
can build awesome racecars; in a week’s time nonetheless! As for
my mistakes, well, I’ll learn and use them to become a better racecar
driver. Best of all, I am really looking forward to our next race in
Nashville. Unlike most of the other tracks we have been to so far, I
have raced at Nashville before and really like the track. With the
exception of Charlotte perhaps, I consider Nashville to be my favorite
track. For this reason, I feel confident that we can rebound next week
with a great finish!
All right, enough talk about racing; let’s talk a little about my web
site. For starters, I really appreciate the way y’all defended me, my
dad and my family in general against that one ‘rude dude’s’ comment
concerning my dad and me. I think y’all put that guy in his place big
time. Thanks!! It was real tough to learn that my Dad did not make
the race prior to my own. The emotion that goes with that is very
difficult to explain. The fact that I look up too and love my Dad so
much, it’s hard not to feel pain when he’s feeling it, you know? As to
why he is having such a rough season so far, I can’t really say.
Knowing my Dad like I do though, I feel absolutely certain that he’ll
get the problem(s) figured out and get the #44 Hot Wheels team back
on track. As for my Mom, she’s like the glue that holds our family
together. A huge part of who I am today, I owe to my Mom. She has
always been there for me with a firm, but loving hand to guide me. In
addition to being a great Mom, she is also an incredible decorator.
Most of the rooms she decorates look like they belong in a magazine
they’re so good. In both cases, I owe a lot to my parents; without
them, I would be nowhere near where I am today: as a person or a
racecar driver.
Speaking of influential people in my life, I want to start a new feature
on my Web page and call it something like the “Spotlight of the
Week featuring…..”. The idea here is to turn my web page into a
‘spotlight’ that showcases the many people responsible for my
success both on and off the track. I think y’all will really like it. After
giving the matter some thought, I’ve decided to kick off the very first
installment of “Spotlight of the Week” with my good friend and Crew
Chief Lance Dieters. As I’m sure Lance will tell you, the two of us go
way back. Because we understand and know how to communicate
with each other so well, I think we make a great team. As both a
friend and a Crew Chief, I think Lance is the best! For this reason, I
see the two of us being together for a long time. In the same way that
we made our respective rookie debuts in the Busch Series together, I
fully expect us to make our rookie debuts in Winston Cup together
as well. That said, I hope y’all enjoy getting to know Lance better.
I Know I’ve said it before, but I feel that I simply can’t thank y’all
enough for your love, support and encouragement. After a bad race
like Texas, I find my Discussion page to be a bottomless well of
nourishment for my heart, mind and soul. Y’all hang in there because
I’m going to give you something to cheer about next weekend!
God Bless,
Adam
PS The fan club is moving along well although there’s still a lot of
loose ends that need to be tied up. Another cool element that I added
to the club this week is a special photo of me and the #45 Spree
Prepaid Foncard Chevy with team info on the back. Rest assured
that I will personally take the time to sign each one!
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