Blog

IN THE 9, AND RACING AGAIN

August 2, 2011 • posted by: Dillon

It feels so good to be reporting on some news from an actual race. It’s been almost a month since I’ve gotten to do that!

I made my debut in Steve Lewis’s 9 midget on July 28 at Lucas Oil Raceway (IRP). As part of Kroger Speedfest, this race has been around for a long time. I grew up coming to this race a lot and I always dreamed of driving the 9 midget, so this was a neat opportunity for me to debut in my “dream ride” in a race that I really have grown to respect.

We had tested the week before so I felt confident, but for some reason we struggled a little bit in practice. The car was tight at the beginning of practice, and loose at the end of it so we were scratching our heads.

In qualifying, the crew got the car just right, but the driver didn’t quite do his part. I think I underdrove the car just a tick, and as a result we qualified 12th.

USAC canceled the heat races because there were only 19 midgets, so we had a 6 hour break after qualifying before the feature. I wanted to get out of the heat and so did most everyone else, so a few other drivers and I left the track and went to a restaurant and had an early dinner. It was fun getting to hang out with those guys away from the track and I enjoyed it a lot.

Feature time finally rolled around and I began to work my way forward from 12th. This race was only 30 laps, so there was a very small margin for error regarding driving too hard and not hard enough. I wore it out too soon, and at the end of the race was really just trying to hang on to a very loose car. I came home with a 10th place finish, and a ton of great experience. The racing was intense, but a lot of fun. I had a camera on my car, and we’ll get the video on the website soon. As you’ll be able to see my hands were full.

As for the next night–July 29–at the Speedrome, I held off Daren Hagen to win the Heat race but the Feature was rained out. A make-up date has not yet, but will be announced.

A big thanks goes out to my crew: Glenn Martin, Krieg Poland, Dave Steele, Chuck Gurney Jr., and of course my car owner Steve Lewis. I really enjoy working with these guys. The atmosphere is always very fun and relaxed, but serious when it needs to be. And that’s the way I think it should be.

Thanks for checking in, and happy racing!

-Dillon

First weekend at Iowa

June 29, 2011 • posted by: Dillon

My first weekend at Iowa is one that I will remember for a while.

Iowa is the fastest track I’ve ever raced on. It’s a 7/8 mile oval and midgets run over 130 mph there, which means that we’re probably going into the corners at close to 160. You’re barely out of the gas, and that plus the high banking in the corners makes Iowa Speedway a very daunting racetrack.

Despite it being my first time seeing the track, we were fastest in practice. I was really excited obviously, and was optimistic about our chances in qualifying. That’s where things went bad. I was coming to take the white flag on my qualifying run and the rear axle snapped. The frontstretch is obviously wide-open and I was so close to the wall that there was no hope to even try and save it. The car spun around and slammed the wall left side first, picking up the right side and scraping the top of the frame along the top of the wall. Apparently I was very close to actually flipping over.

It totaled the 51 car, sadly. We had brought a back-up car in case something mechanically happened to the 51, so I hopped in the 11d for the feature. Starting at the back of the of 21 cars, I saw some insane racing at the start. Guys were going 4 wide down the frontstretch, it looked like Talladega out there sometimes. I had never drafted before, which is the key at Iowa. Once I got the hang of that, I began to work my way up through the field. After another spirited battle with Bobby East, I crossed the finish line in 14th.

So while the official results don’t describe our experience, I’m okay with that finish. 14th is obviously not where we want to finish every week, but I had never driven the 11 car and we were scrambling to even get it ready to go, so I’ll take it. I learned a ton in the feature, and really enjoyed the experience of racing at Iowa.

We have a double header this weekend before some time off. A bad-fast half mile in Toledo, OH is up first Friday, and then Grundy County Speedway near Joliet, IL is on tap for Saturday.

Thanks for reading!

-Dillon #11d

Milwaukee Mile

June 21, 2011 • posted by: Dillon

My first Mile experience is a weekend that I will remember for a long time.USAC returned to the Milwaukee Mile for the first time since 2006 this past weekend. Milwaukee had a history with USAC dating back to the 50s and is the oldest race track in the world (constructed in 1903). I had watched races from the Mile on tv and always wanted to race there so I was excited to arrive.

We unloaded really fast. I was second quick the first practice session. Considering that it was my first time on a track that size, I was very comfortable. I got up to speed right away, and I think surprised a lot of people. On Friday practice, we wound up 7th, fighting a tight race car. So with two practices under my belt we headed into qualifying. The car felt really good. I about lost it in turn 1 of the first lap, so I felt like I needed to make up for it on the second lap. Evidently that worked, because my first qualifying experience on a mile track ended with the 51 car on the pole. I was thrilled and couldn’t believe I was on the pole at the Milwaukee Mile.

(more…)

MY FIRST WEEKEND ON THE DIRT

June 5, 2011 • posted by: Dillon

I have a couple of dirt races under my belt now. We ran this past weekend in Illinois with the POWRi series, which one of the nation’s premiere dirt midget series.

Friday we were at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown, IL. I was trying to get my bearings back after not having been in the dirt car in a month and a half. We really weren’t too bad all night. (more…)

MY DAY AT THE YARD OF BRICKS WITH TOM

June 2, 2011 • posted by: jeremiah

I was at school today when I heard the news that Tom Carnegie had died. I knew Tom was not doing well, and his time was short, but it still hit me with a feeling of sadness.

Tom was special to me. He was special to a lot of people. If you ever went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway any time over the past 60 years or so, you knew of Tom Carnegie. He was the voice on the public address. In fact, when he retired in 2007, it was like something was missing when you went to the track and didn’t hear his voice. I know I’m not alone in feeling that way.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Tom. Our friend Josh Laycock is very close with Tom and his wife DJ. Josh set up a luncheon for a handful of us, and after lunch we drove over to the Speedway.

With special permission, we all went out on the front-stretch and just kinda hung out. We just took pictures and talked about what an amazing place it is. As someone who’s passionate about the Indy 500, and the Speedway in general, it was pretty cool to be out on the track when no one else was there. It was just us.

But what made it even more special to me was the time I spent with Tom. We sat at the famous yard of bricks and talked about my racing, how much I loved the Speedway, and how much he loved the Speedway. I’m really interested in the history of the race and we talked about some old time drivers and races. It was the first time we’d ever spent time together but it was like we were old friends.

When my dad and I drove away that day I remember thinking, “I can’t believe I was just hanging out with Tom Carnegie on the front-stretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”