1XBuilding a race team is hard work, but nothing compares to asking a racer to write a blog....As we began our Comeracewithus.com website , I approached Willy and Andy about writing a blog . They both looked puzzled. Not at the request I was making, but at the process of how to start. In my eyes, I knew what we would find written on these pages would be fascinating. Here's their tale of How a Race Team was born....
April 3, 2009 ~ As last season was ending, I thought, well maybe dreamt, about owning my own car. The idea seemed both exciting and fun, but if my idea would ever become a reality, I knew that I would need help. So I talked with Andy Kiehn, my loyal friend for over 10 years. Andy had been part of my racing team in previous years as both car painter and sponsor. Money and talent what more did I need??? I knew we had an incredible bond as friends but I loved his passion for racing and his determination to be the best. I ran the "All American Racing Dream" story passed him. I asked him to be my partner in a newly formed race team. As partners we formed KDR ~ Kiehn Decker Racing!
Over the next few months we worked together figuring out what we needed to start a completely new team. That was a lot of component parts! We ordered a new car from Bicknell and a motor for JPM.
April 4, 2009 ~ We Picked up the Motor in the beginning of February. We drove down to JPM in Orange County. By the way, yes we did stop by Orange County Choppers. What a nice place! The car pickup date was off in the horizon, but quickly approaching, so in the mean time we decided, with the generous help of Larry Gurdo and Snap on, to built a new pit box. I have to say that the pit box turned out awesome! We are still waiting patiently for the car to be ready! Did I remind you all I have no patients?
With no car, but a beautiful motor sitting in the middle of our shop, we decided to turn our efforts to financially building our race team. You know the "good old" business plan. I have to tell you all that I am a die hard racer. I think the common sense money plan falls on Andy. All I know is that I want to race, but I also realize that Sponsors are such an important part to racing. Words could never express how much gratitude we have for them! So Thank you all!
You never know in racing where your next break will come from. We truly believe that our new friends may have came up with an answer. One night at dinner with a group of us ,Kim Shea asked me if Bill, her husband, had told me about her vision that came to her in a dream. She had the idea to form a website to help everyday people get their hand in the sponsoring community. Man, I have never met anybody with the excitement these two people have for racing. The more she talked, the more excited I got. So after a few planning meetings her dream became all of our vision and Comeracewithus.com was launched!!!
April 5, 2009 ~ The pickup date for our new car came and passed and still no new car. There was a major disappointment level on our part. We were ready to get started! Chomping at the bit! New team, Big Dreams ,Come on Already! Finally a week later we picked up the car in Niagara Falls. I have to tell you It felt like Christmas morning as we began opening boxes one at a time. Each and every box had a new car part in. Building the car began immediately.
Building a car is a slow process. Just like putting together a puzzle piece by piece it forms. You start out small and then before long you are ready to put together the big pieces: The motor, transmission, front and rear axels, and then place them on the car. As we completed the big pieces it finally looked like we were getting somewhere. Before long it was back to the small stuff. Progress once again looked slow! Race Cars are all about details! Details Details Details ~ off to work we go!
Graphics and design were the next order of business. What we ever do without computers? We played around with many different layouts and designs. We came up with a new design that kept Willy's signature color and number 1X . Off to the paint shop!
The next weeks found us working on the car making more progress everyday! Towards the end of March we finshed up the small items under the inner panels and mounted the tires on rims. We are now getting ready for the setup!
April 6, 2009 ~ The panels to the car are ready to go! The colors and layout of sponsors look great! Andy Kiehn deserves a pat on the back for a job well done! We finished up the few remaining things before putting on the outer panels! Have you been looking at the picture link?! Assembled the car. We are very excited with the way it turned out! So shiney and clean.....Hey Andy~~ I can't wait to get it dirty! Let's go racing boys!
11 more days till Brewerton! Counting the days! Don't forget to check out the promotion on the home page that was launched today! For every $10.00 you donate your name goes into a drawing for a 1800 PSI Briggs & Stratton Electric Power Washer. Promotion ends May 31, 2009 at midnight!
April 7, 2009 ~ 10 more days until Brewerton. Can you believe it is snowing? Don't forget to sign the guestbook on the site to let me know what you are thinking!
April 10, 2009 ~ Another real busy day for Kiehn/Decker Racing. All the little pieces are starting to fall into place as we put together our new team. As I write I am grateful for the 617 race fans that have visited my site. Thank you to the people that have sponsored me so far. I am grateful! To the racers who have joined on board comeracewithus.com your donate buttons will be up soon! Thanks for coming on board! Looking forward to racing!
April 17, 2009~ The boys have left for Brewerton! Stop back and see Willy's views about the start of the racing season as he pilots the Kiehn/Decker 1X!
April 18, 2009 ~ Loaded and ready to go we were off to Brewerton! I had nervous energy today thinking about the excitment of racing tonight. New Team, New Car, I was hitting the track wide open. After all the build up I was just eager to race! I couldn't believe the reception we got to see the 1X back on the track. Man it is good to be back! Racing is good people and great fans and I want you to know I appreciate all of you!
With the new rule changes the Brewerton race was more of a test & tune session. It was very good for us to practice and shake the car down. I ended up with a 12th place finish. I am happy with the car! Ready to load up and race again Sunday at Utica Rome!!
April 19, 2009 ~ Another great night of racing! Utica Rome Speedway had a full house of awesome race fans!
The car ran good. We changed a few things to help with changing track conditions! I qualified in the sixth position and started the feature in eighteenth. The good thing was I finished in 7th and avoided the firework show that ended the Modified Feature! Glad to report all drivers were ok! Off to my real job tomorrow! Don't worry racing is never far from my mind! Don't forget to sign the guestbook and let me know what you are thinking!
April 26, 2009 ~ Another great Sunday of racing! We didn't quailify in our heat race last night but we did finish a respectable second in the consulation race! I have to be honest and tell you that No racer likes the fact that they don't qualify in a heat race. I am no different. My temporary dissapointment was short lived, I had to put my game face on and get in the race! We had tried a new race set up last night in an effort to gain speed but I am sure it wasn't right. We finished the race in Ninth! I passed a lot of cars! I am working harder then ever to get to the top! More determined then I have ever been. Team Kiehn Decker will be in the shop all week working on our 1X! We are adding another car to our team this Friday! Watch for lots of new things in the coming weeks! Don't forget to stop back again soon! Want to join our team? Sponsor us on the home page at www.comeracewithus.com!
May 1, 2009 ~ Car is scaled and ready to go to Brewerton tonight! We made a few changes in an effort to find the right set up! Come out and watch me race! Thank you for your support. Don't forget to stop back and see where we finish!
May 3, 2009 ~ What a night at Brewerton! A fourth place finish! We are passing cars! I don't think my feet hit the ground yet! We are on our way to changing the car to what I want! Come see me race tonight at Utica Rome Speedway!
May 4, 2009 ~ Another awesome night of racing! Utica Rome Speedway was full of racing fans and we made sure they got lots of excitment. I qualified for the race in my heat race tonight! That is the way a racer likes to qualify. I am still not totally happy with our new race car, but I guess I will never be happy until I am in Victory lane. My desire as a racer to win is great. My drive to make my car the best it can be is always forthmost on my mind. I started the feature in fifth place and it wasn't long before we were passing cars. The car handled awesome! I was really beginning to see a Feature win! I could taste it! The hard part is a race is never over until the checkered flag drops and as it dropped I found myself in third place! A Great finish for the Kiehn/Decker 1X, But as a racer I wanted more! I want to Thank all my sponsors! I couldn't do it without you! Looking forward to Victoria Weekend!
Want to be a sponsor on my sail panels? Go to the page Victoria 200 Weekend on the website for information! I hope to see you all at Utica Rome Speedway this weekend!
May 11th, 2009 ~ Victoria has come and gone. The rain and wind held off but it was a cold day! The build up to Victoria week was fun! We spent a lot of time with the crew preparing for the race. Our new car hadn't made 200 laps in all the races that we had raced so far so we had a lot to go over to make sure we were all fine tuned. I really appreciate all the time you all put in. We qualified in our heat race finishing #1. I was pumped! Finally were we wanted to be! The car was feeling great! I drew the twelfth place starting spot. When the race started I was passing cars but about lap 40 I was a sitting duck! The track wasn't coming to me! At Lap 100's manditory pit stop we made some changes. Let just say I learned a lot! I wouldn't have made those choices again! We ended up with a twelfth place finish! At the end of the day...I can't wait to go racing again next week.
PS: To my Beautiful wife Jolie....Thanks for spending Mother's Day with The Boys and Me at the track! You're the best!!!
May 28, 2009 ~ Can you believe that May is almost over. We've been racing for over a month now and still getting out the kinks in the car! I guess any good racer will tell you that until you are in victory lane every week there is always work to do! Lets just say the Kiehn/Decker Race Shop is a busy place, working our way towards Victory Lane!
On the Orange Front.....We have been testing the waters racing the Lewis 09 Big Block Modified Race car at Fulton! At first we were trying to shake out the kinks for the Lewis Race team, but now it looks like I will be racing every Saturday at Fulton in the Kevin Lewis 09 car ! Don't worry we still will be racing our Neon Yellow Kiehn/Decker 1X Small Block Modified Race Car every Sunday at Utica Rome Speedway! I am thrilled to be racing two nights every week. I Thank the Lewis's for giving me this opportunity!
Don't forget to stop out to Fulton and Utica Rome Speedway this weekend! Lots of great racing is instore! Check back often to Comeracewithus.com there is a lot going on around Kiehn/Decker Racing! Don't forget to take a chance on winning the Power washer....all it takes to enter is a $10.00 donation to Kiehn/Decker Racing!
May 31, 2009 ~ We threw a lot of things at the car tonight. Heres how it went... I started way back because I didn't finish my heat in top five, I was sixth. I drew a caution....Found a hole and thought I would do a donut for the crowd...and I finished fourteeth, not were I want to be! Back to the drawing board! Don't worry though...My mind is working overtime! Stop back and see what shakes out! Kiehn Decker Racing is working on a new plan!
June 7, 2009 ~ Victory Lane is a great place to be! Thank you to Andy Kiehn for being my rock! Thank you to my crew for showing up each and every week! Team Kiehn/Decker wouldn't be possible with out all of you! To My Sponsors...I am grateful for your support and I hope you all heard your name in Victory Lane....It was a long time coming! This week we tore apart the car. We kept tweaking it week after week, but I needed to be in Victory Lane. I needed the confidence that it would provide. We found some things and threw some more at it! It was all a winning combination. I drove it like I stole it! Hard work and determination is alive and well at Team Decker Racing! Don't forget to stop back often. Want to join our team? Sponsor 1X at www.comeracewithus.com!
June 14, 2009 ~ Another great weekend of racing. It started Saturday with a Second Place Finish in the 09 Lewis Car at Fulton Speedway! If it ended three laps early I would have won! Utica Rome Speedway is always my favorite place to be on Sundays! I qualified in the heat race. I started the feature way in the back. I almost think I was in Oneida when the race began! I piloted the Kiehn/Decker 1X to fifth place! When I got out of the car after the race, my first reaction as a racer was to be dissappointed, but we have come along way in building this new team and we seem to be on the upward turn! I am looking forward to more wins! I am a competitor! I expect victory Lane! I also know Kiehn/Decker Racing is working towards the top one race at a time! My heart and soul is in this race! Striving for big things.....see you at the races next week!
June 29, 2009 ~ Rain held out Sunday for the Modified Race at Utica Rome Speedway. I quaified in my heat fourth! I started the feature in sixteeth. As caution flew on lap one I had already moved up to 10th place. Lap two provided another caution, I was eighth! Green flag racing provided entertainment for the rest of the 50 lap feature! Lap 29 I was sixth! I finished lap 50 in eighth. I like top ten finishes but I would rather see checkered flags! I Thank all my crew for working so hard! You are very loyal and I appreciate all of you and what you put in to make Kiehn/Decker Racing sucessful! Hope to see you all next week at both Fulton and Utica Rome Speedway! Stop by my guestbook I love to hear from you all!
July 12, 2009 ~ Ferris Employee & Utica Rome Speedway Autograph night......
Thank you to all my fans that stopped by the Kiehn Decker 1X during the autograph session! It was great to see all of you! Check out the picture tab to see if your picture made the website!
Last week I drove the 09 Kevin Lewis owned car at Utica Rome Speedway due to a minor Engine issue. I wanted to say Thank you to Kevin for letting me run his car! I truly appreciate it!
The 1X was back on the track this week! We Qualified first in our heat! The car ran great! We changed a few things to adjust to track conditions for the Feature. We started the feature in ninth place and finished in fourth! Another great finish for Kiehn Decker Racing! We will be back in the shop working our way toward that checkered flag again! I love a top five but always hungary for a win!!! Thanks for racing with me at www.comeracewithus.com! Looking forward to next week at the track!
July 23, 2009 ~ Stop by www.dougsdirtdiary.com to hear the newest three audio interviews from today!
Last week our 1X had another minor engine problem causing me to end the race by lap 26. I know it is just one of those racing deals that can happen to anyone but it really stunk! Andy Kiehn took our Motor back to JPM and got it fixed! Thank you Andy for all that you do to make this team what it is!
My team worked very hard to get this car back together for The Bill Wimble Race at Utica Rome Speedway Wednesday. I appreciate all the hard work you put in just for the love of racing! We won our heat race! That was a moral booster! Boy it has been a wild few weeks. Re-draw had me starting in 4th place! I know most of you have already listened to my audios on www.dougsdirtdiary.com so I will just end by saying we finished the race in 5th place. It is never where I want to be, but I am happy Team Kiehn Decker finished the race with a top five! Moving on to next week! Racing to see Checkered Flags! Thanks for all those who support me!
September 12, 2009 ~ Wow! It has been a while since I last wrote in my web log! Sorry about that!!! There has been a lot of changes! We purchased a lot of quality equiment from Kevin Lewis Racing. Kevin decided to take the rest of the year off and made us an offer to buy up his stuff. Included in the purchase was a big block motor and car. It was the same car that I had been driving for Kevin Lewis on a limited basis. We took the motor out of that car and put in it a newly purchased Bicknell Frame. Things really seem to be clicking. WE have two race wins and many top ten finishes! I want to Thank Kevin Lewis again for what he has done for me. I truly appreciate you!
With the purchase of the big block motor it opened the door for us as a dual motor shop to add many more races to our schedule. We all know how much I love to race! I have been living the dream. Don't forget to keep up with our race schedule on the tab on www.comeracewithus.com, Bill is busy compiling our schedule! We are putting together our small block car to hit all the tracks around Super Dirt Week! I hope you all can come out and watch!
I can hardly believe that it is already Sepetember. My Boys have started school. Football and Fall ball are ready in swing. Racing is starting to wind down. Boy it has been an awesome year. I could have never imagined that I would be where I am today starting my own team. I am so grateful! Having my cars in my own garage has made my family life and racing life merge. Andy Kiehn and Bill Shea thanks for believing in me. I love to race, these two guys love to manage! WE make a good team! To My wife Jolie, Kelly Kiehn, and Kim Shea, Thanks for letting us race, helping at the track, and holding down the home front when we are not there. I know it is a lot of work. To My Sponsors...Thank you for being part of our team. We truly appreciate you all. And finally our 1X team. These guys come week in and week out buying their own pit passes just to help me fullfill my racing dream. Kevin Lewis, Pete, Andy, Bob, Johnny, Josh, Danny, Jay, Mikey, Mike, Kenny, Brian, Kari..Thank you! To My Father...Thanks for supporting me always and for all your help.
September 16, 2009 ~ The New Yorker 200 has come and gone. Another great night of racing. If you would have asked me before we started the race how I would finish, I would have told you the cards were in our favor. We looked good in practice. We changed a few things. We won our qualifying heat and got a chance to redraw to start the New Yorker 200. I went to the "Redraw" and drew The Pole. We were off to a great start! As soon as the Green flag dropped I proceeded to drop back to 20th. It did take a few laps! I wasn't happy. As a Driver you try to make the best of a bad situation and I managed to plug away and ended the first 100 laps in 4th. As the Lap 100 caution dropped I knew we had a lot of work to do. We had to utilize every minute we were given.
I went out to start the next 100 laps.....We thought we had worked out all the kinks in the pits, but by lap 150 I had a broken axel. This is were they say.. it is just racing, but I was majorly dissappointed!
Don't forget to stop by our pictures tab to see our pictures of The New Yorker 200. Thanks for another great year of racing at Utica Rome Speedway Gene....we had a blast!
September 28, 2009 ~ Since the New Yorker a couple of weeks ago at Utica Rome Speedway we have had several exciting things happen to our racing program.
We are busy getting the 1X ready for the Fulton 200 this coming weekend. It's a Big Block motor race! As always, we will be putting our best foot forward! This year they are adding something new and exciting...The fastest Modified Dirt car in Friday's Practice will be given a guaranteed starting spot in the 200! Saturday is both Qualifying and the Feature Fulton 200. Pray for dry weather as we need Sunday to convert over to a Small Block for the Special event shows at Can Am, Brewerton, and Rolling Wheels during Super Dirt Week.
Our Syracuse program is coming together....We got the car back yesterday (Sunday) with a fresh body! The motor is to be delivered Tuesday night. I am getting really excited. This is a really big deal for me. It will be my first attempt for the SDW 200 in a Big Block Car. It is a dream come true! I want to Thank all the people that made this possible.
On a final note....I just wanted you to know that I am still looking for a sponsor for Syracuse. It's a great opportunity to showcase your business before a large audience! The SDW 200 will be televised at least 4 - 5 times on the Speed Channel. If you know of someone that may be interested. please give me a call!
Later in the week, I will fill you in on all the details regarding SDW! Stop back often! For now, I have to get in the shop and get our cars ready for some really big races. Thanks for supporting me and following my journey! I appreciate you all!! Willy 1X
January 21, 2010 ~ Well, here it is almost the end of Jan already. The off season has gone fast. The holidays were great. Lots of parties and lots of fun. Now we have to get serious about racing, Its just around the corner. We are in the process of planning a schedule for 2010 and trying to secure sponsors to give it our best shot. As of now our plans are to race at Utica Rome on Sundays and the Full Race of Champions schedule. Those are for sure. We are working on Brewerton and Fulton for Friday and Saturday nights. I’ll let you know soon on that. New Sponsors would make the decision much easier.
The off Season leaves little time if you want to be a serious race team! We have stripped the cars and have sent the motors back to be freshened. We are also building a new body for the 1x! The Syracuse car is being put in moth balls to be readied for next year.
The most exciting news to report is we are going to Florida to race the 1x at Volusia. A year ago I couldn’t imagine being able to do such a thing. We were able to work out a deal with Kenny and the Commercial Roofing 10 team to consolidate and transport our cars together. Thanks Kenny, It helps a lot. We appreciate you!
January 26, 2010 ~ As I mentioned in my last weblog I was working on something for Friday nights. I am pleased to announce that I have been chosen to pilot the #10 Commercial Roofing Car at Brewerton! The #10 Commercial Roofing Car is owned by Kenny Saya and maintained by Crew Chief Eric Kingsley. I am fortunate to have been considered, let only be chosen. I am so excited to be driving such great equipment. This should give us a legitate shot at competing for the Championship at Brewerton! If things work out Kenny tells me we may take the program to Saturdays as well. This will definitely keep me busy because as mentioned we will also run our own 1X Car at Utica Rome Speedway on Sundays and The Race of Champions Series! A great Big Thanks to all My Fans and A special Thanks to Kenny and Eric for giving me this opportunity! 13 Days Till I leave for Florida! I am living the racing dream!!
February 6, 2010 ~ Well folks, Its almost here, We leave Monday for Florida. The car is done, everything is assembled and ready to go. All we have to do is load everything up and head out sometime on Monday. Andy, Bill and I went to check out Kenny's hauler on Sunday evening. Its a sweet ride and will be fun to travel in. Our plans are to arrive at Volusia on Tuesday and participate in the open practice session Tuesday night. Then we'll race Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday we all plan on attending the Daytona 500 and will head home after the race. Kim is taking her computer with her and hopefully will be able to report on our progress from the track. Look for our results right here on comeracewithus.com. Racing to win....see you in Volusia!!!
February 8, 2010 ~ I waited a long time over the Winter for today to come. The race car trailer is loaded and the girls have the food all packed! We are Florida bound! I can hardly contain my excitement. If all goes right we should arrive tomorrow morning. We figure it takes about 22 hours total. So for now it is good friends , great movies, and awesome food! Thanks again Kenny for letting us take your truck and trailer. Check back soon! See you in Volusia!
February 9, 2010 ~ We made it! It took probably only 20 hours for us to arrive, but we stopped and had the truck and trailer washed and a long breakfast so it actually took us 22 Hrs. Racing is rained out tonight! Waiting to race! Wanting to win!
February 10, 2010 ~ We had to draw for a starting spot in the heat race! We started eighth and finished seventh. They only took top five. We qualified third in the first consi which gave us a 25th starting spot in the feature! We finish 13th! Having an awesome time. More racing tomorrow....off to bed! Stop back and follow me in Volusia!
February 11, 2010 ~ Wow! What a night! We qualified in the consi in Second place! We started the race in 23rd place and finished in 9th! We passes a whole lot of cars and avoided a nasty wreck! It was an awsome night for us! It started with a 48 place draw out of 50 which placed me last in my heat (12th)! Finished eighth in my heat and still didn't have a good handle on our car! My crew never gave up! They are awesome! Special Thanks to Carl Smith, Bobby Utter, Johnny Thurston, Andy Kiehn, and Bill Shea! You never gave up and kept working to make the car better! I think we are getting close to dialing in Volusia!
February 12, 2010 ~ Rain out........It rained all day! See you at the track tomorrow. Today we are going site seeing in Daytona Beach!
February 15, 2010 ~ Will update this later! We are home safe....see the picture of the bear just added...He hung out in front of the trailers at the track! Talk to you soon!
February 16, 2010 ~ Well we are home! What a week! We had such a great time. We finished 14th in overall points for the week! Not bad considering nearly 50 cars were there. To recap just a bit, we finished 13th the first night after starting way in the back of the field. We really struggled to get a handle on the car as it was our first time there. The next night, we made some major adjustments and were able to finish 9th. We passed a bunch of cars as we started in the last row again! We earned the "Hard Charger" award that night. On Saturday, we set 7th fastest time overall in practice and we were all feeling pretty cocky about how we were going to finish. I had Bobby Utter draw for our heats as I seemed to be really bad at it. Well guess what? Bobby was as bad, he got me another last row starting spot! If I could do it all over again, I would have done something different with our tires as the track didn't respond as we anticipated. We finished 17th. I was disappointed because we were so good early in the evening.
All in all, it was a great trip, we qualified for every feature, finished every lap and was able to load our car at the end of the week with very little wear and tear. I can't thank my guys enough. Bobby Utter, John Thurston, Carl Smith and Bill and Andy. Your the best and thanks for putting up with me. Eric & AJ Kingsley, thanks for your help. Kenny Saya, thanks for getting us there and Jeff Holbrook, for a killer motor!
As soon as we figure out our next move, I will be back blogging and keeping everyone updated. Thanks for reading and thanks for being fans, without you, none of this would be possible
March 22, 2009 ~ Well here it is, almost the end of March and I am already behind on my blogs. Its Monday, we returned home from Selinsgrove early Sunday Morning. We left for the track Friday and got there just in time to get a couple of practice sessions in for the Big Block. Friday's events were for the 358 mods with a Big Block practice session. We were able to shake the car down and try a couple of different set ups to get better. After that we watched the 358 race and cheered on Paul Kinney as he had a very good run in the 358 feature. Not only did he have a good feature run but he qualified in the heat. That was a tough show to even get in, Great Job Paul!!
Saturday was our day. We started by finishing our heat 4th. Not bad but they only took 3 cars to transfer to the feature. This put me on the pole for the consi. But guess what, they only qualified 2 and there was at least 14 cars in it. I was able to hang on and finish 2nd and that put us in the feature starting 21st.
When the green flag dropped all hell broke loose as the 3rd turn was getting pretty rough. I managed to survive and pick my way through the wrecks and finished 10th. Not exactly where I wanted to finish but a top ten is pretty good in that crowd.
We took the car apart already on Sunday as we are preparing for the next race. We had all good intentions of running at Hagerstown next week, but a final decision has not been made yet. I will make a final decision in the next few days and let you know on comeracewithus.com
Our new motor is done, we have to pick it up this week.
Again, I want to thank all my crew, Andy, Bill, Bobby, John, Mikey, Chris, Jay and Josh. You're all great.........the best volunteers ever!
March 29. 2010 ~ Well as you have probably already figured out, we skipped the Hagerstown Race this past weekend. We talked it over and decided that we had better stay home and get a new body built for the 1X car so that Andy could get it painted and lettered by the time Utica Rome opens in less than 3 weeks. We are also in the process of assembling the new #10 car that I will be racing at Brewerton and Fulton. Fulton races in less than 2 weeks and we have to be ready. Its that time of the year and I want to be ready for all of the openers.
We picked up our freshened Big Block last week and its ready to drop in the 1X. Bill is going to pick up a new trailer this week and Kim is putting the finishing touches on a new sponsor proposal package in hopes to attract new and additional sponsors.
By the way, have you seen the new shirts for sale? The artwork is great, Kim really did a great job finding a talent local graphic designer to help her. They are awesome! She has had a small qty printed and has them for sale. Get yours today!!!
If anyone knows of sponsorship opportunities’ please let us know and maybe get us some contact information. We will be more than happy to send the proposal to them and maybe even arrange a meeting.
Well again, its off to the garage, lots of work to do! Thanks for all your support and keep checking back for more news.
April 13, 2010 ~Well, the Fulton opener has come and gone. What a night. As you know, it was a super Dirt Series Race. What a week it was leading up to it. We were planning on racing Kenny Saya's Commercial Roofing # 10 car. The only problem, as of Wednesday at 9 pm, we still had no engine. It finally arrived, and we installed it. My guys are great, we worked until midnight Wednesday and Thursday and past 1 am on Friday to get it done. Saturday it was off to the track. With very little practice on a newly assembled car, I managed to qualify 7th fastest in my group. This put me in a 7th place starting spot in the heat. Guess what, I didn't qualify, had to go to the consi. We made some adjustments, and finished 2nd which put us solidly in the show. We made a few more adjustments for the 100 lapper and started 23rd. After a few laps, I knew I had a good car. By lap 70 I had worked my way to 4th and was challenging for 3rd. Then a dreaded caution came out! I was on a roll and wanted to keep going. When the race went green again, I didn't have the same drive off as before. My Right Rear tire glazed over and it slowed me up. I fell back to 7th and that's where I finished. A little disappointing but overall a great night. We were awarded the hard charger award for advancing the most positions. Have you seen the car? Its beautiful! Check out Race pictures tab!
Next up is Brewerton on Friday in the #10 car then Sunday at Utica Rome in the 1X.
Hope to see everyone at UR, It will be great to be racing again in my back Yard.
April 20, 2010 ~ As you know by now the weekend was a total wash out. Lots of rain. We were ready to go with both cars. We spent the week going over the 10 car and reading it for Brewerton and put the finishing touches on the 1x for Utica Rome. I so much wanted to race!
Did you see the home page. We are having Willie Decker night at "The Tombstone Saloon" May 2nd after the races. Doug from Tombstone has promised a fun night with lots of surprises!! Jabs DJ service will provide the tunes and entertainment. Kim will have our 2010 apparel there for sale. Mark your calendars to attend, I promise it will be a fun night!
We worked all week to get the cars ready for this past weekend. We we again went to Brewerton on Friday. This week my power steering decided to stop working. I struggled all night long even changing the steering box before the feature. It still didn't work. But we did manage to finish 11th. Not what I want but we did have an ok finish. We went to Fulton Saturday night and the race rained out before we even had a practice session. Sunday we buttoned up the 1x cat and headed to UR. The car felt pretty good in Practice and I actually thought we had a good car for the night. The feature started and I quickly moved to second. I rode there for a bit saving my tires and waiting for a caution. Lap 10 the caution I was waiting for came out. I thought the race lead was going to be mine, but when the green flag fell I must have run over something on the track and I shredded my right rear tire. To the pits I went , got another tire and finished 13th. Again, not what I wanted.
After the races, it was Willie Decker Night at the Tombstone. What a great time. I want to thank everyone who was there, its always great to see everyone. I also want to thank Doug and Pondra the owners of Tombstone and JABS DJ service for providing the tunes and entertainment!
Its off to the shop, lots of work to do. We have the Victoria 200 this weekend and I am looking forward to it!
Its Tuesday May 19. We had a great weekend of racing. It started Friday with a second at Brewerton in the 10 car. The work we did on the power steering proved successful and the car worked great. Matt Sheppard and myself waged a pretty good battle to the end with him getting the win and me second. I really wish I had won but we both raced clean and gave the fans a great show!
Saturday it was on to Fulton. We were second fastest in warm ups and I thought wow, this is going to be my weekend. I wound up jumping the cushion and a big chunk of clay lodged in my shock and coil over. It completely took the handle away from my car and we struggled to a 14th place finish.
Sunday it was off to Utica Rome with the 1x. We won our heat and had a good starting spot in the feature. We wound up finishing 6th. Not where I want to be ,for sure, but the car is in one piece for once and now we can work on making it faster instead of just working on fixing it.
Again I want to thank everyone for their help and support. My guys work as hard as anyone and I couldn't do it with out them! Special Thanks to Andy, Bill, Brian, Carl, Bobby, Johnny, Kevin, AP, Wes, Josh, and Pete. Thank you also to Kenny Saya! I appreciate you!
See you at the races.
June 16, 2010 ~Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I have done this. Time flies when your struggling!! Ha!Ha! Since my last blog we had the Victoria at Utica Rome and several weekends of weekly racing. I have to admit, we struggled a few times and it seemed like bad luck was the only luck we had, but it appears we have sorted a few things out and we are on our way back to where our team wants to be. We won at Brewerton and were second at Utica Rome!! That's awesome! I need to thank every one for the countless hours that my crew members have put in. I have the best volunteer crew in the business. I couldn't do it with out them. Carl has mounted more tires in the last month than I think we did all last year! Great job Carl! Last Wednesday we picked up a new car from Bicknell. It will be our second 1x. When its completed we will have a big block and small block car ready to go. It will be a couple of weeks before its ready as we are working it in between maintaining our 1x Big Block and Kenny Saya's Commercial Roofing #10 car. There was some confusion as to why I had the 1x at Brewerton last week. The #10 car has been experiencing some motor troubles. I spoke with Kenny Saya and he decided it was time for new! As soon as we get the motor, the #10 car will be back at the track with Me in it. That's why we had the 1x there. Kenny is a great guy and wants to help us put our best foot forward. Don't forget to stop and see us at the races. Saturday is autograph night at Fulton Speedway. I look forward to seeing everyone!
June 30, 2010 ~ As many of you know, we got our new car together. We had our first ride in it last Thursday in the Thunder on the Thruway event at Utica Rome. I confused some people by installing last years body on it. Hopefully by this weekend we will have the new body ready to bolt on. The car actually felt pretty good, I started 18th and finished 6th. Not bad for right out of the box. Last Sunday we started 10th and finished 7th. I had brake problems half way through the race and had to back off to avoid a crashing.
The #10 car car just got back to the shop last night after a new clip was installed and is ready to put the engine back in. We hopefully will have it ready for Brewerton on Friday.
This weekend should be fun. We are racing the #10 car at Brewerton on Friday and Fulton on Saturday. We will race the 1x at Utica Rome on Sunday! After the races, Doug and Pondra from Tombstone are having a Willie Decker Night at the bar. This starts immediately following the races. JABS DJ service will be providing the entertainment. It should be fun!! I hope to see everyone there.
Again, I want to say thanks to my crew. Your the best. Lots of late nights and long hours on the weekends. I couldn't do it without them!! And thanks to you fans. I truly appreciate your support.