January 2009
The '09 season has officially begun and we had a great start! Over Christmas break my dad and I traveled down to Daytona, FL for Kart Week and the WKA Karting World Championships. During race one, I was leading the race and blew a head gasket. Although slightly disappointed, I couldn't help but keep a smile on my face because I knew that the kart would be fixed for race two and I'd be ready and well equipped to take the win.
But of course this is motorsports, so it didn't go quite that smoothly. During warm-ups the next morning my rear axle snapped in half at over 100 mph while going down the front straight. Luckily God was watching over me and I simply coasted down to the apron of the track instead of going for a wild ride into the wall. I rushed in with the kart and with the help of all of my friends and my dad we had the kart race-ready in about 40 minutes.
I started 2nd for the race and had a great start. By the end of the first lap there was about 4 or 5 of us slicing and dicing to stay in lead draft. For the last half of the race it was down to me and two others battling it out for first. On the last lap the 3 of us went 3-wide across the finish line. I finished 2nd by inches.
Thanks to all those who made this weekend possible:
-Team Spencer Motorsports
-Juboy Racing
-Phillips Race Engines
-Josh Lane
-Screamin' Nuts Racing
-Turn Key Marina
-Snap-On
July 29, 2008
A few weeks back I got the opportunity to go back to sort of my roots in racing. As some of you know, I grew up around vintage racing right along side my dad who manages a vintage racing team. After graduating from high school and doing a lot of racing on my own, it got harder to do that. But a few weeks ago I had the privilege of traveling and crewing with my dad once again at Road America for the Kohler Challenge and 50th Lola Anniversary. Although I wish I would have been driving something, I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Sunday at the winner's circle, Dan Davis of Victory Lane Magazine and Dave Handy of Sasco Sports presented me with the Ryan Handy- Youth in Vintage Racing Award. Receiving the award brought tears to my eyes. Ryan, you will forever be loved and missed.
Following the Road America weekend, I headed to Indianapolis for the Women in the Winner's Circle Luncheon hosted by Lyn St. James. Along with getting to see all of my girlfriends in racing for the first time in awhile, I got to meet a lot of people in the racing industry. People from NASACAR to Grand Am and everything in between. I never realized how big of an impact women are making in racing until I attended this event. Thanks again to everyone who helped put it together!
Now, for the BREAKING NEWS! Just recently I was given a legends car to start racing. Although I would ultimately like to race open wheel, I think every good driver needs to be well versed in both road racing and oval racing. I hope everyone gets a chance to come out to Lanier Speedway and see me race! I will be putting up a schedule soon of the races I'm doing. Also, this weekend I will be attending the Dale Jarrett Driving experience at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Wish me luck!
May 10, 2008
Last week was a very exciting one to say the least. On Wednesday, I finished up my first year at Georgia Tech and on Thursday I got to drive in my first pro racing event. Thanks to Lyn St. James and Jim Jordan at Mazda and the SCCA Pro staff, I got to drive a MX-5 Cup car for Hale Motorsports during the HSR Walter Mitty at Road Atlanta. Along with driving the Miata, I drove the MGB GT V8 with HSR. The start to my dream come true.
The MGB went very well. As soon as I got back in the car, my confidence was back to where it was last time I drove it at the SVRA Road Atlanta race. The hour-long enduro was quite the adventure. It was my first race in the rain. Unfortunately, the only thing we had for rain conditions were 12-year-old intermediates. Needless to say, tires don't get better with age. The feature race on Sunday went a lot better. I started 22nd and finished 19th overall, 1st in class, and turned my fastest lap time yet. One thing that I love about historic road racing is the experience I get from racing with such a wide range of cars. At any point during the race I can be dicing it out with anything from a Mustang to a Datsun to a Porsche. In some ways I feel that it keeps my mental game at the peek of its performance. All of these cars have their weak spots and their strong spots and you have really think ahead of time about what the car in front of you might do when you’re trying to take over their position. For instance, the Mustangs will absolutely fly by the MGB on the straights but they aren’t quite as agile when it comes to the turns.
On the other side of the track, was the Miata ride. Friday was my first time in the car, but it was qualifying so I didn't have much time to get comfortable. That was our only session for the day. Saturday was race day, the second time in the car. Because the track was still a bit wet from the rain, we wanted to wait until the last minute to decide if we wanted to run rain tires or slicks. Making the wrong decision can really hurt your performance. If you chose to run a rain tire when the track is dry, you will have about the same handling performance as if you were to run a slick in the rain. When the track is wet, but drying at a fast rate, tire decision is crucial. Unfortunately, we made it to pre-grid 2 minutes late and I was forced to start from pit lane after the rest of the field took the green. Because I didn’t know the car very well, I was a little nervous about what it would handle like considering the track was a little wet and my tires were cold. For the first few laps I couldn't get off my mind how frustrated I was with the penalty situation, but it didn't take me long to realize the wise words of Dennis Spencer of Team Spencer Motorsports, "Race the track, not the guy (or girl) in front of you." After clearing my head I noticed not only a big improvement in my performance, but how much fun I was having. It was such a delight to see Scott Spencer (Dennis’s son and fellow racer) after the race and to talk to him. Sometimes it helps to see another perspective on the race.
Overall the car was a lot of fun to drive and a great learning experience. The car was like nothing I had never driven before. Hopefully, I will get the chance to do it again.
April 3, 2008
Hey Guys! If your in the North Georgia area on Friday April 4, tune in to WDUN News Talk 550 at 7:40 am for my live interview with Joel and Bill about my racing career! If you're not from around here, you can hear my interview at www.wdun.com
Also, don't forget the HSR Walter Mitty is only a few weeks away! Bring the family to Road Atlanta and come hang out with the crew and me. I will be racing a 1972 300 hp MGB V8 Saturday and Sunday so come on by and cheer on our team!
March 19, 2008