Dacono, Co 6/1/2019 – Starting outside the front row in the pure stock feature, I maintained 2nd place behind Ronnie Johnson for several laps. We had a tight battle at the front with a half dozen or so fighting for position every lap. I made a move on the inside of Johnson and some others behind charged up at the same time leading to an incident which unfortunately took out Johnson. I led the race for several laps after that, working hard to hold off Justin Karrol, but ended up getting loose in turn two and Karrol was able to take the lead. I continued to fight hard to regain the lead and hold off the moves coming from behind for the next several laps. Then with around 12 laps to go I spun in turn three. I had been getting looser every lap and I thought it was just that we were racing so hard, but it turns out another car had been leaking oil which brought out a red flag for a good 20+ minutes while the track crew cleaned around the entire track. Since my spin was determined to caused by the oil on the track, I was put back into 2nd place when we returned to green. I continued to fight Karrol for the lead for the next several laps. Then we had two late race cautions. The final yellow left us with a two lap showdown. I shot out front on the restart, but Karrol got under me in the turn and was able to hold onto the lead. It was a wild two lap showdown. On the white flag lap in turn 4 I attempted to take Karrol on the outside going as hard as I could without hitting the wall, but I got too sideways and Jacob Poole was able to get under me and beat me to the line. This was the most fun and intense race so far, and I was pleased with my third place finish. I didn’t mind Poole taking 2nd too much because he let me shadow him in the pits last year and gave me a lot of advice about getting into racing.
The timing system failed during qualifying. Evidently, they used our practice times which put me in the fast dash. The fast dash had an exciting start with an agressive and bunched up field. We went three wide a few times, but when I found myself on the wall side of a three wide, I had to lift to save the car and five other cars rushed past me. I decided it wasn’t worth it to fight back for dash points, so just cruised at the back of the field.
After the races in the pits, I must have had around 100 people stop by to say they were rooting for me and ask about the car. I signed my first autograph for a kid. Many people are interested to learn more about Cannabuddies. One couple even told me a story about how Cannabuddies had gone out of their way to help a terminally ill child. What’s really funny is have I had at least five groups of fans come up to me saying they were taking bets among themselves on what kind of car I have. Apparently people actually get in arguments over whether it is a Monte Carlo or a Nova. For the record it is a 1972 Monte Carlo with a Nova right front fender and hood, and Chevelle bumpers. I was a really exciting night of racing. It’s great to know the fans are enjoying the show rooting for the Wild Deuce! I believe the points will shake out with me taking the lead in the season championship. Thanks again to my sponsors Cannabuddies.com, Shreck’s Auto – thetrailerexchange.com, Relogic – relogicbrokerage.com, and Forward Graphics – forward-graphics.com.