My dad has a phrase he uses when things go very wrong at the racetrack he tells me "It must be your turn in the barrel." Well this weekend we must have taken the Barrel with us to Lakeport for the three-day show Memorial Day weekend.
Mom and I took Friday off work so we could get an early start for the long tow. We arrived at Lakeport Speedway about noon and saw Jack Humphrey unloading next to a big tree, it looked like a great place to pit so we parked next to him. After setting up our pits we went out for hot laps. The car felt decent and I though we would get better as the track cooled down. We qualified 7th and then lined up 10th after we drew numbers for starting positions. On the green I got in line with everybody else and we just circled the racetrack looking for a way to pass. On lap 10 I managed to get by the 43 car on the inside and on lap 11 got by the 0 car on the inside as he had broken a tee fitting and was spraying oil on his front tires. We managed to finish first in our division and 8th overall but we were disqualified in tech for having to long of a wheelbase. We went back to the pits and phoned my dad and told him that he needed to where his bifocals when reading a tape measure, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
That evening we went to dinner with the Legends to this little ma & pop restaurant. After finding a place to sit were asked to move to the back of the restaurant because me being a big guy, where I was sitting it made it hard for the waiter to get in and out of the kitchen. Lets see D.Q.ed from the race and told to move to the back of the restaurant, could this day get any worse. Yes it could, they forgot about us in the back room where we were sitting with some of the Winchel clan. We were the last ones to order and they had sold out of everything except pasta, So we ordered pasta. Everyone applauded and cheered when we finally got served our dinner.
Saturday we got to the track at 9:00 to get ready for the parade and no one was there. The rest of the guys got there about 10:30. When the cars were ready we hooked them up three to a pickup and towed them through town in the parade. The parade was a blast dodging horse crap on the road but the real fun part was driving them back through town under there own power. We got to light up the tires a few times to show the crowds that these aren’t just toys, but real race cars.
Back at the track we got ready for the semi pro trophy dash, we started in 4th position. On the green I managed to drop to the inside and got by the 7j car that I had been helping all weekend. On the next lap I passed the 0 car on the inside. On the next lap all hell broke loose as I was making a pass for the lead the 13 car and I got together, he backed it into the fence as I went spinning over the curb and through the infield. The 0 car slowed and the 7 car went though for the win.
We fixed the front of the car and reset the tow out and then lined up for the main event in 8th position. As we circled the track I noticed the car felt funny and when I hit the gas I knew immediately what the problem was, I had broken an axle in the trophy dash when I hit the curb and went spinning into the infield. I pulled immediately into the pits where one of the track officials drove up and asked me if I could fix it, if I could they would hold the race for me. I told them no, It was bigger than a flat and to go ahead and run the race. "There are some real nice officials at this track". I pulled the axle as mom went over to Chris, the owner of FRE (Finishline Racing Equipment) and purchased a new one with last weeks winnings. With a little help from Jack Humphrey's lasso I managed to get the broken piece out and the new axle back in time to go to the BBQ.
At the BBQ, put on by Sue Currin and Treasa Andrews we ate, drank, and talk about my bad luck with the rest of the drivers. A real good time was had by all.
And now for the topper we got to the track at noon on Sunday, put in three hot lap sessions, the car felt very fast which was good because we were starting dead last in the final 40 lap main event of the evening starting about 10:00 p.m. On the green flag I got the 0 and 43 car on the outside and was working on the 16 car when CRASH! I had been hit from behind and knew from experience that my race was over. I got the car to the pits where both Pat and Richard Appleby were waiting to see if they could fix it. The damage was to severe so they just helped load it on the trailer.
Aside from the fact that we never finished a race all weekend long, except for the one we were DQ in, and the car got wrecked twice, we had a great time racing with the Legends. And I can't say enough about the Lakeport track a great racing facility under the trees.
I sure hope my time in the barrel is over, I would like to do some racing this next weekend.
Fred #55