After a rough couple of weeks we were looking forward to getting out to Sonoma for a road race.  We were looking for a solid top-10 run to get some momentum back for our team after some terrible finishes of late.  Michigan was so bad, when I left the track I also left the race there with it.  I apologize to those of you who were looking for a blog all week…I simply did not know what to say.  But this week we were in sunny California and had a more competitive run.

First practice went remarkably well.  The guys made many changes to the car to try different things and although the car would not run a super fast time, it was very consistent having a good pace throughout a long run.  The car was much better during qualifying this year and Juan secured the 21st-starting position.  Final practice was spent trying a few pre-determined set-ups during long runs and trying to determine correct gear ratios as the pace slowed down because of old tires.  We do lots of things at a road course preparing for the race that we usually do not do at a normal track for us.  Some of the things are replacing the entire clutch package, installing a new gearbox, installing a new gear and driveshaft, brand new rotors and brake calipers and really put an emphasis on brake cooling.  Road course racing is very hard on equipment and we try to prevent any kind of failure.

When the race started Juan was on a mission.  I am not sure how many cars he passed but it was quite a few and it put us in a very good position.  The first stint was very long and included a green-flag pit stop.  Crew Chief Brian Pattie brought Juan down pit road for tires, fuel and some minor adjustments.  It was perfect timing, because on the way out of the pits there was a caution on the track.  On this track it was OK because the leader had not yet completed the laps because it takes so long to make a circuit. We were still on the lead lap and when everyone else pitted it put us in second place!  Only a few cars were on the same strategy as us.  When we went back to green the leader drove off course and created a huge dust cloud.  Juan had to lift momentarily to avoid the spinning car and the 18 car barely squeezed by to take the lead.  Although we wanted to lead the race, it was still very early in the running.  After another green flag stop and another perfectly timed caution we maintained the second position going into the final third of the race.  We were very lucky with the way the cautions fell, it is about time something went our way.  The competition was getting a bit stronger and we were getting a little bit of pressure for second place.  The 26 car was getting closer and he had the 21 car getting closer to him.  Going into the most critical turn on the track, turn 11 the 26 car had a bit of a run on Juan, which was no big deal, but at the same time the 21 car was trying to pass the 26! They went into turn 11 three wide.  I told Juan to leave a lane on the bottom and he did, but the 21 car of Marcos Ambrose ”dive-bombed”  the both of them,  hit  Juan in the rear,  spun us out, and ruined any chance of battling for the win. I was really angry because I knew the chance of a win was over, but the race was not.  Juan did a great job recovering and avoiding another huge accident.  We came home with a great sixth-place finish!  We really needed that run to get us going again.

Now it is off to Loudon, New Hampshire for a flat one-mile oval.  I am looking forward to this one also.  Juan runs good at Martinsville and this is just double the size…twice as fast right?  Have a great week and I will talk to you after Loudon!      

-Tab