The week of Richmond was very busy in the shop.  Along with the Richmond cars, we had to prepare two cars for a test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte.  I am actually sitting in the tower high above the front straight here in Charlotte peaking over my computer screen to see when Juan will be coming out for the next run. Richmond was a bit of disappointment, but you have to keep an open mind when you are short track racing.  Anything can happen!  After a very strong qualifying effort it was looking like it was going to be a good night.

Once again it was a very exciting week in Talladega.  The Superspeedway races are so different than any of the other tracks, you almost need to be in a different “mode” than normal.  The crew chief swap this week took everyone by surprise and everything went really smooth this weekend in regards to all of that. 

I must first apologize to everyone who has been checking in to read this week’s blog, wondering what went on at Texas.  This week has been a blur and we are already on the plane heading to Phoenix.  The Texas race was quite frustrating.  We never could get the handling quite right all weekend.  I think it is a mixture of many things and they are being addressed.  These cars are so difficult to get the handle on.  Everyone on the track is having difficulty getting it correct.  I don’t think any car in the field handles well, some just a tiny bit better than others.  With the old style of car you could get the set-up close and the driver could make up the rest because the car had a much lower center of gravity and considerably more front down force.  This made the cars much more driver friendly, they could actually hustle them.  The new car is like trying to balance on a knife edge, it is so easy to fall on one side or the other. 

I hope everyone is having a good week so far!  Sorry for the delay this week.  We were the “random” finisher after the race chosen by NASCAR for a complete teardown.  We were at the track for an additional three hours then had to drive home, so it was a pretty late night.  We had a good day at the shop today preparing a speedway car for the wind tunnel to get ready for Talladega in a few weeks.  I spent most of the day on it making sure the radiator pans and a few other things are just like they will be in race conditions so we can get some good info. 

The weekend in Vegas was truly unique.  After being the fastest car in the two day test early last month, we were looking forward to the Las Vegas race.  When practice began the car was handled nothing like it did at the test.  The set-up was the same. We knew it was fast, so there was no reason to change it.  The only thing different was the weather. During the test it was quite chilly.  I am not sure what the temperature was but you did need a jacket to be outside.  When we came back for the race it was quite hot -enough to where sun block was in order.   But anyway we struggled terribly.  The car was ultra loose and with even huge changes on the first two runs, Juan lost the rear of the car and wrecked between turn one and two.  The car never looked right from the start; it just wasn’t “in the track.” Meaning it never got down in the corner to carry any speed.