Coming into this weekend our Pabst Racing 3Dimensional #20 machine was right in the fight for the championship, sitting second. Mathematically, the leader would have to have a bad weekend and we would have to have a great weekend, but that's why we go racing! We put the car 4th in qualifying with more improvements being made to our set up.
Race One
We started race one in the rain, on rain tires. As we all know, racing in the rain can cause issues!
Going into turn 1, the car to my right was hit from behind and they both shot across my bow. I braked hard and steered left, successfully avoiding their wreck which set me back to 6th.
Yep, that's me where you see the red arrow. Getting back on the throttle I found myself in the hunt with the leader of the championship just two cars ahead. Only a few laps later I passed into fifth with the leader in my sights. I was then unfortunately crashed into from behind due to them misjudging the spray from the rain and my rear tire was cut. That meant a trip to the pits for a new one and not the finish I was hoping for.
It's unusual to see me motoring around by myself. This was when I rejoined the race after the pit stop for a new rear tire. In our series, if you have to go in for a tire or front wing, you'll end up at the back of the pack. Which took us out of the contention for the championship.
Always great meeting fans between races.
Race Two
Ready to rock for race two. And, fortunately, no rain! I started third and the race was pretty uneventful with little passing.
I did however have to hold off a hard charging team mate for most of the race. In the end my tires went off and I wasn't able to defend his pass, so he took my third spot and I ended up fourth.
Due to the cut tire in race one I ended up third in the championship. A mere 10 points behind number two.
A frustrating end, with a result that I had no control over. The next day in the Indycar race, I watched Scott Dixon get crashed out on the first lap of the race. Like me, he was in contention for the championship. And then in an instant another driver spoils it. Racing can be cruel, but we always push on.
My New PNW friends and Fans
This year it has been my good fortune to make a new set of friends and fans hailing from the Pacific Northwest. I now have a small team from this group helping me out in various ways. They invited a number of friends to experience the race weekend with me and the team, and some of the contacts I now have in the Indycar series.
Conor, Adam, Jamie and Cooper meet Mr. Firehawk.
Conor, (me), Phil, Rick, Cameron and Andy. Great vantage point for viewing the Indycar race.
Our group hanging out with Bryan Herta. Bryan has been at Andretti for a long time. Along with an impressing driving resume, his time as a team owner and one that had multiple wins at the 500 makes Bryan an amazing person to learn from.
Conor has a Corvette that he races and is well known in the SIM building and racing world.
Mark, Jamie and Cooper got to meet Colton Herta.
Talking things over with Mark. A HUGE THANK YOU to Andretti hospitality for welcoming me and my PNW friends and fans.
Comments