The annual Petaluma Big Dog Nationals was hitting town this last Saturday night. Kristen and I were hand selected to be the pit crew for this event for no other than the Last Minute Hillbilly Race Team. My Brother John was racing #80 and being my third time, I knew this was going to be a big night for the team. After changing a tire and setting up all equipment for the night we headed to the drivers meeting. Hmmm anew rule instituted this year, if a track member, helps in any way to fix or repair a car, you would then lose you position and be put at the back of the pack. Little would we know that this would come back to bite us later in the evening.
Got the tires up to the correct pressure, yes all 4 are different and I must check them before any race. If the right rear does not have at least 16lbs and John finishes in the standings, he would be disqualified. I think this levels the playing field. He ends up starting the heat race in 9th, and after a slow start he starts picking them off one by one while avoiding all accidents (I don't want accidents, then I have to work harder : )). He ends up in 6th position at the end which is good enough to transfer him staright into the "B" Main. Wow first time I ever seen him in the B, so I am excited, especially since he says the car is perfect. Well of course I open my mouth and tell him his shot down the straight aways aren't as fast as last year. Well it gets him thinking so we do a shock change to soften the initial grab coming off the turns since the track is soft. Turns out to be a good choice. After trying to light the BBQ and finally getting the Pork Loin over the coals (that was so tasty , good job Shirley) we headed out for the "B" Main. I don't remeber where John started, it was way back there that's all I know. He worked his way up to fourth but in doing so, his sheetmetal on the passenger side was flapping in the wind, which made for unsafe conditions. So I ran back to the pits and got all needed tools to do a quick repair, only to find out the Track dude stuck some tape on it and remember that rule, yep John got shoved to the back of the pack. It was okay because John was mad, and when he is mad, it's like he is on a mission. One by one sometimes two a turn, he worked his way back to 5th to finish the race, The top 6 transfered to the "A" Main, so this meant John had a chance to take to big purse of 2.5k. After some quick sheetmetal repairs, 10 gallons of fuel and tire pressure checks, he was back out for the main event. Well lets just say he made the big one, which made me and Kristen very proud. He had some unfortunant damage in the first two laps, then some motor problems, so he ended up not finishing, but all in all it was a great time and Shirley found a new mud scrapper for next year. Kristen really enjoyed herself and since it being her first time to see the cars race on mud, she was just amazed. We'll get them next year. Last Minute Hill Billy Race Team is linked to my blog go check it out and see if he is coming to a town near yours. "Last Minute HBRT" is the link name.
