From the Seat!

Gateway International Raceway, the next to last stop on the CES trail. The illustrious Gooseman (?) and I pulled into Gateway Thursday evening it was 101 degrees! Thankfully the rest of the weekend milder conditions prevailed if you call high 80's and low 90's mild. If you think the weather was hot the competition was even hotter. Fields were a little smaller than normal with the World Nitpicking Associations Grand Nationals being held on the same weekend and The Rock Island Grand Prix being just a week later. Nonetheless those that came definitely came to race.

Friday practice was relatively uneventful. After battling a problem (Note; A self induced problem at that!) for two sessions we got on the right track and "Lucille" our potent Tony/Honda began to post some good numbers. By days end the Gooseman (?) and I felt we were in the hunt. After practice we chilled for a while in the garages and a special thanks goes to Tom Koutney for the refreshing beverages.

Saturday morning dawned warm and clear and an upbeat mood was in evidence until I threw the car off the track during the first round of practice. Damage was minor but frustrating as the amazing Gooseman (?) and I got ready for qualifying. During qualifying we set our best lap of the week to this point, but (There is always a but) so did most everybody else with seven tenths of a second covering nearly the entire field. Result? We lined up eighth.

Time for strategy. Knowing that a huge draft would form this driver decided to hang around the end of the lead draft and wait for the end to make a move. Making a good start (Surprise!) I was fourth into the first turn from my eighth starting slot. A pack of seven cars comprised the lead draft with yours truly working his plan and hanging onto the end of the 100 mph train. Ace flagman Earl Clements gave the two to go signal and I started to get into position. White flag! Oh geez I had better get up there quick! Making a strong run I gained on the leaders only to catch a lapped car in the long right hand sweeping infield turn and that was it. Strategy be damned I wasn't in position and crossed the line sixth. After spending most of the night beating myself up we were determined to have a better result in Sunday's event. Congratulations to Clayton Prater on another strong win.

Sunday was indeed another day. Practice session number one was used to scuff in a new set of tires. Now time to qualify. Infuriatingly I wound up alone during my qualifying run and with no one to help me move the air we were .01 faster than the day before. Once again the field was covered by less than seven tenths and once again we lined up eighth.

Race time! (Cue the theme music from Jaws). This time I would take the fight to them. Making a killer start (Big Surprise) I jumped from eighth to third going into one. A lead draft comprised of yours truly, Prater, O. J. Wharton, Scott Barnes, Jason North and Tim (Jaguar) Barnard broke away from the pack. Each of us took turns leading the pack only to get quickly freight trained back to fifth. The battle truly raged with nobody giving an inch. About lap ten O. J. slingshotted into the lead going into turn one arriving at turn two probably faster than he had all weekend. O. J. got just a little out of shape and slowed slightly. Prater having no where to go bumped Wharton and around he went. The pack scattered with Barnard slipping through unscathed and taking a commanding lead. Quickly Barnes, Prater and your truly lined up three deep and ran Barnard down in short order. Once again the battle raged. The lead pack was now down to a furious foursome and "Lucille" began to control the lead of the draft. Cool! I said to myself as I enjoyed my stint in the lead. Flagman Earl gave the three to go signal as I continued to lead the snarling pack. Two to go was the signal from the flag stand as "Lucille" and I marched across the line leading the pack of heathens. Next lap the white flag flew and still "Lucille" was bellowing mightily in the lead. Cool! I thought again. Oh, Oh, wait a minute. This is not where I need to be. Diving into the infield on the final lap I slowed slightly, driving wide opening the door for somebody to pass in order use the draft to my advantage. There were no takers. Leading onto the oval for the final time there was nothing to do but go as fast as I could. Leading through NASCAR 3 and 4 I ducked my head made one defensive move across the track and charged for Earls waving checkered flag. At the last possible moment Prater popped out of my draft and we sprinted wheel to wheel for the flag. Alas the illustrious Mr. Prater edged me out by .07 second with Barnes and Barnard in a dead heat only .03 seconds behind. What a race! In racing like that there are no losers. Do the math, first through fourth crossed the line in exactly one tenth of a second. As a bit of a bonus this driver teamed with "Lucille" set the fastest lap. The smile on the notorious Gooseman's (?) face told the whole story. This is what racing is supposed to be about.

Next stop IRP which I am now told will be run in the normal direction. The south end of the road course has been re-paved and while the rest of the track is bumpy it is manageable for sure. This will be the final CES race of the season and the inclusion of SKUSA Great Lakes should bump up the ante. I for one am looking forward to this event and hope to see all of my campadres at a track that is literally in my back yard.

Until next time, Race Hard, Race Safe and God Bless America

Greg Wright
Rapid Racing Inc.

"When in doubt, gas it. It won't help but it ends the suspense."