I started racing 270s in 2005 and up to last night I never thought I would win a race in this division. I raced them off and on up and till 2014 where I decided to come back full time. I lost my job and took a year off. Came back and ran mid pack at Path Valley and then decided we needed a change. We went to Linda’s to race against the best to improve my driving and learn more. We got 2 cars off of Bob Harron and learned a lot from him! We switched to DBY engines built by one of the best engine builders there is, Kent Weiss. We began to get faster and faster thanks to Bob and Kent. They shared knowledge and pointed us in the right direction night after night. We made mistakes, a ton of them. We got really fast with our 2016 car, and finished 5th in points at Linda’s. We purchased a new car and struggled the first couple nights and as a driver I got into my own head questioning and doubting myself. We went over the entire car found some mistakes and fixed all of them. Thank you to Jake Jones for a bunch of pointers with the car and most importantly tires!
We took a chance and decided to try the changes we made and go to Selinsgrove. We didn’t know what to expect and got some gearing help from Dennis McKeon. The car was fast from hot laps but ran out of gear down the backstretch. We made some changes for the heat starting 6th. On the start the car was hooked up and fast going from 6th to 3rd. 1st and 2nd placed cars were battling which allowed us to gain on them. While making a move to go under 2nd place car the leader and 2nd place cars got together and I nearly missed both cars. We would go on to win the heat race which would line us up stating 2nd in the feature. On the first start the leader caught me off guard going in the middle of 3&4 and pulled away. Yellow came out when a bunch of cars got together, so the start got called back and we would try again. This time he would not catch me off guard and I kept him close and I kept my foot down on the throttle hitting the brakes to stay with him. On the start I would get to the corner first and pulled away. After a few laps I didn’t hear or see any cars close, I began to drive smarter and save the tires entering the corners. I didn’t went to spin the tires too much and burn them off. I had to make the tires last. I began to run down lap cars, I didn’t pull the issue till I saw the first lap car which I knew I had to get around him quick. I went around the lap car with 2 to go and then yellow. Normally I would over think things and mess up on the restart. I kept myself calm, cleaned my tires off, slowed the pass down a little and made my decision where to fire. I launched the car down coming off of 4 and took off. On the start the second place car put his nose under me and then I knew I had to drive harder. With 2 to go I had to put it all out there. I drove the hardest I could but not to spin the tires and won. I never actually saw the checkered flag only the yellow coming back around again for the cool down lap. This was all for fun and I was comfortable again in this seat.
I couldn’t have done this with a bunch of people. Thank you to Katelind Klinger for supporting me to get back into this and going fully into it. My little crew chief Mason Klinger, always telling me to have fun and drive like him! Kevin Messimer who has my back no matter what happens. Matt Trace, Theresa Ziegler and Marty MacDonald for all the support even when I’m done and out. Kent Weiss for always pointing me in the right direction with setup helps and building the best motors for us. Bob Harron for helping me get quicker and quicker. Terry, Charlene, Dennis, Jim, Robby, and Dave at RTS Chassis for all the support over the years getting us what we need and pointing us in the right directions. Dan from DBY Motorsports getting us bad ass fast cylinders, cranks and engine parts! Joe from Precision Hydraulic & Oil for getting us the best gear oil, chain lube, and grease to make sure our cars are well lubricated. Jeff from Wing Dynamics building us our wings and the fast turn around when we junk one. Richie and Chad for making our cars look great on the track. Steph and Jake Jones for always leading us in the right direction when it comes to safety gear, fuel, tires, and other parts! Kevin at Awesome Race Tee’s for working with us getting killer shirt designs. Gary at Fasteners Specialities for product get rod ends, and parts. Tom and Tabitha from Cammac Racing Supply getting us the wheels and parts we need to continue to race. Tim and Garry for always getting us great pictures!
Thank you to all of our sponsors, parts providers, and supporters who made this possible:
Touch of Color Flooring / Bill and Joe Hamad
Miller's Racing Parts / Jake Jones and Steph Jones
Auto Core Recycling / Brian LeFebvre
Finders Keepers / Mike Gandy and Liz Rose
2 Dirt Track Divas / Kat Scruggs and Brandie Bear LeFebvre
Rts Chassis
Cammac Racing Supply / Tom Sigley and Tabitha Sigley
Elite Racing Imagery / Garry Ferguson and Tim Basehore
Precision Hydraulic and Oil / Joe Infante
RRi Designs LLC / Race Ready Ink / Chad Baker and Richie Dobson
DX4 Powder Coating / Devin Beidel
Fastener Specialties
Kevin Quirk Racewear, Inc. DBA Awesome Race Tees
Velocita-USA
Superfly Performance Shocks
BWSPORTS1 / Checkers and Wreckers / Matt Trace
NANO Pro MT - Superior Lubricants
Advanced Racing Suspensions
Aunt Jayne’s Jewel / Jane Ahrens