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August 28:  Yup you're right it is Saturday but we went to I-20 tonight especially for Tim Burelson who is the Track Chaplin there. He was putting on a "Faster Pastor" race. If you're unfamiliar with one, the basics are: a few Pastors, Preacher, Priests or generally, men of the cloth.  Some donated race cars, in this case it will be Stock 4.  Get them in some safety gear.  Put them on the track for 5 laps and presto, you have a "Faster Pastor" race.  Well Tim got to drive our car, and with a little mixup with the flagman, who was supposed to give them a couple laps of practice laps before they raced, dropped the green flag and poor ole Tim was way back there.  That's  where he stayed but afterward sounded like a kid who found the candy store ungaurded. They all had a blast thought and September 23rd we will have one at the Doc' and I'll have more on that later.  Right know on to Jim's exploits with the track and car. Now get this, Jim pulls a 77 on the pill draw and then gets to start 3RD in the 1st heat.  Not bad, hate to see what the other draws were.  Now at I-20 you get 3 laps of hot laps right before you line up and race. Jim was super happy with what he saw was going to be a GOOD heat race.  Well we line back up for the start and coming outa turn 4, Jim's looking for the green flag, opps, forgot, they don't throw a Flag, they turn on the GREEN light.  OK driver error 101.  Jim gets on the gas coming outa turn 2 after losing 3 spots. Going into turn 3 he catches one and passes coming him outa turn 4, not bad. Next couple laps gets by a couple more.  He said he knew someone was on his bumper cause he felt a couple of nudges but without a mirror he said "couldn't worry about what ya can't see".  Good news, finished 4th and was still running strong.  Well we get back to the pits and check the car over and the tires are all happy, there's a minimal amout of mud on the car, it's not over heating and I had a Mud Clod in my face. With the Faster Pastor race at intermission and we were 2nd feature after that. We had to get ole Tim outa the car and Jim in and buckled up. Plenty of time and Jim being a little anxiuos, was the 2nd car in lineup. Ok onto the track and coming into turn 3 before the green flag, Jim checks his brakes and noticies they are feeling VERY soft but here comes the green flag and we're off into turn 1, outa 2 going into turn 3 he gets a car under him so he plans on crossing under the car coming outa 4 and cuts down thru a rut and gets a little loose.  No harm, dosn't loose any spots. The car feels a little ruff in the rear thought but gets up to the wall past the flag stand turns to go into turn 1 and oohhh dog biscuts we're waaay loose, rut row, rut row, rut roooooow.  Jim then realizes that the ruff feel down the front stretch translates to a flat right rear.  Well he gets his hand up and gets the car high up on the track to get away from everyone, no problem they all miss us, BUT, Jim now notices the braks arn't soft anymore. They just ain't not no brakes, oohhh Rut Rooooooooooow!!  Well with dumb luck (?) and skill (?) and a whole lot of steering wheel (?), Jim keeps off the wall(and I had a VERY good seat looking at it) and gets back in the pits, and loads up. Flat tire is one thing, no brakes at I-20, I don't thunk so.  But hey, it was a blast while it lasted.
   OK this weekend, Modoc Speedway, the Doc'!, 2 day race.  Heats and Qualifying, Hobby Pit Stop Challenge, Pig Pickin' and Live Band afterwards.  Then on Saturday 50 Lap $2500 to Win Hobby race and extra money for all the other classes and, the return of the mighty, the exciting, the ever amazing, you may not believe your eyes Powder Puff race returns for the 2nd time this year.  Jim will again have Linda Seifert driving the ole MaSCOM Racing, The Stamping Place and Scrapebook Station, Safe-Quip Race Products, Pro-Blend Mustang.  So be there or you're going to miss a great show.  Scooby Doo here and signing off for now so have a "Scooby Doo Week"!

  
September 2 & 3;  Well here we go with a two day show for Labor Day weekend. But first our hearts and prayers go to all involved with Hurricane Katrina.  Outside of rising gas prices, we havn't seen the true cost of this horific tradgedy yet. It's not just lost lives and destroyed  property, but in what it will do in changing the way some things in our country will be done in the future.
   Getting with the program, Jim gets a decent starting position in his heat lining up 5th.  He's already told me we are going to the front tonight and when the green flies, so do we and Jim quickley works into 3rd and the cars is FLYING.  With 1 lap to go coming out of turn 3 one of his competitors pulls a banzi move and blows into our side but Jim keeps it off the wall and gets a line down the front stretch only to had the other car slide in front of him.   Then to make matters worse, the car goes SIDEWAYS and slow dramatically coming to the checker and Jim punts him. Opps!  Well Jim loses 3rd by about 6 inchs of the other cars rear bumper. Oh well that's racing.  No one hurt and boths cars seem ok. Now after all the heats are run tonight it's time for the PIG PICKIN' and some live music. Seems everyone had a blast and later in the evening a few were still attempting to dance. Well around 2am we decided time to pitch the tent out back and get some shut eye. 
   Saturday morning we get a little late sleep and finally Jim and Duck,(who was able to join us this weekend along with his car) finally they get their tails up and after awhile start messing with their cars. Jim does some clean up so he can see the car and discovers the radiator has been knocked off it's mount.  No problem, a little losening here and there and it pops right back in.  Later Jim has been having a slight brake problem and Duck and him both go over the brake system and finding no leaks blead the system.  Jim's satisfied and time to kick back till everyone else decides to come and race.
   Race time soon gets here and Jim goes to his 4th row inside starting position.  At the green he moves into 7th. Now the 6th place car seems to be having a hard time deciding a particular line and usually it's changing severl times in a turn it seems..  Jim has to check up twice and bump it once. Then going into turn 3 on lap 4 gets passed.  Falling in behind the passing car they both have trouble with the 6th place car.  2 laps later they both are going high in turn 1 to pass and Jim goes through the one and only hole and both front tires decide they no longer wish to hold air. Rut Rowwww!  Well Jim tries to stay on the track but slides over turn 2 and then finds out the before mentioned brakes no longer exist.  After a not so long decision process he decides that taking the car to the pits and leaving it there is most likelly the best course of action.  But the car was working so well.  Ahh that's racin'. By the way, ole Duck managed to get a 4th place finish outa this.
   Well we're gonna take 3 weeks off. Jim gets to go service the SCCA road racers at their Nationals and he has to get the trailer ready and then off to Mid Ohio Sports Car Course but when he gets back we goin' huntin' for bear. Are bears bigger then me?  While we take the time off, Modoc is hosting the UMP Open Wheel Modifieds this weekend and what a race it should be. Then the September 23rd Friday they will have their Faster Paster Race and you REALLY have to see these Pasters race.  Oh well in the mean time have a Scooby Doo time and we'll see ya in 3 weeks.

 
Sept 30, 2005; Well we're back. After being off for 3 weeks Jim was really anxious to get back to racing. After having some troubles in our last race and knowing that he had the handling of the car figured out, he was ready this Friday night. During the couple of days he had to work on the car, Jim replaced the strut, ball joint, brake line in the right front and relined it all up.  In hot laps the car was really working well in the slick mud. In the heat he lined us up inside 2nd row and when the green flag flew jumped into 2nd only to be passed by a car who then bounced of the leader going into turn 1.  A quick tense moment coming outa turn 2 and he gets back in 2nd place.  The leader is now loose and Jim didn't trust him to pass him high and kept trying to make the bottom work but with a loose car in front of ya, you can just do so much and Jim wasn't going to punt him for the win and finishes 2nd.  Feature time, Jim had to get some gas and due to some difficulties at the gas pump, he is late coming to line up. He's able to line up in the 6th spot and at the green gets into 2nd place by turn 1.  Now the leader is no longer loose and Jim is doing what he can to stay with him until lap 7.  That's when we had the sudden departure of air from the right front tire. After a quick jump in the pits, he's able to fall into 5th a ahlf a lap back and finishes in 5th. Could have been worse, could have been better, but we did drive it up on the trailer
We WILL have the air escaping the tire problem fixed next week.  Have a Scooby Doo week and next week we will be racing on SATURDAY at the Doc' .