Smoke Hound

 Tonight was definetly a night that I will never forget, all though some people may think that I'd like to forget. It really was a fun couple of days at the 8th Annual Miller Classic and Kory Sites, driving my car. With the bent rear axle replaced and the front end adjustments made, with 2 new tires and all the tires specially prepared, plus some adjustments to the weight jacks and a 3rd place starting position, we all expected a good night. However, (anybody who has been reading the articles on this website, is probably used to the "howevers") on the 2nd attempt to get the race started, Kory and a lot of other cars were involved in crash on the exit of turn 2. We could not see the amount of damage to the #16 car from the pit area grandstand. As tow trucks kept removing cars from the crash, suddenly the sound of an engine is heard from the accident scene and the #16 pulls away under it's own power. (another however) However, the right side quarter panel is sticking up over the frame rail and the roof is buckled and sticking up about a foot higher than it should. The rear bumper cover or tail piece was ripped off and there is all kinds of exposed bars + braces and there is no sheet metal around the right rear tire at all. Kory pulled the car off the race track and all the people we had helping us, plus a bunch of guys from other crews all started securing sheet metal with wire ties and bungy cords. Kory started the race from the rear. With the 2 front tires pointing way out of the proper toe setting, Kory started his battle to the front. With an ill handling car, Kory muscled the car and got the most that could be gottin' out of his damged racecar. On lap 49 of 50 laps, and running in the 8th position, the rear differential broke and the car stopped moving on the front stretch. Kory was later scored a 13 th place finishing position.

 Had a fun filled weekend and got a lot of help from Kory, Lisa, Dan, Marchelle, Doug, Duane and his family, Julie, Jack, Jim, both Pats, both Jim Rosts, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some people, but, Thank-You all !!!

 The night did not start off very well at all. When I tried to start the engine to warm it up before the practice, it would not start. We had no spark. Big thank you to Pat McNeal who loaned us a brand new distributor. With the help of all kinds of people, the distributor was changed and the timing set and Kory was able to run the car in the 1st of 2 practices. Kory's wife, Lisa, pulled the "pill" for the starting position for the heat race and pulled #1. Kory started on the pole and led all 10 laps to finish 1st in his heat race. The first 2 finishing positions from all 4 heats were eligible to run a "Dash for Cash". The dash finishing order and the winner of the dash, drawing for the inversion, would set the starting order for the top 8 positions in tomorrow's 50 lap feature. Kory finished an impressive, 3rd and the winner drew a "zero", so the way you finished in the dash is the way you start the dash. So, we start 3rd in the 50 lapper. Great Job !

 Had all kinds of help tonight! Can't even remember everybody"s name who helped out. But all the help was deeply appreciated. Got to get up early tomorrow. Got to replace an axle that is bent and make some adjustments to the front end. No damage from contact, that's a good thing. Got to leave the house around 2pm, so no time for goofing off.

 Smoke Hound Racing will have a "hired gun" driving the #16 Street Stock at the 8th annual Miller Classic at SSP this Friday + Saturday. Kory Sites drove the car earlier this year and brought home two 3rd place finishes in the same night. Kory drove the car for the Silver Spring Speedway Reunion race. The race got raied out before the feature could be run. So, Kory drove the car for the makeup feature and the regular scheduled race for that night. Kory and his mechanic, Dan, have helped me out a lot the 2nd half of this season, both with the racecar and driving advise. Kory loves to drive and he's good, so I asked him to drive my car. I love to drive too, but with a very good run at Williams Grove 2 weeks ago, I'll just hang on to those memories to keep me motivated over the winter.

 Good Luck to all the teams at Susky this weekend! A large car count is expected and only 24 cars will qualify.

 What a way to end the 2011 Street Stock season at Williams Grove Speedway. After finishing 10 th in points the last 2 years, this year was tough. I believe I'm about 16th in points this year. With 1 - 9th place finish and 2- 10th place finishes at Williams Grove, this has not been a good year as far as the standings show. However, with a 3rd place finish in my heat race and a 5th place finish in the feature, I sure ended the season on a happy note with a season's best finish tonight. Full field of 24 cars were on hand tonight. Car ran great! First time with a video camera in the car and got some great video too.

 Look forward to Oct. 21 + 22 at Susky for the annual Miller Classic.