Wilt Racing: 2006 Nicholas
Sunday, March 252006 Season Begins
25 Mar 06. Talon chassis worked hard in the off season on the 160 car, and we got a few short practice sessions in before the race. The Talon chassis team worked even harder and into the early morning hours to finish up the Sr. Honda car (Thanks to Kevin, Paul, Troy and Blake). Early practice showed the 160 car was fast. After making 3 axle changes to the Sr. Honda car, we got it right with only 5 minutes left in practice. Nicholas would hit the track first in the Sr. Honda car. He was the 8th car to qualify out of 21. What a rocket! His fast time of 6.407 would put him fastest and over a half a tenth under the track record. Teammate Ryan Blaney would qualify 2nd fastest with a 6.409. In the 160 car Nicholas was 13th out to qualify in a field of 15. He would put down a fast time of 6.188 and would end up second fastest. Ryan would qualify at 6.206 in 3rd. What a great showing for Talon in qualifying for the first race of the year.
Sr. Honda - Nicholas would line up in 5th. The car was a rocket in warm-up, and it looked as if he would go to the front quick. Nicholas gets up to 3rd at the start but got shuffled back a little on a restart and falls back into line in 7th. Several other cautions would fly and brake checking up front was hurting Nicholas and the car. Nicholas would get hit in the rear and hit several cars in front of him when getting brake-checked. The car never appeared to be the same after these hits, but Nicholas would work hard and finished in 6th. A good points night all in all.
Lt. 160 - Nicholas would start in the dreaded 4 spot. At the start he finally finds a hole and gets into 8th. He gets one spot early on and finds himself in 7th. Nicholas is working hard on the car in front of him but keeps having to lift as the car is blocking going into the turns. Nicholas finally gets under 6th in turns 3 and 4 but backs out of the pass as the car pushes him down. Going down the front stretch Nicholas finally gets the advantage and makes the pass with about 10 to go. He quickly catches the other cars in front of him but runs out of time and would finish 6th. However, when the finish is announced, they announce Nicholas in 10th. For some reason the judges made a DQ call on Nicholas for having all 4 wheels under the speed bumps. What a horrible call!! First, there are no speed bumps to go under (stealth bumps, not a legal call). Second, and most importantly, our video shows the right side wheels are never under the red line in any turn or even close. Third, does anyone think a Lt160 car can get all 4 wheels under red at full speed on virgin concrete along with cold weather and not put that car and the car it was passing straight into the wall? I know Nicholas is a good driver in a great car but…..well, guess they saw it otherwise. What a great first race for Nicholas in the Lt 160 car which would end up being ruined by a call that could not be legally made and would not be a good points night because of the DQ.
Saturday, April 15
No Points Today
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Sr Honda Heat Race - Nicholas continues to pick bad starting numbers. He would start in the 9 hole out of 10 cars. Nicholas jumps into 8th at the start. He continues to work his way up the field in the 25 lap race. Caution flies with 5 to go, and Nicholas is in 5th. On the restart he makes a nice pass to grab 4th. With 3 laps to go Nicholas gets under the 3rd place car and is closing on the leaders. The leaders are crossing each other up, and Nicholas tries to get under them with 2 laps to go. He gets pushed down into the speed bumps by the leaders, and he and the second place car spin out. Nicholas gets a charge call (GLASSES). Nicholas would go to the back with 2 laps to go. He makes 2 nice passes and comes home in 8th. Fastest car did not win.
Sr Honda A main - Nicholas lines up in 8th in a 10 car field. 1st caution flies, and he is up to 7th. Next caution in 6th, next caution in 5th. Nicholas moves into 4th and is quickly pulling in the top 3 cars with only a few laps left. Once again the top 2 cars are crossing each other up and changing positions in each corner. Nicholas remembered what happened in the first race and chooses to check-up and loses 2 spots. With only 2 laps remaining, he was not able to gain those spots back for a 6th place finish.
Lt 160 heat race - Nicholas gets a little better starting position in 5th out of 6 cars with the top 3 transferring to the A main. In warm-up the car is flying and appears to be significantly faster than nearly everyone. Coming out of turn 3 with a few seconds remaining in warm-up the car locks up. We initially think the engine has seized. However, the front wheel bearing seized, and the wheel would not turn. Nicholas would not get to start the race and would have to run the B main.
Lt 160 B Main - Starting 5th out of 6 cars in the B main with 4 to transfer. 1st caution flies after a few laps, and Nicholas is in 4th. Nicholas works his way quickly thru the field and takes the lead half way thru the race and never looks back to take the win. Way to go Nicholas!
Lt. 160 A Main. Starting 7th in a 10 car field. Nicholas jumps to 5th on the first lap. He works his way up to 3rd and is quickly pulling in the leaders. He comes out of turn 4 and loses a little control of the car and has to lift and drops back to 5th. Caution flies then a red flag due to a wreck at the back of the field. I talked to him during the red, and he realized what he did wrong and said he thought he could get the car back up front. The race goes back to green, and Nicholas works his way back into 3rd and is once again pulling in the leaders but runs out of time to finish a strong 3rd. The car was fast, Nicholas was on his game pretty good but is still realizing how much faster the 160 car is compared to the Sr Honda car.
Nicholas had a special visitor to watch his races today. Mackenzie English
drove all the way from Pennsylvania to watch him race.
Saturday, April 22
Mother Nature Wins
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Top 3 advance to A main. Nicholas finally had a good starting spot and would line up in 3rd in a very strong 8 car field. Nicholas held onto 3rd with teammate Ryan Blaney leading the field. The car was a little on the loose side but was getting fast with time. Several cautions would fly which did not help. Nicholas would fall back to 5th half way through the race but worked his way into 4th when a caution would fly with only 3 laps remaining. The 2nd and 3rd place car get under the leader on the restart, and Nicholas follows. Again just like last week, the leaders decide to cross each other up and swap positions in each corner. Nicholas learning from this last week makes a great move coming out of turn 4 as the white flag is getting ready to fly and pulls away from the 2nd 4th place cars to bring home the win. Great racing action the entire race, and a great move at the end to get the hard-earned checkered flag.
Sr. Honda A main - Rained out.
Lt. 160 Heat Race - Rained out.
Lt. 160 Main - Rained out.
Saturday, May 6
First Cup Race of 2006
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This would be Nicholas first Cup race of the 2006 season and only his 5th race in the 160 car. We would only race the 160 car today to keep him focused on this race. Nicholas looked good in warm-up early in the day, and the key would be a good qualifying effort to make the A-main. It was qualifying time, and Nicholas would have a fast lap of 6.298. This was good enough for 4th fastest out of 14 cars, and only .06 off of fast time; however, this would put Nicholas in the 2 hole for the A-main. Nicholas was ready to roll for the A-main. The car was fast in warm-ups, but the weather got pretty cool, and the car was a little on the loose side. We were afraid coming out of the 2 spot Nicholas would have to work his way back up the field since the outside line usually goes straight to the back. Well, Nicholas got a great start and coming out of turn two, he somehow got the lead. As luck would have it the caution flies, and he would have to restart in the #2 slot but at least it was single file. On the restart Nicholas got another great start and would take the lead again; however, the caution would fly again and loses his lead. Nicholas gets another good start and keeps his second spot, a few laps later he takes the lead and guess what the caution flies again. Restart #4 he still holds onto second and gets beside the leader, and they bump. Nicholas does a good job to keep the car from spinning out or flipping and holds onto second but lost a lot of speed and gets freight-trained back to 5th. He works his way back up to 4th with 16 laps to go when another wreck happens that causes a red flag. I talked to him during the red flag, and he said the car was really loose, but he thought he could get back up front. Nicholas then works his way back up to third closing in on the leaders when the second place car breaks which causes a caution. 6 laps left in the race, on the restart Nicholas peeks a few times to take the lead but must have felt he did not have the grip to pass and comes home in second, right on the winners bumper. A great race for Nicholas in only his 5th 160 race gets him a second place trophy in the Lt. 160 Carolina Cup Race.
Saturday, May 13
Fast but Tampered With!
13 May 06. Weekend Points Race #3.
Sr. Honda - Nicholas looked great in warm-up, and we were expecting a great day. Nicholas would be the next to last car to qualify and hits the track fast. His times were great on the watch, and his fast time of 6.416 was good enough for a new track record; however, the last car out to qualify would run a 6.410. His time was 2nd fastest out of 18 and would put him in the #4 hole for the A-main. Teammate Ryan Blaney was 3rd fastest out of 18 and a great showing for Talon Chassis. A-main time rolled around, and right before we went out Kevin noticed a zip tie missing out of one of the shocks. Was the car messed with???? Nicholas hit the track, and he normally looks like a rocket, but the car seemed to be off the pace. The green flag would fall, and Nicholas finally found a hole in 8th. He would then fall to 9th with only 5 laps in and was well off the pace. Was the car messed with???? Caution would finally fly with about 14 laps left, and we brought him in the pits. Kevin put 3 rounds in the car, and Nicholas went back out in 10th. The car was still not right, and he was only able to make 1 pass in the last ten laps and would finish in 9th. Was the car messed with???? A great effort by Talon Chassis teammate Ryan Blaney would bring home the win.
Lt 160 After a trying warm-up session and making several changes, we were confident Nicholas could make the A-main, which he needed to do. Nicholas was again the next to last car on the track and would rip off a fast time of 6.230. We actually put him on the clock early once his times were fast enough to make the A-main. He was only .021 slower than the fast time (2nd out of 17 cars). Teammate Ryan Blaney also puts in a great qualifying effort and is 4th fastest putting both Talon cars in the A-main. Again, this qualifying effort would put Nicholas in the 4 hole for the A-main. Nicholas gets a good start and finds a hole and grabs 5th on the start. The car has a ton of grip, but the top 7 cars are running about the same speed and lined up nose to tail and passing is difficult. Finally a caution flies with 9 to go. After the restart, Nicholas loses two positions and finds himself in 7th but works his way back up to 6th. Caution flies with 3 laps to go. Nicholas gets a great restart and takes 5th from his teammate and finishes in 5th with Ryan in 6th.
Nicholas had visitors again. Grandma Molly and Pappy Steve from Pennsylvania and Uncle Jeff and Aunt Wendy from North Carolina were in attendance for Nicholas' races.
Monday, June 5
Summer Heat Series Begins
5 June 06. Weeknight (Summer Heat) Points Race #1.
Sr. Honda After a rain delay, Nicholas would hit the track for qualifying. The track was a little on the green side, but Nicholas would still put in a great qualifying effort with a fast time of 6.493. This would make him the fastest car in the 13 car field. His time was nearly a tenth and a half faster than second place. Race time the field takes the green with Nicholas in fifth. At the start Nicholas gets jammed in the middle of the field, and a car flips in front of him. He makes a nice move to avoid the accident and only takes a little bump. He finds himself in 6th for the restart. The car is a little tweaked because of the bump during the wreck, but he is up to 3rd with 18 laps left. On the restart he pushes a little high coming off of turn 2 and finds himself back in 5th. Several more cautions would fly, and Nicholas would never get another chance to move back up thru the field as time expires. Teammate Ryan Blaney would take the checkered flag win for Talon Chassis. Great race Ryan.
Lt 160 Qualifying would be rained out for the 11 car Lt 160 field. The field would start with the numbers drawn for qualifying which would put Nicholas in the 6 spot. Nicholas finds a hole in 7th at the drop of the green. Nicholas is working his way up and finds himself in 4th with 14 laps to go when a car spins right in front of him. Nicholas has no place to go and hits the brakes hard and spins out the car. A great move by Nicholas, but the hard stop and spin out broke a radius rod. We bring him in and great pit work by the Talon crew would get Nicholas back out on the track. Nicholas comes back out on the track in 11th and makes a few passes. Another caution flies, and we decide to bring Nicholas in for some more front end adjustments. Nicholas goes back out with only a few laps remaining and works his way up to 9th when another caution flies, and time runs out on the race.
New Track Record With Bad Racing Luck
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Sr. Honda – Nicholas had a good practice session in the Sr Honda car on Friday, and he was fast. It was time to qualify on Saturday morning, and he hit the track flying. He would record a fast time of 6.393 which would be a New Track Record. This time would hold for the rest of the 20 car field and was a half a tenth faster than second fastest and would put him directly in the A-main. Nicholas was ready for the A-main and was confident he would do well. The car was fast in warm-up, but the #1 car would hit the pits as time would expire which would move Nicholas from the #5 starting spot to the #4 hole. Nicholas finds a hole at the start and stays in the 4 spot. Caution flies. Race restarts, and Nicholas quickly moves into 4th with 34 laps left. Nicholas is working on third place when the third place car gets loose. Nicholas gets under him, but they bump and Nicholas gets a (BAD) call. We bring him in to let him know he is fast. He works his way back up to 7th when another caution flies. On the restart the car in front of Nicholas gets a little loose. Nicholas is able to check-up, but the car behind him bumps him and pushes him into the car that is loose, and the car in front spins out. Don’t know what the judges saw, but somehow Nicholas got another call which would DQ him from the race. Once again the fastest car would not win the race. Great racing and two bad calls, but that is racing.
Lt. 160 – Nicholas had an interesting practice on Friday in the Lt. 160 car. The car was fast, and we were working on a long-run set-up. Coming down the front-stretch another car got into him flipping him in the air into a barrel-roll. His car finally landed in turn 1. He was fine, but the car needed some repair. With time running out in practice, we had to work fast. The car got repaired, and Nicholas hit the track again. The car was good. It was time for qualifying Saturday morning, and after setting the new Sr Honda record, Nicholas was ready. He rolled off a fast time of 6.300 which was good enough for 4th fastest out of 18 cars and would put him in the A-main. Race time came, and he was ready to go especially after having a fast car in Sr. Honda and not having any luck. Starting out of the 2 hole Nicholas finally found a spot and came out in 6th after the first lap. The car was fast, and he was working on 4th place when he pinched the car low to get under another car that was holding him up, and he spun it out. He would restart in 10th with 14 laps left. We brought him into the pits to make a few adjustments we felt were needed to take him to the front. Nicholas quickly works his way up to 5th, and the caution flies with 10 laps to go. On the restart several cars up front bump, and Nicholas gets involved in the accident with his tire stuck in another car’s nerf bar. Nicholas works his way up to 3rd with 3 to go when the caution flies. On the restart several cars in front bump, and Nicholas taps the car in front of him. He gets a call! He goes to the back with still 3 laps remaining. He does his best and picks up a few positions on the last two laps and brings it home in 7th. The car was fast, but once again the luck did not fall Nicholas’ way. The monkey on the back seems to be growing and holding on with a tight grip.
Saturday, June 17
The Monkey Grows
17 June 06 (Weekend Points Race #3).
Sr. Honda Heat races today instead of qualifying. Nicholas would start his heat race from the #6 spot. The top 3 would transfer directly to the A-main. Nicholas gets a good start and finds himself in 5th. Working his way up the field Nicholas is behind the 4th place car, and that car spins. Nicholas gets a call (WOW)! Nicholas would restart in 9th, and the front cars brake-check on the restart. Nicholas has to hit the brakes hard, but jumps up on the car in front of him and knocks the toe-out of the car. We bring him in for a quick alignment and send him back out in 9th. With less than 15 laps remaining Nicholas has his work cut out, but has a fast car. He quickly works his way thru the field and battles with the 3rd place car. Nicholas realizes this is the last transfer spot so instead of passing back and forth he waits until he exits turn 2 on the last lap to make the pass and brings it home in 3rd. Great job having to come from the back several times to advance to the A-main. Nicholas gets the #5 spot for the A-main and is very fast in warm-up. He gets a great start and is in 3rd by the end of the first lap and is quickly catching 2nd. Nicholas works on second and gets around the car quickly and draws in the leader and takes the lead by lap 5. Nicholas and second place are quickly pulling away from the field and catching lapped cars with 17 laps left when 9th and 10th place spin right in front of Nicholas. The track is blocked with nowhere to go. He hits one of the cars with his front end. We bring the car into the pits. Everyone works hard to fix the car, but it is beyond repair to get him back out on the track on-time. Nicholas would finish with a DNF in 10th. What a bad deal. On a positive side teammate Ryan Blaney would once again take Talon to Victory Lane. Could have been a first and second for Talon.
Lt 160 Nicholas drew a good starting position for the heat race, and would start from the 3 spot. Nicholas quickly works on the leaders and finds himself in the lead by lap 10 with his teammate on his bumper. With 5 laps to go Nicholas and Ryan have nearly a half-lap lead on the rest of the field when Ryans car spins out. After two more cautions and many caution laps, the race restarts for the final time with 3 laps left. Nicholas tires have cooled down, and he gets passed by the second place car but would hold on for a second place finish and would advance to the A-main. Bad luck finish in the heat race turns into luck for the start of the A-main. Nicholas would finally start from the #1 spot. The race goes green, and Nicholas and the #2 car are battling coming out of turn 2 and down the backstretch when they hook wheels and hit the wall. Nicholass chain comes off, and we have to bring him in the pits. Nicholas goes back out to the tail of the field and starts working his way back up to the front. The car is fast and he is on a roll. He works his way up to 4th when a caution flies. On the restart a car gets loose in front of him, and he taps the rear bumper (no time to check-up). The car in front spins out, and he gets a call! To the back again. Red flag flies with 10 laps to go, and I have a talk with Nicholas. He tells me the car is fast but wonders what the judges are looking at. I tell him to drive smart and try your best. He says I think I can get back into the top 5. Race restarts with 10 to go, and he starts picking off cars one by one but is very careful about what he is doing and has to check-up several times as cars block him. Several more cautions fly not helping his progression, but he works hard to bring the car home in 5th when the race is called for time. Another fast car, some bad luck (the monkey continues to grow) but a decent finish after passing a bunch of cars several times.
Tuesday, June 20
Luck Changing???
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Sr. Honda After spending Fathers day repairing the car from Saturdays wreck, we were hoping everything was fine. Great support from the Talon Chassis crew again ensured we would be ready for the race. Nicholas took the track for a few laps of practice, and we felt quickly the car was fine. It was a very hot day, and we did not want to put many laps on the tires. Nicholas hit the track for qualifying and ripped off 3 quick laps and a fast time of 6.416. With only 3 warm-up laps Nicholas thought a few more and he could have broken his own record. This would set fast time for the night and was nearly a tenth faster than the second place car. 30 laps/15 minutes. He would line up in 5th for the start and quickly worked his way up to second. With about 15 laps to go Nicholas decided it was time to take the lead. He passed the leader on the front stretch and held the lead coming out of 1 and 2. The second place car was right on his bumper, and they were pulling away from the field. Nicholas was very smooth and did not make a mistake. He caught the rear of the field at the right time and made the passes quickly. He would take the checkered flag and give Talon another Sr. Honda win. Great race!
Lt. 160 A quick test session before qualifying showed the Lt. 160 car was still a rocket. Nicholas hit the track for qualifying and would run a fast time of 6.370. We probably made a bad call on tires, and this would end up being 3rd fastest in the 10 car field. A tire change for the A-main, and a driver who was ready to get the monkey off his back was on the menu. 30 laps/15 minutes. Starting in 3rd Nicholas finds himself in 3rd after lap one and was quickly working on 2nd. He quickly gets second and pulls in the leader. Nicholas and the leader go back and forth for several laps when they catch a slower car. Nicholas gets a bad break and gets stuck on the outside and now finds himself in 4th. He quickly gets back in the gas and works his way past 3rd and 2nd and again pulls in the leader. He makes a great move and takes the lead with 10 to go and pulls away from the field. He takes the checkered flag for the win and another win for Talon for the night. A very exciting caution free race, great driving by Nicholas, and as always a great car! Hopefully the monkey that has grown into a gorilla is now gone!
A fantastic night of racing. Fast time in Sr. Honda and a win, 3rd fastest in Lt. 160 and a win!
Monday, July 10
Great Talon Night and Riding a Bike!
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Sr. Honda. Once again Nicholas was FAST in qualifying. He would turn a fast time of 6.440 which was good enough for fast time. He would start the A-main from 5th. Nicholas gets a great start and grabs the lead by lap 3. 1st caution flies with 17 laps to go. Teammate Ryan Blaney gets under Nicholas on the restart, but Nicholas quickly gets back into the lead. Another caution flies with 7 laps to go. Nicholas holds the lead on this restart, laps several cars and brings home another Sr. Honda win for Talon Chassis, with Talon Chassis teammate Ryan Blaney in 2nd. Good job Nicholas and Ryan.
Lt. 160. Nicholas hits the track for qualifying and was fast but not as fast as usual. He would run a fast time of 6.325 (5th fastest), bad tire choice; however, this would give Nicholas the #1 spot for the A-main. Nicholas starts the race and holds onto the lead. The tire change has made the car much quicker. Nicholas holds onto the lead and begins to lap several cars. The second and third place cars can keep up with him but cannot make the pass. With 6 laps remaining the car bikes (two left side wheels off the ground) coming out of turn 4. The car continues on two wheels all the way down the front stretch, headed right towards the flag stand, and we just knew it was going to flip. At the last second and out of choices Nicholas taps the brakes and somehow the car comes back down on all 4. He dumps the car back in line and holds onto 3rd. He actually catches 2nd with a few laps to go but was still probably catching his breath from his wild ride and comes across the line in 3rd with Talon teammate Ryan Blaney winning the race. Ive never seen a car bike that high for that long and not go over, WOW! Great run Nicholas and Ryan.
Tuesday, July 18
Strong Finish and Destruction!
18 July 06.
The cars were torn apart last weekend in preparation for the grands so we knew we would be fast. With departure only two days away we just wanted to survive with no huge wrecks.
Sr. Honda Nicholas would hit the track for qualifying and as usual had a rocket. His fast time of 6.359 was faster than his track record, but records were not open for this race. His time was nearly 2 tenths faster than the second place qualifier. Starting 5th in the 11 car field, the green flag flies and a 3 car wreck. Nicholas bumped the car in front of him when everyone brake checked, and he would get a call. We bring him in to let him know he got a call and needed to race smart so he wouldnt get another call. He went back out in 11th and worked his way up making very nice passes but at the same time being very patient. Red flag comes out with just 5 laps to go, and Nicholas is in 5th. We did not need the red flag. Race restarts with Nicholas in 4th. He continues making nice passes and would finish a strong 3rd right on the leaders bumpers. A few more laps or one less call and the race was his. Nice work dude. He keeps his lead in points with two races remaining.
Lt. 160 Nicholas hit the track hard again for qualifying, and the car was fast. He would run a 6.239, but he would just fall short of fast time and be second fastest. Lining up in the dreaded 4 hole for the A main in an 11 car field. Green flag drops, and the field is flying. Coming out of turn two the leaders get together, and the second place car hits the wall. Yes, we are in 4th with nowhere to go. Nicholas hits the second place car and then takes several hits from other cars behind him. Red flag flies. We go out to look at the car, and it is trashed!! No way to fix this car in time, and Nicholas would get a 10th place DNF. This would really hurt Nicholas in the points. Hes in second, but this wreck will probably put a Lt.160 Championship out of reach. It looks like this car will be getting stripped back down before the grands with only two days left before departure.
Saturday, July 22
Vega's, Bad Calls, No Luck, Chain = Bad Grands Trip
22 - 29 July 06.
Western Grands (Topeka, Kansas)
Sr. Honda
Practice Session 1. The car looked great, and Nicholas was by far the fastest car in his group. He was very happy with the car and from what we can tell it appears at this point in time we are easily in the top 10 fastest cars. However, the Vega tire has thrown a big monkey wrench in our plans, and it appears all the cars faster than us were on Vegas.
Practice Session 2. We would use this session to test the Dunlops and the Vegas. Again the car was fast on the Dunlops. We bring Nicholas in and bolt on the Vegas. They are also fast and possibly even a little faster. We do not learn a bunch from this session because it was only 4 minutes, and the changes we had to make took a little too long. It again appears we are easily in the top 10 and probably in the top 5 fastest cars.
Qualifying Always the most critical and nervous day. Early qualifying showed the Vega tires appeared to be a little slow. As the session went on, we began to feel a little uncomfortable we were going out on the Vegas as times had slowed down. Well, it was time for us to make a big error. We (being myself, Kevin, Paul and Troy of Talon Chassis) decided to take off the Vegas and go with a brand new set of Dunlops. Never make a change in staging has always been my motto, but we felt this was our best bet and maybe getting a little greedy. It was time for Nicholas to hit the track, and fortunately none of us has puked yet. He takes his first warm-up lap, and the car is very loose. He continues his warm-up laps, and the stop watch does not look good. Nicholas would do a great job handling the car and ran a fast time of 6.613. That time is 2 tenths off of our practice times and by far the slowest laps we had run in Topeka. This would put Nicholas 44th fastest in an 85 car field. Instead of being headed to the A or B main, we were now headed to the I-main. Dont make changes in staging, and Chris you know new tires have never worked at Topeka!! (Handlers shouldve listened to the driver who said NO CHANGES!) Those darn Vegas have possibly ruined our week. However, we know we have a driver that can make up for our mistake.
I-Main Nicholas was still very confident he could take this car all the way to the A-main. Starting in the 3 spot, he grabs the lead just 5 laps into the race. 1st caution flies with 15 laps to go. Nicholas gets passed on the restart but quickly gets his position back because of another caution before the lap is finished. He keeps the lead on the next restart. The remainder of the race stays green, and he totally dominates the race. Lap times are down in the 6.40 6.45 range which would have put him in the A-main for qualifying. Nice run and his first Grands race win!!
H-Main Starting in the 6 hole Nicholas knew he had his work cut out for him. He falls into 5th at the start and quickly starts picking off the cars in front. He again gets the lead just 5 laps into the race. The second place car stays close, but they both dominate the rest of the field and lap up to 6th place in a caution free race. Same lap times as the I main proving he has a rocket, but he is going to need plenty of good luck and some race breaks to make it to the A. Nicholas is pumped he has won his second race at the Western Grands!!
G-Main Starting again in the 6 spot. This start was not near as good as the field was bunched up, and Nicholas is not able to find a hole. He finds himself in 10th. The car starts to come to him a few laps in and he is now on the move. With the rest of the field staying in place Nicholas works his way up to 5th (the final transfer spot). However, he bobbles a little and lets the door open and 6th, 7th, and 8th place pass him. Nicholas again works his way up to 6th and is working hard on the 5th place car when the caution flies with 3 laps to go. Race restarts, and Nicholas makes the move coming out of turn two to pass the 5th place car. They are running side by side as they pass the JUDGES STAND, and the outside car turns down. He spins himself and Nicholas out. Call is made on Nicholas; I have no idea what the _____ the judges were looking at. So, with 3 laps to go Nicholas goes to the back. He again works hard and begins to work his way back up but runs out of time. Nicholas crossed the line in 9th, but a bad wreck and a flipped car has his final finish of the race as coming in 7th. Just missed being the X car for the next main. BAD, I mean a really bad call takes Nicholas out of the grands with possibly the fastest Sr. Honda car present. This brings our trip to Kansas to an end. Nice job racing, dude!!
Lt. 160
Practice Session 1 Nicholas hit the track, and his car was fast. Again, just like the Sr. Honda car it was the fastest car in the group and looked very good. The session went very well, and Nicholas was again happy with the car. From what we could tell just like the Sr. Honda car we were easily a top 10 car.
Practice Session 2 We would use this session to test only the Vegas. Nicholas hit the track and again the car was fast. It looked very stable. Nicholas would spend the entire 4 minutes on the track so we could tell what the Vega tire would do on the long run. He again was the fastest in his group, and it now appears we have cracked the top 5 in speed of the Lt 160s.
Qualifying After the big mistake we made on the Sr. Honda, we did not even take an extra set of tires to staging. Nicholas would be towards the end of the 160 group to qualify, and it appeared we were in very good shape with the times that the other cars were running. We took the car off the stand, and our bad luck would continue. As we rolled the car forward, the chain was binding. The car went back up on the stand with only a few cars in front of us, and adjustments were made. Again, with no luck we put the car down, and things were not better. Now, with only 1 car in front of us Kevin made the only call possible, and we made an axle gear change hoping the chain would stay on. I pushed Nicholas out, and the chain did not come off. He hit the track, and his first warm-up lap was FAST. However, as luck would have it the chain flies off the car, and Nicholas would not get another lap in. No idea why the chain was binding, but this was not to be our day, and a day we will all want to forget. Nicholas ends up being the only car to break during qualifying and receive a no time out of 81 cars. He would move up to 78th as 3 other cars were disqualified during tech after qualifying. Again, this time due to mechanical problems an A or B main car would start the grands in the P main.
P Main We would catch our first luck (yea right) as only 4 of the 6 cars would show for the P main. The handlers voted not to run the race. They would transfer according to their qualifying order.
O Main Nicholas would start 7th in the 10 car field. Not having a bank full of tires we would have to run this race on Dunlops hoping we could get several races in until we had to use the Vegas. Caution flies on lap 2, and Nicholas is up to 5th. Caution flies again, and Nicholas is up to 3rd. Another caution flies and then a red flag but he is now in 2nd. The race restarts, and Nicholas takes the lead! With about 12 to go the 2nd place car catches him. He smartly gives up the lead but gets right back into second. The third place car catches him as the top 3 are hitting lapped cars, but knowing he is still in a transfer spot he gives that position up also. Nicholas stays right with the leaders to come home a strong 3rd. This was Nicholas FIRST ever transfer at a Grands event. Nice smart racing.
N Main Starting in the 8th spot and again with Dunlops on. Quickly he gets into 7th when the caution flies just 3 laps into the race. The race restarts, and Nicholas cannot gain any positions. It appears all the cars are pretty equal. Caution flies with 11 laps to go. We decide the only way we are going to transfer is to make the tire change to Vegas. We bring Nicholas in, make the changes, and I tell him how many laps are remaining. Race restarts, and Nicholas is a rocket. He is picking off cars left and right. He gets up to 6th with two laps remaining and passes the 5th place car as the white flag is getting ready to fly. The car he passes tries to cross him up and slams into Nicholas left rear tire as they are going into turn 1 for the last lap. Nicholas controls the car, but the chain flies off. The checkered flag is flying as he limps down the backstretch and hits the pits. No luck again for Nicholas as he had a rocket after the tire change and put himself into a transfer spot. Great race again man with absolutely no luck! A Grands to forget because of Vegas and a chain.
Sunday, August 5
Breaking His own Record!
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Nicholas was really ready to rock and roll back at NCQMA after a Grands that brought him 0 luck. He was ready to prove again he was a force to be reckoned with.
Sr. Honda – Nicholas would be the first car out to qualify and again the rocket was in place. He would run a fast time of 6.367 breaking his old track record, and it would stand this time as records were open. The second fastest car was half a tenth behind. Lining up in the 5 hole Nicholas got a nice start, but the leader approached the green flag slow, and Nicholas would unfortunately bump his teammate Ryan Blaney on the start. Ryan had to go to the back, bad break for Ryan as he also had a fast car. Race would restart. The craziness would then start. The track was way off or something was on the track as every car was wicked loose. Nicholas was in 3rd with 22 laps to go when another yellow would fly. Nicholas gets a little loose on the restart and would drop back to 5th. Several cars get together in front of him, and Nicholas just barely hits one of the cars and ends up with a flat left front tire. Into the pits for a tire change and he goes back out in 10th. A 5 car wreck at the green has Nicholas in 9th. A bunch of cautions continue to fly, and Nicholas works his way back up through the field. As time expires, the checkered and yellow flags fly with about 5 laps still to go, but the race is called. Nicholas finds himself in 4th. What a crazy race.
Lt 160 – Nicholas would turn in another great qualifying effort and runs a fast time of 6.224, but once again that would only be good enough for second fastest. Looks like an engine change is soon to come for the 160 car. Again starting in the 4 hole, Nicholas gets a great start and finds a spot in 4th by the end of the first lap. Falling back to 5th and then losing a couple more positions, Nicholas begins to work his way up through the field. The race stays green, and Nicholas is now up to 2nd and reeling in the leader while lapping cars. With 3 laps to go, the leader bikes coming out of turn two, and he flips the car coming out of turn 4 after the studs on his right rear wheel break off. Nicholas is now in the lead, and the craziness begins. The race restarts 7 times and Nicholas is able to hold off second place for 6 of those restarts, but on the 7th one he lost the lead, and the caution and checkered flags fly because time has expired. Nicholas would finish in second (should have been a win). Nice racing dude!
Tuesday, August 8
Fast Car, Tight Car, Good Finishes!
8 Aug 06.
Sr. Honda Qualifying would be rained out for the 11 car field. Nicholas would line up in 5th. Nicholas quickly gets into 3rd after lap 1. Nicholas is being patient working on the leaders when the caution flies with 18 to go. Race restarts, and Nicholas moves into second. Caution flies again. Nicholas gets a little loose on the restart and falls to 4th. With 12 laps to go, he begins to work on the front pack again taking 3rd and then with 4 laps to go picks off second place but runs out of time and is not able to catch the leader and finishes a strong 2nd.
Lt 160 The track was a little on the green side for qualifying, but Nicholas would still put in a great qualifying effort and pull off a fast time of 6.298. Once again he would be just a tick off the fast time qualifier, Kyle Resco. Starting in his normal Lt. 160 #4 spot, he gets a great start and finds a hole quickly. The car appears to be very tight, and Nicholas is not able to make any moves and holds onto his 4th position for 24 of the 25 laps. The race goes green, and Nicholas is finally able to make a pass on the white flag lap to cross the finish line in 3rd.
Sr. Honda Champion
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Sr. Honda – Nicholas hit the track and was fast for qualifying. His fast time of 6.411 would again give him the fast time of the night. That gives him a clean sweep for qualifying in the summer heat series 5 for 5, one qualifying rained out. 25 lap A-main, he lines up in 5th for the start and quickly starts passing cars, with 10 laps to go he takes the lead but the caution flies. Restarts in second and stays glued to the leader’s bumper waiting out his time. The white flag flies and Nicholas takes the lead and goes on to win the race and the Summer Heat Sr. Honda Championship. Great way to win the championship! Congratulations to Nicholas and Talon Chassis on their FIRST Sr. Honda Championship!!
Lt.160 – Nicholas’ 160 was also fast out of the box and his qualifying effort of 6.262 would give him 2nd fastest out of 12 cars. Once again he would line up in the dreaded 4 hole for the start of the 25 lap A-main. He looks for a spot at the start and finds a hole and drops into 5th. Nicholas quickly makes a nice move to grab the 4th spot. Nicholas is on the back bumper of 3rd with 8 laps to go when 2 cars wreck in front of them. Nicholas and the 3rd place car have nowhere to go except to the wall to avoid the accident. Cars and drivers are fine and the race restarts. Nicholas gets passed and drops to 5th, with two laps to go he gets the 4th spot back and makes a nice attempt to gain 3rd on the last lap but brings it to the checkered in 4th. Nice run and an overall 2nd place finish in the Summer Heat series. Nice job for his first year in the Lt 160 class!
Fast Cars with Bad Luck!
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Sr Honda – Nicholas would have a terrible draw for the heat race, and he would start the second heat race in 9th position with a really stout field of cars. It was more like an A-main field. After several early cautions and some nice driving Nicholas works his way up to 4th. Knowing that only 3 cars transfer directly to the A-main he continues working on the leaders. The car is fast, Nicholas is really on his game, and he takes the lead with 9 laps to go. With 5 laps to go, he catches the rear of the field and makes a 4 wide pass putting 3 cars a lap down. He walks away from 2nd and 3rd to take the checkered flag. Great driving with a great car. Moving onto the A-main (30 laps), Nicholas lined up in the 4 hole. A weird start (with no green flag) finds Nicholas in a wreck, but everything is ok. With only 3 laps in the books a 4 car wreck in the back of the field brings out the red flag. Nicholas restarts in 4th and quickly makes his way to 2nd. He runs down the leader with 16 laps left, but as usual the caution flies and he does not get credit for the pass. Restarts in second and takes the lead with 13 laps remaining. Another caution flies with 7 laps remaining, but time has expired. Next caution or checkered flag will end the race. Nicholas takes the green with a nice restart and gets a little loose coming out of turn two, he starts to correct the car when the 2nd place car hits him in the rear and spins him out. Caution flies, no call is made, and Nicholas would end up finishing 8th. Nice driving and again the fastest car did not win the race and takes a bad hit on points.
Lt 160 – Nicholas continues his bad draw for the day and starts 8th out of 9 cars in the first heat race. Nicholas works his way up to 6th. Caution flies with 8 to go, and Nicholas gets 5th on the restart. The car is fast but not coming in quick enough and Nicholas would bring it home in 5th and would have to race the B-main. Lines up 3rd out of ten for the B-main and takes the lead by the end of lap 1. Looks like the minor adjustments are really working, and Nicholas is running away with the race when the caution flies with 10 to go. The race restarts, Nicholas gets a late start and the second place car makes a late dive to get under him going into turn 1. The 2nd place car gets into Nicholas’s rear tire and flips him in the middle of the turn (wild sprint car type flip). Red flag comes out, Nicholas is fine, but the car is not going to be able to finish the race. Nicholas would end up 9th and would miss the A-main for the first time this year. Nicholas said after the race he had never seen the one to go signal from the flagman and was surprised to see the green flag flying which caused his bad restart. Bad luck with one very fast 160.
Saturday, September 9
No Luck at all!
9 Sept 06.
Sr Honda Once again the Sr Honda was a rocket with Nicholas running a fast time of 6.285 which beats his own track record, but records were not open today. Nicholas is the first Sr Honda car at NCQMA to qualify under 6.300. This time was a tenth faster than the second place car. On to the 30 lap A-main starting in 5th. Nicholas makes some nice moves in the first 5 laps and finds himself in 3rd place; he makes the move on the first and second place cars coming out of turn four when the leader turns down on him going down the front-stretch. A pretty rough wreck, driver is fine. We bring Nicholas in the pits and find that the car is not going to make it back into the race. Nicholas would finish in 10th. Another bad break with a car that would have run away with the race. Nicholas takes another big hit in the Sr Honda points.
Lt 160 Again the 160 was fast and Nicholas would pull off his second fastest qualifying time of the year at 6.196 but that was only 3rd fastest. Finally a good starting spot for the A-main. Nicholas starts in 3rd and stays there for the start. The top 3 cars start to pull away, but Nicholas car seems to be a little on the tight side and 4th and 5th run him down. Caution flies with 12 laps remaining. Nicholas gets a nice jump at the start and moves into 4th. With only 4 laps remaining the car again gets tight on Nicholas, and he gets freight trained and drops back to 7th and finishes in that position.
Sr Honda Cup Night Track Record
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Sr. Honda – During the practice session Nicholas was running some really fast laps, and it looked like he could knock off his own record again. Qualifying rolled around, and Nicholas hit the track, but the sun went under the clouds. I figured oh well no record today. However, the car was again a rocket. Fast time of 6.268 and a new track record, and a tenth faster than the second fastest qualifier. It was time for the 40 lap A-main, and Nicholas was pumped and ready to roll. The green flies, and Nicholas is patiently working on cars and takes the lead with 20 laps to go. He begins lapping cars and has a nice lead. The race continues green, and he continues to pull away from the field. Guess what caution flies with 6 laps to go. Race restarts, and he holds the lead when the 2nd place car taps him just enough to get under him with 4 to go. Nicholas is much faster than the leader and makes several attempts to get under the leader, but the leader is doing his best to block every one of Nicholas’ moves. Nicholas makes another run on the white flag and is blocked again going down the backstretch and finishes in 2nd. Nice job not taking out the leader. Fastest car finished second again. If only the caution would not have flown, he easily would have won the race.
Lt 160 – Fast again in the 160 with a 6.223 would give Nicholas 3rd fastest. 30 lap A-main and Nicholas starts 3rd. A wild start and Nicholas finds himself stuck on the outside of the pack and finally finds a hole in 7th. Nicholas works around 6th place with 22 laps remaining. He works his way up to fifth when the car gets loose coming out of turn 4, and by the time he gets it straightened out he has fallen back to 8th. A car then spins out in front of Nicholas; he makes a nice move to avoid the wreck but just clips the car with the left front tire. He comes into the pits with 12 laps to go for repairs. We decide the car needs too many repairs to return to the track, and Nicholas would end up in 9th. Teammate Ryan Blaney would win the race coming out of the 9 hole. Great job Ryan.
Saturday, September 30
Good Day of Racing
30 Sept 06.
Sr Honda Heat races today and boy this kid cannot draw numbers very well. He starts 8th out of 9 for his heat race with the top 3 going to the A-main. The car was a little tight in warm-up so we bring him in for adjustments as time expires, and Nicholas will now have to start 9th. Nicholas gets a great start and is up to 6th by the end of the first lap and up to 3rd with 15 laps remaining when the first caution flies. Nicholas sticks with the leaders and picks off 2nd with 7 to go and stays on the leaders bumper as the checkered flag flies. Onto the A-main. Nicholas starts in 2nd and cannot find a hole and winds up in 5th. We have the car a little on the loose side hoping for long runs, but of course this is a caution filled race. Nicholas works hard shuffling back and forth and finds himself in 4th with 13 laps remaining when the red flag flies. Now with cold tires the race restarts and Nicholas holds 4th. The car is really coming to him with just a few laps left, and he moves into 3rd quickly gaining on the leaders but runs out of time.
Lt 160 Starting 3rd out of 9 cars with 3 directly going to the A-main. Nicholas works hard and gets the lead only a few laps in. He holds the lead until a big wreck, and the red flag flies. Race restarts and Nicholas is still out front but misses his line going into turn 3 and drops to second and would finish in second. A-main, starting 2nd again he gets hung on the outside and finds himself in 7th by the end of the second lap. The race stays green, and Nicholas is working hard on the cars in front of him and works his way up to 4th when the caution flies with 4 laps remaining. Race restarts and the top 4 are going back and forth. Nice clean racing by all drivers, and Nicholas finishes in 4th with teammate Ryan Blaney right in front of him.
Saturday, October 14
No Sr. Honda Today
14 Oct 06.
Sr. Honda Nicholas would not run his Sr Honda car today as he would let Kaitlyn take her first ride in a Talon for her Jr Honda Cup race.
Lt 160 No points today as all the attention was on Kaitlyn for her first run in a Talon. Nicholas did race the 160 and qualified 3rd fastest. He would lead several laps of the 160 race, but the car got a little tight. He got hung on the outside several times but would still race hard for a 6th place finish.
Saturday, October 21
Below Average Day
21 Oct 06.
Sr Honda Qualifying in the Sr Honda again was great with a 6.291 for the fastest qualifier out of 15 cars which put Nicholas directly into the A-main. Nicholas starts 5th and quickly jumps into the 3 spot by the end of lap 1. Numerous cautions would hurt Nicholas as he did not appear to be on his game during restarts. The car was fast, and the top 5 would change spots numerous times throughout the race with Nicholas finishing in 5th. However, teammate Ryan Blaney would bring Talon another victory winning the Sr Honda A-main.
Lt. 160 A rocket today for Nicholas in the Lt. 160 with a qualifying time of 6.191 for 4th fastest out of 15 cars. A-main time and Nicholas is again in the 4 hole. A caution on the first lap would benefit Nicholas for a single file restart. Nicholas grabs the lead and holds on for a few laps. Second place reels him in and hangs him on the outside; Nicholas lost several spots and now finds himself in 6th. He works his way back up to 5th when the caution flies with 18 laps remaining. Again not on his restart game today he drops to 8th on the restart. He works his way back up to 6th but falls to 8th again on another restart. Restart with 3 laps left Nicholas picks off 7th on the white flag lap. He passed a bunch of cars but lost many spots on the restarts.
Saturday, October 28
Making Nicholas work hard (Final Points Race)
28 Oct 06.
Sr Honda Heat race #2 Nicholas starts from the 4 spot and gets stuck on the outside and comes out in 8th. Working hard knowing only the top 3 advance to the A-main, he works his way back to 5th when the first caution flies with 14 laps remaining. Continuing to work his way up Nicholas finds himself in 3rd with 5 laps remaining when another caution flies. Long yellow lets the tires cool down but Nicholas grabs 2nd on the restart and stays glued to the leaders bumper when the checkered flag flies. A-main time 30 laps starting in the 2 hole. Nicholas gets hung at the start but finds a spot open in 5th when the caution flies. Restarts in 5th and he quickly works his way up to 3rd with 18 laps remaining when the caution flies. Restart Nicholas gets tapped in the rear but saves the car and comes out of the near wreck in 6th. Works his way up to 5th with 10 laps remaining. The top 4 cars get away from Nicholas and he is only able to get back to the bumper of the leaders when the checkered flag flies and finishes in 5th. Bringing home the victory was Talon teammate Ryan Blaney. Nicholas would end up 4th out of 28 drivers in final points for Sr. Honda. He dominated qualifying taking 4 out of 5 fast times (missed 5 of 5 by 0.006), and winning numerous heat races. He led nearly every A-main but had the worst luck getting caught up in accidents. Current NCQMA Sr. Honda Track Record Holder. Great Job Nicholas and Talon!!
Lt 160 Heat #1 Nicholas starts 4th out of 7 cars with only the top 2 going directly to the A-main. With really old tires on the car Nicholas is not able to work his way up through the field and would finish the heat race in 5th and would have to race out of the C-main. C-main, top 4 to the B-main, Nicholas starts in first and holds onto the lead at the start. With better tires on the car Nicholas gets nearly a half a lap lead on the remainder of the field and begins to lap the rear of the field when the checkered flag flies giving Nicholas the win! Onto the B-main, starting 7th out of 10 cars with the top 4 advancing to the A-main. Nicholas makes an awesome move at the start of the race and already finds himself in 3rd by the end of the second lap. He makes his move on the 2nd place car and then the leader when the caution flies. Back to second for the restart, he grabs the lead and runs away from the remainder of the field when the caution flies again with 3 to go. He holds onto the lead and wins the B-main! A-main, 30 laps, Nicholas is starting in 7th. Nicholas works his way quickly through the field and finds himself in 3rd early on in the race. The top 4 cars run away from the rest of the field to battle it out. The race goes caution free, and Nicholas gets passed by teammate Ryan Blaney with 3 laps to go. He would finish a strong 4th . Great racing today by Nicholas once we gave him some better tires. Nicholas would end up finishing 5th in Lt. 160 class. A very nice recovery after being in 16th place after the first 3 races (a race DQ, 1 rain-out, and a bad race) to finish his first Lt 160 year in 5th out of 28 total drivers. Many 2nd fastest qualifying efforts; a few heat race wins; and making 9 of 10 A-mains (wrecked out of one B-main leading the race). Great job again by Nicholas and Talon!
Winning one for the Vets (Regional Race)
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Sr. Honda (22 cars) Once again the Sr Honda car was a rocket in
qualifying, and Nicholas would get fast time. A-main time rolled
around, and Nicholas was ready to rock. Last year Nicholas came from
the D-main to win the event. We made it a little easier for him this
year. A nice clean start by everyone, and Nicholas settles into 5th.
Being patient he works his way up to 3rd with 32 laps remaining.
Somehow he restarts in 4th with 34 laps to go. Some wild racing up
front, and Nicholas is up to 3rd with 23 laps remaining. Nicholas lost
a few positions and fell all the way back to 5th but works his way back
again to 3rd with 13 laps remaining. The car is really coming to him,
and he picks off second with 11 to go and takes the lead with 10 to go.
The remainder of the race goes green, and Nicholas takes the checkered
flag for the win and repeats as the winner of the Tarheel Classic! Way
to go dude!!
Lt. 160 (18 cars) Nicholas would qualify 4th fastest in the field
giving him the 2nd starting spot. Nicholas found a hole at the start
and holds onto 2nd. He and the 3rd place car battle back and forth for
several laps. His car begins to get tight, and he falls all the way
back to 7th. With 13 laps remaining he finds himself in 6th when the
caution flies and then a red flag. Nicholas works his way into 4th and
then gets spun and goes DOT, no call he goes to the back with only a
few laps remaining and works hard to get a 6th place finish. Talon
teammate Ryan Blaney wins the Lt 160 Tarheel Classic.
Carolina Fall Nationals
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Sr Honda Dads butterflies continue in qualifying while Nicholas and
his Talon car are flawless. Nicholas rocks off a fast time of 6.275 and
would be the fastest out of 41 cars! Advancing directly to the A-main
Nicholas was ready to roll and wanted to win this one bad after last
years Fall Nationals adventure. As luck would have it, one of the cars
starting in front of Nicholas came into the pits as time expired, and
Nicholas would end up having to start out of the 4 hole. Nicholas held
onto 4th at the start and remained patient. He would work his way
through the field grabbing the lead with 30 laps to go. 1st caution
flies with 26 laps remaining. Nicholas gets a nice restart but lost the
lead and drops back to third. Next caution flies with 17 laps left, and
he is back up to 2nd. Nicholas gets the lead with teammate Ryan Blaney
in tow. The two begin to run away from the field, and Nicholas gets a
two car length lead on Ryan and is looking good for a win when the
caution flies with 7 laps to go. Race restarts; Nicholas holds the lead
but Ryan is faster on the short runs. Ryan passes Nicholas with 5 laps
to go. Nicholas falls right behind Ryan and is on his bumper for the
remaining laps peeking every now and then to try for the lead. With one
to go he takes one more look but decides to stay in place taking the
checkered flag to finish in second place. A nice performance after
tiring out during last years race. Great run by the Talon cars
finishing 1st and 2nd!! Nice job by Nicholas and Ryan.
Lt 160 With 54 Lt 160 cars qualifying again was key. Nicholas again
was smooth and would qualify 5th fastest which would give him the #1
spot for the A-main. A-main rolls around, and Nicholas is feeling good
after his Sr Honda finish. Nicholas led for about the first five laps
when Talon teammate Ryan Blaney passes him for the lead. Nicholas car
is just not quite right, and he drops back to 4th. He makes a move on
3rd with 26 laps remaining and spins the car out. We bring Nicholas
into the pits for some adjustments so he restarts in 9th. Nicholas
works his way back up to 6th with 12 laps to go, and the car is looking
good. Nicholas picks off 5th on the restart, and the caution again
flies. Another restart and some nice moves get Nicholas up to 3rd when
the caution flies again. Several more cautions with 2 laps and 1 lap to
go. Nicholas runs out of time but brings home 3rd place with teammate
Ryan Blaney winning the Lt 160 race. Another great finish by the Talon
drivers!
Racing in Florida
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After several years of talking about going to race in Florida, we
finally decided to make the trip. It was also a great excuse to take
the kids to visit Mickey and the gang at Disney World for 3 days at
Christmas time. What a great time we had! Then it was time to go racing
so we would head south to Sharpes, Florida for the 48th Annual
Tangerine Winternationals.
We got only a few practice sessions in, but both cars seemed really
good. The format for the Tangerine is a little different. There is a
qualifying session then two heat races which set the line-ups for the
mains.
Sr. Honda After several good practice sessions, Nicholas would hit
the track for qualifying. Nicholas was fast out of the box and looked
like he was going to easily break the track record, but the car never
came all the way in. He ran a fast time of 8.997 (huge track) which
would end up being 3rd fastest (16 cars). Fastest was only a few
hundredths faster. Nicholas would start out of the #1 spot for his
first 20 lap heat race. He would lead the first 5 laps until the
caution flew with 15 to go. Race restarted and he fell back to 3rd and
then 5th. Drafting was critical at this track, and Nicholas has no
experience in drafting. He would stay with the top 4 and appeared to be
faster but would finish in 5th. Heat race #2 starting in 8th spot.
After a nice pass in the grass, he was up to 6th at the first
caution. After the green flies, Nicholas tries to make a move on the
pack in front of him and gets flipped into the grass after a hit from
behind. He restarts in the back and works his way back up to finish in
6th. His qualifying effort and heat race finishes advances him to the
A-main where he will start in 5th. A-main, Nicholas settles into 5th at
the start and makes some nice moves and gets into 3rd. The leaders
begin to pull away, and Nicholas is in 3rd by himself for many laps.
The 4th and 5th place cars line up to reel Nicholas in and pass him.
Nicholas is now in 5th. He tucks behind 3rd and 4th , and they begin to
pull in the leaders. Nicholas appears to be much faster than the two
cars in front of him and peeks out to make the pass several times but
is unable to do it himself (again the draft was huge). With two laps to
go the leaders catch lap traffic enabling the remainder of the top 5 to
catch up. A white flag shuffling of cars causes the 1st and 2nd place
car to wreck in the grass in turn 4 allowing the next 3 cars to cross
the line at the checkered. Nicholas finishes the race in 3rd with a
celebratory fist in the air!! Very good race for his first time at this
track.
Lt. 160 It was time to qualify the 160, and we felt pretty good about
practice and were confident we could run with the locals. Nicholas hit
the track, the car appeared fast but just like the Sr Honda it never
got faster. He would run a fast time of 8.865 which was only 11th
fastest out of 16 cars. However, the top 12 cars were not separated by
much. Heat race #1 - starting 6th out of 8 cars, Nicholas would race a
nice race, but the car would never come to him, and he would finish in
8th. Heat race #2 - Kevin and Paul showed up (all the way via Iowa!)
and decided it was time to make drastic changes to the car. Starting in
4th, Nicholas quickly moved up to 2nd and the car looked great. Caution
flies with 7 laps left with a lapped car in front of him. Nicholas gets
under the lapped car on the restart but drifts a little high coming out
of turn 2, and he gets freight trained. He would finish in 7th but the
car was much faster and the finish does not reflect that fact. Great
decision by Paul and Kevin on the changes. With his qualifying effort
and heat race finishes, Nicholas would have to race out of the B-main
with the top 4 going to the A-main. B-main starting 7th Nicholas
quickly goes to work and gets up to 5th with 22 laps remaining. Race
restarts and several cars get under him. He drops back to 7th. He
quickly works his way back up to 4th when the white flag falls.
Nicholas is getting ready to enter turn 3 to take the checkered flag
when a car flips behind him bringing out the yellow then red flags. I
had a talk with him during the red on how to restart this race with one
lap left. He was confident he could transfer to the A-main, and he said
the car was good. The race restarts and 5th place lays back a little as
Nicholas comes high off of turn 4 and is able to get under him.
Nicholas being faster coming out of turn 2 he gets back under 4th place
when 4th place tries to block him but Nicholas is already there beside
him. They hit wheels turning the 4th place car sideways and flipping
him. Nicholas immediately comes out of the gas to not cause any more
problems and continues on with the checkered flag flying. Nicholas ends
up getting a charge call and a last lap DQ call. He finishes the B-main
in 8th. Nice run and good driving.
Racing into 2007
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After the Tangerine I was ready to go home and relax, but Kevin and
Paul talk Nicholas and Kelly into racing the New Smyrna 500 in the Sr
Honda car. The Lt 160 car was going to be driven by Austin Northcutt as
a Hvy 160.
Sr. Honda Again the Sr Honda car was fast but no qualifying at this
race, only one heat race which sets the field for the mains. Nicholas
is loving this track. It reminds him of San Antonio constant left
turn and banking in the corners. Nicholas would start his heat race 7th
in a field of 9 cars. One car came into the pits as time expired which
would send Nicholas to the dreaded outside 6 hole for the start. The
green drops, and Nicholas has nowhere to go except to the back. He
drives hard and finds himself in 6th with only a few laps to go. He
reels in the top 5 and makes a pass on the last lap to finish in 4th,
which put him in the B-main. B-main, 30 laps (top 4 to the A-main)
starting in 4th and holds onto 4th at the end of the first lap.
Nicholas quickly begins working on the top 3. First yellow with 21 laps
to go and Nicholas is in 3rd. Race restarts and Nicholas patiently
works on the top 2 cars, making his passes when he knows it is a for
sure thing. He takes the lead with 12 to go and pulls away from the
rest of the field, dominating the track. Nicholas is thrilled to carry
the checkered flag!! What a way to spend New Years Eve! A-main on New
Years Day, 30 laps, starting 7th. Nicholas jumps into 5th at the start
of the race. First caution flies with 28 laps remaining. Nicholas
restarts, the car is loose early on, but he holds onto it. Nicholas and
the leaders begin to lap cars when the caution flies with 9 laps
remaining causing a red flag. That is the last thing we needed for the
tires to get cold. After a long red flag, the race goes back green.
Nicholas is not able to follow the 4th place car under 3rd place as he
breaks a little loose. Instead he finds himself battling lap after lap
back and forth with 6th place. He finally has enough and settles into
6th but goes a little high out of turn four with only a few laps left
and drops back to finish his A-main in 7th . A really fast car on long
runs and some fun racing to start off the New Year. Nicholas was the
ONLY non-Florida driver to make the Sr. Honda A-main.
Lt. 160 Austin Northcutt from South Carolina was in the Lt. 160 car
for the New Smyrna 500 as a Hvy 160 car. Austin made the A-main and
finished in 6th. Nice job Austin for your first time in a Talon.