Wilt Racing: 2001-2005 Nicholas
Saturday, December 17Fast car, A Birthday, Hooters, and a Flip
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Saturday, November 26
Sometimes fast is not good!
26 Nov 05. Its Carolina Fall Nationals at our new home track of NCQMA. This is the big finale of the inaugural season in North Carolina. Nicholas has an awesome qualifying time of 6.486. The fast time of the day was 6.473. This puts Nicholas 4th fastest out of 52 Sr Honda drivers so he will start in the #2 hole of the A Main!! Only problem with this scenario if he cant get the lead at the green flag, hell go to the back fast as the outside line tends to get freight-trained at this track, which is EXACTLY what happened to him. The pack stayed tight together, and Nicholas had to stay high for the first couple laps till he could see a spot to get down. By then, he was back in 10th. He started taking his line and picking up speed with every lap. In no time flat, he was up to 5th and stuck to the bumper of the 4th place car. They ran a few laps that way no cautions yet for a field of 10 Sr Honda drivers we saw Nicholas line change, and he started slowing down. By this time the rest of the pack had caught him. He went high in the turns and started letting cars pass him one by one. He stayed in 10th when about 25 laps into the race, the leaders finally caught him and lapped him. We saw he was tired out so he was called in under green flag. The race went ALL 40 laps caution free. Nicholas was the only car that fell out. DNF 10th place. After talking to him, we found out that Nicholas arms had gotten tired and worn out after trying to keep the car up to speed and low in the corners to pass. He was running 6.3 laps consecutively when he was coming up through the field. (1 ½ tenths below the track record.) A rocket fast car and a good effort by the driver to bring the car to the front. We have decided to implement a weight regimen to help develop Nicholas arms and wrists over the winter break.
Saturday, November 19
A rocket, a determined driver and bad judging
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Saturday, November 12
Talon Chassis & Nicholas Dominate their way into Victory Lane!
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Saturday, November 5
Testing Paying Off!
5 Nov 05. Another #2 spot in the second heat race. 15 total cars in the Sr. Honda field today. Nicholas got hung out on the outside and by the end of lap two found himself in the rear of the field. He worked his way up to 5th in a caution free race but will have to race the B main. Starting in the outside line again #4 hole with the top 4 to transfer. A caution filled race would not play into Nicholas hand. With 10 laps to go, Nicholas is stuck in 7th when all of a sudden the car looks like a rocket. With 5 laps left, he was up to 5th and passed the 4th place car for the final transfer spot with 4 laps left and was quickly gaining on the leaders. Great effort for a 4th place finish to transfer to the A main, which will give him the #10 spot for the main. On the start, there is a 4 car pile-up in turns 3 and 4. Nicholas was down low with a car on the outside so he hits the brakes hard to try and avoid the wreck. Unable to completely avoid the wreck, we have to pit Nicholas for some repairs. We get the car as best as possible and send him out in last place. He works his way back up to 7th , and the caution flies again. We decide to bring him in for more repairs and a tire change. Starting in 9th with only 10 laps to go, Nicholas and the car are on a mission. Nicholas is catching cars and passing them like they are standing still. He gets up to the 5th place car on the white flag lap but was unable to make the move for the position. He finishes the race in 6th but had a rocket at the end of the race. Fastest car at the end did not win again, but we have discovered a lot over the past several weeks of racing and testing.
Saturday, October 29
Spooktacular 2005
29 October 05. 100 lapper, two 50 lap segments would be the format for this race. This would be Nicholas first race at the 1/5 mile track located behind Lowes Motor Speedway. He got 3 great practice sessions in and said he felt very comfortable with the track and the car felt great. Starting positions for the race would be determined by bobbing for apples. We had a secret weapon in our pocket named Blake Harris. Blake was the third or fourth person to bob for an apple and got his apple in 1.4 seconds. This great effort from Blake would put Nicholas on the pole for his race. Blake also ended up bobbing for apples for the Young Guns pole and outside pole along with the pole position for the Outlaws division. Im sure people will probably have him under contract for next years race. The bandits had 21 cars in the field and on a small 1/5 mile track we figured trouble would loom quickly. The start of the race would begin our trouble for the day. Nicholas gets bumped coming out of turn 2 and spins out. This would result in pit stop #1 for the day. We made necessary repairs on the car and sent Nicholas back out in 20th place. Green flag drops and Nicholas picks off 5 cars by the time he gets to the start/finish line. Numerous cautions fly and he would eventually work his way back up 10th and is then involved in an accident coming out of turn 2. Nicholas restarts in last and worked his way back up to 8th when two cars spin and he ends up getting sandwiched. Pit stop #2 to make more repairs to the car and a restart in 19th. A few more wrecks and cautions in the field and Nicholas is back up to 13th. He works really hard passing cars and finishes the first 50 lap segment in 6th. Mandatory caution/break at the 50 lap point. We take the car back to the trailer and the car looks like it just raced 1,000 laps at Bristol. Two rolls of 200 MPH duct tape, Blake welding on the rear end of the car and numerous other repairs were made during the break. The second 50 lap segment begins with Nicholas in 6th but numerous cars in front of him that are lap/laps down. At the drop of the flag Nicholas gets under the 5th place car and they go 3 wide into turn 1. All three cars hook wheels and go into the grass. No big deal we are thinking we just go to the back again. Nicholas gets restarted and comes into the pits because the car wont turn. We try to make repairs (pit stop #4) and send him back out on the track, but the car still wont turn for him. After several pit stops (#5, 6 and 7) we decide the car is too damaged to continue and we take him to the trailer. At the trailer (pit stop #8) we remove the front wheels and discovered a badly bent right front spindle. We decided what a great time to break in the new set of tires. Blake beats on the spindle and gets it as straight as possible and we send him back out on the track. After several laps of taking it easy on the new tires, Nicholas gets back in the gas and is working his way through the field. We estimate he passed about 50 cars throughout the day but finished a disappointing 14th because of the long 10-15 lap pit stop for repairs. We all had a very fun time and Nicholas really likes the 1/5 mile which will hopefully payoff for the winter heat races. Nicholas was awarded the Halloween plaque for the pole position. Big thanks to a great friend and Big Brother Blake!
Saturday, October 15
Shooting For The Record!
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Saturday, September 24
Fast Again But No Win!
24 Sept 05. Another bad draw for Nicholas #2 hole out of 6 for heat race #1. Nicholas is in the pits as warm-up expires, and he has to go to the back of the field. Nicholas is involved in a minor wreck on lap 1 and restarts in 5th. A pretty uneventful remainder of the race and an equal field. Nicholas only is able to work up to 5th which means he will have to race the B main. Starting in the #4 hole he is able to sneak in at the start and works his way up to 3rd. Stays in 3rd and the caution flies with 9 laps to go. Nicholas ducks under the 2nd place car on the restart and holds the position to finish in 2nd place which gives him the #8 spot for the A main. The start of the race is crazy, and caution flies. Nicholas works his way up to 6th in another caution-filled race. Two cars spin right in front of Nicholas, he has no where to go, and he spins his car out to avoid a collision. Just before the wreck in front of Nicholas, there was a wreck behind him and the caution flew. The judges did not see that Nicholas did not go DOT before the caution, and we had to restart in 8th. With only 10 laps to go, Nicholas is charging hard but is only able to make it up to 5th. A great effort by Nicholas and probably once again the fastest car did not win the race. Nicholas just has not had much luck on his side this year.
Friday, September 23
Final Points Race at Concord
23 September 05. Well, 6 Fridays in a row have seen us at Concord trying our best to keep Nicholas in the top 5 in points to go to the big year-end banquet. Going into this night, the 1st and 2nd place drivers are tied, and the 3rd and 4th place drivers are tied, and then sits Nicholas (the only Rookie) in 5th comfortably. He cant go up or down unless he would wreck out before the main race, but he has about a 19 car bump. There are only 16 cars running so things are looking pretty good. Nicholas actually has some family members that hes never met before today at the track to cheer him on. Kellys cousin Eddie and his wife, Janet from Montana temporarily living in Concord came out to watch some of the races. For the heat, Nicholas is starting in 6th out of 8 cars in the first set of heats. He knows he really needs to finish in the top 5 to make the A main. Nicholas and another car spin out on lap 1 so he goes back to 8th. After green flag restart, #67 and #29 wreck so Nicholas moves up to 4th. They go green again, and Nicholas passes for 3rd and stays there for a great 3rd place finish!! Heat #2 has 8 cars running. The B feature has 6 cars with #29, 67, 7 and 25 transferring to the A. Nicholas is finally starting in the top 5 for the A main. His 3rd place heat finish puts him in 5th for the main with a total of 14 cars running. He settled into 7th for the first few laps. First caution flag came on lap 5, and Nicholas was running in 8th. Caution again on lap 7, and hes back up to 7th. On lap 12, another caution has Nicholas running in 8th again. Yellow flag comes out again just as the field is taking the white flag, and Nicholas is running in 7th place. The race goes green, white, checkered with an extra lap, but Nicholas sticks the car in the corners and keeps his 7th position for the remaining laps. Great finish!! Actually for us things were to get even better. By Wed of the following week, we had learned that 2 of the top 5 finishers in the race on Friday had been disqualified for illegal carburetors so Nicholas moved up to finish 5th in the last race of the year and should receive a trophy for it. Congratulations to the only Rookie to finish in the top 5 in points in the Bandits division!!!!!
Saturday, September 17
What a Race!
17 Sept 05. Nicholas draws the #5 hole for the 2nd heat race in a field of 7. Great start and gets to 3rd by the end of the first lap. Moves up to 2nd with 21 laps to go. Takes first on the restart, but the car pushes towards the wall coming out of two, and he loses two spots. With 15 laps left the leader spins out as he loses a wheel. Nicholas jumps to the lead on the restart but loses it within a few laps. Caution flies with 8 to go, and on the restart, he jumps low and takes the lead and keeps the lead to take the win. Advances to the A main. Nicholas starts in the #2 hole for the A main. He is determined not to get freight trained at the start of the race. Coming out of turn 4 he is side by side with the #1 car, and Nicholas takes the lead by the time they get to turn 1. This is the first time we have seen this happen at NCQMA! The outside line usually ends up getting hosed at the start. However, as the monkey on our back keeps his grip, the caution flies before the completion of the first lap. He lines up in 2nd for the restart. Determined again he jumps under the leader and has the lead going into turn 1. Nicholas holds the lead for many laps, but the top 4 cars are nose to tail. Nicholas goes anywhere from 1st to 4th throughout the race. The lead pack catches the tail end of the field on the white flag lap. Nicholas makes an aggressive move going into turn 1 to take the lead but cannot hold the car low enough to hold on. The top 4 cars go down the backstretch nearly 4 wide and cross the start finish line nearly 4 wide. Nicholas had to take the high line out of turn 4 and comes across the start/finish line in 3rd. What a race by the entire field!! This may have been one of the most exciting QM races I have seen in years.
Friday, September 16
Wheres all that good Wilt luck??
16 September 05. Nicholas does it again! He draws #79 out of a possible 80! That will start him 9th out of 9 cars in the first heat. Nicholas takes off on the high side at the green. The #44 and #29 wreck in turn 2 after the green flag, and Nicholas keeps trucking past as many as he can get. He lines up in 4th on the restart. What a break! He ran in 3rd place for a couple laps then Nicholas Stroupe and Ryan Blaney eventually passed him. He knew he would still make the A in 5th so he held it there. Good job! Another A main night! Heat #2 ran 8 cars. The B feature had 7 cars running. The top 4 transfer cars were #69, 29, 44 and 67. The A has Nicholas starting in 9th out of 14 cars for 15 laps. Hes running in 9th when a car spins out on lap 2 so Nicholas moves up to 8th. On lap 5, Nicholas spins his car out to avoid the #48 who spun so he goes back to 14th. He gets up to 11th when the caution flies again on lap 11. On the white flag lap, Nicholas is going under the #48 for 12th place when the car comes out from under him again, and he spins out. On the restart, 2 cars get together in turn 2, and Nicholas is passing 3 or 4 cars from the back. He has the gas pedal floored coming out of the turns when the field starts to slow down because they are hearing caution over their raceceivers, but the yellow lights are not on as they are all approaching turns 3 and 4. After the lights finally come on, the race is suddenly called for time so Nicholas just spins the car out on purpose in turn 4 (he knew no one was around him) because hes mad that the race wont finish for him to make up some more positions. Gee, he does have a temper at times! He finishes the night in 12th.
Saturday, September 10
Nicholas DQ'd?????????
10 Sept. 05. Nicholas draws the dreaded #2 spot for the 8 car field for heat race #1. Top 3 transfer to the A main. Nicholas gets pinched to the wall at the start of the race and falls right to the back of the field. Nicholas begins to work his way back up through the field and passes the 5th place car, and they bump. Judges make a charge call on Nicholas (probably a good call), and he restarts in 8th. He again begins to work his way through the field and is making a pass for 5th side by side at the line when the outside car comes down on him, and they both spin. Not really sure what the judges were looking at, but they make another charge call on Nicholas. This would result in his first DQ in 5 years of racing. It had to happen sometime. This would mean Nicholas would have to start in the rear of the field for the B feature with only 4 advancing to the A main. Nicholas gets a great start at the beginning of the B feature and gets up to fifth but then loses two positions and finds himself in 7th. Works hard after a caution and gets up to 3rd. Another caution flies, and on the restart he moves into 2nd. With 10 to go, caution flies again. On the restart, Nicholas makes an aggressive move on the leader to take the lead and would lead the remainder of the laps to win the B feature. Great work after being DQd in the heat race. Nicholas would start the A main in 6th. The early part of the race is pretty calm, and he works up to 5th. He works his way up to 4th , and the caution flies with 6 laps to go. On the restart, the 5th place car hung back just far enough to get by Nicholas coming out of turn 4. This hangs Nicholas on the outside, and he loses several more positions to find himself now in 8th. He works hard with only 5 laps remaining and gets back up to 5th. Once again probably the fastest car on the track, and the cautions hurting him did not show what we had today.
Friday, September 9
Little Sisters Birthday
9 September 05. Nicholas is really hoping to do good tonight for Kaitlyns 7th birthday. He is in the first set of heats starting 7th out of 10 cars! The top 5 will transfer to the A. Caution on green so they line up double again. Nicholas is up to 5th when the caution flies again on lap 5. He goes to 4th on the restart and finishes the last 3 laps in 4th! Going to the A! Nicholas car looked hooked up, and he was pumped to do well in the main. Heat #2 had 9 cars. B feature ran 9 cars with the top 4 advancing again. Lucky winners for tonight - #6, 17, 67, and 70. Time for the main event Nicholas is in 7th out of 14 cars getting ready for 15 laps of action. He fell into 8th place after leader got punted coming out of turn 4 waiting for the green flag to fly. They line up double again Nicholas back in 7th. On lap 2, a car spins in the turn 2 groove right in front of Nicholas! He goes high to miss the other car. His car has so much momentum that he slides up the track. His car hits and starts to CLIMB the outside wall! He keeps running and coming out of turn 4, I notice he has a right rear flat. Hes called into the pits. As hes getting the tire changed, the #37 car throws a clutch on the front stretch buying us some time. Nicholas lines up 13th on restart. His car is smoking in the turns and hard to handle so he just nurses it around the track and keeping out of everyones path. By lap 6, he is being lapped by the field. A few laps later, the #70 car hits the front stretch wall hard causing enough damage for him to be called off the track. On white flag lap, the leader is spun out trying to lap a car. Caution flag flies then the race is red flagged to line up the cars properly. They end up going extra laps taking the green, white, and checkered. Nicholas finishes the race and gets 12th place points! Way to hang in there, man!! What a bummer of a night though. He had such a great car in the heat capable of being in the top 5. Daddy and Blake are really starting to figure this car out. We have 2 more races left. Nicholas is still sitting in 5th place overall.
Friday, September 2
Concord Makes Changes
2 September 05. Concord has finally decided to make some changes to the races for safety purposes. From now on only 14 cars will run the Feature races. B features will be run on classes over 14 cars. This is something handlers and drivers have been wanting since the season started. BIG advantage for Wilt Racing tonight the #37 car that Nicholas has been in the points chase with is not running! For the heats, Nicholas has finally drawn a pretty decent number. He is starting 2nd out of 7 cars in the first set of heats. He settles into 3rd place till about lap 5 of 8 laps when he lets Ryan Blaney pass him. He knew by finishing 4th that he would still make the A Main. The top 5 cars in the heat races advance to the A now. There are 16 cars registered for tonight. In the 2nd heat, there are 9 cars running because a slow car missed the first heat. In the B feature, 6 cars running and the top 4 finishers will advance to the A. For tonight, those cars that advance are the #04, 25, 6 and 44. For the main, we are once again in the middle of the pack. Nicholas is 7th out of 14. Caution flies on lap 1, and he lines up in 5th. On lap 2, Nicholas gets spun out and goes back to 12th. He is up and down a few positions on a very long green flag run. After taking the white flag, Nicholas is running in about 13th place when 2 or 3 cars start bumping each other coming out of turn 2 so Nicholas hits his brakes to avoid slamming into them causing him to be the ONLY one to spin out!! He gets the car turned around and heads for the start/finish line to complete his last lap and take the checkered. Good thinking dude!! He still finishes 13th because another car had been lapped. We are now back into 5th place points for the season.
Saturday, August 27
Cup Race Day!
27 Aug 05. Sr. Honda Cup Race Day. Qualifying today for starting positions. 20 cars show for this big race-day. Nicholas would have a fast lap time of 6.703 which would put him 10th fastest out of the 20 cars and on the pole for the B main. Nicholas gets a great start and leads the first 13 laps of the 30 lap race. Gets a little loose coming out of turn 2 and falls to second place. Holds onto second for the remainder of the race and transfers to the A main with a 7th starting spot. A caution-flag and red-flag filled race would not be to Nicholas advantage. He needed long runs for this race. Throughout the race, he is shuffled from 6th to 10th. He was working hard but was only able to get back up to 8th after falling to the back late in the race. All the cars appeared to be pretty equal and lap times were down in the mid to upper 6.5s for most of the race.
Friday, August 26
Mechanical (but preventable) Problem
26 August 05. Nicholas has once again proven that he can draw a bad number for a bad starting position (wheres the qualifying when you need it). He is starting 8th out of 8 cars in the first set of heats. There is a caution of the first lap (as usual), and he lines up in 6th. By lap 4, he has gotten up to 5th where he finishes on lap 8. For the main, Nicholas is in the middle of the pack. He starts 9th out of 16 cars! The field takes the green, and Nicholas and 2 other cars spin in turns 1 and 2. No one touches him so he takes off and restarts in 11th. Lap 3 brings out another caution, he is still in 11th. On lap 6, two cars spin out right in front of Nicholas coming out of turn 4. He does one of his famous quarter midget moves and squeezes through on the high side between the wrecking (and moving) cars and the concrete wall! Nicholas lines up 9th. On lap 10, the 2nd place car spins out the leader. A call is made and the car goes to the back of the field. The leader goes into the pits, comes back out, and HITS the rear of the car that spun him. He is told to park his car for the night. This is a break for us because the car in trouble in the #37 car that Nicholas is tied with in overall points. We are now in 7th position when they call time and get ready to go green, white, checkered. We are totally excited with this possible finish!! Well, it wasnt meant to be tonight. Going into turn 3, Nicholas is bumped (actually being pushed) by the car behind him, he pulls the car out of line up high in the corner so he doesnt wreck the cars behind him getting ready to go green. The car just sits there running. Nicholas has thrown a keyway! There is a wreck in turns 1 and 2, but the caution is already out for Nicholas. We end up with another DNF and 14th place points! What a bummer!! Found out later, the handler (ie daddy) couldve prevented this problem with a simple clamp. Nicholas has fallen into 6th place in points but only 9 points out of 5th so we are still in the running.
Tuesday, August 23
Tuesday Night Racing????
23 Aug 05. Our first Tuesday night race of the year. Finally a good starting spot for the heat race. #3 out of 7 cars. Stays in 3rd at the green and up to 2nd by lap 3. The car would get a little tight on him throughout the caution-free race, and Nicholas would take the checkered flag in 4th. A main starting in the dreaded #2 spot. Nicholas stays side by side with the #1 car on the first lap. Another car goes to the outside of him, and they all bump. Caution flies. Nicholas restarts in first. He holds the lead for many laps, but the wreck messed up the car somewhere, and the field was closing quickly. The car continues to go away on him, and he crosses the finish line in 5th.
Friday, August 19
First Fall Race back at Concord
19 August 05. We are back at Concord for the 10th points race of the year. Nicholas car is now white with Panthers decals and sporting some hard-to-get Carolina Panthers football autographs on the hood. We also have a great friend and racer helping us out now, Blake Harris. Nicholas goes into this race sitting 5th in points and tied with the #37 car. Time for the heat race Nicholas is in the 2nd set of heats for the Bandits. Nicholas is on the POLE with 7 cars running. A new red car shows up that hasnt raced the spring season and lines up on the outside pole. They take the green flag, and the red car takes a small lead down the backstretch with Nicholas catching him. Nicholas goes below him into turn 3, side by side when Nicholas is pinched down into the grass in the corner messing up his bumper and part of the hood. Nicholas slows down and falls back to 4th. Much of the rest of the 8 laps is uneventful, but Nicholas finishes in 4th. After the race, there are some words exchanged between the red car and our team. Pretty much everyone agrees, the red car team hasnt been in racing long! Blake helps to keep Chris from letting his temper take over. In the main Nicholas lines up 8th out of 14 cars. Cautions fly several times trying to get the first lap completed. Nicholas finally settles into 7th. By lap 10, he is up to 6th. Time is called at the next caution flag so the field is told they are going green, white, checkered. Nicholas finishes a solid 6th! YEA!! Great race dude!
Saturday, August 13
Saturday Practice Session
13 August 05. We decided to rent the Concord track for 2 hours (11AM to 1PM) for Nicholas to get back in the car and get some practice and also to test some new tires. Chris, Josh and Lauren Butler show up to help out. About 45 minutes and 30 laps into practice; Nicholas stops the car on the track and tells his dad the car is making an awful racket. Daddy looks over the car quick for anything obvious and doesnt see anything so he tells Nicholas to go do 10 laps and come in. Well, Nicholas does about 1 ½ laps when hes going into turn 1, and the engine BLOWS apart! Metal pieces and oil are trailing the car through turns 1 and 2 and halfway down the backstretch till Nicholas can get the car stopped. Our practice is cut short! There is a softball size hole in the block. New engine for Wilt Racing - $1200!! OUCH! The only thing to smile about is that at least it didnt happen during the 1st points race for the fall season starting in 6 days.
Saturday, August 6
Checking-up does not payoff!
6 Aug 05. Nicholas starts in 5th in heat #2 out of 7 cars. Not much action finds Nicholas still in 6th with only 12 laps to go. He works hard to try to get to the top 3 as they will transfer to the A main but runs out of time and finishes in 4th. B main, top 4 transfer to the A. Nicholas starts 2nd out of the 7 cars. He finds himself in 4th after several cautions. The top 3 cars are beating on each other for the lead and get 3 wide going into turn 3. Nicholas has to check-up to avoid the craziness and the potential wreck. The wreck never happens and Nicholas loses two positions and the transfer spot. He would end up in 6th.
Monday, August 1
Knocking on the door!
1 Aug 05. Our second Monday night race with a car count of 81 due to folks coming from the Eastern Grands in Georgia. Finally a good draw, and Nicholas is on the pole for the A main. Only 1 race tonight. The green flag falls, and Nicholas is rolling and pulling away from the field. Caution flies on lap 6, and on the restart Nicholas checks out again. Another caution flies, and Nicholas gets bumped on the restart and goes to second. The leader and him pass back and forth several times. Nicholas stays on the tail of the leader, but the car appears to be a little loose and cannot make the pass on the leader. He is glued to the bumper but is unable to take the win and finishes 2nd. A great race for Nicholas, but the cautions did not play into his favor.
Monday, July 18
Monday Night Racing
18 July 05. Our first Monday night race of the year. Nicholas would line up in 4th out of 7 cars. Again with the entire field running nearly the same speed, he would finish in 5th. Nicholas would start in 5th for the main. He moves into 3rd early on in the race but falls to 5th after a hard bump from the 4th place car. After a caution flies, we decide to pit to check out the car from the hard hit. The car is fine, but Nicholas is in the back of the 7 car field. He works hard for the last 15 laps of the races and finishes a strong 3rd right on the tail of the 1st and 2nd place cars.
Saturday, July 16
Bad draw/equal field
16 July 05. Again another bad starting position #7 out of 10. Settles into 6th at the start, gets to 5th and gets spun out while passing for 4th. Nicholas gets a call for a charge (Bad Call)! Restarts in 10th and is only able to get back up to 8th with only a few laps left. The main would finally bring a caution free race. However, with a field that was nearly equal it was tough to gain any positions. Nicholas worked hard and was anywhere from 5th to 9th throughout the race and would cross the start/finish line in 7th.
Saturday, July 9
Visitors at the Track
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Monday, July 4
Fireworks Day!
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Saturday, July 2
No Luck!
2 July 05. Another terrible starting position for Nicholas. He would start the heat race in 9th out of 9 cars. Working hard throughout the race Nicholas was running from 5th to 7th but could not make any great ground on the leaders. He would cross the finish line in 5th which would give him the pole position for the A main. Nicholas holds the lead at the start, but the caution flies on lap 1. On the restart, the 2nd place car gets under him along with third place. He then gets bumped by the fourth place car, and his car turns sideways. He has to nearly stop to collect the car and loses all kids of ground. Caution eventually flies, and we bring him into the pits to check out the car. We send him back out at the tail of the field, but the car will not come up to speed. Another caution flies, and we bring him back in to check out the car. We determine it is best to call it a day, and Nicholas would finish in 8th.
Saturday, June 18
Cautions galore
18 June 05. Nicholas drew another bad number and would start the heat race in 8th out of 10. The car and Nicholas were really on their game He worked has way through the field to finish a strong 2nd place only a car length behind the leader. This would put Nicholas in the dreaded 4 hole for the main. Another race that would have many cautions found Nicholas going from 2nd to 7th throughout the race. He worked hard on the last segment of the race and got back up to 4th at the checkered flag. The car was great on long runs so the cautions did not play in our favor for today.
Saturday, June 11
Region 3 race at NCQMA
11 June 05. This would be Nicholas first region 3 race. Region 3 is known for some very heavy hitters, and the Sr. Honda class alone has numerous national champions. 24 cars registered for Sr. Honda would mean qualifying was key. Nicholas hit the track and had a fast time of 6.740 which we thought would end up being a great lap. It was one of his faster laps on the track up to this date. When all was said and done, we would end up 11th fastest out of the 24 cars. This meant Nicholas would start in the 5 hole for the "C" main. Nicholas started the race and held onto the 5th place transfer spot for the first half of the race and then took 4th place with about 10 laps to go. The race would then be riddled with cautions which were not to our advantage. Nicholas would lose 4th on one of the restarts and 5th on another. He was attempting to make a pass for the last and final transfer spot on the last lap when he was hammered in the back end and was spun out on the last lap. He finished 8th which meant he would not transfer to the B-main.
Saturday, June 4
Fast But No Win
4 June 05. Nicholas draws the #5 starting position for his heat race. Before the start of the race, the #1 car comes into the pits and does not make it back out onto the track in time. Bad break for Nicholas as this will bump him to the outside #4 starting spot. The outside row at NCQMA is not the place to start a race. After many cautions, Nicholas works him way up to second and is on the leaders bumper. They begin to lap cars. Nicholas looks several times in the last two laps to make the pass but settles for the 2nd place spot at the checkered flag. The main has Nicholas in the #4 hole. "Oh yea! He settles into 6th after several laps. He works hard and finds himself in 2nd place and on the tail of the leader. They catch lapped traffic, and Nicholas gets under a lapped car but gets pushed too far to the bottom and hits the speed bumps hard and has to check up to keep from spinning out. He loses 2nd and 3rd because of the loss of momentum but works his way back up to third before the finish of the race. A few bad breaks but a solid race. He had the fastest car but did not win the race.
Saturday, May 21
Speed is coming soon!
21 May 05. Nicholas drew another good starting spot #3 in a 10 car field. Nicholas gets into second on the first lap, but the caution flies. During the line-up, a car comes down on Nicholas and hits the right front really hard. A radius rod is bent, but Nicholas not knowing the car is damaged stays out. No parts or tools are on the pit cart to fix the car anyway. He holds onto second for a good amount of laps until the right front finally gives away, and the car pushes towards the wall in turn 2. He gathers the car back up but loses many positions. He gets the car back up to speed and finishes 8th which will put him in 8th for the main. The green flag drops for the main, and Nicholas starts working his way forward. A wreck in turns 3 and 4 happens, and Nicholas has to make a last minute move to avoid hitting the two cars. A good move saves his car and two others. The top 6 or 7 cars are all pretty much together. Nicholas makes a couple of moves at the end of the race to finish a strong 5th. A good test session after the race helps us prepare to make a few changes to the car for the upcoming weeks. It is nice to find a tenth and a half that we have been searching for. Talon Chassis and Wilt racing will be taking next week off to prepare for the summer months.
Saturday, May 14
First Sr. Honda Victory with Talon
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Friday, May 13
First Bandolero Victory
3 May 05. Nicholas drew the 3rd spot out of 6 for the heat race, but the pole sitter was a newer driver and would drop to the back of the field which would give the position to Nicholas. He was determined one way or another to win this race. A spin out on lap 1 would call for a second double file restart. Nicholas held the lead for 1 lap but lost it in turn 1 and 2. He stayed about 5-6 car lengths (sometimes more) behind the first and second place car and worked hard to stay in third. His line in turn 3 and 4 was not great but he held onto the position. With 1 lap to go the leaders got together and spun each other out which gave Nicholas the lead. This would call for a green, white, checker finish. Nicholas hit it hard on the green flag and would barely hold on for the win. It was a great FIRST WIN for Nicholas in the Bandolero, and we were pretty happy that he would have the pole for the main instead of being in the middle of the pack. I was a bundle of nerves for the main. I knew the car was pretty good, but I knew he would have to work hard for a good finish. The green flag flew and Nicholas would hold the lead going into turn 1 and 2. A few cars on the outside spin, and the caution comes out. Another side by side start. Nicholas keeps the lead again on the restart and finished the first lap in the lead. Coming out of turn 2 on the 2nd lap he loses the lead but holds onto second and is pretty much staying with the leader. The caution flies on lap 3. Nicholas restarts in second and holds on for another lap. Going into turn 1 he gets punted by the third place car and spins out. He gets restarted and lines up in 10th for the restart. He gets a great start and takes a few cars on the outside before entering turn one, and comes through the middle of the field on the back-stretch and moves up to 5th. On the next lap going into turn one a car dives on him and punts him again spinning him out right in the groove in turn 2. He gets hit by a car coming high out of turn two. The car is running but not moving. Dad is not happy with the punting tactics, but that is racing. Nicholas comes off on the wrecker with a bent rear axle and all kinds of tore up fiberglass. It takes 5 people to load the car in the trailer. Good thing this was the last race of the spring series at Concord. We return to Concord in August to finish up that season. We will probably be only entering a few of the Summer Shootout races at Lowes and concentrate more on the end of the season at Concord. We have learned many things in just a few short Bandolero races at Concord and hope that the fall brings us a little more luck. Nicholas has worked very hard on learning to drive this style of car, and we know with some more practice he will only get better.
Saturday, May 7
Nearly a Win!
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Friday, May 6
A cold but calm May night
6 May 05. Nicholas either draws a good starting position or a really bad one. Well today was a bad one. Nicholas stays cautious throughout the race and gets into 5th in a caution free race. The heat race finish gives Nicholas a 10th starting position out of 13 cars. For the main the car just does not seem very fast and is not handling the best. Nicholas stays towards the rear of the field. On lap 7 the caution flies and Nicholas is still in 10th. Nicholas works hard for positions and gets up to 7th with 2 laps to go but loses a position on the final lap for an 8th place finish. No damage to the car, no major cautions and a nice calm night.
Sunday, May 1
Big Wreck without a DNF
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Friday, April 29
Bad draw, Bad wreck, Bad finish
29 April 05. Practice goes fine and the car looks pretty good. Nicholas draws the #6 spot out of 6 for the heat race. Nicholas takes it easy most of the race and stays safe but works his way up to 3rd which will give him the 6 spot in the 13 car field. Caution flies on the first lap for a spin out so we need to restart again. Nicholas does not really like lining up in the middle of the field on the outside. On lap two a few of the lead cars spin out on lap two. Nicholas goes high to avoid the wreck. Nicholas gets a little loose in the gravel and grazes one of the other cars which spins him out. Nicholas then gets slammed from behind and flies into the concrete wall. The car will not move and Nicholas comes off the track on the wrecker. The car is totally trashed on the front and rear ends. Finishes 13th out of 13, another DNF.
Saturday, April 23
Bad Breaks
23 April 05. Another bad pill draw puts Nicholas in the #6 hole for the heat race in an 8 car field. At the start, he misses a four car pile up in turns 3 and 4. A few laps later a car makes an attempt to pass Nicholas and hits him in the left rear tire. Nicholas gets called for a chop (Bad Call)! The car was just not right after the spin out, and he ends up finishing in 8th. Starts 8th for the main, and all cars are nose to tail. About halfway through the race, he gets bumped from behind but keeps the car straight and rolling; However, the caution flies. Some nice passes during the race gets Nicholas up to 5th after having to go to the back because of an earlier caution.
Friday, April 22
3 Championships in 1 Year
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a great year. Well, Nicholas had his best year ever capturing 3 championships.
Over the course of the year , Nicholas accumulated 6 fast times with 4 heat
race wins and 5 main race wins during 8 local races. He had 7 fast times with
2 heat and 5 main race wins during 8 Texas Shootout races. The championship
he has been chasing for 3 years in region 6 was done in a dominating fashion.
His regional accomplishments included 2 fast times, 2 states race wins and 1
monza win, a rain-out during the Tulsa Monza in just 4 races. This season will
close several chapters and begin several new chapter in Nicholas' racing career.
He will move up to Sr. Honda next year and also be competing in the INEX series
in a Bandolero. This also will close the chapter on Nicholas' racing in region
6 and in Texas as the Wilt racing team will be relocating to the heart of racing
in North Carolina. Great Job Nicholas during your 2004 season.
Sunday, April 17
Way Loose but a good finish
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Saturday, April 16
Flirting with Victory
16 April 05. For the heat race he draws the #4 starting spot in a 6 car field. A pretty uneventful race, the car handled pretty good, but Nicholas was unable to do much with the leaders. Finishes in 5th. The heat race finish will give him the pole for the main. After a gear change between races, Nicholas was ready to roll. Nicholas holds the lead at the beginning and pulls away from the field from time to time. However, for some reason they decided to put up cones on the track to simulate speed bumps since the new speed bumps had not been installed. It took the car several laps to come up to speed, but Nicholas held on for over 20 laps of the 30 lap race. With just a few to go, Nicholas lost the lead. During the pass, he also lost 2nd and 3rd. The leaders would cross the finish line side by side with Nicholas right behind them. A 4th place finish for the main. The car, driver and engine performed really well today. You will soon see this driver in his Talon Chassis in Victory Lane.
Friday, April 15
Oh these Bandoleros
15 April 05. During the practice session Nicholas had to go high coming out of turn 2 to avoid an accident and hits the wall. For some reason or another, the clutch flew off the car. We got the car fixed just in time for the heat race. Starts the heat race in the #3 spot and struggles with an ill handling car. He finished the heat in 6th which will put him in the 11th spot for the main. Nicholas gets in line on the first lap. A few laps into the race Nicholas has worked his way up to 7th or 8th. Coming into turn 3 and 4 several cars spin out right in front of him. With nowhere to go Nicholas chooses to spin the car out instead of slamming into one of the other cars. However, another car did not see the accident and slams into the rear end of the car. Nicholas takes off but the car comes to a halt coming out of turn two. After he comes off on the hook (wrecker), we noticed that the bearing carrier had been broken off during the accident. Finishes 13th with another DNF.
Sunday, April 10
Bandolero engine woe's continue
10 April 05. (make-up for 1 April rain-out). During the practice session the car was fast. However, during the end of the practice session the car just stopped running on the track. Nicholas coasted the car back to the pits. After asking many folks what the problem could be with none of the answers leading us to why the car was not firing, Jason from 600 racing and I finally discover that a wire was shredded during the practice session and a fragment got up under the side cover which was grounding the engine out. Nicholas had a good run during the heat race and finishes 3rd which would give him a 5th place starting spot of the 18 registered. Several cars were unable to make the main due to mechanical failure and wrecks during the heat races. Nicholas spun the car out several times and the race was filled with cautions. The car set-up was lacking but Nicholas held onto a very tight race car and finishes in 9th. Dad really needs to figure out how to set-up this car.
Saturday, April 9
First Race of 2005
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Friday, March 25
New car brings on new problems
25 March 05. Nicholas was lucky enough to again have additional fans aboard as Grammy Griffin was here to watch his second race of the year. Nicholas drew the pole position for the heat race. He was determined to lead the first lap. He actually leads for 2 1/2 laps before he spins the car out coming out of turn 2. Caution comes out, and he lines up in 9th. He works his way back up to 5th which gave him the #9 starting spot for the main. Nicholas got a nice start but quickly found himself in 10th place in the 18 car field. The race was filled with cautions, and Nicholas worked his way up to 6th. With 4 laps to go Nicholas makes a hard charge on a restart for the 5th place car when the car suddenly slows. He putts around the track for a lap and then finally exits onto pit road with 3 to go. Somehow or another the crankshaft sheered off the engine. Nicholas ends up with a 10th place finish and his first DNF.
Friday, March 18
Bandolero Race #1 at Concord (5th Place)
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Saturday, March 5
First Practice Laps
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his first practice lap in the Bandolero.
Saturday, March 5
First ever Bandolero Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway (5th Place)
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Tuesday, February 1
Big News - New State, New Class, New Ride (Talon Chassis)
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Saturday, October 30
Saying good-bye to Region 6 in style.
30 Oct 04. Double points in Austin meant we could not screw up. Nicholas wanted more than just a play it safe night, he was determined and focused. A great practice showed several laps under the track record. It was time to qualify, and by lap 4 he was under track record time. I waited 1 more lap to put him on, and it was a lap too late. His best time of 7.187 was good enough for fast time but fell just 0.011 short of the track record. I decided to make a tire change for the heat race and went away from the Hoosiers that had been so great for him for several months since we started using them. Nicholas had a 6 race win streak on the line. Well, dumb move dad! The car slowed down a tick in the heat race, and although he was as fast as the first place car, he just could not get up enough speed to make the pass for the lead. We had special visitors show up to watch qualifying and the heat races Ms Milly, Elena, Corina and Jesse would be in the stands to cheer Nicholas on. It was time for the main, and I went back to the Hoosiers. Nicholas wanted to leave Austin and Region 6 in style. After many restarts of the main, the #1 car got DQd for pushing Cody McIntyre up the track in turns 3 and 4 opening up the door for Nicholas several times to pass under both of them. So with just Nicholas and Cody left to race the main, they went side-by-side for nearly two laps which made for some very exciting racing. Nicholas finally took the lead, and the car was really hooked up good. He had nearly a ¾ lap lead at the end. He left Austin and Region 6 in style with a win. Congratulations on your back-to-back Jr. Honda Texas Shootout Championships!!!!!!
Saturday, October 23
Going for the local Championship.
23 Oct 04. This would be Nicholas last race at LSQMA as well as a Shootout race. He was trying really hard for a record, but track conditions just were not right. He again took fast time with a time of 6.538. During the heat race, he worked hard on the second and first place car and took the lead several laps into the race and would go on for the win. It was time for the main, and he wanted his last San Antonio race to be a one to remember. So, he told me he was going to have the lead by the end of the first lap. I told him to just be smart and dont do anything dumb. He was determined at the start and passed both cars by the end of the first lap and would pull away for a very rewarding win. Another 70 point local and shootout night wrapped up the local championship and gave him a nice comfortable lead for the shootout championship with only 1 race remaining. A great night to end 4 memorable years of racing at our home club in San Antonio. Congratulations Nicholas on your back-to-back LSQMA Jr. Honda Championships!!!!
Saturday, October 9
Oh No Tulsa Monza!
9-10 Oct 04. All we had to do was show up and Nicholas was the Region 6 Jr. Honda Champion. However, Nicholas and the whole Wilt racing team wanted much more out of Tulsa. It would be our last Monza in Region 6 before we would depart for North Carolina at the end of the year. Nicholas had some great practice times and was flirting with a track record that has stood for several years. However, track conditions would change for qualifying, and he would fall short of the track record with a time of 6.471. This was much faster than last year and would be good enough for 2nd fastest out of 11 registered cars. Nicholas had the determined look in his eye and was ready to rock and roll for the Columbus Day race. He knew Tulsa owed him after several years of frustrating trips. I told him to safely settle into a position at the start and work from there. At the start, he fell into 3rd and was patient working his way to the front. Nicholas got the lead and was begging to lap cars and pull away from the pack when the caution flew with 5 laps to go. It would turn out to be an extended caution period, and I knew we were in for a little trouble at the start since the tires had cooled off. At the restart the 2nd place car got a bumper under Nicholas going into turn 1 and bumped him coming out of 2. Nicholas held his ground and worked hard to keep the lead. With a great driving effort he kept the lead and would go on for the win!! Nicholas made the call to run Hoosiers during qualifying and the race, and he made a great decision. Sunday would arrive and prove to be a gully washer. It poured and poured. With no chance to get the racein, the race officials called the Monza races off early. Nicholas really wanted to run Tulsa one more time, but Mother Nature saw differently. Finally, we won a race at Tulsa and had no bent parts. Congratulations Nicholas, 2004 Region 6 Jr. Honda Champion!!!!!!
Saturday, September 25
A little wet Racing
25 Sept 04. With only a few races left in the 2004 season the points race is close and every race is key. Nicholas had another great qualifying run and got fast time with a best lap of 6.552 still a good chunk off the track record that he is shooting for before we leave Texas. A great run during the heat race and nearly a quarter lap advantage over the second place car, Nicholas takes the win. During the main, Nicholas took the lead early and never looked back. He takes the second win for the night which makes for a perfect 70 point night. Rain starts to fall as the last race of the night begins and would delay things for nearly an hour, but we get underway and everyone finishes their races.
Saturday, September 18
Ups and Downs and Ups.
18 Sept 04. I wanted to practice Nicholas a good amount before the race but the track conditions were bad. We made numerous laps on several different sets of tires and nothing was good. So, for qualifying I went with a never before set-up for tires and it worked. Nicholas had lap times of 6.693, 6.594, and 6.533. He was .062 faster than the second fastest car. Nicholas would line-up in third for the heat race. Nicholas would stay in third at the start and was really working hard on the second place car. Going down the front stretch about 7 laps into the race Nicholas made his move. The second place car did not give up the position and came down on Nicholas going into turn 1. The cars locked wheels and they went straight into the wall. Nicholas car was in pretty bad shape. The front two radius rods now looked like a U. I brought Nicholas into the pits and several folks (Ralph Hernandez, Greg Spreen and Benny Stensgaard) began to fix the car. I knew I was not any help and just stood by watching. They got the car as good as they could get in 5 laps and we pushed him off. Well, the car was junk. By the end of the race Nicholas would be a lap down and would finish in third. I knew I had my work cut out before the main. I replaced both radius rods, a front right spindle and then noticed the right front shock was broken. Luckily George Robinsons daughter Blair was not racing and we were able to borrow her Carrera shock for the main. The car was fixed as best it could be in about an hours time and we headed for the main and put the Hoosiers back on. Nicholas would line up in second for the main and settled into second on the start. After several laps he made the move for the lead on the same car that he had wrecked with earlier in the night. This time the pass was successful. The third place car Cody McIntyre would follow Nicholas through and they pulled away. Nicholas and Cody were pretty equal through the race. Nicholas was faster in 3 and 4 and Cody was faster in 1 and 2. With 2 laps to go Cody spun his car out in turns 1 and 2. During the spin his throttle cable broke and he would not be able to return to the race. Nicholas took the restart with two to go and protected his lead and pulled to about a 5 or 6 car length lead to take the checkered flag for the win. He would end up in first for the night in local and shootout points.
Friday, September 3
Monza #3 in Austin.
3-5 Sept 04. Going into this monza Nicholas had a good lead on the rest of the Jr. Honda field for the Regional Championship. This was one of our big goals for the year was to win this Championship that has slipped out of our hands the past two years. Nicholas had a great practice on Friday and the key was to make the A main. There were a total of 12 Jr. Honda cars in attendance and making the A main was key. We went through several tire tests on Friday and still the old Hoosiers that had nearly 200 practice and racing laps on them were still fastest. Nicholas was the last car out to qualify. The sun started to go behind a cloud just as I pushed him out and I knew it would hurt a little. Nicholas once again ran great qualifying laps (7.297, 7.246, and 7.297). His fastest lap was .016 from having fast time. This would put us second fastest and in the A main. It came time for the Saturday States race and I felt the Hoosiers were the best tire so I would leave them on to get ready for Sunday. Nicholas would line up in third. The green flag fell and the worst thing that could happen happened. Coming out of turn 3 and 4 a two car pile-up blocking the track. Nicholas slowed way down and the wreck collected several more. Nicholas went as high as he could but just ran out of room. He would tap one car and the wall and I think all four tires came off the ground. He kept going but the track would go red to ensure everyone was ok. I looked at the car and the back two right side radius rods were a little bent. I fibbed a little to Nicholas and told him the car looked fine. It was not bad enough to bring him in and I knew he would line back up in second place since several of the cars had to go into the pits for repairs. The green flag fell on the restart and Nicholas was fast. A lap or so in he would pass the leader and was on a mission. He would catch the rear of the field and was lapping cars going three wide. I was having a fit. I believe he lapped up to the fourth place car. He would go on for the win with a half a lap on the second place car. This was Nicholas first States race win in a full field of cars. Now, we just need the same results on Sunday. Sunday came quickly and I made several repairs to the car and knew the car should be very fast. Nicholas was focused and ready to roll. With a good finish we could possibly wrap up the regional championship and not have to worry about what happens in Tulsa. During warm-up I told him to take it easy and I brought him in early once I saw the car was good and fast. I had a short talk with him in the pits and he was ready. Nicholas would line up in third. The green flag fell and Nicholas went into second. After a lap he passed the leader and was on a mission again. The fourth place car and fast qualifier Cody McIntyre was hanging with Nicholas through each lap. Nicholas caught the rear of the field with about 10 laps left and started lapping the field. He was smooth through traffic which was key. I believe he lapped up to about fifth place and gained about a quarter of a lap on Cody as Cody struggled with some two and three wide slower cars. We had it in the bag. Wait, with two laps to go the caution flies. Nicholas had the lead but I knew Cody was potentially faster than us but I felt it would take him a few laps to catch us. Unfortunately for Cody there was another lapped car in between Nicholas and Cody on the restart. During the first restart Cody got tapped from behind from the third place car and spun out. A charge was called on the third place car and we would have to restart again. On the restart Cody handled the lap car quickly but Nicholas pulled away by a few cars lengths. Nicholas drove fast and smooth the last two laps and went on for his first Jr. Honda Monza win. We had worked so hard for a weekend like this and it finally happened. Nicholas drove all weekend like a ten year veteran and made no errors. He had a huge smile on his face and knew mom and dad were very proud of him. After calculating the finish of the monza all we have to do is show up and register in Tulsa and Nicholas will finally win the championship he has worked so hard for.
Saturday, August 21
Fast with a green track.
21 Aug 04. We would have an hour or so rain delay which would make this day even longer than normal. Nicholas loves racing in Austin especially at night. Nicholas would get fast time with a lap of 7.463 which was a tenth and a half faster than the second place car. During the heat Nicholas would settle into second and be on the leaders bumper for the whole race. He must have forgotten it was only a 15 lap race and quickly ran out of time to make the pass. Nicholas would make a last lap effort for the pass but would fail to make it but came in a strong second place. He was determined to win the main. Dad would make 1 change to the car which was the Hoosier tires. The green fell but going into turn 1 the front row cars locked up and would collect all three of them. Nicholas lined up for the restart in second and would not wait this time. Nicholas quickly took the lead and pulled away from second place. He would eventually catch the third place car and put him a lap down. Nicholas really shined this race and took the checkered flag for the main win. Nicholas would end up first for the night because of his fast time and main win. Next race is the Austin Monza.
Saturday, August 14
Fast but not enough.
14 Aug 04. One of Nicholas fastest qualifying runs of the year would be just a little short of fast time. Nicholas best lap of 6.472 was .052 slower than the fast time winner Cody McIntyre. For the heat race Nicholas jumped out to the lead. He would hold the lead for several laps. However, dad was using a new brand and compound of tires that were untested for long runs. The tires seemed to drop off pretty quick and Nicholas lost the lead and would finish in second. It was time for the main and dad made about half the changes needed to make the car better. We had to run with what we had. One of the changes included running Hoosier tires for the first time in a race situation. We had tested the Hoosiers a few times and were very impressed. Nicholas would hold onto the lead on lap one and run the fastest laps of the year. Both Nicholas and Cody were running record lap times during most of the race. Nicholas did a great job holding off Cody and the Hoosier tires never slowed down. Nicholas would take the checkered flag for the main win. He would finish in second place for the evening. Go Hoosier.
Sunday, July 25
Bye California
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Friday, July 23
Grands Racing (Bad move Dad)
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Tuesday, July 20
Qualifying Day at the Grands
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Sunday, July 18
Grands Practice, Practice, Practice
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Friday, July 16
The Grands Trip
14-16 July 04. A long 1750 mile trip. We made it a two-day trip on the way out. Day one took us to Pasadena, CA. The reason we decided to stop was we hit rush hour traffic in L.A., and that was a bear. After 25 hours I did not want to deal with bumper to bumper traffic. We got up early to beat the California traffic. Only a 6 hour drive today to get us to our final destination. We arrived in Sacramento around noon and headed to the track to drop off the trailer. We arrived at the track and could not believe the parking situation. There was plenty of trailer parking but the area was rocky and very dusty, it was going to be a rough week walking through this boulder field everyday.
Saturday, June 12
Night Race in Austin (Shootout #4)
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Friday, May 28
Memorial Day Monza in Topeka
28 - 30 May 04. We once again would head to Nicholas' favorite track in our region, Topeka KS. The practice day which was Friday would start out bad. Nicholas went out for his first practice and on the second lap two cars spun out in front of him. We would end up with two bent radius rods and two bent rod ends because of the accident. We would go out for our second practice and the car was good. We tried several different compounds of tires but found our set-up from last year's race was still the best. Saturday rolled around and Nicholas knew he had to qualify well. There were 14 Jr. Honda cars which meant Jr. Honda would have a C Main. Nicholas was the third to last car out to qualify and he was hitting his line well. He had 3 very consistent times on the clock with a best of 6.910 which was nearly a tenth slower than last year but was good enough for overall fast time meaning we made the A main. Nicholas was very happy with his effort in qualifying. Saturday also was the Memorial Day race. At the start of the race Nicholas found himself in a little traffic and I think settled in fifth. Throughout the race the car appeared to be getting faster and faster. Nicholas would make some great moves and passes to work his way up to third. He was gaining on the leaders but ran out of time. Although he finished in third we were very happy with his driving and it was probably the best he has driven all year. Sunday was the big day, the Memorial Day Monza for regional points. Track conditions changed and I made a few adjustments to the car for a conservative set-up. We needed a top 5 finish to get the points we needed. At the start Nicholas got in his line quickly and was gaining on the leaders. However, the race would be pretty much caution free and the car was slowing as laps went down. He was running 6.8 second laps during the first 5 laps or so but the car really went away on him. He tried his best and held off several passing attempts on him and he came into the finish a strong 4th. During the last 5 laps of the race he was running 7.2's. The tires really went away on him but he did a great job staying in the top 5. With two Monza races in the book, Nicholas is now in first place in the region. Two races remain and each driver gets to drop a low points race so anything is possible at this point in time. Our next Monza race will be Labor Day weekend in Austin with the last Monza during the Columbus Day weekend in Tulsa.
Saturday, May 15
Shootout #3 in San Antonio
15 May 04. Today would bring some interesting twists for Nicholas. Again Nicholas had a great qualifying effort and had a fast time of 6.559 which would be good enough for overall fast time. During the heat race Nicholas got stuck behind the third place car and made several attempts to pass thoughout the race but just did not feel comfortable in making the move. Finally towards the end of the race he made the move and actually made the move on second place and would end up second in the heat race. It was time for the main. Again, Nicholas got stuck behind third place and patiently worked on making the move. However, he waited a little to long and wheels got hooked up with the third place car coming out of turn 4. The two cars would spin, the leader would come around the corner and tried to go high to miss the accident but plowed into Nicholas. The drivers were fine but all I saw was the right front shock fly about 10 feet away from the car. With the damage to the car Nicholas was not able to finish the race. With his good qualifying run and heat race run he would still end up second overall in points for the shootout and local. However, we now had a broken shock, bent front axle, two bent radius rods, 4 bent rod ends and one bent spindle. So, we had over $500 worth of damage to fix and had to do it quick since our next race will be the Memorial Day monza in Topeka.
Saturday, May 8
Threat of Rain
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Saturday, April 24
Shootout in Austin
24 April 04. After a few days of working on the car (remember the monza) and a good practice session, Nicholas had the fire back in his eyes and was ready to tackle his first race in Austin for 2004 with full force. However, mother nature would say not this week. We got a call early in the morning that the race in Austin was cancelled. I could tell Nicholas was not real happy but the weather was not good and a good decision was made to call the race early before everyone left. In fact, Nicholas actually shed a few tears, that is how ready he was to race. Although I did not want to see him upset, it gave me another good feeling that he is developing into a great driver and really enjoys racing.
Thursday, April 8
Easter Monza in San Antonio
8 & 9 April 04. Nicholas had some strong practice sessions and felt comfortable he could once again get fast time. There were several new drivers from the other tracks and I never really got good times on them so I was not sure. Nicholas hit the track for qualifying and ran 3 really great consistent laps. His best lap was a 6.551 which would end up being fast qualifier. It came time for the Easter Holiday race and boy it was an interesting one. Nicholas got a good start, made a pass or two on his way to the front but then who really knows what happened. We lost several positions under caution and if it could go wrong it did. Nicholas seemed to get frustrated during all the caution laps and lost ground several times on restarts. The race ended up taking over 30 minutes and I really don't even know where he finished. I believe he came in either fourth or fifth. Saturday of course was the important day the Easter Monza. Nicholas really seemed focused. However, dad made an error. Nicholas said something to me on Friday about brakes and gas and I forgot to look at the car on Saturday morning. Well, I sent him out for warm-up and he came right into the pits and told me what was wrong. After nearly 5 minutes of working on the car I sent him back out on the track with an ill car and good advice. I told him he did not have the car to win because of the throttle problem but to drive his best and stay out of the accidents. Well, he listened to me and stayed out of several big wrecks and actually held onto 3rd place until the last lap. He tried to get his position back coming to the finish line but fell just short. Even though he came in fourth, I had a great feeling. I had a driver that had a bad race car, stayed out of trouble and got a good finish, that is what makes a great driver. Nicholas would finish the monza with fast time and come in second place overall in points. Our next monza is at Nicholas' favorite track in Topeka, KS., however, it is not my favorite place to go in May.
Saturday, March 20
Shootout #1
20 March 04. Nicholas appeared to be focused but results would show differently. Once again his qualifying effort was flawless. He got fast time once again with a 6.580 which was just about 2 tenths faster than the next car. Nicholas took the track for the heat race and the car was fast. However, the green flag dropped, he got stuck behind a slower car, tried several times to take advantage of a small opening but never was able to execute the pass. He would finish the heat race in third place. He seemed to be a little more focused for the main. The green flag dropped and it appeared the car did not get a great start and he settled into second. He caught the first place car and actually took the lead but came upon a slower car and attempted to put that car a lap down and carried the car a little high and lost the lead. He would hang tough but came in second. He would finish the night with fast time and second overall in points.
Saturday, March 6
A great start to 2004!
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Sunday, November 30
Champion Again!!!
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Saturday, November 1
End of 2003
1 Nov 03. Last Points Race of 2003. The streak of fast time continues. We were hoping to have another shot at the track record, but weather and track conditions were not great. Nicholas had a fast time of 6.567 for another fast time and again in his white Nervo. He was very cautious during the heat race and finished in 4th place. During the main before the green flag would drop, a three car pile-up would occur on the backstretch, and Nicholas would be involved. The driver was ok, but the car had some slight damage. The top radius rod on the right side had a bend in it. I decided to not bring him in the pits and hoped for the best. He got a good start and jumped into second place. The car appeared really fast and closed up to the leader in the 30 lap feature with about 5 laps to go. He did a great job at handling a car that had slight damage but was not able to make the pass for the win. He ended up finishing the main in second place and also finished the points night in second. Another good outing in the white car, and it appears with some time this car will be even faster than the blue car. Nicholas also wrapped up the LSQMA Jr Honda Championship tonight. He was thrilled!
Saturday, October 25
Shootout #8
25 Oct 03. Final Shootout in Austin. Over the past week or so Nicholas decided it was time to start running the white Nervo in Jr Honda. I got the car prepared and hoped it was ready to go. Nicholas was sick on Friday, and it appeared we would not make the trip to Austin. He woke up on Saturday ready to race. Grammy Jo Ann and Pappy Charles were also going to get to see Nicholas race in the final Shootout in Austin. We got to Austin a little late, and when I weighed the car, it was nearly 30 pounds light. I scrambled to find 30 lbs to put into the car. We had a short practice, and the car looked good. Nicholas hit the track for qualifying and continued his streak of fast times. He ran his second best lap of the year in Austin with a time of 7.277. During the heat race, Nicholas got called for a charge early on in the race and ended up third. During the main, he took the lead by the end of lap one, and half way through the race had nearly a half a lap lead on the rest of the field. However, with 10 laps to go the caution came out for a spin. Nicholas got a good restart and held off the second place car and went on for the win in the main. He finished the points night in first and wrapped up the Texas Shootout Championship. It seems that Nicholas really likes the new car, and it runs just as good as his blue car.
Saturday, October 11
A Chance for a Regional Championship?
11- 12 Oct 03. Columbus Day Monza at San Antonio. Because of the Tulsa Monza finish, Nicholas needed to have a good weekend at his home track to come home with the regional championship. Nicholas was very fast in Fridays practice and was ready to go for the championship. However, Mother Nature had other ideas. After hours of rain and hours of track drying efforts, the Columbus Day Race on Sat and Monza Race on Sun were cancelled. This meant Nicholas would end up tied for second in the regional series. A better outcome than last year, but it would have been nice to have had a shot at the championship.
Saturday, September 27
Shootout #7
27 Sept 03. San Antonio. Nicholas continues to tear up the track in qualifying. Fast time again with a best lap of 6.580, again nearly a tenth faster than second fastest. He would start and finish in fourth in the heat race. During the main, he took the lead on lap 1 and would lead until lap 20 when a caution came out. I was confident he would go on to win the race, but I guess I was overconfident. Nicholas had not missed the drop of the green flag in some time, but for some reason he did not see the green flag fly on the re-start. He got passed by the second and third place car in turn one but came back on the backstretch to make it three wide. I guess he thought that was not a good idea and backed off the throttle. Got third back and finished the race in third place. Overall second place for the night.
Saturday, September 20
Ughhhh!
20 Sept 03. Rain, Rain, Rain. Another rainout at LSQMA.
Saturday, September 13
Fast night
13 Sept 03. Nicholas hit our track for qualifying, and the car looked very fast. He would end up with fast time at 6.481, nearly a tenth faster than the second place car. It was somewhat of an uneventful night, and Nicholas seemed content to just stay in line. He would finish the heat and the main in 4th place. Since he did have a good qualifying effort, he ended up in third place for the night.
Saturday, August 30
Tulsa You Owe Us!!!
30-31 Aug 03. Labor Day Monza; Tulsa, Oklahoma. We arrived at Tulsa on Thursday evening and found out the weather for the weekend was not looking good. Fridays practice session was great, and Nicholas appeared to be the fastest Jr Honda in attendance. Saturday the rain started which would cause the whole race weekend to be modified. Saturdays practice was cancelled and only qualifying and the Labor Day race would be held. Nicholas had a great qualifying effort with a fast time of 6.545; however, that would be .035 slower that the fast qualifier. It was time for the Labor Day race, and Nicholas had his game face on. As usual Tulsa produces many cautions because of the small track. Nicholas made his way through all the accidents, drove a smart race and made a run for the win with two laps to go but came up just short. He finished a strong second. It looks like Tulsa is being much more kind to us this year. It came time for the Monza on Sunday, and the rains came again. It appeared like the event would be cancelled. Unfortunately, with only 1 hour left before the cancellation time that was set the track was dried and ready to go. Nicholas appeared really ready for a big day. Just like on Saturday many cautions slowed the race. He held onto third position for most of the race and with 4 laps to go the second place car made a pass on the leader. Nicholas followed the second place car and appeared to have second place wrapped up himself. As luck would have it, the car he was passing came down a little to block the pass and the wheels from both of their cars got stuck together. Then came the impact into the wall the guardrail wall. Any impact into the wall in Tulsa is not good. Nicholas was fine, but the car was not. A great attempt was made by many to fix Nicholas car, but we were unable to fix the car within the 5 courtesy laps. The entire front end of the car was destroyed. Nicholas would get 7th place out of the race since two cars had already fallen out of the event. Just like last year in the Monza, Tulsa may hurt Nicholas in the Regional Series. With the second place finish that appeared he would have had without the accident, he would have been first place in points. With the seventh place finish, he is now tied for second place with one race remaining at our home track in San Antonio during the Columbus Day weekend. Tulsa was also the first race for Nicholas in his white 1900 78-inch Nervo that we got in Pennsylvania. He would race the car in the Jr Stock class. We played around with the deco class last year with some success, but the engines are hard to maintain. We borrowed an engine to run the class. We had some problems during qualifying. I pushed Nicholas out on the track, and the chain came off. However, he would go on to win the Labor Day race on Saturday and the Monza on Sunday. I clocked many of the laps on Saturday and Sunday and he was at track record speed during many of the laps - if we only could have qualified without the chain coming off. It was only a two car field, but the car looked very good, and Nicholas appeared very comfortable in his new car.
Saturday, August 16
Shootout #6
16 Aug 03. Austin. Nicholas continues to show he loves to qualify. The track was a little slower than our last outing, but he had a fast time of 7.399 which would be second fastest. Another quiet night of racing with very few cautions and no major accidents. Consistency continued as Nicholas would finish second in the heat and the main and would finish overall first for the night. He continues to lead the Texas Shootout Series and will hopefully soon wrap up this Championship that he has been chasing for 2 years. Our next adventure is in two weeks in Tulsa. Boy, does that track owe us one!
Saturday, August 9
Shootout #5
9 Aug 03. San Antonio. Even though mom and dad were tired after a long trip to the Grands and to other parts of the eastern U.S., Nicholas was ready to roll on race day. Another great qualifying effort but not fast enough for fast time this outing. Nicholas had a fast time on lap two of 6.519. Nicholas would finish in second place for both the heat and the main and would finish second overall in local points and first in shootout points for the evening. Just a smooth night of racing for Nicholas.
Saturday, July 26
Rest of Grands Trip
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Friday, July 25
Grands Race Day
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Tuesday, July 22
Off Days at the Grands
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Saturday, July 19
First Grands Great Qualifying Effort
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Thursday, July 17
Headed for the Big Race
17-18 July 03. Trip to the Eastern Grands. Our trip to Indianapolis would take place over two days. Day one would take us into Illinois where we would stop for the day. Day two of the trip was much shorter, and we would arrive at Indy before noon. We arrived at the hotel to find out our room was not ready. We decided to find the track and hope that we may be able to drop off the trailer. The track was less than 10 minutes away from the hotel. We arrived at the track and found a line of trailers waiting to get in. After a four hour wait (a story in itself), we would finally get parked. We were very happy with our parking spot since many folks were as far as a mile away from the track. We had only a minute walk to get to the track. We then left the track to head back to the hotel to find out the hotel did not have a room big enough for us, and we would end up getting two rooms for our entire stay in Indy.
Saturday, June 14
Another Record Night
14 June 03. Another hot day in Texas would produce good racing conditions. Nicholas hit the track for qualifying and would once again break his own track record with a fast time of 6.446. For the heat race Nicholas took the lead by the end of lap one and went on to win the race. The main event would be the interesting race of the night. Nicholas took the lead again by the end of lap one but for some reason the flagman had flagged off the race which would require another restart. Nicholas took some hard hits getting lined back up and that is when the problems would start. On the second restart Nicholas got a good start but going into turn one the car would not turn very well. Nicholas backed out of the gas to avoid hitting the wall and by the end of lap one he was in 5th place. He managed to make a pass with a broken car during the race and limped the car around the track for the remaining laps but would end up finishing the main in 4th. However, with his good qualifying effort and heat race win he would finish in second place for the night. This is our last local race until August. We will now spend the next several weeks preparing for our trip to the Eastern Grand Nationals being held in Indianapolis, IN.
Saturday, June 7
Shootout #4
7 June 03. Austin. A hot day in Austin with temperatures in the upper 90s would make conditions rough for the driver and handler but race conditions were great. Nicholas would have a great qualifying effort and broke the track record with a best time of 7.276. However, the track record would not hold for long as the next driver Hunter Montgomery broke Nicholass record with a time of 7.176. Nicholas would start the heat race in the number two position and took the lead on the first lap and led all 20 laps to take the win. In the main he would start again on the outside but missed the green flag drop and would remain in second for the remainder of the race. Nicholas finished second overall for the night. Our next race is back in San Antonio next week.
Friday, May 23
Topeka Monza
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Saturday, May 10
Breaking the Record Again
10 May 03. We had cars to race against this week. Still a low car count for the Jr Honda class, but 3 other drivers showed up to race. Track conditions were ideal, and Nicholas thought he could break his own track record. It was time to qualify, and once again the driver was right. Nicholas went out and broke his own track record. Again his fastest lap was his first lap, and the time was 6.529. He has knocked nearly a tenth off the old track record that stood for four years. During the heat race the first, second, and third place cars were nearly equal the whole race. Nicholas stayed in third for most of the race and waited a little too long to make a move for the win. He would cross the finish line side by side with the second place car but fell just a little short. He finished in third by just a few feet. He would start the main from the outside of row one. Nicholas does excellent when he starts up front. He took the lead going into the first turn and led all 25 laps of the race and had between a quarter and half a lap on the rest of the field. He would finish the night in first place in points. We are off next week, and then we head to Topeka, Kansas for the second race in the Monza series.
Saturday, May 3
No Jr. Honda's??????
3 May 03. For the first time since we have been racing Quarter Midgets, the Jr Honda class would have only one car. Guess everyone had plans for the weekend. The good news was that car was Nicholas. So, Nicholas and I decided since he would not get to race against any other cars it was time to go after the track record. The weather conditions were not great but during practice he was running track record speeds. It came time to qualify, and Nicholas hit his line each and every lap. His times were announced, and each of his 3 laps was faster than the track record. His first lap of 6.566 ended up being the fastest. He finally broke the track record that he had been chasing all last year. The track record was nearly 4 years old. He did get to take the green, white, and checkered flag for both his races. Hopefully next week he will have some cars in his class.
Thursday, April 17
Easter Monza
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Saturday, April 5
First Austin Race for 03
5 April 03. Our first trip to Austin for 2003 would be an expensive one. Once again Nicholas did great during qualifying. Just off a track record in Austin. He took fast time for the field. For the heat race he started in third and had the lead by the end of lap one. By the end of the race he had nearly a half a lap on the field and took the checkered flag for the win. He was really ready to go for the main and was looking at possibly a two win evening. He started in third and had second place by the end of the first lap and made the pass for the lead one the third lap of the race. He took the lead coming out of turn two and was looking great coming down the back stretch. The car in second place to the short way to the corner and hit the rear of Nicholas' car coming into turn 3. The hit spun the car around and threw the car up into the turn 4 wall. Nicholas was fine and thought it was a pretty cool ride. Initially looking at the car we had only a few things to fix. However, we had to come into the pits to fix the car which meant he would sacrifice the lead. I had to change a left rear tire and put the chain back on. We sent him back out and the rear of the car did not look good. He would restart in second position since the car that hit him dropped out and a call was made. The race restarted and the left rear looked bad. He did the best he could be never was in a position to pass for the lead. He ended up finishing second but won the points night overall. After further examination we found out the titanium axle was bent. This is an item we added to the car during the off season for more speed and durability. Titanium axles are not suppose to bend. So, I knew he took a heck of a hit. Lots of work to do on the car this week to get ready for the upcoming Monza in Austin on Easter weekend.
Saturday, March 22
Rain Again??? NO!
22 March 03. Once again rain would try to end our night early but we won out this time. Again Nicholas had a great qualifying effort and just off a track record again. However, he got beat out by a couple hundreths of a second and would be second fastest. At the start of the heat race Nicholas got a bad start and the race went caution free and he ended up coming in 6th place. He was not real happy with his finish but he was still glad he did as well as he did. After a long rain delay and a drop in temperature we got back to racing. I did not know what to expect out of the car and I had to make some drastic changes to ensure the car would stick to the surface. We would start in the rear of the field for the main and I knew that meant bad news. However, once again Nicholas proved me wrong. He ran one heck of a race. He made his way through the field and with two laps to go caught the leader. He peeked once or twice to try and make a pass but lapped traffic held him up but he still came in a strong second place. With the good qualifying effort and great main race he ended up finishing second in points for the night.
Saturday, January 25
A Champion Again in 2002
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Saturday, October 26
Last Shootout, Last Points Race for 2002
26 Oct 02. Well rain got us this time. Nicholas' points season would end just like it started with a cancelled race. Rain had been in the area for days and just would not let up. Austin made a call on Friday to cancel the race so we knew in advance and did not have to waste a trip up to Austin. Nicholas went into the last race in first place. However, once again because of the drop rules, he ended up finishing in 2nd place in the Texas Shootout series in the Jr Honda class.
Saturday, October 19
Last race for 2002 at LSQMA
19 Oct 02. Nicholas a Champion again? Yes and No. Nicholas was sitting in 1st place in Jr Honda points where he'd been since May. We needed rain and rain we got but not enough. All but 2 drivers in the class had taken their 3 drops for the year, and a rainout would benefit Nicholas since he only had one drop going into this race. What did a rain out mean? A championship in Jr Honda. Another hour or so of rain would have been great, but mother nature did not grant our wishes. The rain stopped, and the track was dried. Wilt racing was in for one frustrating night of racing. The "Wilt luck" would continue when the majority of the handlers voted not to qualify because of the rain delay. They voted to have the heat race count for qualifying points and heat race points. We would line up by drawing numbers. Guess what, Nicholas drew #6. One of the worst places to start when you have a patient driver. Nicholas was still ready to go and drove a great heat race, and he ended up finishing fourth. He made several good moves and held his ground very well. We got ripped off in mom and dad's minds but oh well. It came time for the main, and the car was still not handling very well. The temperatures had dropped, and the car was pushing. Once again, he drove a great race, and I actually clocked him a tenth or two faster than the leader, but he ran out of time once he caught the field. He again finished in fourth. Dad was frustrated with everything that happened, but Nicholas came off the track. I put up his visor and with a big smile he said "dad, I finished fourth for the night". How he knew that I don't know. He said he had a great time, and that is all that counts. He put a smile on my face and made me feel really good about what he does out on the track. Everything that went against him he did not care about or understand. He just wanted to race and do the best he could. Once again, just like the regional points, at this point in time we still do not know where he has finished in Jr Honda. It should be second, but because of a protest in the points we do not know. Hopefully "Wilt Luck" won't strike again. On the good side of things, Nicholas is once again a champion. He wrapped up the Jr Stock Championship for LSQMA on Saturday. One more shootout race in Austin, and the season is over except for the Turkey Day "fun race" and awards banquet.
Saturday, October 12
Austin Monza
12 Oct 02. Fianlly the last monza of the year. Weather would end up being a little tricky for this one. Nicholas' qualifying times get better every time at Austin. He had a best time of 7.368. Only good enough for fourth fastest but .070 off the fastest car and track record. The good thing was the fourth fastest car starts first. For the Columbus day race, Nicholas went out and took the lead on the first lap. He did exactly what I told him to do. He kept the lead for several laps, and then the car started to get tight on him in the corners. He dropped to third and then came the "big one". A wreck coming out of turn two involving two cars just as Nicholas was hauling butt into turn 1. He did not see the cars until the last second, and they were right in the groove. Somehow (I will never know how), he went right in between the cars and never touched either of them. It looked like you could not have fit a feather in between him and the other cars. It seemed like a minute for him to get through, but it was less than a second. He had the "move of the day" by missing the wreck. The car was still not right, but he drove it the best he could and would finish in 5th. Sunday for the Columbus Monza, he would start up front again. However, a cold front hit Texas and tires would be the key. I found the softest used tires I had. The car looked fine in practice, but everyone was a little off. At the start of the race, he kinda let off in the first turn and lost two positions. Again here comes the big one. A wreck coming out of turn two. Nicholas saw the yellow light come on and he slowed down. However, the car behind him did not see the light and they bumped which threw both of the cars into the wall hard. Nicholas was fine, and the car looked fine also. During the restart, I noticed Nicholas could not even come close to turning the car down into the corners. I blamed it on the weather. He did the very best he could and finished in 5th again. He came in and said "dad the car won't turn." I told him it was probably the tires. I did not discover until Tuesday while working on the car that I was way wrong about the tires. When Nicholas hit the wall, the steering rod got bent. I don't mean just a little. Somehow the kid was able to drive the car with a bent steering arm. I took the rod to Dale for a Knowlton straightening job since we only had two races to go, and I had no time to order one for the next race. At this point in time, we do not know what Nicholas' final points standing is for the region. He is in 2nd place, but because of an "assumed drop" in the regional rules we may drop to fourth place for the region.
Saturday, October 5
Back In Victory Lane for the Jr Honda Car
5 Oct 02. Back to barely missing fast time is back on our menu. Nicholas had a fast lap of 6.836 and would be second fastest. He stayed pretty smooth in the heat race and would finish in 4th. The bad thing about a good qualifying time and a good first race, it puts you in the back of the field for the main. Nicholas started 5th. At the start, my chin nearly dropped to the ground. The "light" came on! He made some great moves and would work up to second in just a few laps. The caution came out, and during the restart, he took the lead. Well, when Nicholas is in the lead, he is tough to catch. He never looked back and led the rest of the race. I think he got the biggest applause of the night. It had been a long time since he won a race starting towards the back. After he did his victory lap, he headed towards me, and all I could see was the smile on his face from ear to ear. Nicholas is always happy after a race no matter where he finishes. However, this smile was just a little bit bigger. It was a great feeling for all of us for him to work through all the traffic and drive like we know he can.
Saturday, September 28
Change of Racing Format
28 Sept 02. Yes, we finally figured out Austin. For the second week in a row Nicholas would get fast time except this week at a different track. His best lap was a 7.412. Hopefully our lap times will continue to improve since we have a monza coming up in Austin. The race format changed since nearly everyone wanted to go watch the Big races in Kyle, TX. We voted to have only qualifying and a main. The main would count for double points. During the race the entire field stayed together and Nicholas stayed strong the entire race. He ended up finishing third. However, since the change in race format he would end up third overall for the night. Bummer.
Saturday, September 21
Fast Time
21 Sep 02. New tires do great things. After working hard at it all year, Nicholas finally returned to his fast time status. Dad was sick of getting beat by hundredths and thousandths of a second and decided it was time to fix that. A set of tires left over from the Topeka monza is all it took. Nicholas had a best lap of 6.862. It came time for the heat and the car did not look right in warm-up. Nicholas did all he could to handle the car but would end up in 5th place for the heat and the main. Overall Jr Honda finish was fourth. I still don't know what was wrong but will have to do some alignment work this week to figure out why the car was pushing in the corners. In the Jr Stock car, he would return to Victory lane in both the heat and the main. He ended up in first place overall for the night. The Jr Stock championship is nearly in hand.
Saturday, September 14
Texas Shootout in Austin
14 Sept 02. We think we may finally have this place figured out again. Nicholas had his best qualifying time at 7.476, but that was only good enough for second fastest. He drove a very stong race in the heat and would finish second. Dad had an idea for the main. I told him several things to try, and he said OK. I figured he would forget by the time the race started. Well, he started exactly like I told him to and was in the lead. However, "Wilt luck" would prevail. He led the first 17 laps of a 20 lap race. On lap 18 his car hit a bump on the backstretch which pushed his car up in the corner opening the door up to the second place car. He tried to get the lead back in corner four but did not have enough speed. He ended up finishing the main in second place and finished second overall for the night.
Friday, August 30
Topeka Monza
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Saturday, August 17
Back in Victory Lane?
17 Aug 02. Nicholas really had his game face on this evening. Another great effort in qualifying with a best time of 6.905 which was second fastest. He started the heat race in the third spot but got a bad start. He came back with a strong run to get back up to third position. He would start in the back of the field during the main, and without any cautions, he was not able to gain many positions. He finished the main in fifth but would get second overall for the night. In the Jr Stock car, we got a few of the problems worked out, and Nicholas had a fast time of 6.967 which is the best so far but still off by 3 or 4 tenths. He finished second in the heat race but came back with a strong run in the main and finished first. He was very happy to get to carry the checkered flag once again.
Saturday, August 10
Back To Racing
10 Aug 02. After a long layoff because of the Eastern and Western Grands (that we were unable to attend), it was back to racing. Once again Nicholas had a great qualifying effort and had a fast time of 6.953 but was only third fastest overall. We can't remember where he finished in the heat or the main, but he must have done pretty good since he ended up with an overall third place for the night. He also had a pretty good time in his Jr Stock car with a 7.102. We are still having set-up problems. He finished the heat and the main in second and was second overall for the night.
Saturday, June 15
New Car to Wilt Racing
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Saturday, June 8
Austin Checkered Flag
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Friday, May 24
Tulsa, OK Monza
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Saturday, May 11
3rd San Antonio Shootout
11 May 02. A nice cool day for racing was on the menu. However, Wilt racing appears to be having some car problems. Nicholas had his worst qualifying time of the year, with a best lap of 7.208 which was 6th best out of 7. We made some minor changes to the car for the heat race, but the car was still not performing up to standards. Nicholas drove a great race and somehow held onto 6th place. Nicholas kept his head high, and some more changes to the car were made to try and get it faster. He drove a great race but could not keep the car down in the turns. He finished the main in 5th. He would finish the night in 6th for local points and 2nd for shootout points. It looks like we need to do some major work before we head for Tulsa, OK the end of May.
Saturday, May 4
Tough Competition
4 May 2002. Just like any other sport when you move up the competition gets tougher. The Jr. Honda class is a very tough class in QM racing and with Nicholas only being 6, one of the younger ones in the class, he needs to always be on his toes. He qualified second fastest with a best lap of 6.975. During the heat race, passing was tough along with the competition. He ended up finishing in 4th place. It came time for the main, and once again passing was tough along with a few cautions that did not help us. Nicholas drove a very strong race and again finished in 4th. He finished the evening an overall 3rd for local points. Our next race is 11 May which is a Shootout race in San Antonio.
Saturday, April 27
First Austin Shootout
27 Apr 2002. Our first trip to Austin for the 2002 season. Nicholas set the Jr Novice track record in Austin last year, and his goal is to have the Jr Honda record by the end of this year. He qualified second fastest with a fast lap time of 7.743. It came time for the heat race. Nicholas did not get a great start in the heat race but held tough throughout the entire race and finished a strong 4th. When it came time for the main, he was really ready to go and he really wanted the win. By the end of the first lap, he had the lead. When Nicholas gets the lead, he is really tough to catch unless he catches the tail end of the pack. He ended up winning the race and had nearly a half a lap lead on the rest of the field. He would finish an overall 2nd for shootout points. Our next race is 4 May in San Antonio.
Saturday, April 20
Tight Racing
20 April 2002. Another nice day for racing would result in just an average night for Wilt Racing. Nicholas qualified second fastest with a fast lap of 6.939 only 0.008 slower than the fastest car. Guess the crew chief should have taken that extra 5 pounds out of the car. During the heat race on lap one, Nicholas get tied up with the car on the outside and neither of them could do enought to catch the rest of the field. By the end of lap one, he was nearly a half a lap behind and a short 15 lap race did not give him enough time to catch the rest of the field. He did pull within a few car lengths of the 5th place car but ran out of time. Ended up finishing 6th. During the main, a similar incident on lap 5 would once again give Nicholas an on-track deficit that was tough to overcome. He did come on strong at the end and finished in 5th place. A fifth place overall for the night in points. We need to work on race set-ups a little bit better along with our race gear. We have a good qualifying gear, but our race gear puts us a little behind at the start.
Saturday, April 13
A quick night of racing
13 April 2002. Even though we had a week off from racing it seemed that we had just left the track from the Easter Monza. We worked during the off week on some gears and how Nicholas should look for the green flag at the start of the race. He had some great practice early in the afternoon and was actually really close to a track record. It came time to qualify and I was really excited that we might be near a track record. In fact I made a few small changes to the car to try to get it faster. Well, dad screwed up again. Nicholas pulled some good laps but his times actually slowed down by 3 to 4 tenths over what his practice times were. His fast time was 7.0??, we forgot to write it down. He would end up being the 2nd fastest. Lost fast time again by just a few hundredths. Nicholas was really ready to race and seemed ready to win. He did not get a great start during the heat race but stayed very close to the leader but never made a move for the win. He ended up finishing second in the heat race but he really needed a good finish. It came time for the main race. We had another talk about the starts and how he could make passes before the first turn which would help him eliminate some of the slower cars by the time the first lap was over. He must have paid attention. He really watched the flagman and got a great start. By the time he entered the first corner he was in the lead. Once Nicholas gets in the lead he is hard to catch. By the time the race was over he had nearly 3/4 of a lap on the rest of the field. This would be his first win of the year and hopefully just the first of many for the year. It was great to see him carry the checkered flag around in his car. You could see the smile from ear to ear under his helmet. For his great efforts he ended up finishing first in points for the night. Nicholas also raced in the Jr Stock class. This is a class we have been thinking about going to especially when we go to the grands. Right now there are no other racers in the club in this class so Nicholas only had to qualify to get his points for the night. We borrowed another car with a stock engine in it for him to qualify. We are just playing with this idea and we put him out there just to see what he thought about that type of engine. He enjoyed racing the car and once again got to carry the checkered flag even though he did not have to race against anyone. Our next race is next weekend 20 April which is a Texas Shootout here in San Antonio.
Thursday, March 28
Easter Monza
28-29 March 2002. This would be Nicholas' first big test as a Jr Honda racer. We knew there would be kids from the other clubs in the region that had been racing for several years going up against Nicholas. We registered early so we would be the last to qualify. The time to beat was a tough one and Nicholas had his work cut out for him. He ran some fantastic laps and had a fast time of 6.821 which was his fastest lap ever. However he was 0.044 slower than the fastest car. He was a little bummed but we were very proud of him and it showed just how good a qualifier he was. The first race would be on Friday. It turned out to be a wreck fest to say the least. Somehow Nicholas managed to avoid every accident on the track. A few of them I still don't know how he stayed out of them. He had a very good race and ended up finishing third. This was very impressive for his first race as a Jr Honda driver in regional competition. The next race would be the Easter Monza on Saturday. We had rain on Friday night and Saturday morning which changed the track bunches and would hurt us down the road. We went out to run the heat race which is not required. I only intended for Nicholas to have a short practice but he decided to stay out and run the race. He did a great job again and came in 3rd again. The car was running very well and seemed to handle very well. Several hours would pass along with the temperatures increasing about 15 degrees. Nicholas was really ready to go for the main. He did not get a great start on the drop of the green flag and actually dropped to sixth or seventh. Once again several cautions flew and Nicholas slowly worked his way all the way up to second place. However since this was a longer race handling of the car was key. As the race went on it seemed like he could not hold the car down in the corners like he normally does. When it was all said and done he dropped back to 5th place but all of the top 5 cars were really close. If only dad had made some adjustments to the car. We were very proud that he came in 5th in his first Monza and everyone that finished ahead of him was either 7 or 8 year olds and one that was getting ready to turn 9. Nicholas ended up finishing 3rd in points for the monza and is in 3rd place for the region. He received a very nice trophy for his efforts on Friday. Our next race is scheduled for 13 April which will be a local race.
Saturday, March 16
First Texas Shootout
16 March 2002. We finally got our season under way. However, we discovered a shock problem with the car on Thursday and were not able to put a permenant fix on the situation and only could provide a band-aid solution until new parts would come in. Nicholas being the detailed kid that he is knew we had a problem to the car but I failed to let him know that we had the car fixed and it would work just fine. This situation kinda hurt us during qualifying and Nicholas' fastest lap was 8.066 which was nearly a second slower than some of his best laps last year. He did not know the problem was fixed so he just kinda crused around the track. When he came off the track I asked him what was wrong and he said "remember the shock is broke". Well, I have a new strategy, don't let him know when we fix something in case I forget to tell him the problem is fixed. Once he knew the problem was fixed he was fine with racing. During the heat race he was still a little rusty from the off season but came in a strong 4th place. It came time for the main and Nicholas had a much better race. When it was all said and done he ended up finishing 2nd. He had a much better race and was very smooth. He ended up 4th overall on the night for points for the local and 1st overall on the night for Texas Shootout points. Our next race is 29 and 30 March which will be the Easter Monza race here in San Antonio.
Saturday, March 2
First Race of 2002 Season
2 March 2002. We were all ready to go for our first race of the season and looking forward to another fun year. Nicholas will be competing in the Jr Honda class this year. However, mother nature once again would play tricks on our schedule. A cold front moved into the area on Friday evening and by Saturday morning temperatures were in the high 30's with winds 30-40 MPH which meant it was downright COLD. The decision was made early to cancel the race which was probably the best for everyone. Our next race is scheduled for 16 March which will also be our first Texas Shootout race of the year.
Friday, February 1
Wilt Racing 2002 Plans
A busy year ahead for Nicholas. First, we would like to thank everyone who purchased a Nicholas Wilt racing T-Shirt. This was a pretty successful fund raiser for us and all the profits will go towards our trips to other tracks in the region along with our trip to the Grands in July. It will probably also go towards the purchase of some spare parts. We continue our search for sponsors but have not had much time during the off season to pursue any potential sponsors. We know in time they will come but need them soon. We once again will compete for local points along with Texas Shootout points in Nicholas' new class Jr Honda. We will also be participating in the Region 6 Monza Series in the Jr Honda class. This will involve trips to the other tracks in our region; Austin, TX, Tulsa OK, and Topeka, KS. We will be able to drop one of these races and right now we have no plans on heading to Kansas (no need to see Dorothy). Also, our big event for the year will happen the end of July. We will be headed west to Pueblo, Colorado for the Western Grands where Nicholas will also compete in the Jr Honda class. We don't hold any high expectations but more of a good racing experience for Nicholas. He will still only be 6 and racing against kids who may have 2 or 3 Grands under their belt. However, you just never know. Nicholas is a very good qualifier and that will be a big key to his success. If he does not qualify well he will have many more races to compete in and a long week. We are also thinking about putting him in the Jr Stock class which is a class that would be a little smaller at the grands (40-50 cars compared to 70 or 80 cars). Our big hold up of course is money. These engines are much more expensive and take more money to maintain. We are looking at maybe borrowing a good engine from someone in the club that will not be attending the Grands. Well, as you can see we have a busy schedule this year and will do our very best to keep everyone up to date on our happenings.
Saturday, December 1
LSQMA Awards Banquet
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Wednesday, October 24
Turkey Day 2001
Nov 24, 2001. The Turkey Day race at LSQMA is a fun event where the kids race for bonds, and the annual banquet is held after the races. We had been considering moving Nicholas up to Junior Honda before the race, and after some talks with several of the club officials, it was decided that Nicholas would move up to Jr Honda. Everyone felt he was ready to go, and he could hold his own in the class. Also two other drivers (Ryan Doyan and Lauren Alexander) would move up with Nicholas. I was not worried about the speed because Nicholas did practice with the Jr Honda restrictor plate. Nicholas had a really good warm-up and wanted to stay out as long as he could. However, dad was not paying a lot of attention to the car and that would be a bad thing. It came time to qualify, and Nicholas headed out on the track. Something was wrong with the car! The engine kept revving up and down, and he could not get any speed. See, dad should have paid more attention. Nicholas ended up being the slowest qualifier and would start in the number 2 position. During the 20 lap heat race it was very evident the car was still not right. He did a very good job at driving and kept up with the first and second place cars and pulled away from the others but just could not gain any positions. He ended up finishing in third place in the heat race. Between the heat and the main we worked really hard to find out what was wrong with the car. Dale Knowlton (our mechanic)performed some miracles on the car. It came time for the main, and Nicholas was pumped to go and so was the car. He would once again line up on the outside of row one. At the start of the race, Nicholas dropped a little behind because I forgot to change his gear, but once he came up to speed, he was fine. During lap 2, the first and second place cars rubbed a little bit, and Nicholas and the third place car were side by side. Nicholas made a really good move and passed all three cars! I could not believe he made such a great move. Once he took the lead, he really pulled away. He actually had over half a lap lead with ten laps to go. I was praying that a caution would not come out. Well, guess what? Yes, a caution came out and eventually a red flag ended up coming out. I went up to talk to Nicholas about how he was doing. He had this huge smile and said "Daddy I'm in the lead". I replied "yes, you are man". I kinda told him what to do on the restart to make sure the cars behind him did not get the jump on him and dive under him. Still had the same gear in the car, and the engine was still not right. The race went back to yellow, and it was time to restart with 10 laps to go. He did exactly what I told him to do on the restart and held his position into turn 1 and 2. By the time the second lap was done (8 to go), he had gained a 3 to 4 car lead over second place. By the time the checkered flag dropped, he nearly had a quarter lap on the rest of the cars. Nicholas won the race! I was just amazed. I could not believe or ever imagined he would win a race on the very first day he would race in JR honda. Nicholas was really happy when he got to carry the checkered flag around the track. In fact, he got to do two laps carrying the flag. What made it extra special was his Grandma Molly and Pappy Steve along with his kindergarten teacher Mrs. Smith were all there to see it. He said he was gonna go out and win since his teacher was there, and he sure did. He ended up finishing third overall for the night since daddy screwed up during qualifying. Nicholas would like to say a big THANKS to Mr Dale for helping to fix his car!
Final Points Race of the Year Nicholas is a Champion
Oct 20, 2001. A long season was getting ready to come to an end. Nicholas was really ready to go this week and was looking forward to a good race night. He had another great qualifying effort and qualified the fastest again. He ran a 7.392, which is now officially his fastest of the year. Still no track record and I don't think we will even come close on Turkey Day (and he may even move up a class for that race). It seems now we can only gain hundredths and thousands of seconds not the tenth that we need. He was nearly a second faster than the rest of the class. I told him at the start to be careful and not get himself or the car into any positions that could cause problems. He finished the heat race in fourth position. He could have probably lapped the field, but he did listen to what I told him. He
never really had an easy passing opportunity on the 3 cars in front of him, and he seemed fine just where he was. In the main, I told him "OK buddy this is for all the marbles. This is what we worked for all year." He said "Daddy I get marbles for racing"? Darn near knocked me off my feet. I said if you want marbles you get marbles. Anyway, he did just fine and listened very well to my advice. Came home a strong third and was on the back end of the first and second place car but made smart decisions to stay where he
was. He ended up finishing overall second on the night. It really pays to be fast qualifier and race consistently. I've told him that all year. He did not need to go out and win just do his best and not put himself in situations that he felt uncomfortable with. Nicholas is and always will be
the 2001 Jr Novice Champion for our club!!! He will finish second in the Texas Shootout series (too many bad races in Austin). He set an all time track record in Austin. Nicholas is up for rookie of the year and he really wants to win that award. He has worked really hard this year and truly jumped lots of hurdles. We will find out about rookie of the year at our Turkey Day race. We have the club banquet after the race. Grandma and Pappy Steve are suppose to be here for that race, and Nicholas is looking forward to having more fans in the stands. As I said earlier, we may be moving him up to Jr Honda for Turkey Day. He has practiced with the Jr Honda restrictor plate and is doing very well. He was not lifting in the corners like I thought he would, and he
seemed very comfortable with the faster speed. Well, until next time.
Saturday, October 6
Columbus Day Monza
Oct 6 & 7, 2001. Cool weather and a nice sunny day made our first region 6 Monza adventure a fun one. Nicholas was last out to qualify and would end up just missing a track record. He ended up with a fast time of 7.397. The format was a little different to us so we had to adjust. The Columbus Day race (Saturday) was only one race and qualifying played no factor in how the places would be awarded. Nicholas started fourth becuase he was the fastest. First four cars are inverted in Jr classes. The race had several cautions. Nicholas was not involved in any of the accidents. He was making a strong run towards the leader with a few laps to go but finished in second place. On Sunday, the first race (heat race) was just really a practice. Nicholas did very well and finished second again. All he had to do in the main was finish third, and he would end up winning the Monza race. At the beginning of the Monza race, they announced all the drivers which Nicholas thought was pretty neat. The kids lined up for the start really good. Something happened at the start of the race, and Nicholas missed the green flag. By the end of the first lap, he was down nearly half a lap. He held his hand out to me when he was passing by like something was wrong. He just kinda putted around the rest of the race and ended up finishing 5th. He was a little upset but got over it quickly. He received a big second place trophy for the Columbus Day race and a special QM clock for being the fastest qualifier in his class. He really wanted that clock! Nicholas never told me anything was wrong with the car. Well, on Monday when I was cleaning up the car and the trailer, I discovered a problem. I found the spark plug boot was not fully engaged with the spark plug. No wonder the poor kid could not catch anyone. I'm not sure how the boot got loose, but I will be sure to check it from now on. We have two more points races left and then the Turkey Day race. Stay tuned for updates.
Saturday, September 22
Rain, Rain, Rain
Sept 22, 2001. It looked like it was going to be another great night for racing but as 4:00 P.M. approached so did the dark clouds. Right as the handler's meeting was to start the sky opened up. We ended up never getting on the track and the race was rained out. This was a Texas Shootout race so it will be made up in November.
Saturday, September 15
Last Austin Shootout (TRACK RECORD)
Sept 15, 2001. After a little thought about racing (our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in New York and Washington D.C.) along with a go ahead from the VFW in Austin (Austin track is on VFW property), Wilt racing wanted to get away from the TV and try to get life somewhat back to normal. We got to Austin early to practice. We needed to make sure the car was working fine after Nicholas' practice accident. We unloaded the car, and it was great. Nicholas had been sick most of the week but was doing pretty good and really wanted to get his track record back. It came time to qualify, and he was ready to go. He went out, and during his warm up laps, he was under the record nearly every lap. I was watching the sun getting ready to go into a cloud and said "oh-no". We really needed the sun on the track to keep it hot. Well, as soon as Nicholas took the green flag we had shade on the track. He did his 3 qualifying laps, and they announced
his times. Every one of the laps was well under the track record. I could not believe with no sun he got the track record on all 3 laps. His fastest lap, and new track record was 8.271. That is 3 tenths faster than
the old track record. A BIG thanks to "our mechanic" Dale Knowlton for fixing Nicholas' car and getting back the track record for us. Nicholas was getting a little worn out come race time. It took a little convincing to race, and he actually led a good portion of the first race but lost the lead with a few laps left and finished second. He still had a blast and was really happy he raced. During the main race, he was REALLY tired and just kinda cruised around the track. He did show some signs of catching up towards the end but just ran out of time. He came in second again. Our next race is this coming weekend at our track, and it is a local points race and a shootout points race. We will be sure to post the results after the race.
Monday, September 3
Big Practice Accident
Sept 3, 2001. Instead of going to the regional race in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we decided we would practice on Saturday and Monday. Nicholas had a really great practice on Saturday with one of the new senior novice drivers (Bradley Dean). We ended the day without incident, and both kids had a really good time. On Monday we decided to go out again. Nicholas and Bradley wanted to stay on the track all the time. It was really tough to get them to take a break. They finally decided they wanted to go out on the track one more time. Well, they were doing a practice race, and on the first turn of the first lap Bradley spun out (not his fault), and Nicholas tried to go under him. It was just one of those racing things. Nicholas did his best to make a hard left turn but ended up hitting his right front tire on Bradley's bumper. Both kids were ok and wanted to continue the race. At first, it did not look like a big problem. Well, I was wrong. It ended up that Nicholas had a bent right spindle. I ordered a new spindle and put it on and then discovered that the axle was bent. I made a desperation call to "our mechanic" Dale Knowlton and cried for help. Dale ended up straightening the axle and made new radius rods for the car. I now carry a spare set of spindles and a front axle. Dale did a great job at straightening the axle, and the real results would show at our Austin race.
Saturday, August 11
Another Great Night
Aug 11, 2001. After getting beat in qualifying by a tenth of a second last week, we decided we would try some engine work. We turned to our expert mechanic Dale Knowlton (Justin's Dad). He put new valve springs in the engine and lapped the valves. We could tell when we fired the engine it sounded even better than before. Nicholas was ready to go again and had some very good times in warm-up. He had another great qualifying effort and shaved another tenth off his time from last week. He qualified at 7.591. I just knew he would be fastest this week. Well, I was wrong! The kid from Dallas out did us again by less than a tenth. I gotta get one of those $4,000 engines (NOT). $400 verses $4,000 and no sponsorship - we are quite happy with our driver's times. Anyway, Nicholas ended up being second fastest. He did great lining up again but took his own pace around the track and finished 4th in the heat race. It came time for the main, and it proved to be a very interesting race. Novice races have a time limit of 30 minutes. Now bear in mind we only raced 20 laps which usually takes only a few minutes. We raced for nearly 27 minutes. Lots of cautions and red flags. Nicholas actually got up to second place and was closing in on the leader fast when a caution came out for a spin out from one of the other cars. Nicholas kinda got confused and for some reason came into the pits to ask me a question. Well, when you come in the pits you must go to the rear of the field. After lots more cautions (none of which Nicholas was involved in) he made it back up to 3rd place. He got lots of practice lining up and getting bumped around. He had a big smile on his face when the race was over, and you could just tell he had lots of fun. He ended up finishing 3rd on the points for the night. All the drivers were giving him high fives and telling him how great he was doing. Nicholas has the points lead in the Jr. Novice class with two races left at our track. Keep your fingers crossed!!
Saturday, August 4
Mom & Dad Butterflies
Aug 4, 2001. Nicholas had a great month of practice in July doing somewhere between 700-1000 laps and was getting faster by the day. He worked with a senior honda driver (Justin Knowlton) on lining up and seemed really confident that he was ready to race again (thanks Justin!). However, he must have passed his nervous energy onto mom and dad - we both felt sick. Nicholas had his best qualifying effort, and his time was 7.681. Normally that would be fast time; however, another novice from Dallas showed up. They had a very expensive stock engine, and he ended up beating Nicholas by about a tenth of a second. Nicholas was ready to go come race time but told me he did not really feel like passing. I told him that was fine, just do his best. He did great lining up and kinda just went around the track at his own pace. He finished 4th in the heat race and 4th in the main. This was a big success for Nicholas, as this was the most cars that had ever been on the track with him at the same time. He ended up finishing 4th on the points night. Mom and Dad were very proud, and Nicholas left with a ton of confidence after the night ended.
Friday, June 22
Nicholas on TV
June 22, 2001. The local Fox Station in San Antonio was here to do a feature on the kids and Quarter Midget Racing. The segment of the news was called Walton's Window. The crew taped for about an hour and a half and the story was going to air that evening. What we did not expect was that before the news crew got to the track was that Nicholas had one of his best practices ever. He was out on the track with 5 to 6 cars at a time and he was out classed but stayed out and learned a lot. He was out with all kinds of other cars and classes. There was even a 16 year-old out with him. Anyway, the news crew did a great job and had lots of fun. Nicholas' interview ended up being shown during the 3 minute segment and he really got a kick out of that. Hopefully his on-track time with the other cars and the news crew have really worked out his problems.
Saturday, June 16
We Are Racing Again!
June 16, 2001. What a turn around Nicholas has had in just a week. He was ready to go and you could really tell. He was Motivated. He had great lap times and his fastest was a 7.902 which is his best official speed at our track. The crew chief kinda screwed up again as the clouds came over the track just as qualifying began, but the driver made up for it. Nicholas ended up winning the heat race and the main race and he was one happy kid. Pappy Ben was here to see it all. Everyone was giving Nicholas high-fives and he got all kinds of stuff from everyone. He ended up being fastest qualifier and won both races which meant he won the points night. We are hoping this is the first step of him working out his on track problems with other cars. We are off until Aug 4th because of the Eastern and Western Grands.
Saturday, June 9
Texas Shootout #5
June 9, 2001. One Hot night in Austin. Nicholas had another good qualifying effort and was just barely off his old Austin Track record. He ran a 8.686. He did go out an practice with the novice class for a little but still felt he was not ready to race. We are hoping that he overcomes his little fears soon. He is doing his best to work out of it. Most all the kids go through this at one point in time and some take longer than others to race again.
Saturday, May 12
Texas Shootout #4
May 12, 2001. Mother Nature got us again. However, this time everyone got through qualifying. We dont know at this point in time how the points will work. Nicholas had good lap times, he qualified second at an 8.042. His times would have been much better but the crew-chief forgot to raise the tire pressure after the clouds rolled in. Maybe we should fire him. Next race is June 9th at Austin.
Saturday, April 28
Track Record at Austin
April 28, 2001. Wow, what a change since our last Austin trip. Nicholas had some pretty good practice before it was time to qualify and he seemed really ready to go. He got on the track and started his warm-up laps and I noticed he was really fast. I called to put him on the clock early but they did not hear me at first. He then took the green for his 3 lap qualifying run. Nicholas ended up breaking a track record. He ran a 8.608. I do not know what the previous record was but we were very suprised. Nicholas still has not gotten over his on track fear of other cars. He sat out the heat race and ran just a few laps in the main. At least he did get back out on the track with other cars and that does show progress. We plan on working with a few of the older kids that have taken Nicholas under their wings and hopefully that will help him build his on-track confidence.
Saturday, April 21
Fast but no Racing Tonight
April 21, 2001. Nicholas had been practicing for several weeks and his speed has picked up tremendously. That showed when it came time to qualify. He ran a 7.981 and was the fast qualifier for the night. However, Nicholas had developed a fear of other cars on the track since the Austin race. He ended up sitting out both the heat and the main race. Most young drivers go through this and it just takes some time to work things out. Hopefully he will overcome his fear of on-track cars as quick as he has overcome his fear of speed.
Saturday, March 24
Texas Shootout #2
March 24, 2001. Wilt Racing experienced a good and bad day. It appeared as if the race was going to get rained out, so we decided to drop the trailer in Austin and go to Dallas to pick-up a Suburban we had been looking to buy. We ended up getting the Suburban and will be a much better vehicle for us for racing and for towing the trailer. However, we ended up arriving at the track about an hour late and qualifying was already under way. Nicholas had never been on the track before. They did let him qualify and he did pretty good for his first laps being the ones that counted. He ran a 10.930 which put him as the #3 qualifier. He ended up getting a headache and not racing very well. It was a daddy mistake and the reason he ended up with a headache is we had not had anything to eat all day. Hopefully our next trip to Austin will be much better.
Saturday, March 17
We lost to Mother Nature
17 March 2001. It was a cold and windy day at the track. Qualifying got under way at about 4:30. Nicholas seemed really ready to go despite the weather conditions. He had a good ten lap warm-up and posted his best qualifying time of the season. An 8.90 on his last lap. We were all so proud. He stayed in the gas all the way around the track. Even his slow laps were good. A 9.12 and a 9.17 I think. He was ready to race. However, it started to rain with only 7 cars left to qualify. A short track drying effort failed and the race was called. Nicholas still wanted to stay and practice. Our next event is next week in Austin. It is the second race in the Texas Shootout series, we will be sure to post the results as soon as possible.
Saturday, March 10
Second Race of the season
10 March 2001. This was the first race in the
Texas Shootout series and our second local race. The Texas Shootout series will consist of 8 races, 4 at San Antonio and 4 at Austin. It turned out to be a pretty nice day. Mostly cloudy and in the 60's at racetime and the low 50's by the end of the night.
Nicholas was feeling much better and was really ready to race. He was
the second car out to qualify and improved his time by 6 tenths of a second.
That was really good. However, he was still only 3rd fastest. It took the kids a LONG time to line up for the race. The kids finally lined up for the first 15 lap race. Nicholas was getting pretty mad during the line-up since it was taking everyone so long
and I think this affected his racing a little. He ended up running really
strong and came home a strong 3rd. He did get hammered on the track one time
but he was fine. The car needs a little fixin, with a bent radius rod.
It was time for the 20 lap feature. Nicholas was ready to go and he looked really good during warm ups. However, during line-ups, he got slammed in the rear-end again and part of his exhaust fell off. I dont
think he was very happy about that. The
kids lined up a little better, they decided to start them single file.
Nicholas made a real good pass in the first turn and took the lead. He held
the lead for a few laps. He lost the lead and held on really strong and made a few good runs at first place. He finished the heat race in second. He ended up finishing an overall 2d for the night. We race again on 17 March and will be sure to post the results.
Sunday, March 4
First Trophy
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Saturday, March 3
First Race a Success
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Monday, January 1
We've moved
The wilt racing team has moved to San Antonio Texas. Not just for racing but because of the job. We are now only 15 minutes from our home track instead of 3 hours. We have been able to practice every week and Nicholas is looking forward to his first race on March 3rd. We will be sure to post the results after the race.