Follow along with me during my 2008 racing
season. On this page I will try to give a brief recap of some of the
night's highlights, my starting and finishing positions and some of my thoughts
on the night's racing action. I hope to keep this updated regularly.
Click
Here to view my 2007
journal
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Here to view my 2006
journal
2008 Nightly Journal
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September
28th - Buffalo River Race Park - We
stopped off at Buffalo River Race Park in Glyndon, MN on our way back for our
final night of racing for 2008. There
were 18 cars racing tonight, including 5 rookie drivers, so I figured things
could get very interesting. I
started 2nd in heat #2. On
the start, I passed the pole starting #55 car of Ivan Sailer but shortly after
that I was passed by the #13 of Troy Speten and the #23 of Glen Hellebust. A lap or so later, I got by the #23 car and went on to finish
the race in 2nd place. I
started the feature outside the 2nd row.
On the opening lap, the #75 of Spencer Wilson got together with the #13
of Troy Speten, spinning them out and stacking up the cars behind them.
The #42 of Todd Heinrich lost his brakes and came flying into the turn
and rolled over bringing out the red flag.
After a bit of cleanup the race restarted.
I had a lot of fun in a nice side by side fight with the #9 of Kasey
Kurtz till Kasey got by me for good after a few laps.
I ran right on his tail in 5th place till getting passed by
the #31 of Steve Pankowski with a couple of laps to go and I finished the race
in 6th place. Congratulations to Nathan Speten on winning this final race of
the season.
September
26th & 27th - Cedar Lake Speedway - We
made the long drive to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin for their
first annual Badger State Nationals.
On Thursday night the Legends cars got 3 practice sessions.
We were the first class to go out for hot laps and since the track
hadn’t been worked in very well, it was very greasy.
It was a lot of fun sliding through the turns, but it didn’t give you
any idea on what the track would be like to race on.
The second session was held after all the heat races had been completed
and the track was in very nice shape and we got to run about 5 laps on a very
nice track. The
third session was run after the final feature of the night and by then the track
was slicked over and was very slippery again.
On Friday
we had 29 cars show up.
There was 12 of our guys making the trip and about the same number of
drivers from Wisconsin and a few others from Minnesota and Iowa.
I lined up in 5th place in the 3rd heat.
I ran in 5th place most of the night right on the tail of the
10L car but couldn’t make a pass.
On the 8th lap I was passed by the 92 car and finished in 6th
place. I
definitely had some fun in this race.
For the feature I started deep in the field in 18th place.
There were 3 caution flags in the first 9 laps.
I narrowly missed getting caught up in the 3rd one when a few
cars tangled up in turn 1, but my luck took a turn for the worse on the restart.
Some cars stacked up in front of me right at the flagstand and I drove
over the left rear wheel of the #3 car of Nathan Speten.
The car came back down on all 4 wheels and I took off again.
When I got to turn 1, something broke in the right front suspension and
my car took off straight up the banking heading for the wall.
I was hard on the brakes when my car drove up into the path of the #10L
car of Robert Lever coming around the outside of me and he hit me in the right
front sending his car into a nasty flip that brought out the red flag.
I lucked out with only relatively minor damage to my car but had to be
brought off the track on the wrecker for the first time in 3 seasons of racing.
I still consider myself very lucky in this incident.
Robert wasn’t as lucky as he was taken off in the ambulance, but I
understand he was treated and released from the hospital.
His car looked like it was heavily damaged though.
So I finished the race being a spectator and got to watch the #38 of Joel
Wittenbach of Wisconsin win a very entertaining race.
Congratulations to Joel on his win.
Saturday
night we were short a few cars as we only had 25 cars show.
I started dead last (8th) in the second heat.
I moved up 3 positions and finished the race in 5th place.
The feature lineup found me starting outside the 7th row.
On lap 2 there was a couple of cars crashing together in the front
stretch. I went
down low to avoid the spinning cars and just as I thought I had them cleared, I
got clipped in the right rear and got spun around.
My car didn’t suffer any serious damage and I was able to continue.
On the restart coming out of turn 2, one of the cars ahead of me started
to spin. The 11
car of Tony Brockhouse, who was running right in front of me, tried to get by on
the outside and I was about to follow him when the spinning car shot back to the
outside. I dove
to the inside to get by and saw Tony’s car get clipped in the left rear wheel
sending him into a series of violent flips all the way down the backstretch.
When I went by I saw parts flying all over the place.
Tony was taken to a St. Paul hospital where it was determined he has a
couple of broken vertebrae in his back, but he should make a full recovery.
It didn’t look like there was much left of his racecar though.
When the race resumed, we went 16 laps without any major incidents till
the red flag came out again for a blown engine and fire in one of the cars
setting up a 2 lap dash to the checkered flag.
Congratulations to Eric Barth of Wisconsin on winning the feature and to
Tom Wagner for coming in a close 2nd after leading half the race.
I ended up with an 11th place finish – not exactly what I
had hoped for, but I was happy to finish, especially after getting caught up in
someone else’s wreck and then witnessing Tony’s nasty crash.
September
14th - Tri County Speedway - After a fairly heavy rain during the
night and a rather cool day, I was afraid this race would be cancelled too, but
they didn't cancel and the race track turned out to be excellent for
racing. We had 10 cars show up on a Sunday afternoon to have a great time
- and I think everyone did. I started on the pole for the second
heat. On the start, the #19 of Donavin Weist got the jump on me and the
#13 of Troy Speten followed right behind him. I chased Troy the rest of
the race and the three of us ran pretty much bumper to bumper the whole
race. On the last lap, coming out of turn two, Troy got high and I was on
the low side and I made the pass to finish the race in 2nd place. The
track officials seemed to enjoy the race as I saw several of them applauding as
we left the track. I think that was probably the most fun I have had in a
race in my 3 years of racing. I was hoping for more in the feature.
I lined up 4th for the feature. At the green flag, I fell into the 4th
position and ran there for about 3 laps or so till I tried passing on the high
side and got up into the loose stuff and watched 3 cars freight train past
me. When I got back into line, I had Troy Speten ahead of me again.
I ran right on his bumper for the rest of the race, never really getting a
chance to make a serious attempt at a pass, and I finished the race in 7th
place. Although I was disappointed in my finish, I had a great time the
whole day and really love racing here. The track was awesome today and we
ran 3 races caution free and put on a really good show to boot. And
after the race we were treated to the best trailer race that probably was ever
held. If you like to see stuff wrecked, this was the place to be.
Congratulations to Nathan Speten on winning today's feature. Now we have a
little over a week off to get our cars ready to head to Cedar Lake Speedway in
New Richmond Wisconsin for their big 3 day show (2 nights for the Legends).
September
12th - River Cities Speedway - We made the long drive to Grand
Forks for the Legends car's first ever appearance at the River Cities
Speedway. The track has very steep banking and looked very fun, but if you
get off the track you could be in BIG trouble. We had 10 drivers show up,
and a couple of guys have spare cars so a couple of local racers, Mark Dobmeier
(sprint cars) and Brad Seng (late models) were recruited to drive so we had 12
cars for the show. I started the 2nd heat in 4th place. I didn't do
a very good job and finished the race in 5th place (last after one car dropped
out). For the feature, I lined up in 10th place and that is where I
finished. We ran 2 heat races and the feature without any caution flags so
it was a very safe race for everyone. I didn't do too well on the track
tonight as my car was rather loose coming out of the turns and I just wanted to
keep out of trouble, but I had a good time and got to talk to a lot of
interested people after the races. We heard a lot of people say they want
us to come back - I sure hope we get a chance to do it even though it is a very
long haul - especially for a Friday night race. A big congratulations go
out to Mark Dobmeier on his impressive showing in the Legends feature, coming
from the back of the pack to take the checkered flag in first place. This
was Mark's first time in a race car with fenders. They also ran 2 Sprint
Car features tonight and Mark won both of them so he showed he can drive the
wheels off most anything.
September
6th and 7th -Harvest Shootout at Southwest Speedway
Saturday - It was a very cool
day and the skies were threatening rain all afternoon, but the racing gods were
with us and the races went on as scheduled.
I started the second heat in the 4th position.
On the green flag, I jumped out into the 2nd position and ran
there for 3 laps till the caution flag flew.
On the restart, the #3 of Nathan Speten lined up inside me and when the
green flag flew, he passed by me with ease.
A couple of laps later I was passed by the #10 of Tom Wagner and I
finished the race in 4th place.
I lined up on the outside of the 4th row for the feature.
After 15 laps of caution free racing, I crossed the finish line in 5th
place. Congratulations to Nathan
Speten on winning the feature tonight.
Sunday – The weather today
was a little better, but still cool and lots of clouds, but no rain.
I started in 4th place in the second heat again tonight.
On the first lap, I passed the #55 of Ivan Sailer and he chased me for
most of the race. I could see the
front end of his car several times as he tried to make the pass and he was
finally successful as we came to take the white flag and I ended up with a 3rd
place finish. I started the
feature on the outside of the third row. For
the first several laps, it was kind of a repeat of the heat race with me
battling Ivan Sailer again, only this time it was me trying to get around him,
but my car started pushing in the turns and I gave up some ground to him and I
ran in 4th place for several laps till I was passed by #75 Spencer
Wilson with about 2 laps to go. I
ended up crossing the finish line in 5th place again tonight.
Tonight the feature was won by Kyle Vandenburg
- congratulations Kyle!
We had 12 cars make the trip so the
field was rather small, but we put
on some excellent races. We only
had 1 caution flag all weekend for a spin, so everyone went home without any
damage to their cars and ready to race again.
I sure love racing on this track and had hoped for a couple of better
finishes, but I had a great time and looking forward to coming back next year. Now it is on to Grand Forks next weekend where we will get to
race there for the first time.
August
29th - 31st -Motor Magic at Nodak Speedway -
Our big 3 day Motor Magic weekend at Nodak
Speedway has arrived and the weather forecast looks great.
Hopefully we will have a great weekend of racing and fun.
Friday - On Friday we
had 16 cars show up and I started outside the front row of the second heat.
The race ran caution free and I ended up finishing in 3rd
place. I lined up in 3rd
place for the feature. From the
drop of the green flag, I just seemed to go backward and never really ran a good
race. About midway through the
race, the #67 of Eric Fetzer blew his engine and brought out the red flag when
his machine went up in a ball of fire. Eric
was unhurt but the car was done for the weekend.
A few laps after the race resumed, the
#31 of Steve Pankowski spun in turn 4. As
I ran through the turn, I never even caught a glimpse of Steve’s car until a
split second before I clipped his left rear tire and bumper with my left front
tire as I blew past him with my foot hard on the gas.
I felt my steering wheel give a little twitch as I went by.
Wow – was that ever close!!!!! I
ended up finishing the race a very disappointing 11th place. Congratulations to Nathan Speten on winning the opening night
feature.
Saturday – We had 4
more cars show up tonight that didn’t race last night giving us 19 cars for
the evening. I started inside the second row in the first heat.
Early in the race, the #75 of Spencer Wilson spun in turn 3 and I was
lucky enough to avoid hitting him. Spencer
got it going without bringing out the caution flag and I finished the race in 4th
place. I started on the pole for
the 19 car feature race. The
track was very dry slick and they watered the top third of the track right
before we went out onto the track, making for a very narrow, treacherous racing
surface. At the drop of the green
flag I took the lead and led the race for the first 3 or so laps. The racing groove tonight was definitely at the bottom of the
track and I gave up a few spots when my car wanted to push going through turn 4,
but I managed to end up with a 5th place finish, so I was very
pleased with tonight’s results. Congratulations
to Glen Huettl on winning tonight’s feature race.
Sunday – I started the
first heat in 4th place and at the drop of the green flag, I jumped
out into the lead and led the first 3 laps till the faster guys started making
their way past me and after 8 laps of caution free racing, I finished where I
started – in 4th. It was a very
fun race for me. The final feature
of the weekend had me on the pole again, with 16 other cars lining up behind me.
I took the lead at the green flag and led the first lap, but soon started
giving up a few positions. The
racing groove was pretty much on the bottom again and I had a little trouble
keeping my car low through turns 3 and 4 again and gave up a few more positions
and finished the race in 8th place.
It was a very fun race as I was battling with someone pretty much the
whole race. Congratulations to Nathan Speten on winning tonight’s
feature race.
The weekend was pretty good for most
everyone. I believe all the heat
races were run without a caution flag and although there were a few caution
flags in the feature races for spins and broken parts, nobody had any crashes
all weekend. The only major
casualties were the blown engines by Eric Fetzer and Nathan Speten.
Congratulations to Glen Huettl on bringing home the 08 Motor Magic
weekend trophy again this year and to Spencer Wilson winning the runner-up
trophy.
August
24th - Nodak Speedway - We had a dozen cars at the track for the
Nodak Speedway championship night. I
lined up outside the front row for
the second heat. While we were in
the pits lining up, track officials decided to water the track before our heat
races. I don’t know what the hell
they were thinking as the water truck was out on the track several times in
previous races and I never saw them dump any water at all, and now they watered
it from top to bottom – and our cars kick up the least amount of dust of any
class. I know the track was very
slippery for the first heat, because when we came out for the second heat, the
front stretch was still nothing but a grease pit. I was on the outside and very much wanted to be on the inside
as that was a little bit better, but when the green flag flew, I slipped and
slided my way pretty much to the back of the pack where I finished the race.
When it came time for our feature, the
track looked to be in excellent shape and I was looking forward to moving up
from my dead last (12th) starting position.
In the first few laps the racing was very tight and exciting.
I moved up 2 spots and was working on the third when I was hit by
the #31 car of Steve Pankowski in turn 1, spinning me out and blowing my right
rear tire, ending my evening. I was
kidding with Steve that this must have been a payback for my getting into him on
Friday night in Mandan. Oh well,
this was my first DNF of the season and I don’t think I sustained any other
damage so I sure won’t complain. Congratulations
to Nathan Speten on winning tonight’s feature and being the season runner-up
and to Spencer Wilson on the season championship.
Now, on to Motor Magic weekend.
August
22nd - Dacotah Speedway - A very cold, windy evening made for a
dusty track and unpleasant conditions for the spectators tonight, but at least
no rain fell and we got the last race of the season at Mandan in. We had
19 cars show up tonight and I started 5th in the second heat. On the first
lap, going down the backstretch I saw my hood flapping (I assume from the wind
since I have never seen that before) which distracted me and I got into the turn
way to hard and hit the brakes hard to keep from hitting the #42 of Kirk Strand
spinning myself out. As I spun I could see several cars avoiding me.
Whew - that was close!! I took off, but the caution came out for Kirk who
spun when I barely clipped his rear so I was relegated to the back of the pack
for the re-start. Early in the race I had a lot of fun racing side by side
with the #77 of Dave Aberle. We battled each other for several laps and
raced each other very clean. I made it past Dave and a few laps later I
was on the inside of the #10 of Tom Wagner going into turn one. I knew I
was in a bad place and just as I hit the brakes, Tom turned in front of me and I
clipped his left rear spinning both of us out. We both kept going, but a
spin by the #50 of Paul Morman brought out the caution, so Tom and I both got
our places back. Tom and I battled pretty much the rest of the race and I
finished behind Tom in 5th place.
For the feature, I started in 5th
again. On the start, I was very cautious expecting trouble in the
dust. The start went well, but I lost several positions. Early in
the race, I made slight contact with the #31 of Steve Pankowski coming out of
turn two. It caused Steve to fishtail a little bit and I got by and Steve
made a great save and continued on (sorry about the contact Steve). About
midway through the race I narrowly missed the spinning #19 car of Donavin Weist
down the backstretch. It caused a bit of a traffic jam, but Donavin kept
his car going and no caution flag flew. We had one caution flag caused
when the #42 of Kirk Strand and the #77 of Dave Aberle tangled on the
frontstretch. I don't think there was serious damage to either car, but
Dave was done for the night. I ended up having another great battle with
Tom Wagner the last third of the race. With a couple laps to go, I got by
Tom, but the next lap he made it past me and I followed him to an 8th place
finish. We came very close to each other several times but didn't
touch. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on winning tonight's
feature and the Dacotah Speedway 2008 track championship and also to Nathan
Speten on being runner-up.
August
17th - Buffalo River Race Park - We only had 5 cars tonight so
only ran a feature race. I started last, narrowly missed a spinning Tony Brockhouse on
the opening lap and ended up with a 3rd place finish. Not much to write
about as we ran 15 laps without a caution flag. Congratulations to Kasey
Kurtz on winning tonight's feature race. As a little footnote, tonight
marked my 100th night of racing and while I shouldn't say this as it might jinx
me, I have been very lucky (and maybe some skill involved too) and kept out of
any big wrecks and drove my car on the trailer in one piece each night. I
know one of these days my time will come.
August
16th - Dacotah Speedway - Finally our much anticipated night of
racing with the World of Outlaws has arrived. The weather was great and
the grandstands were packed. We had 25 cars show up to run 2 heat races.
I was hoping for a good draw to get a good starting position for the heat and
drew #29 so I knew I would be starting at the back of the pack. I started
11th in the second heat. Shortly after the green flag flew, I avoided the
spinning #13 of Troy Speten in turns 3 and 4. Troy kept it going and did
not cause a caution flag. I moved up several positions and had a great
battle going on with the #50 of Paul Morman. As the race neared the end, I
was in 5th place chasing the #8 of Bill Hultberg when Bill got hung up behind
the #1 of Steven Kuntz as Steven's ignition started to die and I drove past both
cars and finished the race in 3rd place (Thanks Steven). My decent
finishes of late have moved up my point average so I end up further back in the
pack for the start of the feature lineup. Tonight I started in 9th
place. They worked up the track before our feature and when we started the
race, I thought it would be a disaster as the track still was quite slick -
especially the front stretch. I was very careful as the green flag flew
waiting for someone to tangle, but we made it through the first lap without any
bent up cars and actually made it through the race with one caution flag (I
think someone must have spun out, but didn't see who) so our race was a very
safe one and I finished the race in 7th place, but quite
a bit behind the 6th place car. After the great runs I have had lately at
Dacotah Speedway it is almost disappointing to finish out of the top 5, but I am
extremely happy with the way things went for me, and for the club as a whole,
tonight. We were the support class for the WoO show because the promoter
likes the way the Legends drivers run their races at all the tracks where they
run them. Hopefully the Outlaws will be back next year and we will get to
run with them again - and who knows, maybe we could even get to race in
Minot!! Congratulations to
Nathan Speten on winning in front of the huge crowd.
August
10th - Nodak Speedway - We definitely had a poor showing of cars
on the big 3/8 mile track as only 10 cars showed up for a muddy night at the
racetrack. Minot received over an
inch of rain in the morning so the track and pit was very muddy, but the show
went on. With our light car count,
we only ran one heat race where I lined up outside the second row. In turns 2 I tried coming out a little too low and got into
the really greasy stuff and lost several positions, and managed to finish the
race in 7th place. The
track was definitely muddy and a bit bumpy, but was much better than I thought
it was going to be and we ran the race without a caution.
My 7th place finish in the
heat race gave me the 7th starting position for the feature. We get
lined up while the Street Stock feature race is running.
After a extremely long (whatever happed to the time limit???) , caution
plagued race we finally got to hit the track.
A few laps into the race, I found a very slick spot in the middle
of turns 3 and 4 and damn near spun myself out, dropping myself to the very back
of the pack, but I kept it from spinning out and tried to make up the spots I
lost. I had a great battle going on with a few cars where I could
make a pass, and then the next corner get passed back. I almost got into a wreck when I tried passing the #23 of
Glen Hellebust on the high side of the front stretch and got squeezed up to the very top and hit the very rough area
coming into turn one, but kept it on the track and didn’t make any contact
with Glen. As we came around the
final turn, the #67 of Eric Fetzer got a little low and I went to the outside of
him and we crossed the finish line pretty much side by side, but I think I beat
him to the line by a bumper to get 8th place.
We will see how it gets scored. (They scored Eric ahead of me so I
finished last.) Spencer
Wilson was the top dog again tonight – congratulations Spencer.
Even though I didn’t do worth a damn tonight, I sure had a great time
doing it as I was fighting for a position with someone almost every lap of the
night. It sure beats the hell out of sitting on the couch watching
tv.
August
8th - Tri County Speedway - When I left Bismarck the skies were
threatening rain and I was hoping this trip wouldn’t be a waste of time and
gas money, but the weather in Wishek was nice and we got all the races in. We had 10 cars show up so it wasn’t exactly a great car
count but still not too bad. I
lined up in the third position for the second heat.
Early in the race I battled with the #50 of Paul Morman for the lead but
couldn’t quite get past him. About
midway through the race, I got bumped in the middle of turns 1 and 2 by the #23
of Glen Hellebust knocking my car completely sideways.
I thought for sure I was going to spin out but managed to save it and
kept going without losing the position, but it gave Paul a lead that I would not
be able to erase and I finished the heat a distant second place.
For the feature, I lined up outside
the second row. I had a handful
with the handling of my car as it pushed terribly through the third and fourth
turns. A couple times I thought I
was going to hit the concrete wall on the front stretch as the car wanted to go
straight as I hit the middle of the turn.
I lucked out and managed to finish the race in fifth place, a long way
back from the leaders. Congratulations
to Nathan Speten on taking the checkered flag first tonight.
August
2nd & 3rd - Dacotah Speedway Governor's Stock Car Classic
Saturday, August 2nd
- After my 5th place finish in last week's feature race I was hoping
to have a decent showing for the big 2 day ND Governor's Stock Car Classic this
weekend. I drew #24 so I knew I wouldn't get a very good starting spot in
my heat race. We had 24 cars show up tonight and I lined up 6th
in the first of three heat races. I worked my way to 3rd place
by the end of the race and made it into the draw for the feature lineup and I
lucked out and drew the #2 starting spot. Normally the front of the
feature lineup is determined by point averages, but for the special, the top 4
of the 3 heats draw for their feature starting position. When the green
flag flew, I ended up behind the #371 of Kyle Vandenburg and ran 2nd
for several laps on the high groove till I was passed by the #75 of Spencer
Wilson. A couple of laps later, the #3 of Nathan Speten tried passing me
low coming out of turn two and drifted up and we banged a little, but I kept the
position till he got by me a couple of laps later. After 15 laps of all
green flag racing, I crossed the finish line in 4th place - my best
finish ever, so I was very happy with the way the night turned out - my car
handled perfectly on an awesome track and I was right behind the leaders all the
way through the race. The Legends ran all three heat races and the feature
without a caution flag so everyone loaded up with no crash damage to work on for
tomorrow night. Congratulations to Kyle Vandenburg on winning the first
night of the Governor's Classic.
Sunday, August 3rd
- My night started out good when I drew the lucky #7 which I figured would get
me a front row starting spot, and as the lineup was posted, I found out I would
start outside the front row of heat #2. When the green flag flew, I took
the lead in the middle of turn 1 and stayed in front for several laps. My
car started pushing quite a bit through turns 1 & 2, but worked perfectly
through turns 3 & 4. About midway through the race, I saw the nose of
Nathan Speten's car coming around the outside of me in turn 2 as my car was
pushing up the track and I squeezed Nathan way up till his right rear tire
actually dropped off the track, but we didn't touch each other and Nathan went
on to pass me down the backstretch and I finished the race in second place.
I was very happy when I drew the pole position for the feature, but a little
nervous since my car didn't handle the greatest in the heat race and the track
was a bit slicker than last night and I didn't want to spin out in front of 20
other cars. I took the lead in the first turn and led for a lap and a half
till our first caution flag of the weekend came out when a couple of cars
tangled and there was some bodywork laying on the track. After the
restart, I led the race for a few laps till Spencer Wilson got by me and I
followed him for a few more laps till we had another caution flag when a couple
of cars got tangled up in turn 2. When the race resumed, I continued to
follow Spencer for another lap or so until the red flag came out when the #13
car of Troy Speten rolled over in turn 4. Troy was unhurt and once his car
was cleared, we resumed lined up for another restart. The #51 of Glen
Huettl lined up inside me and he passed me in the first turn. I followed
right on Glen's rear, actually giving him a little shove once in turn 3.
Coming through the final turn, while I was very happy with the possibility of a
third place finish, I went to the high side of Glen hoping I might be able to
pass him coming out the turn, when something broke in his driveline and I shot
past him to take 2nd place. Wow!!! I was glad I wasn't
following right behind on his bumper!! I figured my 2nd place
finish was a great way to cap off the weekend, but when I drove to my trailer,
one of the officials told me I won the runner-up point total for the weekend and
to have my car out front after the final race was over for trophy presentations
so I even went home with a very nice trophy. Man, only in my dreams did I
think I could have this great of a weekend!! Now that I have a 2nd
place finish, I have to shoot for a feature win, and that will be very hard to
come by, but stranger things have happened. Congratulations to Spencer
Wilson on his feature victory and the ND Governor's Stock Car Classic
championship trophy.
July 25th - Dacotah Speedway -
What a fun night!! When I drew my number when checking in, I drew the #1 so
I was assured a pole position for our heat race, so figured that would be a good
sign of things to come. We had our make-up feature from last week's
rainout and then ran the program for tonight. For the makeup feature, I
lined up in 6th place. I believe we were short one car from last week so
18 cars took the green flag. The track was a bit slick and VERY dusty -
especially going down the backstretch and through turn 3 driving into the
setting sun. Most laps I was just hoping that nobody had spun out ahead of
me. Even though I felt I was driving pretty hard, I probably was still
backing off quite a bit because of the visibility. In spite of the reduced
visibility, our feature race ran green to checkered so it was over
quickly. I was passed by several cars and finished the race a very distant
12th place, so it wasn't a particularly good showing for me, but it was
a safe race for everyone. Congratulations to Nathan Speten on winning this
one.
Next up was our heat races. I started on the pole
position for the first heat. Shortly after the green flag, I found myself
in 5th place, but soon found my groove running a low line again and battled with
#23 Glen Hellebust and #10 Tom Wagner to regain a couple of spots and finished
the race in 3rd place so I had a good race. For the feature, I lined up inside the 3rd row with
20 cars taking the green flag. On the green flag when we were heading
to turn one, the cars in front of me took the high groove and I dove down low,
passing most of them. A couple of laps into the race I found myself in 2nd
place, right on the tail of #75 Spencer Wilson. I ran right behind him,
even actually pulling inside of him in a couple of corners hoping to make a pass
for the lead, until the caution flag flew on lap 8. I couldn't believe I
was right on his tail for that long - it sure was exciting, but I figured I
would lose some positions after the restart and I really hated to see the yellow
flag come out. After the restart, I was passed by the Speten brothers ran
in 4th place for a few more laps. I could see the #371 of Kyle Vandenburg
trying to get by me on the inside, but held him off till he finally made the
pass on the outside. Kyle and I had a couple of times we came close to
making contact with each other, but I made it to the end of the race without
touching. At the finish line, the cars of Spencer and Nathan were battling
for the win, with a very tight 3 way race for 3rd through 5th behind them,
with Spencer crossing the line in first, by inches. At the line, Spencer and
Nathan made contact with each other, sending Spencer's car fishtailing back and
forth and Nathan's car breaking the right front suspension and slowing quickly
in the middle of the front stretch. I ran into the back of Nathan giving
his car a pretty good shot (sorry about that Nathan) and caving in my front
bumper, but made it through without any real damage and drove to the pits with
my 2nd 5th place finish of the season at Mandan. I was very pumped up with
the good run and all the fun, close racing I had tonight. The track was
very fast and smooth and I think everyone had a good time tonight.
Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on this close victory.
July
20th - Buffalo River Race Park - We made the long driver over to
Buffalo River Race Park outside of Glyndon Minnesota where they were including
the Legends cars for a special running. Our ND group brought over 11 cars
and the MN group brought 3. If my draw for position tonight was any
indication of how my night was going to go, I was going to be in trouble.
There were 30 numbered chips in the bucket to draw for position and I drew #30,
assuring me a last place start in the heat races. I started in 7th
place in the 1st heat, passing 3 cars giving me a 4th
place finish which I was happy with. The track was a little bit slick, but
my car seemed to work pretty well on it and I had a lot of fun with some close
racing as I tried to move up. I started the feature inside the 4th
row with 14 cars taking the green flag. Now that the track had gotten a
bit tackier, my car picked up a push in the turns making it tough for me to get
around. About 5 laps or so into the race while I was running in 7th
place, I got very sideways running through turn two. Just as I thought I
had things getting corrected, my rear wheels hooked up spinning my car to the
right and sliding sideways up and over the backstretch just off turn two
bringing out the first caution flag. I was a bit concerned of what was
going to happen sliding sideways over the top edge of the track, but it stayed
on all four wheels. I took my place at the back of the pack hoping
to move up a bit and salvage a decent finish. A few more laps into the
race, the #11 of Tony Brockhouse broke something in his front end spinning out
in turn two causing a bit of a scramble as we all successfully avoided hitting
him. Once the race resumed, I moved up a couple of positions and with
about 4 laps to go I got on the gas a little too hard in turn two again spinning
my car into the infield narrowly missing one of the implement tires exiting the
turn. I kept the car going and got back on the track without bringing out
the yellow this time and finished the race a very distant 12th (last)
place. I spun out twice tonight all by myself which is almost as
many times as I have spun in 2 ½ years of racing, so that was a little bit
embarrassing to me, but I had a good time anyway, thankful that I didn’t crash
anybody in either incident. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on putting
his name in the record books at another track.
This track was very similar to
Wishek’s track and would be a lot of fun to race. If they would get a
few Legends races going here, I would try my best to make the trip when I can as
it was a very good time. They run a 4 cylinder modified class here that
looked very cool. I was hoping to get to watch them race, but they were
the class right before us so didn’t get to watch a single lap. It would
sure be fun to bolt on a set of their 13” Hoosier tires and run a few laps to
see what kind of a difference a real racing tire would make on our cars instead
of the hockey pucks we have to run.
July
18th - Dacotah Speedway - The night started out real good as I
drew #4 for the heat race lineups assuring me a front row start in one of the
heat races. We had 19 cars racing tonight running 2
heat races and I lined up 2nd in the first heat, outside of the #8 of Bill
Hultberg. On the start of the race, Bill got a bit of a jump on me and I
was behind him going into the first turn. Bill went high and I took the
low groove and by the time we came out onto the backstretch I was in the
lead. With about 2 laps to go, I saw Austin Haugen down in turn three
giving me a signal that I had a big lead, and I thought to myself that I better
not screw up. I came to the checkered flag first, with what I found out
was a very comfortable lead over second place, #75 Spencer Wilson. Wow - did that ever feel good, and
the track was great and my car felt great. I was placed in 6th place for
the feature lineup, but by the time the first feature was running, the sprinkles
started and slowly turned into a light rain, canceling the races for the
evening. I was very much looking forward to tonight's feature after the
way my car ran in the heat race and the way the track was looking, but I guess
it was not to be. One good thing is my car is ready to make our trip to
race Sunday night in Glyndon, Minnesota where they are having a little North
Dakota/Minnesota Legends challenge race. It sounds like we should have a
good turnout of cars as there are about a dozen or so of our guys planning on making the
trip and I assume there will be a decent count of cars coming from the Great
North Legends group. It should be a good time, but I figure Monday at work
will be a little bit sleepy.
July
11th - Tri County Speedway -
Tonight was Wishek’s “Legends Special” race – part of their county fair.
We had 13 cars show up – a little disappointing but we put on a good
show anyway. I lined up in 4th place in the second heat and
finished the race in 3rd place. I had a good battle going on
with the #34 of Mike Tazarek for 2nd place most of the race, but
couldn’t quite get by him. For the feature, I lined up outside the 3rd
row. I had a good race going and around the 6th lap or so, I
got into turn 3 a little too hard, slipped up the track and went over the
banking right between turns 3 and 4. Even though I kept my car going
and got back on the track, they threw the caution flag for me, so I got to catch
up with the field and restarted the race at the rear of the field. I had a
lot of fun battling for positions and slowly working my way closer to the front.
On the last turn the #50 of Paul Morman got a bit high and I slipped by him,
finishing the race in 8th place. Even though I didn’t have a
great finish, I had a lot of fun tonight as I got in some close side by side
racing and made the pass on several cars and kept out of trouble.
Congratulations to Nathan Speten on winning two in a row, taking home the big
winners paycheck. They advertised this as a “Legends Special” with a
$1,500 purse and $650 to win, which is a very nice paycheck for the Legends
cars, but I was very disappointed when I received my $20 check for 8th
place. They must have paid all the money to the front runners. Now
I’m not doing this for the check and would race in Wishek even if it didn’t
pay anything, but figure if they want to get cars to show up, they need to pay
out a little more at the back of the pack too.
July 10th - Tri County
Speedway - At race time, we didn’t think we would get the races
in. The sky was very dark and filled with lightning and we got a few
sprinkles, but the rain stayed away and by the time the feature race started,
the weather was beautiful. We only had 11 cars show up but still had a
good night of racing. I started the first heat in 5th place out
of 6 cars. The track was a little slick and my car wanted to push pretty
bad in the turns so I just took it easy and finished the race in 6th
place. This 6th place finish lined me up dead last for the
feature. A few laps into the race, a couple of cars tangled in turn 3
right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and turned to the left, just
tagging the #19 car of Donavin Weist with my right rear tire and drove into the
infield right between 2 huge implement tires they have lining the inside of the
turns. Whew! Another close call. I saw a track worker picking
up a red bumper and figured I lost my rear bumper, but when the race was over I
got out of the car to check the damage and I still had my bumper. Apparently
I just clipped the rear bumper of the #19 car and got some red paint on my right
rear tire and another crack in the fender, but nothing else. Other than
this incident, the race was pretty boring for me. I finished the race in 7th
place. Congratulations to Nathan Speten on winning the feature.
July 5th - Southwest Speedway -
Finally, my long awaited trip to Southwest Speedway has arrived and the weather
this year was great. I really like racing in Dickinson and usually do well
here. We had 13 cars show up. I lined up 4th for the second heat
race. On the start I got by the pole position car and ran a couple of laps
in second place when I was passed by the #19 car of Donavin Weist. Shortly
after that, the caution flag flew. Once the race resumed, after several
laps of side by side racing, I got by Donavin and a lap or so after that I got
by the leader, #55 Ivan Sailer. Once I passed Ivan, I gained a little
distance on him and went on to my 1st heat race victory of the season. As
the winner of the 2nd heat, I lined up last (8th) for the trophy dash. A
few laps into the race, I was running in about 6th place trying to get by Ivan
again when I got into the corner a little too hard and tried to pinch it down a
little too low and I spun the car around in turn 2. I believe this is only
the 3rd time I have actually spun out all by myself. I got the car going
before the caution flag came out and finished a very distant 7th place. My
win in the heat gave me the outside front row position for the feature.
When the race before us finished, I saw the water truck come out onto the track
and knew that could be disastrous for these little cars. They get so
little traction the way it is, and have absolutely nothing in the mud.
They watered the high side of the track and also the very bottom leaving us a
somewhat narrow path in the middle. After the green flag flew, I found
myself in 3rd place chasing the #13 of Troy Speten and the #75 of Spencer
Wilson. A few laps into the race, I got a little high in turn 2 and hit
the slick stuff and started heading toward the wall in front of the
grandstands. I thought I was going to go all the way to the wall, but got
back in the groove after losing about 3 positions. Then in turn 4, I got
tagged in the rear bumper by the #77 of Dave Aberle and spun out in front of 6
or so cars. As I was spinning, I could see a group of them coming at me
and just hoped everyone would get by, which they did. Whew!!! The
caution came out which was charged to Dave, so I got my position back as we
crossed the line the previous lap so I lucked out and got back into 3rd
place. My car only suffered a bent bumper, but Dave ended up with a flat
front tire so that ended his race. I ran the next several laps right
behind the leaders till I got passed by the #371 of Kyle Vandenburg. Then
had another nice side by side battle for several more laps with Donavin again,
racing each other very clean with no close calls at all. As we crossed the
finish line, we had a very exciting 3 way side by side by side finish with me,
Donavin and the #3 of Nathan Speten. When we crossed the line, I didn't
know if I finished 3rd, 4th
or 5th, but I was credited with a 5th place finish. Wow, was that fun!! I sure love racing at this place.
It was a great night of racing for everyone, and nobody had any serious damage
done to their cars. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back for the
Harvest Shootout in September. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on
winning tonight's trophy dash and feature. (this is beginning to sound
like a broken record.)
July
4th - Nodak Speedway - We had 13 cars show up for the big
fireworks 4th of July special - I had hoped we would have a few more cars show
up since it was a Friday night and most everyone wouldn't have to work in the
morning. I started in 4th place in the second heat and finished in 5th
place. Nothing too exciting happened. For the feature, I started
inside the second row. The starts of these races get to be very nerve
wracking as everyone is so close and there is so much going on till the cars get
somewhat sorted out. The first couple of laps I tried the low side and I
thought it was going to work pretty good for me, but soon several cars passed me
on the outside. As the race neared the end I was in 8th place and on the
last lap, I was passed by two cars giving me a 10th place finish. Not
exactly the finish I was hoping for, but at least I kept out of any trouble and
won't have to work on the car to make the trip to Dickinson tomorrow. And
I did a decent job of keeping up with the leaders, so I feel I have been doing
better. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on another feature win.
June
29th - Nodak Speedway - Tonight we had 13 cars show. I
started 4th in the first heat. On the start of the race, the #31 car of
Steve Pankowski was on the outside of me when he got turned around and I
narrowly got by without him getting into me. Once the race got going, the
track was very dry and slick and my car didn't handle very well, but I managed a
5th place finish out of 7 cars, so I should get a decent starting place in the
feature. I lined up in 4th place for the start of the feature. The
track was in much better shape for the feature and my car handled much better
and we clicked off some very fast laps. I had another close call when the
#3 car of Nathan Speten got tagged as he was racing on the outside of me between
turns 1 and 2 and he just missed hitting my right rear, but he was collected by
the #67 car of Eric Fetzer. After a lengthy caution to get the badly
damaged cars off the track, we resumed racing. A little after midway
through the race, the #51 of Glen Huettl passed me, then got a bit high in turn
4 and I went low to pass him back when I heard his car start to sputter.
Glen fell out with some serious wiring problems. On the white flag lap I
saw the #41 of Paul Huettl trying to get by me on the inside so I drove it hard
into the corner and kept Paul behind me to the checkered flag, crossing the line
in 5th place. Wow - another top 5 finish. A couple of the faster
cars had dropped out, but I had a great run and was right up there with the
leaders again tonight. That makes things a lot of fun!
Congratulations to Troy Speten on a hard fought feature win.
June 22nd - Nodak Speedway -
I made the trip to Minot again this week where we had 12 cars show up. I
started 5th in the 2nd heat. On the second lap, the cars of Glen Huettl
and Shannon Cree tangled right in front of me in the middle of turns 1 and
2. I was hard on the brakes, and at the last second, both cars slid out of
my way just enough for me to squeeze through the middle of them without clipping
either of them. Whew!!! One of these days my luck will run
out. I thought I was going to smash into both of them - hard! When I
pulled out onto the track, I remembered I forgot to check my air pressure in the
tires, and I always air them up before heading to the track, so they were way
over-filled and the car's handling showed it. I finished the race a
distant 4th place. For the feature, I lined up in 5th place. After a
few weeks of caution plagued feature races, this one finally went caution free,
so it didn't last too long. I had a great time racing side by side for
several laps with Shannon Cree and Steve Pankowski, getting by Steve on the last
lap. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on winning a photo finish (from
what I hear) with Robert Huettl.
June
20th - Dacotah Speedway - Tonight we had 25 cars at the track so
they decided to run 3 heats with the top 5 qualifying for the feature, and then
running a consolation race to qualify 5 more cars with 20 cars starting the
feature. I drew #29 which put me in 7th place in the 3rd heat. On
the opening lap, the #50 car of Paul Morman got spun just off my right
front. I thought I might collect him, but he just seemed to spin around
without crossing into my lane so I avoided a close one. Once the race got
going I moved up one position and crossed the finish line right behind Paul in
6th place. I thought I might get by Paul, but couldn't quite make it so I
had to qualify through the consi. I lined up 3rd out of 10 cars.
Early on in the race, I moved into the lead and won the first Legends
consolation race held at Dacotah Speedway. It sure is nice to win, even if
it is a consi. For the feature race, I started way back in 16th
place. After a couple of restarts the race finally got going. I took
a low line and pretty much everyone else was running the high groove, but my car
was working very well on the bottom and I actually was moving up, passing some
good cars, which actually surprised me. About midway through the race, the
car of Nathan Speten spun in the middle of turns 1 and 2. I went to the
high side of him, and as I came around I saw his car sliding backward up the
hill. I thought he was going to clip me, but I cleared him.
Whew!!!! With 2 laps to go I was in 5th place and I was hoping for my
second top 5 in a row, but was passed by Robert Huettl with about a lap and a
half to go and finished in 6th place. I was definitely happy with how
things went for me tonight and had a heck of a lot of fun. It is much more
fun when you are racing side by side with someone than running all by yourself
out there. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on another feature
victory.
June 13th - Dacotah Speedway -
I had a great night of racing. We had 23 cars show up tonight. I
drew the #7 which put me on the outside of the front row in the 3rd heat with
the #10 car of Tom Wagner starting on the pole. I chased Tom for 8 laps
and finished right behind him in 2nd place. I lined up in third for the
feature race. When the green flag flew, I dropped low and passed the pole sitter, #32 Matt Miller on the front straightaway, but the race was yellow
flagged due to one car stopping on the track. On the re-start I didn't get
the jump on Matt like the first time, but I passed him through turns one and
two. I led the race for several laps battling with Wes Doepke and then
Spencer Wilson before giving up the lead to Spencer. Shortly after that I
lost second place to Nathan Speten. Near the end of the race, I was hoping
to finish in third, but lost a couple more spots in the last couple of
laps. There was a lot of action going on as I saw cars inside and outside
of me the last couple of laps and then a spun car in turn 4 as we were coming
for the checkered flag where I finished in 5th place - the second time I have finished in the top 5 at Mandan, so I was very happy
with that, and I had a lot of fun the whole race on top of it. It felt
great to have a good run. The race had several cautions again, but I don't
think anybody had any serious damage, so it was a pretty good night all
around. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson again on winning tonight's
feature.
June
8th - Nodak Speedway - Since our Friday night races were cancelled
because of the rain in Mandan, I decided to trek up to Minot for the races for
the first time of the season. We had a decent showing of cars with 16 cars showing up tonight. My
heat race was pretty un-eventful as I started and finished in 7th place.
My car didn't seem to handle very well and I thought I might have a flat tire,
but when I pulled into the pits after the race, there was nothing wrong with the
tire. For the feature race, I started in 14th place and finished in
8th. I had a lot of fun tonight as I was fighting for positions pretty
much the whole race and the car handled much better even though I hadn't made
any changes to it. The
race was slowed by several caution flags (again) and a red flag when the car of
Shannon Cree hit the spun car of Eric Fetzer and Shannon rolled his car
over. Both drivers were unhurt, but Shannon's car received some serious front
end damage. I was 1 car behind Eric when he spun coming off turn 2.
I saw him spin and had to decide whether to go on the inside or outside of
him. I figured his car would roll backward so I darted to the inside
(fortunately the right move) and just cleared him. Shannon was right
behind me and didn't see Eric until I turned and it was too late to avoid
him. Congratulations to Spencer Wilson on winning the feature tonight.
May 31st - Dacotah
Speedway - Tonight there was a big crowd on hand for the Rumble on
the Prairie Late Model special and we had 21 Legend cars show up. I drew
the 4th place starting position in the 3rd heat. I ran in 3rd place for
most of the race running on the low groove. With a lap and a half to go,
my car pushed high coming out of turn two letting the #86 car of Jordan Jangula slip by me
and finishing in 4th place. With 3 heats, the top 4
from each heat line up inverted by their point average, and since I have a low
point average due to my rather unimpressive finish last week, I started the
feature on the outside of the front row. I jumped into the lead when the
green flag flew only to have a caution during the first lap so we had to do a
complete re-start. On the re-start, I took the lead again and led the race
for 4 or 5 laps until the #371 of Kyle Vandenburg slipped by on the low
side. Soon a few more cars passed me on the outside lane, so I figured I
would try a higher line. I held my position pretty well and only lost one
more position to #50 Paul Morman after I decided to leave the low line but
could hear and sometimes see other cars trying to get by, but kept the others
behind me and drove the car to a 7th place finish. I thought the track was
in excellent shape tonight and my car handled quite well and even though I lost
several positions on the track, I kept up with the leaders so I was very happy
at the finish and had a lot of fun in the process. Our race tonight was
slowed by several caution flags for a few spins and a couple of fenders laying
on the track but there were no serious wrecks. The feature tonight was won
by #75 Spencer Wilson of Minot. Congratulations Spencer!!
May 23rd - Dacotah
Speedway - After taking off a couple of weeks, I hit the track for
the first time of the season this weekend. I drew #29 which I knew would
put me close to the back of my heat race. I started 7th out of 10 cars in
my heat race. As we were coming for the checkered flag, I had worked my
way up to 5th place and got high in turn 4 letting the #50 car of Paul Morman
slip by me at the finish giving me a 6th place finish. I lined up 12th for
the feature with 19 cars taking the green flag. I had a lot of fun
battling several cars back and forth for pretty much every lap of the race and
finished the race one position behind where I started - in 13th place. The race went without a
caution flag and didn't take very long to run. Even though I didn't move
up in position, there was a lot of passing back and forth for position and I had
a great time and I figure everyone had a good time since nobody got wrecked at
all tonight. Congratulations to Kyle Vandenburg on winning tonight's
feature race.
March
29th and 30th - Sandbox Arena - Finally the big day for the indoor
race at the Sandbox Arena arrived and 24 cars made the trip for some indoor
fun. When we got there, the track looked huge, but once I got on the
track, it seemed very small. On Saturday night, I started 7th in my heat
race. On the start, there was a car spun in the first turn bringing out
the caution moving me up one position for the restart. On the restart,
another car spun in turn two and I ran right into him. The damage was
limited to tearing off my front bumper, but that put me out of the race.
In the feature, I started in 20th place. The race ran green for several
laps till the first caution came out. We ran a few more laps after the
restart till a couple cars spun in turn two. I turned hard to avoid the
cars and just squeezed by and hopped my right rear over the left front tire of
the car behind me. I thought for sure I was going to hit the wall but
somehow managed to avoid it. I figured there might be damage to the
car and decided to be careful and pull into the pits ending up with a 22nd place
finish. Troy Speten won tonight's feature race after holding off a last
lap challenge. Congratulations Troy!!
On Sunday, I started the 3rd heat race in 4th place and
finished in 8th place, but stayed on the lead lap. I believe the race went
without a caution (I should write some of this stuff down right after the races
instead of trying to remember two days later). I started the feature in
the last row. The race went green to checkered without a caution so things
were mighty busy with 23 cars on that small racetrack. It wasn't long and
I was being lapped by the leaders and so I just tried to stay up high and out of
the way. I finished the race in 20th place. The racing was very
tight and I was very intimidated by the concrete barriers surrounding the whole
track and I definitely didn't have a decent showing, but still had a great
time. Congratulations to Tom Wagner for his 2nd place finish.
January 12th - Alerus
Center - We got a nice break from the long winter off season by
getting to put on an exhibition race in the Alerus Center in Grand Forks.
We were racing as part of the entertainment for a Monster Truck show. I
didn't know what to expect, but I knew we would be racing on the concrete
floor. When we got there and saw the small size of the track we would be
racing on, I began to have second thoughts as I figured it would be nothing but
a wreck fest, but I was very wrong on that. I think we ran our three heat
races without any caution flags and only had a couple in the features. We
had 18 cars show up, 9 from our local group and 9 from the Great North Legends
group from the Minneapolis area. They broke us up into 3 heat races and
because of the small track and the sizeable number of cars, they decided to run
2 feature races of 9 cars each. They put down Coke syrup on the floor to
give us some grip on the smooth concrete. It actually works pretty
well. We got to run several laps of practice with groups of 5 cars.
During one of the practice sessions I clipped a truck tire they had inside the
turn and got the car up on two wheels, but bounced back down and finished the
session. I had a bent steering arm, but no other damage and had it fixed
quickly. I lined up 3rd in the second heat. Shortly after the
start, I passed a car to move to second place and ran in second for most of the
race till I got way high in turn 2 late in the race and was passed by 2 cars,
one of then who had been pounding on my rear bumper a bit, and finished the race
in 4th place. I started in 6th place in the first feature. About
midway through the race I figured the leaders must be close behind me, so I went
wide so I wouldn't be in their way and one of the cars running behind me got by,
so that was kind of a screw-up on my part. By the end of the race I
definitely had a rhythm worked out on when to get on and off the gas and caught
up to the car running ahead of me. I thought about trying to stick my nose
in there but knew the race was almost over and didn't want to cause any wreck,
so I played it safe and finished the race in 5th place. Normally when we
race I run in 4th gear, but this track was so small, I never got it out of 2nd
gear so the speeds were not high, but the laps clicked off really fast and there
was a lot of very close action. I think most everyone had a good time, I
know I sure did, and other than a few bent bumpers, nobody got their cars
wrecked.
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