Gleason Bros. Racing

Well, what an eventful day it was. It began ok when we were ready a half hour early, because it's nice to not have to rush around before we go. On the way out, I'm following my brother's trailer, and I figure out that I have no trailer brakes. After a slow ride to the gas station and the smell of hot rotors coming from my truck, I search the entire wiring system to see why I don't have brakes. I worked on that truck and trailer for 30 minutes, and couldn't figure out what the problem was. Frustrated and late, I got back in the truck and headed out. Wouldn't you know, the damn brakes work again. So, I have no idea what I did, but I did something.


Race #1 was interesting. I didn't drive well all day, but neither did the car handle well. At least I can admit it was mostly me! Anyway, I started up near 14th, I was holding my own for the most part, but the car was pretty tight on entry through the center. Had a few hairy moments, I was behind the #50 and #52 when they came together off turn two. The #52 whacked the fence a TON, that car may have seen it's last laps as it is now. Towards the middle of the race my car started picking up a bad push. I saw a lot of debris on the track (I think I even saw a piston bounce down the frontstretch when the #19? blew up) and it turns out that I had lost a right front tire during the race. I knew I didn't adjust it that far out, but I guess I found out. That wasn't the end of that race though, as the #23 and the #37 got together with the #37 getting turned around on the frontstretch. I had to thread the needle between Godbout and some new guy in the tape-numbered #2 car. I managed to squeak by, but the #75 and #50 behind me weren't so lucky. I watched the tape later and saw how close it was. I finished 20th, which wasn't great, but I finished. To say I was tired is an understatement.


Race #2 was a late one. We were the 8th (yes, 8th) feature of the night, and I had a new Right Front tire bolted on. Hopefully we had made some changes that made the car better, so I gave it a whirl. I started 21st. Green flag, and we all head off into one. Then we all scatter in turn one, because the #51 got turned around into the fence. The car performed better during this race, and I drove a little better, but I just feel that the car is not fast enough. I have a lot of work to do. I managed to miss the Moffat / Pomposelli wreck on the frontstretch, but after that I just drove the car as hard as I could. I managed a 14th place finish, which is ok. I'm almost at the point where, I really have to do something a lot more drastic than what I had previously thought to get this car to go. I'm getting passed by cars that really shouldn't be getting by me. It's like I don't have enough motor. When I'm good coming out, and the hammer is down, I can't keep up well enough. Oh well, I'll figure it out.


Peace,
Brent

What a mess this race was. We didn't even make it past turn 1 before cars were wrecked. We did so well the last race! I didn't have a good feeling about this race heading into it. I just was not into racing for some reason. I was just shifting into 3rd gear when the #68 was turned around right in front of me. I had someone on the high side really crowding me, I thought I was going to hit him, but instead I got hit on the left by the #04. That was the first time while racing at Thompson that I thought, "It's over, I'm toast". You know what, there's not really a lot of damage to my car, but he got me pretty solid. I whacked my head off my left headrest pretty good, and my foot slipped over to my clutch pedal so when I went to hit the brakes again, I pushed the clutch in. Awkward. Needless to say, I wasn't sure if the car was damaged bad or not because it was a pretty solid hit. I brought it down the pit road to the photographers and firemen, and I asked them how bad it was. They looked it over and said it was ok, so I went back out. I knew there was something wrong with the front end, but I decided to tough it out. The first corner under speed was kind of sketchy, but after a while, I started to figure it out. It was really boring sitting back in the pack because the car wouldn't handle. I measured the toe this afternoon, and I found out that it got knocked in 1/8". That would explain why it developed a loose condition. 


I figured my excitement was pretty much over, since I could barely keep up. I don't know what I was thinking. Many other cautions to bunch up the field led to some hairy moments. With approximately 4 to go, the #52 blew a motor or something (since I never saw any speedy dry go down) going into turn 3. The 55 was ahead of me, and he went straight through the oil and smacked the fence. I dove down low to try and miss the trail, but I guess I drove right through it. The car flew sideways at the wrong point, the entry of the turn. Instinct must have kicked in, because I just matted the throttle and kept the car from slamming into the wall. Glad my mother got that on film, that was entertaining. And what's the saying? Crash in front of the cameraman? I did it twice in one night. I also ended up going down pit road twice, once on my own accord, and once spinning. I've spun cars out before, but not that fast. I just wish I hadn't cracked open my helmet to get some air in there. Rookie mistake.



I have so much work to do to get this car to settle down in the corners. If I had a set of scales, I'd have it on those every week, trying new stuff. But until then, it's going to be a slow process to get this thing to handle. If I can get it to handle by the end of the year, I'll be in good shape. 


~Brent