Race Report

End of the First Half of the Season

by April May Gelineau

Week six June 30th Rain again.. Seems like everybody I know has decided to come tonight. Mom and Dad Arnold from Florida are here, sponsors are in the pits, and watching from the stands, the pressure is on.

Started 4th and finished 4th in my heat race. We have definitely decided that it doesn't matter where you finish as long as in the top 6 so it is not worth putting ourselves at risk of wrecking (that can happen easily enough in the feature) so we just do the best we can and try to be there if an opportunity presents itself.

We were supposed to start 8th in the feature but someone dropped out so we got to start in our favorite spot, on the OUTSIDE in 7th. It actually worked out better this time, there was a caution early with some slower guys in the front and I found myself restarting in 2nd!! I figured that this could work if I really tried but unfortunately the pole sitter, a vw, decided to start in the outside groove. Seems the only time you can get a d*** vw to go on the outside is when they are on the pole. Needless to say that put me up in about the 5th groove if there is one and it didn't work out that great.

Brian should have been able to get by the 28th with no problem but being up in the gravel makes it hard to race. Anyway he stayed on the outside for a couple of laps and then coming out of turn 4 tried to get back in line in front of me. Unfortunately by the time I saw him he was sideways in front of me. I got on the brakes and at the same time realized he wasn't going to save it, and there was a pile of cars behind us, so I got back in the gas. Brian went through the infield and after the lap was completed they threw the caution. I was in 3rd but drifted up at the wrong time and 2 guys got by me.

The next thing I know Brian is working his way back up to the front and on the last lap passed the 28 for what we thought was the win. If only it had been, the next week would have been totally different. But alas he was informed that they were a lap down and that he finished 7th. I ended up finishing 4th, which was great.

Week seven July 7th another 2 weeks in a row! Did I mention before that I wish Brian had won last week. Oh yeah we're having fun now. You sure can tell it is 1/2 way a lot of people can use a vacation. The Florida gang is still here so I am hoping for as good a performance as last week and man oh man it was surely headed that way. I got to start in 7th this week and after the first lap found myself in 2nd. Lap 6 saw me in 3rd and we are pulling away from the field. At about 1/2 way there is a spin, which results in a caution.

We bunch back up and coming out of 2 I am in 2nd but the guy in 3rd doesn't think that is a good idea. The first thing someone said to me after the race was what in the h*** was the 44 thinking when he deliberately dumped you like that? Yeah I got dumped and then the pack had no where to go and the 60 drove into me hard. The result was a bent frame, broken front rack, lower a-arm, ball joint, and radiator. I was trying to drive the car off the track and they don't throw the yellow and she won't turn left, I finally get her off and almost drive into the dirt bank, but manage to get to our pit.

Victor tells me to shut her off we are all done. I am yelling "NO, JUST FIX IT!" yeah right, no fixing happening here. I ended up with our worst finish of the year in 13th, the end of what could have been our best finish of the year and a long week for the crew. After the race the ENTIRE crew of the 18 is congratulating the 44, I wonder what they were congratulating him about because he finished the race in the infield one position ahead of me……. We are back in 3rd in points, which is okay, way too much pressure being in 2nd!!

But wait, the fun isn't over yet, seems I have some very dear fans and friends and one such person decided to give the 44 a piece of his mind after the race. Now this person is NOT on our crew. Well after that altercation where the 44's dad told my friend that I should stay home and make babies like I am supposed too, the 2 of them came down to our pit and proceeded to try and get in a fight with us. We did not back, although we did have to hold back Skeets, and they finally left but not until they made said "this just cost you a race car". I still don't know what I did to him, and I know tempers are hot at the time, and I had hoped that by this week he would calm down, but I have gotten email informing me that he is telling everyone he will take me out every week.

The joys of being female in a male dominate sport. I had a sex change, well they removed all my reproductive organs, so that must make me less of a girl and more of a man, doesn't it!! When you play the game how you are supposed to play and not for whether you win or loose, you unfortunately run up against those that can only think about winning. And even though they try to drag you down, it was so good to hear victor say: "Well at least we looked great when they took us out" so as far as I am concerned we are still winners.

I see no point in dumping people to get to the front, obviously it is not a good thing, cause even when I don't and they think I did I get in trouble, imagine if I had really tried to dump someone!!

We won't let them win, we will prevail, and we are looking forward to getting that trophy. We finally have the car handling well, and definitely are in the running. So if everyone calms down, it could be any race now.

Definitely 1/2 way through the season and time for a week off!!

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