Thursday, September 29, 2016

9/14/16 Chasing Dreams - World of Outlaws Race

 Photo Credit: Dave Liddle

You can imagine our excitement when we found out that the World of Outlaws were returning to Colorado. Not only that, but they were coming to our home track in Calhan. Click here for a cool write up on the great return. So cool to see Justin’s name mentioned! 

We spent many nights and weekends preparing our 360 for this event but had fun while we were at it.
The day of the big event, we pulled into our pit stall we were side by side with the WoO vinyl wrapped haulers. We were in awe that we were sharing the same dirt with the superstars of dirt track racing.

 As we prepared for the race, we were able to catch up with some of the drivers and pit crews…many who we raced with back in the 360 ASCS Rocky Mountain Region. This series was impressive and super organized, complete with a mobile command center. The professionalism of the track leads was inviting and helpful as these people didn’t mess around so you needed to know exactly where and when you needed to be.

Our first taste of a timed qualifying ended up with Justin pulling a #2 so he was the very first driver to go out for his 3 timed laps which placed everyone is their heat line up.  Considering Justin had never done this, he did pretty well even though the car’s jetting was messed up. He then ran his heat, made some tweaks and was ready for the A feature.

Cool thing about racing in Colorado is that we have a great support system. The Shadow Team had an awesome pit crew and a huge amount of friends, family and sponsors in the stands. They were just as blown away as we were that the 410 cars were racing on our little bull ring track. 

The main event was an experience that Justin has dreamed of since he was 6 years old. He was completely star struck as he was sitting in staging with the pros. The 4 wide sprint salute was honor to partake in and gave Justin chills as the crowd roared its appreciation. 

The green flag immediately kicked in Justin’s race mode and he quickly fell into his comfort zone. He avoided 3 wrecks/spins that happened right in front of him and soon was only one of two 360 cars remaining. The race was a thrilling 40 lap adventure that was heart pumping and so much fun! Justin ended up placing 17th out of 24 cars which is great since this was his first Outlaw race and he was down 200 hp.

It was so encouraging to have so many fans visit us in the pits and recognize the #05 as a Colorado favorite.

From Justin… “To have my dream become a reality is confirmation that this is something that God has gifted me with and He has placed people in my life to help me reach these big goals. It was an honor and a thrill to race with these guys and I hope it’s something I get to do again.”
We want to thank everyone for their support, prayers and sponsorship for this event. We could not have done it without you!

Massive thanks to local sponsors who joined us and helped make this happen!

To God be the Glory