Kansas- Blown Engine Update

It’s been an incredibly busy off season here at the Shadow Racing Team Shop. We managed to get 8 races completed in 2012 and have high hopes with the potential sponsors we are seeking that 2013 will be our strongest season yet. Please keep our efforts in prayer as we are seeking many large corporate companies and we want to be a leading candidate in the efforts to better their brands and services throughout the United States. 

We just realized that we never blogged about our Kansas weekend at the end of August. Thankfully we had a great group of people helping us that weekend including Gary who flew in from Canada and also a fellow racer… Steve Lacy.

It was an incredibly hot weekend but we were excited and had high hopes after all the planning and preparation for this 3-day show. We pulled into Hays, KS, set up shop and were ready to contend with the Lucus Oil Tour. The car felt great in hot laps and we only made a few changes to set up for the heat race. I pulled first heat…third row…outside and the engine sounded good. The car was hooked up but three laps in to a 8 lap heat race…the engine couldn't hang...boom! We were done for the night!

Check out the explosion….

The next day we found a secluded lot and decided to pull the spare engine out of the backup car…bad idea! It took all day which caused us to miss the Park City race. But we learned a lot about what not to do when changing out an engine. 

After finally getting the car to run again with the engine, we decided to head to Dodge City the next day to race with the big dogs. It was an incredible opportunity to gain wisdom from the pro teams and run with them on the track. We also go to meet and pit next to Emmett Hahn, the creator of the ASCS Tour and share our story with him.

I was super impressed with the new USA Performance engine and enjoyed the power and fast throttle response. We finished 13 out of 17.

When we finally were able to tear down the engine and get a good look at what happened that night. It appears that cylinder number one over heated which caused stress on the piston hardware. The end result was one bolt breaking and then flying about in the engine. It did a lot less damage than we expected but we now have an expensive coffee table.

Here is the bolt that broke on the bottom of the piston rod; this little bolt did a lot of damage. Hopefully our luck with engines will be much better in 2013.

Montana Race Weekend Update

Wow, where in the heck did September go!

It was an absolute honor to be racing with familiar faces and meeting new people in the great state of Montana. Back at the beginning of September, I received a call from a fellow sprint car driver Jeremy McCune to come and race in Billings, Montana. The first thing that popped into my mind was getting to race at a track I had been on back in 2009 that I really enjoyed. The decision was made and we began to prepare for the weekend of September 21st and 22nd.
We hit the road late that Thursday afternoon and drove until about 1:00am. When we started seeing deer after deer…lining the highway staring at us, we decided to pull over to stop in Buffalo, Wyoming. Thank goodness for deer whistles! Whew!

Friday morning we arrived in Billings and I was so relaxed and excited for the race weekend. The plan for the shop set up was to keep it as simple as possible and that is exactly what we did. Friday’s heat race I finished 6th so I started at the back of the “A” main and finished a very strong 16th. The car felt really strong and this was the first time I raced on a rubber down surface which was a learning experience to say the least. That night ended at 2:00am and we headed back to Jeremy’s place to get some much needed rest as Saturday morning was already here!

We enjoyed the inviting home and yard that Jeremy provided for us! The next day I gave the car a bath and started making a few changes for the Saturday evening race. Jeremy gave me a few pointers about the set up for the evening and we made the needed adjustments. The race track was calling my name and I was so ready to take it on! I pulled the number 5 pill which would start me next to Jeremy McCune on the pole position. I flat out killed the entire field on the start and lead the infamous OJ for 3 laps but he passed me on a corner. I brought home my first 2nd place finish in a heat race. That is the best finish I have had in my sprint car career!

Hannah helping Daddy get ready for a race...

This would start me in the 8th position for the “A” main event. The car was awesome and I finished in the 11th position, a much needed confidence booster for our team and race fans. It was great having people come up to me at the end of the evening for autographs, t-shirts, and to race talk. One guy came up to me and said…. Son, what got in your fire suit…you sucked last night and kicked butt tonight….. My response.. “We got ‘er done!”

This was the most fun weekend of racing I’ve had in a long time. A special thanks for all the support from my “Denver sponsors”, AMP graphics, USA Performance Engines, Nick M, To God be the Glory, Spotlight Web Design, Dales Paint, Bell Racing, and IronWolf Designs.

A special thanks to my parents who always are willing to travel so far, to my wife and best friend April for depositing into my racing dream and always encouraging me to press in and pray hard, and to Jeremy McCune for the racing wisdom and for never giving up on me!

Not A Hobby! Getting the Car Scaled Out

So it looks like we are going to Kansas after all!! First night we’ll be in Hays, Kansas at RPMSpeedway. It’s going to be a great time with Sprint Car Mania including the 360 & 305 Sprints and even the School Bus races! The next night we’ll be in Park City, KS at 81Speedway. Hope you guys can come out and see us!

The gruesome-twosome working on the car. We’ve enjoyed having Gary (our Canadian friend) with us for the last few weeks. It’s been super beneficial to our team gaining his knowledge from his years around sprint car racing.  We look forward to having him in the pit crew this weekend too!

 The car lift came in handy while getting the car scaled out this time. 

 I had to be inside so they could get the true weight.

The new race shop is coming along. One day we’ll get the insulation and drywall all up. One board at a time while balancing racing, a business and marriage!

Be sure and follow our facebookpage for the weekend race updates!

Not A Hobby! Day 11-15

Well race fans its been a very busy couple of days. Thank you for the prayers, I’m feeling better than I was a few days ago after that nasty stomach issue. Yuck!

We finally got the toter home fuel injection completely installed on this past Saturday and had a blast doing the test drive! The computer fuel injection program allows us to modify the amount of fuel that is sent into the fuel injection which in return creates more horse power. The more horse power, the better it will be for towing. It also has a MPG (miles per gallon) setting that will help with the overall fuel mileage while towing. The program that was designed for our specific application will allow us more power, cooler operating temperatures, and better towing.

When we returned to the race shop I got out and was walking next to the truck and heard a loud noise coming from the rear of the toter… so it seems we now need brakes. Luckily the parts are in stock and we will have them installed this week. Guess it’s better we found out now.

Not a Hobby! Day 10

Possible turn of events for the location of our Labor Day weekend races.  

We have been invited to Aztec Speedway in New Mexico.

We have raced there several times when we were part of the ASCS Rocky Mountain division so we are familiar with the track. But we are weighing our options to decide which tracks present the best opportunities. Keep tuned in for further details!

It’s been a rough couple of days because I’ve been down and out with flu symptoms. Better now than on a race weekend!

Yesterday- 8/14/2012- Survival Day!

Happy Survival Day to us!

Hard to believe it’s been 2 years since our accident! 

Praise God for the protection He provides for us.We are still on the road to recovery and still dealing with doctors, insurance and lawyers but we are so incredibly grateful to even be here. We’ve come a long way putting everything back together again. We’ve spent a lot of hours customizing, rebuilding and making “Redemption”…Shadow Racing ready. 

Must admit as much as I love our new toter…I miss that duramax!

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

Not A Hobby: Days 6-7

Great news! 

Shadow racing team is proud to announce that Sprint Car expert, Gary from Winnipeg Canada will be joining forces with Justin Wolf Medlock for the Labor Day weekend races. Gary is wearing red in both of these photos.

Q: Justin, are you excited that Gary will be helping for the Labor Day weekend?

A: Gary has been a huge part of my early success as a sprint car driver and I’m thrilled to have him on board.

Q: Gary is coming in from Canada!?

A: Yes. It will be a long canoe trip, but I’m excited he’ll be here for two weeks. :)

Q: How will having Hank, your crew chief and Gary benefit the overall race car set up?

A: Hank and Gary are the guys that can get us to the front and I’m looking forward to what they will come up with.

Q: Are you nervous that the part of the weekend will be with the Lucas Oil National tour?

A: Well, my first experience was a rough one being our first weekend out since our highway accident but the Lucas Oil Tour is a very professional group, the drivers are amazing and I’m looking forward to building future relationships with the national tour.