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.

Not a hobby...Day 4-5

Yesterday was another long day in the Ironwolf shop and still working towards taking 5 days off for the much anticipated race weekend. Many things go through my mind as a race car driver/team owner/ marketing director/ dream chaser, and one of the biggest things is getting the funding from other companies. The race world is much like the everyday business day: calls have to be made, parts ordered, scheduling, maintenance, and plans to execute each. Today was a much needed day for lining up potential leads for the end of the month, and the next step is to schedule a meeting ASAP in hopes of it leading somewhere. The next few days will be filled with our race check list which I will post in the near future.

One of my biggest supporters of my racing career, from the days of being a 12 year old in a go-kart to now the 28 year old sprint car driver is that of my older brother Nick. He has always believed in me from day one and has never let me give up on my dream of being a professional race car driver. The countless hours and money he has invested in me makes me truly appreciate him as a brother, but even more as a friend. I'm excited that he flew in for the weekend and that we'll get to hang out in the race shop and bench race!

Today has been spent totally dedicated to IronWolf in hopes of freeing up time at the end of the month. The business has been flowing nicely and we love our customers and the great creations that we get to do with them.

Not a Hobby! Days 1-3

From Monday to today…I worked a total 36 hours for IronWolf and between Dad and I we worked a total of 12 hours on installing methanol fuel injection on the toterhome to gain a little more horsepower and fuel mileage. During these days I’ve also been working on a racecar set up for the upcoming races.  

You can see the computer mounted to the steering column. 

I am drilling the holes into the intake manifold for the fuel injectors. The things we do to save a few bucks to put towards the race car. 

Dad getting ready to install the computer. 

 We are excited to have this enhancement, hoping that it will shorten our drive times significantly. 

Sprint Car Racing...not a hobby!

Hey Shadow followers!!

I'm planning on documenting what it takes to get prepared for a sprint car race. I'll be posting blogs each day leading up to our 3 day Labor Day Weekend race events in Kansas. Follow along and see how much is involved, the time it takes and the devotion that is required. 

Please comment and feel free to ask questions! 

Memorial Day Weekend- First time out since the accident

Friday – Hays, Kansas

It was great to be back on the road again with Justin’s parents and Justin’s brother Nick flew out to help us kick off the season. This was our maiden voyage in “Redemption Rig”. The drive to Hays went smoothly although the headwind added an extra hour to our trip. The travel was surprisingly comfortable and allowed us to drive longer distances with the large fuel tanks.

 We arrived at the race track and got settled in to our pit stall. It was thrilling to meet up with Billy Jack and Cathy after a year and a half of rebuilding! We also saw several other drivers from past seasons that were completely shocked to see us and hear our story. After we got the car fired up and went out for mud packing, a giant storm came in and sent everyone running for their trailers. It was a blessing to experience the new tall trailer being able to roll the race car quickly inside with the wing on. After a second try at getting cars back out, mother nature won and the night was called.

Saturday – Jetmore, Kansas

We headed to Jetmore to catch the local town Memorial Day parade. On the way there, we discovered that a tornado had touched down just a few miles outside of where we were the night before. Buildings and cars were scattered and we realized how fortunate we were. The tiny of Jetmore went all out for the Sprint car event including them in the parade along with the military and local businesses.

At Jetmore Motorplex the wind was raging none-stop. This race was our very first National Tour event which hosted many of the world’s best sprint car drivers…basically Nascar on dirt. We quickly got back into race mode and enjoyed the spacious trailer and April loved having the atv to zip around the giant pits and push Justin to staging. April’s mom, Aunt and niece came out from Colorado to show their support and cheer us on.

Justin was in the first heat and for his very first time being back on the track, he pulled the coveted inside pole position! Cool but crazy for just getting back into things. Learning the brand new race car and fighting the high winds was a huge challenge but he was thrilled to be back in the car. He placed 5^th out of 8 guys. He missed the transfer to the A main by one spot but had a good starting position for the B main. Starting mid-row gave him a jolt when 4 cars shot for the same opening but he stayed on it and coasted out without any upsets. Two laps in and hauling…the coil wire broke and sent him to the infield to sadly watch the rest of the race.

 Sunday- Jetmore

After making sure that the car was working again, we were ready for another night of racing.  In his heat race he was doing well but got a little too aggressive fighting the wind tunnel in turn 3 and spun out with two laps to go. The biggest disappointment of the weekend was the pit set up with no loud speakers for announcements and the lack of communication from the division leader. We were so far away from the staging area that it was hard to know what was going on and we missed the B main since we got down there too late. All and all it was a great first time out and exciting to be doing this when we never knew if we’d get this opportunity again. We were honored to be racing with some of the most talented drivers in the country and Justin looks forward to many more nights on the dirt with them.

Special thanks to God for keeping everyone safe and allowing us this opportunity. To Billy & Cathy continued support and friendship. To Nick for his support of my dream. To Mom & Dad for not giving up and believing in this team! And to all of our many friends and family members who have stood by us and pray for us. And to everyone who supported us through the silent auction. We love you guys!

New Justin Wolf Medlock Website!!

We've launched our new website!
It is more up to date, interactive and super cool. We even have a new logo to represent the new image of Justin Wolf Medlock. Sponsors can now enjoy the promotion that they'll receive throughout the site. There is even a merchandise page and videos for everyone to follow.

After over a year of recovering, healing and putting the team back together...we are looking forward to getting back on the track. Our new rig will allow the team to be more efficient on the road and at the race track. Justin the crew are pleased with the equipment and the way everything has come together after a long off season. More than anything, Justin is thrilled to finally get back in the race car.

You can follow us here for detailed blogging of our life on the road, the adventures at the track and Justin's current race stats.

Follow us on Facebook for live postings.

We look forward to burning it up out there!