Shadow Racing Farewell...Godspeed

Don't look back...always forward to the next journey. 

This is a difficult blog to write considering it's the last blog entry from Shadow Racing Team. After much consideration...we have decided that it's time for us to retire from full time racing. This has been a difficult decision as it's been a dream that has been chased since Justin was 9 years old. We know that this will come as a shock to many people but God has called us to a different road and we are extremely excited to pursue new dreams and passions.

What a journey! From humble beginnings of championship go-kart racing with the race kart strapped to the top of the wagon. Running a limited funded 360 team that made it to almost every race in the ASCS Rocky Mountain division and many National Sprint Races across the country along with local racing with the 305s. And of coarse running with the World of Outlaws! We feel that we have reached so many amazing goals, some that many people only dream about.

The opportunities that racing has given to us have been more amazing than we have ever dreamed. Racing is something that cannot be explained, only experienced. We have been able to travel the country, explore different race tracks, and meet awesome people which created some great friendships. We have enjoyed family involvement and sponsors believing in us. We will miss hanging with everyone at the tracks, that late nights of racing together but mostly the racing community that cannot be found anywhere else. The memories are endless and so very treasured.

Remember to ENJOY racing! Don't let the competition make you jaded, don't let promoters try to make you choose  sides. Don't fight...work together to make racing united, rewarding and fun for promoters, track owners, racers and fans. Don't forget the passion which racing stirs within your hearts and those of the people sitting in the stands. Fling some mud, make some friends and hammer down!

We will miss racing and everyone so very much. Please keep in touch.

As this garage door closes...many others are opening...Godspeed

"Don't Look Back!"
...05 Signing Off...

Shadow Racing Team Farewell Video

2016 Race Season Recap

Awesome Race Season!

We started off our 2016 season by putting in much preparation and time during our off season. Justin went to chassis school and learned a lot about setup which prepared him to be a better driver by having a deeper understanding of how the car functioned by design. Learning his dry-slick set up was crucial for the 2016 success. This gave him a new drive which boosted his confidence in the team and his own abilities as a driver.

Justin's crew chief - AKA: Dad was the driving force to help Justin become a better driver. Hank always challenges himself and Justin to understand the track and car better while becoming better communicators. Justin's mom always keeps us fed and the race rig cleaned up and organized. Justin's wife is his backbone, prayer warrior, always thrilled to race, ready to jump in the pushrzr and not afraid to get dirty.  April's niece Hailee and nephew Jaedon were always there to help out and cheer on the 05. Brandon helped out, not only in the pits but also as our motorsports marketing representative. He proved to be incredibly helpful and motivating with encouragement and support that he has given us from our first sprint car racing days. The Shadow Racing Team rocks!

This season offered many opportunities and races with the 305 divisions in Colorado. Justin set out at the beginning of this season to gain seat time and grab his first sprint win. We were more determined than ever to reach success and were thrilled to be able to offer partnerships with local sponsors. Justin won many heat races, almost always finished in the top 5 cars, taking many 2nd places and then in July he won his first A feature! He then earned a track championship, 3rd place in the BST championship, and 3rd in the URSS West Series.

The opportunity to run with the World of Outlaws was amazing! We put together a 360 package and were able to race with the superstars of our sport at our home track here in Colorado. It was a dream come true to contend and even be competitive with the best in the world. It will be a memory that will be treasured forever.

We would not have been able to complete this season without the support of our sponsors, family and friends. You all have made this one of the most incredible years that we have experienced and we cannot express our gratitude enough.

7/4/2016 - 305 - 4th of July - American Dirt

We had big plans for this 4th of July weekend. We wanted to take both the 305 and 360 race cars down to Dodge City, KS and compete with the big boys. It would have been a blast but unfortunately we were not able to make it because we had a sponsor back out at the last minute but to make matters worse...this happened on the way home last weekend. The entire trailer tire and wheel were gone we we got home. We had to order parts and put it back together to just make it to the race in Calhan at El Paso County Speedway on the 4th. 

The weather was gorgeous and Justin was ready to back out on the track after his addictive win last weekend. It was great having momentum to carry into this race and as always it's awesome to race at our home track with many fans to cheer us on. We had over 40 people who had specifically come to cheer the #05 and celebrate July 4th with us. 

Special thanks to our good friends who joined us in the pits. We were honored to have Dennis with us as he brought past sprint car wisdom with him from his early days of dirt track pitting. He was eager to get his hands on the 05 and was extremely helpful  to the team. 

We qualified 3rd in our heat race which after invert, placed us 2nd row inside for the feature. The team knew right away that this was going to be extreme dry slick conditions. We made many changes to the car after the heat, knowing that it was going to be super slick. 

At the drop of the main event green flag, Justin was on a mission! Happy with the handling of the car...it was hammer down. The 05 quickly gained and fought within the top 3 positions while passing and battling for the 2nd place position. Even after a few cautions, he was able to maintain and secure 2nd place. He fought hard for 1st place but the 49 car had just a bit more drive. Justin was thrilled with gaining more knowledge about dry slick conditions and looks forward to his next race.

Happy Independence Day Everyone!
We are honored to live in a country where chasing your dreams is possible!

Proud to be an American! 

305 - Byers: Back2Back Races - Resurrected Dreams

Saturday night was full of dreams come true! Colorado MotorSports Park held two back2back races since one was a rain out reschedule. Justin qualified for the pole a few weeks ago right before a storm came in so the first race started with that line up for the main feature.

Justin was on a mission from the drop of the green flag, speeding down the straightaway. He was a rocket, smoothly handling the corners, it was quickly noticed that he was car to beat as he dominated the track. He navigated lap traffic beautifully, while aggressively taking over half the field.

Photo Credit: Rob Robb's RaceCar Recovery

A red flag came out when there was 5 laps remaining with two cars getting tangled up. Everyone was then set up for the green, white, checker which was incredibly heart pounding since the cars were all put back together again for a restart.  Justin had a great restart and held his position which gave him has very first sprint car win!

This win is so meaningful to us as this journey, although exciting and adventurous, has been full of battles, frustration, disasters and hardships. It's taken us many years to make it to this point...sometimes wondering if we'd even race again after our accident. Many events were race by race, waiting on sponsorship and for God to provide.

It's such an amazing feeling to sit in victory lane and celebrate with the team and the fans. Justin's excitement was contagious and everyone was thrilled for him. It was so cool that we even had our friend Brandon with us who was at our very first sprint race and then got to celebrate the first win also.

Happy to have had this win on Colorado turf...represent! Big thanks to Colorado Motorsports Park for their commitment to bringing sprint cars back to Colorado and creating a great dirt track and fun for the fans.

Deep thanks to our sponsors: To God be the Glory, IronWolf Designs, Made in the Shade, Huger Reality, and Dales Paint for supporting us. Also to our families, especially Justin's parents who have supported him from go-kart days and are at every race along with Justin's brother Nick and the Wolf family and we can't forget our pit girl, Hailee.

From April: Watching Justin grow in experience, knowledge and confidence in this crazy race world has been amazing. We have been through so many adventures together, even extreme loss and pain. I can't imagine walking this world with anyone other than him. I'm proud to be by his side as these moments unfold. I was thrilled to watch him shout for joy and must agree with Martin Truex Jr's girlfriend Sherry Pollex, when she said this...

..."God was building his character to win a big one, and this was huge for us and our hometown and our family. ... We’ve been through so much. This is just the icing on the cake.”

Thanks be to God for building character in us.  Under of the Shadow of His wings!

305 – Calhan BST Race – Spin Me Right Round

We always enjoy racing at El Paso County Raceway since it’s our home track. We love the fans that come out to cheer us on and the friends who enjoy and support not only our love of racing but also IronWolf.

Justin was interviewed by the new country station Country 107.3, and made sure to plug the dirt track and the 305 racing that has returned to Colorado.

April’s nephew loves our RZR and has a blast helping out as pit crew for the team. AKA…Mud Scraper and assistant push car passenger.

Moving forward Justin hopes to see the “2 spin rule” go into effect for not only safety reasons but also it makes for better racing for the fans. Justin made many clean passes battling for the top 3-4 cars but the event had over nine cautions which caused many restarts so he would lose the position he just gained because another caution was thrown. But Justin loves the new track surface that Joe Bellum and the fairgrounds have invested in. It was so much fun to go full throttle through turns 1 & 2. He can’t wait to get back there on July 4^th.