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.

North Platte Nebraska

Justin’s good friend Tim and his family live 10 minutes from this track so they invited us to stay with them. We had such a good time hanging with them out plus Tim and his dad are drivers themselves. Both have raced all sorts of race cars but sprints are one of their favorites. So their knowledge and help was so very appreciated.

Tim also is a professional photographer and owns Tim O’Neill Studios. It was so cool to have him at the track with us as he took many incredible photos for us. The following photos were all gifted to us from us. Thanks Tim!

This track was very flat with just a slight bank to it. It was really dry which resulted in many spin outs and people driving off-road. This also created a lot of dust and made it hard to see in some turns. But Justin says that this is the best his car has handled and was thrilled to be able to get on it and actually challenge himself and the car.




Justin right after a spin out. Thankfully he didn’t hit this guy who spun out first. It was great to see J right in the action and getting aggressive for positions.


Tim set it up for me to ride with one of the push cars. I had a blast!! This also allowed for me to hangout in the middle of the track since the push cars waited there until needed. When a car spun out or people had to stop under a caution it was our job to get everyone going again. The car I was in always beeline it for Justin. I would then get to encourage Justin and sometimes rock the car into gear. Here I am all ready to push J out for his heat.

Justin and his dad walking the track. Such a great photo!


Justin talking to Bob, who is a sprint car veteran. He has gained great knowledge and information from these guys and is thrilled to be driving next to some of these pros. Bob also taught Justin a valuable lesson while on the track about holding his position and not giving up his spot. This photo also shows me and Tazzer hanging with other drivers and crew. They all love Tazzer!

When the track was ready to get the Sprints out for their main event they had all the drivers sign a Frisbee. They then threw them into the crowd and if you had the Frisbee of the winning driver, you won some money. Cool!


Justin and Chad during their heat. Go guys!!


Getting ready for the heat and then the main event.

Receiving some encouragement and advice.


After the race. Tired but excited about the day. We are now 9th in points and ready for Hollywood Hills!

Rocky Springs, Wyoming

We left after work on Thursday and headed to Cheyenne, WY. Above is a view of leaving our gorgeous state to only view boring Wyoming flatlands.
We stayed at a peaceful rv resort that our rig almost didn’t fit into. After a good night’s rest and chatting with the wonderful resort owners we headed for Rock Springs. These silly signs were on the way out.

The rest of the travel was extremely windy and wreaked havoc on our gas mileage. But the rig and truck did great and Justin pulled off some great maneuvers to avoid killing all the little groundhogs that enjoyed hanging out on the edge of the road as if they were daring each other. When we got to the track we all had to wait in line to get into the pits early. Check out this massive rig complete with it’s own mural.

Here we are right behind a stock car looking tiny next to the rig. I took Tazzer for a run to get some energy out after the long drive. He wasn't too thrilled at the lack of foilage and things to sniff though.

Since we had some time before they opened the track, Justin and his dad opened the rig and began working on the car while waiting in line.

This t-shirt pretty much sums up all of our weekends.
Dirt, dirt, and more dirt!

We had an incident this weekend where I know that God was watching out for us. Friday night Justin was doing great, hanging with mid pack and gaining, when all of the sudden he dropped to the back of the pack. There were only 6-7 laps left and his car was all loose and squirrelly. He managed to hold on and finished the race but his dad had to go get him and push him back with the Yukon. The back end was making a horrible crunching noise and when we got to the pits one of the nearby mechanics came over and freaked out. He discovered that we were missing our lug-nut. The cars only have ONE nut and goes in the middle of the wheel. It was gone and the wheel should never have stayed on! Everyone was freaking out because he most likely would have rolled the car. Strong angels were on the wing of number 05 that night!

We were so tired after a long windy day and ready for bed. The wind mixed with dirt made for misery and stiffness. Plus after the missing lug-nut episode, extra time was spent trying to fix everything. Thankfully a nearby team loaned us a wheel so Justin could get the car in the trailer and work on it the next day.

We stayed the night at an onsite camping area but had to walk forever to nasty dirty bathrooms/showers. On top of that, after finally getting into bed at 2:30am, we were rudely awakened the next morning at 6:30 by a guy banging on our rig saying we had to move because they were doing construction. We were pretty upset but thankfully Justin’s parents had us park at their hotel and allowed us to use their facilities. We took a nap and then they worked on the car some more. I tell you what, it is God that gives us the strength to make it through weekends like this.

Sunday was so much fun! This track only had 2 push cars so Justin’s dad was asked to help. J had built a push bar for the Yukon and covered it with carpet so it was the perfect push vehicle. All these teams have ATVs but they are not big enough to push start only to roll them around. So for the main event they asked all the sprint cars to push out and park in front of the stands out on the track. I got to ride with Hank as we pushed J out and got to see first hand how the track feels and looks. Super cool!

They then announced each driver individually while everyone cheered. Then the 3 push cars had to get 25 sprint cars going. We would start one up and zip around and get another one going. Sometimes they needed theirs cars rocked into gear so I would jump out there and help. One time while we were flying around the track for another car, Justin came around us as I flailed and hollered out the window at him. I SO wish I would have had my camera for that.

More fun photos of us and even Tazzer can be found at this fun guy’s site.

Goose’s Pics

Aztec Speedway, NM

To God be the Glory!!
God has been so good to us with provision for every race, protection and guidance. He continues to amaze us as we walk this journey of learning, growing and shining for him. This racing team belongs to Him and it becomes more obvious every day that we could not do this without Him.

We drove 7.5 hours straight and were amazed at the views over Monarch Pass. We we got to the track, we started setting up and getting the car ready. What an awesome track! So professional and knowledgeable. They even prayed before each race! There was another series there with us so we got hang with some truly professional people. We were by far the smallest rig around and could not believe the rigs that kept rolling in. From semi trucks to these giant haulers which were complete with flat screens, leather, full bathrooms and such. But also cost $600 to fill their diesel tanks compared to our $100.

We got to know some people and J already had a safe driver reputation so he had people coming up to him. This group is great! Many of them have taken a liking to us and are flowing with info and help. Friday Justin still wanted to stay at the back of the pack and discovered the difference a good track can make. He got a good feel for the car and decided to pull a pill the next day. They kept messing up his name from Wolfendock to Merdock but now call him Wolf-Medlock and has been dubbed The Wolf a few times.

We put up the EZ-UP because it was so hot out. Tazzer wondering what I was doing.

We stayed the night at a KOA up the road but did not get there until midnight. It was kinda like something out of a bad movie but we were so tired we didn’t really notice until the next day. The next day at the track was awesome!! He also pulled a great pill and was in the first heat, second row. He discovered that he was in the same heat as Johnny Herrera who used to be a World of Outlaw driver. He dominated the weekend and even came up to Justin and complimented his rookie skills and gave him some pointers. There was a girl driver who’s car stalled out after she came out off the track. She jumped out of her car to push along with a push car and fell under the racecar and got ran over! She bruised ribs and broke her nose. Poor girl!Anyways, Justin placed in the B Main and did incredibly well. They only took the top 4 to the A main and he placed 5th. Arg!!

I thought he’d be upset but after he came in he was hooting and hollering because he finally ‘road the cushion’ and totally felt the car at it’s finest. Sprint cars perform best at high speeds and he finally got there. Riding the cushion is when the outside tires groove into the piled edge dirt and get sling shot around the corner. He was thrilled! Right now he stands 15 out of 35 drivers in points which rocks!!

Justin’s parents, Hank and Pat, have committed to joining us at every race. They are a huge help and we are so blessed by their willingness, commitment, and support. They have been there since Justin’s first days of karting and stand beside me as we cheer Justin on. It has been quite a treat watching Justin and his dad work together on the car while Pat and I try to keep things clean and organized. We all make a great team and we are blessed!

Justin and his dad waiting for the main event.

That night after the race we drove to Bayfield Colorado and stayed the night at a gorgeous resort.

Are we there yet?

Olathe Race Weekend

Friday it took us about 6 hours to get to the RV Resort that we were staying at. We were thrilled to be on our way after years of planning and preparing for this season of life. It was a gorgeous drive over Monarch pass. You can see the resort and ski runs and snow on the mountain still. Blue Mesa reservoir was…gorgeous!

Tazzer hanging out his back window. He spends most of the rides like this. :o)

On Saturday we arrived at the track early to start setting up. We were so blessed to have 15 of our closest friends come to the races and start us off right. They split up with some in the stands and some joining us in the pits.

We soon discovered that this track was one of the worst around and many other drivers were upset to be there. They overwatered the track and when Justin came in after hot laps his car was dripping in mud. Thank goodness for our friends and the help they provided for us with scraping mud, airing tires and such. When the main event started the sun had gone down and we were horrified to find that one end of the track was not lit up very well. There were already two wrecks and the third caused a jumble of cars on the corner that Justin would have smacked into if his angels had not been watching out for him. He dodged the pile up at the last second and after sitting on the track and waiting for them to clear it he decided that it was not worth the risk to stay out there. Driving off the track that night gained him a ton of respect from the other drivers.
Thankfully the next day was a day race which Justin completed with no problem. This weekend he chose to start at the back of the pack in each heat and main event to learn and get familiar with the car. This makes it difficult to pass other drivers and you get no passing points but he was able to gain confidence in himself and get to know the other driving styles.

Justin's dad getting ready to push him out onto the track.

A professional photo of Justin ripping up the dirt track!
All finished, packed and ready to go home. Tight fit! I am sporting my 05 shirt and am exhausted. So is Tazzer. Let's go home.