Calhan- Bummer

We never made it out on to the track in Calhan.

So bummed because many sponsors, friends and family were coming out to see us. When Justin’s dad pushed him to do a practice start back in the pits, the car locked up and spun in a 360. He almost slammed into other cars but managed to hold it together. They found out something was wrong with the power steering so Justin and I raced back to the shop in town to pick up the backup car’s part. But when we got back, they decided that the parts didn’t match.

By this time, J’s dad also found a high pressure power steering line connection that was stripped and very unsafe so they decided it wasn’t worth the risk. We’ve seen people get burned if linkage is not tight. Huge let down but we'll make it up this weekend in WY.

Montana Race Weekend

This was a really long weekend for us traveling 1700 miles round trip to race on some new tracks. The first night we were in Belgrade, Montana at Gallatin Speedway. It is a tight 3/8th mile, medium banked track. We started 2nd outside row with 7 guys in our heat race. It was tough because the setting sun was right in the eyes of the drivers coming out of turn 2 through the straight-away. It was like driving down the highway with your eyes closed. We still managed to place 5th in the heat as the locals knew the track better than us outsiders.

We started the Main event 2nd to last row. The car really handled well on the bottom side of the track. There was only one wreck during the event so Justin got to run 21 straight laps. He learned a lot about running the low line and finished 13th.

We left the track at midnight and drove 2 hours to a race friend’s house and stayed on his property with other team rigs. Very late night! The next day the yard looked like a sprint car heaven with teams cleaning and working on their cars for the next race there in Billings. It was great to hang out, bbq and get to know some of the teams outside of the tracks. We all caravanned to BMP Speedway in Bozemen, MT and pit together for the next race that night.

This was our second flat track and it was super dry slick conditions. Justin pulled inside front row and led half the heat race but the car got really loose and lost traction. He felt like he was driving on ice! So he started 9th row in 18th position of his main event and half way through the race his car got hooked up and he started passing people and looked awesome out there! He ended up taking 14th and would have gained more if he had just a few more laps. Justin says this is the most fun he has even had in the car. He flat footed the track and the handling was so smooth. This race was such a confidence booster and will blaze a trail for the rest of the season. We can almost taste our first win!

Special thanks to all of the teams who helped us this weekend. Your knowledge and friendship means more than you know.

Dodge City, Kansas

We’ve decided to branch out of our ASCS circuit and compete with the Kansas NCRA series. We raced just one Saturday night and enjoyed the fact that these cities are closer to home. It also opened up the opportunity to get some seat time and run against a different group of drivers. Justin started his heat race outside pole and was doing good but had problems holding the third position due to issues with the helmet’s tear-offs and being off on the gearing. Justin ran the B, starting second row outside but again had problems with the tear offs which made him not be able to see. He finished 10th in the B which started him at very back of the pack for the A main against 22 cars.

Getting Justin ready...

It ended up being a crazy race due to rough mud and aggressive drivers. Within the first 5 laps there were several spinouts and a red-flag due to a big crash. This became the norm for the evening as about every three laps there were major wrecks which Justin avoided beautifully. As crazy cars took themselves out and Justin stayed cool, he climbed and finished 13th for the night.

This race taught him how to maneuver quickly thanks to insane pit drivers. He almost collided with the pace truck that was not watching when he was pushed onto the track. He also had trouble with his throttle getting stuck and while zipping back to the rig, he annoyed a guy on his atv who wanted to start a fight because he thought Justin should slow down his car that was out of control. Considering all the track mishaps, wrecks and issues we are thrilled with our finish and end results.

Nebraska Weekend

A little late but an update from us both.

From Justin:
Well, what a weekend! We arrived in Greenwood, Nebraska on Thursday night to race on the fastest track I've ever seen or raced on. The term "crazy fast,"…this was that place. We unloaded the car and tried to start it and it wouldn't start. The fuel shut off valve came apart in my hand. We rebuilt the valve and then it fired up as I went out on the track for mud packing. My pill draw for the race was inside front row for my heat race. I got an amazing start and was leading the first two laps, then a caution. Restarted and I was entering into turn one and through turn two, my right front tire jumped the cushion and I went rolling down the back stretch. My car rolled twice in the air and came down on the top wing. They scraped my car up off the track and brought it into my pit stall. Our night was over, but we rebuilt the entire car suspension that night at the track. We headed out for the next track and got rained out. From there we headed to Calhan, Colorado to get rained out as well.

From April:
Three days of racing has wiped us out! Justin’s first night out in Nebraska had some highs and lows. This speedway is massive and the teams actually pit INSIDE of the track. The photo at the top shows how the rigs sit inside the raceways. Crazy cool! We had to stand on top of the rigs to see the events. Justin was doing amazing but ended up rolling. The top wing was crushed and several bars broken. He was ok and his angels kept him safe. It didn’t even really shake him up too bad which shows that this is his calling. :o) This is the kind of wreck that every driver needs to face to see if they truly have what it takes. We had a good friend of Justin’s find a new wing for us for at a good price and helped us put the car back together again.

The next night we were ready to race at a different track but it got totally rained out. So much rain that the rigs had to be towed out of the pits. We drove back home to make our first race at a local track in Calhan, CO. But that one also got rained out. Lots of mud, drenched clothes and soggy shoes this weekend. Bummer!

Special thanks to our good friend Tim O'Neil who took these amazing photos of Justin at Greenwood. You can check out more of his photos at his website.

Rock Springs- First Race weekend of 2009

Friday night
We had a great trip out and are thrilled that the rig is completly self-contained. We now have a refrigerator, which allows us to bring all sorts of great healthy food. It felt good to get back into the rhythm of racing. Hank, Pat and April soon stepped back into their crew shoes and acted as if winter was never there. What a great team!

Justin pulled outside pole of the third heat. Whoa, let’s start this off with a bang, eh? He soon fell into the racing flow but this year is letting the others know he will not be pushed around. A few times, he was checked up and pushed right back, not to be taken lightly this season. He took 5th in his heat, which made us believe that he was going to be in the B main so we began setting up the car for a stickier track. We soon found out that we were in the A main because one of the guys in our heat jumped the start. So we scrambled to put the car back together and struggled through the main event with a very loose car. Justin finished 16th out of 30 drivers which is pretty darn good for having one of the worst set ups he’s ever driven.

Saturday Night
We stayed the night at the track and woke up to a gorgeous morning but dark clouds soon turned things very cold with windy, rainy weather. After waiting around for several cold hours, they finally decided to get the racing going. Justin again pulled outside pole, 1st heat. Again his car was hooked up for his heat and he took 4th for his qualifying position. Good stuff considering last season we were always stuck in B events.

One of our sponsors invested in a GoPro onboard camera, which we put on the car for this event. We got some great footage of the race!

This first video shows him avoiding a wreck on the very first lap. Whoa! There was also a red flag, which allowed Hank and April on the track so you can see April waving at the camera.
Click here for the first video.

This video shows what it looks like from Justin’s view when you accidentally spin out. Just as he was gaining some ground, he overcompensated and sent himself into a 360. You can see the other drivers avoiding him, the walls and then hear the crowd going crazy. He was able to pull it off, jump back in and only lost a few positions. They loved it but Pat and April about had a heart attack! He would have finished in the top ten but the 360 got him a 13th place finish.

Click here for the 360 video.

A great start for Shadow Racing Team's 2009!

Off Season Update

It’s been nice to calm down after a season of none-stop action and learning. We’ve had an enjoyable break with family and friends. We also were able to catch up on house projects including our new railing for the front of the house.

At the end of the 2008 race season we completely disassembled the race car. We shipped the engine off to have it freshened up. The car now has a new paint job! We wanted a brighter paint scheme so we went with a bright lime green and wrx blue. It looks sweet!

During this off season we have been blessed with some new sponsors. One of them is includes AMP Graphics who is supplying the vinyls for the car and rig. God also brought us an amazing sponsor that offered to buy us a backup car. These guys are thrilled about our story and want to be a part of our journey. They are part of the catalysts to this season and we are very thankful for their enthusiasm and support. Special thanks to the After God’s own Heart Group who has contributed to 2009 racing fund and has been faithful in prayer and support.


We also put on a car show for Dale’s Paint who is one of our most loyal sponsors. This year they have supplyed the paint for the cars as well as covering the vinyl costs. The business owner’s benefit greatly from these shows because of the amount of people it draws in. The sprint car attracts a lot of attention sitting out front of business locations. The go-kart in this picture is where my career started when I was 12 years old.


My dad and I attended a sprint car racing seminar and gained a great amount of knowledge. We look forward to applying it this season. I also have been studying up on my marketing program and have started to apply the knowledge that I have gained from our IronWolf advertising.


This winter we also spent a good amount of time upgrading the racing rig. Much to April’s delight, the bathroom is now complete with a shower, sink and toilet. No more porta-potties! We also added a fold-down kitchen table and bench seats in the living quarters. We are now completely self contained and no longer will need to travel to a rv park after a long night of racing. In the back workshop area we’ve reorganized and have place for spare parts that we’ve been stockpiling. This came in handy after the swap meets that we attended. We built a tire-rack for the top of the travel which will give us more room inside.

ASCS Rocky Mountain Banquet

We had our banquet in Denver which was nice for us only being an hour away. It was at Splitz where we watched the World of Outlaws while hanging out. It was good to catch up with everyone since we had not seen them since September. It was also strange seeing people out of their race gear and in normal clothes, cleaned up.

They also gave out door prizes. We won a hat, a drop work mat that goes under the car, and some tear-offs. Then they took all the names of the top ten drivers and drew their names for high-end prizes. Justin’s name was called first so he chose... a Triple X Axle.. Sweet!

Justin, me and his parents.

The rookies of 2008 including Danielle. You go girl!

Justin getting his trophy.
Link to more photos on the ASCS website.