Racing in Vegas

Todd Bodine

Heading to Vegas is always fun and exciting. We love the town. We had two days of ESPN coverage in Connecticut, then we were off to the South Point Hotel and Casino. 

It is always great to see Mr. Gaughan and I love to spend time at the hotel and casino. After several days of Black Jack, I usually say that if I am losing, it should be a great race. I'm now down which means that I'm looking forward to a good race on Saturday.
I got to see Danny Gans while I was in Vegas to have a little fun. He is awesome! During my visit I got to spend some bonding time with Hornaday and Sprague.  We entered a team in Brendan's bowling tournament, which was a lot of fun. 

I love the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and am looking forward to a GREAT RACE AND A TOP 3 FINISH!

Todd Bodine

Hometown Racing

Brendan Gaughan

Getting ready for the Craftsman Truck race every year has always been one of my most anticipated, and most unanticipated races of the year!  In the past there was always so much to do: planning the open house, getting the catering for it, doing the press releases for it, getting all the ticket requests for the team and friends and familiy, planning the Speedway Childrens Charity bowling tournament, 

This year, now that I am driving for the Circle Bar Racing team, I thought it might be a little bit easier, and it has been, to a point.  As usual, anything that the Speedway asks me to do I will always do it and look forward to it, so doing the morning radio stations and all of the press conferences and everything has always been fun for me. 

The only advantage to this year has been that I didn't have to worry about the running of our race team.  But the rest of the usual distractions are still there, but without them I wouldn't enjoy this week as much as I do!  I love having all these things pulling me in every different direction, its fun and when you get everything done and the race ends (hopefully with us in victory lane!!) it makes everything fel that much better.  When this week ends and I sit back and look back at all the things that go on, it makes you feel so good when you know that when faced with so many challenges at once, you can get everything done, it makes me feel like I can take on any challenge! And in the end, the most important challenge is winning this race and having a race team that is prepared to do it, and fortunately for me this year, I don't have to worry about that part of things. 

Rick Crawford has taken care of that and Bryan Berry has brought a great piece that is capable of winning here to Vegas, all I had to do was get everybody's rooms done, get their tickets delivered and make some money for Speedway Children's Charity, now I just got to finish my last part of the bargain.. WIN!

See ya in Victory Lane!

Brendan

The Curse of the Double Mains

Jim Petrie

It was the curse of the double mains to many at the Bullring last Saturday night!  Double Main night is always one that can either make or break a team, not only in the points hunt, but also the car itself.

My strategy has always been to survive the first and try to improve in the second.  We were able to manage in an excitement filled first main, but failed on our goal in the second main.

Our qualifying strategy paid off again. We qualified 12th out of 22 cars and were on the cusp of the dash. Our qualifying attempt put us on the infamous outside in row 12.  We had a very good start and were able to get into the groove after lap one, only being passed by two cars.

Being passed by only two cars starting on the outside at the Bullring is actually great because the track is known for only being one groove and if you get shuffled to the outside, sometimes it turns into a freight-train.  As the first main progressed, we saw crash after crash, many becoming victims to the survival of the double-main night.

We ended up finishing seventh in the first main with the car in one piece, running and handling fairly well. We wanted to loosen the car up in the center just a tick for the second main, so we made a few adjustments and hurried to get to line up.

During the second main we became victim of the double main night curse. The invert was five for the second race, so we were able to start inside row four, our best start of the year. With the adjustments we made and a great starting position, I could actually smell our first top five finish of the year, only to have the favorable fragrance drowned out with the smell of burning tires.  On lap number two, after we had another good start, I found myself in fifth, only to be taken out by somebody running behind me.  We were coming out of turn two and someone got into the back of me, spinning me in front of almost the entire field.  I was lucky enough to be able to control the spin and end up at the bottom of the track as everybody else went high causing the end of the night for a handful of cars, including teammate Jeff Bargerhuff in the No. 2 Late Model.

Because we were involved in an incident that brought out a caution, we were sent to the back of the field. No more smell of a top five. We tried our best on the next re-start but unfortunately the car was horrible!  After the incident, we ended up with a bent rear end housing and some bent heims in the rear. We plugged along and ended up with another top ten and plenty to fix!
Boy how I love those double Mains!

On a high note, the Modified from H-Town Racing Inc. driven by older brother Pat Petrie was able to come from the back and win his heat race.  I know it's not a main win, but we will take what we can after the season we had with that car.

We will be using the Final Points Night as a test ‘n' tune for the upcoming Fall Classic.  All three cars will be working primarily on our qualifying set-ups, trying to hit the mark of what made the show last year, scuffing tires and fine tuning the engines.

We would once again like to let everybody know we are still seeking a primary sponsor for the 2009 season that includes the Race to Success Reading Program and all of our other business driving marketing opportunities!  If you are interested please contact me at either htownspeed@cox.net or 702-378-2363.
And finally, an extra special thanks to Findlay Chevrolet for all of their support for the last couple of years, check them out at www.findlaychevy.com. Thank you to Dr. Mary Ann Shannon, SFC USA Inc., and Black Mountain Graphics!

See you on the 16th!

Jim Petrie
www.htownspeed.com

Back to School

Cheyanne Schindler

School has already started back up and I am already busy! I was a little unprepared a couple of days before school started. I found out that my school requires uniforms as part of the dress code. I was definitely not ready for that! But, thankfully, my Grandma had everything that I needed. The first few days were a little tough because I was still trying to get around the school and find all of my classes. After the first week, I was already back in the swing of things. It was a little tough during the first week, but now I feel like I have been there forever! I'm lucky because most of my friends are in my classes so that makes the school day more fun. Sometime's it's tough balancing school and racing on the weekends, especially with homework. I know that if I have homework due during the weekend, I have to get it done right away because the weekend will be busy at the track.

I look forward to the weekends and just love going out on the track. It's like a second home to me, even when I'm not racing. I like to go out and visit everyone and see how they are doing.

A lot of people will sit and watch a race and think that it is so simple just going around in a circle, but it is way more difficult than that! As a racer, you have to know when to break, when to slam the gas, when to shift and so much more. It is definitely more than just going around that track. If you've been around a track before, you know what I'm talking about.

I love the sport and I love spending time racing and hanging out with my friends and family. Even though I'm busy, especially now that school has started, I love racing and I don't think there is anything else I would like to do more in my spare time. It's in my blood!

A Labor Day Weekend Break

Jim Petrie

Sometimes good things come in disguise!  The cancellation of the August 30 races due to an electrical problem at the Bullring brought big fish, gorgeous weather and quality family time to the Petrie Family.

After I received the phone call from LVMS explaining that they had to cancel the races, I headed right up to Parawon, Utah for the Iron County Fair. As a family, we were able to take in horse races, a rodeo, a carnival, a fair, some great fishing, and the best thing of all, 70 degree weather!  We enjoyed a great time and great family time!

See you at the Bullring these next two weekends as we try to finally qualify for a trophy dash and battle to remain in the top ten in points!

Thanks to, Findlay Chevrolet www.findlaychevy.com, Dr. Mary Anny Shannon at Las Vegas Orthopedics, SFC USA Inc., and Black Mountain Graphics.  For more information on H-Town Racing Inc., go to www.htownspeed.com!

Jim Petrie