KJ Motorsports Update #25 Race #46 & #47

08/24/14

Friday we were at Legendary Hilltop Speedway and again set 4th fastest time to start us on the outside pole of heat #1 beside Jason Brookover. We got the heat win to start us on the pole of the feature. Robbie Evans took the early lead and we ran 2nd for a while, until on a restart, I opted to go high and Tyler Evans got under me. A little later on JP Roberts passed us to give us a 4th place finish. There was a couple of changes that may have bit us and another thing we didn’t change, that I wish we would have. But we can always make better decisions after the fact. . . . LOL

Saturday we went to Atomic Speedway, where we set fast time, started on the pole of heat #1 and won it, then started on the pole of the feature alongside Fireball Pinkerton. Fireball got the early lead and the preferred line. We followed closely making runs at him, but never able to make a pass. The track has some rough spots in it and we managed through it most of the night. Until. . . . 5 laps to go on a restart I caught a rut in turn 3 and that started me barrel rolling and I cleared the yuke tires and got up into the catch fence and tore it down and landed on my roof. I was trapped and could not get out. I’ll be honest here. . . I have never been a afraid of racing or wrecking in any way shape or form. But when I was trapped upside down and fuel was pouring out, I had fear for the first time ever. I tried not to panic, but I was very anxious for them to get me rolled over so I could get out. As soon as the rescue guys got there, I shared my concern and they got fire extinguishers ready just in case. But in the end, I got out fine and the rescue guys were prepared and the EMT’s were willing to check me out, but of course I opted out of that. . . LOL! But again, as unfortunate as it is, it’s part of racing and we’ll assess where we are and will be back out soon. I plan to take this weekend (Labor Day Weekend) off and work on the car to get us ready to race on 9/5/14. Appreciate all of the text, phone calls and e-mails checking on me. The racing family is a strong family!

This week I want to give a shout out to the Greg Schilling Memorial Fund. This past Saturday was the Greg Schilling Memorial golf outing. It was a huge turn out and was a huge success at raising money. The Schilling Family has utilized this memorial fund to provide scholarships to both Fort Frye and Waterford high schools each year and have also handed out money to families in need. To date, they have handed out over $39,000. That is a huge tribute to Greg, whom I miss dearly! Love ya Brother!

This weekend we will be at the garage, busy, very busy. So we hope to see you there! LOL

Remember, to make this work, support those that support us!

K-Graphics, Hall’s Auto Repair, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Racers Edge Supplements, Phantom Racing Gear, Hypercoils, Tom & Pam Lemon, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch (RIP), Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.

OVDTR — Covering Dirt Track Racing in Ohio & West VirginiaCovering Dirt Track Racing in Ohio & West Virginia

KJ Motorsports Update #24 Race #44 & #45

08/17/14

Friday we went to Legendary Hilltop Speedway and set 4th fastest time to start us on the outside pole of heat #2 beside Roy Roush. Roy took the lead on lap one, but we came back under him and passed him off of turn 4 and we went on the get the heat win. This started us beside Tyler Evans and we were able to get the jump on him off of turn 4 and we led the first 8 laps. But Tyler was strong on the bottom and passed us and I went to the high side and for several laps maintained with Tyler and was within striking distance if he were to bobble. But Tyler never bobbled and he went on to get the win and we finished 2nd. Respectable run for us and the car showed signs of improvement.

Saturday we went to Skyline Speedway where there were 22 modifieds. We again set 4th fastest time and this started us beside fast qualifier Kyle Bond. At Skyline they swap the front row, so Kyle started the high side and he took the lead. We came back on Kyle and made a race out of it, but he got the heat win and we finished 2nd. This started us 4th in the feature. The track was good and slick and we made some set up changes before the feature. We jumped into 3rd running middle to high and was working on a good run until a caution came out. At Skyline they do what they call a Delaware restart, where the leader is out by himself, then 2nd place chooses high or low and 3rd goes to the opposite side. JP Roberts was running 2nd and he chose high, which forced us low. I did not think the low line would work for us, but we passed for 2nd and was not pressured the remainder of the race and we finished another 2nd, our 9th one of the year. I wanted to go back up
 top and see if I could catch Roy, but thought better of it, not knowing how close 3rd place was to me. All in all, pretty pleased with the weekend, but still lacking win #15. . . We’ll keep at it and try again next weekend!

This week I want to give a shout out to Steve Balderson of Balderson Construction. Steve is a concrete contractor and has been a supporter of KJ Motorsports for many years. I want to thank Steve and Candace for being the fans that they are and all of the support they provide!

This weekend we will be going to Legendary Hilltop Speedway & Atomic Speedway. So we hope to see you there!

Remember, to make this work, support those that support us!

K-Graphics, Hall’s Auto Repair, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros.,Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Racers Edge Supplements, Phantom Racing Gear, Hypercoils, Tom & Pam Lemon, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch (RIP), Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.

KJ Motorsports Update #23 Race #42 & #43

8/10/14

Friday we went to Legendary Hilltop Speedway where 26 cars signed in. We set 2nd fast time, which put us on the pole of heat #2 beside Roy Roush. Roy got the lead with the outside line and we wound up finishing 2nd to start us 6th in the feature. I really did think we still had a good enough car to compete for the win. We passed our way to 3rd, only to lose some ground and were passed by Tanner Wilson. I was just hanging on at the end and was able to get 4th. Found that our right rear tire had given up on us. Track got kind of dusty and gritty and tore our tire up.

Saturday we went to Ohio Valley Speedway where there were 32 modifieds. We struggled in qualifying and wound up 10th fastest. Made a change to try and improve it for the heat. Got a bad start and fell to 5th pretty quick, but fought our way back to a 2nd place finish to start us 6th in the feature. We wound up finishing yet another 4th. Im not sure what we have lost, but we have lost something in our car. We plan to go thru it this week front to back and top to bottom and see if we can find something out of whack. I do intend to make some drastic set up changes this week and see if we can get back to some wins.

This week I want to give a shout out to Tim, Chad and Danny for their dedicated effort and support. They put in all kinds of work and when I don’t win I feel like I let them down. I know I can’t win them all, but when I am not even competing for the win it aggravates me a little. . . LOL!

This weekend we will be going to Legendary Hilltop Speedway & Skyline Speedway. So we hope to see you there! 

Remember, to make this work, support those that support us!

K-Graphics, Hall’s Auto Repair, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Racers Edge Supplements, Phantom Racing Gear, Hypercoils, Tom & Pam Lemon, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch (RIP), Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.

KJ Motorsports Update #22 Race #39, #40 & #41

8/04/14

Friday we went to Legendary Hilltop Speedway where were to have 2 complete races in one night. The first was an AMRA show where 26 cars signed in. They had watered the track and tried to get it run in and sent the mods out to qualify. I was in the first group and the greasiness just did not provide us a good qualifying lap. We wound up 12th fast and started 3rd in the heat race and went on to finish 3rd. The car was just not producing the way it had been. So now we were starting 12th in the feature and we finished a disappointing 9th. Now we had to get things ready for the 2nd show which was a Renegades of Dirt show where 34 cars signed in. They broke us up into 2 groups and we were 7th fastest in our group. Started 4th in our heat race and had a good race and a near photo finish for 2nd place. But we finished 3rd to start us 11th in the feature. We made several changes to try and get the car to advance. We came from 11th to 5th by running the bottom,
but near the end of the race, Jason Brookover found a way to make the middle work and he passed his way to 4th, knocking us back to 6th. Although I wasn’t happy with 6th, I was pleased that we advanced in the right direction. We were also acknowledged Friday night by Mike Gibson of Gibby’s Dirt Track Racing. Gibby with the help of Weekly Electric and many other sponsors have teamed up to have a point fund for late models and modifieds. We are currently leading and won the mid-season points. We received a 4’ trophy and a banner. I’m anxious to see how all of this plays out. But thanks to all that are on board with Gibby to put this together.

Saturday found us staying home, for both Atomic and Ohio Valley cancelled due to Mother Nature! Sunday we headed to Midway Speedway to drive for Dean Ecker and his new Victory Chassis. Jeff Vatow normally pilots this ride, but I was asked to give my input on the set up and how it drove. They had 22 mods and we set 7th fastest time to start us 3rd in the heat race. We finished 3rd and this would start us 7th in the feature. I asked them to make some changes before the feature and it helped. We finished 3rd and all in all I was pleased with the way the night went.

This week I want to give a shout out to Jeff Schilling of Schilling Truss. Jeff is not only a sponsor, but he’s a friend and treats me like a family member. Schilling Truss has more than just trusses, they have just about anything to meet your construction needs. Give Jeff a call at 740-984-2396 and tell him we sent ya!

This weekend we will be going to Legendary Hilltop Speedway & Ohio Valley Speedway. So we hope to see you there! 

Remember, to make this work, support those that support us!

K-Graphics, Hall’s Auto Repair, Schilling Truss, JS Enterprises, Zemba Bros., Coughlincars.com, Steve Balderson Construction, Sheet Metal Local 33, Octane Race Products, Poske’s Performance Parts, Out-Pace Race Products, Racers Edge Supplements, Phantom Racing Gear, Hypercoils, Tom & Pam Lemon, Carr Auto Glass, OVDTR.com, Billy Joe & Wanda Hammett, Bill & Patty Welch (RIP), Keyser Mfg., Shaw Race Cars, TSM Enhanced, Bazell Race Fuels, Hoosier, Aero Wheels, Wrisco Aluminum, Lubeck Community Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Jehova Yireh, Willy’s Carburetor’s, KSE Pumps, KRC.