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.

KJ Motorsports Update #21 Race #37 & #38

KJ Motorsports Update #21 Race #37 & #38

07/28/14

Friday we headed to Atomic Speedway for 2 nights of racing. They had a Sprint Car special on Friday along with running modifieds and Street Stocks and Sport Mods. On Saturday was a Late Model special. We took Frankie Hall’s car for the weekend as ours had gotten some new skin and was waiting on the engine to get back. Last year we raced Frankie’s car and set the track record at Atomic. Well last weekend that track record was broken by Kenny Wallace and it just wasn’t broken, it was shattered by 2 tenths. But we can now say we own the track record again after Friday night. Unofficially, I believe we have it with a 15.033. We started on the pole of the heat beside Travis Dickson and Travis got the win and we finished 2nd. Danny did the pill redraw to start us 4th in the feature. Tanner took the early lead and we moved into 2nd. We were following Tanner and stayed within striking distance. . .until. . . I dropped my right rear off the track entering turn 3 and I could not bring it back. I hit the yuke tires with quite a bit of force and came down on my top. 
I need to thank many people, first off Frankie Hall for allowing me to race his car. It is totaled, but I survived the crash and Shaw Chassis did its job. Second, I need to thank the track crew and the EMT folks that were on the scene. They were there immediately and were tending to me, although I don’t make for a very good patient after a wreck, they were doing their job and I appreciate them being there. Gotta thank Tim and Danny for making sure I was ok and not letting me out of there sight. I also want to thank all of the fans and friends that were concerned and either came back and checked on me or were texting or calling me. I apologize if I did not get back to all of you, but I appreciate the concern. I decided to stay at Sean Schobelock’s instead of driving home. The next morning Sean and Stacey fixed breakfast and after that Danny and I decided to head home. We got within 30 minutes of home and I got a text from Mark Bailey #88 asking if I wanted to drive his car. Immediately I felt 100% better! LOL. I rushed home and ran up to see Steve Eddy (my chiropractor) and he x-rayed me head to toe and worked on my back and sent me on my way. Me, Danny and Coop ran back over to Atomic and jumped in Mark’s car. We set 4th fastest time and won the first heat. Mark’s wife drew pill #1 to start us on the pole beside Dan Ebert. Dan took the early lead and checked out on all of us, while we ran 2nd. We had 2nd until 3 to go and Greggie Oliver passed us. But we had a left rear tire going down and it went clear flat at the checkered and as we pulled in the pits, the right rear went flat too. But I was pleased to finish 3rd in a car we hadn’t been in before. I need to thank Mark and his wife for allowing me to drive their car. Especially since they saw what I did the night before.

Please know, that there are dangers in racing and as drivers, we are all aware of them. Every track has their unsafe conditions and none of them are intentional so to speak. I am aware that the yuke tires are there at Atomic and have flirted with them numerous times. Brad or Atomic is in no way responsible for this wreck, it’s all on me. Brad and his crew were as concerned as anybody and Brad spoke to me on Saturday morning and shared some future plans. But like most plans, this cost money and it’s never cheap. He does hope to rectify the issue as finances allow for it. So please don’t be too critical on Brad or any other promoter for that matter. They are all concerned for safety and they definitely don’t want anyone to get hurt. I just need to start running the bottom and it will be all right. . . NOT! LOL

This week I want to give a shout out to Frankie Hall of Hall’s Auto Repair. Not just for allowing me to race his modified, but for all of the service work he provides for me on my vehicles. If any of you need your vehicle serviced, stop in and see Frankie and his guys and tell them I sent ya! I also need to include Steve Eddy of Eddy Chiropractic Clinic. Steve was on vacation when I wrecked, yet still text me to check on me Friday night and Saturday morning. Then came back from vacation on Saturday and mad it a point to make time to see me and check me out. If anyone needs their back or neck worked on or even needs physical therapy, Eddy Chiropractic Clinic is the place to go! Can’t forget to thank Sean, Stacey and George (Kalvin) for their hospitality and feeding us. Great friends and supporters of KJ Motorsports!

This weekend we will be going to Legendary Hilltop Speedway for an AMRA and Renegade of Dirt show. Saturday we will go back to Atomic for $1,500 to win and Sunday we will go to Tyler County Speedway for the Dickson Classic. 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 #20 Race #35 & #36

KJ Motorsports Update #20 Race #35 & #36

07/19/14

Our weekend started on Wednesday by going to Atomic to run the UMP Summer Nationals Hell tour, where they had 28 modified’s. We were broken up into 3 groups and we were 3rd fastest in our group. We started 3rd and passed our way to 2nd behind UPM Points Leader Jacob Poel. We were trying to catch up to Jacob and we were balls to walls off of turn 2 and he was able to see a wreck up ahead of him and he checked up for it was a red flag. I on the other hand was not able to get stopped as fast and I turned hard right and slammed his rearend with the left side of my car. It did some extensive body damage to our car, but unfortunately it gave Jacob a right rear flat. We restarted the race in the lead and went on to get the heat win. Each heat winner drew a pill for the feature and of course I drew the #3 starting spot. We ran third for a bit until Dan Ebert passed us, but shortly after that the leader, Jackie Boggs got caught up in a wreck and he exited to
the pits. That gave the lead to Devin Gilpin with Dan Ebert in 2nd and we were in 3rd and that’s how we finished. Not a bad run, but we wasn’t quite on our game.

Thursday we took Frankie Hall’s modified to Brushcreek Motorsports Complex and yet again were we 3rd fast time in our group, but this time we finished 3rd in our heat and was set to start 6th in the feature, but 4th place started Devin Gilpin was unable to make the call, so that moved us up to 4th. We again finished 3rd and just wasn’t quite as fast as we needed to be to be able to run with the top 2. Gonna have to find some speed to run up front at some of these bigger shows.

Friday we went to Legendary Hilltop Speedway and we set 4th fastest time to start us on the outside pole of heat #2. But Mother Nature would win out and they had to cancel and Mother Nature decided to stick around thru Saturday as well. So we didn’t get to race either night.

This week I want to give a shout out to Tom and Pam Lemon. They traveled with us and towed Frankie’s car for us and also gave us a place to stay and fed us. Then even with doing all of that Tom and Layne jumped in and helped us get the car repaired after I ran into Jacob Poel. So thanks to the Lemon family for all that they do for KJ Motorsports!

This weekend we will be going to Atomic for Friday and Saturday where they will have 2 complete shows. 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 #19 Race #33 & #34

KJ Motorsports Update #19 Race #33 & #34

07/13/14

Friday we went to Legendary Hilltop Speedway, where we set fast time and won the first heat. This started us on the pole of the feature beside Roy Roush. Roy took the early lead and we ran 2nd. The track had changed slightly and I could tell our car was not performing the way it needed to, to be able to run with Roy. But I almost spun out in turns 3 and 4 and that allowed Jeremy Blake to get by and we wound up finishing 3rd. Not a horrible run, but disappointing.
Not disappointing, was that we also got to run a late model. We were asked to drive the ‪#‎53C‬ by Steve Curtis. This of course has already been a proven winner by Andy Bond this season. We set 3rd fastest time and started on the pole of the 3rd heat beside Steve Weigle. Steve took the early lead, but we stayed right with him until we got in lapped traffic and that played into our benefit as we were able to pass for the win at the line. This started us 3rd in the feature behind veteran and legend Bob Adams Jr. and up and coming youngster Jason Gillian. Bob took the early lead and we moved into 2nd. We raced Bob for several laps and were finally able to make the pass and we were able to go on and get the win! I want to thank Steve Curtis and Roger and Bruce for giving me the opportunity in their late model. It is an awesome ride and I hope to have an opportunity to do it again sometime.

Saturday we went to Ohio Valley Speedway and they had 21 cars and we set 3rd fast time. Fast time setter KC Burdette drew a #2 which started us outside pole of the 3rd heat beside Booger Garnes. Booger won the heat and we got 2nd to start us 6th in the feature. We jumped into 3rd on the first lap and was running 3rd until we got a right rear flat tire very early in the race. So that gave us our 5th DNF for the year. Disappointing, but it has still been a great season thus far. 

This week I want to give a shout out to all of our race fans out there. I appreciate all of your dedicated support and you are some of the very best fans out there! Your cheers and support do not go unnoticed.

This weekend we will be starting on Wednesday night at Atomic running the UMP Hell Tour. We plan to stay all night, thanks to Tom Lemon, then head on over to Brushcreek Speedway on Thursday for another UMP race. Friday we will be coming back to Legendary Hilltop Speedway & then heading back over to Atomic Speedway on Saturday. 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.