Wow I can’t believe it’s been six weeks since my last On the Berm. Time flies when you are as busy as I have been. As you can see from the list of events to cover, we have been all over the place! So here are my thoughts from the berm…
Hey everyone!
We went to the NASCAR race at Fontana and spent the weekend sitting in on the race with the Red Bull Racing Team. It was a crazy weekend weather wise and qualifying was cancelled. Only one of the two Red Bull cars got to race, that’s a tough deal for any racer when the weather decides your race for you. But all in all, we got to see the team in action and hang out in the pit area for the race. That was fun.
The next weekend, I got to go to Las Vegas for the NASCAR race with Red Bull and hang out at the amazing Energy Station! Plus, we worked out a deal to drive a sprint car for Cory Kruseman at the LVMS dirt track. So, I took my seat with me to Vegas and we raced Thursday and Friday night. Thursday was cool, I got a 4th place finish in a car that I had never tested. Plus, this car has a different type of suspension set-up than my normal car. So, I learned how to adapt my style to this car. I think in racing that is important, to be able to adapt and change from one car to another. It’s going to happen where you will drive cars that are different and if you have to be comfortable driving different types of cars for different people, it limits you to options that may be faster but different.
On Friday, we were fast, and ran 3rd before getting caught up in a racing deal. In dirt track racing, sometimes things happen and you just move on.
When we were done at the dirt track, my friend Matt and I, went downtown to hang out with friends from Red Bull. We hung out with ARCA Red Bull driver Scott Speed. We had a great time, went to dinner with Scott and hung out with friends from Red Bull all weekend, it was sweet! I like hanging out with Scott because, he is a good influence, he doesn’t drink, and he knows what it takes to be the best! After all he’s raced F1. The Red Bull Energy Station was awesome, I got to meet a lot of cool people and I hope someday I’m here as a Sprint Cup driver!
That brings us back to Indiana. My mom and I packed up and we rolled out to the Midwest where I will live for the rest of the summer focusing on my USAC season. My first race was at Anderson. Anderson is paved ¼ mile that’s tight and hard to pass on. Qualifying is crucial and I was disappointed when I qualified 18th. After the heat race, we advanced to the main by finishing 2nd. The more laps I got on the track the more comfortable I got in the car and found that my car would work well in the high groove. In the main we started 12th and worked our way up to 6th passing cars on the outside. I think I really learned a lot about Anderson that weekend.
Next up was Kenly, NC. We came out swinging! This was a new track for USAC to run a national race on, and we did not get a chance to test. A lot of other teams did, so we were a little worried we might take a while to get up to speed. We didn’t need to worry. In our first practice session, my teammate Darren and I rolled out and both broke the track record within five laps on the track! This track is high banked but not easy to pass. We ended up finishing 3rd and 4th. I have to say, I feel very fortunate to be working with Keith Kunz and the whole team. Darren is a good teammate and we are like a family. We all work together real well. And even though Darren and I both want to make it to NASCAR, we think that if we work together we can both be a success. That’s a cool deal.
Last weekend was the sprint car at Gas City in Indiana. This was the first national dirt sprint car race for USAC. We went out and qualified 19th. Not really where I wanted to be, but the track got really slick and it made it harder on the later qualifiers. Keith and the crew made some changes to the car, and in the main we started 13th. We were running pretty good and I was up to 8th by lap 5 when I got hit and spun around putting me to the back to 23rd. I had my work cut out for me now and I worked hard to get back up to finish 9th. After the race I like to look on line for pictures of the car. I like to look at the attitude of the car in the pictures, how sideways, how the car reacts etc. Sometimes you wonder how you can be so sideways and still be fast? When you are driving you try different lines before finding the best way through the corner. Sometimes it’s totally backed-in, sometimes not. Anyway, we are back on pavement this weekend at the super fast Winchester Speedway. Should be fun!
On another note, I’m working hard at putting together my local program. With the help of my good buddy, Chuck Gurney Jr., I’m planning on running my own car at any local race we can squeeze in between the USAC shows. This will give me additional seat time and also give me the chance to work on my own cars and set ups. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I actually enjoy working in the shop and working on my own cars.
Till next time….
Cole