Carteret Success!

Memorial Day weekend is special for so many reasons. Its a chance for us to honor our service men and women, veterans, and those that paid the ultimate price. There's no better way to celebrate the freedom they've fought for than a good old American BBQ at a race track. The Southern Ground Pounders brought 15 cars to Carteret County Speedway this weekend. The track hosted a rotating practice Saturday afternoon, and most of SGP took advantage. Callahan Racing was extremely grateful for the extra track time to feel out the car and deal with teething issues. The first couple sessions were really just feeling out the car and track. Towards the end of the day, Jay Dee got comfortable and started trying to push a little harder. It was clear the car did not want to turn though as the tires were screaming through the corners and the left front tire was all the way off the ground. So we spent the rest of the afternoon changing the rear spring.

Race day came and luckily for us, more practice time. Our spring change helped but not enough. So we decided on make a change with tire stagger. To our surprise, we found the ball joint was rubbing the right front tire and cut a groove in it. We're lucky to catch it and change the tire when we did, as that could have been catastrophic. Once again that change helped but not enough. Pops took a big swing at changes to the track bar, wedge and air pressure. This should make it drive well, but we're also going into the race with big unknowns.

Before the race though, the track had all the cars line up on the front straight, and had a meet and greet with all the fans and drivers. This was really, really cool. We got to talk to a bunch of fans and kids, and show them around the cars. I wish more tracks did this. It was lots of fun.

We drew for position and we got 14th, so we started in the back. The leaders took off with the green flag, and the back of the pack got bogged down. We gained a couple of spots on the outside while things shook out. We passed some guys, we got pass by some guys. Our big excitement came about halfway through the race when the 14 car started leaking fluid. The windshield was covered and so was the track. It got very slick, very quick. A spin behind us took out a bunch of cars, leaving 7 of us to finish the race. We started 14th, we finished 7th, and we were all absolutely thrilled! We accomplished all our goals....start the race, finish the race, and put it on the trailer with no damage. It felt like a win!

Big thanks to J.G. Miller for all their support. They made this weekend possible. We're proud to have them on the car.