02/23/2026
Its been a week. We started out Tuesday with a great practice day, everything going good until the last stint before we went home. Glenn Alan was there taking his wonderful shots as always. This was the first time the car had been out since getting painted and numbered. Jon was really happy with the way it looked. It sure was shiney :)
As I sent him out for the last stint before we go home - the car that was on the track before us had a rear end/gear box issue, dropped a bunch of l**e on the track. Before anyone realized thats what had happened. Jonathan was already starting his first hot lap after sending him out - keep in mind, he'd be swerving the whole track to heat the tires soaking up all that l**e - that black line you see him driving over in various parts is gear l**e. There were about 4 or 5 of us on the pit lane that all realized what was wrong around the same time - but it was too late.
He had no chance. The only way he could have saved the car, is by not being on the track ...
Jonathan walked away with a bruised ego and headache. The car did its job and sacrificed itself for him, but it didn't fair so nicely - smashed the front clip, rear axle and tweaked the rear clip.
As far as Jonathan is concerned at the end of this video - there is no chance this car is going to be ready in time for the first race of the BullBash :(. And worse still - he has no idea yet that it was completely out of his control. He thinks he just destroyed his car going into the first race of the season. Absolutely crushing
He was wrong, pretty much in every way - and its wonderful ...
On Tuesday night - I - as pretty antisocial person - started calling any name I recognized for help. These are not people I know or have talked to, these are just names I've seen at the track or on Facebook. Our usual support crew was out of town for other venues and not available in time so we need a miracle.
We got several. They must have been for Jonathan cause I don't deserve this level of luck.
We started with Three Sixteen Motorsports LLC, who suggested for me to speak to Dillon Spain Motorsports - but due to the BullBash - already had a full plate for the first race! DSM put us in touch with Noah Buddy Haislip and Carson Haislip Racing - which for what its worth I noticed that after the wreck - Carson took it upon himself to talk with Jonathan and support him as a driver. Jonathan told me all about it on the ride home that evening.
These guys really saved the day for us. Noah offered to repair if possible, reclip the ends if needed, Three Sixteen Motorsports LLC stayed open until almost 9pm at night Wednesday so I could pickup clips, an axle and various parts/spares, and bring them back for Noah and crew to work with. Then worked with me when I got there and needed more stuff, or got my original order wrong.
Around 8pm Thursday, I heard from Noah. No clips, just some old fashioned brute force and welding. We can come pick it up now. The chassis looks GREAT. If I didnt see it before it was fixed, I would have never noticed anything wrong.
Spent Thursday night rebuilding the car, went to gether really well - almost everything fit great - which is suprising for brand new Bando even, and was something that scared me - they don't fit this well on the best day :/
We showed up at the speedway Saturday morning. Wet, chilly, raining and expecting a rain out and with binding brakes that needed bled, no chain, and limited 'friends' - or so we thought.
Chad and Trex with Slammy Inc Racing were the first heros of the day, helping us out with moral support and a chain break, and an embarrassing moment on my part. Shortly after we were visited by Noah Buddy Haislip who showed up to checkin after repairs and helped us fix the brakes and check a few things before we went out. Having someone with experience check helped Jons confidence a lot.
The rain delay didn't hurt ... by the time the rain stopped, we had a race car that at least on paper, was good to go!
Car was a little loose in first practice, so we dropped some air pressure for the second - and it felt good for Jon. He qualified 7th out of 15, but was stuck in traffic almost the whole time so never got a chance to stretch his legs.
At the end of the day, for his first round of the BullBash, Jon was able to pick up 6th place - on a car we thought had no chance of racing.
We wouldn't have gotten anywhere near this - if it wouldn't have been for the help of all of ya'll and the Wake County Speedway family. Thank you so much for helping us pull off what seemed impossible a few days before.
Ya'll are heros to us. You helped turn a really disappointing Tuesday into a good first race on Saturday. I don't think we can say thank you enough.
