Vertically Challenged Motorsports

10/14/2026

🏁 VCM Shop Report — That's a Wrap on 2026!

Well, the Halloween Classic didn't exactly go as planned, but that's racing!

Uncle John and I both went out first round, while Dad made it to second round before his weekend came to an end.

For me, the biggest challenge was chasing the tree with Short Temper's new setup. The car has been crazy consistent, but getting myself dialed in to the changes has been another story. We were getting close, but unfortunately, that .001 red light got me when it counted.

Dad had his own challenges, dealing with both transmission and carburetor issues. A big thanks to Rick Cole for the quick turnaround on the transmission and helping get Dad back in action!

It wasn't the finish we were hoping for, but looking back, we've made some good strides with Short Temper this season. The car is running better and more consistently than ever, and we've got a lot to feel good about heading into next year.

With that, our 2026 racing season is officially in the books!

One thing weighing on our minds as we head into the off-season is all the news surrounding IHRA.

After the canceled events, reports of financial troubles, and now 12 racing properties being put up for sale, including our own Ohio tracks, Dragway 42 and National Trail Raceway, it's hard not to be concerned about where things are headed.

We've watched racetracks disappear over the years, and you hate to think about losing more. These places are more than just strips of asphalt. They're where families spend weekends together, friendships are made, and memories last a lifetime.

Hopefully, the right people step up, the tracks remain racetracks, and something positive comes out of all this. Grassroots racing needs places to race, and we'd sure hate to see those opportunities disappear.

As for VCM, we don't have any big winter projects planned this year. Sometimes it's nice to put the tools down, take a break, and enjoy a little downtime.

I'll admit, we're not always the greatest at keeping up with Facebook during the off-season, but we'll do our best to keep things fresh and share a little of what goes on around here when we're not at the track.

Thanks to everyone who followed along, stopped by the pits, lent a hand, or shared a laugh with us this season. That's what makes this whole deal worthwhile.

Here's hoping for good news for our sport, a quiet winter, and another great season of racing in 2027!

Win or lose... we're making memories—one pass at a time.

10/08/2026

🏁 VCM Mid-Race Report — Halloween Classic

Well, it's been an interesting week here at Summit Motorsports Park!

We've been chasing the tree all week, trying to get our reaction times dialed in, and I think we've finally zeroed in on it.

Between schedule changes from what we've been used to in years past and the incoming weather shaking things up even more, things haven't exactly gone according to plan.

In years past, we've had a time trial before heading into eliminations on this day. We were expecting another shot at the tree today, but with this year's schedule changes, our first pass ended up being first round of eliminations instead. We really needed one more good hit to fine-tune our reaction time, and unfortunately, we went .001 red and were done for the round.

The bright side? Short Temper has been crazy consistent! The car is doing its job, and we're getting closer to doing ours. Feeling pretty good about tomorrow!

On the family racing front, Dad's transmission is working well, which is great news, and John is still running strong. Hopefully we can all keep things headed in the right direction!

We also lost our crew chief this week. Marsha had a family emergency that needed her attention, so she went to be with family. Family comes first, no question about that.

That leaves us boys trying to figure out all the things she normally takes care of behind the scenes. Apparently, there's a lot more to this racing operation than just driving the car! 😂

So we're officially living like bachelors for the rest of the week. Hopefully we can keep the cars running, ourselves fed, and remember where everything is without her!

Still plenty of racing ahead, and we're looking forward to getting another shot at that tree tomorrow.

Win or lose... we're making memories—one pass at a time.

10/05/2026

Halloween Classic Update 🎃🏁
We’ve been a little quiet on here, but definitely not because nothing has been happening.
We made several changes to Short Temper—added front-end travel, raised the rear tire pressure, and increased the launch RPM. The changes picked us up .03–.05 in the 60-foot, which is a pretty big change for us.
Of course, quicker also meant my old spot on the tree wasn’t my spot anymore. 😂 So Saturday and Sunday were spent chasing the tree and trying to get myself caught back up with the car. We were getting close before I went .007 red in the second round Sunday.
The encouraging part is Short Temper ran three of its lowest ETs ever this past weekend. The changes are working. Now the driver needs to finish figuring out the other end of the equation.
We’ve still got a bunch of racing ahead here at the Halloween Classic at Summit Motorsports Park. We have Gamblers races Wednesday and Thursday, followed by the main event Saturday. Win Saturday’s first round and you come back Sunday for the rest of the main event.
Dad and Uncle John are here racing too. Dad broke the transmission Sunday, so they’ve been thrashing trying to get him back in action. A big thanks to Rick Cole for helping get them turned around. If everything goes right, the transmission goes back in tomorrow and Dad will be ready to go again.
Uncle John has been going rounds, hitting the tree well, and his car barely changes throughout the day. He’s getting his spot figured out too, so hopefully there are plenty more round wins coming from his pit.
The weather has been about perfect, which certainly doesn't hurt.
And I can't do an update from a week like this without mentioning Marsha. Most of what she does never gets seen because it happens behind the scenes. She busts her ass all week keeping us fed and taking care of pretty much everything that isn't car-related, which lets me concentrate on the car and racing. A week like this takes a lot more than what everyone sees going down the track, and I couldn't do it without her.
Still plenty of racing left. The car is quicker, we're learning what it wants, and now it's time to see if we can turn that into some win lights.
Win or lose... we're making memories—one pass at a time.

09/04/2026

12 years sure makes a difference
Indy 2026

08/19/2026

Wheels up Wednesday 🤔🤨
She’s tryin lol. See what the next pass gives us. Might be a bit better. Stay tuned

Let’s see em -Post yours

Win or lose… we’re making memories—one pass at a time.

08/18/2026

08/18/2026

🏁 14 Years Ago Today...
Facebook brought this memory back today, and the timing couldn't be better.
On August 18, 2012, I made one of my first passes in the Chevette.
Back then, it was still powered by a junkyard 350 truck motor, I was nervous as hell, and apparently staying in the groove wasn't very high on my list of priorities. 😂
I still remember Kurt Johnson, who was handling track prep at Norwalk at the time, asking Dad why I wasn't in the groove.
My original post after that day said:
"Well it went straight, it stopped, and it went as fast as Dad would let me."
Fourteen years later, that line makes me smile.
A lot has changed since this video. The car has changed, I've learned a lot, and somewhere along the way that old Chevette became Short Temper.
We're still learning, still changing things, and still trying to make the next pass a little better than the last one.
But this is where it started.

Win or lose... we're making memories—one pass at a time.

08/15/2026

🏁 The Evolution of Short Temper

Since we aren’t racing this weekend, we thought this would be a good time to share a little history.

Years ago, I did a title search on the Chevette and was able to trace it back to the person who originally turned it from a street car into a race car. We eventually got in touch, and he was kind enough to share some pictures from the original build.

From there, we thought it would be fun to put the rest of the story together.

These pictures follow the Chevette from its early days, of a street car through the original build, to its first time in paint, a nice mint color, to the rough, pastel violet roller we brought home from Terre Haute, Indiana, through the primer paint bomb stages of its life with us improving it over the years, to where it is now.....

What started as a vision and a long-term project eventually became Short Temper.

It’s been a slow evolution, built a little at a time, and there have been plenty of changes along the way. Looking back through these pictures makes you realize just how far this little car has come.

And we’re not finished yet.

Win or lose… we’re making memories—one pass at a time.

08/09/2026

🔧 VCM Shop Report
We finally got Short Temper back to the track and had a good day of testing in some serious heat.
A big thank-you to Pickens Metal Works for getting the anti-roll bar installed and giving us a solid baseline to work from. We left the four-link where it was and went to the track wanting to see what the car would tell us before changing anything else.
The anti-roll bar definitely made a big improvement, but we're still working on getting the front end to come up more consistently from pass to pass. Our next step will be loosening the front tie-downs a little and increasing the launch RPM to see if we can get the car to leave more consistently.
A special thank-you to Marsha, Dalton, and Shannon for braving the heat and helping keep everything going all day. Also, thanks to our racing friends Rick and Ricky, they are always willing to lend a hand, bounce around ideas, and offer tuning advice. Having good people around you at the track makes race days that much better.
We'll be back out in two weeks with a few adjustments and ready to see what Short Temper tells us next.

Win or lose... we're making memories—one pass at a time.

08/04/2026

Weekly VCM Update

We were hoping to spend Friday at Test & Tune and then race on Saturday, but right now the forecast isn’t looking too promising. That’s racing though—you can have everything ready to go, and sometimes the weather gets the final say.

For now, we’re keeping the car ready and hoping Mother Nature gives us a break. If not, we’ll be ready for the next opportunity to get some laps, gather some data, and keep moving forward.

As always, thanks for following along with our journey.

Win or lose… we’re making memories—one pass at a time.