09/11/2026
P18 TO P3 — THUMPER IS ON THE PODIUM
With the power out at the track, we had no timing in practice, so I had to go out there and judge it the old-fashioned way — by feel and by the cars around us.
And honestly, it felt like we were right there.
The heat was a little sketchy. I overshot turn one and got into Tyler Wheatley, had a huge bobble, somehow saved it, and then had to get my head back on straight and reel the pack back in. We came home P5, which got us a qualified handicap starting spot for the feature.
Starting 18th, I looked at the lineup and figured it had all the makings of a gridlock kind of race, so the plan was not to force anything early. Just stay patient, keep the car under me, and take what came.
That ended up being the right call.
On the lap 16 restart, I had a feeling the bottom was going to move, and it did. We clipped off a pile of cars in just a few laps and all of a sudden we were right in the middle of it.
With a handful of laps left we restarted 6th, and at that point I was thinking a solid top five would be a hell of a night.
Then the leaders tangled.
Now we’re restarting 4th.
At that point, I knew we had to go.
Tyler Wheatley and Hayden Morris are two of the fastest cars at the track, no question. Tyler in the Cavalier, Hayden in the Mustang — those guys are the cream of the crop. I knew we had a solid car, so I just gave it everything I had up top and tried to stay close enough in case one of them made a mistake.
They didn’t.
The car was definitely a tick tight by the end, and the right front had been worked pretty damn hard for several corners in a row, but we stayed with them and brought it home P3.
Crossing the line, the first thought was basically: hell yeah.
Then I was hoping Monica and the Turn 3 gang could make it down to celebrate, and at the same time it sucked knowing Chris was in the Run What You Brung lineup and couldn’t come to victory lane.
Chris deserves credit every single day. He’s the man. It really sucked not having him there for that moment.
Monica deserves just as much credit for putting up with this whole circus and accommodating the amount of time, work, money, and nonsense that comes with racing.
This one means a lot because it confirms a couple things I really wanted to know.
First, I’m not washed up as a driver.
Second, we know what we’re doing with this car.
We’ve gotten a few suggestions from people along the way, and they’ve helped, but most of this thing has been figured out the hard way — detailed trial and error, one change at a time, paying attention to what the car tells us, and not being afraid to undo something that didn’t work.
That process put us on the podium.
Huge thank you to the Racing for Memories supporters, because that is the reason we’re out there this year.
Thank you to Eileen’s Freeze Dried, Barretown R/C Speedway, SRT Motorsports, Goss Cars, Speedball Bearings, the cast of characters from Hard Racing, Island Bargain Barn, Adminboxx, Chores and More, WRC Performance, and Steve’s Speed Shop.
And the biggest thank you goes to my father.
His passion for racing, fabrication ability, work ethic, and knowledge are a huge part of why I’m able to do any of this. A lot of what I know started with him, and I’ve just tried to build on it and keep learning.
There really isn’t any bigger credit I can give this season than that.
P18 to P3.
We’re there now. 🏁
Photo Credit : Vt & Nh Racing News
