I had promised my dad that I would score for him at his race which is about two hours away from here. I don't particularly like scoring his race times but I do it if he can't get somone else to, I'm his last resort, well next to my sis, she refuses to help him with that.
Anyway, the race was sat. and I had to wake up early and get to dad's house. We had to be there at 2 at the latest, that is when tech begins (tech is where they check your car and make sure it meets regulations, like u got a roll cage and fire extinguisher). I helped dad load up his car on the dolley, which isn't all that easy and we left around 10 am. We talked most of the way up there, which was pretty nice. Around lunch time we met up with three of his friends who were also going there to race.
One of them is Lenny, who I have met before and I am comfortable with, his wife, Wendy (which I pronounce windy *lol* ) I get along best with her out of all of dad's racing friends, she notices me more and takes care of me, like making sure I don't get left behind and making sure I know what is going on.
Another one of them is Rod (I think it's from Rodney). I don't really like him all that much, he takes himself too seriously. I don't mind Johny though, he is his scorer and is super tall. Like 6'7" and he is the only one there that was noticably taller than me. I think he is around 25. He also pays a lot of attention to me, so yea, I get along with him a lot, I just tend to get a lil' nervous around him. I don't know if it is because I'm not used to being significantly shorter than anyone (with me being so tall) or if it is cause I kinda like him.
The last one of them is this guy named George, I think... yea, anyway, it's my first time meeting him cause this is his first time racing. His girlfriend was his scorer but she really didn't make too much of an impression on me...
We all met at mcdonalds then after hanging out we continued on. We all traveled together and it was so funny, 4 race car drivers traveling together, on their way to a race. They couldn't help but get a bit itchy to race. They didn't speed too much but we all pretty much stayed in a single file line, 4 big trucks with trailers... going faster than all these sports cars on the highway, *lol* It was pretty much the same order all the way, Lenny leading (cause he knew the way), Dad, Rod, then the Rookie.
Someone tried cutting (like dangerously close, less than 6 in. and going at 60-70mph) in front of dad, and it reminded me of this show/movie I seen where they were suddenly like "SWARM SWARM!!!" and Lenny dropped back around the other guys side, Rod came up from behind him and between the 3 of them forced them out and over into the far right lane. Personally I couldn't help but love it simply because of the teamwork they showed... plus the guy deserved that at least...
Other than that not too much happened on the way up, a couple other lil instances that really showed their teamwork, like how they started getting separated and they managed to force open a hole for the Rookie (the one who wasn't used to teamwork enough to know how to work his way through). But the thing I am most proud of is that they were never reckless about it all, they knew how to read another driver's moves so well they knew how to get around whatever the problem was.
Once we got there we set up and got to tech. The actual races didn't start until around 6 or something and dad's was the second to last, so yea, we had a long wait to go. Everyone couldn't really decide where they all wanted to hang out and were really fidgety, really wanting the race to start already. After about five minutes or so after they left I would finally decide to follow. Johny pretty much hung out around Rod's truck, sprawled out on the trailer. When he saw me trailing lazily behind all of them he would be like "What, they ditched ya?" playfully teasing me. I think the reason he pays more attention to me than the others is because I'm so quiet, he tries to pick on me to get me to talk more, or get some kinda reaction out of me.
Once the races were about to start they did the whole scorer's and driver's meetings. They weren't all that organized and thankfully me and Wendy had been scorer's before and knew what we were doing. As scorer's we have to watch our driver the whole time and when he passes the finish line every lap we have to write down the exact time he did it, they have a special clock set up for us. Being a scorer can be really stressful because sometimes you lose sight of your car or get distracted by an accident.
There were lots of races before dad's but thankfully they were short. Not that many cars came to race in the one dad was racing in because there was another enduro at another track that had also drawn a lot of the racers. Only 16 had showed up including our 4. Dad and Rod both got good starting positions. On the first lap dad got rammed up into the wall on the far straightaway and from then on stayed away from the packs for the most part. Rod pretty much dominated the race, in 1st place in the first 90 laps. Dad never got off the lead lap and was never lapped by Rod. The rookie's car failed him 44 laps in, which for his first race ever was pretty good and it hadn't even been his fault for getting out of the race. Lenny's car got too banged up and gave out around 80 laps in. And on lap 94 outta 100 Rod was going down the front stretch, right in front of us, and it was 3 cars wide, when they were coming out of the turn the cars below him forced him up and he wasn't quiet straight, and the wind between his car and the wall sucked him into it. I literally seen the underside of his car as it started to flip over, with 2 wheels on the guard wall. I started freaking out because dad was only 10-15 ft. behind him and I knew I had to watch him, if I didn't he would lose a lap and I didn't want to screw it up for him. It was a good thing I did, because Rod was able to pull himself out of the flip, but his car died under the stress.
Dad was now the leader. I had never been at a race that dad won 1st place, let alone scoring it. Between the cold and the pressure i started shaking violently and Wendy was trying to keep me calm and helped me keep an eye on him. Dad won and I finished scoring. He had to go to the winner's circle and get his picture taken and he and his car got stuck in there when the next race started... a 250 lap race with three or four designated pit stops... took like two hours and it was dark and we bounced between the cars and the stands. We were all itching to talk with dad.
After dad finally got out, (though his car was still stuck) we all made a mini bombfire and hung out. The rookie was pouting and kinda pissed me off, so I pretty much ignored him. I was thoroughly entertained by Dad and Johny, who out of the whole group are the most outgoing and talkative. I loved listened to the team (except the rookie) talk about the race from there point of view. Wendy told Dad about me freaking out towards the end and apparently he enjoyed it it because he never hears of me becoming visibly shaken, expecially in public. Anyway, Dad had no idea when he would be able to get his car out and load it on the trailer and start heading home, so he arranged for me to get a ride with one of his friends, Kennan.
I had never met him before but I trust Dad's judgement so I accepted the deal and rode home with him. I'll never do it again, it was the most miserable 2 hours of my life. The guy was hot and all, only about 24, but he happened to be dead tired. I had to try and keep him talking and awake. He drifted off and started going off the road several times. It was a good thing I was there or he would have never had made it home, he would have crashed. Once we finally made it to his house he and his friend unloaded the car off the dolley, which took like 20 min. I offered to help cause I have helped Dad before but no, they had to be men and manage by themselves, though a third person would have helped them get it done in 5 min. Once they got it off he drove the truck to the lot across the street so they could fit the car in and were gone another 15 min. and they both came running across the street and the poor guy tripped on something in the grass, like a pipe or something, and was too tired to really catch himself. He ripped up his hand and gauged his knee pretty bad. He had his friend drive me home but came with so he could help him with dropping off the dolley. Omg, never again... The ride home completely ruined the euphoria of the race... gonk
Anyway, the race was sat. and I had to wake up early and get to dad's house. We had to be there at 2 at the latest, that is when tech begins (tech is where they check your car and make sure it meets regulations, like u got a roll cage and fire extinguisher). I helped dad load up his car on the dolley, which isn't all that easy and we left around 10 am. We talked most of the way up there, which was pretty nice. Around lunch time we met up with three of his friends who were also going there to race.
One of them is Lenny, who I have met before and I am comfortable with, his wife, Wendy (which I pronounce windy *lol* ) I get along best with her out of all of dad's racing friends, she notices me more and takes care of me, like making sure I don't get left behind and making sure I know what is going on.
Another one of them is Rod (I think it's from Rodney). I don't really like him all that much, he takes himself too seriously. I don't mind Johny though, he is his scorer and is super tall. Like 6'7" and he is the only one there that was noticably taller than me. I think he is around 25. He also pays a lot of attention to me, so yea, I get along with him a lot, I just tend to get a lil' nervous around him. I don't know if it is because I'm not used to being significantly shorter than anyone (with me being so tall) or if it is cause I kinda like him.
The last one of them is this guy named George, I think... yea, anyway, it's my first time meeting him cause this is his first time racing. His girlfriend was his scorer but she really didn't make too much of an impression on me...
We all met at mcdonalds then after hanging out we continued on. We all traveled together and it was so funny, 4 race car drivers traveling together, on their way to a race. They couldn't help but get a bit itchy to race. They didn't speed too much but we all pretty much stayed in a single file line, 4 big trucks with trailers... going faster than all these sports cars on the highway, *lol* It was pretty much the same order all the way, Lenny leading (cause he knew the way), Dad, Rod, then the Rookie.
Someone tried cutting (like dangerously close, less than 6 in. and going at 60-70mph) in front of dad, and it reminded me of this show/movie I seen where they were suddenly like "SWARM SWARM!!!" and Lenny dropped back around the other guys side, Rod came up from behind him and between the 3 of them forced them out and over into the far right lane. Personally I couldn't help but love it simply because of the teamwork they showed... plus the guy deserved that at least...
Other than that not too much happened on the way up, a couple other lil instances that really showed their teamwork, like how they started getting separated and they managed to force open a hole for the Rookie (the one who wasn't used to teamwork enough to know how to work his way through). But the thing I am most proud of is that they were never reckless about it all, they knew how to read another driver's moves so well they knew how to get around whatever the problem was.
Once we got there we set up and got to tech. The actual races didn't start until around 6 or something and dad's was the second to last, so yea, we had a long wait to go. Everyone couldn't really decide where they all wanted to hang out and were really fidgety, really wanting the race to start already. After about five minutes or so after they left I would finally decide to follow. Johny pretty much hung out around Rod's truck, sprawled out on the trailer. When he saw me trailing lazily behind all of them he would be like "What, they ditched ya?" playfully teasing me. I think the reason he pays more attention to me than the others is because I'm so quiet, he tries to pick on me to get me to talk more, or get some kinda reaction out of me.
Once the races were about to start they did the whole scorer's and driver's meetings. They weren't all that organized and thankfully me and Wendy had been scorer's before and knew what we were doing. As scorer's we have to watch our driver the whole time and when he passes the finish line every lap we have to write down the exact time he did it, they have a special clock set up for us. Being a scorer can be really stressful because sometimes you lose sight of your car or get distracted by an accident.
There were lots of races before dad's but thankfully they were short. Not that many cars came to race in the one dad was racing in because there was another enduro at another track that had also drawn a lot of the racers. Only 16 had showed up including our 4. Dad and Rod both got good starting positions. On the first lap dad got rammed up into the wall on the far straightaway and from then on stayed away from the packs for the most part. Rod pretty much dominated the race, in 1st place in the first 90 laps. Dad never got off the lead lap and was never lapped by Rod. The rookie's car failed him 44 laps in, which for his first race ever was pretty good and it hadn't even been his fault for getting out of the race. Lenny's car got too banged up and gave out around 80 laps in. And on lap 94 outta 100 Rod was going down the front stretch, right in front of us, and it was 3 cars wide, when they were coming out of the turn the cars below him forced him up and he wasn't quiet straight, and the wind between his car and the wall sucked him into it. I literally seen the underside of his car as it started to flip over, with 2 wheels on the guard wall. I started freaking out because dad was only 10-15 ft. behind him and I knew I had to watch him, if I didn't he would lose a lap and I didn't want to screw it up for him. It was a good thing I did, because Rod was able to pull himself out of the flip, but his car died under the stress.
Dad was now the leader. I had never been at a race that dad won 1st place, let alone scoring it. Between the cold and the pressure i started shaking violently and Wendy was trying to keep me calm and helped me keep an eye on him. Dad won and I finished scoring. He had to go to the winner's circle and get his picture taken and he and his car got stuck in there when the next race started... a 250 lap race with three or four designated pit stops... took like two hours and it was dark and we bounced between the cars and the stands. We were all itching to talk with dad.
After dad finally got out, (though his car was still stuck) we all made a mini bombfire and hung out. The rookie was pouting and kinda pissed me off, so I pretty much ignored him. I was thoroughly entertained by Dad and Johny, who out of the whole group are the most outgoing and talkative. I loved listened to the team (except the rookie) talk about the race from there point of view. Wendy told Dad about me freaking out towards the end and apparently he enjoyed it it because he never hears of me becoming visibly shaken, expecially in public. Anyway, Dad had no idea when he would be able to get his car out and load it on the trailer and start heading home, so he arranged for me to get a ride with one of his friends, Kennan.
I had never met him before but I trust Dad's judgement so I accepted the deal and rode home with him. I'll never do it again, it was the most miserable 2 hours of my life. The guy was hot and all, only about 24, but he happened to be dead tired. I had to try and keep him talking and awake. He drifted off and started going off the road several times. It was a good thing I was there or he would have never had made it home, he would have crashed. Once we finally made it to his house he and his friend unloaded the car off the dolley, which took like 20 min. I offered to help cause I have helped Dad before but no, they had to be men and manage by themselves, though a third person would have helped them get it done in 5 min. Once they got it off he drove the truck to the lot across the street so they could fit the car in and were gone another 15 min. and they both came running across the street and the poor guy tripped on something in the grass, like a pipe or something, and was too tired to really catch himself. He ripped up his hand and gauged his knee pretty bad. He had his friend drive me home but came with so he could help him with dropping off the dolley. Omg, never again... The ride home completely ruined the euphoria of the race... gonk
