7/23/2022: Riverhead Raceway - Monster Truck Night of Destruction & 7/30/2022: Riverhead Raceway - Wall of Fame Baldwin/Evans/ Jarzombek Memorial

While we enjoyed our off weekend last week (Legends division didn't race), both Ed and I were ready to get back to the track. Ed swapped engines in our car, so he used that as an excuse to take a lap or two around the block since we weren't at the track. 

The day was going to be a long one, already hitting 90° by 11am, so we made sure to bring the large cooler, packed with water, Gatorade, and a few other drinks to help us both stay hydrated through out the day. I'd already accepted the fact that I was going to lose the battle against the sun today, but I did my best to keep up with the sunscreen, starting with the first coat before loading up the trailer. There'll be some Monster Trucks out at the track for the last event of the night, but we have our second ever attempt at time trials, so I'm definitely more excited for that. Our buddy Kevin had prior engagements, so he wasn't at the track today, and hopefully we can avoid any run-ins with the wall today.

First practice happened real quick, by the time we got into the pits, we barely had time to set up before it was time to head onto the track. With the heat today, it's no surprise that laptimes are slower in general, but Ed looked way more stable on the track, at least for the most part. A few quick adjustments back in our pit and we were ready to line up for practice 2. The car felt better after the changes Ed made, but our times remained about the same, meaning we'll be among the first group of cars out for time trials.

After another small change to our setup, we got lined up for pre-tech for the time trials. Hopefully the change helps and we pickup a little bit more speed, otherwise we're going to have to try to race our way in via the Consi. 

Time trials did not go our way. Ed drove in just a little too hard into the turn and ended up spinning out on his first lap, which also killed any momentum for the 2nd lap. We didn't qualify on time, so onto the Consi.

We ended up finishing the consi in 3rd, but man what a race. The 47, 82, and 93 all raced clean and put on a phenomenal show. Unfortunately our night ended there, but congratulations to the 47 for the Consi win.

The night ended with a few Monster Trucks strutting their stuff out on the track, much to the joy of all the fans in attendance!

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Real life got a bit crazy so I wasn't able to post the blog from last week, so y'all get a double feature! This week is was definitely not as hot as last week, so already off to a good start. Our team mate is back at the track today, and we made a bunch of changes to our car during the week. This week our focus was mostly on fine tuning those changes since next week we will have time trials again, and the heat races are a good chance to shake things down. Pits were opened at 1pm which gave us plenty of time to unpack, get fuel, and get everything ready for practice which wasn't until 3pm. 

Practice 1 went really really well as Ed looked and felt more connected to the track, and it showed as he ran his fastest lap ever at a 14.031! Since this was the first time out on the track after the significant changes, he wasn't pushing the car very hard, which means we should still be able to go a bit quicker without and more major adjustments.

Practice 2 was okay, but due to on track incidents, we weren't able to get our momentum going to get a faster lap. Ed said the car did feel quicker in the few spots he was able to make a run, but he caught up to traffic too quickly and had to back off. After a break where we enjoyed some awesome sandwiches from out sponsor Hilltop Bagel, we got ready for our heat races. Our teammate, Kevin started in the 1st heat, and we started in the 3rd heat.

After starting the heat in 7th, and putting up a good fight during the heat race, we ended up in 8th, solidifying our place in the consi. In the consi, we started in 3rd and finished in 3rd, once again putting on a great race with our teammate, this time without any interference from the walls. That finished ended our night there, missing the feature once again, but we definitely made noticeable progress and Ed was very happy with the handling on the car. With a brand new set of sticker tires, whenever we're able to get our hands on them, Ed will be flying around the track in no time! Sorry for the lack of pictures in this 2nd part, but once again life is a little crazy!

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~Sam (I can be found at KazulStudios on all social media)