Read our top stories for 2004 here! 

Testing - October 9, 2004 - Williams Grove

After the first race of the season, VMS decided to eliminate heat races and use "hot lap" qualifying.  Consequently, we had little time to make any big changes in set up.  With the season over, now it was time to try some different things to make us more competitive.  We were the only non-sprint car there, and the track got dry/slick very quickly.  Most teams didn't care for the slick track conditions, but the track was perfect for us to try out feature set-ups we expect at VMS.

Williams Grove is actually very similar to VMS in distance and shape, with the biggest difference being the tightness of the turns.  As a result, we actually would need to run a shorter gear at Williams Grove if we ever raced there.  Each session we picked up the pace, with the last season getting us very close to a baseline VMS feature setup for next year.  VMS 2005 practice can't come soon enough, as we're eager to try our new setups.

Race of the Town - Reston Town Center, Reston, VA - October 8, 2004

As a special thanks to Environmental Strategies and crew members for our inaugural season, we displayed the car at the Reston Town Center.  We had a great turnout, as many people at the Town Center have never seen this type of car before.  A special thanks to the management at Equity Office for allowing us to display the car.  

Special thanks go out to Bret Cronrath for helping build this extremely fast race car, Craiger Race Engines for a stout motor, Jet Racing for a competitive chassis, Keith Green and Vic Smith for crew help, my family (wife Larisa, daughter Chloe, and son Aidan) for allowing me to pursue this dream.

Race 11 - September, 2004 - VMS "The Season Ends in a Puddle"

VMS decided to split the Fall Classic into two weekends, with the Super Late Models and Modifieds running the first weekend and the remaining classes the following weekend.  Unfortunately, the first weekend was rained out, and a schedule conflict kept us from running the final race of the season.

Race 10 - September, 2004 - VMS "Ivan 1, VMS 0"

The rash of rainouts continues, as Ivan claims the Fall Fest weekend.  In fact, the track cancelled Thursday afternoon - a good decision.

Race 9 - September 3, 2004 - Raceway 7 "The Great Ohio Adventure"

After making the 6 hour tow to Meadville, PA, on Wednesday night, the haul from Meadville to Conneaut, OH is about 45 minutes for racing on Friday.  I use all day Thursday to change over the rear gear and install the 4 barrel carb.  This will be the first time the car will be run with the 4 barrel in competition.

Heats - The tracks in PA and OH have a ton of grip and hold moisture well, so I leave in my "medium" tight VMS setup thinking that it should be fine under these conditions.  With no hot laps, I hope this will work.  Well, that was the wrong way to go as the car is so tight I nearly have to stop in the middle of the corner to make it turn.  I start 5th and finish 6th, two spots out of a qualifying position. 

Consolation (B-Main) - With the car this tight, I try a radical rear spring change and adjust with tire pressure to try and loosen the car up.  The car is generally looser, but pretty unpredictable.  I tried a bunch of different lines and amount of throttle on entry, but nothing really works.  I start 3rd and finish 5th, one spot from making the feature.  All in all, its 750 miles of towing to run a total of 16 laps.  If I get the chance to run in PA/OH next year, I'll really need to test a little and run two nights on the weekend (Fri. - Raceway 7, Sun. - Tri City) to make the tow worth it.

Race 8 - August 21, 2004 - VMS "Over Before It Started 2"

While on the way back from picking up the trailer, I get the call from VMS that the race has been canceled.  With the car ready to race, we pack it up in the trailer until the next race.  The wife is extremely pleased, as she gets back the garage that has been the home of the 5+ modified for the spring and summer.

Race 7 - August 4, 2004 - VMS "Go From Pole - Rookie of the Race 2"

With the help of new crew member Victor Smith and an extra few weeks to prepare, we were as ready as we have been all year for the races.  Again, 95 South traffic is unbearable, and we get to the track at 5:00 PM after a 3-1/2 hour drive.

Hot Lap Time Trials - We try softening the rear up so more to see how this change will tighten up the car.  But with the track somewhat tacky, we add some stagger and move the right rear out to try and not go too far tight for qualifying.  Well, the car is still extremely tight and I have to throw the car into the turns.  Actually, the tight condition allows me to use more throttle on entry, and I end up qualifying 6th of 24 cars.  Roger Jamerson sets pole time and inverts the top six, putting me on the pole (thanks Roger!). 

Feature - With my first ever start from the pole, I'm nervous primarily because I'm not sure how much better the carb is even after we leaned it out.  Also, the track has gotten black slick and even following the pace car I can tell the car is going to be wicked loose again.  On the start, I pull ahead of Renee Weeks (see picture) but she beats me into Turn 1.  I can't remember if the carb bobbled or if I lifted early, but I surely didn't want to make a massive pile up by driving over my head.  A few cautions and I get to try the pole again, but I can't get the car to exit without being loose and I lose several positions.

With several good cars around, I again learned alot and am getting much more aggressive on entry, especially in Turn 3.  With some help from Jet Racing and others I'm confident that we can tighten the car up to get me more competitive.  Another career night for me, with best starting position ever (pole) and matched my career best finish (7th).  For my second consecutive race in a row, I am the Rookie of the Race.

VMS Web Article: In the Budweiser Modified 25 lap feature Craig Ramich of Oak Hill, VA and Renee Weeks of Powhatan, VA led the field to green after Roger Jamerson inverted the top six qualifiers with the pill draw. On the drop of the green Weeks out dragged Ramich to turn 1 to take the lead form the outside with Brent Bordeaux following to second. Bordeaux then went to the low side to try a pass on weeks but could not make it work. After several attempts to the bottom of the racetrack, Bordeaux went to the outside on lap 2 to take the lead from Weeks. Weeks then had to contend with Jamerson who took over second.

With Bordeaux and Jamerson now battling for the top spot Weeks, James Givens and Aubrey Thurston wrestled over third through fifth. A bobble by Weeks in turn four on lap 21 allowed Thurston to take third with Mark Schools following to fourth. On lap 23 the races final caution set up a two-lap dash for the victory. On the restart Bordeaux had Jamerson all over him and looking to the inside. In turn three it looked as if Jamerson was going to make the pass but Bordeaux closed the door. Jamerson kept letting Bordeaux he was there but also had to watch out for Thurston as the three battled to the checkers with Bordeaux the victor. “Roger (Jamerson) let me know several times he was back there, but I thank him for driving me clean,” commented Bordeaux. “I didn’t think I would ever get back to victory lane,” added Bordeaux. Rounding out the top five were Roger Jamerson, Aubrey Thurston, Mark Schools and Mark Claar Sr. Craig Ramich picked up the VMS Dirt Series Rookie of the Race with his seventh place finish.

Race 6 - July 24, 2004 - VMS "Over Before It Started"

I got a message at 9:30 AM from the track informing me that the race was called due to weather.  I called the track back to see how bad it really was, and Dave Seay stated they had 6" of water in the parking lot...hard to race on that much water, guess we could do some powerboating...

Race 5 - July 3, 2004 - VMS "Rookie of the Race"

As what seems to be a normal weekend, no crew help again. After fighting a loose condition in every feature so far, I decided to tighten the car up a ton.  Heavy spring on the left rear, moved the left rear out.  Also, I needed to get new tires for the rear, as they are showing alot of wear and I had a bad tire rub that hurt both right rears.

After going over the rear end I discovered the ride heights around the car were off substantially, by more than an inch.  That explains the tire rub.  I set the ride heights to those recommended by Jet Racing.

Hot Lap Time Trials - The track looked like a swamp as we made for the infield before hot laps, and the All Americans/Chargers worked the track in.  We qualified after the super lates and late models, but the track still had alot of moisture and grip in it.  I was in the first group to qualify.

With your hot laps counting as your qualifying run, I always try to give myself some extra room behind the car ahead.  This time I think the car ahead didn't get the green when I did, as I was on him by lap 2.  The car was really tight, and I had to use a combination of hard breaking and heavy throttle in the middle of the turn to get the car to turn at all.  The overall feel was awkward, but the car from the middle off was fast.  I got into the pits, scaled at 2,479 lbs (4 lbs more than before I went out), and then headed to the trailer to make some changes.  To my surprise, I qualified 5th fastest of 25 cars, and with the inversion (6) I ended up starting on the outside pole.

Feature - With a large crowd for the July 4th weekend, the track had each division carry small American flags during our parade laps.  Being on the outside pole, I was the first car to reach the crowd.  To my surprise, numerous people left their seats to come down to the fence to wave, and the remainder of the crowd was applauding as well.  A very cool sight, indeed...I started 2nd of 25 cars.

With Aubrey Thurston leading the pace, I watched him closely for the start.  He pulled out ahead of me and I slipped into second for the first few laps.  Mark Claar stuck his nose under me and passed me going into turn 1.  These two started to pull away, as I still am lifting the throttle too early entering the turns.  We had several cautions, one for a car that rolled over, which ultimately lead to the track counting cautions.  

Chuck Marks made a nice slide job pass on me entering turn 3, and Brent Bordeaux had a similar pass in turn 3 (see picture).  So by about midway through the race I was holding onto fifth.  A few laps later, I took the bottom away from Roger Jamerson, so he promptly made a nice move on the high side to take the position.   After that, the 44 bonzai'ed me (I guess 8 wheels turn better than 4) going into turn 1, and I nearly lost it exiting turn 2.  This move allowed the 71 to get by as well.  The 06 tried a similar move, but spun in turn 2.

Racing up front with these experienced guys was a great learning experience and gave me confidence that I can run up front an, for the most part, keep out of trouble.  I saw these guys throw their cars around, waiting for them to lose it, and every time the kept their wheels under them.  As the laps wound down, it was like bees after honey as Claar, Marks, and Bordeaux tried to get around Thurston.  With all this action, I was able to close the gap a little, but never get into the hunt.  Somehow the car was still loose off, and I have to think that its more of my poor corner entry than car setup.  

Overall, this was a career day for me - best ever qualifying effort (5th), best ever starting position (2nd), and best ever finish (7th).  The car again was basically intact, with some minor body damage.  I still need to go over the rear end to make sure there's no damage there.  A big confidence builder as well, as all along I felt this is about what the car was capable of, but only the driver needed to pick up the pace.  I still have some setup ideas that should help during feature time, so we're excited about our next outing.

After getting back and checking my lap times, I went to the VMS website to see how I did.  To my surprise, I ended up being the highest finishing rookie in the race, the first time I ever received that honor as well.  Hopefully, we win this honor a few more times this year.

Race 4 - June 12, 2004 - VMS "The Good, The Bad, The Better"

No crew help again as most people have "normal" activities on the weekend.  Fortunately, I've been picking away at fixing the broken suspension parts (third-link) and changing the gear during the week that makes prep at the track a little more manageable.  I was really looking forward to this weekend to see how much different the car reacts to the new gear and biscuit bar.

Hot Lap Time Trials - With the new gear in the car, you get a lot more jump off the corner.  This motor likes the taller gear.  I go out in the first group behind Mark Schools and Bret Hamilton.  I follow them as best as I can, and time 12th best overall...but then the scales.  With hot laps also counting as time trials, we have to weigh 2,450 lbs or greater to be legal.  While making all of the changes to the car at the track, I didn't have time to add fuel.  Since the past few times I have been over by 20+ lbs, I didn't think I would have a problem with weight...I thought wrong.  I came across the scales at 2,443 lbs, or 7 lbs light.  This equals about 1 gallon of gas, which I would have added at least 5 gallons.  Live and learn I guess.  Track penalized me by putting me to the rear of the field and adding 25 lbs before the feature.

Feature - Started 23rd of 23 cars.  The track was somewhere between tacky and slick black and you could run up to if you didn't get too high.  The modified features have been somewhat rough lately, so starting in the rear I took off into turn one a few car lengths back.  Luckily I did, as the 10 car dropped a driveshaft and cars were spinning everywhere.  I was hard on the brake and went high and missed everyone.  After the restart, I passed a few cars on the high side, then made a cross-over move to pass another to the inside.  I was up to 17th or 18th when the "0" car and the 69 got together exiting turn two, with the 69 getting stuffed into the wall.  Again, I had a front row seat to the wreck and ducked low to miss both of them.  

With single file restarts, I get a good idea of the cars I need to pass to move up in the lineup.  The car had been decent off the corner, but I think I burned up the right rear as I started getting alot of tire spin and had to feather off the corner.  I still need to find a better line and use less or no brake in the middle of the corner to turn the car.  Something I think I can improve alot with more laps, but right now its mostly a confidence thing.  For the next few laps I basically hold my position, then a big pile up in the front of the pack exiting turn four.  I again go high and miss the wreck, winding up in 8th position.  Its quite a thrill to be able to count the cars up to the front when you've been running in the back most of the season.

With so many cautions, the track starts counting cautions (I don't know if I blame them).  A few more green flag laps, then someone gives me "some love" on the rear bumper, pushing me way high exiting turn two.  Several cars get by.  Another caution about 5 laps from the end, and Hamilton and Schools pass me (I think under caution).  With green-white-checker, I gave a few more chances to improve my position.  Four cars ahead are getting into it, but not too rough.  I have a shot at the 57, but race him clean on the bottom and he holds me off on the top.  Ended up finishing 12th after starting shotgun on the field.  A decent run overall, as I'm passing cars I should be and improving my lap times each time out.  Now that we have the gear pretty much figured out, its time to get a setup under me that can get me consistently competitive from start to finish of the feature.

Race 3 - May 22, 2004 - VMS "First DNF"

Crew chief (Keith Green) made this race which was an incredible help.  After having off for nearly a month and a half, it was going to be interesting trying my first ever "hot lap - time trials".  I had never heard of such a thing on a dirt track, but apparently more and more tracks that use transponders are going this route.  Good for moving the show along, bad for a rookie like me that needs all the lap time I can get.

Hot Lap Time Trials - Keith helped out a bunch here on the radio, and my lap times seemed to get better each lap.  I tried running a high line which really wasn't working well, and the car still is bad loose off the corner.  Ended up timing 24th of 27 cars.  Very disappointing, but realistically I need the time at the back to get comfortable back in the car.

Feature - Started 24th of 26 cars.  The track was slick black as it was a scorcher all day long (over 95 F).  Even with some of the changes we made to tighten the car, we were still really loose off the corners.  Some real dirt tracking here, with the rear end trying to come around every corner.  I passed a few cars early, then tried a pass high and got in the loose stuff and lost several positions.

About lap 8 the 75 was up high with another car directly behind.  No patience here, as the car behind beat on the 75's rear bumper down the entire backstretch until the 75 spun high, overcorrected, and was directly in my path.  Full on the binders, my car did a 180 spin without hitting anything.  This is the second time out this has happened, and it really gets your attention.  Restarted in the rear, again passing a few cars.  On lap 16, while passing the 32 on the high side, I heard an awful noise from the passenger side of the car.  Initially thought it could be a flat tire, but the rattling sound was clearly a broken driveshaft.  Luckily we think we only busted the driveshaft and third-link, this could have been much worst.  We think the engine, tranny, and rear are OK, but we still need to check them out.

Although our results were similar to our first finish (ended up finishing 19th), overall a disappointing night.  But we have several ideas on some changes that should help, we'll see how things go our next night out on June 12.

Race 2 - May 1, 2004 - VMS "Five Hours of Driving to See Rain"

After lining up for hot laps, the rains came...then stopped...then came again.  No choice for track officials but to call it off due to the weather.

Race 1 - April 3, 2004 - VMS "The Adventure Begins"

With no crew help for this first race weekend in the modified, this turned out to be a long day (and night).  Traffic on 95 South was bumper to bumper, and I almost missed the driver's meeting.  Got the car out of the trailer, gassed up, and into the infield for hot laps.  Track was a little "greasy", so I simply tried to get comfortable in the car after a week off.

Heat - I started last (13) by request - didn't want to mix it up just yet without knowing how I'd do in traffic.  The car was a little loose, but it's still hard to tell if we need to adjust on it because I'm not in the throttle enough yet on entry.  I passed two cars in the first few laps of the 8 lap heat, then collected a car spinning ahead of me and bent the right front tie rod.  Drove around for the last two laps and finished 11th.  A major thrash changing the tie rod by myself, but got done in time for the feature.  The toe looked close, but no time to adjust it.

Feature - Started 24th of 26 cars.  After all the heat laps for Super Lates and Late Models, the track actually was two grooves.  Starting on the outside, I hung out there for a few laps to see how traffic would work its way out.  The car was fairly neutral, a little loose off, but still I'm off the throttle early on entry.  Brakes are working better than we expected, and we can use them to turn in the middle if needed.  I passed three cars in the first few laps, then worked my way up to 15th and battling the number 50 for 14th.  I was in a pack with the 50 and 71, both were running very clean.  On about lap 10, I got a run under the 50 and had him passed, but couldn't hold it as he ran a clean outside line.  The 50 got back in front entering one on the outside and lifted to let him in line.  On lap 13 I was working the 50 on the inside, and it seemed like he got into the throttle a little hard exiting turn 4 on his car starting breaking loose.

By this time all I saw was the driver's side of the 50, so I put on the binders and the car did a 180 down the front stretch...very scary, luckily I didn't get collected as the car stayed on the bottom.  Not a sight you want to see...the entire field coming right at you.  I went to the tail end of the pack, starting 21st.

After several cautions the track starting counting yellows, and we got about 3 to 4 more green flag laps in.  I passed two more cars and one more crashed out before the end, so my first race in a modified ended up with an 18th place finish.  The car is in one piece, I passed cars cleanly, my laps times were very competitive, and I didn't make any enemies.  I guess you can't ask for much more than that.

Packing up the trailer after the feature was a chore, as I had to pack up all the tools from the tie rod repair/thrash earlier, then pack up/secure the car, change, then get on the road.  I didn't get out of VMS until 11:40 PM, with a 2-1/2 hour ride (minimum) home.  By the time the trailer was dropped off, I didn't get home until 2:45 AM, which was actually 3:45 AM with the time change.  I had someone stop by and chat...he asked if I was at the track by myself.  I said yes, and his response was "that's brave, or I could use another word".  Let's hope we get some crew help for the rest of the season.

Practice - March 27, 2004 - VMS

After sitting out a season of racing the 600 microsprint, we were excited to get the car on the track for our first practice.  Each session we were quicker, and by the fourth and last session we were running with the cars we should be.  All in all, a worthwhile day of practice.  We could use several days of practice, but that's not in the cards...so let's go racing.

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