Wow, what a weekend Chicago was with all the horrendous weather. Things were definitely in the air to say the least. I had the pleasure of that infamous “Turning 40” birthday which I was definitely not looking forward to at all. I remember as a young adult thinking to myself, “Man, 40 is old!” Now I am happy to report it’s not such a big deal. After all, I don’t feel 40, I don’t look 40 (hopefully), and even sometimes I don’t act 40. So I am not 40, right? I thought so. Now I will start setting my sights on calling triple digits “old” because after all, the good majority of us are in our double digits. My Grandma is 94 years young and still going strong. Her friends at church call her the trooper because she is one of the oldest ones there and leads the young ones (ages 70-80) around keeping everything going according to her plan. My dad at 73 is the same way. He stills races cars to this day. If this is any indication as to what’s in store for me for the next 60 years; look out world!
I had the pleasure of celebrating my birthday with my team. They were kind enough to put all 40 candles on the cake. They were the famous “can’t blow ‘em out” candles. We darn near burned the trailer down there was so much flame and smoke on the candles. Either way, it was fun and we had a good laugh. I got a nice Oakley shirt and I even got a shirt off the waitress’s back from TGI Friday’s. Apparently the guys went out to dinner and talked this girl into selling the shirt off her back so that they could give it to me as a gag gift. Of all things, her nickname was Cha Cha which was printed on the shirt with a pair of maracas as well. It’s kind of funny; the Cha Cha I know probably didn’t have maracas but a firesuit and helmet instead. I even had fans come by and bring me cupcakes with candles wishing me a Happy Birthday and one fan named Bill Black, even brought me a Motor Trend magazine dated June 1968. It was really cool to see the tech sections and stories that were going on during that era of motorsports. It made me realize even more so that we have come along way since the late ‘60s and that’s a good thing.
Oh well, so much for birthdays. Moving on to bumps and bruised egos. This weekend also bookmarked another page in the history books for me as a professional race car driver. By now I am certain you have seen that I am no longer with Tuttle Motorsports following an altercation that transpired between Tony Shortall, team manager/car chief, and I. It’s not necessary to get into all the details but suffice it to say that we shared a difference in opinions with regard to roll bar padding and helmet shields that used to be on the car that were replaced with a lighter version that combined, weighed about 8-10 pounds less. In the end, our mutual respect and chemistry as a team went south and the inevitable showdown took place Sunday after round one. Consequently, I made a choice to look out for my best interests as did Dexter.
I want to say thank you to the crew members (my warriors): Dianna Tuttle, Brad Tuttle, Geoff Bond, Chris McNicol, Steve Chapman, Steve Hinds, Mikey Eubanks, Bryan aka “Speedy,” Bill Nance, and Gary Walters and even the pilots, Brad and Phil. You guys are the best and I wish the very best for each of you. A special thank you goes out to Roy Warren, Dan Pikarsky, and the entire group at Attitude Drinks for all of your support. Our friendships mean the world to me. Thank you Chuck and Del Worsham and Team CSK for all the fun we had this year. It was certainly fun being with you guys all season. Last but certainly not least, I want to thank Mark Scheierman, my marketing guru, for all the “guidance” you gave me throughout the year. You are absolutely the best. I value our friendship more than you will ever know. Thanks again for helping me get the Darrell Russell tribute done. You were the key to the success of that awesome moment!
Meanwhile, I look forward to my future in this great sport I love. Speaking of the future, I am currently looking at all opportunities and have discussed driving positions with other teams recently. I have even been contacted by a team today to drive an A/Fuel Dragster and, trust me, those who know me understand that I love racing and I am not too proud to take a step back in what some people would call status. I truly believe there is a better place for me in this world of drag racing. I can’t wait to get back to racing and I am sure it’s a matter of time before I will be back on the track racing and hanging out with all my friends and race fans. Remember, it’s not over ‘til you say it’s over and that goes for everyone.
By the way … LIFE IS GOOD