Glad to be back! It is funny how the blog is so important. I get a lot of people telling me ‘update the blog, update the blog.’ So here I am finally updating the blog!

A lot has gone on! We had the Gatornationals, my home race. We did not fair very well, but it was really great to have my friends and family come down to the race. The fan turnout was outstanding. Our Race for Achievement Chevy Cobalt did not run as well as it should have run, thus we did not qualify. It was disappointing in front of the home crowd. You know what though; we gave it our all and learned some things going into the Houston event.

The Houston event was a tremendous event for us. We got a chance to test at Emerald Coastal Dragway before the event, which was very instrumental in our performance in Houston. The crew — Tomi, Dewayne, and Mike — is doing an excellent job, and we came out and ran well. But, the largest announcement at the Houston event, other than my birthday, was the fact that we signed the 8th District United States Marine Corps. We are excited about having the Marine Corps become a part of our program for a couple of races this season.

We also had a chance to do some Race for Achievement programs at James E Taylor High School, Miller Career & Technology Center, and The Imani School. Thank you to the schools for having us and coming out to the race on Friday. It was just a lot of fun! The Marines came along with us and got a chance to meet some kids and share their message along with our message! By the time we left, they were wondering when we were coming back!

At the Houston race, we ran pretty well. We qualified on the bump, which was not really indicative of our performance. My crew chief, Tomi Laine, and the crew stayed really late Saturday night and made wholesale changes to our Race for Achievement Chevy Cobalt presented by U.S. Marines. As a result, we came out and ran our career best on Sunday, event though I did red-light! This is something we have to rectify by slowing the clutch linkage down on the car.

It was a good weekend overall! It was my birthday, and I am 30 years old again! No matter what the year is, I am always 30 years old! LOL I guess the new 50 is 40, and the new 40 is 30… or something like that! What I do know is that I am forever 30! Regardless, I am still young at heart and looking forward to going to Vegas and having a great weekend!