Hey, blog readers! LP coming at you from Richmond, Virginia, on what promises to be a warm and muggy Saturday. Hopefully we won’t be blessed with rain like we were yesterday. I know this part of the country needs it, but I can’t help but hope it waits until after we are done racing!

Yesterday morning, Doug, Marty, Bird, Carl and I met at the airport in Lincolnton to head up here to Richmond. Marty and Bird beat the rest of us there by a few minutes, and rescued a little critter on Airport Road. They spotted a little turtle, now affectionately referred to as Speedy, and saved him from what would probably have been a horrible fate. A little turtle in the middle of the road? I’m sure you can imagine what would have happened had they not picked him (or her …we aren’t really certain) up. After a little discussion, we decided he is probably a sign of good luck. After all, in the stories I have heard, the tenacious turtle always conquers the harried hare. So we loaded him into the plane, strapped him in, and brought him with us to Richmond. Speedy has found a temporary home in a box, with a little pool, some lettuce and radishes, and other various forms of what we hope is turtle goodness. Right now we are qualified in the No. 5 spot, so just maybe little Speedy really will bring us some good luck. We will just have to wait and see!

Yesterday also marked a milestone in Doug’s life. He turned the big 40, and we had a little celebration in the pit for him after the qualifying run (just one, thanks to the rain!). Allison did a little shopping, and the place was decorated with the standard black balloons, she got him this amazing hat that said “What Hill?” and even a little button that lit up, screaming at everyone that he had hit the 40 mark. She even bought 40 black sparkly candles, and Brownie was afraid we would burn down his hospitality tent once we lit all the candles. We assured him we knew how to use the fire extinguishers, and were ready to take the risk, just to see if Doug really had enough hot air to blow all of them out. As you can see from the picture, we managed to light them all without the tent going up in flames, and while I hesitate to say my boss is full of hot air, let’s just say he did a good job blowing out the candles. His youngest son, James, also celebrated his birthday yesterday, so we want to send out a big belated Happy Birthday to James Herbert!

I’ll keep you updated on our little buddy Speedy….

Until next time, be good,

LP