Hi blog readers,

To update you on what we have been doing the past week or so. This past weekend I was able to spend with Jessie and we had a great time. Her friend Olivia spent Friday and Saturday nights sleeping over so that was good. Saturday morning started early; it was the day for the first ever BRAKES driving school and it turned out to be a huge success! I have to thank everyone that helped in organizing the event, especially Bob and Heather Lutz of the Mario Andretti and Jeff Gordon Racing Schools and all of my friends who put so much time into the event.

We had many members of the media attend, along with city leaders, police chiefs, and even the head of the Charlotte school system driver’s education program. Everyone agreed after the program was over that it was a life changing day of learning. We played a video about Jon and James and the accident then a Power Point presentation that detailed some of the mistakes that many drivers make. Then it was time to get the rubber on the road! We had about 15 cars and instructors. We divided the parents and teens into three groups with each group starting on one of the three courses. There was a wet skid course, a distraction course, and a brake and turn course. Each driver had the chance to attempt each maneuver several times until they felt comfortable.

After the driving we got everyone back together and discussed what we leaned. We also had the parents and teens sign safe driving contracts. Parents were asked to make a promise to give their teen a break and pick them up with no questions asked if their teen gets in a bad position with no safe way to get home. It was so great to have several of the parents and teens come up to me afterwards just to tell me how great the day was and how much they learned at the event, that made it all worth while! I am confident that we will be able to save the lives of many drivers with this program and it’s a great feeling!

We have our next driving school in Charlotte on Nov. 8 and anyone that can make it is invited. Parents and teens need to attend together because it’s not just about driving; it’s about relationships and making sure that parents and teens can at least kind of understand each other. Go to www.putonthebrakes.com for more info on the driving schools or to register. BRAKES will make the commitment to bring the driving school to your town for anyone that can get 100 parents and 100 teens to commit and sign up.

After the school I went over to my buddy "Fatback" Michael McSwain's new shop in Dallas, N.C. He had a grand opening of his new tire business, Fatbacks Tire & Wheel. It was cool! I didn’t actually realize that he was having such a big event that day. He had a great grand opening day. Many of you may remember Fatback from being a top crew chief in NASCAR for several teams including Joe Gibbs and Robert Yates.

Sunday was a tough but fun day. Oct. 5 is my birthday and it is also James' birthday. We were really close and would always tell each other that Oct. 5 was our special day. For the first time in 13 years James was not with me on Oct. 5. After having a great breakfast we went by the cemetery to put fresh flowers up for James and Jon. It was tough but I was lucky enough to feel James' spirit with me for the entire day.

I wanted to do something fun for the day so I took Jessie to a Carolina Panthers football game and it was great! My sister Heather and Ginger also went with us. None of them had ever been to a NFL game so it was quite an experience! Heather’s husband, Mike, my buddy Ray, Marty Jr., and my friends Bob, Heather, Greg, Andre, and Patrick also joined us for the birthday celebration. After the game my sister and Mike took us out to a great dinner at one of Jessie's favorite places, Ruth's Chris steak house in Charlotte. What a great place!

Even though the day started out tough and a few tears were shed, it ended up being a great day. I am so lucky to have so many great people around me every day. Life is tough at times but I am determined to make the best out of it. With BRAKES and all my friends, I feel confident that is exactly what we will do.