As I sit here thinking about the race in Reading, Pa. with my partner KP, I am once again in a position of reflecting on the lives of lost loved ones. This week I received a call that little Emma Thomas, a 10-year-old darling of a little girl, had passed away due to a battle with cancer. I was fortunate enough to attend a banquet last week in Wisconsin for Emma that went very well, and raised money to help her family with the situation they were facing. Doug sent a fan-friendly box of Snap-on stuff and DHR gear to aid in the efforts, conveying our team’s support of little Emma. There are simply no words to describe how difficult this time must be for her father, Mike, her mother and the rest of their family. Mike, our hearts are with you guys and the Snap-on team is thinking of you.

Naturally this seems to fall on the heels of two other difficult losses, one being the loss of another one of my family members, Stephanie Capps, who passed away a couple days ago while awaiting a liver transplant that just didn't happen in time to save her. She was a great mother and wife, and will be sorely missed. To the Capps family, the Snap-on team is also praying for your peace.

There is no possible way I can close this without saying something about my buddy, Scott Kalitta. I was close friends with Scott and worked on his car last year. Scott and I talked on the phone the Tuesday before that fateful day in Englishtown, and Scott wanted me to know that he wasn't mad at me for taking the opportunity to work with the Snap-on team. I don't know why he chose to say that to me but why does a black tire make white smoke? Some things we just don't understand and never will. Scott, thank you. I am glad that we had that time on the phone.

In closing I will say this, just a few days ago I told my friend Doug Herbert that it seems like we are at a point in our lives where life is continuously taking things away instead of giving them to us. Something else that I guess I will have to file under my "black tire, white smoke" column in my mind because I know of no other way to describe it. Now we face Reading with a heavy heart and we soldier onward. The Snap-on team is ready and so am I. Until next time blog fans, see ya at the ropes!

Keith