I wanted to write a quick update to what’s going on before Melanie and I head out of the country. We are about an hour away from heading to the airport to catch our plane to Germany. We are headed out to see the troops again this year with the folks from GM Racing. This will be my third year and Melanie’s second year to make this trip and we are looking forward to it as always.

Our last two races of the year didn’t go quite as planned. I really wanted to end the season on a high note, but sometimes things just don’t go as you would like. I thought not qualifying in Vegas was a bad weekend, but when snake gave me the news Sunday morning that our Funny Car team would not be sponsored by UST next season and our future was up in the air the weekend got way worse. Needless to say I ran through the gamut of emotions the week in between Vegas and Pomona.

Knowing Pomona was going to be our last race together as a team I really wanted to make it a good one. That didn’t work out to well either. We ran consistent, but not good enough to make the show. It was a huge letdown for the team and especially since we are such a close-knit group of people. I have to say that in all of my years of racing this is one of the best groups of guys that I have ever worked with. Our struggles this year hasn’t been from a lack of effort. They never wavered all season even through the hardest of times. The race in Englishtown will forever be one of my best memories as the team did an unbelievable job in getting that win. I’m very grateful for all their hard work and just want to let them know how much I appreciate their efforts and dedication. They are a quality group and you can tell by how quickly most of them got job offers as soon as news got out that we might not be racing next season. I will enjoy all of them having success in the future even though we won’t be together as a group.

Melanie and I went to the banquet on Monday and then flew home with the puppies on Tuesday. We got home about 10 Tuesday night. We didn’t have much energy, but the puppies sure were glad to be home. They ran around and played hard for a couple of hours before we all crashed in bed. We spent Wednesday catching up and getting things done since we have to leave this Saturday. I took Melanie to the airport Thursday morning at six so she could catch her flight to Atlanta. She did an autograph session for Hostess at the national convenience store convention along with Danica Patrick and Lelani Munter. I stayed home and did laundry plus trying to get things in order for our trip. She didn’t get home until 9 p.m. Wednesday night so you can imagine how tired she was from the busy week so far and it is just getting started.

On Friday I went to the shop and had lunch with all the guys since by the time we get back from our trip they will mostly be gone on to their new jobs. Melanie got her things caught up and we did some last-minute shopping and packing. It has turned fall here so we rounded up all of the patio furniture and got it stored away for the winter. We went to dinner with Chad and Michelle at Outback and got home early. They are going to watch the puppies for us until they go away for Thanksgiving then the pups are off to boarding. We get back Thanksgiving day so our neighbors are going to pick them up for us so they are waiting on us at home when we get back. We are staying several extra days after our visit with the troops for a little vacation time. We are going to Italy, but after hearing there is a transportation strike in Italy we might be staying in Germany a little longer or finding alternative plans. Let’s hope they settle the strike and our trip goes off without a hitch.

Hopefully by the time we get home my future will be a little clearer. Snake is still looking for sponsorship for the Funny Car team and I have had talks with a few car owners about driving if things don’t come together for my team now. I’m going to try and not think about it on our trip but we all know how that will go. I’m sure Melanie will remind me several times to relax and enjoy our vacation. What can I say? I love to drive and don’t really want to sit and watch next season. I’m pretty positive though that things will work out just fine. It isn’t like I haven’t been through this before.

I really want to thank everyone at Skoal Racing for all their support for the past seven years. They are a great group of people and I have loved my time representing them. I would have like to have had more success on the track for them, but I think we did a great job promoting their brands in all. I think Larry and the dragster team will do them a great job next year and I am happy they are staying involved in our sport.

Here’s to a great off season and I’ll check in when possible from overseas with some pictures of our visit with the troops and vacation.