After not making the race in Phoenix, my team bounced back this past weekend and we made it into the show at the Gatornationals. The weekend started off cold and rainy, with both of Friday’s qualifying runs getting cancelled because of the weather, again. It had started raining around 10 a.m., and it was really cold and it wasn’t looking like it was going to let up, so the NHRA cancelled the events for the day around 3 p.m. The same thing happened in Phoenix a couple weeks ago, where we didn’t make the race, but fortunately, things turned out differently this weekend and we ended up the No. 12 qualifier for the race. We made a really good pass during the first session on Saturday under really hot conditions, and then our second qualifying run came under much cooler conditions and we ended up in 12th.

For Sunday’s race we were really excited to compete. My team has been working really hard and we tested twice since Phoenix. Sunday was really hot and the sun was shining, and we were up against Jim Head in the first round. At the start of my run, we ended up smoking the tires. I was able to get the car back in the groove but it was too late. Jim Head put together an error-free smooth run, and that ended our day.

Besides racing this weekend, we had a lot of other stuff going on with my sponsors, Motorcraft and Quick Lane. This weekend they debuted their new interactive display in the midway. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, you should stop by. You can’t miss it. It’s 4,800 square feet and three trailers long! During the rain on Friday, I got a chance to go over and race against some fans in the drag simulator game, which was really neat. Playing that game was almost harder than racing out on the track! I also competed against fans in the crew challenge where you have to remove and replace an oil filter, air filter and battery, and then remove and replace all the lug nuts on one of the front tires. The first time I did it, I didn’t do very well, but I did it a couple more times and set the best time for one of the days at one minute flat!

The only downside to racing is being away from my family. Whenever I can I try to plan some trips around the races with my wife and three boys. Since we have a one-week break before heading out to Houston for the spring nationals, my family and I headed down to Orlando to spend a couple days at Disney World after the race. We had a great time but coming home was a nightmare. We missed our connection in Baltimore by 4 minutes and almost spent the night there. We ended up flying into Hartford and drove 2 ½ hours home. That’s the traveling for you!