We took off from home around 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon and drove until about 11 p.m. We pulled over for the night at a Wal Mart somewhere in Wisconsin. I got up at 7 a.m. yesterday morning and starting driving. We made a quick stop before pulling into the track and topped off with fuel and at a small car wash in front of the track so I could clean the bugs off of the front of the motor home. It was drizzling, so I didn’t want to do a thorough clean. There was a long line at the Blue Beacon, so I decided to just go to the track. It was convenient that there’s a car wash so close to B.I.R.

After we got parked, we cleaned the motor home, and then I met with Bazemore about going on a bike ride. I hadn’t ridden in nearly two months. I’ve definitely slacked off. Baze, Marty Nothstein and I took off yesterday and rode the Paul Bunyan Trail. It’s an awesome place to ride. It’s a 50-mile paved trail. I sure wish we had something like that in Indy. We rode 20 miles out and 20 back in two hours. It was an awesome pace! I was whipped afterwards. I was surprised I could hang with those two. They were impressed that I kept up after not riding for two months. I’m pretty sore, but I feel great; if that makes sense. Hopefully, that will be my motivation to continue riding on a regular basis. My legs are fine, but my butt hurts. The seat on my bike isn’t very comfortable.

We went to our appearance at Zorba’z on Gull Lake with Larry Dixon and got back to the motor home around 9:30 p.m. We did a little channel surfing and watched Gene Simmons’ new reality show on A&E. It was funny. I enjoyed it. Then it was bed time. It was tough to fall asleep being parked near “the zoo.” It’ll be an interesting weekend trying to sleep with the commotion, fireworks and loud music.

I got up this morning around 8 a.m. I did some stuff around the motor home, ran to credentials and showed up at the pit around 11. I had to change the trade off decals on our car and got some pilot chutes from Impact! Racing. We had a little problem on the warm-up. There was no oil pressure, so the guys are thrashing away changing the short block. So, I’m in the lounge watching NASCAR qualifying from Watkins Glen on Speed. We’ll get it fixed. I have a great crew of guys. Then, it’ll be time to make a solid run and secure our spot in the Skoal Showdown.