It has been a week so I thought I had better get you caught up.

After watching the Colts win last Sunday we headed back out to the track in Vegas to continue to test on Monday. Rarely in testing do we go all the way because it is testing and we want to make sure the parts are looking good before we make full runs. A lot of engine damage will happen just before the finish line if things aren’t right early in the run so we go to 1000 feet in testing. Things were looking good with our combination so on Monday Mike said take it to 1000 feet. Our first run was a great one. I shut off at 1000 feet with great results. The car ran a 4.72 at only 279. The incremental numbers give you an idea of what the car would have run if you had taken it all the way. They where good. The car was on pace to run a 4.65 or .66. What was really exciting is our numbers on a half-track shut off run earlier in the weekend where even better than that. I like what I see out of the Skoal Racing Team this season.

The weather in Vegas was less than desirable to be testing in so we made one more run and called it quits. The guys serviced some parts from testing and then packed up. We spent Tuesday as a day off. Mike and a couple of guys went golfing Tuesday and some of us just could get away from the track. We went out and watched a little testing from the other teams and spent the rest of the day goofing off.

On Wednesday we took off for Phoenix. I drove the motorhome to Phoenix where I was going to pick Melanie up at the airport on Wednesday night. She flew in with the new puppies. They did great on their first trip. Melanie put them under the seat on the plane and they never made a sound. They sure do like the weather in Phoenix better than in Indy.

Thursday we worked at the track all day servicing everything from our test session in Vegas. Mel’s team got here too and spent the day finishing her car. Melanie and Lyn St. James went to dinner and I went out to dinner with Kevin our neighbor from Indy who came out to watch testing. Melanie works with Lyn on marketing stuff for women in motorsports so it was good for them to catch up on things.

We ran so well in Vegas that we decided to test some different things here in Phoenix. Friday was a rough day to be a driver. We shook the tires three times and I was feeling pretty beat up Friday night. Tire shake can be so severe on a driver. You can’t describe what it feels like. Maybe it’s close to going a couple rounds with a heavyweight boxer. Melanie’s team worked all day on finishing things and didn’t get to make a run on Friday, but where ready to go on Saturday. After a little recouping we went out to dinner with Kevin and Gretchen along with Kevin’s brother and sister in law. It was their first drag racing experience and now we have two more fans. If you get someone to come to the track once they are instantly a fan.

We continued to test new stuff on Saturday with not much luck. More shake and tire spin, but there is a bright spot in all testing. We like what we see, we just have to figure out how to control it. Mel’s team got her out on the track to get that first run out of the way. Things always go smoother after you can get that first run over. I was pretty beat up from all the tire shake so we spent the rest of the night in the motorhome watching TV and playing with the pups. They seem to be adjusting to the drag racing life pretty well. They weren’t quit sure what to think of a nitro car noise right away, but after a little while they don’t even seem to notice anymore.

On Sunday we put things back on our car just to make sure we could still make it run with our standard set up and things went well. First pass I shut off at 1000 feet and ran a .77 at 290. Things where great, so back to testing. That is what we are here for. A few more runs and I think we will get a handle on the new setup. Our car has really stepped up the 60 foot and 330 numbers. That is one area we are working on for this season.

We went out to dinner with our friends John and Olga Haygood. John is a cameraman for CBS News, but also a big drag racing fan. I love his stories about how he gets all the secret service guys to watch drag racing when he is on Air Force One with the president. We’ve got some fans in high places thanks to him.

Most of the teams testing this weekend in Phoenix have stayed and are testing again today. A few more runs today and maybe tomorrow before we call it quits. We’ll service everything here and give the guys a weekend off before we head to Pomona to start the season. Besides, we all want to watch the Colts play in the Superbowl. Mel and I are going to drive the motorhome to Pomona and fly home for a few days. I was going to try and go to the Superbowl, but with the price of tickets I think I will just watch it on TV.

Time to warm the car. Got to run.

TJ