Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Hope you are wearing your green today! Have you ever wondered about the meaning of St. Patrick's Day? Well, you know, besides having a good excuse to drink green drinks, eat green food and maybe watch a parade or two. I always have, so I decided to look it up in my favorite Wikipedia and here is what I found out:

"Saint Patrick's Day is a yearly holiday celebrated on March 17. It is named after Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland. It began as a purely Christian holiday and became an official feast day in the early 1600s. It is a public holiday on the island of Ireland, and is also widely celebrated in Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and Montserrat, among others.

"Originally the color associated with Saint Patrick was blue (bet you didn't know that!) However, over the years the color green and its association with Saint Patrick's Day grew. Green ribbons and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th century. St. Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pre-Christian Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and shamrock-inspired designs have become a feature of the day."

So there you have it. Now when you go out later for your St. Patrick's Day celebration you will be able to wow all of your friends with this little bit of history trivia. Usually we are racing in Gainesville during St. Patrick's Day so I really don't have much time to think about it, but since the Gainesville race is already in the history books I actually had some time to do a little research. I know you are impressed.

Fun with our Tire Kingdom friends

Analyzing the data

Shane reading the National DRAGSTER story about his dad.

Speaking of Gainesville, if you caught any of the coverage or was able to listen to Bob Frey on the internet you already know that the Tire Kingdom Gatornationals ended up being an awesome race. Of course I am probably a little partial to the Tire Kingdom GXP of Shane Gray and the NTB GXP of Johnny Gray but that's OK. Anytime your sponsor is the title sponsor for the event, you know that you are going to have a great weekend and this time was no exception.
 
Our hospitality tent was filled with customers, employees, and corporate VIPs; everyone enjoyed a beautiful day of food, fun and fast ET's! Though I seem to spend most of my time buried in my notes and computer graphs I did get a chance to meet and talk to a lot of excited race fans. You know me; I love to talk to anyone about NHRA drag racing! Hey, I even signed a few autographs. Thanks to everyone at Tire Kingdom for making the Gatornationals an awesome event.
 
After testing for a week before the Gatornationals, the entire Gray Racing team was really happy to have both GXPs in the Sunday show. You have to remember; they started the season with two brand new race cars, a new engine program, new crew people and lots of determination. Fortunately, we are figuring out and learning what these race cars like with every pass down the quarter mile and I am confident that the program will continue to gain momentum as the season progresses.
 
Everyone keeps asking me how I feel about not driving my Wiley X Sunglass Machine and, believe it or not, I never hesitate in my response. I am having a blast working with the entire Gray Racing team. Johnny is a veteran driver and has his experienced crew from past years, so I have been focusing most of my efforts helping out with Shane's Tire Kingdom GXP and enjoying every minute of it.

For those of you that know me, you understand that I've always enjoyed the analytical side of things and now I get to do just that. The guys all laugh at me because I always have my head buried in the computer screen or in my notebooks, but hey, I did that last year too; well, until I had to stop to make a run, help Jon tune the car, or drive the rig across country. LOL

Anyway, the entire team has been great to work with, Shane is doing an awesome job driving his GXP and I am really enjoying being a part of his rookie year. It is so rewarding to watch him gain experience and confidence with each pass he makes. It is just a matter of time before one of these teams claims their first Wally of the 2010 season!

Well, enjoy your St. Patrick's Day and be careful of some of those green beverage items! Have a great week and I look forward to reporting back to you soon!

May you have
A world of wishes at your command
God and his angels close at hand
Friends and family their love impart,
And Irish blessings in you heart.
 

I am finally back in town for a few days and thought I better sit down and catch up on my blogging before I have to leave town again. For those of you that haven't been reading my latest blogs, I have been helping out the Pro Stock teams of Johnny and Shane Gray for the past few weeks. With two brand new Jerry Haas Pontiac GXPs, a new engine program headed by engine builder Joe Hornick, and the announcement of two new sponsors, there have been lots of things to get excited about around Gray Motorsports and I am happy to be involved.

As Toni explained in our previous blog, the weather in Las Vegas for our first test session was far from optimum testing weather and our runs were limited. Nevertheless, we headed to Pomona excited to see how we would stack up against all of our competitors. We were not disappointed at all. Shane qualified 14th and Johnny qualified 12th, Shane won his very first round of eliminations, ended up No. 8 in the Full Throttle points and both cars received a miniature "Wally" for Best Engineered cars. How cool is that?

While many of the teams packed up and headed to Phoenix, we packed up and headed back to Vegas for a couple more days of testing. The weather was great this time and we spent two more days experimenting with different combinations on both GXPs. With two great drivers and a talented crew we didn't have any trouble coming up with things to try. Early Thursday morning, we headed to Phoenix ready to start qualifying all over again.

Well, the weekend in Phoenix was emotional and challenging, to say the least. With extremely difficult track conditions (especially for the Pro Stock cars) and intermittent rain showers off and on during the weekend our qualifying attempts were limited to just three. Shane did end up qualifying in the 15th position but Johnny missed the field by .16 of a second. Not the results we had hoped for. But we all know that things could always be worse.

Sunday brought more rain and more deterioration in track conditions. The Pro Stock cars raced only one round of eliminations before determining that the track was unsafe to continue any further. The fuel cars tried another round. A car crashed, the driver walked away, but this time others weren't so lucky. There are inherent risks involved with any sport, especially motorsports, and as a veteran driver, I accept that fact every time I strap myself in my race car or stand on the starting line. Though the circumstances of that day were beyond anyone's control it is still very difficult to understand when bad things happen to innocent people. Sunday was a very sad and tragic day for the entire racing community and our hearts and prayers go out to the families of those involved.

Early Monday morning Toni and I flew to Raleigh (where I had left my Blazer) and then drove the three hours home. I have spent most of the week analyzing graphs and working out a plan for another pre-Gainesville test session. The team plans on testing at Speedworld in Orlando for several days and then head to Bradenton for a few more days of testing. With the announcement of Tire Kingdom as the major sponsor on Shane's car as well as the title sponsor for the race, we are excited about getting to Gainesville.

Well, I am going to close this blog and head down to the race shop to get pick up some things to take with me for the test session. It will certainly be a busy couple of weeks but I know that me, Johnny, Shane and the entire Gray Motorsports team is excited to get back on the track. I will make sure that we keep you updated on how things are going so make sure that you check back soon!
 

Old Man Winter has certainly been on a rampage throughout our area lately. Over the past seven days he has been responsible for providing us with two (not one, but two!) blizzards that have almost crippled the mid-Atlantic region. With frigid temperatures, 50-mph winds, blinding snow, massive drifts, numerous power outages, and, oh yeah, four feet of snow, it has been a week that I will remember for quite a while. If I never see another snow shovel I will be a happy camper.

The federal government has finally opened for the first time in five days, schools have been closed since last Thursday, today is the first day that the airports are running on a regular schedule, and snow plows are just now getting to the residential areas. What a week it has been.

Oh, by the way, did you notice that there has been no mention of Jim in this story so far? No tales of Jim shoveling for hours on end, no talk of him digging his way to the boat to fix a broken electrical cord so that the boat had power, and no mention of him climbing on the roof at the shop to check the depth of the snow. Oh, did anyone say that he had to dig his way in and out of the race shop and warehouse? Nope, I didn't hear any those stories around here. I will say though, he did fill the bird feeders up before he left town and for that my little flying friends and a few squirrels are vey appreciative. What a guy! LOL

OK, enough of my ragging on poor Jim. I'm just jealous because I'm not at the racetrack with him. Did someone say racetrack? Yes I did, but I better rewind and fill you in on the latest events from the very beginning — you know, from the time that the first snowflake fell from the sky!

If you have been reading our blogs you know that Jim, Jon, and I have been very busy working on our warehouse project. It has been a bit overwhelming, but we have been working very hard and thankfully we are starting to see some progress being made. In the meantime, Jim had finally exhausted every effort to put together a sponsorship package in time to race Pomona and Phoenix. He had finally resigned himself to the fact that for the first time in his racing career, he would not be racing at the Winternationals and only be attending as a spectator for a couple of days. That is when his phone rang.

It was last Friday evening at 4:30 p.m., our first blizzard was quietly lurking in the distance and the first snowflakes were starting to fall. Jon and Alli were loading up their truck to get home before the roads got bad and Jim and I were finishing up at the warehouse so that we, too, could get home. Jim was feeling a little down because all of the Pro Stock guys were in Vegas testing at the Pro Stock Showdown event in preparation for the upcoming Pomona race and here he was cleaning out a warehouse.

Well, that was going to soon change. Jim's phone rang and it was Johnny Gray on the other line. Johnny Gray and his son Shane (who has never raced a Pro Stock car!) had, during the off-season, started their own engine R&D program with engine guru Joe Hornick and had also switched their race cars from Dodges to brand new Jerry Haas GXPs. The weather in Vegas was marginal to say the least and it sounded like everyone was having issues with the cold track and unfavorable conditions. It is hard enough to test in those conditions when you arrive with the same race car combination that you ended the year with, but when you have to start from scratch with two brand new combinations it can be a huge undertaking — especially when you only have a couple of days to test.

Johnny and his team knew that Jim had a lot of success with his Jerry Haas GXP and thought that Jim might be willing to be an extra set of eyes and ears to assist them in fine-tuning their new racing program. You know Jim…"put me in coach!" Of course, by this time, all of our airports were closed so there were no flights in or out of the D.C. area. While Jim hurriedly packed up his things, I started calling airlines to find out how far south he had to go to find an open airport. By the time we got to the house, the roads were pretty well covered. I had him drop me at the house so that I could throw together a suitcase for him while he ran up the street to fill up with gas.

Jon, Alli, and I had his bag packed, the Blazer loaded, and him on his way to Raleigh/Durham airport in no less than 15 minutes. Yep, that is right, Raleigh, N.C.! That is how far he had to go to catch a 6:00 a.m. flight to Vegas on Saturday morning. He drove in the snow and then rain for four hours, found a room for a few hours sleep, left the Blazer parked at the hotel, caught an early flight. and arrived in Vegas at 9:30 Saturday morning. By the time he got to Vegas I had already shoveled half of the driveway!

Well, the test session in Vegas was not perfect by any means. The weather was tough, the track was challenging, and the test runs were limited. Luckily, Johnny and Shane have two very talented teams headed up by veteran crew chief Craig Hankinson, and though they didn't get many full passes down the track, everyone was excited to get to Pomona. As for Jim, he was having a blast.

As they say, the rest is history. Yesterday was the start of what will prove to be another great NHRA racing season, and I know that Jim is excited about what the future will bring for the rookie Shane Gray and his dad, Johnny. In just his 11th time in a Pro Stock car, on his 4th full pass down the track, Shane qualified No. 9. (It reminded me of Ryan when he qualified for his first race in Chicago.) Jim was so happy for all of them because it just shows that all of their hard work paid off and he was so excited that he got to be a part of all of it.

Well, I am going to close this blog as I have a flight to Pomona in just a few hours. I was so relieved when I found out that all of the airports were up and running today, and so far, my flight is on time. I can't wait to see everyone at Pomona. I'm not really sure what I will do with myself without a trailer to load, an awning to take down, or a transmission to build, but I am sure I will have a great time. Anywhere without snow is fine with me! I have to admit, I did pack my pink Mechanix wear gloves just in case I need them! Well, take care, and I will have Jim write when he gets home!

Alli and Jon

Ryan and his race car

Jamie, Cynthy, and Ryan

Ryan helping Grandpop grill

Snow, snow, go away! I want to go on the record as saying that I am now categorizing myself as a warm weather person. I don’t think that I have been home for an entire winter in about 20 years because we are always testing and racing during the coldest winter months. Granted, it can get really cold in Vegas or Pomona; even Phoenix, but never have I been “snowed out” for a race. I have decided that I am ready for one of two things — either spring to get here fast or my phone to ring letting me know that I need to load up my Sunglass machine and head to Pomona. I prefer the latter!

So far, though, it doesn’t look like we will be racing in Pomona. If that ends up being the case, it will be the first time since 1990 that I did not compete at the Winternationals. However, Toni and I are still going to attend the race for a couple of days. I have some contacts to meet with and I also have a RFC Board meeting to attend. It won’t be the same, but maybe Bob Frey won’t mind sharing the announcer’s booth with me for a couple of sessions of Pro Stock. We are still hopeful that something will transpire in the next week or so, but if it doesn’t, I will set my sights on a start in Gainesville. Just keep your fingers crossed for some good news to come my way.

With my racing program on a temporary hold, we are still staying extremely busy with our warehouse project. Equipment and tools are going fast and Toni, Jon, and I have started getting rooms ready to tear down. Late Saturday afternoon, during the middle of our snowstorm, Toni and I tore everything out of a “Laboratory” that had been built in the back of the warehouse. That meant cabinets, counters, shelving, equipment, sinks, and tons of lab supplies had to be removed. The only thing left in the room is the ceiling lights, and Toni refused to let me take them down without Jon or Jamie’s help. She kept making comments about tall metal ladders and electricity. What? For some reason I don’t think she trusts me!

So, for the time being, I have traded my fire shoes, firesuit, and helmet for steel-toed boots, coveralls, and a hard hat. Luckily, we all have our Wiley X eyewear, which also count for safety glasses. If I don’t get to race in Pomona and Phoenix, my goal is to have the building demolition project done by the first week in March. That way, we will have time to test in Bradenton before heading to the Gatornationals… one of favorite races. Now that is a plan that I am excited about!

In between the long weeks of physical labor, we have, however, stopped to enjoy some fun family time. We have had everyone together the past couple of Sundays to celebrate first Cynthy’s birthday and yesterday, Alli’s birthday. With Ryan being a very active 15 month old who loves to run around, we find it is way more fun to get together at our house instead of going out to dinner. We spend the day relaxing, enjoying each other’s company, and having an early birthday dinner. Ryan has plenty of family around to play with and loves helping unwrap any birthday present. I couldn’t ask for a better end to a long week.

Well, I am going to call it quits and get this blog sent out. I must admit that I have really enjoyed sitting here at my desk resting my sore body while I write my blog. Maybe this will be a good excuse for me to be more diligent in my blog writing huh? I figure that sooner or later Jon or Toni will be in here accusing me of “milking this job,” but hey, I’m the boss so I get to milk a few jobs now and then. LOL I’ll write soon to keep everyone updated on what is happening at Jim Yates Racing. Be sure to check back soon!