It is 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning, I can see the sun coming to life behind me in my rearview mirror and I watch in awe at the sight of another beautiful sunrise. What an amazing sight. I’m at mile marker 230 somewhere in Nebraska and have logged over 1,000 westbound miles since leaving Norwalk, Ohio, yesterday morning. Our final destination will be Denver, Colo., where I should arrive around noon today. Our plan is to spend this week testing in Denver in preparation for the upcoming Mile High Nationals.

So as I drive down the highway dictating my blog to Toni (my typist) we will try to bring you up to speed on what has been happening in our lives.

My original plan was to leave Norwalk on Sunday night instead of Sunday morning but since things didn’t exactly work out in the qualifying department this weekend, we decided to get a head start on our trip to Denver. So “what happened?” you ask. Well, Richard Maskin and I have been working really hard to combine our two programs into a winning combination and we have made great strides in doing just that. Unfortunately, this weekend presented us with some different challenges coupled with some bad luck and the net result was a few thousandths out of the field.

We lost Friday’s two sessions due to track conditions but were really excited about Saturday’s runs. Our Wiley X GXP is one of the best working cars on the track and we have been running really well in the hot, humid conditions. Well, the weather conditions were as we predicted, unfortunately, our ET didn’t come up as planned. Even though we were the 5th fastest car in our lane, we still ended up in the 15th spot. Okay, it was back to the pits to try and figure out the problem. It didn’t take Richard long to pinpoint and fix the problem, we fine-tuned the carburetors and Jamie made some slight adjustments to the chassis. We were going into the good lane and had all the confidence that we were going to run really fast.

Well, we started to run really fast until we had one of those minor parts failures which ultimately end up causing huge problems. Yep, we had one of them. As my foot automatically pushed the clutch in at about 1 /2 track and I coasted off of the track, all I could say to myself was, “Nooooooooon, I can’t believe this is happening!”

Back to the pits we went but there was no time “to cry over spilled milk.” Jamie, Richard, and I spent the next five hours analyzing the data, dissecting the problems, and putting together a game plan to get our Wiley X GXP back to the winner’s circle. Though we were all disappointed in our weekend we can’t help but be excited about our team’s future together. With half of the season still ahead of us, the way I figure it, there are still a lot of races left to win and what better place to start than one of my favorites…the Mile High Nationals. Put me in, coach!

So, here I am on the road again, counting down the mile markers, calculating my mileage and enjoying the beautiful countryside along the way. We have seen a lot of different things on this trip and Toni has been taking a lot of cool pictures. We were saddened by the flood damage and ruined fields of crops throughout the state of Iowa but were amazed at the rolling fields and endless farms scattered as far as you can see in Nebraska. It is truly a beautiful country that we live in.

Before I close, I need to say that I am devastated by the loss of one of our family members, Scott Kalitta. Another senseless tragic racing accident resulting from a bizarre chain of events has left all of us all hurting beyond words. Scott was a son, a father, a husband, and oh, by the way, a fierce competitor.

I will always have one fond memory of Scott Kalitta. It was the Gatornationals, 1997. The race had been rain delayed and it was dark. We were sitting on the return road after winning the final round watching Scott race his final round match up. Scott was on a great pass and his opponent smoked the tires. Unfortunately at about the 330-foot mark, Scott's dragster went into a wheelstand/blowover allowing his competitor to pedal by for the win. I can still recall the look on Scott’s face when he climbed out of his totally wrecked dragster. He was not a happy camper! I don’t know if he was madder at the fact that he lost the round or wrecked his racecar but, one thing was for sure; he was one fierce competitor who did not like to lose.

So to Scott, I say, you are a competitor that we are sorry to have lost and you will forever be a winner in our hearts. To his family and crew go our thoughts and prayers. May God’s blessings rest on you all.