• Heat: Started 2nd, Finished: 1st (out of 9 cars)
• Feature: Started 3rd (of 26 cars), Finished 1st - Finishing Order (only 5 cars finished on the lead lap):
  51, 3, 12, 26, 81...-3 laps were the following: 27, 21, 71, 23, 85, 5, 66 and the balance of the field...91(-5), 77(-6), 6 (-8), 31(-12), 63(-31), 0(-31), 98(-39), 47(-40), 49(-50), 14(-50), 1(-56), 40(-58), 11, 9, and 22)

Comments: It sure was nice to look at the forecast going into this weekend. Practice rounds were great and the track is FAST this weekend. Rob was 2nd fastest in all SK practice rounds by turning a 14.170 lap (71 of JP was fastest turning a blistering 14.164 second lap). Our heat was uneventful as Rob cruised to his 6th heat win of the 2006 season despite the car being a tad tight on corner exit. Feature starting lineup is: 66, 91, 51, 71, 31, 26, 98, 47, 81, 3, 5, 11, 27, 21, 9, 22, 23, 12, 14, 85, 40, 6, 77, 49, 1, 2, and 63).

Feature preparation was nerve racking because we knew our pre-race chassis changes were either going to work or ruin our day. Rob took the lead from the pole-sitter 66 coming out of turn 4 on the first lap. The first caution came with 86 laps to go. Rob was maintaining about a full chute lead on the rest of the field and was told to "slow down and save his stuff" but it didn't seem to sink in because Rob just kept peddling the 51SK away from the rest of the field. The next caution came on the first lap after the race resumed with 77 laps to go. Rob's restarts were strong, so we were cautiously optimistic that our chassis setup would hold for the remaining laps. The next caution came with 31 laps to go and Rob's lead was cut down to a half a chute. The next caution came with 12 laps to go when the 31 went hard into the turn 4 wall.

The next caution came setting up the first of two "green-white-checkers" with the 3 of Gada outside and the 26 in 3rd. On the final lap, a spin in turn 2 caused the flag man to go for the yellow flag...but he dropped it on the track as the leaders went through turn 3/4 and Rob crossed the line first only to find out we had to do it all over again.

On the final restart, the 3 made contact coming down on the 51 as both cars entered turn 1. The contact bent Rob's right front tie-rod and it was that move/contact that changed Rob's cool demeanor that he had up to that point. Rob and the 3 of Gada ran side-by-side with some serious nerf bar banging for the final 2 laps. In the end, Rob crossed the line 1st and won his 4th feature of the 2006 season and the his first extra distance event! In the process...he gave "Racer", "TraxnCtrl10" (Doug Coby), "Lovethedustbowl1" and "Ben Althen" of the JP Pick'Ems contest additional wins !

After the race, I understand the Gada clan wasn't real happy with the contact between Rob and Dennis...I guess they expected Rob to just "roll-over" so Dennis could rack up another win. Of course Rob wishes his win was without the excess contact...but it sure gave the fans a good show. After all, it was the final points race of the year and Rob had everything to gain and Gada had nothing to lose...the perfect ingredients to bring out the basic instincts in any racer. Rob and Dennis have raced each other hard (yet cleanly) over many years and there is no lack of respect given to Dennis as a driver and our division's 6 time track champion (which is simply an awesome achievement). If the finish was reversed (and Rob started 10th to finish side-by-side with Gada), we would have been happy to finish 2nd just like the hard racing the 3 and 51 had on July 15th or August 12th (see below). The finish was reminiscent of the 2003 NASCAR's Darlington finish (link to video) between Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven where they put on the greatest last lap show in NASCAR history, pounding on each other relentlessly for 1.4 miles and Craven winning by .002 seconds, the closest margin in the history of the sport.

The 51SK has taken its share of "chops" & "run-ups" over the years...that's racing. Being a co-owner & primary mid-week wrench on the 51SK, Rob has always tried to protect the 51SK chassis from damage and he has yielded to the occasional aggressive moves of other drivers (or other good driver's "bad" spotter calls) and he has gained a reputation for being one of the cleanest drivers out there. The finish today is definitely a finish he won't be making a habit of. After 103 laps as the leader, Rob wasn't going to give up the lead without a spirited effort to retain it. I doubt if the roles were reversed, Gada would have laid down for an "easy pass" on the last lap of the season ending finale event. Except for some mild mid-race heat from the 31 after a restart (when the 31 got to the bumper of the 51 a few times), Rob enjoyed a lead that ranged from 3-5 car lengths to as much as a full chute lead under extended green conditions. If any driver could have caught the 51 under green flag non-final lap conditions, Rob would have given a passing lane to that car/driver if they were able to cleanly get an inside or outside bid on the 51SK. Up next, 51SK gets modified for the North South Shootout at Concord, NC !

• Heat: None Due To Twin Features Being Run - Lineup Based On Handicapping
• Feature: Started 4th (of 21), Finished 7th (Finishing Order: 81, 3, 71, 5, 57, 51, 47, 31, 66, 27, 21, 2, 91, 29, 23, 77, 1, 14, 98, 26, 63)

Comments: Feature looked promising with Rob starting 4th and the car being hooked up (great set of tires). The first caution came with 27 laps to go with Rob restarting 2nd. When the green flag flew (51 2nd outside the 81), Rob went through turn 1 and 2 a half car length behind (but outside) the 81. At the middle of the back chute, the 81 drifted up and made contact with the our left front tire and Rob lifted only to be hit from the rear from the 3 who was not expecting decelerating at the middle of the chute (we have no problem with the 3's contact because that's racing and couldn't be avoided). The cars were stacked up 2x2 behind the 3 (since only a half lap was completed) and at least 6 cars ended up in the turn 3 fence.

Under yellow still sitting 2nd, we were told that the 51 had to go to the rear (from our 2nd place position) for "causing" the wreck. We couldn't believe the call. It's tough enough to race in such a competitive division - and we have raced enough to know that sometimes "bad calls" are made, but this tops all of the bad calls we've seen to date. This year alone (check below), the 51SK has had "bad calls" made on 7/29 (to the rear from 5th) and on 4/15 (to the rear from 4th).

Fans around me in the stands asked what happened, other communicators in the spotter's box, and crew members of other SK teams in the pits just couldn't believe it. After the race, the official who made the call said his interpretation of what happened was he "though" Rob was trying to "drop down to the inside lane". I explained that's pretty tough to do since he was still half way along side of the 81 and the field was stacked up 2/2 because we had only completed a half a lap. Rob was actually looking to PASS the 81 over the next 27 laps and had to lift - otherwise he would have been run into the back chute wall. The final yellow came with 2 laps to go and Rob restarted 7th. I'm surprised that official that made the original call, Eric Webster, didn't try to blame the 91's misfortune on the 51. Simply...Unbelievable.

• Heats: Started 5th, Finished: 3rd (out of 10 cars)
• Feature: Started 4th (of 18), Finished 4th (Finishing Order: 47, 31, 5, 51, 3, 71, 91, 81, 26, 66, 21, 27, 8, 14, 2, 29, 77, 1)

Comments: Sept. 19th Practice rounds were OK because the performance couldn't have been much worse on the 1st round when the stagger was way off making the car tight on corner entry. We adjusted and found out we were the 3rd fastest overall behind the 31 and 71. Our setup improvements continued in the right direction during the heat but Rob couldn't use all that the 51 could deliver with side-by-side battling in front. With 4/1 handicapping, Rob settled in for a third place finish to qualify in the top tier.

Feature started despite threat of rain. First caution came with 26 laps to go and Rob restarted 4th. Just before the rain delay's yellow being thrown, the 26 came into turn 3 a little hot and bounced off the 5 and hit the 51 in the left rear and Rob had a great save keeping the 51 off the wall. The race will be completed on Sat. Sept. 16th with 23 laps remaining and the lineup being headed by the 47, 31, 3, 71, 51, and the 5.

Sept 17 Practice rounds were GREAT and Rob loved the way the car handled (2nd fastest). The resumed race with 23 laps to go were something that we were looking forward to. 1st caution came with 17 laps to go when the 27 spun in turn 2 and Rob restarted 3rd. The 47 was strong enough to maintain his lead. Rob took over 2nd with about 15 laps to go and the top 6 in the field were single file nose-to-tail for the most part. On the last lap, the 31 went into turn 1 way over his head (perhaps to push the 51 into the slowing 47?). He pushed Rob up into the marbles and Rob saved it to cross the line 4th. The 51, 3, 5, and 71 were all experienced enough to know that they were not going to make the outside pass even though the 47 was slowing in the middle of the turns so I can only be left to wonder what the 31's last lap "push the 51 out of line" was supposed to accomplish. Needless to say, it's between Rob and Shawn to talk about the incident off the track.

• Heats: Started 8th, Finished: 1st (out of 10 cars)
• Feature: Started 9th (of 20), Finished 5th (Finishing Order: 5, 11, 3, 91, 51, 71, 81, 31, 98, 8, 21, 77, 29, 17, 47, 05, 27, 22, 66, 9)

Comments: Practice rounds were just plain poor for the 51 today as the chassis just wasn't anywhere in the ballpark (6th fastest). We changed tires, front end geometry, stagger and bite all in an effort to get the car to turn and to Rob's liking. The heat wasn't going well as Rob was held up for a while until a caution came when Wendell's 66 went in hard to the turn 3 wall. We heard that the 66 had a stuck throttle entering turn 3. Wendell had a good car up to that point. His wreck was enough to end the "new" 66's night, so Wendell went to his shop and brought out the "old" 66 for the feature (his bad luck continued as you'll learn later). Rob restarted 3rd with 3 laps to go and then took the lead when the 3 of Gada got loose off turn 4 due to speedy dry in the middle of turn 3/4.

Rob had his work cut out for himself in the feature, as we knew the 51SK wasn't in it's best race trim. The first caution came with just 2 laps completed in the feature when the 66 and 27 wrecked at either ends of the front chute wall. Rob restarted 5th and ran hard, but suffered a tight condition that we haven't been able to shake on corner entry. The next caution came with 25 laps to go, when the 05 was turned into the turn 4 wall. Rob restarted 5th and was taken back but held his ground until the next caution came when the "old" 66 went hard into the front chute wall. Rob restarted 6th and was able to pick up one more position for a fifth place finish - not bad considering the setup wasn't 100%. With twin features next week, we've got our work cut out at the shop this week.

• Heats: None Due To Busch East Appearance
• Feature: Started 7th (of 21), Finished 6th (Finishing Order: 71, 31, 5, 47, 81, 51, 3, 91, 05, 66, 21, 8, 27, 98, 12, 29, 11, 22, 14, 77)

Comments: The practice rounds were OK considering the Busch East Tour rubber changed the track. We found the 51 got tight on corner entry so we made some adjustments to loosen the car (found they were too much for the feature). Rob was 2nd fastest in the practice sessions.

The feature was going well with the first caution coming with about 26 laps to go. Rob had some great hard side-by-side racing with the 47 of Tom Fox...Rob was on the outside and finally advanced to 5th after about 5 or 6 laps with the 47 to the inside. The car got "bad loose" on corner entry, so when the caution came with 2 laps to go (the 12 went into the turn 4 wall hard), we hoped the stagger would close.

The final restart had the 5 on the pole and the 71 of Jeff Pearl outside pole. The 5 just didn't go on the initial start - perhaps missed a shift? The inside lane was held up until turn 1, and that was enough for the 71 to take the lead and the outside lane to advance. The lead pack got bunched up entering turn 3 during the final lap and the 51 crossed the line 6th. We'll take out tonight's adjustments and look forward to competing at a high level again next week!

• Heat: No heats - 3 practice rounds since SK's had double features
• Feature 1 (makeup from 6/17): Started 2nd (of 19), Finished 1st (Finishing Order: 51, 3, 81, 31, 11 (Fox), 5, 8, 71, 98, 91, 66, 27, 21, 05, 12, 04, 29, 77, 26)
• Feature 2: Started 7th (of 19), Finished 2nd (Finishing Order: 81, 51, 3, 5, 31, 91, 71, 47, 66, 98, 8, 27, 05, 29, 77, 26, 12, 04, 21)

Comments: Practice rounds were different since we had to scuff 2 sets of tires for the twin features. We were 3rd fastest during practice rounds. During the first round of practice, there were cones place around the track closing off the low groove - forcing all cars to run the outside line to skuff in the traction compound the officials applied to the outside groove in an effort to bring back side-by-side racing via the outside groove working. During the driver's meeting, it was announced that Sept. 2nd will be twin features for all divisions with the first feature being a points race, and the 2nd being a non-points race.

Feature #1 was OK...and I say that only because we had another race later in the night, so I couldn't get very excited about our win #3 for the 2006 season. The car wasn't our best setup since Rob indicated he was tight going in/out of turns. 51SK took the lead on the 1st lap and never looked back for the green-checker run. A few "Love taps" came from the 81 and 3 in the middle of the turns but there was no real threats to our victory during the 35 lap feature. The 51SK team had its work cut out for themselves with a 2nd race a few hours later, which was also a qualifier for the North South Shootout (winner is guaranteed a starting position).

The 2nd feature was totally awesome. We had serious concerns about the setup since the car was tight in/out during the first feature. We made a ton of changes and hoped for the best. The first caution came with 24 laps to go and the 51SK was on the move and was up to 3rd. The next restart was followed with a quick yellow for the 21 who lost a rear tire and hit the turn 1 wall. The next caution came with 18 laps to go and we were restarting 3rd after battling with the 5 for 2nd and having it for half a lap before the caution. The final 5 or 6 laps were great laps for the fans with the 81 doing his best to keep the lead and then Rob and Dennis Gada running hard with Rob on the outside. Rob drove hard and was side-by-side with the 81 for about the final 5 laps. Diego gave just enough room and had a tough choice on who to block....we almost had him and back-to-back wins!

Next week's feature will be at 6:00 since the Busch East cars are in town.

• Heat: Started 5th, Finished: 4th (out of 8 cars)
• Feature: Started 7th (of 17), Finished 7th (Finishing Order: 91, 47, 3, 5, 8, 66, 51, 71, 81, 98, 29, 12, 26, 04, 77, 27, 31)

Comments: Practice rounds were good. No official times were posted due to a computer problem but we were manually timed in the 14.3's when some of the other top running cars were apparently turning .5's (info from Jerry Pearl who said "don't touch your car...do you know how fast you were going?"). Our heat was not that great with Rob complaining of an overcorrection making the car loose on older tires. After the heat races, all qualifying car's tires were taken and tested by the track officials who were looking for the illegal use of tire softening compounds...of course all tires on the 51SK were found to be legal.

The feature was plain painful for the 51SK team to watch and our enthusiasm about our car's performance quickly came to an end. We're not quite sure what cause the chassis problem, but the car was "bad loose" after the first caution with just under 30 laps to go. Either we picked a bad tire, the midget's tire compound, or the midget that blew an engine and spewed their synthetic oil all over the track with 4 laps left in their feature, changed the track conditions drastically. We were hoping for a caution and we were going to pit for tire pressure changes, but another caution never came. Pure aggravation for Rob and the team since we know we can do so much better. I'd have to say tonight's race was one of the toughest to watch. After the feature, it was good to hear we weren't the only ones experiencing the "bad loose" conditions. We found oil droplets on our rims and windshield.

Next week can't come fast enough...twin features and the 51SK starts on the outside pole for the makeup race.

• Heat: Started 7th, Finished: 4th (out of 8 cars)
• Feature: Started 7th (of 16), Finished 4th (Finishing Order: 71, 5, 3, 51, 91, 47, 66, 81, 27, 12, 77, 8, 26, 98, 04, 31)

Comments: Practice rounds were OK with the track being slow due to the heat and 51SK was 2nd on the speed charts after 91 of Jeff Paul topped the speeds with a 14.512 lap (51 & 5 SK were 2nd fastest with 14.524 laps). Our heat was uneventful.

The feature seemed promising since we knew the 51SK was hooked up and handling well. Rob confirmed the setup was good at the first caution where he restarted 7th with 31 laps to go. The 2nd caution came with 21 laps to go and Rob was up to 5th after some good side-by-side racing with the 3 of Dennis Gada. The next restart had the 51 starting 5th, the 47 of Fox outside in 6th, and the 5 just behind Rob in 7th. Entering turn 1, the 47 dropped down out of the high groove (probably focusing on making a inside move under the 4th place car on corner entry) and Rob went as low as possible to avoid contact (officials thinking the 51SK was making it 3 wide) but Rob still had his 5th place inside restart position. There was contact in the middle of turn 1 that sent the 47 spinning to the infield after rolling across the 51SK nose. The officials debated the call for a couple of laps, but ruled the there was "rough riding" by the 51 (even though we held our original inside position) and they sent Rob to the rear. Under caution, John - the 51SK pit communicator, told the 47 spotter that the contact wasn't intentional and he responded they knew. The combination of the 47 trying to take our position and the 51 not rolling over sent 2 fast cars to the rear...Rob and Tom know that's part of hard racing so they each focused their frustrations in a positive manner to get themselves back into the race with 21 laps to go.

The next caution, Rob was up to 13th. I'm not sure what lap a 2nd incident came, but running down the back chute...Rob got an inside position on the 81 in the middle of the back chute just before entering turn 3. The 81 appeared as though he didn't know the 51 was inside and there was contact entering 3 and the 81 spun sideways and came to a stop in the middle of turn 3/4 with the 51 hard on the brakes about 10' from the 81. Not sure if the 81's spotter saw the 51's inside position, made an inside call or if he made no call expecting - Rob to lift when Diego came down. When a passing car has a wheel inside of the 51SK, I'm sure to let Rob know (he gets a "1 car back", "on your tail", "inside-inside-inside" call as a overtaking car gets inside the 51SK) rather than risk getting spun like the 81 unfortunately did. I seem to recall talking to Diego a few weeks ago in the pits, and believe he said his definition of an inside bid by another driver is when the overtaking car's door is inside his rear bumper...so maybe he knew Rob was inside but the 51 position wasn't enough motivation to change his line entering turn 3. The contact was unfortunate because the 81 has run 51 clean all year and Rob has gained a boat load of respect for Diego in the 81SK as a good clean racer. The resulting spin was a surprise and unfortunate.

The next caution came with 12 laps to go and we were restarting 7th, and the final caution came with 5 laps to go and Rob restarted 4th. The final laps had the winning 71 and 3 running side-by-side for a few laps and with the 5 getting an inside advantage on the 3 of Gada for the finish.

• Heat: Started 6th, Finished: 4th (out of 8 cars)
• Feature: Started 7th (of 15), Finished 2nd - (Finishing Order: 3, 51, 5, 47, 98, 66, 8, 81, 91, 29, 77, 12, 22, 04, 71)

Comments: Practice rounds were good and 51SK was at the top of the speed charts with a 14.163 lap. We'll try a few things tonight to get a little quicker.

The feature didn't look good on the initial start because the 71 of JP (starting 3rd) had a transmission failure again and the inside row accordioned and Rob went back to 12th or 13th. The first caution came out with 20 laps to go and Rob was up to 6th for the restart. A quick yellow came and Rob then restarted 5th with 19 laps to go. The final caution came with 9 laps to go when the 81 spun in turn 2. The restart was dramatic with the 3 in the lead, then the 47 on the outside, Rob in 3rd, and the 5 outside in 4th.

It became a 2 car race with about 6 or 7 laps to go. Rob was faster in the middle of the turns and on the corner exit, but not fast enough to take the 3 of Gada on the outside. It was a complete reversal of last weeks win when the 3 followed the 51SK for the final laps. Rob and Dennis have raced enough together so we knew they could race hard and yet there was little risk of one taking the other out. Who knows what would have happened if there was a few more laps as Rob seemed to be getting stronger as the 3 seemed to fade a little in the turns. Tonight's 2nd felt like a win because we were able to back up last week's performance and the car is handling just like we would have hoped.

• Heat: Started 3rd, Finished: 1st (out of 9 cars)
• Feature: Started 5th (of 16), Finished 1st - 1st Two-time SK Winner of 2006 Season (Finishing Order: 51, 3, 5, 47, 66, 71, 81, 8, 91, 27, 37, 12, 04, 31, 98, 77)

Comments: Practice #1 was less than we expected since we made MORE changes this week trying to get the 51SK back with better corner entry (it has been off for the last 4 weeks). The second practice session was good enough to put Rob 2nd on the speed charts after the 3. We knew we could do better so we went to the concrete pad and we changed our whole setup. Our heat win was the 4th of the year and Rob's quick inside move coming off turn 2 on the first lap put the 51 in the lead after lap 1.

Our hopes were high for our feature since we made so many changes. Rob moved into the lead by around lap 4 with really strong moves inside coming out of turn 2. The bite we were getting tonight was a key to our victory. The first caution came with 23 laps to go. Rob restarted with the 5 outside who had a small jump on the start and who entered half a length ahead of Rob entering turn 1, but Rob powered as he exited 1 and out of turn 2 to resume his lead until the 2nd caution came with 6 laps to go. There was a close call before the 2nd caution when Rob came up on 2 lapped cars and he was forced to go low on one then take the 2nd on the outside before getting back into his rhythm and a 2 - 3 car length lead. The restart was delayed by the 31 parking his car at the start finish line. When the green flag flew, Rob got a good start with the 3 outside and he resumed the lead at the end of the front chute. Tonight the 51 SK was the 1st repeat SK winner of the 2006 season and it was special with one of our major sponsors, Essex Limousine, making their first visit to the Bowl.

• Time Trials: Finished: 3rd (out of 20 cars) Pole won by 11 with a 14.335 lap, 2nd place was the 35 with a 14.416, and 51SK was 3rd with 14.428. Top 8 redrew for starting positions. Starting order: 47, 98, 11, 31, 51, 71, 35, 5, 2, 3, 86, 81, 8, 22, 27, 66, 85, 91, 77, and 59.
• Feature: Started 5th (of 21), Finished 5th (Finishing Order: 47, 3, 11, 31, 51, 81, 8, 35, 86, 2, 71, 98, 27, 85, 66, 91, 77, 5, 22, 04, 59)

Comments: Practice rounds were not sessions we were happy with. The track was extremely slow due to speedy dry & oil from a demolition derby that was run last night. The car was extremely tight on corner entry and we've tried just about every trick in the VOJAN play book to free the car up on entry...nothing seems to improve the feel & performance for Rob.

The feature...well...we simply adjusted too far. The first caution came out at about lap 20 when the 35 spun coming out of turn 4 (possible fluid on the track?) - Rob restarted 5th. The second caution came out with 60 laps to go when the 66 spun coming out of turn 2. With about 50 laps to go, Rob called over the radio to say "next caution, I'm pitting [out of his 5th place position]". That gives you an indication of how loose the car was. The caution Rob wanted never came. Hats off to the 81 for running Rob clean for the final 40 laps. We'll undo a few of the "loosening" adjustments and hope for better performance next weekend!

• Heat: Started 2nd, Finished: 1st (out of 8 cars)
• Feature: Starting 2nd (of 18), Finished # (Finishing Order: )

Comments: Practice rounds were just OK again with 51SK running 4th fastest. Stagger battle today on both our old and new tires. In the heat, Rob won by about 20 car lengths, but wasn't satisfied with the car's handling. We're not sure if it's just due to the tour rubber being different...but for some reason, the nose just won't plant and the nose wants to run up the track on corner entry.

• Heat: Started 7th, Finished: 7th (out of 10 cars)
• Feature: Started 13th (of 19), Finished 4th (Finishing Order: 31, 11, 81, 51, 3, 35, 55, 47, 5, 8, 71, 66, 98, 27, 37, 29, 12, 77, 91)

Comments: Practice rounds were OK. 51SK was 4th fastest in the practice rounds. Stagger was low on our new set of tires...hope to get it right for the feature. Heat was ugly with the lineup being turned upside down 1/2 lap before the race went green thanks to the 29 not taking his 6th place starting position. When the heat went green, Rob started 6th and, once again, the car in front of Rob "came backwards" lap after lap. After a caution for the 8 spinning, the outside groove came back again leaving nowhere to go until the inside lane went completely by. VERY frustrating for Rob to have to run lap after lap at 3/4 throttle.

The feature looked like we had options...either pass a bunch of cars and get into the hunt for a win, or we could pit if the setup was off - since we started so close to the rear of the field. We adjusted rear tire pressure to overcome a bad tire combination that wasn't giving us the desired stagger. We also made some wedge adjustments adjusting for the cold. The car really came to Rob in the end so as far as setup, we scored a victory for tonight's adjustments.

The first caution came at about lap 7 and Rob found himself starting 8th. The next caution came with 23 laps to go when the 27 spun in turn 3 - Rob restarted 5th. A bad wreck on the front chute occurred with 12 laps to go when the 91 of Paul went up on the left 2 wheels as the right side rims rode the fence down into turn 1 - Rob restarted 7th. The 4th caution of the night came with 7 laps to go and we restarted 5th. In the end, Rob was happy with the car and glad that our luck was "neutral" for the night. Hope things continue on the upward swing for next week!

• Heat: Started 6th, Finished: 5th (out of 9 cars)
• Feature: Started 6th, Finished 11th (Finishing Order: 98, 5, 47, 8, 91, 55, 3, 81, 31, 11, 51, 27, 71, 22, 66, 29, 12, 77)

Comments: Practice rounds were good (considering we were back to our baseline setup after last week's wreck). 51SK was fastest car in practice rounds. The track was surprisingly loose on the outside considering only moderately high pavement temps. Perhaps the rubber of the ISMA Super modifieds changed the track. After our first practice, camber and torque arm adjustments were made.

Feature ran green-to-checkered (done in 9 minutes!). Only good thing was we brought the car home in one piece - I guess that's progress. Rob was brought back to 11th or 12th on the outside (as the 31 came backwards from his 4th place starting position) after the initial start until an opening on the inside was available for Rob to drop in. Rob struggled with a tight condition that was bad enough to ruin our performance and hold Rob back from putting the GCR power to the track. The tight condition was probably due to chassis adjustments that went too far from the loose outside condition Rob experienced during the heat race (probably due to the super mod's heat races putting rubber on the outside groove - making it tighter and the change we made wasn't then necessary). Hope we get back to performing at the higher level that the VOJAN team is known for. Have a great holiday weekend! Congrats to Frank Mucciacciaro on his 1st 2006 victory tonight!

• Heat: Started 6th, Finished: 6th (out of 10 cars)
• Feature: Started 11th, Finished 18th (Finishing Order: 71, 3, 5, 27, 11, 47, 8, 91, 26, 55, 31, 98, 81, 12, 77, 49, 29, 51, 66 )

Comments: The 51 crew had it's work cut out for themselves during today's practice rounds. Rob's 1st round was great and the 51SK was fastest in round 1st round of practice. Problems began with an apparent transmission problem in the pits when Rob lost 2nd gear after the 1st practice. We pulled the transmission and went to the backup trani only to have a problem with the throw out bearing before leaving the pits for the 2nd round of practice. With help from other SK competitors (Stosh and Charley Pasteryak - thanks guys!), the original problem turned out to be the shifter stop bolt coming loose and limiting the shifter throw. So, back in went the Richmond trani. The heat was uneventful with no where to go as the outside pole car came backwards on the outside during the 10 lap heat.

The feature was similar to the heat race as the laps rolled by with the cars bunched 2x2 lap after lap. First caution came with 20 laps to go, and Rob restarted 11th. After numerous attempts to pass the 55 of Mike Finkeldey, Rob had contact with the 55 and then our concern became the right front suspension after the 55 chopped down on the 51 in turns 3/4. The toe was out due to a slightly bent right front strut, but with so little time, we had to run to the finish with the excess toe. Another caution came with 8 laps to go and Rob restarted 10. During the next restart, an opening came on the inside going through turns 1 and 2, Rob dropped in, and then our night ended. Contact between the 98 and the 81 on the back chute (just in front of Rob) as they were running in approximately 7th and 8th (nose to tail). They slowed when they came together, Rob braked and had the 98 cleared when, all of a sudden, he was hit from behind - pushing the 51 into the 98. Left front suspension damage was terminal (tire, wheel, spindle, strut, sway bar link, etc.).

We'll get out our scale sheets & bolt on a new left front end and see what next week brings! Congrats to team Pearl on putting the 71 in victory lane! Hope this week's bad luck turns to neutral or good for next weekend! This year's SK division is interesting in that there is so much parity between the top running cars that there appears to be no dominant car/driver as many drivers are capable of a win on any given night. What makes for a good night is the absence of bad luck and then some good side-by-side racing by the drivers with the experience to race each other hard and clean. A top 5 finish next week will be the goal for tonight's worn out VOJAN team.

• Heat: Started 1st, Finished: 1st (out of 9 cars)
• Feature: Started 2nd, Finished 1st (Finishing Order: 51, 47, 49, 81, 8, 3, 55, 31, 91, 27, 07, 26, 66, 37, 77, 98, 11, 71, 5)

Comments: Weather cleared and the sun broke out for practice & heats. During practice, 51SK was 4th fastest - our stagger was off (low) making Rob tight. We were confident we made the necessary adjustments to bring the 51SK up to speed. Heat was uneventful and Rob scored his 2nd heat win of the 2006 season. We changed our stagger, bite, and camber after our heat.

The feature was our chance to show that we were better than our less than satisfactory performance during the 1st 3 races of this year. The outside pole starting position was not a concern since Rob like the car's handling. Rob took the lead from the 98 of Frank Mucciacciaro, Jr. with 28 laps to go, with a strong inside move at the end of the back chute. The first caution came with 17 laps to go after the lapped 26 of Don Fowler got tangled up with the lead pack in turn 3/4. Fowler knew the leaders were coming because the flag man gave the passing signals for the 2 laps prior to the caution. Why Fowler struggled to avoid getting lapped with his "2 grooving" for so long is a mystery since we know he's a veteran driver. Things got ugly on the 2nd restart when the transmission failed on the 71 of Jeff Pearl, who was restarting 2nd. The outside lane just pushed and piled into JP and then the 5 and 11 wrecked in the front chute wall with 5 of the points leader, Chris Pasteryak, being done for the night (severe front end damage).

Rob's restarts were great and the car was handling just like we would have hoped. Another caution came out with 8 laps to go when the 11 and 31 spun in turn 3/4 after some contact with the 07. Another caution came with 6 laps to go when the 98 and 26 wrecked. Rob survived a number of restarts with the 47 of Tom Fox on the outside. Tom raced Rob clean. Rob's restarts were incredible and it sure was nice to redeem ourselves from our problems over the first 3 races. Congratulations to Doug Coby (aka "TraxnCtrl10" at the jeff-pearl.com forum) for is first Tour Mod win at Stafford's Spring Sizzler last week. Coby's picking the 51SK to win in this week's "Pick 'Em" contest gave Rob an extra incentive to win tonight !

• Heat: Started 4th, Finished: 2nd (out of 11 cars)
• Feature: Started 5th, Finished 14th (Finishing Order: 11, 3, 5, 31, 47, 81, 66, 27, 8, 91, 86, 26, 97, 51, 07, 71, 98, 37, 77, 29)

Comments: Practice rounds were good again despite the cooler temps. 51SK was fastest SK in all practice sessions with a 14.129 lap. We hoped the temps don't drop too much before our feature because the SK tires really don't perform with cold pavement temps.

Feature was going well with Rob was up to 2nd with 7 laps to go. He restarted on the outside in 2nd with 6 laps to go with a strong side-by-side run through turn 1, but was forced to fall back into 3rd when he was pinched into the wall coming out of turn 2 by the 11 of Robby Summers. That wasn't a real problem though because the car was great and Rob felt he could make another run for a for the lead. A caution came out with 6 to go and we were 3rd. Under caution Rob was scuffing his tires at the end of the front chute ... a damaged 71 came fast on the outside (heading for the pits) and I made an "OUTSIDE" call to Rob...but not in time...Rob's path to the right was too much and he hit the 71's nerf bar and broke the 51SK's right front outer tie rod.

As his spotter, I wish I made the passing car call sooner and Rob wishes the same. Jeff Pearl was not at fault because he was simply passing on the outside to get to the pits. After the race, JP said that the 5 was scuffing to the right as Rob scuffed to the left, and after the 5 turned back to the left - Jeff accelerated to continue passing on the outside and he thought I would have seen him coming. Rob and I both cost the 51SK a win tonight and we'll both be back next week as strong as ever. It's going to be a long week waiting to put this one behind us both.