The one thing in drag racing that is a double-edged sword is that it is not really a team sport. Sure, there is the driver and his or her crew, but once the engine starts, the helmet strap is tightened and the five-point DJ Safety harness is buckled up to the driver. He or she must be mentally focused on the starting line and make several decisions while going down the track in under 8 seconds, or in slightly less time than it takes me to eat a slice of pizza. You win and lose by thousandths of seconds and that pressure can weigh on a driver young or old. These kids amaze me at the track and when you are hot you are hot and when you are not you are not. They don’t get trophies for just showing up and trying, and there are more ways to lose than there are to win, but that’s what makes the wins special.
As a team, we are trying to stack the odds by being at the track as much as possible. Since the last update, less than one month ago, Kuhn Racing has entered seven races and has had trouble getting out of the first round in most of them. We have lost three races on the starting line with red lights of .004, .006 and .008. We left Bristol, Tennessee in late July with some good data for next year, but without any momentum to bring home. At our home track at Maple Grove we are fighting for our lives to stay in the Top 10 in points after a double race weekend right after Bristol. Last weekend we headed up to Numidia Dragway to try to get comfortable with the track after our last outing when we were fighting ongoing engine troubles. With the NHRA Division 1 event there in a few days we decided to not attend the big money race in Kentucky, but to stay here and focus on this race. Our Lucas Oil Racing TV junior dragster was once again sent home early with a tough lesson learned.
We are taking notes and of course making memories and I know it will all come together soon. With probably eight to ten races left in the season Braylon will be working on what we learned and we hope to go some rounds for our marketing partners. Thanks to Lucas Oil, Boccella’s Performance, DJ Safety, NGK, Clark Industrial Supply, and ProThings for always having what we need and getting us down the track. Thanks go to Craw’s Racing and Diane Kubicke for being there at the big events and on the phone for technical support and photos. If you aren’t a big fan of drag racing but still like motorsports you can check out Lucas Oil Racing TV to fill your need for speed and power 24/7. Till next time…
See you at the track!
