You read that right, I’m actually going to race! And wouldn’t you know it, I picked the biggest, craziest, most difficult race of them all! My crew loves me!

As I mentioned previously, the last time I was in the car was almost a year ago, in this exact same race. Most would say we had a rough outing. But I think it depends on how you look at it. I had a few moments in my Heat Race that made some people take notice. We weren’t the cream of the crop, but we looked kind of sporty out there. The LCQ was another one that just sort of got away from us. We had a strong run going, certainly respectable in that field, until we parked it due to mechanical issues. So there are some high points in there if you are willing to look for them.

Along with that, in my mind we had a fun weekend. I got to hang out with my family and go racing. What could be better? In the end, that is why I go to the track. So in that regard, it was a success. Sure, I’d love to make the big show. Wouldn’t we all?

I’ve spent just about a year now making my car better than it was before. I’m fairly confident that we have a better piece now than we had a year ago. So heading into this year’s Summer Showdown at Evergreen Speedway I’m more confident than I was. Sure, there’s still some outstanding questions. We haven’t run the car at all this year. But I see guys debut brand new cars all the time, and they didn’t run those cars before either. At some point, every car is brand new. You just have to step off the ledge and have faith.

Our preparation for this race wasn’t all that interesting. We spent all winter preparing the car for the coming season with no real backing to actually run it. So once it was ready, it sat there waiting…and waiting. While it waited, we kept making little tweaks on it. So the preparation, unlike most other teams, has been almost 12 months in the making. So there’s been no sense of urgency, we’ve taken our time, we’ve gone over the car more than once. It’s probably as ready as it will get.

Then the call came. I was presented with that “What do you need to run that race?” question. I’m thankful to have people around me who want to see me race. I’m thankful that my current marketing partners were willing to stand by while we waited for the right opportunity to run the car. I’m thankful that those marketing partners understood our situation and chose to help us make a small change in it. And I’m thankful that some new players who I am excited to work with. We’ll be sporting a brand new logo on the car for this race, Michael’s Toyota of Bellevue. I’m super excited to have this Toyota dealer on the car. Hopefully this will work into a long term relationship.

Along with Toyota of Bellevue, I’ll also be carrying the logo of ProvideHOPE. I’m super excited to be partnering with this organization, whose mission is to provide food and water to those in need. We have some long term plans that we are putting in place. I think it’s going to be pretty awesome. I’m not really ready to start making that announcement just yet, but trust me, you’re gonna love what we’re cooking up!

So looking ahead, we’re inside of a week to the big dance. My schedule is crazy busy. Most people don’t realize the effort I put into this “hobby”. I’m not a Burt Myers or a Cory Lajoie that races for a living. I have a day job that I have to go to every weekday where I am a Project Manager / BIM Coordinator for an international hospitality design consultant. So looking ahead I already feel like I have far too much to do in this short time span. But as is typical in my life, things come together in a flurry of activity at the very last minute. I’m excited about this coming race weekend. I’m also nervous, slightly overwhelmed and moderately stressed. But I’m mostly excited, so I’ll make it happen. Hopefully you’ll join me on this adventure and come out to the track. This is going to be an amazing race and you really don’t want to miss it. Neither do I!