The World of the NSCRA

VIZIO 250
Pocono Raceway
100 Laps/ 250 Miles

Pre-Race Notes:
-Start of the 2008 NSCRA Season
-Tim Chassion is the reigning champion from last year
-Pocono has proved to be unpredictable over the years

Points of views:
Pole Winner (Started in first place): Tim Chassion
Front Runner (Led the most laps): Luke Combs
Meets the Challenge (Gained the most positions): Brian Haney
Headache (Lost the most positions): Elisha Parrett
Diehard Racer (Most consistent): Paul Menchoro
Highest Running Rookie: Kate Suddeth
Race Winner: Well, you’ll find out.

Tim Chassion

“Okay, we’ve got a long day ahead of us, make sure you keep calm in the car.” My crew chief, Lawrence Johnson told me. “You’re the champ, keep it up from last year.”

“10-4, let’s just try to finish where we started. Let’s go for our fifth[championship]!”

“10-4 good buddy, the command should be starting in less than five minutes” I sat there, waiting for Sergeant Elton Dye to give us the command to start the engines. I felt good about today. We started on the pole, we were in the top ten in practice, qualifying, and the warm up. And now, I sit here waiting to restart the 2008, and my final season, starting where we left off. In first.

“AND NOW, PLEASE WELCOME SERGEANT ELTON DYE FOR THE FOUR MOST FAMOUS WORDS IN MOTORSPORTS!” I heard over the intercom.

“Drivers! Start! Your! Engines!”

“Start it up, make sure to warm the water temperature on the pace laps.” I flipped the ignition switch, then held the start switch, to hear seven-hundred fifty horses of pure muscle roar to life.

The pace car started to pull off.

“Testing. Check one, two.” My spotter said.

“Loud and clear, buddy.”

I started to swerve left and right, to warm my tires for the next one hundred laps on this tricky triangle (see the video I posted below for a look at the track). After two laps, the lights that were resting atop the pace car went off. One to go `till green.

“Okay, remember, let the car control itself, don’t try to over drive it, keep up what you did all weekend and you’ll have your self a win!”

“10-4.” I was ready now, ready to end my season in the best way ever, with a championship. Many people have told me that I should be in the Hall of Fame, and I wasn’t about to prove them wrong.

We came off of turn three and the pace car veered off into pit road.

“Ready, ready, ready. Green, green, green!” I heard. I floored it, desperately trying to clear the Blockbuster Ford of Chris Hegan. I hit it just right, hearing the “All clear” signal before heading into turn one.

Luke Combs had a huge run in one, bumping me while coming out of the corner. It worked to my advantage, because I visually saw myself losing him, before turn two. Hegan challenged Combs in turn two, giving me half a car-length, but gained a big draft, causing me to come down and block him. Doing that gave me some room into the final turn, and allowed me to lead the first lap of the race.

I was able to maintain my leading status, until the short chute, where Hegan poked a nose under me and forced me to take the longer and slower way around turn three.

“We got our bonus points,” I said, mentioning the five bonus points for leading a lap (You could only get the bonus once a race). We were even coming off of turn three, drag racing down the front stretch. Luke, caught a draft, and wanted to make it a three wide battle into turn one.

I went into that corner first, and came out third. “Yeah, I’ve been in first and third, just not second,” I said with sarcasm.

Lawrence laughed. “Let’s see if it’s possible to finish without being in second.”

I fell back in line on the short chute, trying to get second back from Chris. I was halfway successful, drag racing down the front stretch, then completing my pass in turn one.

Lap six came, and I was once again, battling Hegan for position, and he succeeded in taking it, but he brought along the bright yellow car of Brian Cain, and the bright orange car of Chuck Hewett, who succeeded in dragging me down to fifth position.

It wasn’t until lap ten when I was able to reclaim fourth, and lap eleven when I went three wide and took second back.

“How’s the car handling?” Lawrence asked.

“It’s tight, I need it to turn better.”

“Alright, we’ll take out a round of wedge.”

“10-4.” So, we jockeyed for positions one through five, until I received a not-so-friendly bump on lap fifteen.

“Looks like Chris isn’t too happy from last year.” I remembered the accidental bump and run from Chicagoland last year. I hit him too hard and he was sent into the wall.

Ten laps and two positions gained (Due to pit stops) later, we had a caution.

“Lamy and Garza got into each other on three, race back to the line.” My spotter explained.

“Everybody who didn’t just pit is coming down for tires and fuel, let’s get those adjustments in.”

“10-4, let’s make this one quick!” I said, I wanted to get back to the front as soon as possible.

I came into pit road at a painstakingly slow fifty-five miles an hour, waiting to get to the very last pit box. I came in and watched as my men ran around the car to change the left side tires. The car was quickly lifted on to two wheels for at least six seconds, then harshly dropped back down. I saw them run across and do the same to the right sides. But that’s when horror struck. I saw Combs and Cain go by, which I could’ve dealt with, since they came in before me. But then I saw the 5, 44, 63, and 53 go by. Not such a great job by the crew this time.

“It’s alright,” I reassured them, “Don’t worry about it. We just had one bad stop, it’s okay.”

“They’ll do better on the next stop, trust me.”

“Don’t put the pressure on them. Just let them do their jobs, they’ve won me five championships haven’t they?”

“I guess you have a point there.” I waited my next three caution laps, then got the signal for the green. I shifted through four of my six gears, because we started in second gear, and hammered it into turn one. I got caught in a three wide situation in the tunnel turn, but I was stuck in the middle, so I kept my seventh position.

I found that the car was worse than before a couple laps into the new green flag run, and I paid for it. I slipped back into eight, courtesy of Justin Snowdan, and had to fight like no tomorrow to keep Billy Jones or Elisha Parrett from getting it.

Lap forty-three came, and the car just became worse. Bobby got my position, and no matter how close I got, I could never complete the pass. I had to give way to Parrett and the 16 of Kimberly Kaim, but soon got the positions back.

But then lap 50 came.

The car just started to suck. I lost at least six more spots and fell out of the top fifteen, within twelve laps.

“Uhh, can somebody please tell me what the fuck happened to my car?”

“I don’t know, let’s just try to mess with it until we get it right.”

“We don’t have fucking time to mess with it!” I was getting aggravated quickly now, he was taking it too lightly.

“I’ll do what I can. Pit on lap 65.”

“10-4, let’s get it right.” I said, coming in to the pits two laps later. As the timing told us, I came in sixteenth, and came out thirty-fifth. I was fine, until I was reported a caution.

“Are you fucking kidding me!” Now I’m pissed, back in twenty-fourth? The hell? I was just thinking my car was good enough to get me to the front, but now I’ll never know.

The caution had one lap left, and I could tell the car felt the best it did all day. But I had a problem, we only had thirty laps left, and a very long field of cars to get buy. I had to past at least a car a lap, and then two more. But a never problem sufficed.

I was a fucking lap down.

I lost a fucking lap due to the pit stops. I forgot. Without turning on the radio, I raged at the top of my lungs. This couldn’t have been worse.

The green flag flew, and I got a great start. But I got trapped behind a snail paced Evan Felmet. I was too pissed to even say anything, I just waited until I could pass. But, being trapped dropped me back to twenty-ninth. And the car was amazing.

Just to make a long story short, I finished twenty-fourth. There were no words for how mad I was. I didn’t even stay for my post-race interview. I threw my helmet, ear plugs, and gloves in the car, and just angrily stomped to my trailer.

Next week better be better than this.

Bravo!

Luke Combs

“Alright, start it.” My crew chief/girlfriend Amy Schooly commanded me. We just got the command to start the engines from a Army Sergeant, and I couldn’t be more anxious to start the new season.

We pulled off of pit row, me in the inside of the second row. This is my best starting spot of my short career (this only being my second year, my best start was fifteenth), so I was ready to lead a lap or two.

I zoned out, so the pace laps seemed quicker than usual. I was snapped out of my thoughts when Amy reported that the pace car peeled off.

“Alright, ready. Ready. Ready. Green!” She yelled. I floored the gas. I hoped to get a run on Chassion, but he got a huge jump off of the line. I used his draft to get alongside Chris Hegan, and passed him through turn one. My second place glory was short lived, as he got around me at the short chute and capitalized in turn three.

Lap four had to be the greatest move of my career so far. I caught a draft off of Hegan, who was side-by-side with Chassion, and got alongside him into turn one. I took a three-wide battle for the lead for the first time ever. Sweet!

I didn’t get the “Clear” from my spotter, so I kept to the inside line, and watched as Chris slowly came beside me before the Tunnel Turn. We kept at it until I cleared him in turn three, and that was my first official lap led in the NSCRA.

I kept my lead for three laps, when Hegan took control again, but I took it back on the front stretch of the next lap. We continued to trade the lead for the next couple laps, until Chassion decided he wanted second and allowed me to move further away.

Lap fifteen came, and I felt a small bump on my rear bumper.

“90 on your inside, stay in the second groove,” My spotter told me. The 90? I expected the 67 or 41, but the 90? Ze fawk? Where did he just come from? I watched him lead until I reclaimed my status on lap eighteen. I lost it again on lap twenty-one, but soon gained it back again.

Lap twenty-seven brought the first caution, when I was told that Nick Lamy and Joey Garza collected each other in the Tunnel Turn.

“How is it?” Amy asked.

“Just like you, perfect in everyway.”

She laughed. “Whatever, just bring it in and we’ll make it quick.” I brought the car down pit road, and got the countdown to my stall. The crew did service quickly, and we came out where we came in. In first.

“Nice job out there guys! Great stop!” I said, a little too excited about our stop, but who was I to stop myself?

I went through the caution laps a usual, swerving left and right to warm up my tires and get the tire pressure up. The green came out, and I got out to a great lead. There was no competition for the first couple laps, but it scared me that nobody contested me. I started to drive away from the field, until I saw the familiar black and white CAT car of Brian Cain coming to my inside, and reclaiming my lead once again. We traded the lead for the next ten laps, until I got ahead of him. The car was still great, so I was able to get away from everybody.

But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and the flaming Pepsi of Tiffany Oakley took to the lead. We traded for four laps, until I got away again. Then the ol’ Cain came back, and decided to make me fight for the win again at lap sixty. I wasn’t able to get through him again, so I settled for second for the time being.

But then, out of nowhere, here comes Justin Snowdan to take second. I don’t even wanna know where he just came from. It scares me at the fact that he wasn’t even in the top ten for the better part of the race, and here he is, looking like he’s about to go for the win!

I went down to get my regular pit stop, I received great service once again. But as I was coming out of the pits and rejoining the track, Brian Cain, deliberately, rammed me and sent us both into the wall. He was able to get away with just a little scuff mark, but I was spun and had to go back to the pits and receive new tires and fix the damage.

“Another caution!” Amy reported. “But what the hell just happened?”

“I don’t even know. I raced the douche clean all day! Maybe he knows that I’m faster than he is.”

“I’ll talk with his crew chief. Then you two will kiss and make up.”

“He can kiss my fist right after the race.” I rejoined the race in twentieth, extremely pissed at the 90 team. I came back to finish nineteenth, but the day wasn’t done yet.

I immediately hopped out of the car, and went down to go confront Cain. He was already out, and he looked like nothing happened to him.

I ran up and quickly preformed an air choke.

“Dude, what the hell?” I said through gritted teeth. As we went through our short argument, the officials came to separate us.

They separated us, but I got away again for a fistfight. I threw a left punch to his eye, and he was able to get away with breaking my nose.

We were escorted off, but we had to go deal with the fines of our actions.

He has yet to see the last of me this season.