September 24, 2007
Wow, what a weekend! First off, I want to thank several people for all of the support to get me to this point:
Jesus Christ - He gets all of the Glory, I deserve none of this.
Allyson Peck - Thanks for keeping me grounded in what is truly important.
Jason Boles - If it wasn’t for the opportunity with NASA as the Director of Vendors and Sponsorship, none of this would have ever eveolved. Jason was responsible for sending me to Comp school. Thanks bro, you know I love ya!
Steve Lisa - Steve gave me my last chance to ride for an elite cycling team two years ago and it was the best experience I ever had on the bike due to his “Christian” based ministry towards cycling. Steve’s stories of him driving in the Rolex and Grand Am series is what inspired me to learn to drive a car. When I founded NBoundZ, I modeled the concept around the same principles that Steve used for his cycling team. Bonus - Steve came out to my first race this weekend and it meant the world to me. Thanks for everything!
Ralph Evans - Ralph was our race director last year and if it wasn’t for his guidance and encouragement in my abilities, I may never have pushed myself to this limit.
Tom Barnes - Twisted Priorities rock! Tom has been an awesome friend and resource at the track. Tom has always provided a an awesome place for anyone who comes out at the track to hang out and feel a part of our “secret society”. Tom has provided almost all of my graphics and continues to support me with photography and genuine friendship.
Chris Soehren - Chris has been with me from the start. Chris is an awesome friend and Christian brother. Thanks for everything, the list is to long to list on how much we have helped each other and gone through.
Kristen Wesley - Thanks for being there as a friend and when we got the Ministry off the ground. We did it!
Joseph Baugh - Joey flew out to Arizona several times last year to help crew on his own dime. Joey is now living with us and going to school. Joey also took the many of the photos on the website, I couldn’t do this without his help.
Jason DeMoss - Jason also took photos this weekend and came to the track to serve this wonderful racing community we have.
Steven Bronston - Even though he is miles away, he encouraged me all last year to continue with the ministry. Thanks for holding me accountable and being my best friend.
Brent Garrigus - Brent came out with me at the first race and raced with us in HPDE for almost 6 months, even though he is not at the track as much in the car, he continues to encourage me and support me at the track by coming out and helping. You’re the man!
Dan and Jeff Sturla - What can you say about these guys, other than thank you for telling me how bad I suck at driving to make me improve my skills. No sugar coating it with these guys! Sorry I screwed up drills for you so many times in HPDE! :) I love these two, I can give these guys the majority of the credit for making me the driver that I am today.
Brady Dohrmann - If I want to be like someone in the car, Brady is one of people I strive to be more like. Brady has given me some of the most practical advice that has helped me so much. Thanks for the help and your friendship.
Jeremy and Angie Renshaw - You cannot seperate these two, they truly are one unit. I think Jeremy understands this the most! You guys are the best. Jeremy is another driver I strive to be like, for many reasons apparent in the way he drives. Jeremy has also helped me fix so many things at the track, he always has exactly what I need when I’m broke. Angie is a perfect example of what a Godly wife is, she supports Jeremy all the time and is his biggest fan. Thanks guys, you are very appreciated.
The Boys at Rebel -Josh and Matt have been awesome! Thanks for coming out this weekend and giving away all of the Rebel clothing wears, it was greatly appreciated! We really look forward to having you guys out more often as official vendors of NASA.
Troy Hawks - Thanks for bringing the family out, we had a blast hanging out with you guys! Thanks for your friendship and leadership in my life, as you know, I need that! I really looking forward to next year, hopefully we will see you in a car at the track soon!
Frank and Kimberly Beck - Thanks for the encouragemnt and great example of what a marriage is suppose to look like in the eyes of Christ in a motorsports ministy. Allyson and I are working on that!
James Borquez - I love ya like a brother dude, I’m praying for you!
The boys at Surge - Erin and Marion, I still blame you for getting me hooked to this “crack” called racing. It’s all your fault!
Superior Racing Development - Chet, Dave, Kyle, Chris and Bonie, without your support I wouldn’t be able to do this either. Thanks guys, I really look forward to working with you going forward. The cage is awesome, thank you for allowing me to use your trailer to get to and from the track! We also really enjoy the hospitality you provide to us at the track, the lunches are awesome and the extra hand is always appreciated when we need the help.
Brandon Siebert - Thanks for all the support with photography.
If anyone is still reading this, the weekend was incredible. Saturday started out a little shaky, it looked like rain could spoil the day, but thanks to answered prayers, the sky was blue after the early morning sessions the rest of the day. Praise God! The track was still wet during practice, so i was all over the place, but so was the majority of us. Later that morning, I qualified with a 1:13.9 something, which put me right in the thick of it. The race start was crazy, but I made it through turn one untouched. The rest of the race was a battle in entie PT class (I’m a PTB), those pesky Cooper Mini’s were all over me and suckering me into situations I shouldn’t have never tried. By the way, it’s all Honda’s against me in PTB and they race that way! The race was great, I lost my virginity by taking some penetration from one of the minis that assumed I was taking a different line in turn 9 , so he punted me in the rear wheel. There wasn’t any real apparent damage at the time, so I finished the race 3rd in my class. It was an incredible day!
Sunday turned out to be a mixed bag of emotions. Jeremy fixed a weld in my car early in the am, which was awesome. We tried to adjust my seat with no luck, so I had to race a little cramped, but that was okay. I had an aweful practice session, I was hestitant and a little off. I felt I had no traction in the rear. After the run session, I adjusted my wing for more downforce.
Chapel service was awesome, it was small, but great to see everyone there! We had the Paul Pate family and Tom(?) from Vegas, Bill, Keith, Jason DeMoss, Joseph and myself. We encouraged each other to be bold in our faith while a the track and to continue to serve this community in anyway we could to Glorify Christ. We left very uplifted! I was also super ecited to see Paul and Tom boldly showing there faith with RFC stickers and now the NBoundZ stickers (thanks Mindy).
Qualifying went very well, I stayed out for the majority of the session, I got my tires up to temp and pressure and laid down a 1:13.549, which was awesome, but I was .004 second slower than Jeff Sturla. A battle was brewing.
Race conditions were perfect. I tried to scrub my tires up to pressure and temps during the rolling start, but they weren’t there, which was obvious in my start. Turn 1 was a hairball and Tony Lisa wanted to kill me after the start, I got passed by the frieght train and lost several spots. Paul Bloomberg broke in lap 1, so I had a chance for a win, but I had a lot of work to do. After two laps, my tires were good and I started picking off people one by one. The race was awesome, Scott and I hooked up (PTA winner) and we worked through traffic the whole race until the Viper and green 911 got together in turn 1. We were under caution for two laps and I caught Jeff sleeping after the restart and took the lead. Jeff made a risky move in turn 5 and got together with a Porsche 944, making my margin even greater. Scott and I continued to pick off trafic, but Scott ran out of gas and had to back off, I continued to work my way through traffic and raced to my first win. All I can say is praise be to God and I’m hooked, I love this stuff!
We made it to Church on time and had an awesome service thanks to Soma North’s pastorial staff! Luke and Amy Cooper rocked the house!
Thanks to everyone for making it an awesome weekend I will never forget!
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