Looking Forward to a Strong Finish

Hey ya'll, Bubba here...trying to catch everyone up on some much needed blogging. I guess first we need to start with the Loudon, NH race. Honestly, there wasn't much too exciting about Loudon. We qualified in the top 10, and finished in the top 10, but we were never really in contention for the win. For some reason this track has always been tough for us. Who knows...it could have been a different story if we could have salvaged our St. Louis truck for this race.

After a quick trip home, and a 34-hour reset, it was already time for us to leave for Las Vegas. This is one of the roughest stretches of driving that we do during the year. We are almost going from corner to corner of the United States. It’s very important that Mike and I, and our equipment, are ready for these long hours. Thankfully our trips to Loudon and Vegas both went flawlessly. As far as the Vegas race goes, I really had high expectations because we were bringing truck No. 43. We qualified well, and if the beginning of the race was any indicator, it was gonna be a good night for us. We quickly moved to the lead before our first pit stop. After changing tires and taking on fuel, the truck was never the same. It’s almost like a mystery for us that will never be solved. By the time we had a chance to change tires again we were already a lap down. This was very disappointing for a team and a driver who had hopes as high as we did. But, we still have to move on.

During the last couple of weeks off, I've had a chance to go testing with the No. 99 Sprint Cup car as well as time to get my truck and trailer serviced. I know in a few weeks we will be doing a five-race push so it’s very important that everything is working well. We are also preparing to do our first Nationwide test next week. This test is not only to benefit us for the following year, but it’s also to help our current Nationwide teams in their last few races. I can honestly say the end is in sight, and now it’s time to dig deep to finish strong.


Stay safe...
Bubba

Racing into the Top Five

Hey ya'll...Bubba here back from St. Louis and getting ready to head to Loudon, New Hampshire. First let’s wrap up St. Louis. Gateway has never been a favorite, but I was sure things would turn around when Colin put the No. 6 truck on the pole. Things were looking promising for another top-three finish until a late race spin by Colin and then a wreck with Todd Bodine and Matt Crafton that we were innocently caught up in. Chassis No. 55 took a beating, as well as Colin. Our driver was hit right in the driver's door, but thanks to NASCAR's safety innovations, he was not hurt. Believe it or not, Colin told me today that this hit felt harder than the Atlanta wreck, which surprised me quite a bit. Thankfully he is okay and now we must move on to Loudon.

I always dread these next two weeks, because for me it means a lot of time away from my family. We travel to Loudon this week, and then must be in Las Vegas the following week. These two tracks are about as far away from each other as you can get. I spent most of today getting all the Loudon parts and pieces together, as well as making a separate cart for all my Vegas parts and pieces. By doing this in advance, it really helps speed up the turnaround time. I will also depend a lot on my crew guys to help get things swapped out while I am taking my 34-hour reset. It’s something that takes a lot of thought and planning every year, but we always manage to make it go smoothly. We are racing chassis No. 39 this week. Hopefully we can transfer some of our recent flat track luck to this truck as well. We are really trying hard to get Colin into the top five in driver's points. We can see it’s within our grasp, now we just need to dig in and get there.

Now on to some reader comments. To answer the first question...I spend most of my driving time listening to Sirius radio. I can always find a channel that fits the mood I'm in, plus I love the fact that there are no commercials. My favorite channels are No. 60, which is a country channel, and No. 9 which is a 90s music channel. Plus, it’s always nice to able to listen to the races while I'm traveling on the NASCAR channel. To answer the second question...the race trailer I haul is a Featherlite. Their factory is in Cresco, Iowa, and I have had the privilege of going there twice to pick up new trailers. Although it’s in the middle of nowhere, they have quite a nice operation.

Because of our quick turnaround this week, I will do my best to get a Loudon blog to everyone. Hopefully I'll find a little bit of time to catch up. If not, maybe I'll do it while I'm on the road. In case I don't talk to you next week, I will definitely catch everybody up after the Vegas trip.


Stay safe...
Bubba