September 11 - In the last blog, I said something was wrong with the car. Well, it wasn't hard to find it. A flat, right rear tire makes it pretty hard to race. Matthew hadn't got the beadlock tight, so it was losing air through the entire race. That would definitely make it feel like something was wrong and with more experience, hopefully Matthew could zero in a bit more on the problem. For those new to racing, that tire has a beadlock to keep it from rolling off the rim due to the force of going into the turns. There are a lot of places on a race car where not tightening a screw can really have some bad effects and this is definitely one of them! He is very, very lucky that he had enough of a lead in that last race to hang on to the end. These are the types of mistakes that you just can't make and win races.

So, with a blazing fast racecar, it was on to Dodge City on Saturday. In the heat, he just looked like he couldn't drive. He said the guy in front kept changing his line and the track was lousy. He didn't want to talk much and I'm not sure if they made any setup changes. His Dad didn't think his mind was in it.

Matthew's mind was definitely in it come feature time. He had to work hard to pass three cars to get to the front. It was an exciting race and he was able to get around everyone the way he likes it - nice and clean. When he got up to second, I really didn't think he was going to close the gap to the leader as the laps kept ticking off. I was already settling for second when I could see him closing the gap each lap and then making the pass with 3 or 4 laps to go. It was exciting. Only after the race did I learn that the whole right side is caved in. The outside bar is v-shaped. Steve said that it was just a racing deal during the passes but it is funny how you can't see things like that from the stands.

We have been keeping his lap times to help prepare for a big race there in October. Matthew's lap times are the same as the leader in the modifieds! I was surprised by this. I think Matthew would rather try to race them than the Southerns. LOL.

Next weekend, we have our final shot at a good finish at Hays, then Dodge and WaKeeney on Sunday. Wow - three nights and today, I'm tired after just one last night! Plus, Jacob has football and I'm starting a new job. Going to be a busy week.

~CBR Mom