October 1 - What a fun day! Today made up for yesterday. We traveled to Dodge City for our final race of the year - the big Northern vs. Southern shootout or showdown or whatever they called it! Over 50 SportMods from all over the country showed up. Some of them were modified drivers with a lot of experience who were allowed to get a southern IMCA license for the race, but not a northern license. Don't try to follow the logic of that one. And, I won't even attempt to explain the difference between the classes, but we knew it was going to be tough to ever beat the southerns.

Saturday, they had qualifying races to line up the heats and we were in the back. Ended up 4th in the heat and only the top 3 went to the A-Main. We didn't read the fine print and didn't realize there was no B-Feature, so that was that. Not a lot of fun and we were done for the night pretty quick.

We returned on Sunday and this time, Matthew had a great qualifying time. Wow - what a difference 1/2 a second makes! Rylee and I were timing and it was really something to watch a car not run well and even then, it might only be a second slower. The track was heavier than the day before and the times were slower for everyone.

This time, only the top two transferred to the A-Main from the heat race and we ended up 4th again. That put us in the B-Main though. After the D and C ran, the B-Main started with Matthew in the 8th position - about mid-pack. I would say this was probably one of, if not the most, exciting races of the year. He worked his way up to 4th pretty quick and there were 3 cars running all together for what felt like most of the race. Matthew really just did a great job of driving, patiently waiting, trying different lines and he passed all of them to take 2nd place. It was really fun and exhausting for his cheering section! Of course, this gave us the spot we wanted in the A-Main.

The boys worked hard to get tires ready and all the prep work. The A-Main would be 40 laps, so Dad was worried about tires holding up and Matthew was worried about fuel. He didn't need to worry about fuel at all, but the tires - well, let's just say we were very, very lucky! Matthew started in 20 position and he worked his way all the way to 8th! We were hoping just to finish and our ultimate goal was a top 10 which seemed pretty far away from that 20th slot!

It was so much fun to watch him pass one car, and the next, and the next. He was behind Tyler Frye with 3 laps to go and was working pretty hard on him when the last caution came out. I'm not sure if he would have gotten him if we stayed green or not, but it is a possibility! But, Matthew didn't have much left of that right rear tire when the race ended, so we were just all pretty darn happy to get a top ten and as a bonus, finish the race in one piece too! We were surrounded by our family and friends so you just couldn't ask for more. It was really just fun - the very next best thing to winning was having a great night like that one. And, you can sure tell when Matthew has had a great night of racing. Doesn't matter whether he wins, just if the race was good cause that winning smile comes out. Wish I could bottle it.

Jacob was the greatest little brother working hard all night for Matthew in the pits. Of course, he did that all year for Matthew and there is no way Matthew would have done has good as he did without him in his corner.

Rylee was the greatest girlfriend ever, putting up with the races and supporting Matthew.  She holds her own with Jacob as her new little brother.  We are blessed she is in our life and our family.

Steve asked Matthew if he was tired after the 40-lap race and Matthew said no way, that it didn't feel like 40 laps at all because he was moving forward. He said if he had been going backwards, it probably would have felt like 50 laps! LOL.

Looks like Matthew will finish 6th in the Rookie points while taking 1st in State points. We couldn't be prouder of both of the boys. What a great team!

Crowell Brothers Racing will be back in 2011 in full force with Jacob running a full season in the Hobby Stock. He already has a label of Mr. Entertainment! Matthew will return in the SportMod. So, this officially closes out the 2010 Season! Next weekend, we'll start working on the cars and the trailer to get everything ready for 2011.  Maybe I can squeeze one or two house honey-do's in there. 

To close out this season, I just want to give a very special thanks to all of our friends and family. There is no way we could do this without everyone's support. It is what makes it worth it and I hope everyone knows we don't take it forgranted and we appreciate it so very much.

To our fellow racers, especially those that have jumped in numerous times to help us in the pits, thank you. The worst times feel like the best when you are surrounded with those kind of friends. A thank you to Robbie Skillet for all his help and support the entire season - especially for emergency part runs!

A very special thanks to B for stepping in when we needed help at the start of the season and for the coaching throughout. A very special thanks to Richard Wilson for building a safe, great race car and to Randy Wilson for an awesome car, motor, and the endless calls and coaching. The words don't seem like near enough. You guys have given us a lifetime of memories that we will treasure. Thank you!

Hope we see everyone at the races in 2011.

~CBR Mom