July 30 - Generator would not come on which meant no air.  So boys head on up to do hot laps while Steve and I hang back trying to get generator going.  Keep in mind that neither of us has ever missed watching hot laps but for some reason we were going to get that generator fixed.  One of the guys Jacob races against comes walking up to us and tells us Jacob was rolled 4 times.  I said "but it is hot laps!"  As we walked to the track, he said a guy lost control, went off the track, then came back on still squirrelly and hit Jacob on the right side which instantly caused Jacob to roll.  Wrecker brought car to us and ambulance delivered Jacob.  He later told me he answered their questions before they asked them. No I am not dizzy; I do not feel nauseous or light headed.  They really checked him out completely - blood pressure, eyes, etc.  He was of course, frustrated and finding no humor in the situation.  He dove in working on the car along with his brother, Uncle Rich and his Dad.  It took at least 30 min before he felt the pain in his knee and we saw it swelling up.  He must have hit it on the drive shaft.  The guy immediately came over and apologized and we know he did not mean to do it.  He obviously felt bad and was very nice which makes a bad situation a whole lot better.  Jacob was great and told him it was just one of those racing deals.  He handled it with more majority than I have seen out of a lot of grown men.  Rylee was impressed on how many strangers came by offering help or anything we needed to get it back together.  Again, another part of racing that is awesome.  We were running so fast to try to fix it all, we did not have time to talk to anyone or thank them, but we do appreciate all the offers.

First thing I looked at was the roll cage.  We definitely send a big thank you to BJ Dauer for building it so well.  We had to change all the tires and Steve changed the spark plugs and wires and I am not sure what else as he worked his way through the engine.  One of the tires had so much mud, you could not even get to the bolts.  Keep in mind that the humidity must have been like 100% because when we arrived, our tiny Rylee was sitting there sweating and said she had never felt so hot just sitting before.  So, you can imagine how wet everyone was. 

We just missed the heat race.  He was on his way to the grid when they were taking the green.  We got him out at end of intermission to ensure it was all running well enough to race. 

In the middle of it all, Matthew was racing.  He had put in a new transmission and engine this week all by himself, and while Dad was directing him for some finishing items at the track, overall, he must have done a darn good job.  There were 23 SportMods starting the feature and Matthew started 18th.  He worked his way up to 9th.  He felt he had the wrong gear in so he knows what to try next time so he can break past and into a top five at that track.  Overall, this was his best night there though with no breakdowns and no wrecks.

Jacob started last with ten cars in his feature.  There were some wrecks and you could see most cars struggling to drive on the track.  But Jacob just looked as smooth as he could be.  Steve felt like he was down a cylinder as he did not seem to have much power.  But, his driving made up for it some and in the end he was able to take 2nd place!  The guy that won was the one that came to find us to tell us about his roll.  He told Jacob that during one of the cautions, he looked to see who was in 2nd and when he saw it was him, he thought wow, that is fantastic.  That was really fun and of course, being in tech can sure make up for a lot!

Afterwards, a young fan, Natalie, was brought over by her Dad as she wanted to meet Jacob.  He said she was his greatest fan.  I took a pic and will try to get it posted on the web site soon.  Then the boys went to talk to Grandpa Brandt and Grandma Effie as I knew they would want to see Jacob.  Grandma does not think much of those rolls, but she seemed to handle this one better than the last time.  LOL.

The five of us pile in for the long drive home.  I cannot describe the smell, but it was unique.  I was soaking wet, so just imagine how the boys were.  I teased Jacob his new nickname should be rawhide (from the song, rolling, rolling, rolling...)  We are open to better suggestions. I also told him I hope there were no more rolls.  Makes me a lot older a lot faster when my heart races like that!

Steve was up at the crack of dawn and is working on the cars.  I am headed out to see what I can do so the boys can sleep a little longer.  I am anxious to see Jacob's knee.  And Matthew was bit by a brown recluse earlier in the week, so I was worried about an infection with him!  What a week.

Oh - boys are getting up as I write this.  They are going to see if they can get it ready for Wakeeney tonight.  I fly out at 6 tomorrow morning, so likely no blog or very short one from Wakeeney.  Next weekend, will be back at Hays on Friday night and then on to Mayetta on Saturday.

~CBR Mom