Lucky 7 Sportsman Race
New Smyrna Speedway
09-19-09 - VIDEO

You know I am really starting to believe I jinxed myself when I named this car the "Lucky 7"! We had everything working on the car and it was running right up front.  I had people I didn't even know coming up to me before the race telling me I was going to win. It seemed like it was going to be my night as I took off to line up for the race but in a split second about 9 laps into the race everything changed. (more...)

There's a guy where I work that a lot of the other guys have a hard time getting along with.  For some reason he has sort of taken a liking to me though. A few weeks ago we were sitting together during a break and he and I were talking about racing. He told me the reason I was not winning was that that's all I was thinking about. He said, if all I think about is winning, I'll forget about simple things that will cause me to have problems and that these problems will always keep me from finishing the race. Of course, if you don't finish, you won't be able to win. I thought about what he said a lot and I tried to focus on the little things and driving each lap the best I could so I would be there at the end. I think his advise had really helped me the last few weeks but this Saturday we were so good in practice and everybody was so pumped that I just couldn't help reverting back to thinking about winning again.

I drew the pole again and I knew if I didn't jump the start these guys with the light weight engines would beat me to the corner. I fired early and fortunately they all came with me so the flag man didn't make us restart the race.

I made it to the corner first and came off turn 2 about a car length ahead of the second place car but it wasn't too long and I knew he was faster than me. At the end of the first lap, as we went past the flag stand, he was 2 feet up under my rear bumper. Usually you would pull down and go under the car but I guess he was surprised that his car was as fast as it was. That has happened to me before.

My spotter was telling me to not give up the bottom and let the cars have the outside because it's slick up there and you have to be a few 10th of a second faster to make the pass on the outside. The only thing was that I really needed to be up a few feet to make the car roll through the corners and running the bottom was binding the car up a little which caused me to scrub off speed that I really needed.

My spotter was constantly on the radio telling me where the 3rd place car was as he tried to pass me on the top and on the bottom. I was driving that car for everything I had. On lap 9 I was coming off the 2nd corner and my spotter told me the car was at my bumper. I though I had a pretty good run up off the corner and I was thinking I was pulling him down the straightaway.

What the other drivers do to me when I'm trying to get the outside is they pull up and drive over the nose on my car to block me. I usually touch the brake so I don't hit them and then set myself up to drop down under them entering the next corner. I've always thought that if I wasn't at least up to the drivers door, the driver in front has the line and it was up to me to give a little, but it seems the guy behind me saw if differently. I can sort of understand because I have had to learn that once an accident starts to happen the best thing you can do is keep your foot on the gas and try to drive out of the way. Your instincts tell you to hit the brakes but that keeps you behind the wreck and eventually in the middle of it.

His car was black and so at a glance I couldn't see him in my mirrors but I guess he got a pretty good run off the corner too. As I was drifting up to the outside wall he was right at my rear bumper and he didn't touch the brakes or even lift a little. He held his line and I hit the nose of his car and that got me sideways which slowed me down. The next thing that happened was he was looking at going into the wall with me if he didn't turn down and spin me to get away so that's just what he did.

After he hit me it turned the car at just the right angle so that the front of the car hit the wall directly on the right front frame horn. I never lifted out of the gas except maybe just a split second before I hit. The impact drove the frame rail on the right side straight into the engine and folded up the cross member underneath.

I could have driven it back to the pits but they towed me in anyway. When I got to the trailer I got out and looked and at first I thought that I had just lost the bumper and nose piece. Then, I noticed that the headers on the left side were up against the steering shaft and that used to be about an inch away. On the other side of the engine, the fuel pump was right up against the frame rail and that used to be about an inch away. When, I saw that the front wheels were toed out about 2 inches my stomach got a huge knot in it and I realized that the frame was severely bent which is about the worst thing that can happen.

The frame on my car is a 1976 Camaro. You don't find those in the junkyard anymore and if someone has one for sale, it's probably not something you want to cut up and make into a stock car. I do have my old late model frame sitting outside the shop and it just happens to have a Camaro front clip on it. I have been trying to sell the frame but no one has shown any interest so I guess I could cut the clip off and weld it on my sportsman. Problem is, there is only about a month of racing left and I don't think I can get it fixed before the season ends.

So, I think it's time to give some thanks to the people who have helped me out this year. The Fabricators and Manufacturers Association and their publication Practical Welding Today have been with me for 2 years now and without their support I wouldn't have been able to race in the World Series this years. Culligan Water of Central Florida and Universal Pest Control have been with me 3 years now and are the primary sponsors on my Sportsman car. They are really special people. Most businesses have to justify everything they do financially but these people got excited about what I was doing and wanted to be a part of it. I am extremely fortunate to have them help me especially in these tough times. And, finally, I have to thank the Miller Leaman Company. They have been with me since I was 7 years old! They own the Sportsman car that I just destroyed (Don't worry! I'll fix it!) and I think they have wanted to see me win races even more than I do.

Oh, and you! I want to thank YOU for your encouragement all year. My fans are something I don't deserve but you are always there for me especially when I have a bad race. I always thought it was just the opposite. If thought if I didn't win all the time I wouldn't have any fans, but I am so happy that that's not the case at all. Thank you all very, very much for your support.

If you haven't had a chance to see my latest Go Brennan Scholarship video here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu8ng8otP0k. And, make sure you pass it along to anybody who wants to go to school but needs a little help with their tuition.

I really wanted to get a win this year. After all, we have been trying for 4 years now! We have been all over the track. You have to have a great car and a good team that you can depend on but even with the best equipment you have to have your head right too and believe it or not that's the hardest part. I have come to realize that, to be successful at racing, you have to do things in a way that seems opposite of what comes natural. You've probably heard them say, "You have to go slow to go fast" and other stuff like that. I have to admit it's all true. Believing it is hard and doing it is even harder but that's what becoming a race car driver is all about and I'm still willing to try so I guess I'll see you all again next year!