Riker Racing #00

On Saturday we went to Hamlin Speedway for their final race of the 2011 season. I picked 10 and that got me a second place starting spot for the heat. The car ran okay in the heat but it seemed like it was loosing a lot of speed in the corners. I finished 6th in the heat. My dad did a lot of adjusting and changing things on the car to try to get it better for the feature. I started 6th in the feature and the car was running better than in the heat. But about half way through the race the motor started breaking up. I managed to get a 5th place finish out of 8 starting cars. For the rest of the season we will be at Greenwood Valley and Borger's Speedway.

Yesterday we went to Hamlin Speedway for the second time. I started 7th in the heat and finished 6th. The car was handling really well in the heat and I was happy with the finish out of 11 starting cars. In the feature I was supposed to be starting 6th but a car did not make the race so I got moved up to 4th. I had a pretty good start but the track was pretty slick from the dew from it being colder out. This was not an advantage beause it made the car pretty loose coming out of the corners. A couple times I had to let off the gas just to get the car not to slide and hit the wall. I had some beating and bumping around with some other cars in the race which bent up some stuff. In the end I got 6th place which isn't bad considering that was only my second time there. We will probably be off to Hamlin again next week for their last race of the season.

After not racing for 4 weeks due to bad weather and our summer vacation, we returned to Greenwood Valley to race. I started 2nd in the heat and fell back in the pack after a couple laps. I finished in 6th place. When the feature came I started in 12th place. There were not a lot of cautions in this race, just a lot of green flag runs. In the end I ended up finishing in 11th place. The car ran good. Now it is just a matter of figuring out how to gain more speed to be more competitive.

On this passed Saturday we went to Borgers Speedway to race. This was only my second time here. I picked a 41 and that got me to start in 5th place out of 9 in the heat. This track is still very new to me as I am not sure how to drive the corners yet. They are very tight which is very different from Greenwood Valley where the corners are wide. The sun was pretty much all I could see going into the third corner so I went into it not knowing where I was and if I was going to hit a tire or the wall. I got 6th in the heat with 3 cars that did not finish behind me. So I started 6th in the feature out of 9. I fell back to 9th place in the first couple laps and stayed there the whole race. I was not very happy with this finish but it was only my second race there. I am not really fond of this track yet but it is close to home.

This weekend we went to Greenwood Valley, which has pretty much become my favorite track! I picked a number 4 so that landed me in second place to start the heat. There was only one heat and feature for the rookies this week with 12 cars registered. In the heat I got a great jump off the start and moved up to first. After about 3 or 4 laps of leading, cars started catching up to me and I got passed by one of them. After he passed me I tried to drive up under him to pass him again but instead hit is back bumper and got loose. Then about 3 or 4 cars were able to pass me. After being passed by a couple other cars I placed 7th.

So in the feature I started 7th out of 12 starters. I doing pretty good in the long runs and off the first double file start, but when it came to the VERY SLOW single file restarts I started messing up. I was in 3rd gear most of the time and everytime I went to take the green flag, the motor just bogged down and created some commotion with the other cars. I was not aware until after the race that I should have been in 1st gear on those starts. During the long green flag runs I was doing pretty well. Sure the motor could use A LOT  more speed to run with the leaders everyweek but I have to remind myself sometimes that I have only been racing this car for about 2 months. I have been doing way better than anyone ever expected so far too. I am not used to being one to hold up the field; I was usually the one leading the field in quarter midgets. So after 2 flips and a lot of cautions I ended up placing 5th which was not a bad finish at all!

On July 2nd we went to Greenwood Valley Action Tracks. I started 7th out of 8 cars in the heat and ended up getting 4th. Then since they combine the 2 heat races for the rookies, I started 8th in the feature. It was a long race because of a lot of cautions and a red flag. I was running in 7th and 6th place towards the end of the race. Then on the last lap I passed the 5th place car to get 5th place. At the end of the race I got 5th place. I was really happy because there were 16 starters in this race and that was my best feature finish yet. My dad put a new motor in my car for this week to see how it runs. It ended up running pretty well! I think I got my best lap times at this track so far this week too. Overall it was a great night and probably my best race yet.

This is what my dad had to say about the night:

Great night of racing at Greenwood Valley. Rookie 270 class out there is quite large.18 cars total in the heats and 16 starting the feature. Running a new engine this week. Got to find out some time if and how it performs. Practice showed us we were too rich. Little jet work before heats and we are golden. Off we went to heats. Alyssa asked for a couple adjustments before the heats, then we were off.

Heats Alyssa started 7th out of 8 cars. Finished up in 4th place. Missi Seip finished up in 4th place in her heat also. This ment they were starting side by side in the feature. Missi in 7th Alyssa in 8th . This was going to be interisting to say the least. Middle of the pack is rough racing.

Features, tight racing all night, on the start Alyssa got a good jump and moved ahead a couple positions, Raced hard with lots of great cars, two wide, three wide racing. I was amazed how we survived the night. A couple cautions bunched up the field but on every one Alyssa pulled two cars lengths on the others, drove off into the corners harder than I have ever seen and went on to pass another car.

WOW is all I could think. we could end up with a great finish. Bad accident and the red came out. Drove over to her on the quad so I could push her off. Went over to talk to her. She said the car was great but she needs more speed to catch the frontrunners. HUH wow where did that come from? She said her goal was to get a top 10. Now we are in 7th place.

She can see the leader. Yellow flag push her off and away we go. She was lined up in 9th place.. oh well. Green flag once again great jump and passing cars resumed, getting to 5th place.. yup 5TH PLACE.. great finish, it was like a WIN for us.

On June 18 we went to Greenwood Valley Action Tracks for the third time. I'm really starting to like that track! I started 8th out of 9 cars in the heat. I'm not exactly sure where I finished between people not finishing and people spinning out on the last lap. For the feature I started 11th out of 18. I finished in 10th place and made $15. I'm starting to get the hang out the whole sliding through the corners thing and it's really helping! 

On Saturday May 28th we went to Borger's for my first 270 race there. It was a lot different than Greenwood. The corners are a lot tighter and the straightaways are longer. I got to have practice, heats, then features. After practicing, I went out for the heat. I got to 4th place but spun out and finished 6th out of 6. In the feature, I was doing pretty good and was going back and forth with someone but got to close to the tire and hit it. Somewhere in the process of hitting the tire and getting pushed off, my steering stopped working and when I went to go turn left, the car went straight. I ended up hitting the wall and couldn't finish the race. I ended up getting $10.00 for not even finishing so that was cool.

On Saturday June 4th we were supposed to go back to Borgers but they're power was out so we ended up going up to Hamlin instead. As soon as we got there I went out for practice. This weekend was time trials and a feature. I qualified 9th out of 9 and started 8th because a car did not start. I ended up getting 5th out of 6 finishers. Overall it was a pretty good night and a good first time at that track. I made $15.00 too!

This past weekend at Greenwood Valley was a good/bad...

The Good:

*I got lots of extra seat time with running the track in, warm ups, heats, (part of) the feature, and practice after the features.

*I was passing cars a lot and keeping up with them too!

*I was a lot more used to shifting when I needed to.

The Bad:

*I didn't finish the feature:((I was in 10th place going to pass a car on the outside, he came up and hit me and I broke the shock mount).

*Since I didn't finish...no pay out!:P

Oh well, I guess there is always next week!

     So this past Saturday, April 30th, I had my first 270 Micro race! We went to Greenwood Valley Action Track which is about 2 hours away from my town. Anyway I was a little nervous about it, I had only drove in the car once in a field which was nothing like the track, but my good friend that used to race quarter midgets races 270's also so we tagged along with her and her dad. They helped teach me what I had to do, be aware of, and how to take in everything this first race was going to throw at me.

     When we got there we signed up for the Rookie class and everything was good to go. When it was our turn to go out for warm ups, I wasn't as nervous as everyone and I had thought I was going to be. I got out there and did what I had to do. I think I did pretty good! But when it came time to get off the track and into neutral, that's where my first problem was. I kept getting stuck on this hump coming off the track and the four-wheelers had to push me off. That got me kind of angry because I felt like "Why can't I do this? It should be so easy!"

     So next was heats. This time I was more excited to get out there and see how I could do. I was starting in the back of the pack because it was my first race. I was shifting when I was supposed to and after some laps I didn't have to think about it much! It kind of came naturally! When the race ended I finished last, but that was okay. I did my best! But once again I got stuck on that stupid hump! Ughh! That was frustrating! When I got off the track, I noticed that my seat and butt were wet! I told my  dad and he found out that there was some kind of leak and the alcohol was spraying onto my seat. So he fixed that problem. Pretty soon I was getting ready for the feature!

     When it came time to race the feature, my friend and I said good luck to each other because we were in the same race. I was kind of nervous for this race because there were 17 cars signed up! That's a lot when you think about it! So we went out and I believe I started around 12th or 13th position. Slowly into the race I was getting passed by the cars behind me. That didn't bother me...my dad and I just wanted to finish the race in one piece! But about 3 laps in I had a big scare! There were 2 cars behind me trying to get around me on the outside and one hit the other and soon enough one of them started to flip right in front of me! That was a scary experience! After that we pretty much had a clean race besides one other small roll of a car, that I did not see (which is good!), and some beating and banging but what can you do! That's racing! Sure I got lapped by a couple cars but I ended up finished 9th! It was the last place position though. There were 8 cars that DNF'ed so I earned 9th place! And when it came time to get over that stupid hump, I actually got it! That leak had something to do with why I couldn't get over it my dad said. That made me happy because that was my goal going into the feaure, to get off the track!

     When I got out of my car, I was getting "Good Jobs!" from people I had just met that day! That made me feel really good. We ended up leaving $15.00 richer from me finishing 9th place in the feature and a lot more knowledgeable about this sport and what works and what doesn't. I can't wait for the next time!:D