4/1/2019
Joel Rayborne
Race one of 2019
Well our first race of the year is in the books and while the stats may not seem great I am happy with how the night went. It was a pretty hard working week the last few nights and being able to get back behind the wheel of the #12B Jim Blakesley Racing sprint car felt really good. Being out of a seat for 5 months is never fun and it made the winter even longer. We spent all winter gathering parts and working on getting this beauty back together after the wreck at Ovals 2018.
The car felt pretty good. We made a few small changes to the chassis during the rebuild and tried a couple new set-up ideas which felt comfortable. After last year we decided to freshen the engine and found the block cracked and unusable. Jim had a spare block and some pistons and we got to work. My dad machined the pistons to fit the heads and once we bought all the parts we got to work. I had a lot of fun building the engine with Jim and my dad, as well as getting to be there from time to time while Tobey Sampson of Okie Race Cars repaired the frame. It was a long winter of learning.
After knocking the cobwebs off the driver during hot laps I drew pill 1 and was first to qualify. The first lap felt good but the second lap felt even better. However, coming through 3 & 4 I bobbled and got out of the throttle and cost us some time and a good run.
After a stout heat race we were headed to the B-Main. Chased the track a bit and still a little rusty we missed the A-Main transfer spot.
The car runs great and is working good. A lot of people helped get us back on the track and I want to thank everyone. Please know if I miss you I am sorry and very grateful.
I am so excited to be able to race sprint cars. Thank you Jim Blakesley for giving me this chance and opportunity. Thank you for coming over and helping with the engine and getting it back in the car and running top notch.
Thank you Tobey Sampson for all you do. The hours spent putting the Okie Race Cars sprint car back together is very much appreciated. On top of that our family friendship and bond is cherished. Thank you for coming out Saturday night and help tweak on the car and get it headed forward.
Justin Coumans and ROW Signs & Graphics did an awesome job on making the car look good. Justin and Gustavo worked hard and the car came out good.
Thank you Brett Roa and Brody Roa and Brody Roa Racing - BR Performance. Whenever we are in a pinch this group always comes through and helps us out. Sometimes parts and sometimes just information, they are always there.
Thank you Mooseracing92 for the take off tires for Saturday night and the help through the evening. You guys a great group.
Thank you to my dad for all he does. He bought parts a little at a time week after week to make sure we could freshen the engine for the 2019 season. He stays up till late at night helping with the racing and then gets up at 4am to go to work just to do it all over again the next day, day after day. He spends a lot of time in traffic to make sure I have what I need to chase my dream. He has put all his hobbies and free time on hold to help me do this and I can never thank or repay him enough.
I often say I am the luckiest kid in the world to be able to race cars yet alone fire breathing 410ci sprint cars. I am this lucky because of all the wonderful people who help us out. I could never do this without everyone, so thank you all.
Thank you to the folks who help me chase my dreams;
Jim Blakesley, DJ Safety Ben Conant, Justice Brothers, Okie Race Cars Tobey Sampson, ROW Signs & Graphics Justin Coumans, Jake Swanson Shock Technology, Inland Rigging Tom and Christy Anuhea Dunkel, OneDirt.com Bobby Kimbrough
There is a lot of empty space on the side of this beautiful race car. If you are looking for a great way to advertise and be apart of the 2018 USAC CRA Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year team send us a message.
Submitted By: Rodney Rayborne
