With the cars prepared and the ‘new’ tires ready it was quiet in the shop again this week, but as race day Friday rolled around Doug took to all of his final preparations for the #28 car including fluid checks, nut and bolt checks and setting tire pressures. In Doug’s heat race with a fifth place draw and a two- groove race track, he wasn’t able to make up much ground as for the early laps, as both lanes were taken up. As the lanes began to open, the rest of the field had already begun to spread themselves out, so it was an opportunity to learn what the track may have in store for the feature. With a rough finish in the heat, the feature led to an equally rough starting position. As the green flag dropped Doug found himself starting twelvth, but was able to slowly work his way past a couple of cars. By the end of the night with a couple of mechanical failures and a couple of cars past on track, Doug found himself with a tenth place finish and making roughly 30 points on first place, to now only a 95 point deficit to first place. After a solid points night and getting a nights sleep, Doug joined the rest of the family shortly after breakfast Saturday morning for the rest of our vacation.
As for myself I traded in the stock cars for saddles and left Friday morning to take a short family vacation to the North Star Stampede in Effie, MN. My wife, Chantal and I, have been meeting up with my parents in Effie and going to the rodeo every year since 2015 but haven’t been able to return for the last couple of years due to COVID, so there was no way we could miss out on the largest open air rodeo in Minnesota this year. Even though the race track is a lot of fun every week it’s nice sometimes to have a change in scenery, and when you trade out climbing into 300+ horsepower race cars for sleeping next to a horse pen, it can be a breath of fresh air. Throughout the weekend there are three sessions of rodeo including some staple events like bull riding, steer wrestling and multiple forms of bronco riding as well as some lesser seen events such as wild cow milking. While staying overnight at the Stampede, the pasture becomes a campground for rodeo participants and fans alike. With only a few weeks left in the season consistency seems to be the recipe for success, however the battle for third in points is getting tighter and tighter with the season regulars so make sure to come cheer Doug on as he makes a run at the 2022 championship, and as for myself I can’t wait to see all the fans at the track in two weeks when I get to make my return. Hope to see everyone at the track!
