So my engine, in my #70 mancavesite.org Ford K&N West car, for my much anticipated race of the year for me blew on my forth practice lap. The cause was catastrophic engine failure. I can’t tell you how excited I was to race at Phoenix International Raceway. Along with my crew, family, sponsor (Mike and Heather Yost of mancavesite), I had many special events and guest visitors planned along with my long awaited dream of racing at my home track. Yes I was devastated, angry and frustrated! I am not a quitter and my competitiveness does not like mechanical failures! Most drivers and teams at this point would pack up and head home. Not my team! So you may ask what will we do at the track now? We stay. And not just because it was PIR but we never do that at track. You never know what may come up or what you can learn or whom you may meet. Well I took a few minutes to gather myself together and saw that the HopeKids had just arrived for their visit to the K&N NASCAR experience with Cassie Gannis Racing. It was not their fault my engine blew. These kids are living with cancer. So in the scheme of things, is an engine really something to ruin the entire weekend for these kids? Yes the engine ruined what my team and I wanted to be one of the best race weekends ever. But hey I didn’t lose my eye to cancer, I wasn’t born with half a heart and I didn’t have to cut my visit short to head off to radiation. I wanted to host the kids because I wanted to do something nice for them. But in reality they did something nice and inspirational for me! Their visit really put things into perspective. These kids are such an inspiration of hope. Their strength and conviction were amazing! Since I couldn’t race I had time to show them around the PITs, the track and my car. I had also invited the POSA K9 mascot, which made for some great fun. I also invited some fire and rescue people over because I am personally always so thankful for them being there. Turns out that was a huge hit with the kids. After all, all kids love fire trucks. After a fun time at the track we all sat down and ate lunch at my trailer. Their energy brought out some great smiles for my team. Their parent’s are an inspiration of faith and the kids are an inspiration of energy and strength. So if they can live with cancer with hopes and dreams, I know my team and I can make our dreams come true with just a little bit of hard work, determination, faith and hope!

In the past I have decided to help out my teammates when I have a mechanical. Along with wanting to stay busy I enjoy learning as much as I can about the car and how everything works. So I got up the next morning and jumped in as a crewmember for my teammates 07 and 01. My crew had been split up to work between the other 2 racecars. My crew is serious and very competitive but we still like to have fun. Well the guys had a fun time turning the table on me. They had a great time telling me what to do. I always have my head under the hood watching and helping with my car. But this experience gave me an entire new perspective. I was able to view my car from their eyes and their perspective. I am usually focused on one aspect of the car during practice or a race. My job is to not only drive but to tell the crew how the car is performing for me on the track. But they are looking at the entire engineering of the car, the entire engineering of how the car if functioning currently, documenting how the car is currently working and what adjustments are going to have to be made. Like myself they have to always be ready for the unexpected. Their hard work and dedication is what makes a team run hard and fast. I am always grateful for them! This sharing of roles makes a team stronger, smarter, faster and more cohesive. So was the weekend a failure, NO.