It just wasn't #31's day. The second lap revealed it's folly. 71 mph top speed and the choking thick smell of gear oil. 3 more trips behind pit wall in 16 laps and a blown differential left the drivers with a decision. Do we fold in the first 37 minutes of a 25hr race? Or....do we RALLY and GET CREATIVE!!! After all, we're serving a higher purpose here....this isn't JUST about racing. It's about executing 650 laps as part of our 3000 lap 2012 campaign.
We pronounced #31 D.O.A. on lap 23 and struck a deal with our teammates in car #12....dubbed....'The Angry Hampster'. This 99 horsepower Mazda Speed 2 is piloted by the capable 16-18yr hands of our teammates (Joey Jordan, Elliot Skeer, Tim Buck and Josh Hurley. A quick explanation of our situation, a hand shake & VOILA! We have KIDS - racing to raise money for KIDS....and some shifts from the drivers of the #31 car mixed in.
The 2-430pm time slot had yours truly piloting the #12 machine. In that stint, I unleashed the true terror of this machine and got my 'Hampster' on reaching straightaway speeds as high as 91 miles per hour!! Lap after lap we worked down the fuel load to get the car light and nimble. We even passed 3 cars! Watch the live timing and scoring updates as The Hale Motorsports #12 car works with TeamGAM.org to help us start this season right with over $5,000 raised in pledge per lap donations!
