I’ve said it many times, without a good crew it is impossible to race at the level we do these days. Lee,  with the help of Simon, Ken and John,  all stayed up till 5am Saturday morning rebuilding our engine and then doing the engine swap,  all so we could make the show that night. A huge effort by my guys and by 3pm on Saturday we were firing the engine and setting the timing. We quickly loaded the car and raced out to the track and got there late at 5pm. The valve lash needed to be reset after starting the car in the shop before we raced so,  as the rest of the cars were going out for warm up,  we were still working on the engine,  flat stick. I got out for the tail end of warm up and the motor ran sweet. Big credit to the team.

For the first heat we were starting off the back in grid 8. After a false start we got going and the motor and set up felt good. We started picking off cars one by one and the longer the race went the better the car got. Ended up finishing 2nd and very happy with the car.

In the second heat we started from grid one and raced away to win. Jonathan Allard came home in second. Any time you beat this guy is a good time. He is super fast around Western Springs and I would rate him one of the best if not the best USA driver that has raced here.

A first and a second in our heats made us the highest qualifier for the night which gave us the dubious honour of pulling the inversion marble. True to form and a continuation of the bad luck of late I pulled grid 6. We were a little disappointed with this but got on with dialling the car in for the 30 lap feature. The car had good speed all night but I knew we would need a bit more as there were 6 good cars to pass before you hit the front.

The green flag dropped and by the end of the first lap we had hit the front. What a bullet this car had been all night. On the second lap I missed the cushion and Allard managed to drive underneath us with a good pass. Unfortunately, from the beginning of the race, the right rear tyre was losing air each lap. In the video even from early on  you can see the tyre rolling under the rim almost hitting the beadlock. This was to be the demise of us in this race. I persevered with it under green and we were sitting in second OK but it was a handful until the race went under caution. This was a real problem as on top of the leak the tyre would also cool and lose pressure. I tried in vain to spin the tryes and keep heat in it but the leak was too big and the tyre went almost completely flat and the SNZ officials pulled me in. Have to say it was the right decision as it would have been impossible to run with it that flat. I was just so disappointed myself but more for my team as the effort they put in over the past month and to get to the track that night was fantastic so it was truly heartbreaking. We were unable to tell whether a bleeder stuck or the tyre had a hole as the tyre was blisted and wrecked from being run flat for so long. As many people tell you over your racing career -- “that’s racing” (Hate that saying)

What was awesome is the support from our fans at the Springs.  Thank you for your words of support and encouragement. It certainly helps when you’re going through a bad run. The good news is this week we have no engines to rebuild, no cars to fix or diffs to replace. This week it is just cleaning and servicing. We can’t wait to get back to the track this week, get on the gas and shake this monkey that’s been with us for the last while. See you trackside.

JMAC

We hauled down to Christchurch for the first show which was to be the Salute  to Goodie race which we won last year. Unfortunately it got changed at the last minute to a practice/shakedown for the following night, being the Gold cup race. We ran the Friday night and the car ran sweet without missing a beat. On Saturday we went back to the track after washing up from the night before,  to run the Gold cup night. This is when all hell broke loose. In the first heat I was rolling round under yellow and the car just stopped on me. I grabbed the wiring loom on the dash to try and see if a plug had come loose. I got restarted and it coughed a little and was fine except for a few times during the race when the engine would cut out. We were leading the race when all of a sudden my left arm was on fire and the car started to die. I pulled off and the flames went out thankfully. What had happened was a rock had loosened a fuel nozzle which poured fuel onto the hot exhaust catching fire. Then we found an ignition wire had broken and was earthing out on the engine causing the car to cut out.

With the problems fixed we ran second in the next heat but because of not finishing the first heat we were only able to start in grid 13 for the feature. By half race distance we were up to fourth challenging for 3rd when the worst happened. I was full throttle coming off turn 2 when the right rear birdcage (bearing carrier) failed and leant  over on the axle therefore cutting through it almost instantly. Next minute the right rear wheel flew off sending me into a short sharp violent roll over. The car was destroyed. Everything bar the seat, steering wheel and engine was broken.

We were due to race Ashburton at 10am the next morning. Luckily we had our spare chassis on the back of the ute and enough spares to build a new car. The only trouble was we had no time. My crew chief Lee Rusher with the help of Myles Forsey, Brian and Tiny stayed at the track all night to build a new car under a set of spot lights. By 10am Sunday the Makita/Wynns machine mark 2 was ready to hit the track, only for the meeting to be rained off!!

The next day we hit the road to Dunedin Speedway with the new car only to do hot laps and find the engine had a death rattle. We worked all night repairing a broken rocker in the engine (probably a result of reving hard upside down in the accident) and missed all the heat races. We made it in time for the feature which we started off the back and raced up to finish 3rd behind the USA and Aussie drivers and being the top Kiwi home. Good result considering.

The next day we hit the road to Invercargill and had trouble free motoring for a change! We qualified on grid 5 for the feature and raced to the lead. On the last lap I made a wrong call in lap traffic to get pipped for the win on the last lap by USA driver Barry Martinez. Still top Kiwi home and another good result for the team.

Next stop was Cromwell for the NZ Grand Prix. Qualifying went well and we put the Makita/Wynns machine on grid 1 for the main race. I jumped into the lead and was winning for two thirds of the race until USA driver Austin Weatly got by us and we finished 2nd. Still happy with the result, however I said to Lee the motor went off during the race and felt flat. We had our one day off the next day then did some checks on the engine. This is when we found we had 5 broken valve springs and a damaged valve. Very lucky on one hand because another lap and the engine would have blown up big time but very disappointing on the other as I did not have enough time to fly parts from USA to fix the engine in time for the NZ champs in Christchurch in 3 days time.

We made the decision to haul up to Christchurch straight away and go about finding a motor we could lease to see us out the rest of the trip. USA driver Barry Martinez very kindly offered us his spare engine at a very affordable rate so we went about the motor swap and turned up to Friday night qualifying for the NZ title.

More bad luck. We won the first qualifying heat with our borrowed engine but then in the second heat blew the teeth off our diff gear set which managed to smash its way out of the back of the diff causing us to not finish. When you drop a qualifying heat for the Nationals you are up against it as you have to start so far back in the main race. We went back to the shop and had a meeting after the race at midnight. We had to find another diff as we had destroyed 2 so far, and also we felt the engine we leased, although we were grateful, didn’t quite have the goods to get the job done. We were staying with Myles Forsey who was also putting up Aussie driver and team Alan Woods. Woodsie kindly offered us his spare engine at a good price and said use his spare diff for free. We had an awesome time with these guys and were blown away with the offer so Lee and the boys pulled another all night-er to do an engine swap and drive-line swap.

Eyes hanging out we turned up to Ruapuna for the main night of the NZ champs and managed to get enough points to qualify straight into the A Main without coming through the B main. We started on grid 12 and made our way up to 6th when I got a left rear puncture and couldn’t continue. Heartbreaking.

One show to go, which was the Ashburton Sprintcar Spectacular the next day. This was the one which was rained out after we built a car over night. I really wanted to do well in this show as the boys put in so much work to make it the first time and also as it was the last show of the trip. As it turned out we qualified top on points and won the A Main. It would have to rank as one of the more satisfying wins of my career for a number of reasons. Great way to end the trip and it certainly  made the 19 hours straight we travelled home the next day a hell of a lot easier.

This has been a long post but there are a lot of people I really want to thank. Jason Scott and Daryl Wright from Edge parts and performance for putting the whole speedweek together, Myles, Cristy-Anne and Karen Forsey for putting us up down in Christchurch and taking up his whole workshop building cars and doing countless engine swaps, Alan Woods, Scooter and Trevor for their help and for the use of their spare engine and diff, Barry Martinez for the use of his spare engine. There are so many more people who helped and supported us, I can’t thank you enough and although it was a hell of a ride we can’t wait to do it all again next year.

JMAC

We had some big showers just before and during warm-up which really softened the track up but all the drivers stepped up and made a great effort to bring the track back to a point where we could race on it. First up was time trails and the Makita/Wynns/Edge Triple X car timed in second quick. Great result considering it’s only the second time we have run this car and the first time run at Cromwell. In our heat race we started from the front row and won the race by half the length of the straight.

Next up was the dash race which was the top 8 qualifiers inverted. This meant we started from grid 7. I took the green and in the first lap tried to go round the outside of a local car and got run wide. So the next corner I tried the same only when passing him he moved out and I got slammed into the wall and ended up rolling down the back straight a couple of times. I don’t think he knew I was coming, it was just one of those bad luck deals.

When I got out of the car it looked pretty bad, but once we got it back to the pit we decided to have a crack at fixing her. As it turned out we had very little time because sprintcars were the only class on the program and there was some urgency to get the racing through so the concert could start. A big thank you to my crew Lee and Codey and also to Darryl Wright, Adam and Broody who were running round all day like mad men and whoever else was hanging off a spanner to get me out the gate (there was a lot!). We only just made it as all the cars had been circulating for 3 laps all gridded up for the start when I finally pulled off the grass to get in position.

I moved into my starting spot of grid 8 and took the green flag. This is always nerve racking as you have fixed the car in a hurry and have not had a chance to test the car. Well I found out we missed a few things….. The bonnet wasn’t fastened down and kept flying up down the straights, we ran out of time to set the toe on the front end so it kept tracking down the straight. We hadn’t had time to set the car up and to top it off I forgot to put tear-offs on my helmet so ran out half way through the race! What a scene.

Despite all of the above we managed to guide the wounded Triple X past some cars to claim the last podium spot in 3rd place. Safe to say we were all stuffed by the end of the day but enjoyed the concert and a few cold ones after. Again a big thank you to Jason Scott for organising the whole show and to Jason and Darryl from the Edge Parts and Performance for putting me in their Triple X weapon for the second time this season.

JMAC

I have to keep the reviews over the next few shows fairly short as we are doing so much racing in a small amount of time we don’t have much time to do anything other than race and work on race cars. The heat races went really well for us. Heat one we started from grid 8 and finished 3rd only to be put back 2 spots after the race for apparently putting a wheel on the grass. Disappointing. Second heat I started grid 3 and finished 3rd.

That gave us a start position of grid 5 for the feature which would have been higher had it not been for getting relegated in the first heat. The green dropped and I’m sad to say I have nothing positive to write about until the chequered flag. We completely missed the setup and were way too tight. I tried every trick in the book to get the car round at some sort of pace but the car just didn’t want to turn left. End result being we went backwards at a great rate of knots to finish 7th by the end of the race. Very very disappointing as we have been going really well all season. At least we know where we went wrong so should we have a similar track surface in the future I would think we will be much quicker. It doesn’t take much to get the car not quite right and with the quality of racers we have today week in week out you get spat out the back door pretty quick. On a brighter note congratulations to the top Kiwi home Dean Brindle in second, heard he was close to winning it.

Anyway early night for me as we fly to Queenstown early tomorrow to race the Makita/Wynns/Edge Parts Triple X chassised sprintcar at the Rockfest in Cromwell. Should be a cool night as the Exponents play a concert during and after the racing. If your’e down south be sure to head to the track and support this show.

JMAC

First up was time trail. I was the 10th car out which is a pretty good place to be. Unfortunately we had the car a fraction too tight and in both of my flying laps pulled a wheelstand in exactly the same place each lap. I had to roll the brake on slightly to get the wheels down which cost me a few tenths of a second which was the difference between 1st and 7th where I timed in at.

In the heats we did well and made it into the top 6 pole shuffle and in that moved up a spot to start in grid 4 for the feature.

By Feature time the track was very slick and the high line was high – I mean high like a meter of the wall. I got a good start and was in second briefly in the first lap then settled into 3rd spot in front of Allard in 4th. The rest of the race for me was spent mostly side by side with Allard racing for 3rd spot which we eventually won taking the Makita/Wynns machine to the podium again this season. I was very pleased with the result especially at this track as I will never forget snapping two cars in half and breaking my back at this place. Some have said it’s my boogie track but I don’t feel that way. Bruce and Puk the promoters do such an outstanding job hosting our section and making us welcome it’s a track I always look forward to going to.

Next show is Western Springs Boxing night. See you there.

JMAC

JMAC

There is nothing quite like being at Western Springs on a big night. The place has a special atmosphere that you don’t get anywhere else and I certainly felt it on Saturday night. I had a quick look at the number 15 car and just sitting in the pits it looked fast. Having said that the car is pretty much the same as we all run here but obviously it’s the guy sitting behind the wheel that makes the difference. Very cool to see that car and driver in New Zealand.

Everyone had two heat races to earn points in order to find the top 8 cars who would then contest a pole shuffle to determine the top 8 starting spots for the feature. I started off the back in grid 10 for my first heat and we managed to drive up to 5th spot. Making up those 5 spots proved to be crucial later on. Lee set the car up and said it would be a bit tight for a couple of laps but stick with it and it should come good. Well he was spot on. The car was a handful for 2 laps, then the track dusted up slighty through the middle, and I was then able to drive straight underneath cars and the car felt perfect. Just shows the importance of having a good guy on the spanners as Lee made some adjustments minutes before we went out the gate. Those little things make all the difference sometimes.

For the second heat we started from grid one and drove away to win by half a straightaway. Once again the car sat well on the track and I was able to keep the jandel on the floor for most of the race. Just before I went out the gate Lee said once you hit the front don’t look back cause there are some heavy hitters behind us -- Schatz, Murphy and some top Kiwis. We set the fastest lap for the race which was very pleasing as without good car speed it doesn’t matter what else you do.

From the heat races we earned 2nd highest points only one point behind Donny Schatz. Next was the pole shuffle. I really enjoy the shuffle and I think the crowd enjoys it too. Short and sharp and usually action packed. The first 6 cars ran through with plenty of excitement -- Swindel jumping the start twice then getting sent off and upon doing so proceeded to rip donuts on the grass almost collecting a push truck in the process. I think that sort of drama is great but I wonder if it was a Kiwi driver doing the same thing would it have gone unpunished? We rolled out next to Murphy to race for 2nd spot and got the jump and won. I kept circulating ready for the next car to come out to race for grid 1. Then it hit me -- i’m racing Donny Schatz for pole position one on one, very cool. He rolled up next to me and to my surprise took the outside position for the start. At that moment I felt I had  real chance to race him as I had just beaten Murphy starting from the bottom. The green dropped and I stood on it pulling half a wheel stand in the process. It’s never ideal trying to race on 2 wheels. We got the jump and stayed in front to take the win. I could hear his engine valve bouncing behind me and it was very special to cross the line in front of such a great driver. Definitely 2 laps I will never forget.

Feature time came around and we made a few small changes to the car and lined up next to Donny on grid 1. From the start I got a good jump in front again but that didn’t last long as Donny went high as I went low and drove around me. All the drive on the bottom of pinetree bend had pretty well disappeared. I moved up top and got going, and as Donny closed into lap traffic we closed right in behind him. We got past a few lap cars until I got stuck behind one for around 3 laps and lost my momentum. I started going down hill from there as shortly after that I just drove it too hard into pinetree and jumped the cushion nearly collecting the wall. Swindel and Murphy got past when this happened. I passed Swindel back then he got me again. Then on the last lap made a mistake entering the second to last corner, missed the drive and ended up in the slick part of the corner losing all momemtum which allowed O’Connor past in the last corner. Disappointing way to finish but so pleased we were able to run toe to toe with these professional drivers for as long as we did. We ended up with the second fastest lap time in the feature with a field of 5 USA drivers but we only finished 6th. A couple of small mistakes is all it takes to get beaten at this level. I guess if I did 120 shows a year as opposed to the 30 we do now my driving might be a little more polished. Anyway i’m so proud of what our Makita/Wynns team achieved on Saturday night it definitely will be one we won’t forget in a hurry.

We have 4 days back at work then it’s off lunch time Friday to Palmerston North Speedway for another International Sprintcar Round which is always a good weekend. We have a meet and greet at Lone Star in Palmy on Friday night then it’s all action Saturday night. Looking forward to seeing our friends from Palmerston again. See you sooon.

JMAC

Heat 1 had us starting from grid 2 and from the start we jumped into the lead and got on the gas. Safe to say out in front I was having a ball. The track still had drive in it and with clear track in front of me there is nothing better than running a sprintcar as hard as you can. We won the heat, set fastest time and collected some good points.

Heat 2 had us off the back in grid 10. By this stage the track was dusting off and the top line was forming so most cars had their right rear tyres sitting comfortably on the cush. This made it hard to pass. However we managed to hustle past a few to get home in 7th. Not quite where we needed to be but ok.

I got handed my grid position for the feature and was pleasantly surprised as we were starting off grid 2. Jonathan Allard was highest qualifier and got to pull the marble for the inversion and in doing so flipped a couple of rows, putting us off the front. So many times we have gone backwards in an inversion so I was stoked to have some luck and move forward. I’m not going to describe the race in detail as I have attached the video of the race. I will say it was one of the most enjoyable race wins I have had in my racing career for a number of reasons. The car setup was perfect and the car didn’t miss a beat and we had to work for the win. It was a great feeling putting the Makita/Wynns machine on the top spot for the 3rd time this season out of 4 features. Great start but we have to keep the momentum up as things are about to get a whole lot harder this weekend with the likes of Donny Schatz, Sammy Swindle, Jonathan Allard and Ricky Logan all in the field. Can’t wait for Saturday. See you all there.

JMAC

The good people from Edge Parts and Performance in Christchurch kindly made a triple x chassised car availiable for us to run for the weekend and were good enough to get it painted and signwritten the same as my car in Auckland. I have been looking forward to one day having a drive in one of these chassis as they have been talked about a lot over the last few years. The racing was cancelled on Saturday night so was run 1pm Sunday instead which happened to be a mint sunny day meaning only one thing – a dog slick track.

I will put the link on for the write up of the racing from the Ruapuna website but the long and short of it was on our maiden voyage in the Edge Parts triple x machine we won our first feature race. The one thing that stood out about this car was how well it hooked up in the slick – and I mean it was slick. We were able to turn the car mid corner and drive right up under cars. We had a great time and I want to extend a huge thanks to Darryl Wright and Jason Scott for the opportunity to drive for them and we look forward to piloting the triple x machine again in the Rockfest Show in Cromwell on December 29 featuring an all sprintcar program USA style with the Jordan Luck band playing during and after the show. This will be a one of a kind show so if don’t already have tickets get some!

JMAC

http://www.ruapunaspeedway.co.nz/content/tight-competition-hallmark-season-opener

Great to be back at Western Springs again for their opening night of the season. Good weather and a pretty fast track made for some average racing early on but then got wider for great feature races in all classes.Early on for our first heat we started near the rear and the track was one lane with it being wet out to the wall. I tried a pass around the outside in the first corner and slid straight into the wall and just glanced it. I was able to continue but had to catch up and was only able to pass 2 cars.

For our second heat race we started on grid 3 and ran in 3rd for the whole race bar the last corner when Jonathan Allard got by to put us back to fourth. Unfortunately I just had a lapse in concentration and didn’t get the car into the corner quite right and got past. Most of the race I ran close to full throttle as the track was so fast. The bad thing about this from a spectator point of view is everyone is doing the same so it makes for a boring race with minimal passing. I wouldn’t want to be in charge of track preparation, someone will always whinge. All in all the track was smooth and by feature time had widened out for some 2 lane racing. Credit to Western Springs team for a good track on the first night.

Feature time came and with 2 poor heat race performances we started from grid 7. With the caliber of drivers in the field these days its always a tough ask to win from that far back especially on a fast track unless you are a full time racer. We managed to get by a couple of cars to bring the Makita/Wynns machine home in a tidy 5th place. The car didn’t miss a beat and was set up well so we are very happy with that, all it would have taken was for our front grid to be in the first heat rather than the second and we would have easily scored more points to start near the front of the feature. Good to be back can’t wait for round 2.

JMAC