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10/4/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- This was an interesting weekend, it rained for the first time in the 2008 Late Model season. It started raining around 1:00 and didn't stop for a few hours. Then everyone took their personal vehicles onto the track to dry it off. Then all of the classes got two fifteen minute practice sessions. We weren't able to qualify so the main started by points. Since I was seventh in points I started seventh in the main event. Right after the opening ceremonies we went onto the track and got the race started. I was running in seventh and kept trying to pass Travis Irving. Later in the race teammate Ryan Kaplan caught up to us and made it three wide and was able to get past me and then right past Irving. I kept trying to pass Irving and then it started to sprinkle. It started to get hard to see coming out of turn four because of the water on the windshield and the lights shining on it. On lap 38 the yellow flag came out because the track was getting too wet and it started to rain more. The rest of the race was under caution and on lap 51 we pulled onto the back stretch to see if it would stop raining. We waited for about an hour and it didn't stop so they called the race. So I ended up finishing 8th out of 20 cars and seventh in track points overall. 9/27/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- I was pretty fast and the car felt pretty good the whole weekend. I was second fastest in practice and when it came to qualifying I ended up 3rd out of 25 cars. For the main the invert was four so I started off-pole. When the green flag was thrown I went to the lead right away. Then I was being challenged by team owner Tim Huddleston but he wasn't able to get past me. Then Andrew Myers started getting into it too and was able to pass Huddleston. So I had Myers rubbing me and trying to rough me up. On lap seven Myers got underneath me in turns one and two and slammed into me messing me up and causing me to have to save the car. Myers just pulled away after that and I pulled away from third place. When I went past the start/finish line I was 2nd out of 25 cars. 9/13/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- The car felt good all weekend. We were fast in practice and we knew the car would be good for qualifying and the main event. I went out for qualifying and everything felt good. I came off the track and waited off to the side for the top six cars in points to qualify and I ended up 4th out of 22 cars. I started in the same place as I qualified, fourth, behind High Point Racing Teammate Beau Debard. The race got on its way and I was running in fourth with Andrew Myers #15 below me challenging me for my position. On one of the restarts when were about to the start finish line the second place car seemed to miss a shift or something causing third place to hit him. I saw that happening and let off a little so I didn't slam into them, and the car behind me didn't know what was going on and slammed into me. Causing my right front to slam the wall and then my right rear. I was able to keep going, though I could tell the car wasn't the same. I was running in third for a while and on lap 23 going through turns one and two I got hit in my left rear and I wasn't able to save it. So I hit the brakes and the car behind me wasn't able to avoid me and came slamming into me. All the cars went by, and the car was still good enough to keep going. By the end of the race I was able to come back to 10th place. 8/30/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- This weekend wasn't one of our best or luckiest. The car felt good all day in practice and we were ready for qualifying. We had two forty lap main events that night. So where we qualify is where we start in the first race, and where we finish is where we start in the second one. I went out for qualifying, turned my time and I ended up qualifying 9th out of 29 cars. We went out for our first main and after a few laps it got going. I lost one position on the start, but I gained one back later on in the race. I stayed in the same spot the rest of the race. What the problem was was that everyone was about the same speed and no one could pass. So I ended up finishing 9th, right where I started. For the second main I started in ninth place again. We scrubbed our tires for a few laps and then going down the back stretch the pace car pulled off. We were going through turns threee and four, picking up speed little by little, and I got a good start. I was right on the tail of the car in front of me and as I was about to shift all of a sudden the car in front of me just slammed on their brakes. I had no time to react and I went slamming into them and got pushed from behind. It all happened so fast that I didn't even have time to realize what was happening. My hood was bent up a lot on the right side and I couldn't see in front of me, only to my left. So I was trying to make my way to the pits to make a quick repair when water started squirting out from the radiator. I blindly and slowly made it back to my pit and I was done for the night and I finished 26th out of 26 cars. 8/16/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- This was an overall good weekend. I was fast, had a good starting position, but had it all taken away from me and had to fight back to the front. All day the car felt good and we knew it would be good for the main. So for qualifying I went out turned my time and pulled into the infield because it was an impound race. After that we weren't allowed to make any adjustments besides air pressure. After everyone went out for qualifying I ended up sixth. So all of the drivers walked off of the track and I went to the tech bay to watch the fastest qualifier spin the wheel for the invert. He finally came and it ended up being six, I was starting on the pole, inside of teammate Benny Moon. After autograph session we drove our cars over to the backstretch and after the truck race was over it was our turn. So we went out onto the track and I was ready to for my second win! The pace car pulls off and were going around turns three and four and we take off. We're side by side and through one and two I start pulling him on the inside a little and I just keep pushing it to get past him. I'm thinking, "One more lap like that and I've got him." The next lap on the back stretch I've almost got him cleared. We're going through three and four and just as I'm coming out of turn four I get slammed and went spinning right in front of the whole pack. Some how no one hit me, and I was turned all the way around facing forward again. So I put it in gear and took off. I stayed where I was not knowing if the officials would give me my spot back, until finally they decided to send both the person that caused it and I to the rear. So the race got started again and I was on a mission, passing car after car. Later on in the race with about five laps left I was running in ninth place. There were two cars battling it out and I took adavantage of the car on the inside and got behind the car he was trying to pass so he couldn't go high and I had the faster line. So we went around the back stretch and I was right there all the way through turn three and four onto the the straight away and my lane was going a little faster. So on the front stretch the inside car was a little ahead of me and all of a sudden right after the start/ finish line he turned up, not know I was there, and turned himself around me. I somehow didn't get taken into the wall with him and kept going. So the yellow comes out and I go back in line trying to get my spot back since I didn't do anything. I'm listening to my spotter and he's telling me that the officials were trying to figure out what happened. They said to send me to the rear. Then my spotter came on and says that the other car admitted that it was his fault and I didn't do anything, but the officials were still saying they were going to send me to the rear. So we kept fighting it and they finally let me get my spot back and the race continued. There were only a few laps left and I wasn't able to gain anymore postions and I finished 8th out of 24 cars. Even though I had a chance at finishing very well, it was still a good race; I got a top ten out of it and my car is still in one piece. 8/2/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- I made history again! We were good in practice again, and we figured out what we needed to know for qualifying and the main, so we didn't go out in the second practice. So we went out in qualifying and I was third when I first qualified and fell down to 5th. Tim Huddleston qualified first and only .07 seconds faster, and for the invert he spun six so I started second in the main. When it came time for the main I was ready, I was getting my second chance at starting off pole. We pull onto the track, scrub our tires and then after a little the pace car pulls off. Around the center of turn three and four the sixth fastest qualifier and I rubbed a little and right then he took off. He jumped the start by a lot, and about a lap and a half later they threw the yellow and red flag for a complete restart. So on the restart I got a good start and started pulling away right away. I had about a ten car lead for a while, but little by little they started closing in on me. Around lap thirty points leader Nick Joanides caught me and he started to battle me for the lead. The whole race I didn't know what lap I was on and I didn't look in my mirror once. Then coming around to the start finish I saw the white flag and was surprised, but knew I had it as long as I didn't mess up. I went around the track one more time and coming out of turn four I was the first one to see the checkered flag! I came around the track and stopped at the start finish line. I got out of my car and it was an amazing sight, all of the fans in the stands were standing and cheering! Everyone on High Point Racing came running up to me, picked me up, and hugged me. It felt so good! After they interviewed the other cars it was finally my turn and again I took the opportunity to thank Drive for Diversity, Tim Huddleston and High Point Racing, my dad, Checkered Flag Zone, Racecar Factory, Liz-zard Racing Engines and my fans. Then I drove to tech, parked the car and got on the golf cart to go to media. As we were driving through the crowd everyone was cheering, giving me high fives, and shaking my hand. For the first time I really felt like a celebrity. It felt like I just won a cup race. After media I came down to victory lane there was a big crowd standing around and I took a bunch of pictures. Then I signed autographs and took pictures atleast for another hour. Then when the croud died down I was standing by my car and I looked to my left and saw my engine builder with a bottle of champagne so I started running but they held me there. He struggled for a while to get the top off because the bottle had been rolling around in his truck anticipating this day. Once he got the top off he tried to spray me with it, but it was too flat so he poured it all on top of my head! Later in the night the flag man wanted to see me and he gave me the flag from the race. This race will always be very memorable and one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was my first win in a Late Model,my first win at Toyota Speedway, my first win since 2005, and it was the first time I turned the fastest time in the Late Model class. Also I am the only female to win a race on the half-mile at Toyota Speedway! I can't thank everyone enough for helping me get here, I will never forget this day! 7/26/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- This was a great weekend! The car felt good the whole time and we finally broke out of the sixth place qualifying position. Practice went well and when I went out for qualifying I tried something different and it worked, I qualified 4th out of 20 cars. In the main I fell to second and right away the guys started to rough me up, but I wasn't going to let them and I gave it right back to them. On the first lap I got slammed on the back stretch enough to mess me up and a couple of cars got past me. Later in the race I was running in fourth place and Andrew Myers kept hitting me until he messed me up enough to get past me and messed up my toe. Right after I started to battle him and then the yellow flag came out. I barely missed the wreck in front of me, and when the race got started again I was third. I was trying to pass Myers while another car was trying to pass me at the same time making it three wide. I settled in third for a little while I had a car that was trying to battle me for my position when all of a sudden on the back stretch Myers' rear end blew. I went slamming into the rear end of him, picking him up, having no where to go because I had a car on the inside of me. Finally I was able to get out from under him. The car seemed fine after that, besides that my hood was bent up enough that I could barely see and I couldn't tell how close I was to the car in front of me or how close I was to the wall. When the race got started again I was behind Tim Huddleston in second with fifteen laps to go. Right away I had a car under me trying to take my position again, allowing Huddleston to pull away. After a while the other car fell off and I started chasing down Huddleston. But I ran out of time and finished second, which is the best a female has ever finished in a main event on the half-mile! This is my career best finish in the Late Model class and I am now fifth place in points. After the race I pulled onto the front stretch and quickly pulled my safety equipment off and got out of my car. The crowd went wild! I took my picture in front of my car that had every corner of it banged up and then I was interviewed. I took the chance to thank everyone that has helped including Tim Huddleston and High Point Racing, Drive for Diversity, Checker Flag Zone, my dad, my crew, my fans, and everyone else. 7/19/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- It was a good weekend for the #59 Drive for Diversity/ Checker Flag Zone High Point Racing team. On Friday night before the race the team and I tried some different things and they worked. The next day the team and I were very positive and knew they would have a good night. In the first practice I was right there in the top three again. When it came to qualifying I had to remember the new things that we have been trying and it has worked. I went out turned my time and when I came off I was third. Slowly I was knocked down to a 6th place qualifying position again. Since this was my fourth time I have qualified 6th I knew we would have a good night. After the autograph session it was time for the trophy dash and I started on the pole with my new teammate Beau Debard next to me, Travis Irving behind me and then the top three cars in points. The dash got going and I had the preferred line, the outside line, by turn one. Quickly after pulling up I already had Travis Irving under me. The rest of the race I had Travis under me trying to get his first trophy dash win. When that checkered flag flew I had the win by half of a car length. This was the first time I had won anything at Toyota Speedway, let alone in the Late Model class with the six fastest cars! It was also the first time a female has won anything on the half-mile at Toyota Speedway! Later in the night it was finally the Late Models' turn to run the main event. I started on the outside right behind Team owner Tim Huddleston and Nick Joanides, who is now tied for first in points. When the race got started the car wasn't quite right at first and I fell back a few positions. The rest of the race I was stuck behind two cars roughly battling it out and I had no where to go. It finally seemed like the inside car was finally ahead of the other car holding us up. So I went low to try to follow when the car that got passed turned the other car around right in front of me. So I slowed down but had no where to go and slid sideways to avoid it. Then more cars came and one hit my front end messing up my toe. I was able to keep going and the race continued after they cleaned up the mess. I ended up finishing 8th out of 22 cars and I am still 6th in points. 7/4/08 Toyota Speedway, Auto Club Late Models- Overall the fourth of July race went pretty well. We practiced on Thursday and the car felt pretty good, but our times weren't really there. We were on old tires so that explained our times. On Friday I got to the track and we got the car ready to go to tech. We went through tech and then my crew chief and I had to go to the driver's meeting. Then we went out to practice and the car felt good and our times weren't bad. When it came to qualifying I went out and the car felt good. I turned my time and I was right there at first. As more cars went out I was slowly bumped down to 6th. So for the main I started 6th behind my team owner Tim Huddleston and Nick Joanides who are third and second in points standings. As the race got started the outside line didn't really go and I lost a few positions. I gained two of them back and then I found myself behind Tim Huddleston again. I kept trying to pass him, but my car was too tight to be able to pass him. I would get under him, push right up into him and if I didn't let off I would have taken him out. So I stayed right behind him and ended up finishing 7th out of 28 cars. | Return Home | Bio | Lindsey's Blog | Race Results | News | Race Schedule | Sponsors & Thanks | Photos | Contact Us | |
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