Oklahoma Bound!

OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.
Oklahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I
Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk
Makin' lazy circles in the sky.

We are packed up and getting ready to head a short trip North for Hunter to race in his first Southwest Regional Cup Series race. We told him last year that if he showed improvement over the year and could be a real contender for this series, we would take him to these races. Well, he did. And we are. And we are praying for a really great weekend and some really good racing action.

The reigning SWRC TaG Cadet champion is racing against Hunter, but that hasn't phased him much...just learning a new track is where his focus is right now. That and the fact he isn't going to school tomorrow.

And just a note, my little prayer warrior was concerned that there wouldn't be anyone else in his class running, so he has been praying every night for at least 5 in his class. The other day, I got an email confirming a total of 5 drivers in his class for this race - and more could sign up at the track - this was just pre-registration. I just love to watch God at work!!

We'll be posting updates on Facebook and here as they happen.

New Season - Continuing Lessons

Last year when we started in the TaG Cadet class at NTK, we were the "new kids" in the class. This year, Hunter is the seasoned pro in the class...said with a slight grin.

Last year, when Hunter and Reilly started this class, Gunnr was running away from the pack, leaving everyone behind and perhaps wondering if that was going to be the way it would be the entire year. Now that Gunnr and Reilly have moved to another class, Hunter is running with the "new kids" that he leaves behind. But as we know from last year, it won't be long before the others are chasing Hunter down and giving him a run for the championship. Nope. Not long at all. But until then...

Hunter finished Spring 1 waaaaaay in front of the field. However, we have learned, the hard way, that ANYTHING (sidepod) can happen in ANY race (sidepod) on any given day (sidepod). We've seen races lost due to broken chains, spinning out on corners, getting caught up in lapped traffic and of course the dreaded...sidepod.

So, until our competition is busy chasing us down, we will continue to work on building up a humble racer that Praises God for all things at all times!!

See you for Spring 2!

New Year...New Chances

We just finished up the four race Winter Series at NTK. It was yet again a heartbreaking finish to give Hunter a 2nd place finish on the series. But, the lessons learned were invaluable.

With the fourth race being the deciding factor of 1st or 2nd place for him, we told Hunter that no matter how the race finished, we were so proud of him and what he had learned over the prior three races. His corner driving had improved beyond belief and after one race, he had many other adult drivers pull him aside to give him some coaching on drafting and passing on the corners and he had started applying that knowledge to his driving.

I read a quote to Hunter from an interview with Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne:

GOING FROM WHERE YOU WERE WHEN YOU WERE RELEASED FROM WALTRIP RACING AND NOT SURE IF YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO RACE AT KANSAS TO WINNING THE DAYTONA 500 A FEW MONTHS LATER, HOW DOES IT UNDERSCORE YOUR BELIEF THAT THIS IS BIGGER THAN RACING FOR YOU?
“You know, before this ever happened I had a meeting with some of the people that are running my business and financial stuff and my dad was involved and we sat down to figure out what was the goal of Trevor Bayne as a company, a person, anything. I told them that the goal was not to be the best race car driver or the most marketable or most popular, it is none of those things, it is to build a platform and let God use us on the platform that He is building which might require me to become the best race car driver or be the most marketable or most popular or whatever it is. I just want to stand on the platform that He is putting under me and that is our goal. If that is the goal then our highs and lows will be a lot more manageable.”

Racing is great. Winning is fantastic. Learning and growing is wonderful. But it's not the big picture. For Hunter to put God first in his life and to give Him glory no matter what - win or lose - is the highest priority. Hunter gets it. At 9 years old, the kid gets it.

Spinning out while about to make his move to pass the leader in the last race of the Winter series knocked Hunter out of the 1st place series win. Of course he was devastated. But he bounced back quickly and counted his blessings for all that he learned in this series and will learn to come.

He's ready to take on Spring 2011.

Go Hunter!