2010 SVS Late Model Champion. . .

          The month of May is just about over; Indianapolis Motor Speedway has fallen silent.  All of the teams and drivers have gone home.  There are no more fans to sign autographs for, or pictures to pose with.  It is all over, and for 32 drivers it didn’t end the way they wanted it to.  Dario Franchitti, however, is probably pretty happy with the way things turned out.  For the third time, Dario has won the Indy 500.  In doing so, he has joined a very distinct group of men who have that honor.  Whether or not you agree with what happened or how the race ended, his face will be on the Borg-Warner trophy this year.  This year’s race will go down as one of the best Indy 500’s in a very long time.

            As for me, I am counting down the days until my season starts this year.  I cannot wait until we leave for Summit Point Raceway.  Our car gets its technical inspection next week, and after we get the proper signatures on some very important papers- we are good to go.  The car looks really sharp, and all the set-up numbers are coming back just how we want them to, so we are expecting a good outing.

            An article was brought to my attention earlier today via e-mail.  A young boy of 12 years who is named Tyler Morr, died earlier this week.  He was injured while racing at Auburndale Speedway in Florida.  I guess there is a class that allows 12-16 year old children to compete in mini stock races.  My Family and I wish to extend our sympathy to the family of this boy.  I cannot imagine having to bury one’s child.  While it may seem, to some people out there, that children do not belong in racecars- this is a sport, and younger people are encouraged to participate in its entry levels.  While I do not know the details of what happened, I only know that I started in go-karts, and worked my way up from there.  We took as many safety precautions as were available to us at the time, but I still took some pretty good shots and I flipped a couple of times.  I hope the decision to put this boy in this car was based on the experience he had, and not on anything else.  Please keep this family of this boy in your prayers.

            As we look back at the 2010 season, a season which saw me in my very first ride, I will tell you it didn’t start out like I had hoped.  RPM Fabrications Inc. was preparing the cars for competition for the season.  We put my seat in the car and got everything to fit me the way it needed to.  The team had set-up a test for me to shake down the car, and get used to the new car.  I was used to a big spring car and this one was a coil-over car- so it felt a little bit different, but a racecar is a racecar- no matter what.  Not only did the weather not cooperate, but we had a top end miss in the motor.  The test ended with almost no laps being turned at speed, and the team not sure what was causing the miss.  Our first race came and went, with us finishing 3^rd, but the motor still had the miss.  Turns out- on a MSD Ignition 6ALN Box, the Purple wire doesn’t match the Purple wire on the Distributor.  In fact, Purple goes to green and green goes to purple- it makes me smile every time I say it- kind of an inside joke of sorts.

            Once we got that straightened out, it was game on.  As we got into the heart of the season, we had a string of 4 straight 2^nd place finishes, and we ended the season with 2 straight wins to put the exclamation point on our Championship.  We also set the track record during qualifying for our last point’s race.  Patience, and only taking what the car had to give each race, and not putting myself in any avoidable bad spots was the key to our on track success.  A good crew was responsible for giving me what I needed to do my job.  On September 25, 2010 I was able to lock up my first driving Championship.  Sundance Vacations Speedway Late Model Champion- I was proud of what we were able to do as a team, and proud of myself for proving I could do it.

            Next week I hope to have all my loose ends tied up and will be able to breath easy until we leave June 15^th for Summit Point.  Check out the website for the results, and check me out on twitter @justinonderko for updates during the weekend.  We will also have video from the weekend, so everybody will be able to see what I see from inside the car.  Another step in the right direction for us, stay tuned.  Till next week. . .

Coming Around. . .

            This past week in racing is always one of my favorite weeks.  The Indianapolis 500, to me, is so very special.  Since I was a young boy, and before I knew what the race really meant, I have dreamed of seeing my face on the Borg-Warner trophy.  The teams competed on Saturday for the pole, who else, but car owner Roger Penske was able to put together another pole winning car.  I think that’s 17 or 18, if anyone is counting.  Ryan Briscoe was the fastest at the end of the day, so he gets to lead them to the green this Sunday.  Bump day was not as exciting or as heartbreaking as it has been in the past, but it had its up and downs as well.  On the NASCAR side of things, Rick Hendrick got an old fashioned ride to victory lane on the side of Jimmie Johnson’s race winning car.  It was a nice gesture to see Jimmie take him around like that.

            Last week we talked about how as we grow up- one of two things happen.  Either we change or life changes around us.  For most of us, the changes are manageable enough and we ebb and flow with them.  Sometimes the changes are big enough that they can knock you down for a while.  That’s what happened to me the summer of 2006.  As I said last week, when my wife filed for divorce the end of the summer, I had to park the race cars for a while.  It was one of the hardest things I ever experienced.

            For those that have been unfortunate to experience it, divorce is a terrible thing.  It costs way too much, and I don’t just mean the money.  It costs you relationships, friends, possessions, time, and sometimes who you are.  I was lucky, to that point, we were lucky- we didn’t have any children.  The spilt, albeit hard, was not as bad as it could have been.  A lot of things happened during that time, and I ask any of you who are on the brink right now, don’t do it- it is not worth it.  It’s not any better on the other side, remember the promise and try to work it out.

            Alright- while I want everyone to understand that I am highly embarrassed about being in the majority of people whose marriages don’t last, I do not want to belabor the point, or make this week about that.  I came out stronger on the other side, I learned a tremendous amount, and have come full circle- 6 years later.

            Fast forward to 2009, and I decided to turn my ARCA car into an asphalt late model.  Something else I don’t recommend to anyone.  After a lot of work, and a new body, motor and trans, I was ready to get back on the track.  For my birthday, August 10^th, I decided I wanted to go racing.  I don’t really remember how we ran, or where we finished- but I remember the feeling.  That old familiar feeling and how great it was.  Getting strapped in, firing up the engine, pulling out onto the track, smelling the smells- and taking it all in.

            You see- for so long racing was like a burden to me.  I know that sounds crazy- “Why didn’t you stop racing then?” you might ask.  Racing isn’t like that- it gets in your blood, its not something you “do” it is who you are.  Even though I’ve won races and a championship since then, I have not been more thankful to sit in a racecar since that day.

            As the season ended, we competed in a few more races, we ran pretty decent but we fell short of winning any of them.  We did, however, catch the eye of some people who owned a late model team.  Late 2009 they offered me a ride for 2010- to compete for the championship at Sundance Vacations Speedway.

            Next week we will take a look at our 2010 season and how it all came together.  As far as our current car, we just came back from the dyno.  As soon as we get everything approved for competition we will be all set for the 16^th and 17^th of June down at Summit Point Raceway n West Virginia.  We will have some announcements soon, so check out our website (justinonderko.com) and follow us on twitter @justinonderko.  While I still don’t have a ride for the big race on Sunday, I will still be watching to see who gets their face on the trophy this year.  Till next week. . .

Growing Up- The Hard Way. . .

       This week in racing was a bit of a milestone.  NASCAR was at Darlington Speedway, INDYCAR is practicing at Indy, and The Grand-Am series was at New Jersey Motorsports Park.  First, congratulations to Max Angelelli and Ricky Taylor for another win the Daytona Prototype class, it makes their second in a row, and another surprising win for Chevrolet and their Corvette Prototype.  The Month of May is getting into full swing, with the INDYCAR Series having open practice at the speedway.  If you are a fan of NASCAR, you have to give credit to Rick Hendrick and his organization.  Hendrick Motorsports scored their 200^th win, making them only the second team in NASCAR history to win 200 races, and let’s be honest- Petty Motorsports raced in a time when you ran a lot more races a year; Hendrick Motorsports has done it in the modern day which has shown to be much more competitive.  I admire Rick Hendrick, because he epitomizes what all of the grassroots teams are trying to become.  It has been stated before that Rick may not always have known what to do in a given situation, but he knew how to get ahold of someone who did- and that is what makes him so successful.  Congratulations to Hendrick Motorsports.

            Last week we touched on why it’s not a good idea to wreck someone headlong into a wall after the race is over.  I hope we don’t see that again.  On a side note, after watching the NASCAR race Saturday night, I have to somehow get a sponsor to foot the bill, and then not have them care about results.  If only they would be ok with just letting me make laps instead of actually trying to be competitive.  Lets face it- the Cup series is where you should be getting most of your experience anyway, right?  If you watched the beginning of the race you should be able to pick up on my sarcasm.

            Getting back to my racing, and how after getting married- life returned to the long days and nights in the shop getting ready for the next racing season to start.  I had purchased a short track ARCA car from Bobby Gerhart in the fall of 2005.  I had convinced myself that I was going to be able to go racing at the ARCA level.  Today I look back on that decision, and wonder how I was able to look at my financial situation and still think I could do it.  If only dreams paid the bills, I’d be over in Indy practicing the fastest car at the speedway.  Sadly, dreams just make it harder to pay the bill sometimes.

            Christmas came and went, and so did New Year’s.  It was starting to become obvious that we would never make the first short track race in the ARCA Series.  Lack of money, resources, and people were making it impossible to achieve that goal.  This was also the time, were the relationship was reverting back to the strained and pressured state it had been only 6 months before.

            Most of the spring was gone and summer was starting to really get into full swing.  It seemed I was drifting further and further away from everything.  I felt my dreams of racing falling through my fingers, and the relationship with my wife was staring to really crumble.  When you make plans on decisions that were not fully thought out and rationalized, it makes it very hard grow those plans into reality.  It was the summer of 2006 that my wife decided that she no longer wanted to be married and left me.

            Now anyone who has been through a divorce, knows it’s nasty-mean-scary-heartbreaking, to say the least.  Normally this would seem like the part where I tell you about all of the mean and nasty things that she did during our divorce, but I won’t- because I just don’t have enough space..  Looking back at it though, it doesn’t seem like it matters now.  As I have put some time and distance on my marriage and divorce- I realize that it takes two to make it either work or fall apart.  I can see now how I was not ready to be married.  Most race car drivers are very selfish, not in a childish or mean way- but nevertheless selfish.  The sport takes so much time, that it makes it hard to have a healthy relationship with a spouse.  It doesn’t make it any more right, or any less embarrassing to know that I have failed at a marriage, but it is most definitely the truth.  Things happen for a reason, and I found strength it my friends and family, and relied on my faith to see me through.  It has made me look at things from a completely different point of view.  It made me grow up, and for me, it made me a better person.

            During the divorce, my racing career came to a screeching halt.  I had to park the race cars and concentrate on getting my life back together.  It did, however, make me even more determined to get back on track and continue to work towards my goal.  Since that time, opportunities have started to materialize, and now I am in a better frame of mind to make good on them.

            Next week we look at getting back on track, and how and why it changed racing for me.  I cannot believe how things are starting to come together here in the present day.  Stay tuned for some big news about our team, and as we look forward to our first races in June.  Check out our website, all of our happenings are posted there, and check back often- some changes are coming.  Check us out on twitter @justinonderko, and as always a big thanks to my sponsors, check them out on this page.  They really do make it all possible.  Till Next Week. . .     

Keeping Composure. . .

I found myself out of town this past weekend and was not able to watch any of the series competing..  That did not keep me from finding out about this weekend’s action.  First of all, I want to wish Eric McClure a speedy recovery.  It is rare to find a head-on hit as hard as his on Saturday, he will not be allowed to compete at Darlington, but it could have been far worse for him.  Congratulations to Joey Lagano and Brad Keselowski for their wins down at Talladega.  The finishes of both races were awesome for the fans.

            I also found a little tidbit about Sam Hornish Jr. and Danica Patrick.  Now, I usually refrain from talking about her, but I do follow her and what she does.  For those of you who live under a rock, Patrick came to NASCAR a sub-par INDYCAR driver with a stellar marketing strategy.  She used her good looks and marketing genius to secure her the funding needed to make herself a career.  While INDYCAR used her gender and positive role model status to promote their series, many feel that NASCAR was doing just fine before she came along.  The hype that led up to Daytona was almost unbearable for myself, I thought she was the only driver down at Daytona at times.  While that race ended in utter disappointment, the media blitz continued.  With each race, and more disappointment, stories of Patrick’s racing ventures started to dwindle.  A quarter of the way through the season, and I believe her car owners would have to be disappointed as well.

            Now Hornish and Patrick have raced together before, in fact Sam recalls Patrick wrecking him in a go-kart race back in 1995 on the final lap.  After trying to find every TV angle I could on the initial contact that pinched Patrick into the outside wall, I thought it looked like Sam had trouble controlling his car due to a flat tire.  Either that, or Hornish was trying to damage a perfectly good racecar and jeopardize his top 5 points standing by trying to slam his car into the wall himself.  After the contact, Patrick chased down a slowing Hornish in turn 1 and turned him headlong into the wall.

            Now, I want to make one point clear, I mean- crystal clear.  I don’t care what happens to you on the track, who bumps into you, slams into you, or looks at you funny.  YOU DON’T EVER TURN SOMEONE HEADLONG INTO A WALL- EVER.  I don’t care if some one wrecks you for no reason, or calls your Mother a bad name, you don’t ever put a driver in the fence head on.  I thought NASCAR dealt with this at Texas last year with Kyle Busch.  Last I checked Patrick was not reprimanded.  The last bits of respect I had for her, as a driver or a person, was lost when I watched the video of her putting Hornish in the fence, after the race was over.

            It will be interesting to watch the damage control she does this week.  Supposedly she apologized to Sam (who is one of the classiest acts in the garage are), and Roger Penske, and also called the Nationwide Series Director and told him it wasn’t her style to do things like that.  While she may be sorry, this is not the first time Patrick has lost her composure and had a knee jerk reaction.

            While some fans may still love her spunky, yet seemingly childish, antics; it seems that Patrick is not going anywhere anytime soon.  The brand that she has established as herself, can and will capitalize on the attention.  Look for her at Darlington, though she may want to renegotiate her Nationwide Insurance quote- this season has probably wreaked havoc on her “vanishing deductible”.

            As for me, I have been spending much more time in the shop lately, getting our new racecar ready to go for Summit Point.  We needed to update some things and special thanks to Areo Tec Labs (ATL) for supplying our fuel cells this year, and also to Butlerbuilt Seats for our brand new seat for this year.  We hope to have the car wrapped up by the end of May, so we can shake it down before we go racing.  Check out the website for updates on our season (http://www.justinonderko.com/).

            I kind of got off on another tangent again this week, but I can’t stand to see stupidity like we saw in the Nationwide race on Saturday.  If Dale Earnhardt Jr wants to park her for a weekend, I would like to let him know I can substitute for the team this week.  Until that happens, though, I will be hard at work getting ready for our season, and watching owners waste money on wrecked racecars.  Till next week. . .

All or Nothing

           This week’s racing was wild, to say the least.  Denny Hamlin had his charity race down in Richmond, Thursday night.  Denny wrecked on the first lap, but Tony Stewart went on to win the race.  On a side note to that race, Jeff Burton built a brand new late-model to compete in Denny’s race, it will become his oldest son’s car- who is only 14; must be nice- thanks Dad!  Saturday night saw a pretty subdued race until Carl Edwards was black flagged for jumping a restart.  Stewart was the leader but spun his tires big time on the restart, which made Carl’s superb restart look like a jump.  Stewart can thank NASCAR for saving his butt, instead berated his team pretty bad after the race for a less than stellar final pit stop.  Kyle Busch went on to claim the victory for his fourth in a row in the Richmond spring race.  In the Grand-Am Series, Max Angelelli and Ricky Taylor claimed a race that was shortened by rain.  It was actually raining pretty hard the whole race, and give the Series credit for trying to get the race in, Mother Nature had the final word though.

            Last week I kind of went off about an article I read about Josef Newgarden.  While I am still somewhat upset about his remarks about a rather brazen first lap move, I have better things to spend my time on- like preparing our cars for our first race.  On the bright side, at least his team has some job security. 

            I have been told that I am an “All or Nothing” kind of guy.  No, not the “All or Nothing” bail it in to turn one on the first lap of a race and end up taking myself out kind of guy (sorry, I couldn’t resist the Newgarden reference); I’m very intense about what I do.  You could say I have Tunnel Vision when it comes to my racing career.  For the most part, the people in my life- I think- have come to terms with that and try to deal with it.  It certainly makes me a difficult person to live with some times.  I’m not particularly proud of this, for it usually causes more problems than it is worth.  However, if you look at history, some of the most successful people in the world have 3 divorces to their credit with children and family that can’t stand them and live alone in a giant house.  I certainly do not want this for myself, but I can understand where these folks come from.

            Coming down to the later part of 2004, I was second in points, winless for the year, pretty much out of racing budget, getting married in a couple of weeks, and had a fiancé that wasn’t happy with me at all.  First you have to know, I have excellent “Hind” sight, but my “Fore” sight (at that time) was pretty fuzzy.  Here I was, able to go racing, getting married to a pretty girl who could put up with, and at times enjoy the sport of racing, and I was second in points.  I should have been more thankful for what I had.  Like I said before, All or Nothing.  I wasn’t satisfied with what I had, and started to sacrifice other parts of my life to try and obtain more from my racing life.

            Whether you are religious, or not, a Marriage is a sacred bond.  It is little more than a promise, but a promise of your trust, love and life - one that should be made with your head in the right place- clear and screwed on straight.  Not as an afterthought to the racing season, and not one you aren’t properly prepared for.

            Now this isn’t about Marriage, but is about life, and how you go about living your life.  I pretty much had second place locked up for the year, and I wanted a win real bad.  I tried everything I knew to change on the car, and in the last race of my season, I led every lap of our feature and won the race.  For what it’s worth, I did do a pretty awesome burnout down the front stretch before I went to

Victory Lane

.  For me, I was on top of the World.  I had finally won a race that season.

            My fiancé, whose name is Michelle, was happy too, but looking back- she was happy for a different reason.  She was happy the season was over.  The wedding was the next week, and after a cruise for a honeymoon it was back to normal- and back in the shop.  Racing doesn’t have an off season, and I was starting to prepare for my next big step.  I had bought an ARCA short track car from Bobby Gerhart.

            Next week we will dive into the ARCA car and all that I had on my plate during that time.  Special thanks to Larry and Big Ed from “Michigan Race Talk” WFNT 1470 AM, for having me on the show last week.  It was fun to talk racing with them, and filling them in on the NASA series and our division “Performance Touring”.  Thanks for stopping by again this week to check the blog out, and follow me on twitter @justinonderko.  Check out our “peerbackers.com” site as well, log on and search “Onderko Motorsports” to find out more info.  Our car is headed to the Dyno next week to declare our horsepower for the year, and the first race countdown has begun. Till next week. . .