2012 NASA National Championships. . .

         The last couple of days have been spent going over our checklists for Nationals.  The car has been put back together, and given the green light for competition.  All of the pit boxes have been gone through, restocked, and set aside.  I try to stress to everyone- "Its just another race", but I think we all know, its not just another race.  The hauler was loaded up on Monday, it was washed, and fueled up for the trip Tuesday.  From our shop, Mid-Ohio is roughly 400 miles.  Mostly highway, it should be an uneventful trip.
         Most of Tuesday was spent traveling, we made it into Ashland, Ohio around 8pm and parked the truck at the hotel.  Early Wednesday morning we got up and traveled the 25  miles to the racetrack.  No matter how many times I travel to a racetrack- no matter if I've been there 100 times or going there for the first time- I get that nervous pit in the middle of my stomach.  We made our way to registration and got all of our credentials.
        After registration, we went to the paddock area to find our pit area.  We were fortunate to secure a space really close to the grid area, so we can keep track of what's on the racetrack.  I will tell you- parking at any race is a really pain- but here at Nationals- it is even worse.  We are packed in tighter than a can of sardines.  We got the truck and trailer parked, and the racecar unloaded, and set up our pit area.
       We got set up and took a walk around the entire paddock area to get familiar with where everything is.  We found the tech area and walked back to our pit area to get the racecar and take it over to have it gone over.  After we got our tech sticker, we took the car back to the pit area, and put the car up on the lift.
       We had a Welcome/Drivers meeting at 5pm Wednesday, so we headed over to that area to get a seat for that.  No matter how many races you've been to, or how many driver's meeting you've been to, they are all the same.  "Be safe, don't wreck each other, be on time for your sessions"- was the message that we got.
       We will begin our track time tomorrow, and really look forward to getting our first laps under our belt.  Next week I will give you the rundown of our on track time, and how we made out.  I'm proud of our team and what it took to get here.  I feel we have done all that we can to get ready for this race, and now its time to go out and see what happens.  "Be smart and make good decisions, the big race isn't until Sunday- so keep the wheels on it"- is the mantra right now- so now its time to get at it.  We haven't had the best of luck this year, so hopefully the racing gods look our way and we can avoid any on track scuffles.  I'd like to say "Thank You" to my guys, and I will do my best for them and our sponsors.  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. . .     

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. . .

Camouflaged Positive's

            This was another excitement filled week in racing.  The Cup series was at Texas this weekend, with current point’s leader Greg Biffle taking the checkered flag.  The Truck series was back at Rockingham Speedway on Sunday; congratulations to Andy Hillenburg and his wife for returning this speedway to competition in NASCAR.  The INDYCAR Series traveled to Long Beach’s temporary road course.  Will Power took the victory while racing on strategy but I have to say I was very disappointed in Newgarden’s lack of judgment on the first turn of the opening lap, and also in the altercation between two of the series younger and more privileged drivers, Andretti and Rahal.  The incident resulted in Marco displaying, that no matter what we do, we cannot eliminate all the dangers from this sport; and Rahal receiving a 6 race probation.  All in all though, Viewership was up 45% on NBC Sports Network.

            Last week I was telling you about how the season was turning out.  Although I was sitting second in points, we had not won yet, and racing was starting to take a very real and heavy toll on my relationship with my fiancé.  I was struggling to once again find the money in the latter part of the season to finish the year, and this year we had a wedding to pay for as well.  The track took away our only weekend off, and I started a new job working for Bobby Gerhart for significantly less money than I was making before.

            I know it seems as though there isn’t much that is positive about these last couple of weeks.  In looking back at my early years of racing, there weren’t many overly joyous moments.  The problem was that I didn’t have any real racing experience to pull from to make my situation any better.  Most of the guys I was racing against had been in the sport longer than I had been alive.  I guess that is something to be proud of, in and of itself.  We were hanging tough with the fastest guys in our class.

            I was introduced to Bobby Gerhart the beginning of the summer 2004, and over the summer hung around enough to be offered a job by August.  I took the job and was instantly immersed in one of the best ARCA programs at that time.  Bobby was working very closely with Hendrick Motorsports at that time.  He was part of Hendrick’s Driver Development Program, back when ARCA and NASCAR were using the same body templates.  I had no idea what I was in for.

            One of the guys that Gerhart had working for him at that time was Karl.  Karl is a very smart guy that knows his share of the racing world.  As knowledgeable as Karl was, he was not very student friendly.  It was very rough working under Karl, but it was one of the best learning experiences I have ever had.  You learned how to listen very carefully and not screw anything up, because he would send his wrath down on you, in front of the whole shop to see.

            I was learning so much of what I thought I knew all over again, and I was learning how to do it the right way.  The 2 years I spent with BGR was undoubtedly one of the most beneficial things I have done for my racing career.  It might not have been the best financial decision at the time, though.  My fiancé was putting the finishing touches on our wedding, and the bills were starting to come due.  We were having some real trouble juggling all the finances at the time.  We were going to be married the weekend after the season was over, and that was only a month away.

            Although the championship was still mathematically attainable, by all accounts we were out of it.  Less and less cars were showing up at the track, so that meant it was harder and harder to gain ground on the point’s leader.  I was pretty far ahead of 3^rd place in points, so I wasn’t really worried about falling in the championship.  Some hard decisions had to be made, and I couldn’t be totally selfish anymore, I was going to have a wife to worry about soon. 

            Next week we look at the end of the season, and the tough choices that have to be made sometimes.  I will have some updates on our season up on our website soon, and stay tuned on twitter @justinonderko for the very near future at track updates as well.  Check out my peerbackers.com page too.  Type “Onderko Motorsports” in the search bar for opportunities to become involved in our race team.  Check out our sponsors on this page as well.  Till next week. . . 

Unanticipated Costs. . .

             This weekend was one of the first few “off” weekends in our sport.  I got to spend a very nice day with the family celebrating Easter.  As usual I ate too much, and hated to drive back home, but the down time was a bit of a recharge.

            Our season took another step forward this past week.  The licensing board over at NASA (National Auto Sport Association) granted me my provisional competition license.  It was definitely weird to be told I’m a rookie once again.  I’ve been racing for 15+ years, but its true I guess- I will have to run the dreaded “rookie stripe” on the back of the car.  There are worse things though.

            Last week I was telling you about how the season was progressing.  Although I was sitting second in points, it was due more to the fact that we were consistent instead of battling for the wins.  I just needed a little bit of guidance to get back on track.  My crew was getting tired of all the work and not really seeing the spoils of success.

            I was in the shop the other day, and I was digging through some of my old notes.  I wanted to see where I was at back then with the car.  June 19 2004-  It was a perfect day for racing.  Sunny and warm- it was 73 degrees when we went out for practice.  From what I can tell- I wasn’t happy with the car.  I remarked the car would not turn on corner entry and then I was really loose coming off the corner.  This condition only got worse as practice went on.  There were a couple of all capital letter words that might not be appropriate for this setting.

            I would love to be able to go back and tell myself what I should be doing to the car.  I guess thats all part of it though.  We ended up leading a part of the feature that night and finished 2^nd to the guy who was leading the points.  It was a good run, but I still lost points in the championship.  That is one of the most frustrating things in racing, when you just get out and out beat by your competition.  I was not a happy person on the way home that night.

            I started reading all I could about set-ups for asphalt racing.  I was determined to figure all this out.  By all accounts I was having a decent season, but I had set a goal of a championship before the season started.  I was trying to sort through all that I was learning, and trying to pick out the things that I thought might work for me.  The only problem was that I had to go to the track to try different things out.

            It was getting to be the middle of July, and it was getting hot now.  Still second in points, but still no wins either.  We were coming up on a weekend off, and I think we were all ready for the break.  After Practice was over, we had our driver’s meeting and the nights activities were discussed.  At the end, we were told that we would no longer have the next week off, and that due to a rainout earlier in the season, the track management was going to use next week as a make up race.  I went back to the trailer and told my crew about not having a week off.  My crew took it pretty well, but my fiancé just about lost her mind.

            She told me she needed next week to meet people about the wedding.  She had scheduled her meetings around the racing season, and that she needed a weekend to take care of details.  As you can imagine, it was not a pretty sight as we discussed (a term I use loosely) what to do about our new problem.  I was mad at the track for canceling our week off, she was mad at the track for the same thing, I was mad at her for taking it out on me, and she was tired of being dragged to the track to spend a Saturday night watching me get aggravated and spend more money we didn’t have.  Without checking- I think we led some laps and finished 3^rd that night, but it didn’t matter.  We were going to the track next week and nobody really wanted to; we had invested too much time and money to throw it away now.

                Racing is tough on so many levels, and it can take so much out of you sometimes.  I still enjoyed getting in the car, and being out on the track.  It was just coming at such a cost, a cost I hadn’t really anticipated on when I got involved in the sport.  I started spending a lot of time at the shop, which really didn’t help the home life all that much.  It was 2 months till the wedding by that time, and I still didn’t really know where I was going to get the money to pay for that and finish out the season.

            It was about that time that I was introduced to Bobby Gerhart.  As far as I am concerned, Bobby is one of the best restrictor plate racers I have ever met, and he did it on his own.  I took the job; though it was cut in pay- I thought it might help my racing effort.  As you can imagine, it did not go over all that well at home- not that I blame her looking back at it.

            Next week we continue with the season, the new job, and the wedding.  If you get a chance, take a look at www.peerbackers.com.  Type “Onderko Motorsports” in the search bar and check us out.  Forward it around to those you know who might want to be a part of it.  Check me out on twitter @justinonderko and all of our sponsors on this page.  Our season starts in May, so the countdown has begun for us, stay tuned for updates.  Thanks for dropping by this week- till next week, stay safe.

Knowing Enough. . .

           What a week it has been.  On Sunday I was on “Pretending to be on TV with Glen Tickle”- had a blast with those guys.  It was set-up just like a late night talk show, and Glen is a really funny guy.  Thanks to him and his staff for having me on.  We will have the show up on our youtube account very soon for everyone to check out.

            The racing world was busy this weekend as well.  On Saturday, the Rolex Grand-Am series was at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.  The race was exciting enough, but they had a 3 lap sprint to the finish after a late yellow in which The Spirit of Daytona Team gave Corvette its first ever Daytona Prototype win as well as their own first win.  On Sunday the INDYCAR series was also at BMP and we saw a much better race than last week.  The passing was fantastic, with many overtaking attempts which actually led to some contact.  Will Power made up for some bad luck in qualifying to win a very solid race.  Team Penske is 2 for 2 this year.  I also thought the race was broadcast much better as well.  The teams of NASCAR were down in Virginia this week at Martinsville.  Jeff Gordon was the class of the field ever since they unloaded on Friday.  He led over 300 laps, but failed to win after a green-white-checker disaster.  As a driver, I have always disliked this rule; I shouldn’t have to run 503 laps of a 500 lap race to win it.

             Last week, we learned how fresh paint and fancy looking racecars do not necessarily go fast.  We hung a new body over the winter, and did all the right stuff to the engine and transmission, but devoted little time to the geometry of the car.  Over the next week, we tried to cram 2 months of deliberate measuring and adjusting into 5 days.  As you can guess, that is just not possible.  I think we made the car worse than it was when we went to the track for the first practice.

            You may have heard a saying that racers use- “Races are won and lost in the shop”.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard this before; I have even said it to people myself.  There is another saying that I learned from Bobby Gerhart- “Sometimes you don’t even know, that you don’t know”.  This was absolutely the case once again.

            The first couple of weeks, we were chasing our tails at the track.  I was able to get a couple of good finishes, but I was not happy with the car.  We were certainly not capable of competing for the championship.  I kept making changes on what I though the car needed.  The only problem was that I never had a good baseline to start with.  I was too busy making the car look good, that I never spent the time I needed to, to get the information I needed from the car.  I kept making changes on feelings, and whims instead of good data.

            Once again, I was throwing money and time at this sport and was getting nothing but discouraged.  My fiancé was planning our wedding and spending money as well.  It boiled over on more than one occasion.  I was getting frustrated with the racing and trying to deal with her needing extra time from me.  It was getting further and further into the season, and I seemed to be getting further and further away from where I needed to be.

            My crew was starting to get unsettled as well.  I can’t say I blamed them, who would want to keep spending their weekends banging the heads against a wall.  I just kept throwing changes at the car, and at this point I was just hoping they would work.  I have a feeling that Chad Knaus (5 time NASCAR Champion crew chief) would be very disappointed in me.

             I needed something to get me back on track.  I needed someone who had some experience, someone who had been around the sport for a while, to guide me in what to do.  I also needed someone to help me out in planning a wedding- or at least help her plan a wedding.  I think at this point in my life I was to young to understand what was happening to me and how to effectively deal with it.  I was having less and less success with my racing, and it was taking a heavy toll on my relationship with fiancé.

            Thanks for stopping by this week and checking in with us.  I appreciate all of the support and all of the positive comments as well.  My email is justinonderko@verizon.net, drop me a line if you have any comments, either on the blog, or about racing in general.  I love all kinds of racing and would love to hear what you guys have to say about it.  Follow me @justinonderko on twitter, we will be hitting the track soon, so we will have lots of updates coming.   Justinonderko.com is also a place to catch up on us as well, don’t forget to check out our youtube account (accessible through our website) we will have some race footage up when we get back on track.  Don’t forget to check out my sponsors on this page as well, their help in very important to us.  Let them know we are worth partnering with this season.

Always Learning. . .

All the major racing series’ seasons are now underway.  The INDYCAR series finally ran their first race down in Florida, and although it was somewhat less than astounding, it was the first race of the year with a completely new car and engine package.  The turbochargers are back, but we dropped down to a V-6 instead of a V-8.  For me, it will take a little while to get used to the new look, but I am glad the series made the changes.

            We made our announcements last week; we will compete under the NASA Sanction this year in the Pro Touring class.  We are making further strides towards open wheel racing by competing in this series.  Seat time on road courses is needed right now, and this is an excellent way to make it happen.  Also, this marks the first time since 2009 that Onderko Motorsports will field a car, something else to be excited about in 2012.

            The last time we talked about the stock car days, I was getting ready for my second full season of competition.  I had found a new way to stretch dollars, by making some of the tools that we needed- like a sheet metal break.  It allowed me to hang a new body on the car and not spend a lot of money.  I was able to scrape enough money together to get the motor gone over.  I was engaged now, so I really had to justify all money that was being spent.

           

I would like to take a moment in this week’s blog, to thank all of the girlfriends/wives/sisters/mothers that are out there.  Another season is upon us and most of you know all to well how the season is going to unfold.  The lack of time and money, will invariably lead to shorter fuses and hotter tempers.  Still, most of you stand behind us, and support the decisions we make to race.  It makes life a lot harder than it would have to be, and it takes a big toll on many relationships.  I want to thank my family and my wife for all of their/her support, though it takes away from the very reason they love me in the first place.  To all you racers out there, don’t take advantage of that support, let your families know that you appreciate their understanding.

           

That being said, our racecar was just about race ready.  A new coat of paint, some fresh decals and little wax- and it looked good.  I remember standing in the shop and looking at the car, feeling such a sense of pride, I wasn’t a rookie anymore, and this year we were going to compete for the championship.  It is important to note- having the motor gone through was the only real thing that we did to find speed in the off-season.  Hanging a new body and making the car look pretty does not make it go any faster.  I did not do any work with our moment and roll centers during the winter- which were way out to lunch.  We didn’t have the car scaled properly, and nobody knew anything about our front end geometry and dynamics.  All we had- was the same car as last year, with a fresh coat of paint.

            8 years ago this weekend, would have been our first open test day.  Surprisingly, we were turning the same times as last year.  I say that with a little bit of sarcasm, because I was expecting to somehow have picked up a couple tenths.  That was the day that I learned a good looking racecar isn’t always a fast racecar.  Good thing that day was just a test day, because we were able to go back to the shop and try to figure things out.  I guess not being a rookie anymore didn’t mean that I knew everything I had to know about this game.

            I want to say thank you to all who stop by and read this blog.  I want to let everyone know, if you live near Allentown, Pa- you can catch us at the “Steel Stacks” over in Bethlehem on Sunday evening.  “Pretending to be on TV with Glenn Tickle” will have us on as a guest.  Looking forward to a nice evening with Glenn and his bunch.  Check him out- he has a bunch of his material on YouTube- he’s got some funny stuff.  Check in on Twitter “@justinonderko” we’ll have all the info you will need to attend.  We are also close to nailing down all of our race dates for this season, so stay tuned for that as well.  As always, please check out my sponsors here on this page, they are really stepping up for us this year so please do the same for them.  Till next week.

Making it Happen. . .

            A new year of racing always brings about an optimistic feeling.  All the parts and pieces are new or rebuilt, racecars are updated with advanced clips and suspension components, and last year is just that- last year.  It doesn’t matter if you were the champion or finished outside the top 10 in points.  The start of new year is always exciting.

            Onderko Motorsports is going to be unveiling some new plans for the 2012 season very shortly, and it feels good to be excited again.  Since our Championship in 2010 we have made a big change in how we operate our program, and this year is going to be no different.  I will keep you posted just as soon as the ink dries.

            Speaking of new seasons starting, last week we talked about how the first full season ended.  We clinched ‘Rookie of the Year” and placed 4^th in the Championship points battle.  It wasn’t terrible for a bunch of kids that really didn’t have much to work with.  As happy as I was for the 2003 season to be over, I was equally excited for 2004 to begin.

            I was able to stay busy at work throughout the winter, which helped the financial situation quite a bit.  I also proposed to my girlfriend in early December.  So the pressure was on, plan the wedding and win the championship in 2004.  Preparation started for both soon after we celebrated the New Year.

            I got the guys back in the shop early January, just to shake out the cobwebs and get a schedule again.  I lost a couple of people over the winter, so figuring out who was going to take on the extra responsibility was an added challenge.  We were able to pull the motor and the driveline pretty quick, and we cut the entire body off the car.  In hindsight, I should have priced a new body first.  After figuring out what the motor was going to take, and knowing the transmission was going to need rebuilt, I didn’t have enough to get a body.

            Since necessity is the mother of all invention, I had to figure something out- quick.  I had less that 2 full months before the car needed to be ready to shake down in March.  I did my homework, and was able to get a few sheets of aluminum donated to the team.  My parents helped me out and got me a front and rear bumper cover, so I was able to secure the major pieces- I just need a way to put them all together.

            The tool I lacked the most was a sheetmetal break.  I know I couldn’t afford to buy one, and a break isn’t the kind of tool that you can find used either- at least not easily and never cheap.  So I took a picture of a brand new one, and I went home and put a materials list together, my only option was to build one.  It took me a couple days, but I got it done.  It wasn’t going to bend quarter inch plate steel, but it would do the job for me.

            Grassroots racing is like that, if you don’t have it, or can’t buy it, you have to build it.  That project taught me that, and made a lot of other seemingly impossible tasks possible.  With my crew helping out on our new break, we got the body done, and we hung it by ourselves.  It didn’t look like a store bought job, but it didn’t look bad either.  I was proud of my guys, and it was giving me confidence about the upcoming year.  I could feel the championship in our grasp.

            Next week, we will look at a new season, no longer being rookies.  What should we expect of ourselves, and what are other people expecting from us?  I would like to know if any of you out there are getting ready for this season.  Do you have a car of your own, are you helping a family member or a friend with a racecar?  I enjoy knowing who is out there, doing the same things that we do every year.  Let me know, and tell me what you race.  Check out our sponsors, I know I sound like a broken record, but everyone knows how important they are, and my sponsors are no different.  Check me out on twitter @justinonderko, and we are in the process of rescheduling our San Diego Motorsports interview on 1170 AM, as soon as we nail down the date- I will pass it along.  Thanks for stopping by.

The End to a Long Year. . .

            We are getting closer and closer to the start of the racing season.  Down south, some tracks are opening and the racing has begun.  Up here in the northeast- it’s still a bit too cold.  I am really looking forward to getting back on the track again soon as well.  With the transition to road racing last year, we didn’t get a lot of on track time.  I look forward to traveling around and competing at some of this area’s road courses.

            Last week I told you about my first trip to victory lane.  I have to admit, after I was done writing last week, I went through the old racing pictures and found the pictures from that night.  It seems like so long ago, but I know it’s a memory that I won’t ever forget.  It’s a memory that you pull on when the season is beating you up and you need some motivation.

            We survived the rest of the season, and finished 4^th in the championship as a rookie.  I think everybody was glad the season was over.  No one was more relieved than me.  I was out of money 2 months before the season ended, and I needed a break mentally as well.  The girlfriend and I were on really thin ice, she had her fill of racing too.

            I brought the racecar home after the last race and pushed it into the shop and forgot about it.  I knew there was a bunch of work it needed, I needed to pull the motor out and send it to be rebuilt, the transmission needed looked over, and we needed a new body.  I couldn’t do any of it, though, I didn’t have the money.  So I felt it best to just leave it alone for a while.  The last event I had to worry about for this year of racing was the awards banquet.  It was a time to put on some nice clothes, have a good dinner and get together with the people we raced against- away from the track.

            First things first, unless you are the track champion or are getting a special award, award banquets are one of the most drawn out, boring, uneventful functions you will ever attend.  I can say that, because I have been on both ends of that.  I was presented the trophy for 4^th place in points and as I was carrying it back to my table I thought to myself, “This thing should be a whole lot bigger for the time and effort it took to get”.

            We passed it around the table to all of the crew members and to my parents who also attended.  As we were talking about the highs and lows of the season amongst ourselves, I heard my name being called.  Dino Oberto, the track announcer, had called my name for “Rookie of the Year”.  He was telling the story of interviewing me that night back in September.  He caught me by surprise as he talked about it, I made more of an impression that I had thought.  Most everyone in that room that night was at the speedway for my win, but Dino told the story anyway.  He had some nice words about me, and made me realize that there were at least a couple people that knew my name at the track.

            The evening ended late that night, and we were all tired from dancing and having a good time.  It was nice to blow off some steam.  On the ride home, with everyone sleeping, I remembered the season.  8 months prior I was on my way to the track for the first race of the season.  Here I was, driving home with a real expensive imitation gold plastic and wood composite 4^th place trophy.  I don’t think there is enough space here to adequately explain how I felt right then.

            It was all wrapped up in that trophy, the wrecks, the win, the rainouts, and all the time spent at the shop.  That’s what I saw when I looked at it sitting on the dash of the truck.  When I look back at that trophy today, I see all the things I learned that year.  I remember only the good, and the bad that I do remember- doesn’t seem as bad as it did back then. 

            It was soon Christmas of 2004 and that meant the New Year was soon upon us as well.  It seems racing doesn’t have a real off season, and for me it meant getting back in the shop and back to work for the upcoming season.

            Stay tuned for some upcoming news from us for this year.  We will be getting back on the track and can’t wait to announce this season’s plans.  Thanks for stopping by and reading the blog, I thank you for all the kind words, keep them coming @justinonderko and don’t forget to check out our sponsors.  I appreciate everyone who takes time to come here.

Victory Lane - The greatest place on Earth . . .

           Today is the first day of March, and the weather has sure felt like spring lately.  I do apologize to everyone who reads my blog on a regular basis, we just got back from Atlanta, GA.  We made the trip down to look a racecar that our team might acquire and compete with this year.  Stay tuned for updates on that.  We also didn’t get to do our interview on San Diego Motorsports 1170 AM last week.  Yonah, the host had to cancel on us extremely last minute, but stay tuned for a new date and time.

            That brings you up to date on us, but how about this year’s Daytona 500?  This 500 has to go down as one of the more surreal races I have watched.  The first time is the history of the race that it was postponed, and then big time wrecks 2 laps into the race, stuff blowing up and catching fire, tweeting from the backstretch, it was a wild one.  Congratulations to Matt Kenseth, who raced a smart race and brought the trophy home for the second time.

            Last week we talked about how this sport of racing can send you through the range of emotions.  I earned my first pole, never made it to the green flag, spun through the field, and then ended up winning the race.  The whole team shared in this win. I was glad, and partially relieved to have given them a win - it really makes you feel better about the time and money you spend on the cars.

            I had just taken the checkered flag and I was going nuts, my crew was running out onto the track to head to victory lane.  We were just a bunch of kids, the oldest person on the team was only 21, and we had just won our first race.  I can only speak for myself, but I remember the events of the night, but I don’t remember victory lane that well.

            All my guys were there already when I pulled in, and they were all pounding on the car and yelling.  I remember unbelting and trying to climb out of the car, but everybody was mobbing me at the window.  To that point in my life, it was the best feeling I had ever felt.  It is hard to put into words the rush that comes over you at that moment.  I finally got out of the car, and shook everybody’s hands, gave the girls hugs and tried to let it soak in.

            One of the best track announcers I have had the pleasure to listen to, and to be interviewed by is Dino Oberto.  He is currently working for Mahoning Valley Speedway in Pennsylvania, but that particular night he wanted to talk to me - and I really wanted to talk to him.  The only problem was, I ended up with cotton mouth and couldn’t form my words right.  Couple that with all of the excitement and it was a terrible interview.  Like I said I don’t remember it too well, but my girlfriend got it all on tape - we have joked amongst our team about it a lot.  “How not to act in Victory Lane 101” should be the name of that interview.  I was yelling at the top of my lungs, I forgot to thank everybody, it was a mess.  You can tell on the tape, though, that Dino was getting a kick out of me and just let me go.

            Like I have said before, racing is 80% hard times, 10% tragedy, and 10% wonderful.  This was one of the 10% wonderful moments.  I finally calmed down enough to talk like a normal human being, and Dino made sure that I told my crew thank you.  The track photographer got us all together and took a couple pictures and then it was over.  The track had to run the next race and our time was up.  It was kind of bittersweet, and it is over way too quick, but that’s just life.

            I climbed back in the car and drove it to the scales to be weighed, and for post - race inspection.  We got weighed in and then the head tech inspector came over and congratulated me on a good race.  He also informed me he would be looking at the top end of the motor tonight, so we should go get some tools and take the carburetor, intake, headers, and heads off for him.  My heart sank and I felt like I was going to puke right there.  I was scared out of my mind, I had never really thought about tech before.  I didn’t think I had anything illegal on the car or in the motor, but to be honest- I didn’t really know.  I think it was at that moment the look on my face was too much for him.  He burst out laughing and told me to get out of his inspection area.  A college hazing of sorts I guess, I didn’t think it was very funny, but he thought it was hilarious.  I will admit, looking back on it- he got me good.

            Loading up at the end of the night to go home, is usually a big hassle and really not that much fun.  That night, we didn’t care how long we took to get packed up, we were flying high.  I had a couple of guys come over and talk about the race and say we did a good job.  It was all very nice to be the winner that night, but for me, one gentleman in particular made my night.  Joe Hoffman, who was the points leader at that time - and arguably the best car in our division, came over to my pit area to find me.  He shook my hand and told me he was happy for me and my team and that I ran a great race.  That moment I remember well, and will forever.  I haven’t seen Joe for a couple years now, and haven’t raced with him since our championship year in 2010, but him coming over to me to acknowledge me was a big moment for me.

            The trip home seemed to take 5 minutes and we stayed up all night long at the shop, cooking on the grill, playing loud music and dancing around our winning racecar and $400 check.  That’s right, $400 was all we were racing for, and it didn’t even cover the cost of a new set of tires.  It didn’t matter though, we didn’t do it for the money, we race because we love it.

            Next week, we will look at the end of my first season and start looking ahead to my second full season in the sport.  Our current racing season is starting again soon.  We have some announcements happening soon and will share them on this blog as well as my twitter @justinonderko, my website, and press releases throughout the web.  Thanks for stopping by, and as always check out my sponsors here on this page, and hit me up on twitter if you have a questions, comments or suggestions - I would love to hear from you.   

Why We Race. . .

            It’s the third week of February, and the racing season is growing ever closer.  Daytona Speedway was full of activity this past weekend, with Bobby Gerhart winning a record 8^th Daytona ARCA 200.  Bobby has been a big influence in my life and racing career.  I worked for Bobby during the ’04 and ’05 seasons, and learned a tremendous amount.  I know how much the superspeedways mean to him and want to congratulate him on another awesome performance.

            Last week we visited the highs and lows of the sport once again, and for me at least I was starting to lose motivation going to the track.  I had earned my first career pole, and was on point to lead the field to the green flag, but inexperience played a crucial role in keeping me from doing just that.  I spun off of turn 4 coming to take the green flag.  Somehow I spun through the entire pack and wasn’t touched.

            I don’t believe I have ever had a more embarrassing moment in my life than what had just happened to me that night.  I had stalled the car during the spin, and to add insult to injury the engine was flooded, so it wouldn’t start.  A push truck finally came around and got me going again.  My crew would stand just outside the fence off of turn 2.  They were all lined up at the fence as I came around and I couldn’t have felt smaller.  I knew they were upset and I knew I had let them down.  All of their hard work, the countless hours in the shop, all those Saturday nights spent at the track.  I didn’t even want to look at them- I was too ashamed.  I rejoined the field at the back of the pack and waited to go green again.  The view at the back of the pack was certainly not as nice as up at the front.

            The green flag was waived and again I brought the car up to speed.  I made up a few spots over the first couple of laps and was sitting 15^th at the end of lap 6.  We had a caution and bunched the field back up; the track crew cleared the accident and sent us back to racing.  I passed a couple more cars and then 2 cars tangled in front of me.  I missed the wreck, but the yellow flag flew again.  I was 10^th now, and we were 1 lap shy of halfway.  My crew was starting to come back to life and was standing up at the fence again.  The green flag was once again displayed and racing resumed.  I had a great restart and was able to pick up another spot right away, followed by another 2 laps later.  With 12 laps to go, 1st and 2nd place was battling hard and made contact.  It sent those two cars hard into the fence, along with the rest of the field trying to get through the carnage.

            There was nothing but smoke in front of me, and everybody was going low to miss the wreck.  I saw each car in front of me make contact with the car ahead of them.  The bottom of the track was becoming a mess of twisted sheetmetal and wrecked racecars.  I figured I could go low and add to the accident, or I could try the high side and play the odds.  As I was trying to find a path to drive, a car came rocketing past me from the bottom of the track and bounced off the outside wall.  I missed him (or maybe he missed me) and a space just big enough for a racecar opened in front of me.  I steered towards it and punched the gas.  The next thing I know I see nothing but clear track in front of me.  I MADE IT THROUGH THE WRECK!  All of the sudden I was sitting in 2^nd place.  From the highs to the lows, back to the highs again.

            I came around turn 2 and my crew was jumping up and down and giving me the “thumbs up” sign.  If only I could bring this thing home in the top three, they might forgive me for what happened earlier.  It took a while, but the track was cleaned up and we were ready to go racing again.  My crew was motioning to me to take my time and be smart.  The green flag was waving and we were racing once again.  Coming off of turn 2, the leader got loose and wiggled up the track a little bit, that was all I needed- I got a great drive off the corner and pulled to the inside.  When we got to turn 3, I had the inside groove and the position.  As we came across the line, I was now the leader, and leading my first lap in my career.  I cannot describe to you the range of emotion that I was feeling at that very moment.  My crew was going out of their minds as well. 

             I got the “10 laps to go” sign from the flagger, and I started praying to the racing gods to keep this race green for the rest of the night.  Time seems to go backwards when you are leading races, even today- it’s easier to chase someone for a whole race and win it with 5 to go than lead it flag to flag.  That night an eternity seemed to pass until I go the “5 to go” signal.  My crew was telling me through the use of hand signals that I had a decent lead over 2^nd place.  The head flagger showed me that there were only 2 laps to go and my crew was telling me I had a big lead now.  I was going out of my mind.  I could sense that this could actually happen, and I just needed to keep hitting my marks.  The white flag was waving as I came off turn 4, and I just had to keep it together for one more lap.

            Now as I came off of turn 2 and looked at my crew expecting to see them telling me my lead was safe and that the race was in hand.  Instead they are all jumping around motioning for me to “GO GO GO” as if someone was right behind me.  I freaked out and dropped to the bottom to guard against getting passed.  I came off turn 4 and saw the most beautiful sight a racecar driver can expect to see.  2 checkered flags and nobody in front of me; I put my arm out the window and started screaming my head off.

            I couldn’t believe it- we just won a race and I was headed to

Victory Lane

.  I stopped at turn 2, and waited for my crew to come out as they headed to the winners circle; I revved the motor and did a little burnout as I drove away.

            Winning a race sure does cure a lot of things in racing.  That was a good night, and next week we will touch on how you can lose all ability to control yourself in victory lane.  I want to ask everybody to check me out on San Diego Motorsports Radio this Sunday (Feb 26 2012) night at 9pm PST on KCBQ.com or for those of you who live in San Diego- 1170 AM.  We will sit down with Yonah the host and talk racing.  As always please visit my sponsors, they make doing interviews like the one on Sunday night possible.  Thanks for stopping by.

Paying Rookie Dues. . .

            I’m starting to get excited about this racing season.  Not only about my plans for open-wheel racing, but just for racing in general.  This is the first year since we have entered the economic recession that it feels like things could be turning around.  That means more cars and hopefully better racing.  While I am not your typical race fan, as a driver, I do like seeing a lot of cars at the racetracks.

            Last week we traveled to the speedway for the first time that season for our first test day.  We unloaded our freshly rebuilt racecar and got ready for our day.  The day went without incident, but it did show me that I wasn’t the only one that was hard at work in the offseason.  There were plenty of teams with shiny new racecars, and they were faster than me too.

            The season started later that year in the end of March.  The first race was a little rough for me, I didn’t qualify all that well and was only able to muster a 7^th place finish, a far cry from battling for the win like I thought we would be.  The next couple of races went quite the same way.  I was really starting to get frustrated, I thought I would be running up front and contending for the win each week.  I look back now, and I find that so arrogant.  I was 20 years old, no real experience with stock cars and had a bunch of kids working on my race cars.  The average age of my team was just over 19 years old.  We were actually doing better than we should have been.

            Half way through the season, I was sitting 4^th in points, leading all the rookies, and had a season best 3^rd place finish to my credit.  It was near the end of July and it was particularly hot and humid that summer.  As everyone knows, thunderstorms are just a normal part of a hot summer afternoon.  This night was no exception.  We had gotten practice completed, and we were getting ready for the heat races.  They had just called us to get to the staging area, when the skies opened up.  This was before we had an enclosed trailer, so we pulled out the tarp- covered the race car and sat in the truck waiting for the rain to stop.

            I remember it was about 7pm when we pulled the tarp off the car and tried to dry our pit area up.  The track had a wonderful rule *much sarcasm inserted here* for all of the racers, if you didn’t use your racecar to help dry off the track, you didn’t get any points or money at the end of the night.  So, like everyone else, I climbed in and burned $7 a gallon fuel in a race motor that cost me a couple thousand dollars to go dry off the track.  It didn’t take real long to get the bottom groove dried out, and we had just about all of the top groove dry.  It important to state- “almost dry” is very different than completely dry.

            My heat race was called up, and I was starting 4^th.  We took our customary pace laps and got the “1 to go” signal from the flagger.  Coming off turn 4 we got the green flag and they turned us loose.  I held strong on the outside through turns 1 and 2.  Down the backstretch and into turn 3 I was still running 4^th.  Now remember that “almost dry”- turn 3 was dry up top, turn 4, however, was not.  I hit the damp part of the racetrack and the car plowed with its front tires.  I got out of the throttle and tried to get the car to turn.  I was now almost 2 ½ lanes up the track now, and there was no coming back down.  I tried with everything I had to get on the brakes to slow down, but it was too late.

            I remember saying to myself- right before I hit the wall- This is probably going to hurt, so get ready.  I hit the wall with the right front tire and it felt like all the air tried to exit my body.  The steering wheel spun out of my hand and I rode the wall down the frontstrech while I tried to start breathing again.  The car came to rest at the entrance to turn 1, and I pulled the window net down.  I climbed out and walked over to the right front.  As bad as I felt when I hit the wall, I felt worse when I saw what the car looked like.  The right front tire was gone- I don’t mean flat or shredded- I mean gone.  The upper and lower control arms were attached to the chassis, but the spindle had been ripped from them.  The radiator had a hole punched in the side of it, and the door had been ripped open.

            Just like my first race I declined the ride in the ambulance and walked back to my pit area.  I saw my guys walking over to me, and asked me what happened.  I told them the track was damp in the upper groove off of turn 4, and I tried to take down the wall.

            The rain came and canceled the feature races for the rest of the night, which was a lucky break for us.  We already had the car loaded up by the time the rains settled in for the night, and headed home.  Just like my very first race, the drive home was long and rough.  I was stiff and sore, and very upset at what happened.  We had a lot of work to do this week, and I didn’t have a lot of extra money.  Looks the credit card was going to get a workout again.  This wasn’t going to be fun.

            I appreciate the followers of the blog, and want to thank everyone that comes to read about it.  Let me know who you are, any racing you have done.  I enjoy talking racing, and I’m sure you guys have a few stories of your own.  I’ve also been in touch with our sponsors this week, and they said they have seen a rise in traffic through this blog.  I want to thank all of you for checking them out after you read the blog.  They make this dream possible for me, so continue to help them.  Next week we look at what it takes to get back on track, and the impact it has on the rest of the season.  Check me out on twitter @justinonderko.