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. . .

Should Have Known Better

          This week the only series that was running was NASCAR.  My heart breaks for Martin Truex Jr. and the MWR Team.  Denny Hamlin was leading when they paid out the money but Martin led more laps this past Sunday at Kansas, than any of his season totals since he started running the Cup Series.  I’m glad to see Michael Waltrip and his group finally seeing the fruits of their labor.  Many people thought when Michael and Buffy put their money on the line, it wasn’t a good move, but with the right people Michael has come a long way- I admire him for that.

            I came across something yesterday, and I didn’t know how to feel about it right away.  Evidently, Josef Newgarden, an INDYCAR Driver, writes a blog for the SPEED Channel, and this week he was reviewing the Long Beach race.  Now, being a driver myself, I have put myself in situations on the track that did not yield positive results, but after listening to Newgarden’s post, first turn of the first lap, accident interview- I was left wondering what I would say if I were him.

            For those of you who don’t know, Dario Franchitti and Josef Newgarden ended up on the front row for the Long Beach race.  Dario got a huge initial jump but Newgarden tried to pass him on the outside going into turn 1 on the first lap- a move usually reserved for the last lap.  I am certainly not trying to bash Newgarden; I just thought he would have used better all around judgment.  Lets, for a minute, forget what happened on the track; it is pretty much standard procedure to be interviewed after you are involved in a wreck.  He proceeds to tell us (in a way that makes me question if he should have the ride he does) that he should have used better judgment and that he thought Dario should have given him more room- that Dario ran wide and forced him into the tires and ended his day.  Then in his blog yesterday, he stands up for his first lap debacle, saying he learned a lot about one particular INDYCAR driver this past Sunday and he “will not shy away from moves like that in the future”.  *Note to Sarah Fisher Racing employees*- long nights lie ahead.

            I find myself having a big problem with this, not because he wrecked- that happens- it’s why he wrecked and what he is using to justify it.  He was never going to beat Franchitti to turn 1.  Not because Newgarden doesn’t have the talent or the resources- it just is not going to happen.  Do you think, for one minute, Dario is going to let some rookie embarrass him on national television?  That he will get passed in a very bold way, on the outside of the first turn of the first lap?  Never gonna happen, not in a million years.  Not in INDYCAR, not in NASCAR, not even on your local short track.  It’s a “paying your dues” thing not to mention pulling stunts like that often have a very high failure and embarrassment rate.  He would have gained much more out of tucking in behind Franchitti and following him and LEARNING.  Who better to follow than last years champion?  What a shot in the arm it would have been to Sarah Fisher and her organization to run up front and get some TV time battling for the lead.  Instead, they end up loading a wrecked racecar in the hauler and now have to spend time and resources fixing a racecar that had the potential win the race.  I have filled just about  every position on a race team, sometimes I have been the race team, so I know what it takes to put racecars on the track.  If I’m the crew and my driver brings me back a wrecked racecar, there better be a real good reason- and not stupidity.

            This kind of stuff drives me crazy, because I have had to race my entire career for the next race.  I had to bring the car home in one piece, because I needed it again next week.  Now, Newgarden has more resources than I do, and he makes more money than I do, but he should also be held to a higher standard than me, right now.  I have followed Sarah Fisher since she was in Sprints, and especially when she was a low budget team racing in INDYCAR trying to make it.  I believe she is a tomorrow kind of racer as well, so I would like to believe that this doesn’t sit well with her either.

            There is a time and a place for all kinds of racing, and bravery should only be shown with less than 15 to go, if at all, because otherwise it leads to disappointment or worse.  Sometimes, the best thing you can do is sit and ride, just make laps- earn the respect of your fellow drivers and let them know they can trust you.  Tucking in behind Franchitti and running the first stint of the race would have done all of that.

            I didn’t mean to get off on a tangent about him.  I believe that this kind of stuff should be learned early on in your career, when someone isn’t making lots of money to race these cars.  It is frustrating to see this kind of stuff happen, when I know how hard we work to try and attain the same level of racing.  It would seem in other sports, like baseball, some time back in the minor leagues to think about what you could do different might be in order.

            I have spoken about Bobby Gerhart often in this blog, and there is an infamous quote that I give him credit for- “Some people just don’t know that they don’t know”.  I would have to think this might apply in this case.  In the top tiers of our sport, all the drivers that compete can all wheel racecars very well, that’s not in question.  It’s the choices we make, that separate us from the pack, that make champions or “also rans”.

            I have spent too much time on this topic, but I needed to vent about what I read Tuesday.  I will talk next week about the last races of our 2004 season, and the events that followed.  I learn just how high the prices are for certain mistakes made in life, and how some of that changes who you are.

            On a much higher and positive note, we finally got to talk with Dave Stall from San Diego Motorsports this past Sunday.  I had a blast with those guys talking about racing, and our work with RAD, and our future plans.  Tune in 9pm (PST) Sundays to catch them- http://www.kcbq.com/ for those of you who can’t pick them up on 1170 AM dial out in San Diego.

            Our first race has been changed to June 16-17 down at Summit Point Raceway in WV.  Check us out @justinonderko during the weekend for updates, or plan a road trip and see some exciting racing from guys who love their machines, and are passionate about the racing they do.  We will be talking more about that weekend in the weeks to come.  Check us out on www.peerbackers.com (search “Onderko Motorsports”) and become a part of our race team.  We bring you in and show you the nitty gritty of the sport.  Feel free to comment on the blog too, I love the fan interaction.  I can’t wait for our season to finally get started, it seems like it’s been to long since I’ve been in a race, and I am ready to get going.  Till next week. . .