June 22nd, 2010

We are having some more shirts made for the 2010 season. It is late in the season but I thought it would be nice to get some white tee shirts for the summer time. The design on the back is still in the works, but it will look something like this:

June 10th, 2010

I have decided to switch gears as they say in the racing business. I am teaming up with Steven Cox and family to take the race car on asphalt. More info to come.

I have finally gotten my website software again so I should be able to update the website more often.

November 16th, 2008

New T-shirts!

The new shirts for the 2009 season are in!  If your are interested, please click here.

October 26th, 2008

The Candy Bowl

Susquehanna Speedway

Newberrytown, PA

Due to the rain-out on Saturday, the racing was postponed until Sunday. This was a good thing because we had very nice weather on Sunday. I got to the track around 12:45 and checked in. When I got to the pits, I was met by Johnny Eckard and his girlfriend Jodi. He volunteered to help me out, which was a good thing because this was my first time at the races without Andy or Skip. The first thing we had to do was change the axle. I changed the gear the previous day, but when I did I noticed that the bearing on one of the axles was bad. I called Randy and he said he would bring me one to the track. Johnny was a big help in getting me on the track as well as helping me on the track by giving me some pointers.

Warm-up laps: The warm-up laps went very quickly. It seemed that there was a green, a yellow and the checked flag. I don't really think I got one full lap in. Oh well. I was trying a new gear out. Jim Lowery let me borrow his 3.42 gear. This is definitely the right gear for this track. I had plenty of speed going into the turns and plenty coming out. I was looking forward to the feature.

Heat race: Since this was more of an exhibition race, there were no heat races.

Feature:  There were 21 cars on the track. The Pros and Masters drew positions and started at the front and the Semi-Pros drew spots for the back. I drew #91 and started 13th. The start went well and I was able to keep up with the pack. There was a little difficulty seeing coming out of turn 4 because of the setting sun, but it was manageable. The car was handling fairly well. I was gaining more confidence entering the turns faster and faster and I was able to stand on the throttle coming out. Something I haven't been able to do in a while. That felt good. Everything was going fine. I passed some cars and some passed me. I was running twelfth on about the 9th lap when I did a double take in turn four. The car started to spin so I checked up. When I did, car #90 Scott Spidle drove over my left front fender. He said all he saw was sky and thought "uh oh here we go". He actually came down on all fours and continued on. I restarted and tore off to try and catch up to everyone. On the backstretch I swerved back and forth to see if anything was broken and it felt a little weird. I though maybe my tire was flat. I pull up to the guardrail at the entrance to the pits and asked Johnny if my tire was flat. He said my fender was dangling and getting caught in the wheel. I pulled in the pits and he ripped part of the fender off. I saw the pace "Jeep" pulling in and I knew they were about to go green. I drove cautiously but quickly through the pits to try and get back on the track. They took the green and I was too late. The official wouldn't let me on the track. I would have to wait until the next caution. I shut it down and waited. Three laps went by and I gave up. I figured that I really wasn't sure if the car was 100% anyway. No point in risking it for 5 or 6 more laps. I finished last. Still won $25 bucks though. Free admission.

This was a great way to end the season even though I wrecked. I was actually progressing. I felt like I was racing instead of just surviving. I can't wait for next year. Time to start tearing the car apart. Fun!

Quick Results:

Heat: N/A

Feature: Started 13th, finished 21st. (boo!)

Current Point Standings:

Central PA points: 555- 39th (Final standings)

National Points: 605 - 46th (Final standing)

Johnny Eckard

Jason Rochelle, Pat McDermott and Randy Kissinger

Brent Marquis - Drive angry!

Robert Sobieski

Before...

...and after (ouch)

The Candy Bowl

Everyone lines up on the front stretch and the little kids get to Trick or Treat.

Happy Halloween!

October 5th, 2008

Susquehanna Speedway

Newberrytown, PA

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Seventy degrees and mostly sunny. There was a good showing for a Sunday, 29 cars I think. There were some "no shows" because people wanted to save their cars for the Nationals which was only 4 days away. They split the features so that everyone would qualify. Pros and Masters in one race and Semi-pros in the other.

Warm-up laps: The track was dry and sticky the car handled fine but I didn't have enough time to make a good assessment.

Heat race: I started in 4th position. I thought I would have a good showing, but as it turns out, my decision to use the .373 gear was a mistake. I didn't have enough acceleration off the corners. The sun was shining in my eyes coming out of turn 4 and I was too high on the track. I nearly hit the wall. I turned toward the infield and spun. Luckily no one hit me and I was able to continue on. I was unable to maintain my position and I finished last. We didn't make any changes to the car.

Feature:  There was a field of 16 cars. I started in the back row, inside of Bob Lash. I didn't figure I would do to well because of the incorrect gear choice, but I would at least get some good seat time. The first 14 laps went caution free. If it had gone any further I may have been lapped. I did however develop a feel for the car and a sort of rhythm. I noticed that the car was too tight. I could not bring the back end of the car around. This could be the set-up or the gear, I'm not quite sure. I could go like gangbusters in the straight away (.373, 5th gear, 9000rpm), but I could not carry enough speed through the corner. We will work on it for next time. I ended up finishing 12th.

This was a great learning experience for both driving and set-up. Andy and I had a good time. I got a chance to talk to everybody and wish them well at the Nationals. I took some pictures and posted them below.

Quick Results:

Heat: Started 4th finished 8th out of 8

Feature: Started 15th, finished 12th out of 16

Current Point Standings:

Central PA points: 555- 39th (Final standings)

National Points: 689 - 42nd (unofficial final standing)

Full race results: (from Susquehanna's website)

Randy Kissinger

Pat McDermott

Jeremy and Justin Grim

Brent Marquis

 Bob Lash

Steven Nederostek

Ed Wentz

Jim Black

Alex Kempf  from Florida

RMR Motorsport - TJ Mayberry and Ralph Rehrig

Gretchen - Cooling off after the feature

September 13th, 2008

Trail-ways Speedway

Hanover, PA

It was threatening rain the whole day, but luckily we got the race in. Skip and I got the car ready and Andy met us there. Scott and Colton paid us a visit in the pits before the race and they told me my mother Leslie and her husband Jim were in the stands. This was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately I couldn't go out to see her because of the track schedule. Because of the possibility of rain, they kept the schedule moving rather quickly. There were 22 cars there that night, so everyone would race in the feature. We parked next to the Grim brothers again. They are always helpful. 

Warm-up laps: The track was in pretty good shape I thought. It was a little slick, but manageable. The car was tight going into the turns but we purposely set the car up very tight because of the extreme loose condition we had our last time here. I didn't want to spin the car out again. We didn't make any changes for the heat race.

Heat race: We started in 10 position out of 11 cars. I was still having a tight condition going into the turns and I was trying to drive the top of the track. I was doing much better then last time, but I really wasn't making any ground. I was able to pass one person and one person rolled so I finished 8th. I was able to spot my mom and Jim in the stands and we exchanged waves. We made some air pressure adjustments to compensate for the tight condition. Randy Kissinger watched me for the last couple of laps of the heat and he made some suggestions that we heeded.

Feature: Just before we went out for the feature Steven Cox, a 270 micro-sprint driver, gave me some pointers of where to drive because of the track conditions he saw when he was out there. The feature was 20 laps or it was supposed to be 20 laps. The race was riddled with cautions. I think there were 10 total. Luckily I was able to avoid all of them even though there were some close calls. Mike Boer, another 270 driver said "you really dodged some bullets out there". There were some bad circumstances for me none the less, but that's all part of racing. I got caught behind someone with there hood flipped up blocking their windshield. I lost a couple of positions there because I thought they were going to throw a caution and they didn't, there were a couple of new drivers who were driving erratically so they were hard to get around, and because of the accidents the track was getting very rutted. I hit one of the ruts spun out. I can't really blame the track, but I will anyway. This was on lap 14. They ended the race because there were too many cautions.

I was happy with the way the car handled. I was becoming more comfortable with the car and we were getting more competitive. And best of all Gretchen was still in in one piece after all those cautions. This was a good day of racing and I can't wait for Susky on the 27th. That should be our final race of the season. (Gretchen is the name of the car by the way, Andy made me give her a name. It was the first thing that came to mind)

Quick Results:

Heat: Started 10th finished 8th out of 11

Feature: Started 16th, finished 14th out of 22

Current Point Standings:

Central PA points - 38th

National Points - 45th

Full race results: (from Trail-ways website)

Central Pennsylvania Legends

Feature (14 Laps) – 1. 148-Jason Rochelle; 2. 48-Randy Kissinger; 3. 94-Greg Burd; 4. 11-Robert Sobieski; 5. 611-Justin Grim; 6. 17R-Tom Mayberry Jr.; 7. 53-Bill Diehl; 8. 77-Randy Fetterolf; 9. 53JR-Buddy Sload Jr.; 10. 81-Travis Wilson Jr.; 11. 37-Brian Weitzel; 12. 22-Reed Salony; 13. 20-Vernon Houseman; 14. Y9-Charles Hartwig; 15. 46-Pat McDermott; 16. M1-Todd McCollum; 17. 1-Rick Kaylor; 18. 76R-Mike Mayberry; 19. 94X-Butch Brough; 20. 7-Geremey Sheaffer; 21. 5-Scott Houdeshell; 22. 15-Lucas Montgomery. No time.

Lap Leaders – Jason Rochelle (1-14)

Heat 1 (8 Laps/All Qualify) – 1. 48-Randy Kissinger; 2. 148-Jason Rochelle; 3. 37-Brian Weitzel; 4. 22-Reed Salony; 5. 11-Robert Sobieski; 6. M1-Todd McCollum; 7. 53Jr-Buddy Sload Jr.; 8. 15-Lucas Montgomery; 9. 81-Travis Wilson Jr.; 10. 77-Randy Fetterolf; 11. 611-Justin Grim. No time.

Heat 2 (8 Laps/All Qualify) – 1. 7-Geremey Sheaffer; 2. 94-Greg Burd; 3. 5-Scott Houdeshell; 4. 46-Pat McDermott; 5. 53-Bill Diehl; 6. 94X-Butch Brough; 7. 20-Vernon Houseman; 8. Y9-Charles Hartwig; 9. 1-Rick Kaylor; 10. 76R-Mike Mayberry; 11. 16JR-Tom Mayberry Jr. No time.

August 30, 2008

Grandview Speedway

Bechtelsville, PA

This was our first time at this track. Andy and I worked on the car the prior Thursday. We changed out the bent rims and checked for any bent or broken suspension parts from hitting the wall the week before. Everything checked out ok. We loaded up the car. Skip and I made the trek to Bechtelsville. It is about 2 hours from Hanover. We arrived about 3:30 and took a look at the track. It seamed to be pear shaped from our viewpoint. The banking in turns 3 and 4 did not appear to be consistent. It looked steeper in turn 3 and it appeared to flatten out in turn 4.  The track was also a dark grey color. Must be some kind of charcoal mix. Not the same as the clay from the other tracks. It will be interesting to find out what differences the track shape and composition will make. Warm-up laps: It was a little slippery from the water trucks, but the car held the corners. It was slick up high because of the loose dirt. I was trying to pass someone up high on turn 2 and was heading for the wall. I backed down. Heat Race: I started in the back for the heat race because it was my first time there. It took a while to get used to the track, but I started to get the hang of it. I passed one car that appeared to be very loose. It was the car of John Gray. There were no cautions. I finished 10th out of 11. Only 6 would qualify. Consolation Race: I started 10th in a field of 15. They start the races in turn 3 which seems a little strange. I was pushed from behind by someone, which sent me to the top of the track. I lost about 2 positions in turn 4. I was pushed again in turn 1 but I held my position this time. I didn't realize I was being pushed. I just thought my brakes weren't working or something was wrong with the car. Luckily I didn't spin. After a couple of cautions I gained back my positions. I finished in 10th place. Only 7 would qualify. Missed it by three. I talked to Randy Kissinger at the end of the race and he was the one who told me someone was trying to push me out of the way. He assured me that I was doing fine and that the other driver was being too aggressive. I was happy with how we did seeing that it was my first time on the track. I don't know how often we will come to this track because of the distance, but it was a good experience none the less. I met even more nice people in the Legend Car Racing circuit.

Quick Results:

Heat: Started 11th finished 10th out of 11

B - Main: Started 10th, finished 10th out of 15

August 23, 2008

Susquehanna Speedway

It was a beautiful day. Bright and sunny not too hot not too humid. A good day for racing. Andy and I went to the shop early to get the car ready to race. It still had a lot of dirt on it from Lincoln Speedway the week before. We also had to replace the starter and the wires going to the battery. Important tip: Don't let the car roll backwards while in gear. You will trash the starter. Important tip #2: If after you trash the starter do not continue to try to start it. You will melt the wires. We fixed everything, cleaned up the car and put it on the trailer. We also installed some air bags to my truck to help even out the trailer load on the hitch. We got to the track about 5:00 and parked next to Justin Grim. We have managed to be parked next to him for the last three races. Go figure. There were 30 cars there this time. I wasn't sure how she was going to run. We were using the same .373 gear that we use for the 3/8 mile tracks. This one is 4/10. The warm-ups went fine. This track is really fast. It feels like your floating when you get to the turns. The track was a little slick but it would be perfect after the Late Models did their heats. I started in the back in the third heat race, 10th place. They start you by your points at this track. I passed one guy to finish 9th. Only six would qualify, so I would have to try to get in through the consolation race. I started, you guessed it, 9th in the consolation race (only 6 laps, 6 to qualify). I was holding my position until about the 3rd lap While trying to pass someone on the outside, I hit the outside guardrail on the exit of turn #2. The car tried to climb the wall and it turned abruptly towards the infield. Luckily no one hit me. I was once again going backwards with the car in gear and I didn't push in the clutch. Damn! Did I just toast another starter? I pushed the clutch in and hit the ignition button. It started right up. Whew! Dodged a bullet there. I whizzed the car around and caught up with the pack. I wasn't quite sure what the damage was yet but it was still holding the turns so I guess it was ok. We'll see what happens when we go green again. I passed three cars but I still didn't qualify. We stayed to watch the feature. In the second lap there was a five car pile-up in turns #1 and 2, all the cars in the back of the pack. This is where I would have started. I guess it was good that I didn't make the feature. Gotta look at the bright side, right? We still had a good day of racing though. We did however need to replace a couple of wheels and tires.

August 16th 2008

Lincoln Speedway

We got the car back from Randy after he checked the setup. I was looking forward to racing at Lincoln. This was my favorite track so far. I couldn't wait to try out the new set-up. There were 30 Legends cars there that night. Andy and Skip were the pit crew for the night. My brother-in-law Scott stopped by as well. The first thing they were going to have after the warm-ups was the make-up feature from the last rainout. I was supposed to start 28th. There were only 22 cars there from that night so I started 21st. Here we go. I couldn't quite get a handle on the car. I was still a little cautious in the turns. I started in the back and I stayed in the back. I actually lost ground from the pack. I was still a little gun-shy at coming out of the turns after the horrendous showing at Trailways. I actually spun out again with about 4 laps to go. Still embarrassing. The car was parked against the inside guardrail in turn #4. I couldn't back it up. They had to get a wrecker to back me up. I then took off down the front stretch and tried to catch up with the pack again. It sucks trying to figure this dirt track driving out. I didn't think it was going to be this difficult. I finished 20th.

 I started 9th in the heat race. The other cars had a bad start so I darted up the middle and gained about 3 spots on the start. I held off one of them for the first lap. On the second lap I was hit from behind in turn #2 and I spun again. This time I thought I would try to spin it all the way around. A full 360. This was a big mistake. Because of the banking this is more difficult then it seems. I ended up going backwards with the car in gear. This destroys the starter. Always remember to push in the clutch when going backwards. Live and learn. I tried to restart the car not knowing that the starter was locked up and it ended up heating the wires so much that the insulation melted off of it. It actually melted the positive and ground wires together. The inside of the car started to fill up with smoke. I couldn't breathe. I quickly got out of the car. They towed the car back to the pits and we started to assess the damage. We concluded that if we replace the starter and the wire, we might be able to make the consolation race. I got a starter from Don the parts guy and a wire from Randy. Scott and I taped up the ground wire. We got it all back together and I was about to jump in the car with only seconds to spare and we tried to start it. Nothing. Damn. Don's starter was no good. We missed the consi. So ended the night. Somewhat disappointing. All part of racing though.