Highs and Lows at Kansas

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was filled with highs and lows, but I think we’re headed in a better direction. The Ergon Racing team and I have just returned from racing in Kansas. We had our best showing yet. Unfortunately, it all ended too soon.
That was my first race in a Toyota. Our manufacturer switch is already paying dividends. We were able to transfer information between teams and help each other out a lot now that we’re both using Toyotas. Both crew chiefs at Billy Ballew Motorsports could compare setup notes much easier than before.
We were not as fast as we wanted to be when we unloaded off the truck. I was 23rd quickest at the end of practice. The truck was tight through turns 3 & 4, so Doug and I put our heads together and made some changes to the setup. It made a huge difference. I was able to qualify in fifth-place for the race. When we took the green flag, the truck was awesome. We rode in the top-10 the whole night.
Things were looking up, then bad luck struck on lap 73. I was passing for third when the truck that was racing above me turned down across my hood. The result being the Ergon Toyota too torn up to return to the race.
It was definitely a heart breaker. I know we could have finished in the top-10 that night. But at the same time, it’s a real confidence booster to know we can race up front. It’s really cool to think we were at the head of the class competing with guys like Jack Sprague and Ron Hornaday. This Ergon team is awesome and the race at Kansas confirmed that. I can’t wait to go racing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in my new home state of North Carolina and get a finish we deserve.
I think we really showed our potential at Kansas. We know what we can do. We’ll forget about what happened at the end, and now concentrate on moving to Lowe’s. First, however, I wanted to take time and do something that I feel is always important. I played in a charity golf tournament on Tuesday. Me and a couple of guys from Ergon teed it up for the Victory Junction Gang. We played OK, but no doubt had a lot of fun. It was for a good cause and that’s what matters. I want to thank everyone from Ergon who took part and thank all the fans who are cheering us on. We’ll be back strong in a few weeks.
Ya’ll have a great week.
Take care,
Marc