Thursday, September 22, 2011

Fastest at Flamboro

Usually being the fastest car means you will win right? Not this time out for the apprenticesearch team. We moved from 8th to 3rd in the heat race. Started the feature in 9th. We quicly caught the front group of cars and tried hard to pass on every lap. Trouble is the cars in front were 3 wide. Finally I picked them off one at a time. Inside, then outside them through the middle. Looks like I need new numbers on both sides of the car again. LOL. With 6 laps to go the track was clear in front of me, then I could see the #3 car way in the corner ahead of me. He had broken free at the start of the race and was miles out in front of the rest of the cars. Lap after lap, I kept getting closer. On lap 19 I had made up 1/2 the tracks distance and was pressuring for the win. Too bad for us they shortened the race length to only 20 laps. One more lap and we were winners. It is good to be fast heading into the last round at Sunset. One more win for the year would be a nice way to cap off the Championship.

Fan Appreciation Night

Mosport is one of my favourite tracks. Tight, bumpy turns and super long straightaways. This years race was pretty good for the team. We were blocked in the heat race and forced to try some alternative lines. They didnt work and we staretd the feature in 12th place. After a long break to hand out candy, stickers and cards we were ready to race. We quickly moved through the feild and at the checkers we were 2nd. Bad news is we lost points, good news.... it was minimal. We head to Flamboro for the secong last race of the year. we are still leading the points, but the guys behind seem to be getting closer. Time for another win?

Friday, September 2, 2011

19 seconds at Kawartha.

After sitting in traffic for almost 4 hours, the team finally pulled into the racetrack. We were late and missed the first practice session. Not to worry, so we thought. We started the car for the next round of practice and it had a miss. Cylinder # 1 was dead. No ignition. Out come the spark plugs and in go 4 fresh NGK plugs. Out on the track we go and set the second fastest time. We come in and change tires, go back out and the car is terrible. It is rolling over, handling very bad and is very slow. We started checking the springs, shocks, tires, all look proper. Then we find it. A broken sway bar mount of the left side of the car. We install a new arm, and out we go for the heat race. The car worked as usual and I moved from 9th to 3rd in 10 laps. It was a great heat race. The feature was interesting. On the start I had a car half way up my hood and a car under the rear of my car, all this and going 95 MPH. It was scary to say the least. We sorted out the damage and could only drive up to 4th place. It was a hard night of work. But it was one of those nights we can look back on and be happy to say we did not lose a single point for the championship. Thanks Dave for all the hard work. We never had a break all night. Glad the damage was minor. Now we go to Mosport. Another very fast difficult track to race on. See you Sept 10.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Inspiring Skilled Trade Teacher's Story



Keith Hoare teaches culinary arts at Thistletown Collegiate Institute in Rexdale. Like Gordon Ramsey with a smile, Hoare is the previous owner of a catering business, now on to a second career.

He has been teaching for just four years, and is proud to teach at this technical school which he says arms his kids with much-needed real-life skills.
Inspiring story, check out the video at this CBC link from August 31st The National Click here for video page