Team CGR retruns to Brownsburg after a successful Speedweek.
Monday, August 18 2008 @ 10:21 AM EDT
Contributed by: coleman
Views: 355
Coleman brings home a Top 10 in Points from his first 410 Speedweek and gains a ton of experience. More Highs than Lows and the Hazardous Sports, DRC Garrett Powered Sprinter comes home in good shape to race again. Iceman makes new friends and the top guys learned they can race with our young driver.
Team CGR returned Sunday night to Brownsburg, IN from a week that saw the Hazardous Sports Hauler log over 3,000 miles during 6 continuous nights of racing. It was a tiring week but one that we will not soon forget. Coleman learned a lot from this week of racing and along the way made some new friends and showed many that he belonged.
Friday and Saturday night saw us finish in the Teens and Saturday may have been or "worst" night of Speedweek since we made the wrong RR Tire Choice however, the Heats and Semi's on those nights showed everyone that Coleman was there to race. He was as fast as anyone and faster than many. Saturday he had to come from the back in the Semi to get 3rd after the outside Pole Sitter, whom Coleman was behind did not fire and everyone scattered to miss him. Coleman was really fast in getting back to his 3rd starting spot. In the Main, we started 11th and ran 10th for most of the race until the car started to fall back as if someone put an anchor out the back. When the race completed, Coleman's right rear tire was blistered and chunks were missing. We had made the wrong compound choice which could have made the car better on the long run. This race went 30 laps with no cautions and the tires were "smoking" to say the least. We were not the only ones making this choice, the Chili Bowl Champ Damion Gardner dropped from 4th to 18th. Our buddy Hunter Schurenburg blew out his RR. But, those that ran the hard RR made the right call on this night. However, if there had been at least 1 caution to cool tires, who knows...
Saturday before the A Main, the 24 Drivers that qualified for the $10,000 to Win Don Shuman Memorial were introduced on the Front Stretch as they stood beside their cars. Only Missouri Native and Coleman's new friend "The Rocket" Jesse Hockett got more applause than the Iceman. When Coleman was introduced to the packed house of Thousands, the place went wild. Coleman had done an interview earlier in the night and the Crowd grew very fond of the Youngest Driver in the Field in a hurry. It was very humbling for Coleman as the night sky kind of hid his "Red Face". Even after a tough night on the Track Saturday, Coleman was still a Fan Favorite as he signed what had to be 100+ autographs outside the Hauler in the Paddock. From Sr. Citizens to toddlers, The Iceman was truly a fan favorite. Coleman's mother was busy selling T Shirts while The Iceman signed just about everything.
During the afternoon Saturday, Coleman drove Sprint Car Simulators with Chip Gannassi's NASCAR Nationwide Driver Bryan Clauson, 3 Time Speedweek Winner and Kasey Kahne Racing's Brady Bacon, Red Bull Driver Cole Witt, and others. He also made new friends in Wild Man Robert Ballou, Jesse Hockett and a few others.
There are so many positive things to take out of this week that it is hard to discuss all of them. But, there were a few things that we could have done better and need to address if we wish to continue progressing at a fast pace. We will work on those issues in the coming weeks as Coleman puts his new found successes from Speedweek to use on the Indiana Circuit.
Thanks to Grandpa's Buzz Gulick and Bill Salansky for their help during the trip. Thanks to Ben Frankoski for his hard work during the week. On Saturday evening, we were fortunate to have Sprint Representative Craig Henkle and his wife Becky join us at the track for a nice evening. Most of all, we want to thank all the great Fans that came out to see Coleman and for their kinds gestures and words for our young driver. Thank you!
It was a great week. We had a blast. Until next time, CGR...
