After a promising start in our newly fixed No. 16 Bookmobile, Nichole picked up a couple of places in her heat.  We started her in back to make sure the car was handling right.

In the feature she started around 10th, and was doing well on a rough track--up to a strong 6th place.  But a pile-up in front of her was unavoidable, and she crashed head-on into a group of cars.  We have major front end damage that will take some time to fix.  Crew Chief Bill Smith and the Davis family worked miracles after the last crash, but this time will take even more work.  

Nichole was shaken up just a bit, though not as bad as last time when she hit the wall.  I'm sure she feels bad about the car.   I will say again that it was not in any way her fault, and I like her as a driver.  However, Team Weaver needs to have some luck, too, and that has been in short supply.

Not sure when we'll be back on the track.  Check in here in a week or so for more news.

Weather permitting, that will be Sunday June 13.  We'll start Nichole in back of the pack just to make sure the car is working right.  After a crash, many things change in the set-up, and small things make a big difference in how the car handles.  It's likely that Bill Smith will have to make several more adjustments to get the set-up right.  All part of racing!

Hope to see you Sunday night at Bemidji Speedway.   BE THERE!

In the feature, Nichole started about 12th, and was quickly gaining ground.  She made it to 9th place, then got too high in turn two, and hit the wall--hard.  On the rebound, she was vulnerable to the other cars, and got tagged, and spun backward into the wall.  Dust and parts flew, and the race was quickly stopped.  

The No. 16 Bookmobile was towed off "on the hook", while Nichole sat in the pits and tried to shake off the hard impact.  We feel very very lucky she is all right.  Much of that is due to her wearing a head and neck safety brace (HANS).  We are one of the few WISSOTA Midwest Modified teams to employ the HANS system, and we're quite sure it prevented serious injury tonight.  (If you're a driver or crew member reading this, get in touch; I know a local HANS dealer and can hook you up.  They're spendy, but hospitals and chiropractors are way worse.....)

Nichole was checked over by EMT's, and her vital signs were good.  She seemed fine but for a stiff neck, though probably will have some shoulder strap "rash" tomorrow.   I'll be dropping by her house to check on her.

The "Bookmobile" needs serious work, and we will be off at least a week for repairs and regrouping, though crew chief Bill Smith has worked miracles before.

In the video below check out Nichole  in action at Bemidji Speedway, Bemidji, MN. May 30, 2010.   Watch her loosen up one of the cars in turn two with a tap on the rear, then slip past him on the inside.  Classic dirt track maneuver.  The No. 16 Bookmobile is part of the Motornovels series, including the just-released CHECKERED FLAG CHEATER. The books are fiction but Nichole, as you can see, is the real deal. 

She started second row inside in the heat, and had serious handling problems.  It was all she could do to control the car, and finishing 4th was a considerable achievement on the dry slick track..

Crew Chief Bill Smith made several adjustments to the suspension before the feature race--where she again started second row inside.  We held our breath that the car was set-up right.  In the first couple of laps the car still seem to "push" upward into the turns, and Nichole lost several places.  She took a hard knock in the rear bumper, then appeared to stall.   That set her back several places.  She explained later that the impact knocked her car out of gear (into first gear);  she noticed the rpm and oil pressure shoot up, and knew what had happened.  Quickly shifting back to second, she did a burn out forward around turn two--just in time for a yellow flag.  However, this put her in last place. 

But  after that, Nichole drove to make up time--and then some. She found her line and her confidence, and started to hammer out the laps, picking off cars one by one.  As a friend of the team remarked, "So who's the 16 year old girl out there?"  It was a  sly joke (from the aggressive way she was driving, certainly no one could tell). She got faster and faster as the race went on, and was challenging for higher placement before she ran out of laps and the checkered flag fell.

A good night of racing.  No damage but for a bent rim.  Had to buy two tires, but that's part of doing business.  Nichole had a smile on her face after the race, as did everybody with Team Weaver.  Dirt track racing is not the Indy 500 (which ran today)--it's far more real.

Next race:  tomorrow night, Monday, May 31, Memorial Day.  Heats begin an hour early at 4:00 p.m  BE THERE, BE THERE!

In the feature the No. 16 Bookmobile still looked a bit loose in the turns, and it took Nichole 4-5 laps to find her groove.  Then she drove smoothly and well, gradually gaining ground on last year's driver, Skyler Smith--as well her brother, Jason Davis.  She pressing hard and coming up on the two boys, but ran out of laps.  She finished 8th.  We'll take it, especially since we had no damage.  The middle part of the race gave her good steady seat time, and she used it well....

Going into the race, she was 5th in points among 20 drivers.  Tonight's finish will drop her back a place or two, but we're still very pleased to be in the top ten Midwest Mods at our local speedway.

Back in action next Sunday night, May 30, Bemidji Speedway.

p.s.  Big crowd tonight, all good the for the speedway.

Tonight's race (May 15) found Nichole starting 4th in her heat, and picking up some ground on a yellow flag for a hard-charging 2nd place finish. This put her near the front in the 20 car feature.  

On a warm summer evening, the twenty cars rumbled in tight formation toward the flagstand.  Nichole was 2nd row inside.  As the green flag fell, some very aggressive veteran drivers passed her--but then came a spin out in front, which she avoided.  On the restart, she was back in 2nd place, and with some nifty driving soon was in the lead.  Talk about a thrill for Team Weaver to see our rookie driver out front.

A rough track and some more spin-outs gradually took their toll on the car count, with several leaving for the pits with one problem or another.  Nichole struggled mid-race to find her line, and faded to about 7th.  And on the last lap, back in 4th place, a hiccup in a new fuel pump cost her a place or two.   However, she finished a very fine 6th place.  That, combined with her 2nd place heat finish, brought some serious WISSOTA points her way. 

 We couldn't be happier with her performance.  Several veteran male drivers came by afterward to congratulate her.  And one out-of-town driver came by to "talk to the driver" to complain about aggressive driving.

"Are you the driver?" he asked Bill.

"Not me," Bill said, "I'm the crew chief."

"Are you the driver?" he said, turning to me.

"Nope, I'm the owner."

The out of town guy looked confused.

"She's the driver," Bill said, pointing to Nichole.

"She's not the driver," the guy said.

"She sure as hell is," Bill said.

The guy got all flustered.  "Gees, I didn't know you had a rookie."

"That's right," Bill said.  "And you're not talking to her because she's doin' just great and we wouldn't change a thing."

I managed to smooth things over a bit and get Bill and the fellow to shake hands and agree to race another day.... 

And one more snapshot of the race:  afterward, when the drivers and the insider types were hanging around the Chicken Shack and beverage stand, a couple of middle aged women came up to hug Nichole.  "Every woman in the stands was cheering for you when you were leading!"

Nichole got a funny look on her face.  "That's what that noise was!  I thought it was something with the car....."  We all had a good laugh at that.

Next race:  Sunday night, May 23, Bemidji Speedway.  Be there!