August 11, 2007 Old Dominion Speedway

Today’s temps would be in the 90’s. Very little air moved throughout the day, which made it uncomfortable.

This week’s race would be filled with emotion, challenge and change!

The Legends division would once again practice as an entire pack, something some of us frown upon. Time trails would be somewhat of a challenge for the track as they were off, but as the old saying goes, the show must go on! During tonight’s drivers meeting, the drivers were asked to consider removing the Styrofoam from their roll bars, doors and panels, as it could pose a potential danger in case of a fire.

I started off the day with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach! I realized that tonight’s race could pose some problems. Drivers were hungry, younger competitors were feeling a little more confident and point leaders were trying to make-up for lost points due to wrecks, vacations, etc. With the season half over, everybody wanted to get it on!

I found myself looking for glimmers of hope, something that would relive my tension and uneasiness. I spotted two shiny heads up pennies. At first I felt silly thinking about picking them up, but I did anyway. I asked Dave to put one in each pocket, which he did. I told him I would recite the racers prayer over and over and send a couple extra angels his way this evening. Dave looked at me as though I had lost my mind, but went along with it anyway.

Racer's Poem
"Lord I pray as I race today, keep me safe along the way. Not only me, but others too, as they perform the jobs they do. I know God that in a race, I, the driver, must set the pace. But in this race of life I pray, Help me Lord along the way. Although I know I am a sinner, Help me to believe, that with God, You're always a winner." -

And…they were off! Dave would start in the 9th position and quickly move up to 6th place. Three quarter’s of the way through the race, Dave encountered slower traffic. His times fell way off and the remaining cars on the lead lap were fast approaching! Dave pushed the car as hard as it would go, and almost lost it. His 04 car slide sideways, and for a moment I had visions of a disaster in the making. Fortunately, he was able to maintain control, not miss a beat and finish the race safely in 6th place. The entire race would be incident free, no wrecks or cautions, something I was thankful for.

The above photo was shared by Rick Baker

Dave is currently 8th out of 29 cars for points thus far. He has had (2) top five finishes and (5) top 10 finishes. I wonder where he would be had he not been involved in three incidents, two which were not his fault! These DNF’s really hurt us in the point standings, but the year is not over yet! Dave has already far exceeded any expectations his father and I had. Our goal was to get at least (1) top ten finish for the season. I constantly remind myself that Dave is a rookie, other than Karting he has no other experience in any other divisions. He recently turned 16, has no drivers license and this is his first year in a Legends car.

This weekend Dave will be traveling to Shenandoah Speedway to gain extra seat time and scuff in tires for our next Old Dominion race. We have no plans of mixing it up with the boys in Shenandoah, this is a point race for them and we do not wish to get in their way.

Fan Zone Photos for tonight's race - HERE

YOUTUBE Video of tonight's race - HERE

Mike Daniels - Dave's father and crew chief.
To learn more about Mike visit the following link - HERE

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