09/20/2026
First off, anyone who wants a race carājust know it is both the best and worst decision of your life. š
Throughout a season, youāll love the thing, youāll hate the thing, youāll think about quitting and putting it up for saleā¦ and then youāll remember why you love it, even when everything is going wrong.
Last fall, we pretty much finished the year with one race actually completed. We had a blown-up motor that was running on about six cylinders, a transmission that was leaking and completely trashed, and we had managed to break just about everything possible throughout the yearāincluding destroying the car.
Looking back, none of this would be possible without some really important people.
My parents, Thomas and Wendy Smith. Every time I needed something, they were there to help me get it here, even after I had already burned through the race account for the year. š I canāt thank them enough for always helping me keep this thing going.
John Woodring and Imperial Plumbing for letting me keep the car at the shop and helping with whatever I needed. Having a place to work on the car and someone willing to jump in and help makes a huge difference.
Cody and John Vickeryāyou guys are the reason we keep improving. The setup on this car is their brainchild. Iām learning and getting better, but these guys are the reason this car is what it is. They have put a ton of time and knowledge into helping us figure this thing out.
And of course, my wife. She somehow manages our crazy four kids through an entire racing season. Between three kids in travel sports and the other 35,000 things they have going on, she somehow still puts up with me disappearing to the race shop and racetrack. š I definitely couldnāt do this without her.
As for me, I think Iāve improved quite a bit as a driver this year. But going out and driving in a circle is a hell of a lot harder than it looks. When people say it takes seat time to learn the craft, that is a no-s**t statement.
My goal this year was to be competitive in the main pack at Wenatchee Super Oval. Which, of course, happens to include about 10 really fast guys who have roughly 400 years of experience between them. š Half the time I feel like an 8th grader trying to compete with college kids.
But thatās also what makes it fun. Every night we learn something, whether itās about the car, the setup, or me as a driver.
Weāre thinking about heading to Stateline on October 10th for the Pumpkin Bash Halloween race, mainly to get some seat time on a new track and keep learning.
Weāve come a long way from a blown motor, a trashed transmission, and a car we damn near destroyed.
And somehow, I still love this stupid thing. On to the 2027 season. šš
