09/30/2026
Championchip Series Race #11 North Carolina Quarter Midget Association (NCQMA) Race Recap
Two cars, two chances to get it right! Unfortunately it didn’t fully go that way.
After some heat races, the Senior Honda car was a complete flip-flop from its tow practice sessions earlier in the week, it was good!!! Thanks to Jess Albright for taking a look at it to help us try to figure this thing out, Lucas was excited for how it drove! Dad was at the track for 9 hours the day before trying to get that car figured out, but he’s a welder, not a mechanic, so it’s been a tough nut to crack. The 160 on the other hand that has been great, really didn’t like the cooler morning temps and shocked us to not qualify so great.
🩵 Lucas started the Light 160 race 11th out of 12 cars. He needs to get better on his restarts, but he is constantly cautious on restarts knowing anything can happen. We just need to get the driver over that and help him understand that laying back on restarts will loose you more spots than it’s worth when you play it safe every time. He was able to make a great pass on the ONE restart he stayed tucked up to the car in front of him and off turn two, got himself into 4th! He was wrong place wrong time here and there, but long story short, he finished the Light 160 race on the rim of his left rear tire and still managed to squeeze out a 6th place finish. Great improvement on the starting spot, but the driver was MAD. He was frustrated with some on track incidents, but mostly not happy with how he drove. "The car was a so good it could've won! I just didn't do good!" He just needed a minute in the trailer to himself after that one, but we're proud he can critique himself and know there is always room to improve.
💚 Then it was time to look in for the Senior Honda race. It’s a pretty fast turn-around from one race to the next so we had to work on his mindset and get all the gear switched over to the green machine and get back in line for the next race. Little did we know how much time we’d have as the race before Lucas’s was pretty chaotic out there. Those poor kiddos in the Junior Honda race were on track for 30 minutes and had only completed 3 out of 30 laps! Lucas likes to be in his car early to get comfortable and focused but after sitting in the car for 40 minutes, his butt was sore and he was the only car in the sun the whole time he was waiting, so he was sweating under his helmet, making his hair itch.. time to get this show on the road!!
Unfortunately, the race before us was a sign of things to come. Again, a couple wrong place, wrong time incidents for Lucas after starting 8th out of 12 cars (one wreck right in front of him on the first lap had mom seeing stars up there, not sure how he missed it!!) and unfortunately on a restart after Lucas had taken a hard hit to the rear of his car, it looked to lose power. Something wasn’t right as he was going at a snail’s pace and they finally threw the caution so he could get off the track. They had to quickly throw the red for safety when it was discovered his whole gas tank had come off the car and was laying down by the motor! Turns out, this was a half-dad mistake and half accident mistake. One of the show bolts was missing that hold it on, like Dad forgot to tighten it all the way the night before, and the other bolt broke from the hard contact, even bending the bar that holds the gas tank, and it ended Lucas’s race day.
He handled this one well, knowing there was nothing he could’ve done, so it wasn’t his fault. He was at peace. Dad on the other hand might never recover from feeling like he let his boy down. Being far away in Kansas and feeling sod helpless and knowing something he missed contributed to his boy not being able to fight for those points he so badly wants back, it broke him a little. Racing is tougher than most think. You can have the most talented driver in the world, but if he or she doesn’t have the machine to showcase their talent, they are not given that chance to show what they can do and it hurts.
Seemed like it was pure survival out there in the Senior Honda race as 12 cars started the race and only 5 made it to the checkered flag “It’s a bloodbath out there” another dad said as he pulled his damaged car past our pit as Lucas and Mom just stood there in shock to see another car in our race som off the track.
Oh by the way, it was a full moon that evening, so there’s that. 🌕
Looking ahead, we are skipping the Charlotte races, we have something in the works that will hopefully have us end our season on a high note and we need to focus on getting that surprise ready for Lucas, and dad has 3 races to pit that weekend anyway and as his season starts to come to a close. He needs to lock in himself as 2 of his 3 teams are in the Chase for the Championship and he doesn't have extra time to fix the car right now if it gets damaged. Lucas and Mom are going to cheer on our friends, then sit in the stands at Charlotte and cheer on Dad and Austin Hill (and Carson Hocevar and Noah Gragson and Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe... the list goes on) as they do their thing!
We’ll be back on track one more time locally in about a month and we hope to have something out there our sponsors can be proud of! We can’t thank Scott Seggi, The Pool and Patio Company , Flash Products, enough for supporting us on this crazy racing journey. Ultimate QM, you are the champion of teams and we couldn’t be more proud to drive your cars. Really. Dale’s hugs after the Senior race meant everything to a heartbroken Mom. The constant support is incredible that we get from team Ultimate, and we couldn’t appreciate them more. They just want to help these kids grow. They believe in Lucas and his passion and talent so much, they go above & beyond for our little team and we will never be able to thank them enough.
🏆Side note: Big thanks to Little E Racing and Henry Albright Racing for showing great character and being incredible roll models for all of the kids at these races. Coming to the win in the 160 race, they tangled, these two best friends who are fighting for a close championship, and they were just concerned with each other after the race and their friendship. We don’t race for money at our club, we don’t do the high-dollar stuff. We are racing anyone can get into no matter your budget and you will be welcomed with open arms. We race to raise good humans. Henry is constantly pulling Lucas aside to tell him what he needs to change and what he should do for the next race, and Elliot will show Lucas video on his phone and give him tips, while making him laugh, while both boys' dad's are always in Lucas's ear with advice and encouragement. These boys are incredible examples of the kids you want your kid to look up to and to take after. I am so proud to call their families our friends and to know that my son looks up to two of the greatest kids at that track. Clean racers with big hearts for EVERYONE, and this is why they are so respected and celebrated. The character these two boys showed after the race made everyone at our club so proud.
After 2 months of not racing you’d think we’re not looking forward to about a month off and ready to get back at it, but after this past weekend, we’re ready to restock, refuel (no pun intended) and get hopefully a big surprise ready (hopefully) for the last club race of the year. We also should probably plan some costumes for the track trick-or-treat at some point too. It’s going to be a busy little break, but even after all the chaos, we already can’t wait to be back at our home away from home. 🏁
Want to be along for the ride?! Reach out now to get locked in for 2027 sponsorship of one or both cars!!! We are also planning some out of state races in the off season and tires are expensive... Help us help you be seen!
