Febuary 21, 2012

The longest trip of our race season is upon us. We embarked on the journey on Tuesday night, and did not arrive to Valcourt, QB until early Thursday morning. The trip was long, but we knew it would all be worth it come Sunday.  We got out on the track on Friday and set fast lap times, and tuned for the rest of the weekend.  Everything had gone well, and we wrapped up testing with the fastest lap time of the day.

We got to the track early on Friday and prepared for our first day of racing.  We got one practice lap and then set ourselves for the first heat race of the day, and the weekend.  We lined up and the green was waived.  We got off the line last, but in corner 1, we made it back to 5^th.  We remained there for all 5 laps, and walked away knowing we had our work cut out for us.  We tuned the sled and tried to get ready for the second round.  We lined up and waited for Travis McDonald to get to the line as there recoil rope broke, and had a hard time starting the sled.  The green was thrown, and we were off.  Into turn 1 the group was packed tight.  We came out with the lead and held it for 4 of the 5 laps, but got passed by Jacques and had to play catch up, but inevitably running out of laps. We came away with a 2^nd.  Qualifying 5^th, we got ready for the flagman to wave the flag, and then we were off.  We didn’t get a great hole shot, but were mid pack.  We tried to get out front, and catch the leaders, but we just didn’t have the sled dialed in. We ended up finishing 5^th, and headed back to the trailer again scratching our heads, and hoping for colder weather.

Saturday it was colder, and the track was once again a sheet of ice, versus the slush pond on Friday.  In practice we found our speed, but the handling was biting us in the butt.  We got ready for the first round, and again hoped we had her dialed in.  We were 3^rd off of the line, but out of corner 1 we were able to secure a 2^nd place spot right behind Dustin, and followed him for the remainder of the race.  We felt more comfortable with today’s first round finish, as we were getting closer to finding the sled that brought us victory here last year.  Round 2 saw us lining up with Malcolm on our inside and Spencer on our outside.  We stormed off the line with a less than stellar hole shot, and went into 1 in the back of the pack. We couldn’t catch up, and were running out of laps, and yet again, wound up with a 6^th place finish.  Into Saturday’s final, we were desperate to find a solution to our cornering troubles, but couldn’t come up with a solution to fix it.  We made a last ditch effort to get up front, and hoped it worked. The green was thrown on the 12 of us, and the dogs let loose. Into corner 1, with a head of steam, and emerged with the lead out of corner 2. Down the backstretch we went with Joel nipping at our heels. Into 3 and out of 4 we came, with Joel slipping alongside us.  We eventually made it past him pulling him down the straightaway.  Into 1 we went with the lead again, but some of the boys didn’t want to play nice all weekend, and tried to make a rough move too early.  Nick Lagoy got into Jacques, and ended up taking himself out.  Unfortunately the officials made a mistake, and just like last year, took us out of the lead, and back to second.  Apparently they didn’t feel it was necessary to review their tapes to see we led the 1^st lap. So they put Joel in 1^st, us in 2^nd and Jacques in 3^rd.  The green was waived and we were off, again.  We followed Joel close every lap and waited for a mistake, but he never made one and ran a very impressive race.  We crossed the line second, but went to the officials to question what happened.  The officials decided to let us know after the race that we in fact did lead the first lap, and should’ve been lined up first. So they gave us 1^st place money and points for the Triple Crown. It still takes away from a real victory, but at least we got something.

Sunday the boys and I were eager to get to the track, race and get on the road, but not without our 3^rd consecutive win.  We tuned up during practice, but still had an issue turning. We made a camber adjustment, and headed into round 1.  We didn’t get the hole shot, but came out of 2 down the backstretch alongside Joel, and went into corner 3 together, but got bumped by Jacques who apparently decided he wanted to drive through us instead of around us.  We raced together down the front stretch and into corner 1.  We both dove into corner 1, and again he tried to use us as a bumper, but I only fell for it once and he washed out real high, right in our way.  I had to turn right to avoid hitting him, leaving me unbalanced on the sled and nearly crashing.  I got passed by Malcolm in the process of all this, and finished 4^th.  After the race I let Jacques know he needed to use his head on the racetrack, and driving around people is far more impressive to a fan, than driving through them.  The second round we went out grabbed the lead right away.  I finally got to run a race and find my own line.  We stayed out front with a comfortable lead and won our heat.  We were finally starting to get the sled dialed in.  The 3^rd round we lined up with Lagoy on our inside, which we weren’t happy about since he was playing bumper sleds all weekend, and waited for the flag.  We grabbed a handful and headed into turns 1 and 2 with the lead, but it didn’t last long as Lagoy pushed us out of the way, and with Jacques on our outside I just let them 2 go, knowing a 3^rd place would solidify a front row start in the final. Nick persisted to hit Jacques to move him and got away with the win. Leaving us 3^rd. The final was set and we made it in with a 3^rd place qualifying position.  We lined up after the introductions and waited for the last green flag of the weekend.  We were off, going into turn 1 in 4^th, and coming out of 2 side by side for the lead.  The sun was low and the snow dust high, leaving almost zero visibility. Again I got pinched off and backed out and got passed by Dustin.  As we entered turn 1 again, I saw a silhouette of a guy flying through the air, turns out it was Joel.  I had a fraction of a second to determine what to do. I decided to try and squeeze between him and his sled, narrowly missing his sled, but hitting him on his thigh and butt. I raced back around the track to see if he was ok, and thank god he was. We got back to the pack on the front stretch, and awaited the orders. Now at this time this is the 3^rd time Lagoy has taken someone out this weekend, and the officials didn’t do something about it. We were told that if he even comes close to hitting someone in the final, he was disqualified, I mean when Dustin and Jacques got together a few years ago, Dustin didn’t have any warning, and no one could tell who caused the accident, but Dustin got DQ’ed.  So we figured Nick was done.  But to our amazement, he was not disqualified, and was merely put in the back of the pack, behind Joel.  And while we were waiting, I saw the poorest sportsmanship on a racetrack I have ever seen.  Nick persisted to push the boundaries by making faces and yelling at Joel and his team, and yet the officials did nothing.  It’s sad to see this sport be as political as NASCAR has become, and favoritism reign over right and wrong. But we restarted the final and followed Dustin to a second place, and a Polaris 1-2 in Ski-Doo’s home town.

I will end this week on a rant about drivers and their lack of “racing” and the loss of sportsmanship. I’ve been racing for 17 years, and in all the years of racing, this is the first weekend I have seen fighting, and purposeful crashes by a select individual, whom of which I get along great with off the track. I believe I’m not alone when I say that this is the biggest track on the circuit, but believe there were more crashes this weekend, than last weekend in Weyauwega, where it’s a very tight, small track. It was very hard to watch all of this happen, and if it comes to it next year and the same tricks are pulled, I personally would love to travel to Minnesota, less than half the distance, and race where that is not tolerated. This sport needs more positives on the track with high fives, and handshakes, than punches and foul mouths. We are all grown men; we need to start acting like them. So until next time, keep the handlebars to the left, and the throttle wide open.

Big Nick #13, 2012 World Champion 

Febuary 14, 2012

With only 3 races left to run in the TLR Cup, Weyauwega weekend was sure to be a busy and hellacious weekend.  We arrived on Friday morning and got right to business prepping and tuning the sled. Our first test laps were less than impressive, running the slowest lap times of the Friday test runs.  We tried tuning and just couldn’t seem to get the handling down.  We went into the first set of qualifying rounds, and got a bad holeshot.  We settled for a 3^rd place finish, and moved onto the next round.  We ended up doing even worse in the following rounds, and just made the final, qualifying in the last transfer spot. We couldn’t find out why our sled wouldn’t handle, but we went into the final hoping for a decent finish, and some telemetry to help us for the rest of the weekend.  We ran towards the back of the pack as soon as the green was thrown.  We couldn’t seem to move up, and had to settle for a 9^th place finish. Upon finishing the race, we pulled the sled into the trailer, and saw that the sway bar had broke, resulting in the poor handling we’ve had since Wausau.  We replaced the broken part, and prepared for Saturday.

We woke up Saturday and knew we were a day behind the tuning process, and had a lot of ground to make up.  We did not get much time to practice, but we knew our issues were over, and we were back for blood.  The first round came early, and we lined up, ready and awaiting.  We were off, and boy did the sled handle now, it was actually a little too aggressive.  I had to fight to keep the sled down, and we ended up coming out with a 3^rd.  Round 2 saw us in another tuff heat, but we were determined our issues were behind us.  The sled was tuned, and ready to finish first.  The green was dropped, and into turn 1 we went.  We came out with the lead, and never looked back.  We pulled the field, and we were back in business! The 3^rd round we lined up for the last qualifying round, and needed another good finish.  The flagman gave us the ready sign, and then turned us loose.  We ran into the corner, and again came out in the front, and pulled until the checkered was waived.  In the final we lined up in the 3^rd qualifying position. The green was thrown, and the wolf pack turned loose.  We didn’t make it far, as Dan Fenhaus had crashed in the first corner, so we lined back up again for another start. The flag was again waived, and we were off, but not as good as the 1^st time.  We fell back to 4^th, and ran there for the majority of the race, until Gary blew a belt in the last corner on the last lap, giving us his 3^rd place finish, and a podium finish.  P.J. wound up finishing 2^nd which gave him the win in the Triple Crown point’s series.

Sunday was another anxious day, as we knew we had to finish well to get back on the podium of the TLR Cup.  Going into the 1^st round we knew every position counted.  We lined up, and the green was thrown. We launched into turn 1, and came out in second.  We followed P.J. throw each corner, dissecting his line, and knowing where I can get passed him for future reference.  We ended second, and full of knowledge.  The 2^nd heat, we started outside everyone, ready to take a high line, and stay out of trouble. The green was thrown, and we launched out front.  We ran as if it was Saturday, and took the win.  The same went for round 3, and we were now qualified for the final, sitting in the number 2 spot.  We lined up after the last TLR Cup introductions for this race season, and were ready for anything.  The wolves were running, and into turn 1 we piled. We came out in second, right behind Gary, and we followed him for about 4 laps, until he blew a belt.  We ran out front for a lap until the red was thrown, and there was a restart.  We lined up, and hoped for a good holeshot. We were off, and made it through the first corner unscathed.  We ran out front, but the track was ruff, and beating not only the sled up, but I as well.  With one lap left, I pushed hard, and gave it everything I had, leading to another win…and our third for the season!

We’ve been on the podium a lot this winter, and none of it would have been possible unless I had the awesome team, keeping me going on and off the track.  Their drive and determination fuels my fire for nothing but my best.  They put in their time in all year, and I bust mine too.  Along with my crew I have to thank my sponsors as well, we could literally not do it without them.   Our team is more than just those who come along to the races; it follows to those who let us leave every weekend.  The wives, girlfriends, brothers and sisters we leave behind are just as important to our success.  Without all of the great people who back the sport we love to do, we would not be the powerful force we have become today.  So from all of us in the trailer, and especially myself, thank you!  And as always, keep the handlebars to the left and the throttle wide open.

Big Nick #13, 2012 World Champion

Febuary 7, 2012

Another weekend on the ice, and this time we had to search for it. We were set to run in Minnesota, but due to inclamite weather, we ended up running our first long haul of the season.  We made an 11 hour trip to Ontario, and boy was it worth it. We left on Friday morning, arriving to our destination around 6 Eastern Time. Our first look at the track and we were shocked!!!  It is by far the largest track we have ever seen, I liked to think of it as Daytona.

Saturday practice we arrived to the track and went out to run a few laps and tune for the weekend.  The sled ran great, and seemed to be unbeatable.  Our first heat race we got the hole shot, and ran away from the pack… until the finish, we crossed the finish line, and the sled decided to take a poop.  We ended up losing the crank, and the hustle was on to get the sled ready for the rest of the weekend.  We ended up making the next qualifying round, and finishing a second.  We had to get used to tuning last year’s motor again.  Being the first time at this track, we had no data to run off of.  We kept digging, trying to figure her out.  We qualified second, and the final saw us lining up with Nick Lagoy on our inside.  The flag was thrown, and we grabbed a handful of throttle.  Into turn 1, we ran in second behind Lagoy, but during the 10 lap race duration, we couldn’t catch Nick, and had to settle for a second.

Sunday we woke up early, and packed up camp and headed to the track early. Practice went well, setting fast lap times, and getting closer to dialing in our old motor again.  Our handling issue kept creeping up on us, and we just couldn’t seem to shake it down.  Going into the first round, we were able to get a good start, but still ended up running second to Lagoy.  Round 2 we got a chance to run out front, but the handling issue decided to creep up and bite us in the butt again, as Lagoy ran past us in corner 3.  We ran second again, and like Saturday, qualified second.  The final was now upon us, and we were ready to give it our best shot.  The flag was waved, and we spun out of the hole.  Going into corner 1 running 4^th, we had a long ways to go to catch up to the leader.  We passed a few people to reach open ground, and lots of it.  Unfortunately, we just ran out of time, and couldn’t make up the ground. Again we were forced to settle for another second.

The weekend didn’t go as planned, but we are happy we decided to go, catching the crank issue, and now having data on a new track.  All in all we are more prepared for the upcoming weekend, and are confident we can climb back to the top of the TLR Cup point’s standings. Our next stop is Weyauwega, WI, and we have run great at the track many years, hopefully we have better luck than last year, and come out with a back to back to back win!  Until next time, keep the handlebars to the left, and the throttle wide open.

Big Nick #13, 2012 World Champion

January 31st, 2012

Another weekend of racing had fallen upon us.  This weekend was the first weekend the new Wausau 525 track will see racers.  The weekend started out with excitement, and much anticipation coming off of last week’s W.C. win, and our hopes were high.  Fridays practice went great, the sled worked right out of the trailer. We made a few adjustments, and tried a few other combinations to try to see some better lap times.

Saturday morning came early, sun shining, and looking to be a great day of racing. The heat races went well, winning 2 out of the three, and securing a 3^rd place starting spot for the Saturday final. We lined up for the 15 lap final and Bruce threw the flag. We didn’t get a great hole shot, but we managed to get a decent run through turns 1 and 2. Coming out around 5^th place I knew I had my work cut out for me. Battling Dustin for better than half the race we finally made it past him and set our sights on Gary.  We slid past him in a few short laps, and worked up to P.J.  It took us awhile again to get around P.J., but with 3 to go, we made it happen. We ran out of laps to catch Matt, but we took a second, and were happy with that.

Moving onto Sunday, we had our heads high, and goals even higher.  Our first and second heat, again were 1^st’s, but the third round we spun at the line, and were forced to take a 4^th.  Going into the final, we were yet again seeded 3^rd, and eager to take the green.  We did our TLR Cup intros, and headed to start the sleds. On the line, I was confident we could come out with a win, and watched liked a hawk for the twitch of Bruce’s arm. We were off, and going into turn 1 we were running third, behind Brandon and Malcolm.  I was battling with Malcolm, trying to get by as soon as possible so Brandon wouldn’t get to far ahead and leave me no time to catch up. I tried to make a move on Malcolm in corners 3 and 4, shot in low, and as I was coming out, we made contact, and I ended up rolling the sled, and sliding across the ice. The sled was incapable of continuing the race. As the roll took out the steering post, handlebars, and brake equipment. So, back to the trailer I went.

All in all, the weekend could’ve ended better, but at least I have my clean bill of health.  A little disappointed, but it could’ve been worse.  The week leading up to the 525, I received a lot of phone calls, and letters, and I want to thank everyone for everything. It means a lot to know that our followers are just as crazy about snowmobile racing as we are.  So from all of us at T&N Racing, thank you, and as always, keep the throttle wide open, and the handlebars to the left!

Big Nick #13, 2012 World Champion

January 24th, 2012

What a week!!!  We started on Wednesday, at our drivers meeting to discuss the weekend’s events.  After we got the low down it was time to head to the hotel and prepare for the weekends main event. Thursday saw us waking up early, to hit the track around 9 am for some test sessions before our 3 pm time trial event.  The top 16 fastest times would be set to race the heats for their shot in the sweet 16 race.  We went out the second driver on the track, and set the fastest qualifying time just missing the track record.  We were one step closer to our goal, and were determined to make the sled even better.  I watched Friday as the track deteriorated to dirt and got rough.  We had a chance to get out and experience it in our sweet sixteen heat races.  We ended up making it through the first round, and bypassing the last chance qualifier to make it to the final.  We watched as the rest of the heat had raced their way into the final, and went to work fine tuning.  The stage was set and the fireworks bright and loud.  A brisk night it was, as it was below zero.  We lined up first on the line, and the flag was dropped. Into turn one we went with 16 long, grueling laps ahead.  The snow dust was terrible as I ran right on Brandon’s heals for a majority of the race.  Heading into turn 3 on the last lap, I thought I could slide on in on him to make a pass, but wasn’t sure if I could do it cleanly.  I decided it wasn’t worth running the risk of damaging our sled, and possibly injuring either of us.  I was just glad I could finally get inside a warm trailer when it was all said and done.

Moving onto Saturday we knew we had a long day ahead of us trying to qualify for the WC.  The morning rolled on pretty slow with dad leaving more shoe rubber around the track and in our trailer than Forrest Gump ran.  While I tried to run different scenarios through my head about the days heat races.  The first heat race was posted and looked to be tough.  We lined up and grabbed a handful of throttle into turn one.  We came out with the lead and walked away with almost a straight away lead when it was all said and done.  To the semi- finals we go, knowing it would be another tough heat.  Bruce lined us up and threw the flag.  We raced into turn 1, and out with the lead. P.J. was right behind us, but only for a few moments.  As we dwindled the laps down, I was running an average race, and saw a crew member from P.J.s group telling him to slow down in corner 3, I knew we were in the final together, and yet another step closer to a victory.  The evening was filled with highlights from years past at the ring ceremony. Getting a look at all the world championship sleds from the past at the Hall of Fame, and a great meal before I got some rest for the big day.

I woke up early, anxious, and excited for the day to be over, win or no win. The stress was killing me, and I would’ve just liked to get some sleep.  But, I had a great feeling about the outcome of today’s race.  I watched lines all day, trying to decide what my course of action was going to be if we had any ice left to run on.  Short of running to the Judnick Motorsports team and asking to borrow Ross Martins snow cross sled, or buying a set of C&A skis with a 10” dual runner trail carbide,  I decided to just figure out my line in the first 10 laps of the race.  If I had to run through dirt then, I could set myself up for a good position before the “pit stop”, and have a new carbide after the boys changed it.  The time had come, and the helmet was strapped.  After the good luck helmet kiss I get from Alicia before every race, I was ready to take no prisoners.  We headed onto the track for our introductions, and the touching of the Snowgoer cup.  We fired up the sled, and it was time to go to work.  The first 10 laps I just wanted to stay clean.  Somewhere out front and outta trouble.  I ended up following Matt for the entire first part of the race.  Learning his line, trying to get a feel for how his sled was handling.  When the break came up, I was sure I knew when and where I was going to get him. The break rolled on, the team did their duties, and we were back to racing.  Our hole-shot helped us stay in our second place position, and after only one lap, Travis McDonald ended up in corner 3. He was hauled off the track in the ambulance, but was ok after further review.  We lined back up for the 19 laps left.  Our hole-shot was horrible, due to some minor disagreements between the sled and I on which way we wanted to go, and throwing a fuss about it.  I held on as she bucked like a PBR bull, and broughter down, giving up a position or 2. I fought my way back to 3^rd, just squeezing past P.J. again when Jordan Wahl found his way back into the bails. We lined up again and at this point I was hoping to just go green, and stay green until the end.  The flag waived… and there I sat, the dreaded gurgle had come back.  Leaving us second to last as we came out of turn 2, I knew I had a very small window of time to do anything to get back up front.  I started picking people off, slow making my way forward until I caught the leaders.  With three to go, I made a move on P.J., AGAIN, and caught back up to Matt. We came out of corner 4, and the white flag was out.  I wanted to run a clean 1 and 2 and set up corner 3 for the last shot at a clean pass.  As I thought, Matt went wide, pitching the sled sideways and I drove in deep, and came out carrying as much momentum as possible, and we were in a drag race. With only a ski length to spare, we pulled it off!!!! The crew was jumping, and moms were crying.  My dream of becoming a World Champion had finally happened.

I had told my mom once back when I was kitty cat racing that I was going to win that race.  It only took 17 years of determination, a few short comings and tough losses, some learning, and a lot of patience, but we did it.  I say we because it wasn’t just the driver.  It was my crew, my parents and brother, my girlfriend, and family.  And the other half is my sponsors.  Without them we couldn’t fund our operation, and keep it rolling to do what we love.  I have to thank Polaris for all that they have done, and Erv’s Sales and Service.  I know Aunt Nancy has sacrificed a lot to let dad and I do what we do, it is greatly appreciated, and never underappreciated.  AMSOIL, FXR, 509, Augie’s Collectables, ABC Computers, LRM Motorsports, ACT, Stud Boy, Walker Evans, Nelsons County Market, Tripoli Propane, Timberland Chiropractic, DuWayne Krueger Insurance, Moto Tassinari, and Micro Belmont.  Without all of these fine people, our weekends would be very boring.  So, until next time, remember never give up, champions strive for greatness, and never live with regret.  Until next time, keep the throttle wide open, and the handlebars to the left.

Big Nick #13, 2012 World Champion

January 9th, 2012

Coming off our win last weekend, we had high hopes heading to the Portage County Ice Wars.  Our Friday consisted of our race team, along with a few others, heading to the Amherst School District for an autograph session. The day was great, seeing all the smiles, and promoting our sport.  We were sure to see a good crowd after stopping at the school.

Our Saturday started out looking good, with only a few adjustments we could think of leading into the first heat race of the day.  We started off by missing the light on the start, but I think the driver is going to use the old, “beginning of the season”, excuse.  After sleeping for a minute or two, we started the first heat race.  We ran a consistent second to Brandon Johnson for the five lap heat, and headed back to the trailer to prep for the next heat race.  We headed out hoping for better results, but ended up finding our stutter, this time not on the whole shot, but around the whole track.  We ran third to Dustin Whal, and Matt Ritchie, until the stutter got the best of us and we couldn’t hold off Ryan Kniskern anymore.  We ended the second heat race with a 4^th place finish.  Heading into round three, we were still chasing our stutter and working on our handling.  We lined up and the green was thrown.  We came off the line battling for second with Spencer Graff. We diced it back and forth for a few laps, until our stutter bit us again.  Spencer Graff got passed us, and next thing I know, I’m trying to hold my own against Gunnar and Matt.  We ended up fifth and praying we made it to the final.

The final rolled around and we made it to the back row and held our breath as our sled raced off the line. We hit corner one in last and rode it out there till the anxiety wore off, and slowly started making our way through the crowd until the yellow was thrown.  As it turns out, Gary Moyle had de-railed and collected Brandon and Matt in the carnage.  We lined up in the staggered order after the track crew cleaned up the track, and we were off.  We rode hard picking off riders until we hit lap fifteen, and came out finishing a very hard fought 3^rd.  I never used to like that champagne shower, but I tell you what, I’ll gladly wash my uniform every weekend in order to podium.

Sunday saw a whole different story.  We arrived anxious and ready to conquer all, until we had waited an astonishing 2 hours to even practice!  We finally got on the track and tuned for round one.  It was late in the day when we finally got into race mode, saddling up around 2 to hit the track.  We lined up and the green tossed.  We entered into turn one, fourth, and came out of turn two in third.  We finished there, gaining on the leaders, and headed into the trailer determined to fix our issues.  We hit round two with great expectations, and we weren’t disappointed.  We held onto a steady second, trailing Spencer the entire race, and knowing we had a shot at the win in the final.  We had to scrap the third round, due to a lack of light, and opted to run the final instead.  We started as the sun was setting, and road into turn one with the sun to our backs.  We were battling all races with P.J. and Joel.  We couldn’t find a way around the two until the last lap. In the final corner, Joel had gone wide and I snuck in and held it tight to pull off a clean pass to the checkered.

The weekend seemed to be a long one, but it ended with us walking away clean, and unscathed. We had our best finishes we’ve ever had in Amherst, and looked forward to the rest of the TLR Cup season, as we are currently running third, and still as thirsty as ever for that almighty win. So until next time, keep the handlebars to the left, and the throttle wide open!