There were no races tonight due to the Knoxville Nationals with the World of Outlaws in Knoxville, IA. For some reason this track does not run during the week of the Nationals so I ended up spending some quality time with the family.

RACE DIARY ENTRY: 8/17/02
By Marty "Crash" Grilley

After having the last two weeks off, I am ready to go! The track looks like it will hold up pretty well all night, so we may have as close to the same track conditions in the heat races as we will have in the feature. That doesn't happen very often.

My crew cheif, Jerry, wanted to hot lap the car to see what it is like on dirt. He has raced on asphault in a NASCAR limited late model in the Seattle area so he knows what it is like to be in a race car but has never had mud thrown at him. This is my opportunity to give him a hard time for a change! I had to tell him that the peddle on the right makes the car go faster if he pushes it down! Hee Hee!!! He had fun while he was out there. That is what we are about this year...have fun! Next year may be different.

I am starting inside row 2 for the heat race. Nothing spectacular to report other than the car felt pretty good, just a little loose coming out of the corners. The green flag drops and within about one lap I have moved up to second and that is where I stayed until the checkered flag. Not a lot of side by side fun, just a good solid run to put us into the A feature again tonight.

With the track keeping its moisture pretty well I talked to "The Cheif" Jerry about how to set up the car for the feature. Originally I thought that we should just leave the setup the same and by the time of the A feature the track would probably tighten up just enough that the car would be about perfect. At the last minute before making the final checks and air adjustments, I told Jerry that he should probably tighten up the car just a little bit and see what happens.

I am starting inside row two again for the feature. The green flag drops and away we go. For the first two laps, not a lot changes. We are still side by side for the most part up front. I think I made a mistake in suggesting that Jerry tighten up the car a little. With the combination of the track condition a bit tighter than I thought it would be and the adjustment that was made, the car was pushing badly now. I was having a heck of a time getting the car to turn through the middle third of the corners. After about 5 or 6 laps I am still holding on to 4th or 5th but I can hear the others knockin' on my back door. I tried adjusting my lines through the corners to try to compensate for the push and it did help a little, but I am still struggling. This race is relatively uneventful and after about lap 8 we get our first caution. On the restart I am 7th with 4 to go. I am trying to figure out a way to get around a car or two on the restart to gain every advantage that I can knowing that it will be very difficult to stay where I am for the final 4 laps with the cars push problem. Here we go again! Green flag! I wasn't able to find a way around anyone on the restart, but at the same time I didn't lose any ground either. Two more laps click by and I am still in 7th. Then with two laps to go, the car really pushes going into turn 2 and two more cars sneak by and that is how the night ended. 9th place. Not bad considering how poorly the car was handling.

The one thing I learned tonight is...don't second guess my instincts.

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