Hicks Lawn Services truck racing

[hickslawns]

Updates: saw another angle of video. Oh yeah. It was gnarly. Two full rolls. Somewhere around the second one I was into the wall and rolled up the fence. I think that is what slung me around to face the infield even though I was facing the wall when I began to roll. Should be in one of those "And they walked away" videos. Truly a moment of God's protection. I better shape up a bit. He must have more plans for me.

The rebuild continues on the 17 truck. Second hour plus long trip for parts took place tonight. Been working late every night. Seems I accomplish more from 9pm to 3-4am because the phone isn't ringing.

She has been stripped. No apparent frame or roll cage damage. Repaired a leaf spring which had leaves pointing different directions. Welded up angle iron and 1" square stock for sheet metal supports. (And future protection maybe?) Painted new metal and what frame and roll cage I could. Found a drum hanging up so pulled rear brakes apart and went thru a quick clean up. Checked drive shaft too. Need to hang sheet metal skins. Vinyl it up. I do intend on relocating my seat away from the roll cage more. I did bump my noggin off it during the rolls. I also need to relocate the oil breather off the valve cover and the crank case breather. I plan on running them away from engine compartment and into coffee cans to determine which one keeps spewing oil and determine how much I'm losing.

Make up feature at Limaland this Friday. We ran the heat race and rained out. Friday we run hot laps, go to feature, then run heat races and a second feature. Big night. Good rest. Would REALLY love to race my own truck.

Here is where she took the first major impact right above my head.

 

[hickslawns]

Worked every night in the truck. Literally thru the night this past week. This morning we still had a fender to build and no roof. Took the old roof. Banged it out. Three boots thru the roll cage and some fake pillars got us to the track so we could run. Still some work to do on the body. (Building a new roof for example. ha!) Lots of areas we need to clean up sharp edges and such.

Ran hot laps. She was okay. A bit loose but track was slimy. Ran the make up feature. Moved up to 4th until the last lap when a kamikaze came blasting thru me. I held onto fifth and won't forget the dumbass driving on his part. There will be no kid gloves if he is in my way moving forward. Several times I laid off knowing I couldn't pass him cleanly. Once around him I guess he got pissed. Didn't matter. Probably a $5 extra payout for 4th. Good for him. About crashed three of us for that $5.

Truck was way loose. I left it that way to try to adapt and hopefully become a better driver. I feel I made steady improvement. Truck was fast. It can be faster. We're getting there. Didn't run the heat race or main feature because I noticed the serpentine belt coming apart. Interference motor. Thought about taking a lap and pulling into the infield for my $30 "tow money." Not worth risking a motor over $30. I loaded up and watched. We live to receive another day.

Ended up banging out both sides, the top, and tailgate in order to make the track. Only made one rear quarter and the front fenders. Cut some of the banged up stuff out. Promoter told.me.we need to add a little more fender and tailgate to be legal.. Really? Those are the parts the dumbasses tear up. I had tire marks on the high rear quarters from them.

 

[P8riot]

That thing looks great considering! You made short work of it. Still a few small things but you should be damn proud you were back at it so soon. Congrats!

 

[5Cent]

Hell yeah Phil, way to keep grinding to get back at it!

"Loose is fast, and on the edge of out of control."
- Harry H. (the one and only)

 

[hickslawns]

Was working on my truck today. Plan on it tomorrow too. Got a call from the promoter to receive one of his trucks tonight. Guess I'm heading to Indiana. No brainer. Twice the mileage driving over in my F150. No wear and tear on my truck. Probably move up in points if I run one lap of the feature and drop out. Sounds like 4-5 guys aren't able to make it.

Plus, he needs a shake down in this truck. Last time it was out the guy rolled it. He wanted me to let him know what it is doing or if it is okay. Apparently, I have experience in this field now.

 

[5Cent]

Hell yeah, much respect Phil. Go have a blast wheelin someone else's equipment

 

[hickslawns]

Ugly. Should have cancelled due to rain. Track was terrible and honestly dangerous. Thankfully we didn't see life flight last night for anyone. I've seen it at this track more than once.

Heat race- ran solid. Taking last lap turns 1/2 and steering wheel bolts came apart and I launched turn two like the Duke boys. Stupid. (But I agreed to give it a shake down.) Ripped a brake line and broke a right rear shock. No spares. Removed shock. Pinched off brake line. Ripped brake fluid. Tried not to use brakes for feature.

Feature- was running 7/14 and thought the leaders were coming thru. Moved up the track to let them around. I knew it was a stock truck and a dog. Whoops. That wasn't the leaders. Just the three guys behind me. Well, now I am 10th with a couple laps to go. Definitely faster than 8/9, and was fast enough to keep 7th behind me but I just handed it to them.

Oh well. It was a shake down run in a dog of a truck. Two of those guys ARE running for points. I didn't want to booger the leaders and wanted to keep his truck together. Thought it was the right call at that moment. If I were in my truck I wouldn't have been getting lapped. I would have raced them hard.

Overall not a bad night if you like waiting 3 hours to start because the track was a swamp. 8-9hrs at the track is a bit long when you show up as late as I did. Would have been a couple hours more at the track if I were in my truck so I shouldn't complain.

 

[hickslawns]

Loaded up for Montpelier. Truck is ready. Head is not. I don't like the track. It is a shit show trying to run 6 classes. Lots of sit around and wait. Can't remember the last time I raced it when the track was "okay." They added end of the year pay out for top five in our class. I missed one race there. Ran Andy's stock "rental truck" for a 10/14 finish last race. I would have to podium the rest of the races to "maybe" make top 5. They did double pay out for our class so I guess I'm going. Feeling like a job. Supposed to be fun. We shall see how the night goes. It will determine if I go back to that track.

Trying to have an open mind. Need to clear the negativity and hit the road.

 

["J"]

Go out and have a blast, take home a check and have a few beers!!!!!

 

[GoetsTalon]

Have fun! Good luck!

 

[5Cent]

Yeehaw, come on Phil time to hammer down. You're going racing man, open those windows and crank that shit up. Good luck and give her hell!

 

[hickslawns]

Montpelier Heat race. Stupid. Flat out dumb. Some people shouldn't be allowed to operate a shopping cart. One of them was in my heat race. I was passing him on lap one on the outside. Coming out of two he drifted up the track and hit my left rear with his right front as I passed. He never backed off the throttle. Pushed me sideways. Literally. Facing the infield. Bouncing on my tires sideways. About half the backstretch. The guy below him had nowhere to go and drove up over my front tire and fender. Lucky the truck didn't get rolled again. Complete restart was called. I swapped spots between 2nd and 3rd a few laps until sheet metal got into my rear tire. Ran the last few laps in a flat. The guy who hit me got me by .02 seconds at the line. Honestly thought he dropped out. Hadn't seen or heard him as I putt putted around the last few laps.

Feature: Started 7th. Moved to 6th. Got outside and it didn't work. Couldn't turn. Dropped to 10th by lap 2. Found my way back to the bottom. Clawed back up to 4th. Got some help on re-starts. Hurt myself on other restarts by getting a little too far outside and hung up out there.

Silver lining? Figured things out earlier in the race rather than with a few laps to go. Worked with what the truck was offering. Made the most out of it. Need to do work on the driver and probably some set up stuff. Budget is shot. Patience is wearing thin. I'll be at Waynesfield next Saturday and then take a couple weeks off. Maybe a few. Might need a mental reset. This is supposed to be fun. I don't want to take the fun out of it.

In the pics below, notice how dark it was by the time we got to our heat races. After midnight to get on the track for the feature. 430am home. This is one reason I was dreading going to the race. It is like you are clocking into a 14hr shift to race some of these tracks. They are not very quick.

Hot laps.

Heat race

Banged out for feature

 

[hickslawns]

Maybe I should add: same guy who hit me in the heat race had issues in the feature as well. Someone spun. They threw the caution. Everyone is coasting and off the throttle. Well, not everyone. One guy who was half a lap behind and still racing came thru and nailed the guy who spun out. HOW? Just how do you race another half lap after the caution and hit the guy everyone is going high or low around? He should have been yanked off the track at that point. Just dumb.

 

[P8riot]

Glad to hear you made it out!! Its scary to think you put your life in some peoples hands on a daily basis (driving on the road). You hope everyone else is paying attention and is doing what they are supposed to. Then you get where you are going and people watch and shudder because you see them! The crap I think about!

I always hate seeing someone go so hard to the point of carelessness and it costs other people time and money and safety.

Sorry to hear it feels like a job. It's funny how sometimes hobbies turn that way sometimes. After the wreck maybe you just look at things differently? Even the greats (Cole Trickle and Ricky Bobby) took some time off after major wrecks.

 

[hickslawns]

Loaded up to race Waynesfield Raceway Park. Hoping for clean racing and avoiding the idiots tonight. Hopefully I'm not one of them.

Truck is better than it has been. Swapped some shocks that were toast. Didn't realize until I pulled them off. Rebuilt a lower shock mount and built a new bracket for it. Valves are good. Tires are clean and wrapped up. Need to run my own race. Be smart. Take notes. Get a little better each race.

 

[giles]

Stop it. Go out there and beat the bricks off everyone! Go kick some ass!!!

 

[hickslawns]

No pics or vids yet. Everyone must be asleep or driving home. Ran third in the heat race at Waynesfield Raceway Park . Mike Hicks took the heat race win with Rolly Heyder in second.

Rolled out for feature outside row, three trucks back. I was behind Mike and Rolly. They took off and I hung onto their bumpers as long as I could. They would pull half a truck length on me here and there but I felt like i had them in striking distance should they bobble. We got into lapped traffic and they got a little more distance on me.

Truck was handling better. No doubt I could use some new shocks. Not sure that is in my peanut butter and jelly sandwich budget. Will keep working with what I have and keep working to steadily improve as a driver. Felt good ripping thru lapped traffic and doing my best to hang with those two heavy weights. Win #7 on the year for Rolly with 30+ years racing and over a hundred wins. Mike was track champion at Waynesfield for many years. Not sure how many feature wins or track championships he has. Point being: I am very pleased with third place to these guys. Everyone (including those two) was pretty pumped for me and congratulating me like I had won. Lol. Not many have given them a run this year so getting in striking distance was a big step forward for me.

Really need to find some shocks and dial in the setup better. That is the next step and should get me a little closer to them. Truck has NEVER been aligned since I bought it. Tires had hop as they were digging. Partially due to track being rougher than a cob and partially from shocks. If I can keep the tires planted in the dirt it will be a game changer. Look out!

 

[Clay Showalter]

I see a TOO sponsorship in the future

 

["J"]

I see a TOO sponsorship in the future

A TOO salute on the hood and deck Lid?

Sounded like a great evening at the track for ya Phil! Congratulations….

 

[giles]

I see a TOO sponsorship in the future