Hicks Lawn Services truck racing

[hickslawns]

I thought I had a post about this. Did some searching. Couldn't find it. Here are a couple of the trucks we have racing this year. The owners have 4 trucks hitting the track. One other guy works in the shop with them and got some of our decals as well. All told I think there are 5 trucks running around with our name on them this year. Ironically, the guy who wins a lot of the races is also named Hicks yet is not related nor is he sponsored by us. Maybe I'm sponsoring the wrong owners? Nah. This isn't about winning. It is about helping out the guys you've known/sponsored for years.

Two years ago they dropped the stock cars and modifieds and went all truck. When you can buy a $2-4k truck and be competitive but need a $25k engine to compete in the stock car (aka bomber) class. . . .It is just a lot more fun to pack the field with trucks and run a bunch of them. Last year Andy (one of the owners) decided he was going to put his sponsors behind the wheel and give back to them. He let me run a couple times. Last night I raced the first time for 2019.

Definitely rusty and still learning a lot. I started 5/8 in the heat race and finished 4th. Truck was real loose. We adjusted stagger before the feature. Truck felt much better. I botched the start. Started 7th out of 14 in the feature. I struggle on starts and restarts still since I am a total newbie. I need to improve. I jumped last night and had to back out of it. Then I was in the wrong gear as they started. Looked like I was in reverse as the field went past me. So after handicapping myself to the rear of the pack I worked my way thru the field to finish 9th.

All in all it was good. I observed handling issues. Relayed message. We made adjustments which helped. This is learning. I got more seat time. I kept the truck in one piece. Never spun out. I had fun. All part of the process. I don't know how many more times I will race this year but I hope to keep learning and having fun.

 

[MoonLab]

Awesome. Good luck this year. Nice helmet

 

[hickslawns]

Thanks Chad. Not actually my helmet. These are pics from the owner as we entered the season. It is pretty cool though. I agree.

 

[5Cent]

Hell ya Phil, thanks for providing an update on the finish. Have fun and hammer down man!

 

[GoetsTalon]

That's awesome!

 

[hickslawns]

Hell ya Phil, thanks for providing an update on the finish. Have fun and hammer down man!

No problem. I admit it is embarrassing to screw up the start and have the field pass you. I don't care. I'm a newbie. Our other two trucks finished 5th and 8th. The guy we help out was 11th. I honestly don't think they are podium trucks. On a good night with a good driver they are top third of the pack trucks. As proven with our 5th place finish. Again, these are $2-4k trucks. You will drop $8-12k if you want a podium truck it seems. We have fun.

 

[MoonLab]

This....yes....I would be stoke to drive one, lol. Drive it like I stole it. Lol

 

[Sgt Fury]

You need to get your own racing helmet!

 

[hickslawns]

The first action shot is over in Montpelier, IN I think. This one is me behind the wheel at Limaland. Photographer got some nice candid shots of a handful of trucks and cars in the pits before the races as well. We hadn't even unloaded two of the trucks yet off the gooseneck trailer.

My action shot made me smile. He didn't capture every vehicle. Or maybe he only has so many uploaded and isn't done yet. The guy I was passing was ALL over the place. As soon as he went a touch too high I dropped down below him and took advantage. Great timing on photographer's part. That was turn 3/4 and if you got slightly high in turn 4 there was a patch slick as ice. Go above it and loose dirt like marbles was just as bad.

 

[Jackalope]

Freaking awesome man!

 

[Dustinb80]

Good shit Phil!!

 

[jagermeister]

Very cool Phil!

 

[CJD3]

Go Phil Go!

 

["J"]

Cool experience Phil, glad you got a chance too enjoy it....

 

[Clay Showalter]

Awesome stuff

 

[Big_Holla]

Pretty fugging cool Phil!!

 

[OhioWhiteTails]

Bad ass Phil! That had to be a good time!

 

[DJK Frank 16]

Good stuff Phil, love going to Limaland or Eldora and watching the races. Next time you will be behind the wheel let me know may take the family to the races that night!

 

[hickslawns]

Got a text Thursday. They had 5 trucks ready to race. Needed a tow vehicle and extra driver. So I got to race Montpelier IN in the red 99 again.

One of the owners runs the black 82. He has been consistently at the top since this thread started. Had a win 2 weeks ago and a second place the next night. Last night he led about half the race. Top three trucks were in their own league. They swapped places all night. Our guy ended 3rd.

Our black 99 truck had one of the modified driver's behind the wheel. The driver can drive anything well. He ran fifth the whole race with 6th place truck showing him fender off and on all night.

I was in the red 99. Started feature 7th. Finished 7th. Truck handled great. Was cutting out mid turn until the straight aways. Made a float adjustment before feature which helped a tiny bit. Just couldn't maintain speed thru turns with it cutting out. Other than that the truck handled well and was fast. If it were running right I believe I would have been competing for 4th.

Not sure where our black 01 truck finished. Had a green driver in it. Second time in a truck (although only my fourth time racing last night). He said he got caught in traffic and just couldn't get around them in the tail. They were all over the track and unpredictable. He didn't want to wreck someone else's truck to get around them. Knowing the drivers he talked about. . . I've seen it myself. It is tough to pass someone so loose and unpredictable. Have to be patient and pass when they screw up bad enough.

Our 5th truck was the white A5. Question mark going in. Hadn't been on a track in a few years. The truck broke flywheel bolts and had a DNF in the heat races. At least we know it has some motor. Need to iron it out and work on handling/tuning. Should be a good truck.

Again. . .I just sponsor and occasionally drive if they need a driver. It is fun. I wouldn't want the headache of transporting and wrenching on 5 trucks weekly. Next year they want 7 out there. They added 3 more recently (A5 being one of them) and need to get them back on the track. Ambitious of them. Going to need a wedge trailer to haul 7 trucks. Lol

 

[hickslawns]

They needed a tow vehicle again last night. I pulled the 38' gooseneck with 2 trucks on it. They put me in the red 99 again. The sputtering issues in the turns from two weeks ago was addressed. In hot laps. . . It was way worse. Made adjustments. Unfortunately, the other 4 classes racing looked like Mario Cart spinning out. Every class had at least one upside down. Had an ambulance ride for one driver. Another got life flighted. Not good. They cancelled our heat race. We got hot laps and a feature.

Back ground: these trucks used to run a series at Waynesfield. Upper teens to mid 20's every week was the number of trucks. They stopped racing this track. We have about the top half of the Waynesfield pack showing up at Montpelier. Basically, good trucks and good driver's. A 4-7th place finish in a field of 9-13 trucks would have been a 4-7th finish in a field of 25 at Waynesfield.

With a cancelled heat race, I hit the feature unsure if the sputter would be better or worse. It was better. Truck ran flawless. I had one issue with a 30yr seasoned driver who uses the entire track. I finally got around him by dropping low. My rear quarter rubbed his drivers door and we came out of the corner clean. Not squirrelly. Not a hard hit. Just a little rub and "I'm coming around". Never saw him again. That put me into 5th. 1st and 2nd were the Helmig trucks which are generally top 4 trucks. 3rd and 4th were the trucks my owners were driving. I was 5th. Do you really think the owners of the trucks are going to out you in a faster truck than them? . I'm just their sponsor.

I'm pretty satisfied with 5/9. Conditions were slick. Like an ice skating rink. My fifth race ever. Second at that track. No heat race laps. I'm getting more confident in the truck. Getting more comfortable. This allows me to get a little more aggressive knowing what to expect the truck to do. Will I get a podium this year? Probably not. Steady improvement and gain in confidence are my goals. Hopefully I can continue to be a little more competitive and show the guys in front of me some fender to let them know I'm improving.