Last race of the season...

Its hard to believe the last race is over and we are on our way to spring already. With temps in the 60's in the past few days it looks as winter is over for the season too.

The last race of the year was held in Beausejour, MB. Temps were in the 20's all weekend so it was great conditions for racing.

Saturday we raced 4 rounds of qualifying and a Champ 440 final. We placed the qualifying rounds with a 3rd, 2nd, 3rd and a 2nd. The final we finished 6th after a bad hole shot.

Sunday we again ran 4 rounds of qualifying. We finished the 4 qualifying rounds with a 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th place finish. In the final race there were 2 red flags before the race was officially started. We finished the final race of the day and final race of the season in 3rd position.

We did not win as many races as we hoped, or win our 5th world championship, but we were consistent and finished almost every weekend with a podium finish.

We will be working hard to improve on things for next season. The work never stops and the minds never quit thinking.

Thank you goes out to my crew, sponsors, family, friends and fans for their continued support. Thank you all for a great year!

PJ #28

2 more wins for the team...

This past weekend we raced in Grey Eagle, MN for the first ORA race of the year. Temps were very nice for the event that has been going on for 3 years now.
 
After the big TLR cup win the weekend was a much lower pressure race than the weekend before. It was the closest race of the year of us. It is always nice to have friends and family make it to see us race.
 
We had a dominating performance on Saturday grabbing every hole shot and winning all the heats and final. The sled was working great!
 
Sunday was a repeat performance of Saturday leading every heat race and winning the final. Like I said earlier it was great to win at the home town race!
 
The season is winding down and is only 2 races left to go. The next race is in Garrison, MN this weekend. This is al-ways a great race. We hope to do well there as we have in the past.
 
Thank you goes out to my crew, sponsors, family, friends and fans for their continued support.   
PJ #28

2012 TLR Cup Champion!

The past race weekend was a busy one at Weyauwega, WI. Because of two prior races being cancelled, the final three TLR Cup races where run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
 
It was obvious going into the weekend that Weyauwega would be either a make or break race for most teams. We had 2 days of testing prior to the race to fine tune on the sled and get things ready for the big weekend.
 
Friday was the first race of the weekend. I started off great with a first place finish in the final. I passed for the lead with one lap to go and took the checkered flag. It felt great to get our first win of the season and take the TLR points lead.
 
Saturday was another important day and I had another solid finish in the feature with a 2nd place. This extended my points lead to 22 points at the end of the day on Saturday. It is always great to have a little cushion to work with when racing for points.
 
Sunday was the big day and  there was 3 three drivers mathematically able to win the TLR Cup. I had a good qualifying day and started in the 3rd position for the final.  
In order to win the TLR cup I had to at least finish two spots being the 33 sled. Half way though the final I passed the 33 sled for 4th place and put the sled on cruise control. I know all I had to do is keep that sled behind me to win the TLR cup. I finished the race in 4th position with the 33 sled coming in 5th.
 
It was a truly great feeling to win the TLR cup. So many factors plays into winning a series like the TLR Cup. It does just not reply on having one good day but rather a good year to win the TLR Cup. We finished the series with a first, two 2nd place, a 4th, a 5th and 6th place finish. We did what we needed to in order to bring home the cup and a check for $25,000.
 
The next race is in Grey Eagle, MN this weekend. This is the first ORA race of the season because of our lovely warm winter we have been having.  
Thank you goes out to my crew, sponsors, family, friends and fans for their continued support.  Without all of you this would not be possible!
PJ #28

A little short on getting the 5th W.C.

This past weekend we were after a record 5th World Cham-pionship. No one in 49 years has been able to pull off a 5th World Championship, it looks as it will have to wait one more year as well. We came up a little short on our quest with a 5th Place finish in the Sunday World Championship Final at Eagle River, WI.
 
The weekend started off on Thursdays morning with prac-tice. 3:30 Thursday afternoon times trials started. We placed 3rd fastest overall. In time trials There was also a heat race that night to setup for Friday nights Sweet 16 race. We won that qualifying heat on Thursday night.
 
Friday night was Sweet 16 qualifying. We placed 3rd in the second heat and around 9:00 that night the sweet 16 final was off. With a poor start we got up to 6th place in the final. Visibility was very bad and the only position that mattered was 1st to take the pole for Sunday.
 
Saturday at 1:30 was the start of World Championship qualifying. We placed the first round with a second place. Next was up was the Semi-finals where we needed to be in the top 3 to make the front row for Sunday. We placed 2nd in the semi final that got us on the front row for the big show on Sunday.
 
Sunday was the day we wait all year for. Unfortunately a poor start placed in 10th place down the first lap. By the end of the 1st segment of the race we made it up to 4th place.
 
The second segment of the way was a 20 lap race. We fought as high as second place. I was not able to clear the leader so I tried running the low line to try to make the pass. This was the wrong thing to do and had 3 sleds pass me in the last 3 laps to finish in the 5th position,
 
We left everything we had on the track and just came up short. I am happy of our efforts though the weekend and feel we had a sled capable of winning. It was just not in the cards for us to win a 5th World Championship that day. All we can do is go back next year and try again. I look forward to the challenge of winning my 5th on the 50th in eagle River!
 
Thank you goes out to my crew, sponsors, family, friends and fans for their continued support.
PJ #28

Podium finish in the first TLR cup race...

After a cancelled race, in Rock Rapids, Iowa, in December the second race of the year has been completed. The race in Amherst WI, was the first stop on the 6 race series, for the TLR cup.
 
Originally, scheduled to run on Sunday, the TLR cup race was moved to Saturday due to the concern of the race track not holding up until Sunday, because of the warm weather.  
On Saturday, we earned a 3rd, 2nd and 1st place finish in the heat races. The sled was better each time we hit the track. After introductions for the TLR cup, the 15 lap final was run under the lights. We were off the line in 6th position and fought our way up to the 2nd spot when the race ended. This puts us currently 2nd in the TLR cup standings.  
Sunday was another day for the champ 440 class. Much like Saturday, the sun was out, and temps were in the 40’s.
 
The first heat race we had an even hole shot and powered around the outside and slotted in the 2nd position. The leader went down 1 lap into the 5 lap heat race and we took the  win.
 
The second heat of the day we had a bad hole shot and were battling for 2nd place when the sled and I found ourselves in the bales. The sled had some damage so the crew, got to work, and got the sled back together quickly.
 
The third heat of the day was cancelled to move up the time of the final. The 10 lap final was up next. We qualified 8th on the front row. Off the line we got tangled with another sled and were toward the back of the pack on the first lap. The sled was fast and made its way through traffic and up to 4th at the end of the race.  
Due to  the cancelled race in Escanaba, MI this weekend,  the next race is in World Championships in Eagle River, WI, January 19th-22nd.  It is the start of our “Drive For 5!” We will be building the test rack this week.  With the cooler temps we will be able to do some testing on the sled.  We know we have a good sled but there are a few things we need to improve on, mainly hole shot.
 
Thank you goes out to my crew, sponsors, family, friends and fans for their continued support. We will see you in Eagle River!
PJ #28

Another Champ 440 win...

Another race in the books and only one left to go for the year. We were shorted a racing weekend when the race in Grey Eagle, MN was cancelled two weekends ago due to unsafe ice conditions. This past weekend the team and I raced in Garrison, MN on Mille Lacs Lake. Two days of racing was planned but because of low entries in Pro Open that class was cancelled for Saturday. I used that day and ran lap’s in the semi pro champ class to use as testing. We tested all day on Saturday with different ideas and things we wanted to try but don't like to try when racing.

Sunday we raced in the Pro Champ 440 class. I had a 1st, 2nd and 1st place finish in the qualifying rounds. I was top qualifier for the 12 lap final.

I did not have that great of a hole shot but came out of turns one and two in second position. We battled with the leader for about 5 laps when I made the pass for the lead. I crossed the finish line in first for our 8th feature win of the season.

Next weekend we head to Beausejour, Manitoba for the final race of the season. I won this event last season and look forward to defending the title. I will have testing on Friday and will be running in champ 440 classes, on both Saturday and Sunday.

Thank you goes out to my crew, sponsors, family, friends and fans for there continued support. This has been a great season and hope to make it a little better this coming weekend. The final newsletter will be delayed a week because I will be leaving early on Monday morning for the Arctic Cat dealer show in Nashville, TN. This is a great opportunity for my sponsors to get added exposure with my sled being on display to hundreds of Arctic Cat dealers. Thanks again and take care!

PJ #28

Good luck Saturday and bad luck Sunday...

The title of this newsletter pretty much sums up the past weekend in Weyauwega, WI. The weather was very warm and fan turn out was huge at this central Wisconsin race.

The weekend started out on Saturday morning with three heats of 600 open.  I placed 1st, 1st and 2nd in qualifying. On the start of the final I shuffled into the 3rd running position. We battled with Dan Fenhause for 5 laps until the red flag came out for a crash in turn one. On the restart I had second position and coming around turns one and two Fenhause blew a belt coasting to the outside of the track. This handed me the lead and I held onto it for the remainder of the race.

Sunday brought a later start and Champ 440 racing action. We ended up with 2nd, 1st and 1st in my 3 heat races. The field was set for the champ 440 final that was run under the lights on Sunday night. I qualified 2nd for the main event with my heat race finishes. Off the hole shot I rocketed into the lead. When I let off and got back on the gas in turns 1 and 2 my belt flipped over but I was still running. This slowed the sled down on top end speed and when this happens it does not take long for the belt to blow. I ran about 4 laps with the belt flipped over and was still leading the race when it let lose down the back straight away.

Oddly enough the same thing that won us the race on Saturday cost us the win on Sunday. It was a very disappointing end to the weekend. We had very high hopes going into the final. The sled was awesome and I am quite confident if the failure had not occurred it would have been a another victory for the AMSOIL Wanderscheid race team.

We have two close to home races coming up in the next two weekends. This gives my fans, friends and family a chance to see us in action close to home. Hope to see some of you at the races!

Thanks again to my sponsors and crew for there help and support. Even though it was not how we wanted it to turn out I have to remind myself that we still won Eagle River so it’s all good!  Take care

PJ #28

2011 US Nationals Champion!

This past weekend we raced in Ogilvie, MN for the U.S. Nationals. The race was held at Ogilvie Raceway a 2 year old stock car facility. The track was 3/8 mile high banked oval and provided some fast lap times!

We started out the weekend racing the Country Cat Friday night spectacular. I had two 2nd place finishes in the heat races and ended up finishing 2nd in the Friday night final.

Saturday brought Pro Open racing and with the big track it was hard to compete with Dustin Wahl’s 600 machine. It was a day of 2nd place finishes with two 2nd place finishes in the heat races. I was second qualifier and finished the final with a second place finish behind the untouchable Dustin Wahl.

Sunday was a new day and time for Champ 440 racing action and the U.S. National title was up for grabs. The first heat race I finished 1st of the field. The second heat I ended up in the second position. The third and final heat I again got to the top and finished  in the number one spot. That gave me a check for $250.00 for top qualifier and first pick of the stating line.

It was time for the final and a $3,500 check for first on the line. Off the line, I was seconded into turn one and on the outside of Dustin Wahl. I used the higher line and more corner speed to get a great run down the back stretch putting me in the lead going into corners three and four. I never looked back the rest of the final and finished the race with a large margin at the end of the 20 lap final.

It was a great weekend of racing and had a great turn out of fans at the races.  A big thank you to my crew for there hard work and giving me a AWESOME sled! Another thank you to all my sponsors, without you this all would not be possible.

Next weekend we will be racing in Weyauwega, WI for the Fire on Ice event. This is the final race of the Central Wisconsin triple crown that we are currently leading. Have a great week and take care!

PJ #28