Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Heading to Martin, MI

Spent today getting everything set for Butch to leave with the transport for Martin, Michigan and the IHRA Northern Nationals. I can't wait to get back out on the track after our huge disappointment in Grand Bend. We were so optimistic after our first ever #1 qualifying spot, and we really had the car dialed in. But on Sunday our day was cut short by a 2 dollar O-ring.

After I did the burnout and started to back up, I saw the track officials coming out on the track with mops and my heart sank. When Butch raised the body, I saw fuel shooting out the side of motor, and Richard went running off to get some tools. He was back in a second and started trying to stop the leak. Steven Macklyn was in the other lane and waited as long as he could, but eventually the track official staged him and shut us down and our weekend was over. I really wanted to throw up. We had a new sponsor, ARC, and were excited about the possibilities that having the fastest car out there that weekend held.

Anyway, on to the next race. I can't tell you all how good I feel about our team and the car. We really have it dialed in. Richard Hartman is a great tuner, and now we have enough runs on this car to KNOW it, and I'm getting better as a driver. And I've been blessed with such a great team.

The team is all volunteers, and give up weekends with families to come out and work hard, up their elbows in oil and grease, in the summer heat. We drive all night to and from the races. They sleep in a hot race trailer on cots because we are all broke. Ray, Don, Jay, Neil, Butch. Paul when his job permits (or he's not in Vegas). Bryan when his boss at Home Depot lets him take a weekend off (and oh yeah, he's a HS Math teacher, too). These guys are worth their weight in gold which, if you've ever seen Butch, is pretty self explanatory......thanks guys.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

#1 Qualifier

I am so thrilled to be the #1 qualifier in Grand Bend. We ran one more pass in qualifying today and put up a 5.18 at 298. Good mph but the car was soggy off the line and it cost us some ET. This is our first time taking the top spot in qualifying and is pretty satisfying considering the challenges we've had this season. Here is the final qualifying order.

1. Andy Kelley ARC '02 Firebird 5.013 298.27
2. Terry Haddock Race Girl '05 Stratus 5.042 293.28
3. Jack Wyatt Olson Paint & Body '06 Stratus 5.118 242.36
4. Paul Lee Merchants Tire & Auto '02 Cama 5.155 292.52
5. Steven Macklyn hazmatstore.net '05 Monte Carl 5.172 287.66
6. Matt Hagan Shelor Motor Mile '06 Monte Ca 5.262 247.02
7. Jeff Diehl Red Line Oil '05 Monte Carlo 5.496 248.66
8. Cory Lee Teaamsters Canada '03 Firebird 5.546 205.98
--------- Not Qualified ---------
9. Rob Bruce Zombie '01 Camaro 12.426 65.16
10. Jason Duchene Castrol Syntec '00 Camaro 15.408 61.45

Friday, July 18, 2008

Grand Bend Friday Night

Woo Hoo!! Just ran a 5.01 at 294mph which put me in the provisional #1 qualifying spot and earned us the "Last Man Standing". We are racing this weekend for our new sponsor, Applied Racing Components (ARC) and want to thank them for supporting us.

Shouldn't spend too much time posting, we are down two crewmembers this weekend and are shorthanded, but wanted to let everyone know we made a strong pass tonite.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Message for Dale Creasy, Jr.

Dale, hope you get a chance to read this. All of us at Kelley Motorsports; me, Dad, Jill, Butch, Ray, Jay, Don, Neil and Paul all feel awful about what happened to you up in Edmonton, are praying for your speedy recovery, and for the strength you'll need over the next 9 months of rehab.

What makes us feel even worse is we kind of blame ourselves. You see Dale, you need us as your good luck charm. I mean, when we started racing full time in the middle of 2006, that's when you got hot and won your first IHRA World Championship. Then of course, we raced all of 2007 and you were unstoppable on your way to another crown. All it took was for us to be in the other lane, and you'd rip off another one of your consistently perfect passes. And this year you were in the points lead as we raced together again. Then, we had to miss Edmonton and look what happened!! Seriously, we all respect the heck out of you and what you've accomplished, and just as importantly, the WAY you accomplished it.

We'll just have to put our goal of finally beating you on the shelf for a little bit while you get better. What are we against you? Oh-fer-ten or something like that? Well, we know we have to beat the best to be the best.

I hope you can make it out to the track and hang out with us while you're rehabbing, because if you don't we'll miss you. Give me a call or shoot me an email but make sure you're off your meds or I'll get you to give me your secret. :)

Hope to see you back soon.

Andy

Friday, July 4, 2008

Pulling my hair out

I actually thought I could take it, but I must be weak. I am going crazy not being in edmonton. I have been checking IHRA's website, and it needs some timely updating. I was talking to Paul yesterday about not being in canada and I told him I must be a little bit smart, since I am not in edmonton, because on several occasions I was on my way to the bank to borrow the money to finance the trip, but something always came up and I just couldnt justify it. We are thankfully slammed at our business, K&K truck Service, so we worked today. Yea, its the 4 of july, but I need the money and so does my employees. Were gonna work on the car all day tommorrow, getting ready for Grand Bend. I feel like doing a 1/4 mile burnout, without the throttle stop. I keep thinking back to last year, all the fun we had at edmonton, and it honestly makes me a little mad. Let me explain. We have the best complete crew out there, bar none. We have a great team, great car, parts and pieces, great marketing composure and we can't find enough funding to go to all the races. It frustrates me because of all the hard work we put into this deal and the potential we have to offer someone or business sometimes seems to go unnoticed. I do have alot of great friends and companies that have supported our team for a long time and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. WHEN we get the big sponsor deal, they all know they have a place on my car and that will never change. I wish all my friends and fellow racers at edmonton the very best, stay safe and haul @#$. I miss not being there, but I'll be in Grand Bend. Hey folks, if you have any ideas on finding sponsorship, shoot me a line.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Sick about missing Edmonton

I gotta say, I'm just sick to my stomach that we have to miss the Edmonton race. The track up there is great, the fans up there are great, and I love the fact the IHRA recognizes their passion for racing and gives them an event every year. It's a beautiful area of Canada, the people are so nice, and just wish that we'd have been able to raise the money to make it up there. Hopefully next year.

The good news is we've got some sponsorship agreements close to finalizing. It's not a "six-figure" long-term deal, but it's with a company intimately involved in racing and performance, and we're looking forward to helping them grow their business.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. This is such a great country, and even though times are tougher now than they've been in a while, and we've got challenges in front of us as a society, our economic system, our political system and our culture in general has proven time and time again that we can rise to meet these obstacles and emerge better off than we were. So go celebrate our Independence, but think about how you're going to make a difference as an individual.