You finally got through to the lazy POS that writes this little column about 6 times a year? [editors note: I think this is a rhetorical question but the author seems to think an answer is warranted and I don’t know why.] I guess the obvious answer is, yep, you sure did. So to make sure this long a gap in Corner posts doesn’t happen again I’ve hired an editor to keep me on track! I personally find the guy a little annoying, but hey, let’s face it - discipline isn’t always easy to maintain.
A lot has happened since I last wrote here, and really I simply haven’t felt up to the chore just yet. I haven’t lost my verve [editors note: this is not a typo, verve is a word] or anything like that. And really, I still sit at or very near a computer everyday, so thats not it. The question then is why did I wait so long to pen another corner? The simple answer is that I don’t really have an answer. So thats that. Sorry. [editors note: the author does mean it.]
Now that my half-ass apology is out of the way we can get back to what we do best here on Andy’s Corner, and that is to talk about something that has both been on my mind and somehow relates to the race team [editors note: author likely meant to say and/or snowmobile racing in general].
Since I have so much catching up to do I’ll run through the season in a sprint.
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*Beausejour - We were fast and could have won champ but blew a belt instead just to say we did! Still finished as the meat in the Wahl racing sandwich in the open class though. [editors note: that just doesn’t sound right] Not bad.
*Rock Rapids - Hot then Cold. Race cancelled both days. Fun..
*Amherst - Strange little track. Decently fast. Driver was not into crashing sled that weekend and let others by to crash theirs.
*Plymouth - Won Open on a 440. Next day Driver gets passed like he was tied to a stump, ends in 2nd.
*Eagle River - Fast enough to win on Sunday. Taken out by a kamikaze sortie launched from the deck of a submarine seller. [editors note: this reference makes sense after a few minutes]
*Wausau - Driver injured from above. Back Up Driver installed improperly with poor results. Day 2, changed back up driver, again improperly installed. B/U/D ejected in hotlaps -- game over...tilt.
*Forest Lake - Driver is back in action. Gets 2nd in Open, DNF in Champ. Problem solved.
Well, most of the problem was solved -- turns out Gary is our only driver, and that we just need a little more time with our motors in the same chassis and we’ll be good to go. Like they say about Moyle Racing -- “they will always do what is right... after they’ve exhausted all other possibilities.” [editors note: author gives no indication of who “they” might be]
Ain’t that the truth! Certainly it’s no secret that we try more stuff at races than I think anyone else would even dream of. There is a reason for this of course - one is that we get too doggone much snow to have a test track anywhere near us, and reason two, and I think the most crucial to understanding who we are, is that everything we like to do is hard. [editors note: author does not mean to imply that everything that is hard he likes to do}
To explain a little more might be helpful. For whatever reason, most of us, including probably just about everyone reading this, like things that are a challenge and that we have to keep working at to get good or gooder at. [editors note: that is not a word, but author claims to have used it before with decent results] The thing about snowmobile racing is, and I know I’ve said it before, is that everyone on the track loves a challenge - and if they don’t, then it becomes pretty clear really quick and they disappear by next season.
Our Saturday performance at Forest Lake juxtaposed with Sunday’s reveals a telling tale. We were fast enough to win the race and have “everything” dialed in for the most part the best we could in a few heats, because this was the first weekend that that sled and DG [editors note: DG is an acronym for Driver Gary, which is short for Garrold Andrew Moyle who pilots the #66 Ski-Doo] were together this season. We’re a plenty capable team, there’s no doubt. But! instead of calling it good after round 3, we made some changes. The changes worked fine but we missed one minor thing from Ice Oval Racing 101 - and I don’t even dare utter what it was in such a public forum [editors note: author would not tell me either]! But, anyway, the sled was fast and we were happy. Good deal. Then here comes Sunday, and there was more than a glimmer of speed. The sled was spooky [editors note: I have confirmed with legal counsel that the use of the word “spooky” in relation to speed is not an infringement on the use of “freaky”] fast for almost one lap then we got thundered by EVERYBODY. Anyone who couldn’t pass us in 5 laps had to be either on a listing moon traveler with no report, or accidentally grabbed the neighboring trailer’s Jr I sprinter... yep, I do mean to say it was that slow.
As discouraging as that may seem though, it wasn’t. We learned a few things from it. Like somebody always says, “if you don’t learn from your mistakes, life will keep on teaching them until you do! [editors note: author would not disclose the identity of this “somebody”] Well luckily this answer came pretty quick - not soon enough to repair our slow freight on Sunday, but we’re good now, and sure look forward to a full weekend of racing in Weyauwega this coming weekend. Have a good one and see you at the races!
