SAMSULA, FL – (NIGHT #3) With the temperature still unseasonable cold, the crew arrived at the track to complete repairs from the previous night, in preparation for their third night of racing. Primary driver Kirk Hooker was expected to arrive at the Orlando Airport by mid-afternoon, however it was unknown if he would arrive in time, so substitute driver Steve Laking remained at the track and was ready to go if required.
Steve was pretty happy with the handling of the car during the first practice session as he was 11th quickest on last year’s tires. No changes were made other than fresher tires for the second practice where the lap times improved to 4th quickest. Since their feature was the last one of the night, there was plenty of time to start removing lead and getting the car ready for Kirk, however ‘team chauffeur’ Gabby was having trouble finding him at the airport and then forgot where he parked his van!
As Kirk and Gabby searched the parking garages, the team decided that Steve should run one more night in the #38. Kirk finally arrived at the track to an entourage of cheering fans and crew. Steve tried to talk Kirk into getting in the car for the feature race, however Kirk insisted that he run one more night since the car was set up for him and that he was exhausted from the trip, the late wedding activities the previous night and walking through many levels of the parkade looking for Gabby’s van.
Steve decided to run in the scratch position at the back of the pack to avoid getting caught up in any early race carnage as his priority was to hand over a damage free car to Kirk to run for the remainder of speed-weeks. Steve was successfully avoiding any issues during the first five laps and then Randy came on the radio to tell him that it was time to get going and work his way through the field.
At the next caution, before the 10th lap, Steve had made his way up to 22nd and would now be re-starting in the pack. Two laps later, the #6 and #94 got together just ahead of Steve as they exited turn two and despite locking up the brakes – with nowhere to go, the #38 made heavy contact with the #94 who was blocking the track, ending the night for the Hooker Brothers Team.
Damage to the front of the car was extensive, so the crew quickly went to work assessing the situation and formulated a plan for the repairs. Like a well-oiled machine, the crew and drivers worked well into the early morning hours and after removing the motor, straightening the front clip and reinstalling the motor, were well on their way to getting the car ready for the next nights event. A very tired crew departed the track for a few short hours of sleep before returning to the track early in the morning to see if they could get the job done by the first practice that was scheduled for 1:00pm.
NIGHT #4
Super Sub Steve Laking was up very early and was the first one at the track, despite working on the car until the wee hours of the morning. After impatiently waiting for the track to open the gate at 8:00am, Steve quickly got to work on the car. This gave the rest of the crew, that arrived just before 10:00am, a big advantage to complete the work by the first practice.
Despite Kirk being available for the practice session, Steve insisted that he take it out and shake it down to ensure that everything was ok before Kirk got behind the wheel. With Steve driving down pit road, Kirk and Greg (Big Bear) ran all the way down the pits to catch him before he went on the track as they forgot to set the sway bar. Just as they arrived at the tail of the car, Steve entered the track. With the 2 standing at the end of pit lane exhausted, Steve was told to drive back to them as there was no way that they could make it back to the pits without requiring oxygen.
With the bar set, Steve entered the track and drove the car to his fastest practice lap of 18.4 seconds, again on last years old and worn out tires. Satisfied that everything was good to go with the car, Steve changed out of his drivers suit and handed over the reins to Kirk, despite Kirk trying to get him to run for one more night.
Kirk piloted the car for the second practice session and was pretty happy with the car despite it having a free condition throughout the corners. With the car ready to go, the worn out crew relaxed in the sunshine and warming temperatures before their race, which was the first feature of the night.
With the car looking as good as it did on the day they arrived, Kirk lined up at the back of the field for the 35 lap feature. With Randy spotting from the tower and Ken watching the front of the 28 car field, they were determined to get through the night without getting caught up in a wreck.
After a caution on the 5th lap, Kirk remained at the back of the field, where he talked about the car not feeling like it was locked down to the track. Despite the opportunity to make a pit stop for adjustments, it was decided to keep running to get a better feel for the car to ensure that the adjustments made would help and not hinder it as the veteran driver could still run the way it was. With only one more quick caution, Kirk ran the car up to 17th despite an increasing loose condition.
Being finished early, and the car in one piece, the team headed to Merk’s Tavern with Jim Molenhuis from Advanced Landscapes in Barrie Ontario, who repeatedly arrives in Florida to sponsor and support the Hooker Brothers Team. Jim has also enjoyed a long friendship with the team and repeatedly hooks up with Ken to defeat Randy and Gabby on the golf course, although Gabby will not be asked to chauffer any time soon.
The team, along with Steve and Nancy were treated to plenty of food and drink by Jim and the laughter was great therapy for the team and drivers that had persevered through the half way mark of Speedweeks. Despite the results of Steve’s last two nights on the track, he and Nancy seemed to be having a great time and will certainly have a long lasting memory of their trip to New Smyrna Speedway and Hooker Brothers Racing.
From Ken Spira
{fcomment}
Discussion about this post