[briancfor]

Just so there isn't any confusion on the way we won the divisional in Richmond, and this is an example of the kind of luck we had this year. What had happend is the throttle linkage rod had snapped the threads off at the carb while I was pedaling it at the finish line in the semi finals. Which pretty much meant I was dead in the water with no throttle pedal. I was able to make it back to the pit area with the motor idling, but there was no way I was going to make the final. Ron Erks had a spare linkage, (same chassis builder) and between him, Ray Connolly and Shane Carr, we swapped it out in no time. But the first time I went for wide open throttle, his snapped off too. What was happening was the rod was adjusted too short, and when I would deck it, it would go past WOT before it hit the pedal stop, thus breaking it at the weakest spot. The threaded end with the quick release at the carb. So now I'm done, right? Not yet. Jimmy Stahl came up with some good old "red neck" ingenuity and promptly went into his motorhome and got a coat hanger. We streched it out straight, fished it through the fire wall and hooked one end to the carb, and the other end to the pedal. We thought we were good to go, but everytime I tried to gas it, it would come unhooked at the padal end. So now what? Well, my only shot at this point was to grab what I could reach of the coat hanger from under the dash and try to work the throttle with my hand. So we fired it up, and went to the lanes where Pete Luciano had been patiently waiting for me. So here I am, strapped in the car in full gear, and I pull into the water box working the gas with my right hand while I'm trying to hold the line lock and do the one-two shift in the water with my left hand. All while trying not to look like a jack *** and tip Pete off that something was wrong. I was able to get through the burnout, pre stage and then stage. I'm right handed, and normally let go with my right hand. But it was busy pulling the throttle wide open as I grabbed the button with my left hand. I see yellow, let go (I was .044 on the tree I think) and look up to make sure I'm in the middle of the groove, and what do I see? Win light, my side! Pete had turned it a couple thou red! I about s**t my fire pants when I saw it, and I'm sure Erkle, Ray, Shane and Jimmy all about did the same thing on the starting line. My dad doesn't normally get real excited, but I think he was in shock too. Anyway, just to clear the air, so everyone knew "the rest of the story," of how I won my first ever divisional race. And it was just the tip of the iceberg of what kind of luck we had to ulimately win the championship in 2008.