That's Racing

Dan and Nick left early again this morning.

Race weekends are very busy for Nick--early early morning track walks, team meetings,

racer meetings, practice, qualifying and car tuning. 

Not to mention most races are on east coast time so they're usually leaving the house before 7:00 a.m.

which is only 5:00 a.m. Utah time. Nick's committed to showing up and doing his best.

The rest of us had a more relaxing morning

then lunch at The Wienery before heading to the racetrack.

(A funny play on words because Watkins Glen has winery's on both sides of the road for miles.)

We hiked to the topmost bleacher for the race and saw Nick's great race start moving from 

P1 - P2 with a terrific move right in front of us.

As he headed around the curve and out of sight,

the car behind him crashed into him and sent him to the back of the pack.

He got back on track then was hit by another car in the next lap and that was it.

His engine was totalled.

We thought he was out for tomorrow too and we were so disappointed for him!

Once again, Nick totally surprised us with a smile and positive attitude about the crash

in spite of his disappointment.

His team mechanics got a new engine from Porsche and are determined to have it 

race ready by the morning.

Afterward, we went swimming Watkins Glen Park Community Pool

which was a little overwhelming at first because it was so crowded,

but Courtney found a shaded table right away,

and we had fun in the water with Emi,

and soon all the boys were doing stunts off the diving board

and we ended up having a really fun time.

We changed from our swimsuits back into dry clothes and went back to the track

because they were offering the opportunity to drive three laps around the track

in just regular cars.

Chris, Dan and Chris were in one rental car,

and Nick drove the rest of us in the minivan.

He did not hold back racing over the curbs and I was sure we were going to topple over.

It was a little nerveracking--not because Nick isn't a good driver,

but because a minivan isn't made for racing! 

It felt really fast and guess what? We were only going 45!

Back to the park before dinner so Emi could get some wiggles out.

Then dinner and home for a few rounds of Monopoly Deal.

(Which I never remember how to play, and then always end up winning at least one round!)