October is always an exciting time for racing fans in New England. End-of-year races always attract top talent, and the Monaco Tri-Track Race at Seekonk did just that.
Dad and I knew going in, with 37 cars on the entry list, that we had our work cut out for us and had to be on our A-game. We also know our racing budget and knew we had to set goals, have a plan, and execute going into this race. Unlike some of the top teams, practice tires are just not in our budget. Yes, they have their benefits, but for us, throwing that $1,000 back into the car sometimes has a bigger payoff.
Going in with old tires, you really need to throw the stopwatch out and focus on getting the car comfortable and drivable. As a driver, you also need to be up on the wheel and try to get everything out of the car, similar to what you do at the end of a race on older tires.
With each change we made, the car reacted. Some changes were good, a few were bad, but the car was responding, and I felt we had one of the better cars we’ve had at Seekonk. Of course, the stopwatch had us last, but we knew that with new tires we would jump up the charts. The car was just a little tight in the middle, and on the flip side, we had to be careful not to get too loose on the straightaways because we were right on that edge.
For time trials, our focus was to get the car to turn. Unfortunately, after practicing on old tires, once we put the stickers on, I didn’t fully trust the car, and I baby-footed the throttle. We went faster than we did in practice and did move up the charts, but I felt like I left a little too much on the table and should have moved up even further. We only had a short time to focus on that run, though, and I needed to shift my attention to the heat race. Starting P11, I had to be on my game.
I felt like we over-rotated during the time-trial run, so we made some changes for the heat race. We fired off from P11, and I immediately looked for P10. Unfortunately, the car felt even looser than it had during the time trials. I settled into P11 and just had to ride the heat race out. The car was simply too loose to do anything with.
This gave us one shot left to make it. We were starting P5 in the consi, with only the top two transferring. We focused on really tightening the car up, and while doing so, we figured out why it had been so loose. Unfortunately, the RR shock was going bad and causing the car to over-rotate. A new RR shock, a few changes, and I was ready to go give it our all.
We fired off from fifth and quickly got by fourth, with my sights set on third. I could feel that the car was definitely better. I just had to hit my marks and see what I could do. I was able to clear for third right as a caution came out. This was the perfect opportunity to bunch the field back up and give it everything I had to get into the top two.
Unfortunately, despite trying almost everything, second place was just better than I was that day. He eventually cleared me, and I had nothing for him. We ultimately came home third, just one spot short.
Frustrating in the end, but we went into the day with one goal, and we achieved it: get the car better and get it to turn. Fighting a bad RR shock set us back, but despite that, we still learned a lot and made the car better with each run.
With that race, our 2026 outdoor season officially came to a close. I’ll have another post soon sharing my thoughts on the season, how I’m feeling about it, and what our focus will be heading into 2027.
This whole season would not have been possible without my crew: Dad, Timmy, Nick, David, Robert, Ian, and Dana, who helped out a few times this year.
Also, a huge thank you to our wonderful marketing partners.
None of this would be possible for DDR Motorsports without the support of NH Oil Undercoating, P1 Web Development, Reed Properties, and West Street Auto Body.
What’s next for us? Rebuild season with the modified. We have lots of plans and small upgrades in store for 2027. Our full focus now shifts to the indoor car and our first race in Allentown.
