First, an apology to everyone – we have been out of touch for a long time. Computer problems reared their ugly heads again and were finally stomped out but family medical issues took precedence even after the computer fix. Hopefully things are back to normal so we’re trying to catch up.

2010 ended well and we had a great time at the final races. Coming back from Tucson we routed through Sedona to try Nick’s on the West Side cafe (ok, we had inside information, the owner is Gregg’s boss’ relative) and it was sooo worth it. Never been to Sedona before and it is beautiful country. There is a rumor that there is another “vortex” nearby…..have to check that out next time.

2011 began on a good note with Sacramento on April 16th. I have to say, I saw the most talented welder I know work his magic that day. Steve Gibson worked on a tiny, tiny line for the puke tank – a tiny ferrule – and it was beautiful work! We found a small leak after the run and Steve was concerned that his work hadn’t held because it was so small, but his weld was high and dry. We did find a crack in another fitting….add it to the “to-do” (actually now it is the “to-done”) list.

Before we go too far, I just want to honor the passing of one of the greats of the jet world. Dick Rosberg was a racer who spanned decades of racing with friendliness, professionalism and honor. We had the pleasure of racing with him in Tucson and we warmed by the friendly welcome both he and Terry extended to us, as well as their assistance without which we would have been sidelined. He will be missed by all who knew him.

As has been the case in the last couple of years, there are more irons in the fire than you can count. We have a new race trailer (woohoo!!! Thanks, Shawn, for letting us piggy-back while we had to. Thanks to our friend who helped make this happen) so there is a flurry of work trying to make sure everything gets moved, finding places for everything and figuring out what might be needed and appreciated. Derek has taken over operations at the Renegade Raceway in Yakima, Washington and we spent last weekend there seeing things from “the other side of the fence”. Neal Hanson and his track crew kept everyone in line and moving along. Friday we were to make a run but as the prep began, Gregg found a flaw in the bishop’s hat – pieces are not supposed to be sticking out. Once all the insides were outside, we also found a hole in the crosspieces in the cone itself. Troy was our savior and provided welding for us. We got up on Saturday to drizzly skies. Troy provided emergency resuscitation on the bishop’s hat in the nice, dry fab shop as the rain started in earnest, then Robby crawled the tube and did some repair and reinforcing on areas that we can’t normally easily access. And it rained harder. And we finished the work in the shop, went back to the trailer and it rained harder. So with the help of a quick-up awning and some plastic over the open parts, Gregg and Robby got the pieces back inside and guess what? The rain finally stopped (after the work was done – go figure). Which was perfect timing to get the track dried out and we got the entire race in. Warhawk ran a 6.04 at 261mph like the lady she is – just like nothing happened.

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