Well today was not really what I would call a good day.

It started out with our hour+ long practice session where we tried some very different stuff on the setup. None of the things we tried worked well. Which is pretty much what we expected, but you never know 'till you try. So it wasn't all that disappointing.

But qualifying was pretty disappointing. I went out on brand new tires with the intention of ripping off a fast lap. Coming into turn 1 (which is a very high speed kink) the rear end tried to swap ends with the front. I guess the tires were not up to temperature yet and not properly scrubbed in. So as I headed into turn 2 (a slow corner with a huge gravel trap just on the outside of it) the car was in what we call a "tank slapper" (sliding very sideways) in order to correct this I would need to apply the gas to get the front end pointed in the right direction. But I also knew that I was quickly approaching the sand trap, and if I didn't get ont he brakes very soon I would not make the corner. So, I tapped the break to swing the back end back to the other side and just drove off the track, but missed the sand trap. If I went into the sand trap I would be stuck and would have to be towed out. I didn't want that, so I just drove around the sand trap and re-entered the track on the other side.

I thought it was a disaster avoided, but as I accelerated out onto the track I felt a severe vibration. The hit from when I dropped of the track had messed up something pretty bad and now the steering wheel was just about to rip out of my hands.

This was not a thing that is very conducive when trying to drive fast, but qualifying is very short, and I had to make due. I did the best I could and managed an 11th spot. It wasn't too bad, but much slower than I was going with old used up tires. Really it shouldn't make too much of a difference in the race, but I will just have to worry more about getting caught up in someone else’s mistake on the start.

Oh, and the forecast if for rain! So, that will make things even more interesting. We're still not sure exactly what was causing the vibration, but we've narrowed it down to a few things. Hopefully I just threw a wheel weight, but we have to wait until the Hoosier tire guys get here tomorrow morning to get them re-balanced.

On a positive note, at least I've got my one mistake for the season out of the way early...