Rough Seas and Storms Brewing

Part 1: Rough Seas in the Desert 

When we left Cordova we knew that we had to scour through The Gambler and look for any and all possibilities that could cause her problems. The box was opened much quicker than usual (we usually need a day or two to recover and catch up before she is unloaded). Casey lowered the gate to roll her into the shop and instantly knew that something wasn't right. The front wheels were not tucked away under the hood as they should be. Dad and Casey immediately got her inside and started disassembling everything to find the culprit while knowing in the back of their minds they already knew what they'd find.  Their hunch was accurate and the frame had endured all the stress it could handle and was compromised in several locations. Dad immediately got on the horn with Ken Singleton  (High Risk Performance) and McKinney Corp and gave them his evaluation notes. McKinney Corp was ready and waiting for The Gambler but it would have been nearly impossible for them to get it fixed in the time constraints we were facing. Mr. Ken (aka Daddy Jo) and his brother, Boyd Singleton are seriously bad a$$ welders and were confident that they could get her all patched up in plenty of time. There was no doubt in our minds that they would be perfect for the job and they delivered a masterpiece in record time! The whole time that Ken and Boyd had the frame Dad was working magic with so many people to ensure that all the electronic mechanisms were in tip top shape in hopes that the belt break issue was a thing of the past. He had Steve Graves with Quick Drive Racing and Bob and Alex with Systen 1 Pro Ignition on speed dial. System 1 had him overnight packages for them to analyze and only found some minor issues that we opted to go ahead and have replaced/repaired while it was in their care in California. Our electrical issues should be a thing of the past! 

She likes quite different naked, doesn't she? Boyd and Ken really outdid themselves! 

Once the frame and all the electrical components were back at the Geeslin Family Racing Headquarters all the pieces of the puzzle started being assembled again. As a part was added back to the frame it was inspected again before being housed on the frame. We had high hopes that all the problems were solved and we would be back in business in Albuquerque. 

The boys headed out with the rig and the bus a day early and the rest of us happily followed suit by plane. I am not even gonna lie, it sure was nice to show up and have everything set up, but even nicer that we were only in the air for like 3-4 hours max compared to their journey that took 2 days nearly.

They called us up for Q1 and we were all a bit anxious as we awaited what would follow the burnout. Remember, she always does a gorgeous burnout but either hasn't gone back into gear or once she is staged the belt breaks. As usual, the burnout was fine and we confident that all things were well.

Nope! As he staged and the lights went down the belt snapped on release, AGAIN! Now, what? It can't be electronic related because everything has been tested and/or replaced. Back to the drawing board we go with our heads hung low once again. As the boys were servicing all the things and Big R was retracing all the possibilities some clouds started rolling into the area. In the desert you never know if the weather forecast will be accurate or not. We were hopeful that the storm would pass us. It didn't. It seriously flooded the track and I mean flooded. There were pits that were up to their knees in water and their coolers and gear were floating away. Weather has not been on anyone's side for Chaos this year. I mean The Chaos brought rain to the two tracks IN THE DESERT in full blown DROUGHT season. We shouldn't have been surprised at this point. 

The photo below is not even the worst of it. Not much later a cooler floated by.... 

Thankfully Papa Steve, Blayne, and Uncle Bill with Quick Drive Racing were at ABQ and were all hands on deck trying to brainstorm what could be causing us so much grief. Unfortunately, Q2 was rained out and would not be rescheduled. Our final shot at qualifying for the race was Saturday for Q3. Our nerves were on edge and we really, really, really wish that we could have made up Q2 Saturday, but Funny Car Chaos is pretty strict on their schedule because they build it around when fans can see the passes. We understand the schedule completely, but when we were so far from home and were having problems the last thing we needed was to miss a qualifying pass. 

Backup Girls Official's theme for Q3 was "Military vs Aliens" and let me just tell you that silver dress was seriously like the foil of a baked potato. Bad choice and never again! It was a super cute theme though! 

We rolled into the lanes for Q3 with our stomach in knots knowing that this pass would determine our fate. If we had more issues on the launch we would be loading up The Gambler for the first time ever due to not qualifying for a race. The burnout was smokey and glorious and I remember going back behind the car in my usual stance and literally praying over and over and over for the car to just leave the dang tree. The lights when down and SNAP!!! I am always in a crouched position for some reason and my hands immediately hit the lane in angst. Cue the waterworks. I think I was more devastated than anyone. Y'all when I want something I always want it BAD and let me just tell you I wanted that pass to be perfection. My tears continued flowing as I stayed in the lanes to cheer our friends on, because no matter how bad our luck was I still wanted all our friends to make the best passes they could. Our teammates were always close by to give big hugs and lots of support; Chaos teammates are the best teammates. 

Once you see the belt in this amazing picture that Jason Bryant captured that's all you can see. 

Not qualifying for the first time in our career was a very humbling experience. I can guarantee you that it wasn't for a lack of trying and not having enough grit to hang in there. We quite honestly have had an exhausting season due to issue after issue, but rest assured we fought until our last breath. Thankfully, Chris and Bubba gave us the opportunity to make another pass before we loaded up the car. Low and behold we ended up being paired with Michael Neal due to his opponent being broken. Believe it or not, that is the first time Casey and Michael lined up next to each other. It was a super cool experience.... it was also our best pass of the weekend! We loaded The Gambler up feeling hopeful that we had found the gremlin! 

Ricky Neal and Big R have been lifelong friends and are having the best time watching their boys live out their dreams! 

Once we were back in the pit and everyone was in much better spirits it was time to load up and the countdown to the finals at Mo-Kan was underway............ 

but little did we know the storms were still brewing. To be continued......