The next race for the Hansen team is in Michigan.  The Michigan International Speedway is a 2 mile oval and is the fastest track we will run on all season.  This in not a restrictor plate motor race so all 800 plus horsepower will we used.  We were not able to attend the open test session as team members were searching for a new car to replace the one that was involved in a crash in Iowa.  However, Todd has raced there and "loves the place".  In his initial ARCA race at Michigan he finished a respectable 11th.  In ARCA's open tests at the Speedway, average speeds typically approach 190 MPH.  That means that straightaway race-day speeds are about 200 MPH.  Pretty quick. 
 
The team did, in fact, just purchase a new car which arrived at the shop on Thursday morning the fifth of June.  Crew members are working around the clock to have the car ready for Michigan.  The car is a Sprint Cup car which has run in the top 10 in Sprint Cup races.  The amount of work to prepare this car for ARCA competition is much more than one would expect.  Everything from the fuel cell to the radiator must be modified to ARCA specifications.  It's a prodigious undertaking! The team's expectations are high. 
 
People ask us about the impact of rising fuel costs as it relates to operating a racing business.  Forgetting anything about race-day fuel usage, here are some statistics about our recent trip to Charlotte NC.  The team used its small hauler to travel to North Carolina to pick up the new car.  That hauler is a one ton Chev. dually with a 454 cubic inch engine and was pulling a 30 foot enclosed trailer.  Past trips required fuel expenditures of about $900.  This trip used $1400 of fuel... more than 50% more! The cost of having fun continues to escalate!

The fifth grade students of Mr. Omar MacMillan’s Richfield Intermediate School deserved a big round of “thanks” for helping raise money for the Minneapolis/St. Paul Chapter of JDRF.  So when Minnesota JDRF Executive Director Jackie Casey asked students if they would like to meet Todd Hansen and see his #77 Mad Croc race car, the response was a unanimous, and enthusiastic “yes”.  After returning from the Drive Smart! Buckle Up Kentucky 150, Todd, team member Skip Pollack and team owner Diane Hansen visited Mr. MacMillan’s class and for two hours, the kids got to spend time with Todd.

After viewing Todd’s video, created in January to support JDRF’s Walk to Cure Diabetes walkathon, students had the opportunity to ask questions.  With interest ranging from how Todd manages his own diabetes to questions about tires, speed, safety, what happens during a crash, and where his next race was scheduled, the students clearly showed their knowledge of racing – proving again how popular the sport is with the nation’s youth. 

After autographs, photos and cupcakes provided by Ms. Casey, students headed to the parking lot to see Todd’s car.  Students took turns getting behind the wheel and were delighted to convince their teacher Mr. MacMillan to give it a try! 

As the school day ended, more students made their way to Todd’s car and to get an autograph. 

When all is said and done, JDRF is the real winner … with every contribution helping their cause to find a cure for diabetes.  (Although we can’t help but love the student’s enthusiasm, especially when one young student shouted “Todd rocks!”)

“Warm Kentucky rain" may sound good as a part of an old Elvis song, but it doesn't sound good if you want to go stock car racing.  The Hansen team traveled to Kentucky to race in the Drive Smart! Buckle Up Kentucky 150 ARCA race on May 10th.  It rained and thundered on both the 8th and 9th.  Normally, it is not a big deal if it rains the days prior to a race, but this is not the case at Kentucky.  The Kentucky track has what are called “weepers”.  What are weepers?  When the water table is high, moisture seeps through the track surface and the track becomes wet.  ARCA test dates have been wiped out because of these weepers.  Just a little bit of moisture on a track can translate into a potential crash… which is not good!

Qualifying based on speed and skill is important to the Hansen Team. The team did not want to see rain or ‘weepers’ cancel qualifying and force the starting grid to be set by season driver point tallies. Confident of our ability to run great qualifying laps, we didn’t want to take a chance of losing out when our season-long point total is still building. When Saturday turned out bright and beautiful, we knew this was a good sign!  Track crews worked all morning on both ends of the track to dry it out.  Practice was delayed for about an hour but the track finally dried out and the competition was underway.

Practice for the team went well … as did qualifying.  The primary goals were to make the race and then to finish the race in a respectable position.  Both goals were met.  Todd qualified in the middle of the field and then, when the race began he “did his thing and passed cars”. 

It seems like there were lots of yellow flags in this event.  Each yellow flag meant a restart and Todd was having some difficulty with them.  If he used 2nd gear he would spin the rear tires and lose positions. If he used 3rd gear there was not enough acceleration to maintain position. During a long green flag run he was able to move into the top 10.  There was a period of time where timing and scoring showed that Todd was the fastest car on the race track.  He was running faster than the leaders.  It looked like a top 10 finish until the white flag. 

In racing, things don't always work out the way you want.  As the saying goes: “sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you”.  On the white flag lap there was a yellow.  That means there must be another green, a white, and then the checkers.  Another green restart led to yet another yellow, to another restart, another yellow, and then one last ti me -- a restart and then the checkered flag.  During all of that Todd would lose positions and then gain them back, but in the end finished a respectable 12th.

The team feels good about the finish.  Four of the cars that finished ahead of Todd had at one time been passed by Todd.  Of the teams that finished ahead of Todd many were development teams from NASCAR with great equipment. Thus, Todd and the team feel very good about the race and their ability to compete with the field.  Were it not for the transmission problem, a top 10 finish was almost a certainty.

Next up for the team is a Michigan test and then it's on to Pocono. 

What's the Matter with Kansas?  That's the title of a bestselling book published in 2004.  That's also the question that the Hansen racing team asks themselves every time they travel to that beautiful race facility.  Todd’s initial bout with the Kansas Speedway in 2006 saw him close to the top of the board in practice.  Then he got a little frisky in qualifying and severely hit the inside wall.  He was OK, but the team needed a new car.

Fast forward to 2007.  Todd had the good fortune to race the Country Joe #32 car at Kansas.  It had been a long winter and he had no opportunity to test the car prior to the race. Additionally, the new fangled coil bind setup was coming into its own and Kansas was Todd's initial race with that setup.  It takes a little getting used to.  Perhaps it takes a lot of getting used to.  Todd ran the race and… finished 14th.  No one on the team wanted to call it a great outing but felt privileged to work with a top notch crew and car.  The experience was valuable.

Fast forward to April 2008! The team went to an ARCA test at Kansas and watched it rain.  When they finally got some track time (a day later) they were working with a new car … a different car than would run in Iowa. This car was an enigma.  So, when they came back for the actual race event, they brought a different car.  It worked well.  After30 laps of practice Todd went out to qualify.  The first lap was adequate, but nothing to write home about.  The second lap was different.. the most important lap of qualifying! 

With heat in the tires it was very apparent that the second lap would be excellent---until the exit of turn 4.  That's when the engine blew up!  Without an engine, and coasting about 200 yards, Todd was only 2 tenths slower than his initial lap.  We all would have loved to have known what the qualifying time would have been had the engine not expired. The talent of Todd and the team – along with a car they worked very hard on – came shining through… only to be thwarted by the engine.

Putting Kansas in a positive light, it was fortunate the engine let go when it did.  Had the failure occurred in heavy traffic at the beginning of the race it could have precipitated a serious accident.  So, our version of "What’s the Matter with Kansas" will require a return engagement next year.  Time will tell!

The results from the April 19, 2008 Iowa Speedway can best be described as an experience that brought Todd from the outhouse to the penthouse to the outhouse again. These are the ups and downs of racing.

Todd and crew traveled to Iowa to run an ARCA race on April 19th.  The Iowa Speedway is in its third season of racing.  It is a beautiful 7/8^th mile facility where everything is first class.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate.  On qualifying day it rained and rained … and rained some more until qualifying was cancelled.  As this was a televised race there was no time to qualify the next day.  Without the opportunity to qualify the field is set by “owner’s points.  The team believed they would be going home as this was their first event of the season and they had no points and thus the first trip to the outhouse.

When the field was finally set Todd found himself starting in 38th position.  He was the last car to make the show based on last year’s points and thus a trip to the penthouse.  The green fell and Todd started strong, quickly passing cars.  He moved up to as high as 7th place and Todd and crew were in an excellent position to do some damage. After the crew executed a great pit stop (changing 4 tires and adding fuel in less than 20 seconds) Todd and crew were well on their way to the penthouse.

This season ARCA has initiated a "lucky dog" rule.  Specifically this means that when the yellow flag flies the lead car of the lapped cars is placed back on the lead lap.  When the green flag flies the lappers race hard to be that lead car, which makes it more difficult for the front runners as the lappers are not about to move over.  Well the ‘lucky dog” turned out to be unlucky as one of the lappers checked up in turn one. Todd, who happened to be just behind the lapper, did not expect the lapper to check up and rear ended the lapper and wound up crashing into the wall.  Back to the outhouse! A great start but… 

The car is junk so the team will take a backup car to Kansas this weekend.