JS: Ready for the Glen

The whole scenario was very strange because a handful of other drivers and I ended up going off in turn four on our out lap.. It was extremely weird situation with so many of us going off and it seemed like something was on the track, but at the end of the day I have to take the blame for it just because it’s inexcusable to crash on an out lap in a non- race session.

The F20000 Championship Series is a development series to develop drivers the skills they need to be able to move up and one day hopefully race at the top. One huge skill that drivers such as myself need to develop is mental strength for the many different scenarios that come along in racing. The crash at Mosport was a horrible scenario for me and the team, but at the same time is a real good learning experience for me.

It has taught me that you can get in a lot of trouble really quickly but also to develop mental strength. If the crash at Mosport effects my driving then obviously I do not have the mental strength to get over it and drive just as hard after it then I am not cut for this sport. The mental side of things is an underestimated aspect of this sport that many people don’t give enough credit too. A drivers head can be a winning or losing scenario in a race weekend.

The crash has also put me hard at work to try and find some more support to finish the season. The budget was really tight anyway and this certainly did not help. This is not really a bad thing because I should always be looking for more support and not have a crash to give me that extra boost of motivation.

But now we are onto Watkins Glen this weekend as a support race for the IndyCar Series. When I saw the schedule this year I highlighted this race for many reasons. Obviously with it being an IndyCar event it makes for a great atmosphere and a massive crowd. Watkins Glen is also my home state race, but also one of my favorite tracks that I have been going to since I was about five-years old.

Last year was my first year racing here and it was an up and down weekend. I got my best qualifying result of the season in the second race and ran up front in both races. Sadly I had DNFs in both of them due to getting caught up in accidents that I didn’t start. But I am really excited to be going back next weekend.

I remember the first time I went to Watkins Glen which was in 1996 to watch my brother race in F2000 for a NASCAR Truck Series weekend. I was five and my little sister Jaimee was four. We went to the “bus stop” to watch the race and started the climb up the huge grand stands. We reach the top just as the pace lap started except my four-year old sister at the time Jaimee was no where to be found. We look down and she had fallen through the grand stands and hit the bottom from the very top! Now my poor Mother who is a nervous wreck as it is on a race weekend just had her daughter fall from the top of the grand stands just before the start of the race! Miraculously my sister only sustained a broken arm and that was it. Now when you walk around the facility you will notice two things. One of them is that there are no more grand stands in the “bus stop,” but there is also fencing around the side and bottom of all the grand stands so nobody can fall through.

See you guys at the Glen!

JS