I've been traveling to schools, libraries and national conventions (most recently in San Antonio) to talk about SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT and the Motornovels.  The reaction has been overwhelmingly great.  Our most recent invitation to "come and bring the car" is from Tennessee.  It's fun to say, "Okay, let's see if can't make that happen."  Team Weaver will definitely will be in the Little Falls, MN schools in February; Mankato, MN schools in March; and in Iowa City in April for a multi-school tour.  

Some things are happening with SND that I'd love to talk about, but can't at the moment.  All I can say is there is serious interest  from Hollywood.  The pathway from book to film is  a long and tricky--a bunch things can go wrong--but it has happened to me twice before, so why not a third time?  Stay tuned.  I'll let you know  more when I can.

So we were actually surprised to see Bourquin show up at the local speedway's banquet (he's from out of town).  As the Mod-4 class drivers got ready to go up and accept their trophies, I murmured, "As a team, we clap for everybody."  Skyler nodded, and then said:  "I'm gonna shake his hand."   And he did.  Now that's real sportsmanship.  

Check out the photos of the awards banquet, and Skyler's cool new jacket, too.   

Officially, then, this begins our off season–which is not "off" in anyway.  Steve Booth of Eagle Chassis is working on our new (2006) Midwest Mod.  It will be totally refurbished, with new tin and new engine.  Crew Chief Bill Smith is gearing up to build the engine with tech assistance from Paul Nelson and Northwest Technical College here in Bemidji.  They have a great High Performance Engine program there. 

Other news:  Bill and Skyler attended a seminar in chassis set-up at the big WISSOTA expo Nov 4 in St. Cloud.  There's a follow-up, more intensive workshop later this winter that Bill would like to attend.  All  good, though depends on our budget.

I'm busy with PR and promo work for SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT, visiting schools, giving talks at large conventions of teachers and librarians.  I have a neat, 5-minute dvd of our "bookmobile" in action that I usually show.

So it's full speed ahead toward racing in '09--only 5 months away.  My friend and Super Stock driver Raymond Rehbein of Rochester, MN, says, "If you're not working on your car right now, you won't be ready for the first green flag."

In Ogilvie, we squeezed No. 16 through a rear door, and right onto the auditorium stage (see photos).  Students helped push our car in and out, and had fun during the day getting a close-up look at a real race car.  Skyler showed off his safety gear (suit, helmet, etc.) and answered lots of questions about "what it's like" on the track.  Crew Chief Bill Smith talked about his role in keep the car in tune and ready to race.  I talked about the Motor Novels, reading, writing, and read some from SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT. 

All in all, it was long days but energizing at the same time--plus good tune up for some longer  road trips in early 2009.  We'll be southern Minnesota for several days and  several schools.  Then a real enduro in April in Iowa City, Iowa, where we'll hopscotch in and out of a bunch of schools for several days straight.

After wrapping up this recent school tour, we  stopped at Eagle Chassis in Eagle Bend, MN, to look at a race car.  We had been communicating with Steve Beech, racer and chassis man, about a used, 2006 Midwest Modified ("B-Mod").  Skyler will be moving up to the big V-eight class next year.  The Beech car had a blown engine–not a problem for us as Bill is engine builder and a Chevy guy.  In a nutshell, the car was just the right package at the right price.  Now, over the winter (first snowflakes today!) we will be working on our "new" No. 16 B-Mod.  Stay  tuned for progress report and pictures.

We also have  big news about a new driver joining Team Weaver.  She (that's right, She) will be driving our Mod-Four.  But enough here for one day....

Thanks, as always, for dropping  by. 

We'll also show a short DVD of Skyler and the FSG Publishers No. 16 in action.  This is gonna be fun!

Anyway, we think there are photos of him wearing a funny crown, but so far we haven't seen them.  Soon as we do, they'll be posted.

On the racing side, Skyler and Bill will be attending the big racing Expo in St. Cloud, MN the first weekend in November.  They'll be attending a chassis and set-up all day seminar, as well schmoozing with other drivers and teams.  Should be fun for them.  Me, I'll be  deer hunting that weekend.  Some things take priority over racing!

WW.

After taking a couple of weeks to digest and smile about our great season, we're starting to gear up for the next.  We'll be moving up to a Midwest Modified (Chevy V-8) car class, and are looking for exactly the right car deal.  Crew Chief Bill Smith has made contact with several teams and, we are shopping and narrowing our choices.

We're also pumping up our sponsor relationships, including an arrangement with Northwest Tech College in Bemidji.  NTC has a great high-performance engine-building program.  I took classes there to get my motorhead back on, Bill taught in the program (it's where we met), and is a Chevy man at heart.  We're excited about our linkage with this excellent technical college, students and staff--a win-win arrangement.  Stay tuned for more info on this.

No other real news, except to post some photos of our  Team picnic, plus a couple of Skyler and Christi.  She has been great to have on the pit crew, handling and remembering things (such as helmet tear-offs and fire extinguishers) that the rest of us forget at times. 

Check in soon for updates on our car search, and for other Skyler and Team Weaver news.

We did get in one day of racing on Friday, Sept 12.  Skyler "bombed the draw" (his words), picking number 470 out of 500, which put us in the last slot in the last heat.  However, the race set-up also  rewarded drivers for "passing points", which mean just what they say.  If a driver comes from last to first, he racks up major points. 

In his heat Skyler was threatening to do just that, moving from last to fourth--when a yellow flag restart reshuffled everything, and sent him again nearly to the rear.  There he was unable to avoid contact with a spin-out in front of him, resulting in another car coming up on his roof, and flattening the tin on the right side.  He said later he was unable to see out the right side, which was a handicap for the remainder of the race.  However, he made it back to sixth place before the checkered flag waved.

The line-up posted on the pit board for the feature race looked promising, with our No. 16 written into the 8th row outside.  This put us near the middle of the pack of 28 cars, and Skyler likes the outside slot.  However, the  feature was canceled due to heavy rain, with no make-up date scheduled.

Skyler will race one more time at Bemidji Speedway in the B-Mod for the team of Darryl Johnson and Gary Gregg.  Team Weaver will start  to make the transition with our Mod-4 No. 16 to an exciting young driver, Evanelle Barrett from Red Lake.  Skyler will move up to the  Midwest Modified (V-8) class next season, and Ev will drive No. 16 as a "Sister Car" to Skyler.  Everybody is pleased about this.  Skyler's B-Mod will keep the same "Bookmobile" lettering and design, and Ev will also help advertise the Motor Novels series  (look for SUPER STOCK ROOKIE in early '09) in the Mod-4.  She's really excited about the chance to drive a track champion car, and Team Weaver is very happy to have her as a part of our extended team.  Racing is not just for guys--there are several young women drivers at Bemidji Speedway--and we'll be cheering for her in the Mod-4 class and for Skyler in the bigger B-Mod.  

This move will stretch our budget to the max, but we think it can be done.  Team Weaver is always looking for support to keep our program going.   We provide access and opportunity for young people to drive race cars, with a focus on books, reading and staying in school.  Our main sponsor, Farrar, Straus & Giroux Publishers, has been fantastic, and we can't thank them enough.   If you are an organization and want to help FSG and Team Weaver keep spreading that message, don't be shy about getting in touch with me. 

Team Weaver will be visiting schools across Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota during the coming school year. I have an Appearances page on my main website,  willweaverbooks.com, where you can check the schedule.

p.s.  We have some fun events to look forward to--the post-season banquets.  Skyler is going to be awarded some major hardware, plus a great jacket with his name and "Track Champion" embroidered on it.  Pictures will be posted in mid-November.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, in the racing world the protester must put down cash ($200) to engage the process. Team Weaver is now awarded most of that money, though it will take at least half to buy new gaskets, head bolts, fresh oil, etc.

However, there is money enough left over to throw a fine party for Team Weaver and friends--compliments of the disgruntled second place finisher.  Sometimes there is justice in the world, and in this case, it's sweet. . . .

We want to thank all our great fans and our loyal friends who put their butts on the seats (you know who you are) at the speedway. Your support this summer was fantastic, and your confidence in us during this difficult last few days, was touching.  Skyler and all of Team Weaver looks forward to seeing you at the speedway next season, but stay tuned during the off-season for updates. We'll have some fun stuff to announce, as it relates to our team "moving up".  We are grassroots racers on the move.  How far can we go?  That's the big (and fun) question. 

In the mean time, we still have a couple more post-season races, including the big WISSOTA 100 in Brainerd MN this coming weekend Sept 12/13.  That's it for today.   Now go look at the tear-down pictures from 9/8/08.  

But on to an update on the engine protest by the second place finisher in the season points race, Brian Bourquin.  Following the last feature race, Skyler drove our No. 16 up to the trailer where lights were set up and tools laid out.  Under the watchful eyes of WISSOTA race technicians, crew chief Bill Smith, along with helper Rick Karns, took the engine apart.  The protesting driver had to be present as well, and he and a couple of hillbilly companions lurked in the shadows, watching.  Each engine part was weighed, measure and inspected, and but for some minor grinding on one small part (a rod cap, if you're a true motor head) we have passed the test.  However, that part and one piston were tagged, and will be sent to headquarters where the chief technician will rule.  We are quite confident that we'll be in clear within 24 hours.  The idea of such an inspection is to see if/where an engine has been altered to increase horsepower.  In our case, nothing was, and the "grinding" issue appears to be mainly cosmetic.

Too much information, perhaps, but the scene around the "tear-down" was quite dramatic.  A circle of bystanders stayed late, and pressed in toward No. 16  to see what they could see.  The engine came apart piece by piece under harsh spotlights, with Bill and Rick underneath the car working for the most part cheerfully.  It was a great opportunity for the novice to see how an engine works.  (I'll be posting pictures tomorrow.)

The whole protest procedure seems skewed in favor of the protester, however.  Two hundred dollars is all we'll get when the issue is resolved in our favor--not much for the time and inconvenience of having to take our engine apart.  But the racing Gods are sly and clever.  This will give us a chance to work on the engine, and get it ready for next season.

Final report on this matter ASAP when we know for sure.

In the feature, Skyler got a fast jump from the outside pole position, and led for 12 of the 15 laps.  But Schwinn gambled low in turn four, getting his nose alongside Skyler and forcing our No. 16 high.  Schwinn completed the pass, and went on to win the checkered flag and $500 along with a giant trophy.

Team Weaver wanted that win, but we were happy with the evening--until news came that someone had protested our engine.  In racing, there are various methods to prevent cheating, and a "protest" means that another driver suspected that Team Weaver was cheating.  That our engine was not to Mod-4 specs.   A protesting driver must put down $200 cash, and then racing officials and technicians completely take apart the engine and measure everything.  If the engine passes inspection, the protesting driver loses his $200--and a lot of a face.  Making a protest, or in other car classes, an engine "claim" (which actually involves competing drivers swapping engines) is a serious matter.  

In our case, the protesting driver is Brian Bourquin, who drives yellow No. 42, from Grand Rapids.  Bourquin finished a close second behind us in the season championship.  The best we can figure out, is that Bourquin hopes the officials will find something amiss with our engine--which means Team Weaver would forfeit all our points for the season--and then Bourquin would be the track champion.

Because this weekend's racing is a two day event, our engine inspection will take place at the conclusion of tonight's race.  In the mean time, our car was impounded and had to be locked up (just like NASCAR) in our trailer and left at the speedway overnight.  Crew Chief Bill Smith, to make sure there was no tampering with our trailer or car, slept at the speedway last night to keep an eye on our equipment. 

If you've read earlier entries, you'll remember me speaking of Brian Bourquin and his yellow No. 42 in friendly terms. Well, no more of that.  That ship has sailed.  Nobody is happy about what Bourquin has done.  And while we are confident of passing the engine inspection (we bought the engine from a professional engine builder and have never had it apart), there is a still a shadow of doubt and anxiety until we know for sure.    Stay tuned.  I'll have the results of all this later tonight.