RW Racing, #22 Legends Car, Rick Walls




2008 PreSeason \| May \| June \| July \| August \| September\| October \| 2008 Map \|	2009 NEWS	MAY 16, 2009 Wetaskiwin, AB MAY 30, 2009 Medicine Hat, AB JUNE 6, 2009 Wetaskiwin, AB JUNE 13, 2009 Saskatoon, SK JUNE 27, 2009 Legends Thunder Kalispell, MT JULY 4, 2009 High River, AB (Dirt) JULY 18, 2009 Fort Saskatchewan, AB (Road Course) or High River, AB (Dirt) JULY 25, 2009 Wetaskiwin, AB AUGUST 8, 2009 *Froster 50* Saskatoon, SK AUGUST 15, 2009 Wetaskiwin, AB AUGUST 29, 2009 Medicine Hat, AB SEPTEMBER 12, 2009 Wetaskiwin, AB SEPTEMBER 19, 2009 Wetaskiwin, AB SEPTEMBER 26, 2009 High River, AB (Dirt)
June 21/08 - Race Day Wetaskiwin, AB Well... we had a driver focused for a good race day, the car was a first or second place car all day, having stayed at front keeping pace in the heats with Aaron in the 29. Minor adjustments with air pressures but definitely good to go. The team was ready, driver was geared for a successful race... and then it happened -- before we crossed the start line. Coming out of 4, green flag just about to wave, everyone paced to bolt out the gate like gang busters and a car loses control, slides into the path of the blue #22. Here is a tiny clip that I captured with the camera. Click on the photo for the mini-movie. It may take a moment to load, so please be patient. Once the dust settled and rest of the field comes to a red flag stop, the emergency crew making sure the drivers are ok. The driver of the H20 get in his car and drives into the pit to assess the damage and hopefully fix some of it to run a few laps. The wait for the other driver takes a bit longer but finally he steps out, his walk indicates a bit of a struggle, the look on his face a bit pained, but he lifts left hand to wave at the crowd, they cheer -- he's ok. Rick is in a bit of pain and can't lift his arm - he self assesses that an ambulance is not necessary and we ice the sore spot on his back. Meanwhile, the car comes back to the pit a bit worse for wear, fenders and some of the body are cracked and definitely needs repair. The front clip is bent, front Right tire is not looking quite right and after removing it its apparent that there is all kinds of stuff broken and bent. Inside the car, the tunnel and the floorboards are buckled a tad,. After removing the Right Rear wheel which has way to much toe in it.. oh wait... its not supposed to have ANY toe. We can clearly see that the drive shaft is pushed against the inside wall of the tunnel. This of course, leads us to discover that the rear diff has a bit of a bend to it and the rear horns are folded over so the bumper is pushed up against the body. Final verdict.. Rick is not racing in the main tonight, in fact he's not even working on getting the car fixed enough to roll into the trailer. A huge thanks goes to Val Groebmair 's crew (Scott & Henry) who jump right in and fix what can be fixed. Still, the final verdict on the car: Done for the night - maybe longer depending on what the frame looks like. As the night finishes off, Rick's shoulder is getting worse, walking is slow and certain movements cause discomfort and pain but for the most part its somewhat tolerable - stopping at the hospital was brought up, considered and finally nixed by Rick. So, after our usual dinner stop with Grant & Lorraine (#89), and a few other racers & their crew I take the wheel and drive us home - with Rick sleeping in the passenger seat. Sunday June 22/08 - The Day After Calgary, AB It was decided when we got home at almost 4 am, that Rick would indeed go to the hospital to get looked after we'd had some sleep. At 10:30 we were in the Urgent Care center waiting -- and waiting. By 2 he was finally called into the inner sanctum of the emergency ward. The first X-ray showed a section (the size of a man's thumb) broken off the tip of the right scapula (shoulder blade). Both the doctor and the specialist are surprised (shocked) that there are no other injuries sustained with a hit hard enough to break the bone that has a 1% chance of breaking in an impact. With the force that is required to break the shoulder blade the doctors call for another set of x-rays to ensure & re-assure that nothing else is amiss. Finding nothing, the specialist decides to confer with the orthopedic surgeon to get his opinion but he's in surgery.. they send us home by 7:30 pm with a promise to call once they get a hold of the surgeon. Stopped for dinner at Joey's Only (South Trail), then home in time to get the call from the hospital. The break is close enough to the main blade that it should fuse back to the main part. No lifting, but keep the arm moving, and take it easy for the next 4 - 6 weeks that means no racing. According to "Rick Time" that translates to 9-12 days, but we all know he won't do anything to make the healing process take longer! For now he gets to watch weeknight television. We'll still be going to all the races but not to race. See you in Wetaskiwin next weekend! Randi June 14/08 - Calgary, AB (written on Fri. June 20th) The biggest race of the year and I thought we were fully prepared for it until the last minute when our uniforms barely made the trip. All said and done, uniforms & all, we were on our way to Saskatoon. Saturday morning we woke up to the threat of rain. The ground was still wet from rain that had fallen through the night but the sky seemed to clear up while we were enjoying breakfast with the #89 Grant McDonald team. With the sky clearing up a bit, we had many opportunities to do practice laps and played with tire pressures to get the car a bit tighter. With the last practice in we were looking forward to qualifying. As it happened, by 4:30 pm we were sheltered under the tents out of the rain and though we had hoped it would pass, the clouds only got darker and the rain came down harder. Rick's parents (Bob & Ferne) made the trip and arrived in time to watch us huddled under the tents while they sat in their dry truck just outside the Turn 1 & 2 fence. The track called the race just before spectator gates would have opened. So with some free time, we changed out of our wet clothes at the hotel and went for a 5 Star dinner with the family & the McDonalds. Home to the hotel for an early night and plenty of rest for most of us - (Ty had the unfortunate luck of bunking in the pullout couch with a 2 inch mattress). Sunday was relatively clear sky with a few clouds still hanging around but they quickly disappeared as the day progressed. With all the rain that had fallen the track was green for Practice and the car was still a bit loose coming out of the corner. Some minor pressure adjustments but still only managed the best lap time of 17.001 *QUALIFYING* - When the green flag dropped at 2 pm, in a car that was still a bit loose and a driver with a head cold, qualifying didn't go as well as we had hoped for. Best lap was 17.308 putting the RW Racing team in 10th spot for the Pro Division and 20th Overall. *PRO HEAT* - Having a poor qualifying time an no inversion, Rick started the Pro Heat in the last spot (10th) and kept pace with the pack finishing where he started. MAIN - Starting near the back in 20th spot Rick took the green and gained 3 positions by lap 6 and another by lap 17 to run midpack in 16th place. During lap 24, Rick spun the car and dropped back down to 20th only to gain one position in Lap 41 which he maintained until the caution came out in lap 53 when he was tagged in Turn 2 by a lead car coming through lapped traffic. At the restart Rick raced back up to 16th spot before the half-time fuel stop. Starting in 16th for the second half of the race, Rick ran mid-field for the next 28 laps. Taking 15th position in Lap 95 the #22 car maintained position and finished a disappointing 15th overall. (10th Pro). As quick as the day had started, it ended. Packing up the equipment and gear went fast and after a bit of visiting with family & friends we embarked on the long drive home. We stopped in Kindersley to grab a quick bite to eat only to discover that almost every place was closed. With little to choose from we ordered pizza to go and while we were waiting for our order a sudden rain storm passed through town. The rainbows were a nice ending to a less than good weekend giving us hope that maybe we'll do better next week in Wetaskiwin. That and the knowledge that we just might get home in time to catch at least a couple of hours of sleep before work on Monday. Needless to say, we've been trying to catch up all week with minimal success. As you may notice this update didn't post until Friday night. Tomorrow we are off to Wetaskiwin for our first regular race in the Northern Series (a non-chase race). About the Froster The (formerly known as the "Firecracker until 2004) is a very fast and exciting 50 MILE race. This calculates out to be 133 laps at the 3/8th mile track in Saskatoon, SK. This is also the biggest paying race with a total purse of $10,000 that brings some of the Legends racers from other regions (primarily the U.S.) to Western Canada.. During this race the cars must come in to pit at the halfway mark for fuel. The drivers must get out of the cars at this point but no work, no matter how minor, can be done to the cars at all. The reason for this stop is due to the fact that our fuel cells are small and cannot complete the full 133 laps and the drivers endure a grueling race and need to re-hydrate and re-focus themselves. This is an important factor as fatigue can & will cause racing accidents. In the past couple of years Auto Clearing Motor Speedway has hosted the Froster 50 which is sponsored by Mac's Convenience Stores. The track staff & volunteers have always treated us exceptionally well and with open arms. I know that we all love going to what I think is the best paved track in the West. If you want to come watch some real kick-butt Legends racing I strongly recommend attending the Froster 50 and when the race is done, stop by our pit and say Hello!! Hope to see you at the track!!! Randi _________________________________________________ Click Here for more news.