Skip Barber Midwestern Race Day 2 @ Mont Tremblant, Canada, Aug. 3, 2008:

     We finally got some good weather for this race, and the race directors gave Devin’s group an extra 10 minute practice before the race since they had been shorted on their race the previous day.  Also, the race was lengthened to 13 laps, instead of the planned 12 laps.

     Once the race got under way, Devin made good use of his fourth place starting position on the grip and was up to third going into Turn 2.  He maintained his third place position (and was actually up to second for part off one lap) for a couple of laps, dropped to third on one lap, back up to third, then there was a full course yellow.  During the racing before the full course yellow, Devin had some contact with his left front wing and another car.  Series rules require that if you have contact, you must come into the pits for a safety inspection.  Unfortunately, Devin did not come in during the full course yellow, which would have allowed him to be able to catch up to the back of the field while they were still behind the safety car.  Seeing the black flag with his car number as he passed the flagstand on the last yellow lap, he was obligated to come into the pits the next time around.  Of course, as he came in the pits, the rest of the field was getting the green flag, so his race was effective done.

     Once he got back on track, he went to work, and with managed to bring it home in tenth position in a field of 13, just making the pass for tenth out of the final two turns on the very last lap, crossing the finish line .311 seconds ahead of eleventh.

     Highlights of this race included Devin running up front early in the race, also setting his personal best lap of the week on the second lap of the race.  If not for the contact and the subsequent penalty, he would have probably finished well up in the field, and if he had come in a lap early for his penalty, he could have made up further positions.  Ifs and buts don’t win races though, so we came away with tenth and a learning experience to build upon for future races.  It was a fun, busy, educational week, he did not wreck any cars, and did well against older, more experienced (in cars) racers.

Skip Barber Midwestern Race Day 1 @ Mont Tremblant, Canada, Aug. 2, 2008: 

     The day started off with a morning practice for Devin’s group since they did not get a final practice on Friday due to the track closing.  Unfortunately, his car started smoking during this practice and he had to come in and switch cars, and ultimately ended up with an abbreviated practice in a different car..

      When we finally got around to qualifying, the sky decided to open up an soak the track.  During Devin’s second qualifying lap the car got away from him at the fast Turn 7 sweeper, and he went for a wild ride through the grass, and just touched the Armco barrier with his left front wheel before getting the car back under control.  This required a mandatory visit to the pits for a safety inspection, plus the rules are that if you put all four wheels off of the track, your qualifying time is voided and you start in the back.  Having already blown qualifying, Devin just took it relatively easy the rest of the practice in the treacherous wet conditions.

     The race was also held in changing track conditions, and on the first lap there was an incident further up the field, requiring a full course yellow and the pace car.  After a couple of laps under yellow, the race got restarted only to have another incident that resulted in a car flipping and another full course yellow.  All remaining cars were directed into the pits to stop and shut down while the wrecker truck went to recover the flipped car and the rescue crew went to the driver’s aid (who was unharmed) and give him a ride back to the pits.

     The mess cleaned up, the race got back under way.  Scheduled to be a 12 lap race, it had to be abbreviated to only 8 laps because all cars have to be off the track a 5PM for noise ordinances.  When the checkered flag waved, Devin came home in fourth place in his first car race, avoiding the trouble experienced by other racers in the field and passing some other drivers that started further up in the field.  In addition to his fourth place finish, Devin was the top finishing Rookie driver in the race, and got the Rookie of the Race award.  He also was recognized on the podium for making the most progression coming from 11^th on the grid to finish 4^th.