The head is all ready to go in, have all the gaskets and stuff I need for it, just waiting for a free weekend.
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Change of Plans
So late last year, I broke my car again. This time at Gingerman doing something cool instead of driving home from a whack car show. Probably bent a valve, cylinder three is dead and the motor isn’t knocking. A quick peek down into the cylinder didn’t show any damage to the piston, so I got a new head to slap on.
Originally, I was planning on taking a break from car life until I was completely done with nursing school. But I couldn’t stand my car sitting in the garage broken for that long. I’m still not going to be racing or anything, but I am excited to be able to drive the Civic to work, or cruise it when I need to clear my head.
I’m stoked.
Adjusting Frequencies
Nursing school starts in a couple weeks. Gonna be a while before this exists again.
Ramblers Racing Team
These incredible humans listened to me bitch all season about the tires Ive had on the car for the year. And for no other reason than we all like eachother enough to want to see eachother enjoy our passion to the fullest, they not only surprised the hell out of me tonight with a fresh set of my favorite tires, but they also got them mounted, ballanced and aligned.
I really can’t put into words how happy the Ramblers make me. All week I’ve been stressing about shit that’s gone wrong and having to get replacement parts for shit I fucked up over the season. A few things I didn’t even know I broke until I decided that replacing my FLCA and RTA bushings, and like anything with my car, everything turns into a way bigger project.
I’m forever grateful for my team, but a special thank you belongs to my good friend Mikey. He spent this whole week busting his ass to finish my car in time to get it aligned with his car today with the new tires. He set aside tons time and effort that could and should have been dedicated to his car to make sure I have a good time this weekend.
Spirits are mighty high coming into this Gridlife weekend. Peter is debuting his CRX, Mikey’s car is coming out with what feels like a truly strong motor, my car feels phenomenal with all these new bushings and a fresh alignment, and it is looking like the team is gonna be complete at some point this weekend.
Sunglasses is a Must
Honestly, I’m not sure what I would do if this video ever disappeared from YouTube.
Happy
Kuya Josh is back
GRIDLIFE 2017
I write this as I lay in bed, with some pretty crazy sunburn, tired as all hell from spending the last three blazing hot days at home at Gingerman Raceway for Gridlife’s annual Midwest Festival.
This year’s festival really was the best it’s ever been. Trackside, everything went relatively smooth, only one semi major hiccup put the track behind schedule all weekend. And off track, the show was truly amazing.
Offtrack, the festival was the biggest and best I’ve ever seen. The car show was packed, the camping section in the back was another world, and the stage setup was MASSIVE. it literally looked like a scene from Forza Horizon 3, but better because it was real life.
The weeks leading up to this event were relatively tame. The Ramblers main focus for this event was finishing Mikey’s fit to drive in the SpecFit competition. He commissioned a friend to paint the entire with GridlifexRamblers flavored graffiti. It came out beautifully, especially with Dennis’s SBC RPF1’s.
During the last stages of finishing Mikey’s fit. I brought my car over to swap distributors and some shifter bushings. And we had a special guest come hang in the garage with us. A few months ago, Adam Jabaay let us know in the Ramblers chat that a guy from the UK was super stoked on coverage from last year’s Gridlife South festival and was planning on attending the Midwest festival in 2017. We were stoked to hear that Gridlife was receiving international recognition so we all made it a point to show him a good time. Richard Symons is one of the coolest dudes I ever met. He came to the garage to hang before the event, and it was like he’s been a homie for years. Hopped right in helping us time my motor/dizzy, told us rad stories from Europe and ate pizza with us. He made his first trip to the US to hang out with a bunch of car dorks in the middle of rural America. I’m happy he had a great time. He even drove around the track in Chris’s S2000 haha.
The hangs were perfect in the paddock this year. We were pitted right by our brothers from Brofunction and Twerk Team Racing, this made for some primo shenanigans. From nipple stickers to chugging beers out of a cone, this weekend was a blast. I can’t thank this hobby enough for introducing me to some of the best friends I’ve ever made in my life. Earlier this year, we surprised Brofunction with flags with our logos on them to fly at events. This weekend, they surprised us with these cups with our logos printed on them. I’m so grateful to call these guys my friends, there is never a dull moment with these homies.
I’m lucky enough to have hopped into Gridlife as a beginner from the very first event. This event introduced me to Gingerman, and I’ve really found a home with the organization that runs Gridlife and Western Michigan Honda Meet. I almost don’t believe how big Gridlife has gotten, all weekend there were moments where I just had to stop, and I just looked around at everyone smiling, and genuinely enjoying themselves. Driving and instructing with Gridlife makes me proud to be involved in such a great community of drivers and friends that put such an emphasis on having fun. Im so happy to be involved in something that’s grown so much, and has given me the opportunity to grow and earn such great experiences as a driver. I love this shit, it really is magic.
