Crushed

It seems that absolutely nothing goes my way in trying to get this car done.

I spent 2 weeks down in Orlando, often staying until late at night trying to get the car done and painted so that my very patient sponsor, BRISK USA, would finally have on display in their booth at the PRI show. They have been very understanding and patient of me dealing with all the unexpected delays as I have fought to get this car out and running.

I chronicled all of my time and work down in Florida. By the time I left, it was as far as I could get it, and all that remained was the exterior to be painted and the final touches applied (Vinyl graphics, lexan bolted in, etc.). With 2 weeks remaining, I figured it would be close, but we’d get it done, and finally have a great looking car that would make BRISK, Harland Sharp, PNN, and the rest of my sponsors proud.

But today, I got a crushing phone call. It was Josue, who is doing all the body work and paint. He had picked up the car on Sunday after I left and took it back to his paint booth in Ocala, where he could work on it in a better, closer environment. He inlisted the help of an expert in fiberglass/ racecar body and paint to help him. What they determined, was that the body would not line up anywhere on the car. The doors had a 1/4″ gap between the edge and the body. The front end had a shocking 1″ gap where it meets the doors. Nothing lined up straight. They would have to go back and reconstruct and add material to the body to make it presentable again.

I am devastated.

What originally was supposed to be an off-season, relatively simple job has taken over a year and cost me TRIPLE what I originally anticipated. I am not far off in expense on this body change than what a newer (than my t-bird) rolling chassis would have cost me off of Racing Junk. It has been so discouraging the amount of hardships and set-backs I’ve encountered, and while I’ve always considered myself one of the most perserverant and determined racers I know, this has at times seemed as though I was fighting a losing battle.

Now, I’m 100% at the mercy of the Paint/Body gurus to help and get me out there at long last. I feel that I’ve significantly let down all the people who have supported me through this, and hope that I will somehow be able to right this and turn such a sour situation around for them all. It is the most frustrating time in my 10 year career for me, just as I felt that momentum had finally begun to pick up.