RESULTS: "Congratualtions Marcus"
Incredible race tonight. Really put the mental and physical stress on myself. End of my second stint. Around lap 28, I was starting to feel the pressure. Mentally trying to maintain focus. The heat was setting in. Had to tell myself to focus. Coming out on the last stint I had Marcus making his charge and I had grabbed a second wind. Was able to stay focused till the end.
All those that made it to the end, congrats. It was not an easy task!
Congratulations everyone!
What a run. To those who made it all the way; you stand apart.
Man, Owens was sweatin me hard. A bit of lag at the start and occasionally thereafter, and then after I spun towards the end of the first stint my plans changed a bit. I pit a couple of laps early to try to separate myself from the field, and ended up in a run with dsg for a while coming out. By the middle of the stint it was Owens in the lead with dsg and myself closing in. I was psyched for a finish charge reminiscent of our past, however dsg got hung out in the dirt and I couldn't hang around. By the end of my second stint I was clawing back a few tenths here and there upon Owens who was sitting comfortably in the lead.
For the final stint I decided to pit a lap earlier than I anticipate the other leaders would, in attempt to keep from having to race in a pack and to close the gap on Owens earlier so that I wasn't trying to chase him down on low tyres at the end. After a couple of lapped traffic passes, and a near rear-ender with Owens; I was in his draft. I chose to hang out for a couple of laps so that I could enjoy the beer I had so neglected in the runup to then before making a move. I had a draft run coming out of the T1 complex, and took an unusual(for me) inside line pass and stuck it(probably because Owens was a bit lenient with me, perhaps). Owens kept me running until a lap or two before the finish where he bobbled after hanging an outside tyre in the marbles, and gave me a free ticket to ride.
I recall closing in, to what I felt was just outside the draft pull over 10 laps before the finish. Jeff, it took me 10 laps to claw my way up and pass you. That was a run for the books. My hat is off to you, my friend. I haven't had to run so hard for so long in a long time. It's good to be back.
In summary; everybody's got a plan until they're backwards in the grass.
