Mandy’s Monthly Blog – February 2013
Hello Everyone!
Daryn and I returned to the states after a quick trip to Australia on Jan 29. Thanks to Glenno, David & Christine Aprile, Stevie and Brent for their great hospitality and company. We enjoyed our trip and even snuck in a trip to Manly Beach in Sydney. It was beautiful and we enjoyed the hiking and amazing views!
Upon returning back to the states we were actually “home” only 3 days until we loaded the motorhome for Charlotte to prepare for the upcoming 2013 WOO season. In Charlotte, Daryn and the boys put the finishing touches on the cars, had a KKR photo shoot and loaded up for the All Star races only to be sidelined by the rain! In the meantime, Taylor made herself right at home in the shop racing her remote control “Strawberry Shortcake” car, playing ball, and showing off her bike riding skills. Thanks to all the guys for welcoming us and playing with Taylor each day!
Our season started on Friday, Feb 8th and 9th at the Ocala, FL All Star shows and we started the season with a QUICK TIME! The weekend would end on a strong note with a 2nd and a 5th place to start the season. After Ocala we made a quick trip to see Shamu the Whale at Seaworld and then headed to Volusia. We were scheduled to race for 5 nights but the rain had another agenda. It was nice to have dinner and hang out with our friends during the rain outs, but everyone was ready to race.
The World of Outlaws season started on Friday, February 15th with a WIN! It was so exciting to see Daryn’s face after he got out of the car on the front stretch. Taylor says, “Daddy was the line leader!” Very true and she was so excited to get her picture made with the “crocodildel” trophy! Night two saw the Great Clips team finish with a strong 2nd place and we were closing fast on McCarl for the lead. I actually did not know it was over and Daryn passed the #24 in turns 1 & 2 and I thought we won…bummer but I will take 2nd. Night three saw the #9 fall back in the beginning of the race to position 13, but after a red flag the boys worked on the car and the last 3 laps we were really fast and finished 5th! Daryn made the comment that he was going to start calling Kale the new “Karl” after having such a great car after the open red flag. We also won the “Dirt Car Nationals” title which resulted in a 3 foot gator trophy! Kale, Kolten and Michael worked so hard in the off season and during the week that they deserve that trophy….and my hubby did a great job of driving too! So we leave the first weekend as the WOO point leader, top 5 finishes in all of our Florida races and we gotta wait until Vegas to race again on March 6th. Bummer…but the #9 team is ready!
Every wife of a race car driver knows you will change teams at some point ….and with change you never really know how things are going to pan out. We started with a new team, new car, new tires and a new driver so you always hope and pray for a good start, but to start the way we did in Florida was a huge blessing! Daryn is more excited and happy than I have ever seen him for race season and I feel that a huge reason is because of Kasey Kahne Racing. They have ALL made us feel like family and like we have been there for years. I am more excited about our future than ever before….we got fast race cars, a great team and a driver that is more ready than ever to compete with the WOO!
After the races were done at Volusia who in the world would want to go home to 12 degree weather so we detoured south to the IRL test session at Sebring. Our good friend Sharpley is the car chief for James Hinchcliffe so we got to hang out with the Indy Cars for a few days in the sunshine. It was a fun couple of days! After we left Sebring we headed to East Bay to watch the 360 race for a night before heading back to the cold weather at home. Daryn entertained Taylor by making her a race track for her cars and holding her on top of the trailer during the races. She was cheering away for our friend Terry McCarl and Daryn said, “does she do this all the time?” I said “yep…she yells for you the entire time”! The next day we headed home back to the winter weather….I miss the warm weather already!
Thanks to all of the fans for the kind words and support you have shown us already this season. Daryn’s merchandise will be available at the Cody Darrah apparel trailer at each WOO race. We also have items available online. Shout out to Pottsville, PA …you have purchased the most DP9 merchandise. ( more than any other US city) Thank you!
Chat Soon!
Mandy