We are going to build a shroud for the radiator tonight and remove the starter.  I’m going to take the starter to B&M tomorrow to see what the cost will be to fix it.  We will also be making an adjustment to the shifter as I lost 3rd gear at the track.

Well, Murphy’s Law was in full effect.  Due to the time constraints, the Street Stocks were not able to hot lap or qualify.  So my first time on the track in the new car was in the heat race.  Well, while I was in the shoot, the ignition module burned up and I didn’t get to run the heat.  There were not enough cars for the consi, so my first lap was taken with 20 other cars on the track.  Well, by the time I got on the track, the temp was 240 degrees.  I took it easy for a couple of laps but it didn’t cool down.  So I pulled in during a caution and had the track official spray the hose on the radiator.  That dropped me to 190 degrees.  I went back out and ran a few more, but hit 250 degrees.  So I pulled in.  We will be installing a fan shroud and removing the restrictor on the intake housing to increase the water flow.  And the adjustments begin.

We were working on the car until 10:15 last night, but we are ready…..  We finally got some tires on the car and it has some vinyl lettering.  There will be a post of the new car sometime tomorrow.  Check back for the new pic!

We painted the car last night.  It looks as if the 2009 season will start this saturday for us.  We painted the car similar colors to last year, but reversed them.  The blue is on the front and yellow is on the back.  We will spend tonight and tomorrow night finishing up a spare driveshaft, going over EVERY nut and bolt to make sure everything is tight, and greasing every crevice.  We also have to letter the vehicle which unfortunately means 3-4 hours of vinyl cutting….  We will be at Kamp Motor Speedway on Saturday!

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I started playing golf again about 8 years ago.  I had not played since I was on the High School Golf team.  My clubs were a little outdated and I didn’t really know too many people that golfed in Lafayette as I just graduated.  I started playing golf with a guy known as “The Round Man”.  He was famous for his famous colorful pants and his incredible shots on the course.  When I first golfed with him, I expected him to be some hack like the majority of us…. BOY WAS I WRONG!!  I have never seen anyone pull some of the shots off from the locations that he would find himself.  I remember a shot at Angel Hills in Rossville and right before he hit the shot, he said “People come all around from Carrol County to watch me hit this shot”.  Sure enough, he stuck it within 6 inches of the hole.  Other comments would be “This looks like a job for the Samurai”, “If your ball is near mine, you are in good shape”, “Ain’t these purdy?”, and “Long and strong may work off the teebox, but short and consitent works for me!”.

He immediately noticed problems with my swing with the clubs that I was using.  So he took me to Golf Galaxy in Greenwood, IN.  He found me a set of clubs and even worked on the sales guy to get me a great deal.  Gary began to work with me on my swing.  He was amazed at how far I could hit the ball, but concerned with my short game.

Gary started taking me to little “Gem” courses that weren’t that popular.  Gary always looked for courses that were challenging in all aspects of the game, not just the Links style courses.  We went to Deer Track, Moss Creek, Logansport, and many others.  I will never forget his statement after I would shank a ball in the water: “Goddammit Michael, get another ball.  I’ll show you what you did wrong.”  On the very next ball, he would have corrected my problem.  And the next words out of his mouth were always “The next one is gonna cost you!!”  Trust me, this guy got his share of money from me playing Bingo Bango Bongo.  Playing against Gary in golf was like playing roulette!  You were almost guaranteed never to win.  After a year or so, I beat “The Round Man” in a game by ONE STROKE!  He told me “You’d better frame that because it’s not gonna happen again”.  And sure enough, I did, and I never beat him on the course again.  I still have the frame of “The Round” with the Round Man.

I am extremely proud to call Gary a friend, and feel blessed that he was in our life!  He is in a better place where the golf balls play true and don’t bounce like hitting concrete on the greens at Oak Grove.

We Love You Gary and we will miss you!!!

Lon, Bobby, and I went in today and spent a few hours on the car.  The plan is to have it at the track on the 25th!  Here is what is left: finish body work, paint, set the timing on the motor, adjust the rear end, put an axle seal in the rear end, wire up the tach, change tires, prep the trailer, and mount the front shocks… That’s IT!!!

Welcome to Daugherty Racing’s website.  This has been drastically updated since last year.  I moved from a static html page to dynamic that will allow easier updates to pictures and results.