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Greg Nikitenko
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---Dingus Lounge
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"Next year I plan to have my car with me!"

We returned home this week from vacation where we attended the "King of the 360s" held in Brandon, Florida, at East Bay Raceway. The racing was great and it was fun to watch the track and how the drivers adapted to the changing conditions. The track surface seems a little unpredictable being on the coast, but then again things tend to seem different from the stands…until your own butt is in the seat and turned a few laps it can be misleading. A surface that actually stays wet, maybe even more so as the night goes on, is something us Midwesterners are not accustomed too. Late main events had cars easily buzzing the tires and left me a little skeptical as to what my setup would be. The majority of the heats had cars locked down and loaded. The track was definitely faster earlier in the night (all three nights) and proved that anything can happen to the surface at East Bay.

It was fun to see some of the local cars (Midwest) compete there. You always have to root for someone you have raced with or share state borders with. In attendance with Annette and I were a couple, Jake and Tanya, that travel with the Nikitenko crew during the racing season. We quickly decided that our taste buds were not in favor of the "Southern" boiled peanut. Boiled? Yes, I said boiled! Yuk! This quickly gained a unanimous vote among us as not a snack to get you over the grandstanding munchies! However, the shortcake was tasty and the beer was cold. And the weather almost made us feel guilty, as all our family and friends were stuck up here in the subzero north.

As I’ve stated before, my dreams are continuously changing, and racing during speed week in January is starting to filter into my head. If you win the lottery or just plain need to get rid of some cash, make the check payable to "Todd’s lazy winter vacation in dreamland." We promise we’ll send you some oranges! Nevertheless, we had an awesome time and are looking forward to a return trip maybe with a few more Midwest racers to dodge the deep freeze.

As tracks start to release tentative schedules, we hope to get our schedule put together for this coming season. The car will soon be painted, reconditioned, and reassembled. Also, a quick trip to pick up our 410 at Ostrich Racing Engines in Iowa is coming up. It won’t be long now and the cabin fever will be let loose. As for the south, we love your weather but leave the peanuts alone!