Look for blogs by members of the Guthrie Racing Team this season on IndyProRacer.com. Be sure and check back here for updates!
This week: Sean Guthrie Relives a Month in (& out of) the Indy Pro Series Fast Lane
July 17th
I know it’s been a while since I have written a blog, and quite a lot has happened since then.
I have had some really strong runs and some very big disappointments - anyone can see that by looking at the results. So I am going to talk about what has gone on off the track in the last month.
During the last weekend in June, while racing in Iowa, I had my best run in my Indy Pro Series career.
I qualified third and ran as high as second in the race, and was comfortable in the top five when, due to many issues, I made heavy contact with the inside wall on the front straightaway. When I finally stopped just short of turn one, I was experiencing severe pain in both legs, as well as my left foot.
Later, after the IRL’s excellent medical team had a chance to examine me, I found out that my left fifth metatarsal (in my foot) was fractured and my kneecap on my right leg suffered from some injuries as well.
I flew home on Sunday as planned, having to use crutches for the first time in my life. I was originally supposed to be working at my family’s business, Car Crafters, for the next two weeks before the race at Watkins Glen, but was forced to stay in bed and let my body heal. That week after the race, I did make a few visits to the shop to work for a short time, but I mainly just relaxed and rested.
So what does an Indy Pro car driver do when he is under house arrest?
Well, a friend had given me a book about Bob Sweikert, so I read that. I also read radio-controlled (RC) car magazines, spent some time on the Internet and also worked on a few small things. I recently traded a gas powered RC car that I had for an electric RC helicopter, so I did some work on it sitting on the living room floor, and found out that trying to fly it while holding on to crutches and balance myself at the same time is not an easy task!
Just 10 days after the crash I was, once again, on an airplane headed towards New York to race in the two "Corning Twin 100s" at Watkins Glen International road course.
The weekend turned out to be one of the most difficult that I have had behind the wheel of a race car. We qualified 15th, but I had to brake about 100 feet before everyone else due to the limits imposed by my injury, and I finished right where I started. The second race in the doubleheader weekend, I also started 15th, and finished 16th.
I was relieved when my plane finally landed in Albuquerque after my New York adventures, as my engineer, John Block, had decided to get us home on Sunday instead of waiting a day in New York and getting home on Monday. We had to fly from New York to Charlotte, from Charlotte to Las Vegas, and finally Las Vegas to New Mexico. When my head finally hit the pillow at 4:00 a.m. on Monday, I was more than tired. I finally woke up around 1:00 p.m. Monday afternoon after some much-needed rest.
I clocked two eight-hour days at Car Crafters and then was back on a plane to Nashville for the next Indy Pro Series event.
The weekend at Nashville resembled the rest of our year. We were fastest in the first practice, and never left the top five from practice to qualifying, but when the green flag dropped for the race, everything fell apart. After three pit stops to fix the handling problems on the car, the race was finally over and we had finished 14th.
Now, I have spent two days hard at work in Albuquerque, have one more day to spend here, and then I’ll head out to Ohio for the final race in July at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course’s twisty road course.
This month has definitely been different than I expected. But, then again, how is that any different than any other month of racing? We’ll just keep going, work through each day as it comes and hope that our fast car can give us the results we’ve needed all year.
Comments