As you can imagine, the Compass360 Racing (C360R.com) team is coming off a major high, winning our second-consecutive race at Watkins Glen, with our drivers Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood notching their first-ever KONI Challenge win.

The three-week break to the next race hasn't meant the team is lounging by the pool; on the contrary, there's lots of action in preparation for Iowa.

Our new four-door Civic Si, which replaces the one that was destroyed at Lime Rock earlier this year, is now at the shop. King Motorsports did an amazing job of taking a zero-mile Civic and installing a cage even more robust than the one that kept me from serious injury in the five-barrel-roll wreck I had at Lime Rock. This is the first car we've had that was essentially fresh from the factory. No water damage, no theft recovery. This was a pristine car, and the hope is that it'll make our best race car yet. Watch for my notes on our "Civic 2.0" that'll debut in New Jersey in a few weeks time.

Prior to that, a two-door Civic coupe will be added to our fleet for Iowa. It'll join our two Acura TSXs (#74 and #75) as part of our three-car effort at that event. For Trois Rivieres, a week later, our Acura RSX will join the fray, and we'll be back to our usual four-car line up.

Iowa and Trois Rivieres are worlds apart. But one thing that they share are their enthusiastic fans.

Last year, in Iowa, we had 12,000 fans at the race. When we went to dinner, our drivers and crew were deluged with fans, young and old, who wanted to talk to us about our race, and get autographs. It was fabulous! And with the promotion that's been done this year, we're expecting even more interest. It promises to be an interesting race, with GS and ST on track at the same time on a 55-second lap circuit -- there won't be much between each class and we'll all have to give each other room if we want to make it to the next race!

That'd be Trois Rivieres, one of the highlights of the KONI season, in my opinion. It's pretty close to home for us (about seven hours drive), and my wife and kids will be there. Mary has attended the past few years, but this is the first time for daughter Laura (11 years) and son Miles (8). The rest of our drivers are also bringing their families (Kenny Wilden's wife and two boys, Kevin York's wife and son, Jeremy Willard's new bride, and Christian Miller's dad will all be there), and it promises to be a blast.

Canadian fans are so passionate about racing! Trois Rivieres is one of the best examples of that, with the entire town shutting down its main street over the weekend, and turning in to what can only be described as a Carnivale. We dine on absolutely stunning food overlooking the shores of the St. Lawrence River. The next day, tens of thousands of fans show up to cheer the teams on. We've had good results (second place in 2007) and have run strongly there in the past few seasons. But Trois Rivieres, and Iowa, are more than just races. They're great celebrations of motorsport that give us the opportunity to connect with real fans, who are truly passionate about street stock racing, and who are hungry for more.

I'm hopeful we'll be able to give them something to cheer about!

Labels: gablog