December 29 and 30 " The 2009 season officially kicked off the day after Christmas as Victory Racing left the cold of Tallmadge Ohio at 7 a.m. for Jacob McWhirter's first race at Daytona International Speedway. On Saturday morning prior to arriving at Daytona the team stopped at the 103rd Street Kart Park in Jacksonville, Florida, to shake down chassis, motors and driver. 103rd Street is a public park of the city of Jacksonville, the only public track in the country. After running laps with both karts and three motors, Jake was almost ready to move to Jacksonville!

The team arrived at the famed speedway on Saturday afternoon. Driving through the tunnel under turn 1 and arriving in the infield of a track where so many famous drivers have raced was a memory that will last a lifetime. As the crew (Dad and Mom) set up the pits, Jake took the time to walk the 7/10ths of mile, eleven turn track, located just inside the thirty degree banked turns three and four. The walk brought focus as the awe of the speedway gave way to mentally preparing for practice on Sunday morning.

Practice days are normally hectic, but with 650 entries this practice was crazy. Both of our engine builders, Doug Fleming and Sean Cook, were there to offer encouragement and advice. The team was able to take a nice break as Pastor Todd Shaw of On Track Ministries led chapel service at the mid point of the day. Each time Jake took the track he became more familiar and much faster. Jake also had the opportunity to meet another fellow karter, NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray.

This will be the first year that Jake will run the full Manufacturer's Cup Series. After Daytona the series goes to Michiana Raceway Park in Indiana, Road America in Wisconsin, New Castle Motorsports Park in Indiana and finishes at Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The quality and size of a national level field is something Jake had not experienced. The average class size was forty three drivers, with the Cadet Sportsman class at fifty drivers, all competing for the thirty spots in the race. The fastest twenty five times in qualifying make the race, the rest have to race their way in by finishing in the top five of the last chance qualifier race. Jake's goals for the trip- qualify on time in each of his four races, Cadet Sportsman 1, HPV Sportsman, Cadet Sportsman 2, and Yamaha Sportsman.

Race day began Monday at 7 a.m. unloading the karts, a driver's meeting at 7:45 and a round of practice at 8:30. Qualifying was broken down into four groups with ten to twelve karts qualifying at a time. Just before Jake went out to qualify for HPV Sportsman the team knew he had qualified 19th in Cadet Sportsman 1. This really gave Jake a shot of confidence as he went out and qualified 21st in HPV Sportsman. In the Cadet 1 prefinal Jake was slowing to avoid a spun kart in turn 3 when he himself was spun and found himself stuck on top of a front bumper from another kart. Jake was able to finish the race, but had fallen to 27th. The HPV prefinal was uneventful and Jake maintained his position of 21st. The Cadet 1 final found Jake moving up six spots to finish 21st. The HPV final started badly as the kart directly in front of Jake had problems and failed to keep pace as the green flag flew. Jake dropped to 27th, but rallied with his fastest laps of the day to pick up spots and finish 24th.

After the success of the previous day Jake was ready to hit the track on Tuesday morning. Just before suiting up to qualify in Yamaha Sportsman, Jake knew he had met goal number three, he qualified 22nd in Cadet Sportsman 2. Qualifying 23rd in Yamaha Sportsman made Jake four for four. In Yamaha Sportsman, crew chief (Dad) error led to a bent axle after contact with another kart. This DNF (did not finish) in Yamaha Sportsman was quickly forgotten as Jake had his best finish of the weekend, an 18th place in Cadet Sportsman 2. Jake ran 7/10ths of second faster in the final than his qualifying effort.

As the team exited through the infield tunnel we discussed the weather, Florida " 80 and sunny, Ohio " 20 and snow, the lows " DNF in Yamaha, the highs " 18th in Cadet, but all agreed it was a very successful weekend. There are very few people who can say "I raced at THE Daytona International Speedway!", even fewer ten year olds.

Victory Racing and Jake want to thank his wonderful sponsors " AutoZone of Tallmadge, McWhirter & Associates, Novus Clinic, Polymer Valley Chemicals, Redmon Funeral Home, Seckinger Insurance Agency, Spring Valley Equestrian Center, The Chapel and XS Energy Drink.

Please contact us at victory-racing@sbcglobal.net if you, or someone you know, are interested in joining our team for the 2009 season.