P11 in Another Tough Round of the TDI Cup
Aug 22, 2010
Hello Friends, Fans and Family,
Completed another round of the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup today at the beautiful Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. We’ve wrapped up Round 8 of the championship and now only have 2 races left before season’s end.
This Sunday started off at around 7:30 AM with fuel to be served. Hand crafted omelets were on the menu this morning. Mine included onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, jalopenos, cheese, ham and bacon bits! They were off the chains! Complemented this with a couple cups of coffee and I was ready to get this race on.
I slept off my frustration from yesterday and today was just another day at the office for me. After our quick debriefs with our technicians, who were up all night by the way getting our cars ready, as well as our instructors, we suited up and hopped in our VW Jetta TDI Cup cars for our 10:10 AM race.
I started in the 6th position for today’s race and was hoping for better results this time around. We lined up on the front straight, starter lights illuminated for our standing start, revved our clean diesel engines, lights go out, and then we were off! Got a pretty good start and after the first couple laps I moved up to 4th place and was in a comfortable position with the lead pack. Then, the draft bit me in the butt! This track is like a super speedway. Much like Daytona or Talladega. For lack of a better term, I was left out to dry! The best phrase to describe my race was “freight trained.” At one point, there was a 6 car draft of cars that passed me on the front straight and I had nothing for them. The only thing I could hope for to improve my position at that point was for others to make mistakes. Before I knew it, I was back in P13. I didn’t seem to have any friends out there on track and was doing my best to hold my own in the draft. As usual, there was a lot of dicing and side to side action in the pack directly in front of me. A lot of the same nose dive passing as yesterday as well. This time, I was able to stay out of harms way for the entire race and didn’t incur any more crash damage. I was able to pick up a couple more positions due to others make some mistakes and was able to salvage an 11th place finish.
This is a results driven sport. So on paper, an 11th place finish doesn’t look good at all. But honestly, I’m not disappointed at all in my performance today. For the most part, I was able to hit my marks consistently throughout the entire race. Didn’t make any mistakes and didn’t let the pressure get to me. I did the best I could with what I had. The drafting freight train just happens to be a characteristic of this track and there was nothing I could do about it.
I know at this point I’m mathematically out of the championship, but I’m still proud of my performance up to this point. I can’t wait for my first trip south of the boarder as we will be racing in Puebla, Mexico in another month.
As always, I realize how fortunate I am to be in the position that I am at this point in time. There are thousands of others who would kill to get the opportunity to race in a professional series such as this. I know I’m truly blessed to have the patronage of so many people who have supported me on this journey of mine. I can’t thank you all enough!
Until next time, take care!
AJ Nealey
About Brimtek
From reconnaissance and covert surveillance operations to aerial video surveillance and VIP Protection Services, Brimtek is a provider of leading edge, technical products and solutions to the United States Government with a focus on military, law enforcement, and homeland security applications. Taking more than 100 years of combined experience in Special Operations Tactical Surveillance and Intelligence community operations, Brimtek started Brimtek Motorsports, a division focusing on motorsports, designing and building car audio, video, and data systems. For more information on Brimtek, visit www.brimtek.com.
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors. Its purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured men and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. To get involved and learn more, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
About The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup
The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, which is sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing, is the only Clean Diesel racing series of its kind. Drivers will compete in 30 identical Clean Diesel racecars as they contend for $100,000 in the world’s first green racing series. For more information about the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, visit www.vwmotorsportusa.com.
About AJ Nealey
Nealey started his racing career in 2002 when he began competing in SCCA-sanctioned regional autocross events. He then moved into the karting and regional sports car racing events. In 2008, the Edgewater, MD resident won the ITA Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series Championship after winning the pole and race in each of the series’ eight events. Nealey also co-drove in several NASA-MA races in 2008, accumulating five wins and setting three track records. Nealey competed in the 2009 Jetta TDI Cup Series where he finished 12th in the Championship point standings on the strength of two podium appearances and five top-ten finishes. Nealey’s racing career goal is to compete in the American Le Mans Series. For sponsorship inquiries and opportunities, please contact AJ Nealey Racing at 443-220-4019 or aj@ajnealeyracing.com and visit www.ajnealeyracing.com
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Driving Sales and Building Relationships with AJ Nealey in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup
