Apology

I think I owe the late model series an apology. Tonight I decided to try my luck again with the late model at Phoenix. What a great race it was. I lined up for the start in 4th place on the dreaded outside row. After the green flag dropped I settled in to P4 after some really early dive bombs by the 5th place car. I stayed in 4th about 3 or 4 tenths behind third for 40 laps. At about that time 2nd place started slowing down. I knew I had to make my move. I started letting the guy in 3rd know I was getting impatient by driving a lane lower on the straight away to signal an impending pass. I like to do this in the hopes that they will spend more time looking in their mirror and end up making a mistake. It works in a lot of cases. This guy was having none of it though, he just wouldn't make a move on 2nd place. A few laps later I did manage to get to the inside of 3rd and moved into 2nd place shortly after. The same lap I went into 2nd we went into turn 1 and the guy I just passed went into the corner with tour de force and I went high to avoid contact. To my displeasure as we were 2 wide coming out of turn 2 I see a lapped car going about 20 mph slower than us approaching my windshield very quickly. I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him and in the process lost the 2 spots I had worked so hard for. With 3 laps to go I managed to get both of my spots back and got my revered 2nd place. I needed this race, my safety rating was falling like a rock. Now...I'm looking forward to my next late model race.