July 16, 2008 It is with great regret that NOPI Motorsports, LLC has suspended operations for the summer and fall 2008. This will include NOPI Drag Racing Series, NOPI Drift Series and the NOPI NATIONALS Motorsports Supershow. The company is undergoing an organizational restructuring in light of severe adverse affects of a disappointing spring season. The economy and unfavorable weather resulted in underperformance of all spring events. Michael Meyers, president of NOPI Motorsports, reports that NOPI Motorsports is working with its clients and sponsors to minimize the uncertainty going forward. This is a reflection of the economic times in which we currently live. The countrywide economic and industry downturn has caused a slowdown and tightening of belts. This affects everyone and companies, at all levels, and NOPI Motorsports is no different.We understand the position this puts everyone in and we hope you can find in your heart to work with us through this terrible time. All of you are our friends and we have felt for many years that we were all a big family.

NOPI Motorsports hates this more than anyone as the many years of hard work, tradition and an industry we helped to shape would come to this.

Please watch nopi.com for future announcements.

The layout:

Teaser:

From nopi.com

08 NOPI DRIFT RULE REVISIONS PAGE

3.35> Engine Containment Device:
Catch Pan Device – Mandatory on all cars competing

3.31> Wheels:
Wheel Spacers – 1 spacer per wheel maximum, no size limit at this time

3.19> Restraint Systems:
Seatbelts – Valid for 3 years from the manufacturers stamped date

3.8> Exhaust:
Mufflers – Mandatory on all cars competing

Now since everyone is probably upset from the above idiocy, I give you this to brighten your day.

How could you not love that?!?!?!? :p

To save time, I will just bullet point everything I heard:

• St. Louis was rocked harder than last year
• NOPI Judging now has 5 requirements: Speed, Line, Angle, Overall Impression, AND your best rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”
• Matt Petty shouldn’t be judging, he should be on tour singing
• Asian girls like biting nipples
• Girls really do dance on bars without panties, just like the internets
• The going rate of a pint glass of Jack Daniels has gone up since last season
• Waitresses think drifters make money
• My crew guys had to shuttle in “new” people to the track Sunday
• An unnamed crew guy from another team was dropped off at the Pilot across the street at 7AM Sunday morning…..by TWO girls
• Meyli gave RayRay crabs

And that’s about all I have to report.  If you guys heard anything else, leave comments! 

After our lovely two hour nap, we head over to the track to setup.  It’s overcast, and we can feel the rain coming.  The rain held out until after the first practice session.  The first session was open, no run groups, so we only got three runs.  The track was wet and very slick, no way to keep up your speed on this very fast track.  The track was four turns, flat-out, no lifting.  The speeds were normal, but this was one of the few times where your speed stays constant through the whole lap.  No, initiate, brake, gas, transition, gas,brake, brake, hand brake, gas, like last year’s NOPI parking lots.  This was initiate, gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssss, run is over. haha.  After my first three laps, I was struggling with the very wet conditions.  We pull the car in, and some kid comes up, says he’s seen my car on the internet, and asks to see under the hood.  We oblige, and open the hood.  As soon as the hood opens, we see that the timing belt is splitting and about to snap!  Perfect timing.  Yancey is out dropping off the Subbie to get fixed, so we call him to go on the hunt for a new timing belt, while I start taking apart the front of the motor.  Thankfully, Blake Fuller lent us an EZup to keep us out of the rain.  Changing the timing belt made us lose one practice session.  We roll out for the next session, and on my 2nd lap, as I’m coming around the last sweeper full-throttle in 3rd gear, I feel my legs and feet start to burn.  Then it gets REAL hot!  I’m thinking, “great my car is on fire”, and as I reach to pull my fire system, I see that it’s coolant.  My heater core had broken and let out all the coolant onto my legs and feet!  I limp the car back to the grid, and Yancey loops the heater line and fills the car back up in less than 10 minutes.  I swear to God this guy could fix anything.  I was telling people I could be out there driving, and the motor could just disappear, and Yancey would somehow fix it for me to continue running. hahaha.  The session continues, and I got some good practice in, even though I only had 12 runs total for the day.  Night falls, and we pack up for the night, tired, and frazzled at the same time.

Sunday:

The weather is perfect!  Sunny and 70 degrees.  This is good, but it’s also the 4th different track condition we’ve all experienced for the weekend.  After the driver’s meeting, we line up for qualifying.  We get one practice lap, then our two qualifying laps.  That’s it, crazy I know.  I struggled with some grip and wheelspeed, but I think I still managed to make it to the show.  It was weird.  The judges know I don’t make the horsepower of the 240′s and 350′s, but they wouldn’t take it into consideration.  But that’s a whole other story.  Anyway, I didn’t qualify.  Everyone has their bad days I guess.

The event did go really well.  My only complaint (besides not qualifying) was there was no spectator seating.  Everyone had to stand along a fence, at ground level and couldn’t really see.  Other than that, NOPI definitely stepped up their game.  I can’t wait for Columbus, and I WILL be on the podium for sure!

I’d like to thanks everyone this past weekend for all their help and support: Yancey, RayRay, Marsh, James, Struka, Patrick, my lovely wife Sonja, Joey Redmond for the ride back home, and especially NOS Energy Drink for their support this season.

And now the pics!

In the pits:

Struka’s ride:

I hate when Joey uses a flash during the day!

Juan Henao’s car caught fire during tandem.  He was killing it!

Best Tandem runs of the day:

Action shots: