KJ Jones
11-07-2002, 05:12 AM
I guess it took a couple of days for it to all soak in and now I want to say a huge THANKS to everyone who has been a part of this season for me. While we didn't win the overall Pacific Street Car Association Open Comp championship, this season runner-up spot is a very special "victory" for KJ JONES Racing, nonetheless. Making it to the final round of the PSCA World Finals on Sunday in Phoenix was icing on the cake.
Thanks go to Jim, Joel and Jonny Orme for putting their company's name and money into this new PSCA category, Mel Roth and PSCA for giving us the opportunity to race and do what we all love to do, ALL of the racers in this season's inaugural Open Comp class and my friends throughout the other classes in PSCA, Robert V at Fast Track Performance, Wally Jr and Wally Sr at TransMagic Transmissions, Jose B's Alternators and Starters and Warren at Buck's Alignment--all of Newhall, CA, Northridge Carb, QMP, Fastparts Racing, Children's Fund Auto Donations of Van Nuys, the Long Beach High Performance Swap Meet, The Recycler and "buy and sell" sites throughout the Internet. Thanks also to Todd Ryden of MSD Ignitions and Steve and Kyle at Aeromotive ("Serious") Fuel Systems, Ron DiDonato at Spin Tech Mufflers and COMP Cams, who's assistance with parts is greatly appreciated.
There are also a few very special people who I must thank for their help and most of all for their encouragement. People who believed in me and my abilities and never doubted that good things could come from a car that was many times the slowest in the class, and was running on extremely borrowed time at every event. Sal Ybarra of Galpin Ford Parts Dept, Greg "The Missile" Montoya, Bobby Lourenco, Will and Kelly McLearran, Keaver Brenai, Chuck and Colleen, "Nitrous" Dave Rooke, Ward and Fumiko Alston, Marc Gaspard, Bryan Phillips, Norman Chang, Greg Dreher, Evan Smith, Mark Houlahan, all of my 'net racing friends on Hardcore50.com and NMRA, Larry Geddes, Neil Van Oppre and Bret Kepner.
Finally, thanks to my parents and family for their support, Jonathan "Big Jon" LeSane and Darryl Pearson for the years of support from their company--Syxa/DayTime Studios of Baltimore, Maryland, Suzette and "Woody" Woods for their graciousness in letting us stay at their home for the Vegas races, my teammates at Edmunds Data Services for covering my back at work when I had to take a Friday and/or Monday off because of race travel...and my wife, Crystal. Without Crystal this season would have never existed for me or for our Maverick, and there probably aren't enough ways to thank her for EVERYTHING she has done to keep me racing throughout the season and the years! We overcame a lot to finish second this year and we're very happy and proud. An underdog car with a great bunch of people behind it. I guess that can be considered a "winning combination."
I really hope I have included everyone who truly deserves to be mentioned here. There are a ton of people who are a part of this. Again, it isn't the championship and CONGRATULATIONS to Ray Lewis Sr for his winning the #1. But considering everything we were up against when we decided to enter a small block Ford Maverick in this class, we have made the biggest strides we ever have since we've been racing! Thanks again and again, everyone.
Thanks go to Jim, Joel and Jonny Orme for putting their company's name and money into this new PSCA category, Mel Roth and PSCA for giving us the opportunity to race and do what we all love to do, ALL of the racers in this season's inaugural Open Comp class and my friends throughout the other classes in PSCA, Robert V at Fast Track Performance, Wally Jr and Wally Sr at TransMagic Transmissions, Jose B's Alternators and Starters and Warren at Buck's Alignment--all of Newhall, CA, Northridge Carb, QMP, Fastparts Racing, Children's Fund Auto Donations of Van Nuys, the Long Beach High Performance Swap Meet, The Recycler and "buy and sell" sites throughout the Internet. Thanks also to Todd Ryden of MSD Ignitions and Steve and Kyle at Aeromotive ("Serious") Fuel Systems, Ron DiDonato at Spin Tech Mufflers and COMP Cams, who's assistance with parts is greatly appreciated.
There are also a few very special people who I must thank for their help and most of all for their encouragement. People who believed in me and my abilities and never doubted that good things could come from a car that was many times the slowest in the class, and was running on extremely borrowed time at every event. Sal Ybarra of Galpin Ford Parts Dept, Greg "The Missile" Montoya, Bobby Lourenco, Will and Kelly McLearran, Keaver Brenai, Chuck and Colleen, "Nitrous" Dave Rooke, Ward and Fumiko Alston, Marc Gaspard, Bryan Phillips, Norman Chang, Greg Dreher, Evan Smith, Mark Houlahan, all of my 'net racing friends on Hardcore50.com and NMRA, Larry Geddes, Neil Van Oppre and Bret Kepner.
Finally, thanks to my parents and family for their support, Jonathan "Big Jon" LeSane and Darryl Pearson for the years of support from their company--Syxa/DayTime Studios of Baltimore, Maryland, Suzette and "Woody" Woods for their graciousness in letting us stay at their home for the Vegas races, my teammates at Edmunds Data Services for covering my back at work when I had to take a Friday and/or Monday off because of race travel...and my wife, Crystal. Without Crystal this season would have never existed for me or for our Maverick, and there probably aren't enough ways to thank her for EVERYTHING she has done to keep me racing throughout the season and the years! We overcame a lot to finish second this year and we're very happy and proud. An underdog car with a great bunch of people behind it. I guess that can be considered a "winning combination."
I really hope I have included everyone who truly deserves to be mentioned here. There are a ton of people who are a part of this. Again, it isn't the championship and CONGRATULATIONS to Ray Lewis Sr for his winning the #1. But considering everything we were up against when we decided to enter a small block Ford Maverick in this class, we have made the biggest strides we ever have since we've been racing! Thanks again and again, everyone.