Well, today was actually the first day of the Snowball Derby... well, the Snowflake 100 for Zach here at Five Flags Speedway. Yesterday was just parking the trailers and tech, but today, the cars actually got out on the track.
After getting up and having a COMPLETE hot breakfast at our hotel, we were at the track at 8am, and quickly had the car unloaded and was getting it ready. They didn't have to take the car through tech again today, so it was just getting it ready for practice. The only problem was the weatherman... who told everyone rain would be coming.
Kenny and Jay (two of the crew guys) took over putting the decals we brought with us on the car. A nice big 2 Dudes Designs went on the hood, along with a cool STE logo. Then, two 2 Dudes Designs were put on the side of the car. It looks sweet!!! And boy I bet it drives some people in the pit area wild!
After meeting the rest of the crew, everyone got ready for practice. Zach squeezed (and we mean SQUEEZED) into his old Juice Batteries driving suit and got in the car.
The practices went well. They started out on old tires and was in the top-15 of the Snowflake cars that were running. Then, with a few changes to get some more forward bite and get the car turning through the corner, they put on some new tires and the car got quicker.
Then, the rain started... and didn't stop for quite some time. It went from a nice, sunny 65-degree day to a swampy mess in the pit area. When the rain finally cleared and the track was finally dried by the truck dragging big tractor tires, Zach was back out there. This time, he was able to run a 17.90-second lap, which put him 9th of the Snowflake cars. It was pretty impressive on a set of tires that had already went about 15 laps and through two heat cycles.
The rest of the day was spent just trying to improve the car. It got better, but more can be done. And by the end of the day, the tires were old and it was time to regroup and come up with some ideas for Friday.
Deon and all the guys did a great job today. With a couple more changes, Zach should be in the top-10 of the 70 Snowflake cars that are here.
Friday will be another full practice day. We'll put another update Friday night! Enjoy the pictures below (and you can click on them and see them bigger)
2 Dudes Designs and STE is on the hood of Zach's car. Notice how good the decals look. Thats because we didn't' have anything to do with putting them on! 
Kenny and Jay put on the decals for us. We stood, watched and took pictures. Real helpful.
Late in the day, Zach became the mentor to a Snowflake rookie drive who is pitted just a couple of haulers down from us. He looks all of 10, doesn't he? The other kid, not Zach.
It was nice to see Zach race with Gary St. Amant, who is my favorite driver of all time. Sorry, I'd pull for Gary in this race! HA. Just kidding.
Jennell sported her new 5K Motorsports sweatshirt on Thursday, but didn't seem to enjoy standing on top of the hauler when the wind was whipping before the rains came.
Zach's car looked pretty cool with the 2 Dudes and STE logos on the hood! Too bad the sponorship dollars aren't flowing in from them.
Zach and a couple of the crew guys talk at the end of the day to come up with a plan for tomorrow. We think he was telling them "I want to go faster."
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