It's always good when you get the opportunity to develop your driving skills in different types of cars, different tracks and different lengths of races. I explored new venues this season in hopes to gain the proper experience to be ready to be hired professionally. I raced in the USAC Silver Crown Series, their elite division and also tested a NASCAR Craftsman Truck for Roush Racing at Martinsville Speedway and Darlington Raceway.

I made my Silver Crown debut at the Milwaukee Mile. This was the first time for me as a driver as well as for the crew chief, Bob Correll. We were average at first; just fast enough to start on the back row. We both were learning and I think we learned pretty well. We changed the setup for the feature and as I became more comfortable each lap, I started passing towards the front. We had raced to the 15th position before the engine began missing and we finished 20th.

I drove Bob Correll's USAC Sprint Car in the famous Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway. This was again a first for both of us - a lot to learn - 500 laps on a high-banked, quarter-mile track. You have to make pit stops with an 800 horsepower sprint car with no clutch and push trucks are running around while you're still under the green flag. We were running near the top 10 before a mechanical problem took us out near halfway.

We finished fourth in the 410-wing pavement sprint car with the Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series, the only series we ran regularly. We also drove John Batts sprint car in the Auto Value Series. We had several preliminary wins! Our top feature finish was a second at Jennerstown, PA. We had a lot of top fives, top 10s and were always a threat to win.

The highlights of the year were running the Silver Crown car, the Little 500 and the experience of trying out for Roush Racing while being filmed for a reality show. I had a lot of fun while becoming more prepared to race at the elite level.

I'm ready to take the next step and race/win professionally! As of now I have no contract to do so but I'll keep persevering!

GodSpeed,
Sondi

Sondi's Website

Sondi's Thunder Valley Racing Profile