Orlando is one of 3 races close to home for me. I'm able to drive over the morning of the race and drive home after the main event. It’s nice to have extra time at home and not have to board a plane. All of the people I grew up racing with and have known over the years are there, some I haven't seen in years. It’s comforting to have them there but adds a little pressure at the same time. No one wants to look bad in front of their friends and family.

My goal was to have two good practices and be up to speed for the heat race. My first practice was great... I was 10th overall and felt relaxed. In the second session, nothing seemed to click. The track was really rough and rutted and I just couldn't get a pace going.

I was frustrated after practice but was still 11th overall, so things could have been worse.

My starts have really been awful and I have been working on correcting that. I wanted to get up there on the start of my heat and make life easier. Unfortunately, I would have to earn it. I spun behind the gate and came out really far back. The first pit boards signal I saw said 12th. I knew I had some passes to make and needed to do it now. I made a couple aggressive moves and got to 8th. I rode solid to the checkers and made it out of my heat race to the main.

On the starting line, I again was concentrating on being up front on the first lap. I was pretty far outside with the 16th gate pick. I came out poorly again, bouncing off people the entire way around the track. The first few laps of races are chaos, and with the track being so soft and rutty it was even worse. I was trying to move forward and not crash at the same time. The track was getting worse and worse each lap and I had some close calls. I started to find my rhythm the last few laps and caught the pack in front of me. I couldn't make any passes though and ended up 16th.

I was pretty disappointed with my finish, knowing I could have just as easily gotten 11th or 12th. It wasn't to be however, so I will take what I'm given and focus on next week. We will be back in the cold weather next week in Indianapolis , and I will be on another plane.

Hopefully I can fix my starts and be up in the front for once! Thanks for reading and wish me luck!

--jason36