Leinninger.com

Last Sunday, Gina and I were washing Kacey after cutting the lawn. (Exciting, I know.) We heard a whinny… yes, a whinny, and checked out in front of the house. It appeared as though out neighbor was having horses delivered. This would not be an incredible surprise, as it is Redford, and our neighbor is known to have late campfire parties in her backyard. It turns out that her niece, who raises horses, was just stopping by for a visit. Kacey didn’t know what to make of the largest “dogs” she had ever seen. I thought it was hilarious and took these pictures.

As is the case every summer, Gina and I have packed our schedules full. In place of our regular race schedule at Waterford Hills, Glenn is racing all over the state, as well as a trip or 2 to Mid-Ohio. Before this year I had never been to any road courses, apart from Waterford. I look forward to the coursewalks, as well as the insight of the other drivers… either overheard or observed. “Touring” certainly mixes things up a bit and makes it all a little more interesting. This weekend Glenn will be racing at Gingerman Raceway. Gina will be staying behind to fulfill her grid official commitments at WHRRI.

In addition to racing, we’re scrambling to finish up some inexpensive home improvements in preparation for the sale of our home. We have six weddings planned for this year, with only 2 yet attended. The constant rain has done wonders for our lawn, but requires us to mow more often. That’s always fun… at least Gina helps now, so the total time investment, including edging, etc., is under 2 hours. Yessir… the action never stops. 😉

- Duane

Although this weekend is usually reserved for Indy 500 action, Gina and I camped out at Grattan Raceway and crewed for Glenn (my father-in-law). It was a successful as well as educational weekend. A few pictures are in this gallery. I’ve never visited another road course before. Grattan is larger than our home course and has a long (130 mph) front straight. In the second race of the weekend, Glenn finished 4th among a field of experienced drivers despite some of their best efforts to bounce him off the track. (Another driver rear-ended Glenn 3 times, eventually causing the tail-section of his car to fly off… and take the offending driver out of the race. Karma’s a bitch, but nobody was hurt.)

Monday I competed in an Autocross at the Silverdome. The course was laid out to resemble Indy… and was full of things to remember. So far, it was the longest solo course I’ve driven. The weather conditions varied wildly throughout the day. Driving in we had heavy rain, the coursewalk was overcast with light rain, the first heat was still very wet with puddles, but there was very little rain, the second heat was treated to a torrential downpour that ended halfway through the heat. The third heat had beautiful sunny skies and very dry pavement. [ Event Results ]

I was in the first heat. Not the best conditions, but with some tire pressure adjustment, I’ve been able to predictable rotate my car (nice oversteer). I finished in the top 10 (unofficially). I worked the 3rd heat. (race 1, work 1) Although our race heat only lasted about an hour and a half, our work heat was over 3 hours long. Sounds like somebody should work on their math skills.

Gina and I enjoy racing, but are looking forward to a break from cars… until I install by front brakes an uppipe. 😉

- Duane

Gina and I attended a VAST show in Flint last night. Aphasia and Die Symphony opened. Great performances by all, but my hearing has been noticeably affected. Ow. VAST is playing at the I-Rock on Saturday night. I can’t help but think that we could have opened for them if we had a drummer. Damn. Pictures here.

You may have noticed that the changelog is no longer a module on the right side of the site. I’ve replaced it with a marginally more interesting moblog module. The latest entry (often a photo) from my moblog will appear magically through the magic of airblogging.com.

- Duane

Gina and I spent many hours, dollars, and brain cells repairing, cleaning, sanding, painting, and re-roofing our shed. (Garages are for cars, sheds are for lawn mowers.) As most of are aware, it’s been quite stormy in the midwest. While everyone at work was huddled against the windows [Picture 1] watching the big storm (I know… storm + windows = bad), I got a text message from Gina: “Shed off foundation. Call Me.”

I called and confirmed that the shed had “moved” from it’s original location. I let work a little early and returned home to find this scene. [Picture 2] [Picture 3]

With a little help from Brad and my trusty old lawn tractor, we pulled the shed back over and back into place. [Picture 4] [Picture 5]

- Duane

The workload at my office continues to increase. At this pace, I figure 70% of my coworkers will have a stroke by year’s end.

This weekend will be the first SCCA Club Racing event that we have attended this season. Glenn is running on tires that are over a year old… so we’re praying for rain (his rain tires are in better shape…). Real racing Saturday and Sunday at WHRRI.

Next weekend we’ll be traveling to Grattan for a Saturday-Sunday CSCCA Club race. Then, I’ll be competing in a Regional SCCA Autocross on Memorial Day at the Pontiac Silverdome.

- Duane