Photo courtesy of The Nicki Factor - Ready to run

TJ Hartman Racing - Update: Together Again!

Puyallup, WA - February 14, 2010...

Utilizing some spare parts and a used chassis, TJ has the Wesmar engine installed in his mount and is all but ready to go. The process also allowed TJ to take inventory of his operation, and figure out what he is missing to get back out racing.

The amount of equipment lost in last seasons crash became apparent when the time came to put together this years ride. TJ explains: "We had the spare frame and body panels already, but the little things like bolts, hoses, and fittings, is stuff you forget about until they're gone. And because we may be switching this car back and forth between wing and non-wing, we wanted to do a couple of things to make it simpler. We decided to stud the motorplate and make a scatter shield to fit the Buckley Yoke. It never bothered me to run it before without the shield, but now that I look at it, you can never be too safe."


Photo courtesy of The Nicki Factor - The modified Maxim scatter shield to work with the Buckley yoke

Despite rumors that the team acquired a brand new Maxim Chassis for the 2010 season, the freight delivery trucks rolling in the driveway have only brought a few smaller packages. "I'm not sure how that rumor got started!" TJ states with a laugh. "I would love to have a new or even a newer/used Maxim, but it's not in our budget. This frame is an old 2001 that we bought used three years ago. I ran it down at Hanford in 2007 and then we parked it to run our winged car. When we were putting everything together, we had both cars painted up to match, so this one basically looks brand new. My dad taught me to be fanatical about cleaning, so even though everything is older, it looks really good. I think it will work well for what we're doing."

With the engine installed and only a couple items remaining on the check list well before the season starts in the Northwest, TJ can remain focused on the immediate tasks at hand - namely school. He continues: "I am all done with High School now and College courses are going well. I really like the freedom I have now, and at the same time it's a lot more responsibility making sure I don't blow off my classes to do something else. It felt great to be working on the race car again, and now we're just waiting to see when and where we can run this year. Brian(Butler) called the other day and they shipped my new seat, and I still have to get my safety gear ordered up and replace my good shocks that were lost. We'll need to build up our spare parts again, but it feels good to be getting closer to being out there again."

TJ has been working on a few other items to increase the exposure for his race team. He finishes the update: "My friend Skip started a Facebook page for TJ Hartman Racing, and now (sister) Nicki is going to be doing quick notes every few days about what is going on with the team. I'm also working on a new look for my web site, but that's taking a little longer than I would like. I think the finished product will look nice though. We're still going to send out the email updates like we have always done after the races. Basically we just want to give everyone the opportunity to stay up on the latest news even if it's just to see a few new pictures."

To see TJ's Facebook page just go to your Facebook page and type in TJ Hartman Racing and become a fan. Feel free to leave your comments and words of encouragement for TJ and his team.

When TJ's season was cut short in 2009, nobody could make a prediction when he would get back out on the track. Thanks to his patience, and support from those who stuck with the lanky youngster, he is one step closer to getting back to his passion.

Next scheduled stop - Waiting for the 2010 racing season to get underway in the Northwest!


TJ Hartman Racing