Preparing for the event at Orlando Speed World (OSW), David finished up his packing and went to prep his B series powered race car equipped with our B Series Triple Disc kit. After starting her up, he noticed it was sounding a bit off. After doing some diagnostics on the car, he uncovered that he had some leaky valves which needed fixing before his trip. He was grateful to Tory Shellehamer for encouraging him to fix the car before leaving because David just wanted to send it. With that seed planted in his mind, David reached out to Kevin Garrison and asked him if they could work together late into the night to make sure everything was ready. By the end of their hard work, the head was fully fixed and ready for David's trip, so there was nothing left for him to do but go home and get ready for an early morning.
After the challenges of setting up his head, David was ready for OSW and set off with Lukas Mease and Abby at his side. Hours later, they arrived at OSW right on time with David's tech card already sorted out - a huge relief thanks to Eliezer Roman's thoughtfulness. David was grateful for his love and generosity that allowed him to make this trip happen; it was only possible due to the hard work put in and generosity of his fellow racers. After what seemed like an eternity of driving, Day 1 finally ended on a high note with all of them able enjoy some racing.
David's second day had finally begun at OSW, with qualifying not starting until 7pm. Despite the later start and long day, David was determined and managed to come away with a respectable 8.006 @ 190mph on his first pass! Determined to make it count, he decided to take part in Round 2 Qualifier even though it would be during the hottest times of the day. He waited until after 6pm when temperatures had cooled off before taking the car back up for its final qualifier run, laying down a solid 8.017 @ 188mph pass! This ended up being the last qualifier run for the event due to time constraints for other classes still having to qualify.
David had been diligently preparing for the race of a lifetime, and he was ecstatic to discover that he'd qualified third in a field of 26 cars. His nerves grew when he saw who his opponent would be in Round One of eliminations; his neighbor, Faster Motorsports coupe driver Junot. Knowing the power of the car and its daring driver, David knew he would have to fight tooth and nail to take home the win. When they both pulled up to the burnout box and came racing down the track, it seemed David had clear advantage - he caught him off-guard on the light with an .102 vs his opponent's .195. Joel Olivo let off early, giving David the victory with a remarkable 7.963 pass - it was his first 7 sec pass ever at Orlando!
For the second round of eliminations, David was pitted against Joe Viveros, also known as Showtime Joe. Although it took a long time for him to show up at the line, when he finally did appear, David knew that he was in for a tough race. Joe immediately lived up to his reputation and put down an impressive 7-second pass - his third 7-second run over the weekend. Fortunately for David, despite Joe's impressive display of skill, he went red and disqualified himself from the race. This gave David the win for Round 2 and a bye pass for Round 3.
David's heart raced as he lined up for Round 4 of eliminations, the final round of the weekend. He knew he faced quite a formidable opponent: Rey Rios and his car, "la beastia negra". Reaching legendary status on their circuit, it seemed like no matter what situation Rey was in, there was always a way out making him an unpredictable contender. David was sure that even though cutting tires at the lights had worked to his advantage all weekend, against Rey he would have to employ strategy and fast reactions. When they finally staged the cars and shot off down the track, David too managed a good light cut with a .046 versus Rey's .096, but unfortunately couldn't keep the lead through the finish line due to a devastatingly closer short track ET by Rey. David knew he had his work cut out for him; pushing hard he managed to drive around him near 1000-foot mark taking home an exciting win in this thrilling face-off!
David and Kevin, the two semi-final racers of the day, were forced to decide how to pick the ultimate victor when time constraints became a factor. David attempted to barter with Kevin, asking if he could simply have the trophy since he hadn't yet won one. Kevin refused, instead suggesting they foot race in an attempt to gain advantage over his competition. Not wanting to put himself at a physical disadvantage considering his Alpha Injection setup would do him no good in this situation, David attempted to offer a strength contest as an alternative. In the end, David gained a healthy amount in prize money for his efforts and also successfully flipped for the trophy against his opponent. Adding even more success under his belt that weekend is that he was recorded as the first racer in their group who completed 7s on a BF gearset - an extraordinary feat because of its speed and difficulty!
David was determined to end his year with bigger aspirations than just a bog at the WCF Finals, and he didn't let anything stop him from doing so. Though David never thought he would be placing first at the event, it was nonetheless an exciting experience for him. He is incredibly thankful for all who stood by his side during this challenging yet meaningful year and in particular gives a huge shout out to his beloved brother and tuner Rolo Tuning who made sure his vehicle was optimally set up to tackle this challenge head on. Despite not managing to make it into the Top 10 sfwd/xfwd list in this event, David will continue to strive towards achieving this goal in future events!