Tyler made the podium. The award is very sharp. Eric Bridger is first, Tyler second, Jack Koster third, Colin Smith fourth, and Brandon Worthington rounded out the top 5.

The Jr 1 gas feature just getting out on the track.

Here is a picture of Tyler coming out of turn 4 during qualifying. Tyler qualified on the outside of row 1.

I have no pictures to show just results to tell. Yesterday at the Grand Nationals in Jamaica Tyler got 2nd place out of 6 karts. He received a nice plaque for his efforts. Steve and Tyler are both there "camping out" watching day 2 of the weekend event. I had to work so Mom, Dad and I just spent the day there. Besides, I'm more of the Holiday Inn type anyway.

Today was Tyler's first day of school. He is now a 5th grade middle schooler. So today I was inducted into the hall of "my child knows everything and my parent knows nothing." Fortunately, it should only last for the next 10 years.

Monday Tyler and Chad went swimming at BVU. They rode there bikes there by themselves. Since they are going to be "officially" middle-schoolers on Friday they just went from 10 to 16 year olds in a week.

Saturday morning as we're getting ready to go racing we notice this deer standing in the garden across the street from us. This is really strange since we live in town and it stayed there for at least 15 minutes.

As for racing it'll be short and sweet this week.

First heat started 3rd finished 2nd.

Second heat started 2nd finished 2nd.

Feature started 2nd finished 2nd.

Tyler AKA (K-9) and Hannah AKA (Sizzle) spent the afternoon swimming at BVU. After DQ Blizzards it was time to get back on MSN. You don't want to miss out on any gossip from your peeps!!!

Hi Hannah!!!

Eric and Tyler with their 1st and 2nd place trophies.

With the forecast being 100% rain and 85 degrees we headed to Jamaica for another day of racing. Fortunately, the sun came out, the wind came up and we only had one hour to practice. Tyler started in the third spot for the first heat. He passed Colin and would finish in second spot. For the second heat Tyler started in the second spot. He would get by Eric and keep him behind him until the last lap. Eric make a run on the inside but Tyler would win by a nose. For the feature Tyler started in second and that's where he'd finish. He had one good run on Eric but after that Eric kept first place all to himself.

At the end of the 7th inning the kids in the ballpark got to stand on the dugout again. This time singing and dancing to "YMCA".

To start off the 7th inning stretch they got to lead the crowd (while standing on the dugout) in a round of "Take me out to the ball game".

Tyler got to participate in the "dizzy bat" game. Spin around the bat 10 times and then run to the girl. First one there wins a prize. Tyler was so dizzy that he ended up in the dugout where a X's player squirted him with water. He missed out on the prize but he gave the crowd a big laugh.

Standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Explorer's game 8-3-06

The coaches for Tyler's baseball team planned one last summer fun day. They loaded up the boysthis time heading to Sioux City to tailgate and take in a baseball game. The kids had a good time meeting the players, participating in events, and watching the X's pull off a victory. Thanks Steve, Wayne and Todd for a great season!!!

With the weekend off from racing, we decided to head up to the cabin in Minnesota for some boating, fishing and a bit of tubing. As you can see Tyler is getting settled in. Note that he is not hanging on, that would soon change....................

If you look real close, you can see the top of Tyler's head. The tube had caught some air and lifted about 6 feet off the water and turned upside down, then it flipped back over and was landing when my brother snapped this picture. Tyler was holding on the entire time............... "Im still goin fast mama."

One tube: $150

Life Jackets: $100

Skipping across the lake at 40 MPH with your best bud Cole: Priceless

In Billings, OK Tyler got a Daniel Boone coon skin cap.

The Red River that runs along the Texas Oklahoma border. Not much of a river in the summer.

Driving by Texas Motor Speedway. When I went to the race back in '99 I have an exact picture of the one Tyler took in our scrapbook. Great minds sure do think alike.

The Ford Center is where the Oklahoma City AFL team and the New Orleans Hornets play.

A water tower near NebraskaCity. Notice it's in the shape of a coffee pot? All Sapp Bros. truck stops call their restaurants The Coffeepot.

Tyler's trip in the truck started on Tuesday morning with a load of oil headed for Ft. Worth, Texas to be unloaded on Wednesday a.m. Then back to Sioux City on Thursday afternoon. Before the trip Tyler had anticipated spending a WHOLE week in the truck with grandpa. Well like any other 10 year old hyped up on adrenaline and anticipation he lasted 48 hours. He enjoyed seeing the countryside, answering grampa's trivia questions, and showering in a truck stop. Unfortunately the excitement ended when he got back to the house. In grampa's words he was like a "caged wild animal" and was so excited to play outside in the backyard that another trip seemed like a punishment more than an adventure. Maybe next year he'll make it a week.

Brandon and Tyler with their 1st and 2nd place trophies, respectively.

Sponsors, Old Skool Racing, aka Grandma and Grandpa come to Jamaica to enjoy a day at the race track.

As the sun was shining, the sunscreen being applied and the track getting hotter we headed out for the first heat race. Tyler started on the pole. After 8 laps of being tight and 2 drivers passing him on the inside he would have to settle for 3rd. Back to the pits for a few adjustments.

The second heat race they invert so he would start last (4th). After pit crews help of loosening the kart, 2 good inside passes, and good lines Tyler would come away with a 2nd place finish. That would give Tyler an outside front row start for the feature. After 3 restarts the feature was finally underway. He had his fastest time of the year with a lap time of 15.65 sec. on the 1/5 mile oval. Where he started would be where he finished, 2nd. He had a good day of learning lines, passing, and kart handling. Tyler has next weekend off from racing. He will be heading out on the open road with grampa for a trip in the truck. Have fun and we all can't wait to see the pictures.

Tyler and Jiri getting ready to do a drill.
Jiri Hubaleck 6' 10" Tyler DeVos 4' 8"
Eric Crawford is a UNI transfer that came with McDermott. Here the boys are doing free throws for a contest.
Swish!!! Tyler making his free throws.

ISU Basketball Camp

On July 14th and 15th Tyler attended the camp in Urbandale. He saved his birthday money to pay for the camp himself.He enjoyed drills, contests, and pick up games with 40 other ISU enthusiasts. His favorite part of camp was when he got to take a picture and get an autograph with Jiri. He also got a T-shirt, basketball, and practice booklet at the end of camp. He plans on already attending next year.

Tyler, Eric, Colin, and Dylan holding up their trophies and cash. Congratulation boys on a great day of racing!!!

Tyler receiving his First place Midseason Championship trophy and his $45.00 money prize from track owner, Randy Perkins.

The Mid-Season championship race at Jamaica July 8th got off to a slow start. It sprinkled on and off for half an hour after practice sessions were complete. The rain stoppped and we were set for heat races. Tyler would start on the pole for the first heat race and lead all 8 laps. The racing was very tight, nose to tail the entire race so one slip up and you could go from 1st to last in about 5 seconds. We started last in the second heat race. It was a battle to make it up to 2nd, but we ran out of laps trying to catch Kordell and we had to settle for a second place finish. Since this was a special mid season championship and money race, they would run 20 lap main events. Tyler led until a caution came out about mid way through the race. On the restart, his buddy Colin got by him on the restart and was leading by about 4 kart lengths going into turn 3. Eric #81 had a super run going into 3 and he and Tyler got together to bring out another caution. Since they did not complete a lap, Tyler restarted first on the next restart. Tyler got out to a nice lead down the front stretch, but Eric and Colin were close on his tail. Eric would get a nose under Tyler in 1, but Tyler would pull away slightly out of turn 2. Eric would again get his nose under Tyler out of turn 4, but Tyler had a good run to pull a few inches ahead. Yes I said inches, these kids were running over 50 mph, an inch off the ground, only a few inches from each other. The racing was that tight, one slight bobble in a turn and instead of leading the race, you will find yourself trying to play catch up. Tyler was able to hold Eric and Colin off to take the checkered flag, his 3rd feature win. Eric finished second with Colin in a close 3rd. Dylan, a new driver from Marshalltown finished 4th and Kordell rounded out the top 5. We have a week off and will tackle the 1/5th mile high banked aspahlt oval again July 22nd. Hope to see you there.

We have hit the big time! Before the features, they had all the drivers line up on the front stretch for driver introductions. They announced the drivers name, city they are from, their kart # and how many points they have on the season. Tyler is leading points, so he got to start on the pole for the 20 lap main event.