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It took about a month for me to get over the 2002 season. The Super Gas championship came down to the final round of competition at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, and our team came up short. My family, friends, and girlfriend Karen were in attendance; it was very disappointing to not win the championship in front of them.

The one thing that helped was looking back on the 2002 season, which, overall, was a collection of great accomplishments. I won the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and the Division championship for the third consecutive season. In addition, I earned a place at the Jeg's Allstars race in Super Gas and Super Comp. Those were all great things, and I am happy with the results, no question about it.

I do, however, look back on the race that got away. I replayed the final race of the season in my mind for a while. I can't begin to tell you how badly I wanted to win that race. I wasn't nervous going up to the line; I was confident with what I had. The loss was a disappointment, but that race drives crew chief Shane Carr and I to succeed more than anything else right now.

Not long after the Finals, Shane and I went back to work preparing the cars for the 2003 season. We don't have a very long off-season; we begin racing in February at the Division 2 race in Gainesville, and we don't stop until we complete the race at Florida's Moroso Motorsports Park during the third weekend of November. When we don't race in NHRA divisional and national events, we bracket race.

I am one of those lucky people who is able to do what he loves all of the time. I enjoy working, and I enjoy racing. I am also, fortunate to be surrounded by a great group of people. I have 17 employees working for me at AA Auto Salvage, my business in Williamston, N.J. All of them, including my number-one mechanic, Steve Everett, stand behind me 100 percent. My family and Karen are also great. They allow me to race all over the nation 10 months out of the year.

Shane and I have four cars that we haul to each race, and we run all four in NHRA events. I have a '63 Corvette roadster that I race in Super Gas and an '03 Undercover dragster in Super Comp. Shane runs a '94 Camaro in Stock and an '02 Mullis dragster in Super Comp. I also own an '87 Camaro that I began racing in 1992. Ray Fordyce Jr. races that car in Super Street right now.

The next event for us is the K&N Filters NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown. I would love to win that race. I took home the trophy for the divisional event there two years ago, but I have yet to win a national event at that track. The hope of winning that race is not unrealistic. If we continue to race at the same level, we should give it a good shot. I think we will be contenders.

I have many goals to accomplish this year, and I think they are all realistic. I definitely want to win the national championship in Super Gas or Super Comp. I also want to be the Division 1 champion, and I want to return to the Jeg's Allstars event. That event was great. The treatment I got at the track and the competition against the best of the best were amazing. I didn't fare too well during the event, but with some experience under my belt, I think I can do better if I'm given another chance. The Coughlin family has stepped up that program, and we're all thankful that the family continues to support Sportsman racing in that way.

Competing against the best racers in the nation drives me to succeed. Going for the championship is something I really enjoy, and I look forward to every weekend, especially this season.

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