TJ Motorsports

July 8 | Testing the Scientific Method:

✔️ Move it.
✔️ Squint at it.
✔️ Walk to the other side.
✔️ Say, “Hmmm…”
✔️ Move it back.
✔️ Repeat until somebody finally says, “I think that’s it.”

That was pretty much our whole evening.

Building a car from scratch has a funny way of making you question everything. One little change affects the next, so you keep stepping back, looking at it from every angle, making another adjustment, and hoping you’re headed in the right direction.

We’re not out here trying to build the best Monte Carlo anybody’s ever seen. We’re just trying to build the best one we know how, with what we’ve learned so far.

July 7 | Famous last words.

Four hours later, we’re still chasing the little details. Funny how the smallest pieces always seem to take the longest.

That’s just part of building a race car. You make a change, step back, look at it, make another change, and keep going until it finally looks right.

We’re getting closer every night, and that’s what matters.

For those of y’all running a custom Monte Carlo body, what part took the most trial and error before you were happy with it? Send me some ideas for the hood and doors.

June 27 | somewhere between “what were we thinking” and “it’s going to look good”. Trust the vision - it’s coming along.

It’s more than race cars and dirt tracks. It’s late nights in the garage, problem-solving as a family, helping the guy parked next to you, celebrating the little wins, and learning from the hard days. It’s kids growing up with grease on their hands instead of a phone in them. It’s friendships that start in the pits and memories you’ll still be talking about years from now.

This sport has a way of bringing people together, and we’re grateful to be part of it.

The race car is just the excuse.

The real reason we’re out here is because the garage has a way of teaching things you can’t explain in a classroom. Patience. Problem solving. Respect. Accountability. How to work through frustration. How to shake someone’s hand after a rough night at the track and come back the next weekend anyway.

We’ve met more good people through this sport than we ever expected, and social media has let us connect with folks we’d probably never cross paths with otherwise.

That’s why we share the small wins, the mistakes, the head-scratching moments, and the things that don’t go according to plan. If it helps one family build a car, get to the track, or spend a little more time together, it’s worth posting.

If you’ve got a garage, open the doors. Show what you’re building. Share what worked. Share what didn’t. This sport gets better when people help each other instead of trying to outdo each other.

Years from now, these kids probably won’t remember every race or wrench turned.

But they’ll remember the nights in the garage with their dad and the track with friends and family.

And that’s a trophy nobody can take away.