SETUP Season 2 ! Click on image above to go the Official Setup Site

Team Reliable Carriers

Driver (Black Helmet Group) - Pedro Guimaraes
Crew Cheif - Edward Salame

Driver (White Helmet Group) - Chris Prey
Crew Cheif - Prey Senior

Spotting guide - After the second race we had a black hood. Also our car was number 20.

Hello Setup Fans!

Let me just start out my show blog by thanking Scott and all the staff&crew of the show for pulling it all off and giving us this great opportunity! It is truly a huge undertaking and the results so far have been spectacular! I proud to be a part of such a amazing show. Last and certainly not least all of the wonderful sponsors that made this action packed show possible.Getting the first phone call was a unexpected surprise. I cannot describe the feeling I felt the first time they pulled back the curtains and I walked into the Good Wrench tech center and race headquarters for my first on camera interview.My heart was beating fast as I got my first glimpse of the sexy curves of the Pontiac Solstice GXP. All I can say if after that interview I will never be nervous for another job interview again! When the busy set goes quiet and you have 4 cameras pointed in your face and questions start coming at you……..well you know your in for the ride of your life!

I left the first on camera interview not so confident of my performance. I commented to my crew chief we might not make it to the go-kart qualifier…. The speed gods were on my side that day since the next day I found myself in the familiar surroundings of willow springs. I got my start at willow springs racing motorcycles 12 years or so ago on a cold windy morning much like that day. As much laps as I have done at Springs main track, I have NEVER driven the go-kart track. At least of few of us 50 or so semi-finalist had recently taken some practice laps there as we had been made aware of thru conversation. As far as Shifter Kart experience…. as much as I always knew how effective of a training tool it could be I never had enough money to get into to much. As I stepped into the kart, the fact is that we had only 2 laps on a track I had never been on before to show those making the decisions what I was made of. I tried to put these thoughts out of my mind as I buckled in my helmet and climbed in. Cleared my mind and focused on one thing. Keeping it clean and smooth. Our guidelines were; you spin …….your out, you put a single wheel off….your out and of course…..your too slow and your finished!I did exactly that and put in 2 quick, clean laps. Kept the kart in control and tried to get the right gears to keep that touchy 2-stroke motor in the power band to get some strong fast exit speeds. Would it be enough I wondered as I watched some fast drivers take their laps. On the other hand I saw some seriously rough driving out there! The ICC type engines are not easy beasts to tame. Those Tony karts sure can take a beating and keep performing! In the end of the day I was very confident due in large part to the strong interview I gave Tommy Kendall as I climbed out of the kart and took my helmet off. My first interview jitters were gone and I felt good that my personality and experience came thru on camera.Next day were more nerve racking interviews, followed by more eliminations as the day wore on.

Finally I survived the cuts to make it into the final 24! They moved us into the GoodWrench tech center for the big announcement. Naturally we all thought, 12 cars….12 drivers. Just like season 1 right? Wrong! After not hearing my name, and beginning to grab my heart from the floor we were all very shocked to hear we were all on the show and this season we would have a team mate!I was proud to call Chris Prey my team mate. We go on right away and really started gellin’ from the start. We all started working on the car as there was much to do as we were anxious to get on hands into the Solstice. The build went as smoothly as you would want especially with all the great Mac Tools we were provided with.While working on the car we were fortunate to be interviewed by Rodger from Reliable Carriers. Chris got along great as he himself is a big rig trucker himself and we had a smooth interview with Rodger. To my surprise we had the privilege to talk with one of my personal Heroes Boris Said that was representing Sobe/No Fear. I learned a few important thing from our conversation and it was a moment I will not soon forget. In addition we also talked to Mac Tools and me and Chris were able to connect really well and felt good about our performance. Lastly, the incredible opportunity of having a great conversation with Mike from Bridgestone tires. He shared some important information about the RE-01R’s that we would be using. I got the chance to tell him about my experience on racing on some of their world championship winning 125cc GP tires.

Unfortunately we did hit a few snags with out build that did not make it on the air. We had a few issues that were beyond our control that seriously delayed us and to say we finished in the nick of time is an understatement! In fact we only had time to align the right side of the car as we knew we were doing a counter clockwise oval race. So in the end we had just the amount of time we needed! In fact, just in time to hear the announcement that we were chosen by Rodger to represent Reliable Carriers! We were very proud to represent such a amazing company that is responsible for transporting most of the cars for the trade shows and private collectors and enthusiasts. Not to mention, transporting all the cars for our show!At this point my goal was to earn the faith they have shown in our team by bringing the car home after our first race just as they delivered it (shiny and dent free) and hopefully with a strong showing to start our march to the final race. Me and Chris were in complete agreement that we had to protect our car as a big factor in the final race will be the conditions the cars will be at the end of all the hard racing we will do on the road to the final showdown in the desert.

Now like the most of you I’m anxiously awaiting the first race and the second episode. Remember every thursday at 8pm eastern!Wish us luck and Join us and Reliable Carriers in cheering for Me and Chris to triumph over the competition!See ya in a week!

Here is the Promo #1

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Episode 2 - Going in Circles…argh!

First time in the car and I was ready to race! I grided up 2nd to last and got a decent start and Piquet boxed me in so I wasn’t able to gain any positions. This was my first time on a oval track and I was learning every lap. I was gaining on Laura Olson soon I was able to set myself up for a run on the inside of turn 3. Luckily they showed the whole pass on TV. I was sitting on the couch screaming! I was able to put a nice clean pass on her. Click on the image to watch the pass! After that just did my best to catch up to the next group but couldn’t get close enough for a pass and ended the race in 10th I think. The 2nd race was exciting and was kinda of a mess from a race control point of view and the flag man was sleeping. My team mate Chris was able to put on a good race and pass alot of people and kept the car clean.

Good thing too since we have lots of races ahead of us!

Thats me behind the wheel of the Reliable Pontiac Solstice GXP

Here is the Promo #2

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Episode 3 - Welcome the Horse Theif mile…

Here we are, finally a road course. A small tight one but still it turns left and right!

Team Reliable carriers really came together after the oval race and a nice pasta dinner that night. We did a great job setting up the car the next day in preparation for the HTM. We shared seat time in the 20 min. practice session and both came back more or less happy with the car. We both had the same feedback and made small changes.

Chris was racing first and while all bunched up into the slow hairpin he basically got into the back of Jordan (macTools) and bent the hood up on our car. Luckily the car was mostly cosmetically affected. He was able to make his way to the front while we cheered him on to our first win! When Tommy came by and asked me if I was worried about the damaged I said “well….at least he won!”. Turned out it was mostly cosmetic and the only issue I had was my visibility was affected as the hood was pushed up quite a bit. The car felt great! I was on fire in 2nd, fortunately completely out of all the melee happening towards the back of the pack! While all you guys saw all the action in the back on TV. What you missed was me opening a 8 car gap on the 3rd place car of Piquet. Then we had a yellow and a restart while they continued to show on TV all the drama in the back Piquet was closing in on me and with 10 laps to go he passes me into the hairpin at the top of the hill. I put the hammer down I followed him trying to pick up a thing or two. The race unfortunately ended with No Fear car shooting up and embankment and bringing out the red flag. With a few laps to go the decided to end the race. So I think I ended that one in 3rd.

Was a eventfull day to say the least. I learned alot about the car and felt confident for the next race. Since Chris mangled our hood on MacTools rear tow hook we got a snazy new black hood! So from now on our car should be easy to spot!

So look out for the Reliable car in the upcoming races……look for the black hood!

Here is the Promo #3

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Episode 4 - Round 2 with the Horse thief mile…. 

Here we are again at the now familiar Horse thief mile go kart track….sorry I mean race track.

Chris Prey is out first in the Reliable car again started from dead last. We all knew he was going to charge to the front real quick. He did just that. He looked like he easily cut thru the field like butter. Well until he got up to Danan in the California Car cover car. He made his attempt after many blocking moves by Danan and boom! The next 2 laps until the end our car poured smoke from the rear. This time I was worried…..very worried.

As soon as the car came in we put the car up on jack stands to inspect the damage. Besides a broken taillight, bumper pushed in a bit the cv boot on the differential was torn off and grease was every where. They told us we had to fix it to be able to race. What followed next was an amazing effort by my crew cheif Edward. Me and Chris owe him big time. We had to take the whole rear knuckle out of the car along with the half shaft and swap it with the no fear “parts car”. That meant removing our corner and the corner on the no fear car, reinstalling it on our car THEN reinstallign our damage one on the no fear car as that was the condition taking parts from it ….we had to keep it rolling. So Edward with some crucial help from Ernie which was Justin’s crew cheif/mechanic (Bill wall). Ernie provided some help in a key moment and a big thanks goes out to him. Incredibly in 30mins we were able to complete the swap and get the car re-tech’d. whew!!!!!!!

Unfortunately NONE of this got aired! Ow well! There is only so much they can show in 1 hour episodes. Still big thanks to Edward for getting my car ready to race just in time. No lunch for us that day!

My race went well and I didn’t put a single wheel off and avoided any contact. Probably why I didn’t get any airtime! I’m a vintage racer and used to racing clean and hard, which pretty much makes it so that I don’t create any “drama” on the track. I started 11th and finished 7th I think. Again raced clean and hard, the pack of 3 cars behind me was trying real hard to close the gap but I was able to keep my pace just a bit faster and eventually they created problems for each other. If you noticed last night I did not put a wheel off or touch anybody again. No penalties for me….

I guess if I wanted more airtime I should of crashed into someone! I don’t think so!!!!!

Game on….. see ya next week!

Thanks reliable for getting us there once again!

Promo #4

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Episode 5 - That was close!! 

Here we go again……but wait…..now with a downhill chicane!

Well done Skeen on clearly beating Kevin. He tried but I think all that witness that saw you had the speed on him that day…..and looks like you kept the speed up during the rest of the day!

My team mate Chris started the day by turning down the offer to take the bridgstone car. We had talked about it the night before over dinner and decided it was the smarter thing to do.

Looks like I finally got some airtime…hehe. Wish it was for being in front instead of battling in the back. The first race was going good for 300 ft until Royal purple driver slammed me hard and almost spun me in the first turn in the start and got by me, kinda threw me off my game a bit. Later I guess I threw up too much dust and got a stop and go. I certainly did not put my wheels off. That put me in the back, when I rejoined I had RJ behind me and regardless of what he crew cheif said I was not holding him up at all. You can see clearly his car a car length or so behind me the whole time……well until I missed a shift going down hill! argh! thats when he passed me. My mistake….. then after that i think I went pretty much like that until the end. I do think some of the penalties were excessive but I think they were trying to make a point. In the end I think it was Chad hitting me hard in teh first lap that might of bumped off his intercooler hose. Who knows. It wasn’t the first time on the show a hose came off and by that point we all were making sure to check those boost hoses all the time.

Chris accepting the second offer that day for a car was a surprise, since we had agreed otherwise but now I got to get more seat time and that I welcomed that with open arms. I was struggling with the track that day a bit. I was breaking a bit too much coming into the downhill chicane as I was seeing so many people blow it.

The second race went ok and I stayed in the lead pack for half the race 4th or 5th i think. I had a nice gap in between me and the car behind. Then the incident with Chris, Mike & Justin happened and I lost all my lead as we bunched back up for a restart. I didn’t lose any positions on the start but I had a hungry pack of wolves behind me. 2 laps later I made a major mistake and overcooked the turn and the top of the hill and went off….all 4 cars went by me and I was in the back struggling for me life again. Ernesto in the California car cover was in front of me and he was way slower than me. He was blocking me soooo hard it was not even funny. I should of just pushed my way thru like everyone was doing. I was pissed. Then the race ended. I was not a happy camper that day.

I survived 2 more races and one more episode….whew. It is not easy out there. If you think you can do better…..sign up for season 3! Put your nomex covered foot where your mouth is! Good luck!

You will never know the pressures and the challenges that we all faced unless you have been put in the same situation.

None of us had any idea of the whole “will you give up your car thing”. Mike Jr. put on a Oscar performance and almost got TK to cry! I was glad to see Laura and Justin stick with it. Laura is a good clean racer and Justin has skills and now that I had my own car looked forward to racing him.

All in all another great episode! See you all in the next action packed episode!

Shout out to all the awesome corner workers we had during our stay at the horse thief mile. Those guys out there did a tremendous job and I truly appreciate them soaking in the heat and wind all day so we can have our day in the sun so to speak!

Thanks Corner Workers !!

Promo #5

 Setup DVD's availabe Here - Http://www.setup-tv.com

Episode 6 - The final Chapter…for me anyways…. 

So here my complete recap of that fateful day…..should help explain alot.

The day before in the garage me and my crew chief and I were at bit at odds. He wanted to make some drastic changes to try to improve the setup. Me and him used to road race motorcycles together and he was always making lots of changes and with enough testing time he would end up with some good setups! My style is always to make small changes and concentrate on riding/driving. I usually don’t make larger changes until I feel confident I know the current setup well enough to really feel and understand any further changes I make. That takes time unfortunately, which we did not have on this show…..I wanted to just leave it be for the most part as me and Chris had been rockin with the setup we had. We reached a compromised and basically took some castor out of the front and some camber out as well as I was hoping to have a flatter contact patch to improve my braking. We could not agree on a tire pressure that day.

The next day in practice at the HTM he wanted to try an extreme tire pressure setup that I knew would not work so I told him a number I wanted. He ran the more extreme number anyway against my wishes and the car just sucked so I came in and he added some pressure back in and a finished of the the last few mins of practice. Basically In my mind we wasted half of the practice session trying out something I knew I would not like and would not work really well. Ow well…..we figured we could use the first race of the day to learn if the new setup was any good.

Well the first race that day Skeen took off in the lead Earnesto was in second and I was in third. I was all over Ernesto and he was slower than me pretty much everywhere. Then coming down the hill in lap 4-5 I see him run a bit wide on the run down the hill then when he changed directions to go thru the S turn in front of the crews/water tower he basically had to add more steering since he was wide and when he transitioned and changed directions there was alot of weight transfer and he probably got on the gas a bit too soon for the amount of steering he had in the car at the time and the car got a bit sideways exiting the front S turns and he started a high speed oscillation and eventually as he was running out of track he locked them up missed the camera man by a foot and went sailing off the track thru 2 fences and almost hit a on coming van on the access road below! So red flag came out.

They had to call the few laps we did a race since the track owners would not allow a race to be held with a hole in the fencing. So I effectively ended the race in 2nd place. So we all went to lunch while the track maintenance crew went to work fixing the fence. Unfortunately this meant we barely had a chance to get the tires up to temp and check out the changes we made on the car.

It would all come down to race 2 for me then.

I had a horrible start and was struggling with the car right away. I did my best to keep the car on track to avoid any stop and go penalties and was basically trying to figure out the car. I was struggling with the uphill chicane alot. My drive out of there and up the hill just sucked. The car was under steering alot in the slow chicane and was a bit tail happy when I layed the power down. It all honesty also could of been just me! I was a bit frustrated with my driving that day to be honest. I was just a bit off my mental game. I can definitely learn a thing or two from mr cool, calm and collected Mike Skeen!

I was doing my best to salvage my race and not get passed, when I hear my crew chief saying “they just told the Stanley car (Larry canzone) that he had to pass you in the next 2 laps or he going to be off the show!” So I knew he was coming. He was in my side view mirrors soon after. I got a suck ass drive off the chicane again and he got a run on me into the hairpin at the top of the hill. He went by me but I got a great drive of the corner and repassed him in the next corner. We were both fighting for our lives. He did get by me again and right as I was pushing to stay in his bumper I made a big mistake.

For the record, yes I did basically go wide entering the chicane. I did not “overshoot” it like they said last night. If I had overshot the corner I would of gone thru the cones tires locked like many did that day and the previous day sending cones flying everywhere.

I was pushing my braking point a bit to deep got all locked up and right before I was going to go straight thru the cones I got it gathered up and turned the car and never went thru the cones and completed the chicane normally! As I was turning away to go thru the chicane I knocked over 1 single cone.

I was hoping not to get a stop and go since I hadn’t “blown” the chicane and gone straight thru it
yet I still got a stop and go….. for basically making a mistake and simply going wide in the corner. I never went thru the cones and bypassed the chicane like many had done. I ended up driving thru the chicane like normal after my lock up. But whatever the race director says goes!

I pulled in the pits completely mad about the situation. I took off like a bat out of hell since I knew that I was now in the last place car on the track. I was struggling with car now more than ever seamed like our tire pressure gamble was getting worse as the laps wore on. I started to click laps away and started to try to close in on the next competitor.

Then I get a radio call from my crew cheif ” They want you to come in to serve a stop and go” I was like WHAT??? For what I replied. He said” they saying that you laying up”

LAYING UP? you got to be kidding me! Why would I be laying up if I’m in last place??????

It made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE to me.

I was SO pissed. I followed the ridiculous instructions and served a second stop and go penalty for basically doing NOTHING.

I came out of the pits and finished the few laps left in the race and I was completely dejected after… . I have to say I was also disappointed I was not able to adapt to the new yet deficient setup on the car. As a driver if the setup is wrong it’s up to you to make the most of it. I did fail at that.

We went home really bummed out. I still did not think I was going home since Technically speaking I was NOT last. Danan was.

Also accordingly to the rules we were given, if you cause an incident that causes the other car not to finish the race you are the one going home. Which would mean Mike Junior would be the one leaving. So we went to sleep with some hope of continuing on the show.

The next day in the shop we pretty much spent like 30mins standing around while the WOW crews got chewed up by Scott about cheating. Eventually they told him to go home! Then he call me up and was like Pedro you were last your going home. Please leave. 3 secs. later he tells everyone to go back to work. They spent 30 mins. to eliminate the first crew and 3 second to send us home. I thought that was funny.

I didn’t get a chance to voice my concerns about Danan and Mike situation and my displeasure with the second stop and go.

I don’t like it but I get it. It’s a TV show.

I’m just a a fast clean racer that kinda kept to myself and was not showboating like Piquet or making any drama like Danan. So looks like the end of the road for me.

I do take responsibility for putting myself in a position (last across the line) to be sent home. In the end it was up to me to get the setup right and up to me to make it WORK! That specific day we were waaay off! On this show you can’t have a bad day.

Your bad day is your last day on this show. In the real world it’s a bit different. We have championship points so we can make up for a bad race.

What really makes me mad is that I never got a chance to race at Street of willow. HTM is challenging track, but it is a “constipated” track. You can never really get up to speed there and stretch the cars legs. Streets is also wider and has rumble strips so passing is more doable without contact.

On the other hand, I had a good run. I made it almost to the last episode and was able to hold my own and beat racers with much more experience than me. I was able to open gaps from racers with more experience from me and keep a fast race pace up to the last episode.

I did not make an ass of myself on national TV.
I did not look like a rookie and total my car on national TV.
I did not go out with my tail between my legs like Brian did.
I did not go out looking like foolish like Ernesto and his crew cheif.
(Flying off the track is bad enough then not pulling the fire pin on the fire system is Ernesto AND his crew’s fault. As a driver your safety is ultimately your responsibility)

I raced more than I had all year in just 3 weeks and it only cost me time off of work.

I gained some friends, meet some incredible people, gained an immense amount of experience from the driving and the off track situations. Not to mention being in front of a camera in a interview room with 4 cameras pointed in your face. I will never be nervous for a job interview again!

So all in all it was a good thing. I just wish I could of had a shot at showing my stuff at streets of willow and maybe been a position to capitalize on the last race mayhem and take the whole prize. I would of loved being able to give my crew chief Edward a nice check to for all his hard work.

I like to thank Scott, Elsa and all the crew for the opportunity of a lifetime.
I like to thank Reliable Carriers for getting us all there.
I like to thank my Crew chief Edward for making it possible and getting me in the game.
I like to thank my incredible team mate Chris Prey. I learned so much from you! He has a incredible talent and hope for the best for his racing future. Maybe some day we can share a race car again!

Finally I’d like to thank my Boss for giving the time off work and for not firing me during the show like so many bosses did. Thanks Todd!

Thats all folks!

Now I’m just a spectator on the couch just like the rest of you!

See you at a track somewhere under the California Sun!

Promo #6

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Final Episode - The curtains close…..Congrats Chris Prey!

Man……that was intense!

No offense to anybody there but as soon as I started taking lap times that day…..it was pretty clear that Chris P. had about a full second on everybody and a few seconds on a few others. I figured if only he was able to be in a good position in the last few laps this race was his. It was literally his race to lose.

Did didn’t show it very well but there was a few instances during the crazy race that Chris P. was able to open up almost a 10 second gap which was almost the shole front straightway on the whole pack. Then a yellow would be called or an accident would happen and the lead would vanish.

Once it was down to a few cars, I knew he would win it. Chris P. was the fastest from day one in the Karts. He passed the whole feild a few times during course of the show. The only times he had issues was because he would get ahead of himself and try to hurry some passes etc… he just need to calm down a bit and he did.

Considering his background in Skip Barber dodge series, his time in a indy lights car and his limited but still important experience behind the wheel of a infinity pro car (open wheel indy type car 200mph +) not to mention his vast go-kart racing background. I pegged him as my best guess as the favorite from the start. Especially when I saw the passes Chris made on the Tony kart professional driver Andre during the showdown with the pro karter, it was impressive. This of course was not aired on TV as it would of made the same impression on the viewers. looking back it might of spoiled the ending a bit.

I was surprised then happy to be his team mate, as I knew I had lots to learn from him and he was willing to coach me a bit and it was exactly what I needed to help me make it to the final race. Unfortunately events conspired against me.

I as watched the final race on top of the semi trailer that day I was hoping Chris would keep it together and win……but during that insane race with yellow flags every five mins…..standing starts…..4 wide starts…..red flags……shuffled cars….etc….nothing was certain until 2 laps from the end…..

Congratulations Chris!!!!! You deserved it. (IMHO anyways)

Good luck with your upcoming Pontiac test and your “other” upcoming racing developments.

I hope to see you around soon!

Shout out to all the other losers on the show, even tough you might of made the last episode we are all in the same club now!!!

Was a pleasure racing all of you. I would do it again in a heartbeat any day.

Bring it on!

-P.S- Danan if you ever read this, happy your alive. We were all pulling for you and were happy to see you walk back that day. Hope to see you around sometime!

Promo #7

Final Promo