Im going to keep this short and sweet because it wasn’t a great day here in New Jersey. The day started off pretty well, as I was able to finish up 3rd in practice, and knew that I had a great chance at pole. For qualifying I went with a tire strategy that I used many times last year with success: choosing to run my best tires on the front and worst on the rear to try to minimize understeer. As soon as I hit the track I realized I made a mistake. I did manage to reduce understeer, but to the point that the car was wildly loose! It was like being on a dirt track sideways through every corner. A few other veterans got caught out by the same tire choice and we will all be starting in the mid-pack. I have a long way to go from 13th, but like any race I will be aiming for a podium!

You can follow the race at http://livetiming.net/scca/VW when it goes green at 12:40 (ET) tomorrow. Look for a twitter update after the race at twitter.com/jakethompson19