3G Racing returned to the podium for the first time in nearly 18 months, posting a third place finish in class 1600 at the MORE Balls Out 250 on March 22, 2003. After taking six months off to build a new car, the team was extremely excited to get back to racing. The car was finished in mid-February and the team tested and tuned the car with hopes of making a strong debut. The biggest improvement with the new car is in the suspension which is attributable to the switch to KING SHOCKS on all four corners – pricy but worth every penny.

Dave and Kevin started the race, 4th off the line in class. Just 200 yards off the starting line, the steering wheel came loose – there is a quick disconnect on the wheel and no one had checked to make sure it was on the way. Slowing a bit Dave was able to secure the wheel and 1622 was on its way. The first lap proved to be the most interesting for the two UCLA grads. Midway between pits A and B, they caught and easily passed 1651. Just before pit C, they encountered a 1 and a 5 car who were just out for a Sunday cruise and not paying much attention to their mirrors. Dave and Kevin made their way around the 1 car but the 5 car wasn’t yielding much room to pass. While trying to pass the 5 car, Dave clipped the left rear tire with his front right tire shooting the smaller 16 car out into the bushes. The 5 guy finally got the idea and moved over, though this just allowed 1616 to get by Dave and Kevin dropping them back to 4th and leaving them to fight through the dust – but not for long. Just past pit C, 1616 rolled the car right in front of them! 1616 had entered a soft sand wash with the wheels turned just a bit and that sent them over, the landed on their wheels and looked OK. Back in 3rd place again but, with all the lost seconds over the past 25 miles, 4th was right on Dave’s tail. Just before pit D, in a flat high speed section, 1604 out horse-powered Dave. After a very exciting 33 miles, Dave and Kevin ended lap 1 in the same place as they started.

Their remaining 100 miles were uneventfully – just some minor lapped traffic to deal with. The only minor problem that they had was the oil temp was a bit high but nothing worth stopping for. Dave kept the team about 1.5 minutes behind 1604 (now in second) and was in third place (1615 who’d been running second suffered some down time on lap 2).

At the end of lap 4 Dave and Kevin got out and were replaced by Jeremy and his older brother TJ. Jeremy, a 15-year old sophomore in high school, was making his debut behind the wheel. While a rookie behind the wheel, like the rest of the team, Jeremy grew up in the desert and has been around racing his entire life. Over the past three years Jeremy served as a co-pilot in a 9, 10, and the team's old 16. Jeremy did a terrific job, improving his times every lap. He kept the team in 3rd place and the only trouble that he saw all day was swapping a little paint with an inexperienced 9 car who was trying to keep from get lapped by the 3G car a second time.

After five and a half hours of racing covering 264 miles, Jeremy brought the car home just 15 minutes out of second place. A great showing all around for the new car and rookie driver. The team's next race is the SNORE Buffalo Bills 400 on April 12th in Primm, Nv.