This whole story starts with a massive effort two weeks prior to this event in preparation. New brakes, rotors and pads, oil and filters, steering fluid, full system brake fluid change, fuel filter replacement changed transmission and rear end fluids, set up cool suit, head net and window net, change fluid in hyd clutch, so now I’m ready, I ran the car at Rockingham and Vir two weeks ago, all systems go.
Time for Comp school with NASA, starts on Friday at seven thirty am. And goes like this, classroom then track, ten minutes after class then back to class That’s hardly enough time to get your suit onand off, no less prep your car. Thanks to the generosity of Jim Pastorious most all of this was taken care of for me. I never asked, but I think he took the day off from work to help me. Thanks again Jim. Without help from someone acting as pit crew I’d have never gotten through this school. The on track sessions begin with simple warm up like any track session, but there are instructors on the track with you in their cars moving through the pack and evaluating how you deal with passing situations, close proximity situations, they in fact evaluate your situational awareness during these sessions sometimes putting you into three abreast situations in turns. Very nerve wracking to say the least. Other drills were driving the car only on the left side of the track for fifteen minutes then the right side only, then with one car on the right and one side by side with you on the left then switch, your on the left and your partner is on the right. All the while the instructors are passing and splitting the pairs in turns and on the straights. Next it was leap froging exercise where you and a partner are in tandem and must alternately pass each other in designated turns. Turns one, three, seven, ten, eleven and fourteen were the designee's
Then on to the starts, two standing starts then two rolling starts then race to the end of the session.
My vette ran well for the first ten minutes of each session then proceed to decrease power until the max rpm I could attain was 2500 rpm, all this while I’m trying to do these drills and have instructors screwing with you. The loss of power was bad, but the stumbling and backfires were worse. But I passed, however my car was not fit for racing.Schooling ended at about 7:30pm
I sat out Saturdays race trying to figure out what my problem was. I changed the coil on someone’s recommendation ( and because I had one) Then I checked fuel pressure at the rail and found it to be low 20psi I had adjusted it to 40psi about six weeks ago so that was the clue. We (Kent Keller ) ran the car out on track in the instructors session Sat. after we readjusted the press and low and behold the car was still breaking up. So off to Danville to find a pump. Found an oem pump at AutoZone and so I made it back to the track after the Thunder race started, so that was my first race--- A DNS. Upon removal of the old pump from the fuel cell, (Norbert jumped in and had it out before I could round up my tools to do it) we found the fuel cell foam to have been deteriorated to a slurry in the fuel cell. What a mess!! We scooped that crap out of the cell as best we could, then pumped the fuel back into the cell and then back out straining it each time till there was little or no residue left in the strainer. Installed the pump and buttoned everything up. Ready for qualifying, maybe.
Sunday quals for Thunder group is 8:15 so off I go first thing to qualify.
Car runs great but I’m behind some slower cars an can’t get into the clear right away.. but I qualify 6th of 8 in ST2 and 24th out of 44 in the Thunder group. Did I say the car is running great.
12:25 time to race, there is something not right about getting into a snowsuit in 90 degree weather, in a black car to have fun. But I did it anyway. Needless to say I a bundle of nerves, this is not my first race remember I did the LeMons thing twice. But in LeMons they didn’t have guys turning 1:50 on VIR full and the speed was no where near what’s going to happen now. My 2:15 qual time looks very slow and I’m going to get smothered down in T1. So it starts and I’m on the outside at the turn and I loose three or four places right off the get go. On the bright side I’m in one piece and the car is running well, so its time to settle in and see if I can regain a few slots, I do that and more, I feel good and the car feels good so we’re in business, my goal being to finish . Just when things are looking good the inevitable happens, the car starts to lose power and is stumbling on acceleration I can make it I just have to short shift to keep out of high rpm and nurse this thing back to the finish. Which is just what I did. And my first Thunder race is over, what a rush. My finish is 6th out of eight in ST2 and 22nd of 50 in the Thunder group. I’m not disappointed with the finish as I had an ailing car. I must have been up quite a few places cause alot of cars passed me during this period. The rush is extreme, but there’s also a lot of pressure, more so than when I ran in LeMons. I’ve got a car to repair and I’m awaiting the next one.
As a side note for those of you who are contemplating racing, the LeMons races are a good start to ease you into this. I’ve done both the SCCA and the NASA comp schools and the NASA school is far and away a better school for competition driving. JMHO
Video to follow
How was your weekend?????
video link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_OzqYmf1mo
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