Boy, it feels like I've been racing under the gun lately. 2 weeks ago I had a double feature night. This week there were 2 races in 3 days. I really hate rain... only when we race.
So at least we had a lot of time to get the cars ready. We had a lot of cooperation with the weather as well, and I'm looking for more of the same from now on. But finally, Thursday rolled around and it was time to get back to it. The details are still kind of fuzzy, since I forgot to put my in-car camera in this week, and because I write these a day or two after the fact. I had made some last minute, full scale changes to the front suspension. I not only replaced the springs, but I added adjuster cups to the front so that I can have more adjustability in the car. I went out for practice, and the car was F.A.S.T.... fast. I was reeling in cars that I never had before. Being on the bumper of cars that used to blow you off the track a few weeks ago is rather refreshing. That feeling didn't last very long though. When the green flag fell in the heat race, the car was complete crap, when compared to practice. I've been getting frustrated lately with racing because I've put so much effort into the car, and it's just not nearly coming along fast enough. I'm pretty tired with finishing mid-pack, unable to pass more than a handful of cars.
So feature time comes up, and I had made an adjustment on the bar to try making the car better on exit, which has been my problem lately. I lined up in 15th place, and managed to stay there for the most part. The car was marginally better, but I still get killed coming out, which is the most important part of a momentum based division. I had a pretty bad scare though, when we came out of two early in the race. All I saw were cars spinning and crashing, and the entire track was blocked by smoke. I was seriously on the brakes, and I was just hoping to not t-bone someone when I went through. I and most all of the field made it, I think it was a 3 car wreck. There was a lot of junk put on the track in 3 and 4. I kept pointing to it out the window, hoping someone would see it, and they put some dry down, but it wasn't enough. I made a note not to go to the bottom in 3&4. Green comes back out and we get to turn 3, and at least 3 cars spin in front of the field. I go high to miss them, and Chuck in the #87 spins right up in front of me. I committed to go low around him, and when I did that, he came back down. POW! I caught him pretty hard with the right front, and that sent me back into traffic, right into the path of the #43. POW! again. After getting rocked around, I look up... the gauges read fine, and the car still drives. There's open track in front of me, so I took a second to check the wheels and see if they're still inflated. That's when all hell broke loose in my dashboard. The tach started freaking out, and then it started raining sparks all over me. That's when the cockpit filled with smoke, and it smelled like an electrical fire. I pulled that car off the track and was out of it within seconds. I looked like a mouse ran up my pants, I wanted OUT. I can usually handle a lot, but I will not tolerate fire.
So it wasn't that bad after all, the damage that is. The casing on the alternator charging wire split and arced out on my cage. All the charging wires burned out of it, but nothing else. However, I still spent 13 hours putting that car together for Saturday, with the help of my cousin Eric (thanks!). I was pretty down after that race. I was just out cruising, keeping my nose clean. I would have had my first top 10 finish if I didn't get caught up in that wreck. I also lost a lot of points in the rookie of the year race. But I put in the time, so there's no sense in giving up.
I had to work on Saturday. I had to have my brother drive my trailer up while I hauled ass to get out of work early and make it to the track on time. I got there for the first practice, and the car was junk again. I hated it. I finally got pissed off enough to say that I was done doing small "baby steps" changes. I walked over to the truck, grabbed 2 jackstands, and proceeded to pull the rear springs out of the car. I made a decent wedge adjustment and threw the car out there for the feature. I started in 15th, again. I had my camera in the car this time, so I could study what I was doing. Under green, we as a whole were fairly well behaved. I was happier with the car, probably since I actually felt like I was on the attack for the most part. But still, the car is far too slow coming out. I did have another problem. The car started getting pretty hot. It got up to 235 when I was in traffic. I had the fan on, but it wasn't helping. I had to pull out of line to try and get fresh air into the motor. I was even lifting early to keep the heat down. I guess the mesh for the grille openings was too thick and wasn't allowing air in. I had to put a used nose on, but I guess I should have checked it more thoroughly. Mercifully, I got a caution with 2 to go. I put it in high gear, and it never went above 2k rpm's the whole caution. I got it back down to 195 when the green came out, and it was game on. I picked up a spot on the restart, and kept it close coming to the white. The #26 got spun in turn 2, and everybody stacked up behind him. I kept my foot in it and went to the high side. I picked up a bunch of spots and ended up with my first top 10.
I need to keep putting good finishes together. I have a few more significant changes and additions that I have to make to the car, and like any other racer, I'm really not telling. I've asked so many people about what I should be doing, and I get differing answers. So I don't even ask anymore, I just do it, and I seem to be getting better results. Lets see what happens this week, I have some work ahead of me.
Brent
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