FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 7TH
Track Testing

We arrived early to set up our garage space, and get some testing done on the track. A lot of work had been done since the last race, and the $150 testing fee seemed like a reasonable sum of money to work all the bugs out of the car. It went from a reasonable sum, to a invaluable sum when the car started to lose fuel in the turns. We were quickly able to narrow the issue down to a broken fuel pick-up line. With that fixed, the car was ready to go, and we all took it easy for the evening, and tried to get some good rest before the long 24 hours of endurance racing.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH
Race Day

It was a great morning with cooler temps, and the sun shining. Everyone was amped up and ready to race. I got behind the wheel, and spent a few laps getting the tires and brakes warmed up, then really went for it. My plan was to push myself and the car to the absolute limit and see just how fast we could be, then settle into a nice rhythm, and drive 80-90% for the rest of my stint. I was able to get a 1:13.768 within the first few laps. For reference, our fastest lap on this track last year was 1:26.xxx. So the car was 13 seconds quicker around the track…a huge improvement! By the end of my 1.5 hour stint, our team was in 4th place, and we all saw some real potential to be top contenders. Travis and Steele followed with some impressive times, and consistent driving performance. With the exception of a phantom oil leak on our car, called in by a track official, things were going well. Until Brian got in the car. Brian was the unlucky driver that had to be in the car when something went wrong. He was only able to really give it hell for a few laps, then suddenly, the water gauge temp went to zero, and the car started to run poorly. Then just like that, the cooling system was completely dry, and the car was in the garage. We slowly added more water to the cooling system until it was topped off again. I started the car, and immediately, a geyser of water erupted from the radiator fill port. This was NOT a good sign, a clear indication that the head gasket was blown. After a short discussion we decided to pull the motor, and replace the head gaskets. We didn’t have an engine hoist, so a few fellow teammates began searching the garage and the pits for a team that had what we needed. It wasn’t until we were ready to pull the motor that the track manager, rum and coke in hand, announced that he would provide a fork-lift for the duty. It was certainly amusing to see our motor get pulled from the car, strapped to a fork lift. With the engine out of the car, we pulled the heads and discovered that the heads themselves were badly warped. With no other option available, we slapped the new headgaskets in, rebuilt the motor, and called upon the forklift again (probably around 12:30am) to get the motor back in the car. With everything assembled, we filled the cooling system again, and started the motor. Once again, water spewed out from the radiator, proving that head gaskets alone would save us. Brian had the crazy idea to just keep tightening the head bolts until one of two things happened. Either we would snap a head bolt, or stop the leak. And after tightening down all the headbolts and additional 270 degrees of rotation, the leak had nearly stopped. Because my dad (Jack) had yet to race, our primary goal was to ensure that he had a chance to race. So I took the car out for a few test laps to see just how reliable the engine would be. Unfortunately, half way into the first lap, water temps spiked to 240deg. It was clear to us at this point that we would not be getting back into the race. The decision was made to pull the car back in, and call it a night. In the morning, my dad would get to drive the car until it exploded.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8TH
Checkered Flag

Jack took the driver’s seat at 9am, one hour before the finish of the race. Our lofty goal was to finish off the last hour and cross the finish line. However, we all knew that the motor would probably not last more than 5 laps. Other teams and race officials had heard our story, and were placing bets on how many laps we would get before the motor gave way completely. Before going out on the track,  Jack brought the car to the hot pits, where I dumped a few gallons of ice into the engine bay, and we sent him on his way. He completed one lap, and we cheered. Two laps, we cheered. Three laps, and we cheered some more. This continued until we hit 10 laps, and the car was going strong. Jack noted that engine temps wrtr above 240deg, and we all noticed the plumes of water vapor existing the tailpipe. “Any second now,” we thought. After almost 30 minutes of racing, the car was STILL on the track and going strong. I realized that with less than 5 gallons of gas in the tank, the car might run out of gas before it exploded. We flagged Jack down and got him into the pits. We put 5 gallons of gas in the tank, and 5 gallons of cold water on the searing hot engine. Back out on the track, he made it less than one lap before telling us over the radio that the water temp gauge was reading zero again. This meant that with about 30mins left to go in the race, the cooling system was nearly empty. Jack slowed down, and focused on just getting around the track, and for the remainder of the race, we kept our fingers crossed. We did end up making it to the end of the race, and pulled the car into the garage. I thought to check the engine block temp about 15 minutes after we had shut the motor off, and registered just over 300 degrees on the surface of the block.  It’s still a mystery how that engine stayed together to complete the race.

In a lot of ways, this race could be considered a complete failure. A lot of time and money was invested by everyone to get this car onto the track, and compete in a 24 hour endurance race. We didn’t even complete half that. But the excitement of rebuilding the motor with other teams cheering us on, and getting to see my Dad take the car across the finish line, was an extremely rewarding feeling. Auto racing isn’t just about driving the car. It’s also about having a good team, a good attitude, and never giving up. It’s about the entire experience. We certainly got the full experience during this race, and it was all worth it.

So big thanks to everyone on the team, and all of the other teams who cheered us on, supported us, helped us, and made our race worth it. We will see you again next year. And we are gonna kick some ass, so be ready.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22ND

You will notice the rental truck. At $450 for the weekend, it is about the same as the monthly payment on my pickup truck, which I sold. Since I only race twice a year, it made a lot more sense to ditch the high payment, and rent when needed. As an added bonus, I bought a 2002 WRX as my daily driver, with a monthly payment of $180. Everybody wins.

When we got to the track, it was already in the 90′s with a strong, hot breeze. I put the car through tech, and shortly after the rest of the team arrived. We installed our new radio system, which Brian had prewired to use the turn signal indicator. So when we hit the turn signal, the radio would transmit, and a red light would light up on the dash. It would prove to be much more effective than our previous voice activated system which was also activated by ANY loud noise. What a pain in the ass that was.

After dinner, we grabbed a couple beers and walked a portion of the track, telling stories, and joking about what might happen at tomorrow’s race.

SATURDAY, JUNE 23RD. RACE ONE.

 I took the green flag, and the race was off. While we weren’t setting any world-record speeds, the car was quick, and a true blast to drive. HPR is a very technical track, with many elevation changes, blind crests, and decreasing radius, off-camber downhill turns, and a long back straight. It was very easy to find and pass the limit of the car’s abilities. With the extreme heat, the engine was constantly in danger of over heating, and we would have to ease off at times to allow the motor to cool. At one point, we couldnt get the car started, and it turned out that the battery had worked loose, and the negative terminal was disconnected. Kind of a silly way to lose time. Such is racing I suppose.

The heat was also really intense, and everyone was pretty miserable. Luckily, Claudia (Mom) had thought to bring electric fan, water sprayer thingies, which likely prevented heat stroke on more than one occasion. The facility had no running water either, with the exception of the trailer bathrooms, which never worked because the circuit breaker kept tripping. So it was dark and 130deg. Going to the bathroom in there was like being in a sauna. Notice I didn’t call it a “rest”room. I think “sauna shitter” would be more accurate. I took a shower in the trailer that night, and tried to dry off, but couldn’t manage it because I was sweating faster than I could towel it off.

As his luck would have it, when John Fuggi entered the car, things started to go wrong. He noted over the radio that the temps were fluctuating wildly, and the car seemed to be overheating much more rapidly. I told him to ease up a bit, and carry on. Shortly thereafter, he got back on the radio and said “I just saw some steam come out of the hood. But not much.” To error on the side of caution, I had him come in, and drive the car into the garage. When I popped the hood, the engine was HOT HOT HOT. I unscrewed the radiator cap (DO NOT try that at home,) and discovered the radiator was empty. No, wait, the entire cooling system was empty. Every last drop of water had left the building. Damnit. The funny thing was that Fuggi didn’t recall actually seeing any water on the windshield. That is when I discovered the cracked radiator, and determined that the water must have been SO hot, that when the radiator cracked, and the cooling system pressure dropped, all of the water instantly turned to vapor and existed the system in a puff of steam. Awesome. And I brought lots of spare parts, but no radiator.

Since we had learned from previous races, we didnt let this little radiator issue slow us down. We quickly divided tasks between the team members. Fuggi and Travis began using technology to locate a radiator, Brian, Jack, and I started removing the radiator, and Jon Steele photographed the mad scramble. It didn’t take long for Fuggi to track down a radiator that would “work.” I would tell you how far away it was, or how long it took Fuggi to get there and back, but such information could be used to incriminate him. Lets just say that, with his BMW 335i modified twin-turbo land rocket, he would have been perfectly comfortable on the German autobahn passing “slower” cars that end in “i”, like Lamborghini, Maserati, and Ferrari. By the time the old radiator was out, Fuggi was back with a replacement, that uh, was really not supposed to fit. But zip-ties, bailing wire, and a saw-zall to the rescue, we made it fit, and got back out on the track. Oh, and it was hot out. Really hot. I am not sure if I had mentioned that before. Nothing quite like working on a furnace-like engine in stale 113deg air.

Back out on the track, we finished out the day pretty well. Actually, no, it wasn’t that great. We came in 19th out of 20 something cars..but we finished. Despite the issues, it was a lot of fun.

SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING
(Language Warning)

Yes, I am dedicating a section to the night and early morning. This is because Lauren and I slept in the back of a pickup truck, with no wind, in 90+deg temps. We didn’t actually sleep though. As if the heat wasn’t enough, with the sheets sticking to me and my pillow acting as a sponge, we got to listen to another team try to fix their car. They weren’t really fixing it though, as much as they were drinking, getting stoned, and fist-fighting each other. Between incoherent yelling, I was able to piece together their story. Basically, the calm stoned guy wanted to take apart the motor and find out why all the oil had gone away. The angry drunk wanted the stoner to go fuck himself, and the goofy drunk kept dropping bolts into the crankcase, and losing various tools, the bong, and the weed. Later, the angry drunk wanted everyone to shut the fuck up and listen, then he wanted them to “just fucking say something.” Only the South Park movie used the word “fuck” more often. It ended with the stoner getting punched by the angry drunk, and the goofy drunk talking about just loving one another. It was about then that I realized our sleeping arrangement had wheels. So I moved the truck to another area. Listening to the rich people’s A/C turn on and off in their land yacht was much less frustrating. I didn’t sleep.

SUNDAY, JUNE 24TH, RACE TWO.

Good morning. It’s 105 degrees already. Want some hot coffee? Well, put on your two layer fire suit, gloves and helmet and get into a steel box. Have fun!

It was fun though. The car held together surprisingly well. The only issue was a fuel leak that we determined was the gas vapor recovery system draining. Towards the end of the day though, with temps at their highest, the car started to act up. It was overheating again, and occasionally losing power. I drove the last stint, with high temps, blinking check engine lights, and over-heated tires. I also managed to get black-flagged for driving past the limit a few times to many. Oops.

Thanks, as always to the team for all their hard work!!

Photos were taken by Jon Steele. Although he normally drives with us, he is welcome to sit it out and take pictures any time. Great shots!

Thursday, September 2nd

With the car strapped to the trailer, and the bed of my truck full of the tools and spare parts I hoped I wouldn’t have to use, Lauren and I set out early Thursday morning, bound for Des Moines, Iowa, home of the Heavy Metal band Slipknot. Things started out smooth enough, Lauren and I were just 20 miles shy of our hotel and close to midnight. Suddenly, the truck started to pull hard to the right, and I checked the rear view mirror to find the trailer fish-tailing behind me. My heart stopped as I watched my race car clinging to the trailer as it began slide hopelessly from side to side. In an instant, I envisioned the trailer detaching from the truck, taking my car with it, and ruining any chance our team had to participate in the big race. I braked firm but controlled, and brought the truck to a safe stop on the side of highway 80. Lauren had awakened by this point, and read the expression on my face, seeing that something was NOT good. I got out of the truck with a flashlight and began inspecting the tires on the trailer, as large trucks  barreled by at 75mph. When I got to the passenger side, I discovered the shredded trailer tire.

The trailer was graciously lent to me by a friend, and while I appreciated his generosity, I really wish he had a spare tire for the trailer. Of course it didn’t occur to me until just then that a spare was a good idea. Hindsight really is 20/20. My biggest concern was that I had a race to get to, and I knew that making it to the tech inspection in time was vital. In a foreign state, with seemingly endless rows of corn, I had no idea how I was going to find a trailer tire, get it installed, and still make it to the track. I pulled out my tools (which I never thought I’d need for the trailer) and removed the obilterated wheel. Luckily I saw that there was no damage to the rim. For the next 8 miles, I drove 30mph with 3 wheels on the trailer. And to be honest, none of the tires really looked like they had much life in them. At the first exit, I pulled off to a hotel that looked like something Dean Koontz would write about. Dust coated the windows of the main office, and the neon “Vacancy” sign flickered and hummed. A possum even ran by, with mud matted into its fur. Oh this is a great place to stay. For better or worse, the office didn’t appear to be open. So, I stopped by the gas station and put some extra air in the single trailer tire which was taking the burden normally shared by the tire that was now scattered across the highway in…Nebraska..Iowa? I didn’t even know what state we were in. It really does all look the same. Anyway. We got back on the highway, and continued the remaining 12 miles to the Hotel 6 we had planned on staying at. We arrived and checked in at the front desk. I asked if there were any tire stores near by that might carry trailer tires, and the receptionist mentioned that there was a semi- truck repair facility next door. After getting Lauren to bed, I decided to walk over and peer in the windows of the shop and see if they might carry small trailer tires. When I got there, I found that they were open! A 24/7 repair shop in the middle of nowhere. Sweet. I checked with the gal at the front desk, and sure enough, they actually had the right size tire in stock, and if I wanted they could get it mounted now! Wow, that is good luck. So by 3am, I had a new trailer tire and we were ready to go for the following day. Incredible.

Friday, September 3rd

The rest of the trip out to the track was uneventful. I arrived with plenty of time to get my car into tech, and found my parents, Jack and Claudia, my brother Travis, and his girlfriend Alliene already set up and ready for us. It really is great to have the whole family in on this experience, and I was happy to see them all set up and ready to help us unload.

With the car unloaded, I headed straight to tech inspection. Everything went smoothly, as expected, and the tech didn’t seem to concerned that I had upgraded the motor. This is probably because he was at the last race and saw how slow my car was. Jumping from 1.8L to 2.2L isn’t enough to raise any concern. With that out of the way, we organized the garage and stared at the car. We really didn’t have any work to do, and we were waiting for the rest of the team. They weren’t able to get Thursday off, so Friday at noon, they began the long haul out to Iowa in a rented RV. Not the cheapest way to roll, but that’s another story. During the wait, my Dad and I got the great idea that we really needed a roof scoop to keep the driver cool. It was hot and humid, and we knew the extra airflow would be appreciated by the rest of the drivers. So off to the hardware store for a dryer vent and some red spray paint. After an hour or so of work, we ended up with a pretty good solution.

Yea, airflow baby, and plenty of it. This turned out to be a bad idea, but more on that later. Once we finished with the roof scoop, we walked the track to discuss driving lines, and get a feel for what we would be getting ourselves into. Unlike Pike’s Peak International Raceway, the oval is STEEP. The banks are much more angled, and its intimidating to walk the track, knowing that we will be taking these turns at 100mph. The skid marks and paint transfer on the walls didn’t help much either. But all in all, it was a great track, and we were excited to race!

With that done, we went back to the garage to check out all the other cars, and try to relax before the big day. There were a lot of very well sorted cars, and a few that made you scratch your head and wonder. A very Chump-worthy group. Also, the trophies were very cool. I really wanted to come home with one.

At a little after 1am, the rest of the team arrived, safe but tired. We said our hellos and goodnights, and went to bed to try and get some sleep before the big day

Saturday, September 4th RACE DAY!

I woke up early to the sounds of generators, race car motors, and heat. It was hot already?! Thank god I installed a roof scoop. The team ate breakfast and finished preparing the pits, then met up for the drivers meeting. The nervous excitement kicked in as I drove the car into the hot pits, and got ready to race. Then before I knew it, the green flag dropped and we were off!!

Immediately, I was NOT happy. We took a gamble with our tire choice, and it did NOT pay off. The tires were terrible. They had no grip and broke loose very unpredictably. Completely unacceptable tires for a 24 hour endurance race. Thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of labor were spent preparing for this race, and tires were going to ruin it for everyone. After my one hour stint, I came in with a terrible attitude, and the team could feel it. This was not at all how I wanted to start, and I felt an immense amount of responsibility to get this issue resolved quickly. Right after I got out of the car, Fuggi (teammate and driver) and I took off into town in search of better tires. Iowa isn’t all bad, but when you are in a hurry, and already in a bad mood, their casual driving style is absolutely maddening. When the light turns green, most people go. Not Iowans. Nope. They inspect the green light, you know to make sure it is really green. Then they inspect the intersection to ensure it is free obstruction. Once that is done, they begin the process of sending signals to their right foot to gently depress the gas petal. But wait, they should probably check the light color one more time. Yea, still green. FRICKING GO!!! It drove me nuts.

After over an hour of checking with Tires Plus (which was closed), “Joe-Bob’s Discount Tire Hut”, and “Tractor Tire and Supply Depot,” we had found nothing. There was a Walmart there too, but their idea of a “high po-formace tire” was them there Goodyear Eagles. Woo wee! Disappointed, we went back to the track empty handed and more angry. The tension in the pits was obvious, and I knew I was not helping things much. And of course, it had started to rain, HARD. The kind of rain that can water thousands of acres of corn. Not only did this make the tires even more dangerous, it turned our cool little airscoop into a water funnel. Based on my Dad’s description of his experience, it sounded like he was inside a dishwasher. Each driver that left the car soaking wet and cursing the terrible tires. Fuggi even managed to do a 90mph donut on the infamous Turn 2. I had to fix this. Luckily I had brought a set of worn tires from the previous race, and my dad drove off to Walmart to get them installed on the spare set of wheels. I hoped they would hold through the remainder of the race. In the back of my mind though, I knew they wouldn’t. However, getting a good set of meats on there improved moral drastically. We lost time with the tire fiasco, but we were finally competitive, and our lap times proved it.

Everyone was finally having a good time, and I was really happy to see each driver turn some impressive lap times. We are a consistent team and as other cars crashed out on the track, or came in for repairs, our place in the group kept climbing. We started the race in 34th place, out of 47 cars, and by the last hour of the first night, we had moved into 18th place. Considering that we were up against all the best teams from across the US, we were very happy to be well into the field. What makes it even more impressive is that we were not invited because we won. We didnt even get close. We were invited because of our team spirit, and how our team embodies the spirit of the event. So we really were out classed. Two teams were just ahead of us, and within striking distance. Team “Car 54 where are you” and “The Red Baron.” I was scheduled to drive the last hour and finish off the night. It was 10pm, and had just stopped raining again. The track was slick in places, with standing water. Because the track was still wet, headlights were doing very little to light the way. Coming into the road course for the first lap, I promptly slid of the track into the grass, recovering just in time to miss the gravel pit. I got the car back on track, then completely missed the chicane. Adrenaline had got the best of me, and I was so focused on going fast, I was being a bit reckless.

I pulled myself together, and entered back into the course. And as luck would have it, I pulled in right behind Car 54. I sinched down the harnesses a little tighter, shifted into a higher gear and mashed the gas pedal. I was determined to pass this guy. He was in a 2nd Gen RX7, so he had me on the straights, but with the slick conditions, I had him in the turns, with a substantial advantage.  Turn 3, coming into the road course is a dangerous turn. You are coming off the back straight of the oval, hitting 100mph and right about the time you need to lift throttle and start turning in, there is a hump in the course, that upsets the balance of the car. By the time the car settles, you have started turning in. As the radius of the turn decreases, and you hit the braking point, there is a second hump that makes the back end of the car feel like its lifting off the ground. If you slide off the track at either of these areas, the wall is not far away. If you make it, you have to get on the brakes hard to complete the tight corner. It was very tricky, specifically with the wet surface and poor lighting. I knew that if I wanted to pass Car 54, and STAY passed him, I needed to do it on that turn, then pull away in the rest of the road course. My plan was to stay right on his ass in the road course, and draft behind him in the oval, staying as close as possible, then take him on the inside of the aforementioned turn 3. With AWD, and better brakes, it should be possible. My first few attempts failed. Id either lose to much speed on the oval, or traffic on the course would prevent me from being able to take the inside line coming into turn 3.

Finally, I had my chance, I tucked under him a bit coming out of the road course, and he tried to stay low but we collided with a satisfying crunch. Rubbing is racing though, and when he backed off, I gunned it into the oval. He passed me back, half-way through turns 1 and 2, and I tucked in behind him, letting the benefits of drafting keep me close on his tail. As we approached turn 3, out of the lights, and into the dark and slick road course, I dropped inside. No one else was there to block me, I had this line all to myself. And it was dark, man it was dark. Traveling at 90mph or so, I entered into the darkness, not completely able to make out the undulations of the track. I felt the first hump, and kept my foot to the floor. I knew I should be lifting now, but I stayed on it anyway. Then the right side of the track started to draw closer, signaling that the turn was beginning to tighten to the left. When I saw this, I was still going full speed ahead, and I knew that I was going too fast, and had missed my previously determined braking point. I kept a relaxed grip on the steering wheel and started pressing the brake firm and smooth. I hit the second hump, and the back end of the car stepped out, tires squealing. I tried to ignore the outside edge of the track, but in my peripheral, I could see the grass, the gravel pit, and the wall. I focused on the apex of the turn, kept my foot on the brake, pressed in the clutch, blipped the gas with my heal, and downshifted. By the time I had released the clutch I had slid almost perpendicular to the track, but as I slid the apex came into view, and the nose of the car was pointed in the right direction. I counter-steered and mashed the gas. All four wheels clawed forward while the car slid sideways, and I just barely nicked the tire barriers, but I made it. I completed the turn, and had great speed going into the next long right hander. By the time I had exited the road course, Car 54 was far behind me. He would almost close the gap on the oval section, but was never again able to pass me.

I didn’t have much time to relax though, as The Red Baron was right in front of me. The Red Baron was a Porsche 944, and genuinely a faster car than mine, all around, but I was still determined to give him hell. I stayed right on his tail, even bumping him once, just to let him know I wasn’t going to give up. Finally after several laps on his tail, my inside line on turn 3 opened up, and I dove down to pass him. Just like the last pass, I rode the ragged edge of grip, barely keeping control of the car as I made the pass. But he wasn’t ready to give it up. Before the next turn, he cut underneath me and took back the place I had gained. We did this for the remainder of the hour, and the race ended for the night with him ahead of me. But I didnt care, it was some incredible racing. I sought him out after the race and we shook hands and laughed while swapping stories. He said it was the best racing he had experienced in many years. When I found the driver of Car 54, he felt the same way, best racing in years. I finished the night extremely happy, knowing with only one previous race under my belt, I was a part of some amazing racing.

Sunday, September 5th Race Day #2

I woke early and began calling tire centers in Des Moines. Since I had finished off last night, I would have 5 hours to get new tires before my turn came up again. But after my stint the night before, there wasn’t much left of the tires currently on the car. I quickly found a tire shop that had some Primewell PZ900s. I had never heard of them before, but the tread pattern and wear rating were reasonable for our needs. And after a little sweet talking, I was able to get 25% off the price. I was back at the track just an hour after the race started. We swapped out the wheels, and got back to racing. And it looks like we did it just in time, as the old tires were worn out. The new tires ended up working very wheel. They were a bit noisy when they started to lose grip, but otherwise a very solid tire. Primewell…who woulda thought?

A big wreck on Turn 2 reminded us of just how quickly your race can be over. One of the cars slid up into the wall, and came back down right in front of Clown Shoe racing, who collided at high speed. The damage was severe enough to take Clown Shoe out of the race, and crushed the back half of “My Little Pony” all the way passed the gas tank. They spent hours sourcing and replacing that.

The day kept on for us without such dramatic issues, luckily. At one point or another though, everyone had a good scare, either spinning out, or making contact with other drivers. Its part of the experience, and im glad that everyone was pushing the limits. While I want to save the car, I also want everyone to get a sense of speed, and true competitive racing. After all, they have invested a lot of money in this too. The weather was beautiful, and everyone was having a great time. Can’t ask for a better day of racing.

Again, the last hour of driving was done by me. We had a real chance to take another place, and move into 16th. The problem was that the cars ahead of us were there because they were truly faster cars. Making up any ground in the oval would be really difficult. When Brian came in to the pit at the end of his stint, he commented that when the car hit the bumps on the inside of turn 2, he could clearly hear the tire rubbing the car somewhere, and he could smell burning rubber. We looked over the car real quick, and saw no obvious signs of wear. I strapped in and took off. I immediately heard what Brian was talking about, and it was clear something was wrong. I brought the car back in again, and checked it over. It looked like, due to a few of our fender-benders, one of the mud flaps was rubbing on the tire. We cut it off, and got the car back on the track. Nope. That wasn’t it, it was still rubbing. If I pitted again, we would lose a position, so I decided to just tough it out and drive through. I had to take it easy on turn 2 though, backing off the gas just a hair, and staying wide on the most dangerous turn of the track. I kept that up for an hour straight. The car in 4th gear, right at redline, 100mph. It amazed me that every time I checked the gauges, oil pressure and engine temp were holding steady. Impressive little motor. When it was all over, we finished 17th. A very respectable finish in a field of fast cars. It turned out that both the front and rear fenders on the right side of the car and pushed in enough where the tire would come into contact with sharp metal everytime the suspension compressed. We were extremely lucky to finish with that potential disaster looming so close. But we did. Over 1400 laps in 25.5 hours of racing. No mechanical failures, no major accidents and one hell of a race.

After the race was over, all the teams gathered in the garage and swapped stories. We had several teams come up and sign the dents on our car that they had created, and we swapped stories and laughter. We got a trophy, some prize money, and recognition from the crowd for our great racing and sportsmanship. Then, we packed up to head home.

And that’s it! The race of a life time, and the only one of its type. The National event was to much for a lot of teams, so going forward, ChumpCar will only be holding regional finals. We had the privilege of racing in the first, and last National level ChumpCar event.

A big thanks to my lovely wife, Lauren, for her support and sacrifice. Thanks to the drivers, Jack, Travis, Steele, Fuggi, and Brian for their hard work on the car, and for driving a solid race. And to Claudia, Lauren, Whitney, Alliene and Sandy. Also thanks to my Boss, Randy, for his fuel donation, and for letting us leave work in time to get to the race. This race was possible because of EVERYONE’s hard work, support and money.

THANK YOU!

]]> http://rallyimprezive.com/?feed=rss2&p=966 0 http://rallyimprezive.com/?p=767 http://rallyimprezive.com/?p=767#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:52:13 +0000 Andy http://rallyimprezive.com/?p=767 It’s been a week since we finished our first race. I am still tired. The garage still looks the same as it did last Sunday when everyone emptied the tools and containers from my truck, onto the garage floor. I am just now getting to writing this race report because on Monday, I had to get right back into work, and put a solid week of work in. This weekend, Lauren and I went camping, attended a block party, and celebrated Father’s Day at my parent’s house. We don’t really like to rest much.

24 hour endurance racing is no joke. You aren’t awake for just 24 hours. The morning of the race, we all woke up around 7:30am, scrambled to prep the pits, attend the drivers meeting, and begin racing at 11am. Then the actual 24 hours of racing began. After all of that we still had to pack up and head home. Most of us got to bed around 4pm on Sunday. So we spent over 32 hours awake. And not just sitting on the couch watching every Star Wars and Harry Potter movie. We were constantly busy with drivers changes, fueling, lap timing, pictures, etc. I don’t think anyone was relaxed. The experience was draining on everyone who helped out. And our first race was not without some speed bumps.

Thursday

Thursday night, we finished packing up all the tools, equipment and car. Fuggi came by and added some stickers. It is amazing how much stickers can change the look of the car!! HUGE thanks to Fuggi for making them and coming down to help get them on the car!

Friday

Friday morning, the day before the race, I woke up early and began finalizing all of the packing. There really wasn’t much left to do since most of the hard work had been done the night before. Lauren and I got out of the house around 7:40am, and made our journey to the track. My parents had left earlier to secure the perfect spot. Later we found out that arriving so damn early was completely unnecessary. It would seem that most Chumps don’t plan that far ahead. Things started to get exciting when the rest of the team and drivers arrived around 2:30pm. Brian suggested that we spring for a garage space, which I wasn’t really concerned about at the time. But all the other teams were in the garage spaces talking and working on their cars, and I wanted us all to be a part of that, so we went ahead and got a space. And it was about this time that I started to get really nervous. The fear of tech inspection had kept me awake many nights. I did NOT want to fail tech. For me, the single biggest disappointment would have been to spend 10 months, and several thousand dollars on this car, only to be told that I had made a serious error, and we could not race. I was strung tight as a piano wire, and didn’t really relax until the entire registration process was complete. I could tell most of the team was giving me a little extra space. But I really did relax a lot after registration was over. It helped that the event organizers gave teams an opportunity to drive the track for 30 mins before it was closed for the evening. The team elected to let me drive, and I went out, smiling with my stomach in my throat. It was great to get the car out on the track and feel things out. I took just a few laps then came in, wanting to save the car and tires for when it mattered. Afterwards we attended the first-time driver’s school, then walked the course and talked about the racing line we thought would be best. It was cold and raining, but everyone was still smiling and laughing. With our awesome, well lit garage space and many other teams working on their cars, we all spent quite a bit of time tinkering with the car, and making last minute changes. Looking back on it, the midnight trip that Steele, Travis, Fuggi and I took to Wal-Mart for a dryer heater vent, had nothing to do with the car and everything to do with our need to keep busy. We didnt get the vent, but that trip did wear us out, and shortly after, we went our separate ways to get some sleep. And for the first time in a long time, I slept good.

Saturday and Sunday. The Race.

Saturday morning was exciting and nerve-racking. Now all my hard work on the car would be put to the test. Could I build a reliable “$500″ car? The team all worked hard to transfer fuel, the air compressor, tires, EZ-Ups, coolers, chairs and tools to our pit area. It was a great feeling to actually be setting up a pit area. I was nominated to be the first driver out on the track (thanks guys) and got lined up in the pits to begin the parade lap and transponder testing. It took everything I had to stay calm and collected. I was SO excited and nervous and anxious. So many emotions! Luckily, once the green flag dropped, I forgot about everything but the drive. I focused on every turn, braking point, and car that wanted to pass. Yes, everyone passed me. I really didn’t care though, I wanted to finish more than I wanted to be fast. My Dad was next in the car, and I could sense his emotions as I helped strap him in. He had invested many hours of labor into the car as well, and I knew how important this moment was for him too. And of course, he did great! It was so rewarding to watch him drive the car around the track, and to get to SEE the car in action. My brother, Travis was up next, and was equally entertaining to watch. Then Fuggi was up, followed by Steele and Brian. Each person came out of the car with a huge grin on their face, full of energy and excitement. It was finally happening, we were all getting to live our dream to become real race car drivers. Sure we were racing in $500 cars, but the competitive spirit was not at all diluted. Many teams were out there with hopes to win, and some were driving beyond the limits of their car, striving to gain important laps. Being immersed in that environment, it doesn’t matter if you are in a $500 car or a $500,000 car, it is still the real deal.

Things went great for quite a while, but at 9:15pm, Fuggi reported bad news over the radio. He couldn’t shift, and the clutch pedal was completely floppy. Strangely, I didn’t panic or get mad. This was part of the race, and I was going to fix it. As our team pushed the car into the garage, my mind was reeling with all of the possible issues, trying to find solutions. When I lifted the hood and checked the clutch fork, it was completely loose, and not making any contact with the clutch. My instinct told me the throw-out bearing had come loose somehow, or that the clutch fork was bent. Both would be simple fixes. We got the car lifted on jack stands, and Brian tried a few more things to try and isolate the problem, but it didn’t take us long for us to determine that there was no easy fix. We knew the transmission had to come out. Once the decision was made, we had the transmission completely out and on the floor in 30 minutes. And then my heart sank. I inpsected the clutch pack and found bits of clutch material jammed in the pressure plate springs and bell housing. I removed the pressure plate and watched as almost the entire friction surface fell onto the floor. I didn’t bring a spare clutch. This one was brand new when I installed it at the beginning of this project. This was NOT something I planned on. I got out from underneath the car and walked out of the garage to think. Then I broke down. I had maintained my composure for long enough, and the reality hit me that we would likely not get to finish the race, and I had let everyone down.

Luckily I was the only one that felt that way, the rest of my team immediately started searching for replacements, or contacting friends that might have a spare clutch. It hit me that Rob, whom I borrowed the trailer from, had constantly been telling me, “if you ever need spare parts, let me know, I probably have it.” So, I put him to the test. I called at 10:45pm and asked if he happened to have a spare clutch. And he did. He needed to remove it from his spare motor, but he had it. And because it was from a EJ25 motor, and I had an EJ18, he had to bring the flywheel, clutch plate, and pressure plate. When he arrived, the team went back into high gear to reinstall the replacement parts, get the transmission back in the car, and continue racing. It was not as easy to get back in, but by 1:30am, we were back on the track and racing!!

Now I hadn’t mentioned how well we were doing, because it hadn’t really mattered to any of us, until after the clutch issue. Before we lost the clutch, we had climed to 9th place. Some other teams had come in for repairs, and others had retired completely. With the clutch done, and our car back on the track, we had only dropped to 14th place. Everyone drove hard through the night and into morning, trying to make up lost time without risking a crash. And speaking of crashing, let me tell you how scary it is to drive on a track at night with NO track lights. We had the factory headlights, and two Hella driving lights. This was NOT enough light. We had dubbed one turn “the 90″ because it was a tight, decreasing radius left-hander, right after a straight away where we were regularly hitting 90 mph. The car’s brakes worked really well, allowing you to brake very late before turning in. It was easy enough in the day time, when the edges of the road and braking point were clearly visible. But at night, with decidedly pathetic headlights, that same turn was like a black hole. Nothing was the same, and suddenly 90 mph seemed way too fast. It scared the crap out of me, but at the same time, I loved it. I knew that nothing was really different about the turn, and I found that if I trusted myself and the car, I could still stay on the throttle really late, and brake at the outside edge of turn, far deeper than should have been possible. I loved it. That type of exhilaration is what I live for. What I didn’t like was hearing other cars around me on the track, and not knowing how far away they really were. It took a lot of effort to stay calm, stay on my line, and trust that they wouldn’t hit me. Still, there were several times I braced for an impact, but it never came. We all survived the night. I did manage to lay down for a while, sometime during dawn. When I got out of the trailer, I watched for our car, and got butterflies when I saw it still pulling strong around the track. I had really done it, I had built a car that could be competitive in a 24 hour race.

We managed to gain a place and move to 13th by the final hour, and my final stint. All of the drivers had been immensely respectful in driving the car with a good safety margin so that we could finish the race. When I strapped in for the last time, I was ready to take it easy. That is until Lauren gave me an update over the radio. The car ahead of us in 12th place was 47 laps ahead, and had just gone into the garage for repairs. I smiled. I took a deep breath, and drove the ever living shit out of that poor car. I red-lined in every gear, braked late and hard, ignored the screaming tires and turned in as fast as possible. On the oval section, I stretched the turn as wide as I could, coming within inches of the outside wall on every lap. The car, took it all in, communicated with me, and never let me down. I really connected with the car during that final hour. I could feel when I was on the limits of traction, and when the back end slid around the turns, it wasn’t a suprise. Small movements of the steering wheel and pedals always brought the car back in line. Damn I love Subarus! With 15 minutes left, I started to back off. The car had done fine up until then, I had my fun, and it was time to chill. I knew I had taken 12th, and that was good enough. But then, Lauren had more news on the radio. The car in 11th, was 11 laps ahead, and was in the garage. I did the math, and realized I could get 11 laps in 15 minutes if I drove hard. Poor car. Again, I drove the car as hard as I could, and harder. No matter what, the Suby stayed composed and took the punishment. I drove that way all the way to the checkered flag, and finished my first ChumpCar race. Me and the rest of my team had all worked very hard together, and accomplished what we set out to do. I couldn’t have been more happy. Or more tired! Holy shit I was tired! As icing on the cake, during the awards ceremony, our team was given a trophy for “Excellence in Mechanics.”  This was given to us because of our quick clutch change, and I won’t lie, we deserved it!

The entire experience was incredible for all of us. Our team went out there with a great attitude, and many other teams saw that. It was really great to have so many people come up and acknowledge how great our team was, before, during, and after the race. The ChumpCar community is definitely a good one, and I can’t wait for the next race!! Oh, and I did get more than 11 laps in that last 15 minutes, but the 11th place team was able to limp back out on to the track and get 3 more laps. Just enough to hang on to 11th place. Good race guys!

And of course, there are some very important thank-yous that need to happen. First and foremost, my wife. She didn’t just stay awake for the entire race, provide radio communication with the rest of the team, and support all of the drivers during their stints. She also supported me from the beginning, foregoing lots of weekend plans so that I could work on my crazy car hobby, and distant dream of racing. My parents also worked very hard before and during the race. My Father spent many of those long weekends in the garage with me, and my Mom had to give up her husband quite often. She also fed everyone during the race, and I have received a lot of compliments on how good her cooking was. Everyone truly appreciated her hard work. Speaking of hard work, Alliene, Whitney, and Erin all worked very hard to make sure that the drivers always had what they needed. And then the drivers! Travis, my brother, put in a lot of hard work on the car as well, and did a GREAT job driving. I could see him getting faster every lap. Co-workers Brian, Steele and Fuggi, respected my request to drive easy, and made sure that we finished the race. They supported me, worked on the car with me, helped swap the clutch, listened to all of my rambling fears, and kept a good attitude through all of it. They are a good group of guys, and I am proud to have them on the team. And last but not least, Rob Umbaugh, who lent me his car hauler, and drove out to the track late at night, with blood on his arm, and the complete clutch in his trunk. Thanks man!!

So yea, we are doing it again. September to be exact. I have a few plans for the car prior to the race, so stay tuned!!!

]]> http://rallyimprezive.com/?feed=rss2&p=767 0 http://rallyimprezive.com/?p=745 http://rallyimprezive.com/?p=745#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:22:12 +0000 Andy http://rallyimprezive.com/?p=745 3 Days, 19 Hours, and 50 mintutes. That is how much time left until the green flag flies. The team is going through a lot of emotions for sure. Mostly excitement, some nervousness, and a little stress. But really, we have done everything we can, and we are ready to race.

This last weekend, all team members came by for the final team meeting at my house. We worked on the car, packed, and had a few good laughs. However, while driving the car, I started to hear a NEW noise. After getting a second opinion from Brian, we agreed that it was the front left CV joint. Luckily our local auto part store had replacements, so we went ahead and swapped out both the left and right axles. I am proud to say that it only took 45 mins, start to finish. I am definitely getting good at this car stuff! We also swapped out the stock brake pads with Hawk HPS, and replaced the front rotors with some slotted units from ATE. The slots help remove hot gas from the brake pad area, and help keep the pad from glazing under extreme temps.

Once the car was all set, we found an undeveloped area of neighborhood streets and everyone got an opportunity to get behind the wheel and drive the car close to its limits. It was extremely rewarding to watch all my friends and family get behind the wheel, go for a spin, and come back grinning ear to ear. After so many hours of work on the car, their expressions of enjoyment were really rewarding.

And now, only 3 days, 19 hours, and 38 minutes left.