First Race Of The Year

Finally the stars aligned and I got to race.

Qualifying went better than last week. I did miss my first lap's time though so I am not sure if I did better or worse than my second. Still it was nothing stellar. Either way I was in the back as usual. I just can't get this thing to go fast for a lap or two. I will tell you though I don't think my car is bad though when it comes to the feature. I always feel faster and right on the guy in front of me at the end of the night.

I started throwing the kitchen sink at this thing. It seemed after the heat race it handled better with less fuel in the back end. So I moved the 60 lbs of weight at the very back and put it up near the LF. Better but still a little loose as I go up the track more. I could gain on them by riding the very bottom of the track. I suspect I have too much stagger in the car. I plan to attack that this weekend.

I did OK considering this was opening night for me. 12 out 17. If I get over the qualifying hump I think we can have some top 5's. This is an extremely hard track to pass at. Track position is everything.

We did have 1 mechanical failure that I discovered this week. The cam button seized up. It is an adjustable type that attaches to the timing cover. Apparently the locking screw came lose and the spinning of the cam slowly backed the button back into the cam. Eventually the bearing in it seized and locked up. I got another one from http://www.summitracing.com/ for $40. I also found the sway bar disconnected (D'oh!!!) I never set it for the weekend.

Changes coming: RF shock from 7600 to 7500. Retarded the cam a degree or two. Bump the ignition timing up from 36 to 38. Reduce rear stagger.

So I look forward to this Saturday. Forecast for Saturday: Rain! Go figure.