WEEKEND REFLECTIONS: RACING

It was the Washington State Championship Race at Evergreen Speedway on the 5/8's mile. We had a decent finish of 5th, but a hectic weekend of surprises.

Thursday Night.
The first surprise was Thursday night. I got a call about 7:30 from the guys at the shop (I was in a meeting at church). They told me there was a problem with the engine, a bit of water was found in cylinders 3 and 5. That's not good.

Friday.
I headed to the shop at about 11 AM after getting up early to message prep for Sunday. I pulled the engine out and started to put the back up engine in, practice was at 5:30pm. Throughout the afternoon a few of the guys were showing up as they got off work, so we were clicking along making the change. The worse part was I hadn't hung the fenders and nose from the week previous, so when we finished the engine about 4 pm we had to do a lot of body work, and then set up the car.

We got to practice late, but I still got in two sessions. Weird thing was the car was not very good; in fact, it was unstable. The guys were making adjustments to the chassis and it was getting better, but I felt like there was something wrong, so when we got it back to the shop I went to work on checking and rechecking everything. What did I find? To my surprise and apprehension I needed to move the rear end to the left 13/16's of an inch. That's huge. I so struggled with making the adjustment I checked and rechecked my measurements 30 times; finally, at 2 AM Saturday morning I made the adjustment and went home 30 minutes later.

Saturday.
I met the guys at the shop at 9:30 after a short night's sleep. I went over the changes I made with Steve--the chassis genius--and he concurred I did the right things. We loaded up and headed to the track.

We got to the track and discovered the track width on the car was just under an inch narrow. All of a sudden we understood why the rear end had to be moved to the left. It was because the front end was too narrow! I couldn't figure out why. We had made some component changes to fix damage in the right front, but put everything in with the same measurements and parts. We still don't know why, but giving up and inch of track width is too much. We put in some wheel spacers to widen it out.

Practice.
The car was OK in practice. It was not very fast because it wasn't very predictable. I was struggling to give feedback because one lap it was loose and another it was tight. We changed tires around, that would help, but eventually I was confused. Steve settled me down, told me to stop thinking so much and just drive. That was good advice.

Qualifying.
We qualified 5th. I left some on the table in turn one as I missed my entry and slid up the track, but 5th was good, 23.6. The funny thing was is someone told Steve we ran a 23.9. When I pulled the window net down I asked Steve how we did. He said, "We stunk-- or sucked-- or something like that." I found out moments later we ran a 23.6, big difference. We no longer stunk; Steve smiled a bit more after that.

Race.
I started 3rd row inside. At first the car was junk. It pushed up the track, and I fell to 10th. I needed to settle in. The car started getting better, but was tight off, that's bad, and slow. There was an early caution. Steve came on the radio and told me that there were 8 or 9 cars a lap down between my group and the leaders. I asked, "What row will we restart in?" Steve told me it would be the last row and a few cars would be behind me. I asked, "Is there a quick adjustment we can make for tight off the corner." There was. Steve told the guys what to do, and I made a pit stop under yellow, giving up track position, although not much. I caught the field on the backstretch before the green flag and was racing again. The car was better at that point. I started passing a lot of cars. In fact, I passed every car except 4. It was a blast. The car drove good, but got tight at the end, so I was settled in for a 5th place run.

Conclusions.

• It was a great weekend to learn.
• I learned how to get the thing turned earlier in traffic and increase momentum on turn exit. I made a ton of passes with that move.
• I learned to drive in about five or six car lengths deeper. WOW! I didn't know I could hold the throttle on so long.
• Our team learned, when there is something wrong with the engine change it and put the back up in.
• We also learned, not every part made by the same manufacturer is the same; thus, our car being set up narrow.
• I learned, staying up until 3 am on race night takes the edge off of my driving style. I seriously believe I wasn't driving the car as hard as I needed to until the race started.
• I learned, about lap 57, how to drive it in a lot deeper into the corner. I will use that this week.
• I am still, 4th in points at present, satisfied but craving.
• Congrats to Naima for winning the state title. He deserves it. His team has been really strong this year.
• NO matter where I finish, how much work it takes, or what the outcome this is a bunch of fun!
• After the race some really kind words were shared with me from a respected somebody at the track.
• A good friend, on Monday night, told me he is going to pitch my pastor/race car driver story in some national circles. Could be interesting.
• I still know there are a few people who will find the true meaning of salvation before this season is over.