After a much too long winter break it was finally time to get back to racing. Over the winter we re-did a few things on the car. Fauset Racing Engines did a freshen on the motor, Brandon's Transmission came aboard as a Parts Sponsor and rebuilt the transmission. We also rebuilt an old torque converter, and completely re-wired the car and moved some things around.
The west Coast How Rod Association added on an electronics class for 2010 and since I am unable to defend my Auto Club Dragway in Fontana Summit Series Championship, I have decided to chase points in this series. We got to the track on Friday and tried to make the TNT that night. Everything was going great, until I tried to make the run. I did the burnout, come to a stop then.....the motor shut off and would not restart. I was pushed off the track leaking dollars (aka fuel) very badly. During the push back my wonderful wife walked out of her shoes (at least she made everyone -including the starter- laugh).
Turns out there was a very small (think pinkie nail clipping) piece of trash stuck in the needle and seat which cause a major fuel issue. We did not get it fired in time and did not get to make a run. So I paid $40 to make a burnout.
Saturday was a better day. WCHRA pays $50 for #1 qualifier, which was based on reaction time. I ended up with a .010 light. the car ran a best of 8.15 at 164 MPH, on that run. On the 2nd run, it spun the tires bad and only went an 8.22 at 163. We won't discuss the third run other than to say there was a major crew (thank you Wifey and Ric) malfunction.
Sunday morning I raced a good friend Mark Kirby and his Grape Ape duster. I was not sure what to dial based on the above inconsistent numbers, so I took an educated guess. in the race I was on time with a .014 to a .040, but the car did not run the number and I lost by .008.
The car slowed down on each run over the weekend, so we might have a problem somewhere. As it turns out, mark won the race which paid double points. So, I am in a hole, a big one.
Next race is April 10 & 11, and it's Auto Club Famoso Raceways 1st Summit Racing Series event. I am defending the championship of that series, so I am sure I will be targeted.
Until next time, light and pisssss.
