08/01/10

                                   Our Weekly Exploits

   Well didn't do to well again this week.  Weather was looking promising and almost equaled what we did on the first run with
the new engine.  Not giving up yet.....  Over the week, re-torqued the heads, reset the valve lash, and vented the engine to the
oil tank to solve some of the oil leaks.  The first run was right before 6pm so it was still hot, but getting better.  Second run, the
temps had dropped a bit more and it picked up the performance a good bit.  Have had better sixty foot times, but I have a hunch
we are carrying the front wheels over the 60ft timers.  Seeing some very high g-force numbers which tells us its launching harder.
First red light I knew would be close to red, trying to get a perfect light for a bye into round two.  Back for first round in the same
lane and it was getting dark, so added 22 numbers to the box to slow down the reaction time.  Wasn't good enough as we were
red by just 2 thousandths of a second.  Also didn't run the dial number - looked like the carbs bogged again.  Might have had a win
if it wasn't red.

   The last several weeks haven't been all that productive.  Had major oil loss last week and couldn't run for eliminations.  Went home
and fixed it in time to run the next day at Capital.  They were running only an 1/8 mile, but we needed to prove the oil leak had
been solved.  Went out in the first round there with a red light after rolling the beams.  This week the trouble at US13 continued. 
Made a so-so run for the first time trial and then lost a collector on the header at the starting line while on the chip, kicked it
under the right wheel, made a hard right toward the Christmas tree, bent it up, and almost hit my crew when it shot out the
back end.  Somehow the tabs holding it on fractured in two.  First time I've seen that happen.  Fixed it on with two screws and
went on to the first round.  Thought we had a good idea what the car would run, since the computer predicted within a
thousandth of a second what the car would run in time trials.  The left lane proved once again its not consistent.  Lost traction
throughout the first 400ft.  Couldn't run the number; not even close with a  solid 0.007 to 0.021 reaction hole shot.   

   Well better luck this week at US13 with the new motor.  Tried several different things to unleash some more of the power that
is there.  So far, no issues with the launch - it pulls the front wheels out to almost beyond the 60ft timers and goes straight.  It
should continue to improve as things get worked into the groove.  In good weather, it should dip into the 7.40s; maybe with
better traction before the fall.  The sixty foot times were a big improvement, fastest its gone.  Round one was paired with one
of my FB friends who runs a dragster.  Things were cooling off so 7.70 wasn't a big guess.  Cut a good light and picked up a win.
Round two was against another dragster; friends once again.  He had bragged a little about his first round win; having a .018
package.  So I was up to making sure he didn't get an easy shot for round two.  I knew the light was close when it launched but
wasn't able to catch him at the top end.  Turns out we lost a little traction out to the 330ft mark and found out on Saturday when
taking things apart that one of the valves were totally loose; something I messed with before qualifying.  So we were running
with one cylinder down.  Well, next week is another opportunity.

  The new engine is in the altered so time to go racing.  Friday night at Delmar had bugs in the car, not the engine.  Launching for
qualifying, the magnetic pickup lost its connection to the ignition and shut us off right on the starting line.  For round 1, the fuel
pump blew a fuse and killed the car on the burnout.  Things went better on Saturday in Hagerstown.  The program started late,
so by the time we were running, it was already late in the afternoon.  Made several passes in qualifying and thought the right lane
worked better.  Videoed the qualifying run, so hope to have it posted shortly (next weekend).  Round 1 the carbs bogged when
the brake released, so the run was a loss.  Packed up and cleaned up for day 2.  Sunday was much hotter, pushing into upper 90s.
Heat hurt the performance.  Qualifying was over 170mph and was the best run.  Had two easy rounds before we ran a competitive
pass.  It was tight and I didn't think I would get past him, but winner's light in the right lane for me.  Quarters was also against a
dragster and almost a heads up race.  We went into the left lane knowing we would lose almost 2 hundredths compared to right
lane and the tranny was running hot, so probably another hundredth there.  We should have gone on instinct and put 7.86 on the
car, but choose to go with the weather prediction software minus 3 hundredths instead.  It was the best side-by-side race of the
day.  We were wheel to wheel the whole way down the track.  I couldn't tell who was ahead at the line and didn't see the
winner's light on either side.  Went back to the lanes only to find out I lost.  Not bad for a weekend on the road.     

   The weekend ended quickly this Friday night.  Had a fairly consistent dragster most of the evening, but didn't go far.  The wrong
night for things to go wrong when we were earning double points.  Drop several places after it was all over.  Played with the
delay a little knowing I would probably go red in qualifying, but might have found an answer to last weeks lights.  We had a
dragster in round one, so I knew I needed to cut it close.  The altitude had dropped from qualifying and was bottoming out like
last week.  Computer said it would run a high 8.03 so that's what we went with instead of be a number or two conservative for
first round.  Burned and staged very normal, but when the transbrake released, broke the coupler between the transmission and
the rearend.  Car had already launched so our RT was good, but there we sat just before 60ft in a pool of transmission fluid.  Try
again next week. 

   Now we are getting into the summer racing on Friday nights.  The evening slide in temps usually plays with the performance a
little but is usually pitted against the increase in humidity which levels it out.  Friday night was a difficult adjustment to make with
change in lighting under darkening skies.  Looking at the reaction times, they compare poorly with last weeks set.  Worked all
week practicing, but that didn't much matter.  If we had better reaction times, the dragster was very consistent.  Could have put
an .03 all it all night long and wouldn't have broke out.  Anyway, the engine did seem to bog a bit more than it has in the past. 
First time trial was poor because the engine stalled and had to run a single.  Qualifying run should have been close to a -.001
based on what I had in the box for delay.  Best reaction time all night, but wasn't very competitive.  Round one we ran the same
person from round two last week.  He made sure he didn't come up red this week.  We certainly wasn't were not in the game with
a .043 light, but were closing hard on him and I guess he kept on the gas when he knew there was a 40mph closing speed.  It was
only luck that helped us.  The video is posted on Facebook.  Several pairs behind us, there was a bad accident where one of our
regular Super drivers hit the wall at the top end and split his dragster in two pieces and bump his opponent in the process.  Both
drivers were OK, but the mess put us several hours behind.  For round 2, took several numbers out of the box even with darkness
on us by then.  I guess all the waiting played on the mind.  The race was lost on the starting line.  I am sure he cut his speed
before the finish line - I was no where near close. 

    Well all the hype for Bad 8 was just that, hype.  The fastest open-wheels were still in the 7's and under 190mph.  If we had the
new engine, we would have made Bad 8 - the bump was 7.6x somewhere.  The program was rushed from the threat of rain.  So
they cut the time trial and we had only one qualifying shot.  The heat and humidity were unbearable - 90+ with near 60% humidity.
My time shot with the tardy light was cause by the sweat dripping in my eyes.  Took steps to fix that in later rounds.  First round
was against someone only a few points ahead of me in the standings, so it was do or die.  He was chasing, but I could see him
almost the whole run.  As we were coming to the speed cones, he wasn't that close.  I lifted a little to close it up a little closer.
Win light on my side.  The computer said we might have run in the low 8.13s.  Round two the altitude had climbed a little further.
we figured the 8.12 was safe.  Last weeks winner was my opponent and we were chasing.  While I was waiting on the second
yellow, I saw the red light come on the other side.  Ran it out the back to see what it could run and was well under dial.  Well
third round we had a visiting racer.  The weather was changing bad.  Winds were picking up, sun was behind the clouds, and it was
cooling  quick.  It was a matter of guessing how far altitude would drop while we waited in the lanes to run.  Already had 8.1 on
the car in shoe polish and wanted badly to erase the 1 and put 8.09 on the car, but the other car kept his number so I did as well.
It was the closest race I've been in in quite so time.  I thought I kept the front wheels in front of his, but the time slip said he was
ahead by 0.0026 (5 inches) but we both broke out - he was out 0.0016 less than I was.  If I had thought he was getting by me, I
would have dumped and hit the brake; just too close to call at 165-170mph.  Should move up several spots in points.

Wow, summer is coming on fast - we were racing in 90 degree heat Sunday afternoon.  Only one more week of racing on Sundays
and we switch to Friday evening.  Welcome relief if you can understand how the humidity affects the car's performance.  Made
several rookie mistakes but when it was all done, we won one and lost one.  Breaking even helped in the point standing as we
gained two spots this week.  Still not great, but also not running a car I am familiar with.  First time shot, there were issues with
engine stumbling when going to the floor with the accelerator.  Can see the 60' was way off.  Lined it up again for the second
shot, and it worked better.   Had a little creep after I set the brake which caused a red light start.  First round was hot as all get
out.  Made a change to the shock settings to see if something could be better.  The car in the other lane was much slower, so I
made the decision to "hit the tree" twice while he had a head start.  Had a good first hit and waiting for the second, I saw his
red light and flinched.  It caused me to release too soon as well, but he had already lost.  Ran it out the back end and it picked up
a over three hundredths over what was predicted.  The change in shock settings made a big improvement in 60' which made the
run a lot quicker.  Went back out for round two with new predictions, but made a mistake on the line.  Did not get the accelerator
to the floor before the car launched.  Made the run slower and reaction time look very poor.  Back again next week with the
dragster yet again.

  Back on the track on Sunday for another go with the dragster.  The weather certainly changed from the previous week.  Rain
threatened several times and the altitude went from 1500 to over 2000 ft in DA.  Most racers were seeing a decrease in time by
almost a tenth of a second where we didn't see that on the first run anyway.  Added a couple of controls to the package so the
launch RPM is limited until the transbrake releases.  This is why the first run pick up two hundreds over last week.  Not sure why
the following runs dropped off so much because the car should have launched softer and held traction - the 60ft times show the
3-step was doing its job and keeping the car calmed down.   The first time run was pretty good; dragster launched, picked the
front wheels up about a foot and settled them back down out before the 60ft timers.  That didn't happen much on the final two
runs - a video shot of the first round shows a little lift, but not noticeable from where I was comfortably sitting.  We figured
pulling the wheels caused some of the red light first run.  Second run, worst red - so all that time was added to the delay.  Run
sucked, so switched back to left lane for round one.  Going into the lanes, the sun was totally behind the clouds, so added a few
more numbers to the box for no sun on the lights.  Still not good.  Lost on a red light two weeks in a row.  Back next week with
the dragster for another race at least.  Jesel was not tooled up for the new AFR heads and we wait for shaft rockers still.  Some
pictures posted on Facebook and photos here.

  Hey, another good day at the track on Sunday, but we weren't expecting to race at all.  The upgraded engine is being assembled
which requires the induction/oiling system from the old one, so there is no engine in the altered as it sits in the garage.  Thanks to
Bill Cannon of Awesome Engines for lending me his dragster (which by the way is for sale for $13K turnkey, pictures this week). 
There was a suspicion that I might be required to "license" in the different car being that its a long wheel-base dragster.  Makes no
sense because the short wheel-base altered is more of a handful to drive than a dragster, but that's the rules.  On the track early
to make a "mild" pass before normal qualifying; cut the throttle just past the 1/8 mile at 136mph-one of two 136mph passes to 1/8
all day. The dragster is powered by a big block Chevy and makes good consistent horsepower.  Its older and doesn't have all the
bells and whistles my altered has; has a delay box and transbrake, but other than that, its footbrake.  Creates issues because now I
have to time when I put it to the floor - I have a greater appreciation for what Dave Tucker can do because this is his how he
learned and still drives.  The variation in 60fts reflect that learning curve and tire pressure adjustments.  They consistently
improved, however.  Better 60ft also meant changing needs for the delay box.  As we got better, the tire gripped quicker (wasn't
ripping the hides off) causing the red lights the last two rounds.  Was happy with two consistent lights at .031 and thought we had
caught up.  Round two, the -.041 red light (yes, red) was a surprise.  We won because I left a second later than my opponent (the
one who we lost to April 18th by a few inches)  and the first one red is the automatic loser.  We trade wins and this was my turn
to win.  Added delay to the box for third round and had it just about right.  We knew my opponent has had some killer packages
this year, so I trimmed the excess out of the dial-in and did a great job of lining up and winking the last staged bulb. It was 0.002
to soon when it left, so we lost automatically.  It would have been a dead even race if we had managed to get it on the green
side by just another thousandth.  The ticket said I crossed the line .0037 seconds before he did, so if you back out the .002
seconds I left early and add another .001 green, I would have crossed .0007 of a second before he did.  Very tight and I believe
he ran it all out once he saw the win light on his side of the track.  If we would have won, there was a bye run on my side of the
ladder to the final.  He got nabbed on his next side-by-side run by last year's track champ.  Good race day considering it was the
first time in the car and the first time in a long wheelbase dragster.

   Missed a week of racing last week due to rain.  The weather certainly changed over the two weeks.  Altitudes over 2000ft in AA
compared to around 200ft previously.  Performance dropped off badly due to increased moisture, very low pressure, and
headwinds.  Lots of time lost waiting for track clean up several times, so started late.  First run down the track was sluggish - 60ft
bad - well off what was predicted.  Caused us to change a few things in setup before second run, but also confirmed nothing going
awry in the valve train that might kill power.  Second run was better out to 1/8 mile, but no further. Weather got worst, track got
hotter.  Saw tires slipping out to 330' just a little, so changed tire pressure a little.  For first round, the weather continued to get
worst, so best we thought would happen is that the change in tire pressure would get back what was lost to weather - put a 32 on
the car. By the time we ran, the winds that had been blowing were dying. Had a dragster for first round who was chasing. Cut a
very good light and ran straight. Got to the speed cone and didn't see him yet, so backed off the throttle. Just as I let up, I caught
sight of his front wheel and got back into the throttle. Should have stayed home - we both broke out. If I had coasted, probably
could have won by breaking out less.  

   Well our points results are not looking that good.  Its a long season, so there is time to make up lost ground.  Looking for causes
in 60ft time variations; nothing is real clear except that 60ft times don't necessarily effect quarter mile elapsed times.  The
weather was bright and cool, but winds once again played games.  Altitudes were less than 400ft all day, but not negative so there
is a definite performance improvement over last year where with negative 400ft, we ran slower than today.  Winds were crossing
or slightly from behind, so they didn't help much in MPH.  All the runs today were faster then the best time (8.051) we have had
this year.  The 60ft times still are all over the place even though we were running faster than ever, so more investigation is
necessary to determine something of value.  Once again, the day ended in a close race where we were just inches from winning.
This time we went to the third round before a little issue with a tire pressure gauge played a role.  Knew something was up when
the car hooked-up, picked the front end all the way up on the wheelie bar and banged around a bit.  It was a wild ride and almost
made it by my opponent; another racer whom I know well.  That's the way it goes.  We trade win lights all the time.

   Back into points racing; lots of competition.  The weather, while nice was killing the performance with a substantial headwind.
First round we were paired with one of my best friends at the track - Dave Tucker.  Usually I can get a small lead on the tree
against him, but he always leaves with a great reaction time.  Went to sleep at the starting line and there is no way to make up
that time.  Also didn't have the car revved up so it slower than normal.  Buy Back race (losers pay to run each other and winners
return to the second round) was against another last track champion.  Cut the light I should have had against Tucker and put
together a 27-thousands package.  It was close at the finish line - less than a foot separation - but, he ran too fast and lost there
too.  Tough break, but its every man for himself when lined up at the Christmas Tree.  Second round was a very close loss.  We
were thinking of dialing 8.08 which would have gotten us a win, but it looked like we lost traction in the first 330 feet and slowed.

  Well, first points race for the season.  Had a good day except for the first run where the car bogged when I went to the floor
with the throttle.  Its happened because I wasn't thinking.  Boggy race is for those who want to put the dial on the car right off
the trailer and see how well they have it guessimated.  Not sure what to make of the sixty foot times.  Went two rounds and that
felt good.

Well, its been since July last year since we went this far on race day.  Felt good to be one of the last six racers still on the track.
Very windy with a bad crosswind.  Cut us back to 1/8 mile after the first round.  Would have been in the final if I had just left the
number on the car from the previous round, but thought the wind had picked up and would slow us down.  Would have been in
the final because I had a bye on the semi-final round.  Oh well, it still felt good.

First time out on the this year.  Working out the bugs.  Lots of leaks and not really into racing.  Lost traction and turned right
with the front end in the air.  Had to lift or hit the wall.  Not worth tearing things up.

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   OK, back for more money.  It's a shame this win didn't come while there were points to earn.  Lots of festivities at the
track for the DELMARVA Power Sports event - the end of the Eastern Shore's Bike Week.  The weather certainly has changed,
back to cooler temperatures.  This weekend was meant to be a tune up for the NHRA North East Division Bracket Finals in two
weeks.  The converter has been fixed. It still isn't where it was suppose to be, but it is better.  Lots of rounds here.  Had a
quick breeze in round one that pushed both of us down the track.  I say this based on the rest of the runs.  Nothing else went
that far under the computer's prediction.  By round two the wind had died.  Round three worked to our favor with .032
package.  Quarter Finals were the critical round.  Lucky for us, my opponent had just as much trouble with the lights and
issues with the track that enabled me to let off the gas well in advance of the finish line.  Looking at the incremental times,
we had the fastest time to 1000ft that we have ever had (7.024 seconds).  Given the conditions and fast run, we could have
run a 8.48 second pass, which would have given us a loss.  We had to worry about the humidity making the track slick after
dark and at some point humidity in the air displaces oxygen dropping horsepower.  I think the Quarter Finals were the best
atmospheric conditions and we were dropping performance from there.  The Semi-Final round was against a familiar
opponent, same person we beat for our other win this year.  In the finals in May, we both were in the high teens for
reaction times.  This time, I took time out of the box to ensure I got a jump at the lights.  As it turned out, I didn't need the
.011 light or .016 package to take the win.  The Finals were more of the same fun.  I should have done better at the
reaction time, but we were running the number.