We are off to the races this weekend!

(Sorry for the poor spacing - the format won't change despite my best efforts)

This weekend is a double race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park just outside of Birmingham, Alabama (http://www.barbermotorsportpark.com/).

It will be my FIRST official race weekend. The last three outings have jaded me a bit toward the cynical side about my odds for completing a successful weekend. Daytona school, CMP track day and the dyno test and tune were all important learning events, but not ones that I look back on with great fondness. However, each have netted a key learning in the development of the car, so they were not complete losses - just really, really expensive.

So, I spent the past two weeks working on the cooling system and replacing the rocker assembly. The car is firing and running well, but there is still one issue on the table as it relates to the car's timing and its affect on the water temperature. We will address it at the track.

Dad flies in Thursday night and we leave early Friday morning. Qualifying and races on both Saturday and Sunday. Then the long drive back - hopefully adulation filled.

I'll bring the cramper over early this week to fill up the water tank, check the tire pressures and oil and start packing it up for the long weekend.

I am pretty excited. I have been studying a lot of track footage, so I know my way around. I have never turned a lap at Barber, so when you combine the car issues, first race jitters and foreign territory, it is making for a anxious event. Still, steaks with dad on Saturday night at the track will be fun. The weather looks good too.

Here is a lap in a radical - My car is not this fast ;). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwThod-UvgM

On the Dyno

Well, we took another baby step toward getting the car sorted out. Hap scheduled a dyno run for me at Top Dead Center Auto in Spartanburg, SC.

As you followed, we had a less than stellar test day at CMP in July, though we solved those issues that only the track can reveal - tire rub.

So this time, we decided to take the less costly and lower involved dyno route to finish out the tuning process. So, Kevin Hart and I met Hap this morning for the runs. It was another mixed bag.

We got the timing dialed in and the fuel to air mix is good. But the computer never captured any data from the runs, so no hp numbers, no torque numbers, etc. But we discovered that there was a hidden issue with the rocker arm assembly that first revealed itself in Daytona.

So, there is some work to do. We also saw some dangerously high water temps with no real explaination as to why. I have some work and investigation to do.

Here are two links to short videos of the runs.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=40912549 http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=40916394

And two pictures of the car on the rack and out front of TDC Auto.