2013 Nationals Challenge

Idea submitted by Tom O'Gorman, our newest G-Fab member:

1. All interested participants place names in a hat at the Pro banquet
2. Each person draws a name
3. Monday is used to acquire an outfit for the person whose name you drew
1. Said outfit must be purchased within a budget (TBD)
2. Said outfit must be appropriate - nothing indecent
4. The outfit must be worn from arrival on site till departure off-site for the day, on the person's first non-competition day. 

DISCUSS.

A-Stock Adventures

I've been dabbling in AS. Yep, that's my name on that car. Guess which one is me.

Photo by Perry Aidelbaum

It's fantastic. I like Corvettes. Of course, I could probably do better if perhaps I learned that 350 hp is ok to have, and I learned how to trust the car (and myself).

My impromptu driving buddy, Tom, has seriously opened up a can of whoop-ass in this car. James could win L2 with his "shitty times" so it's really me who is holding down DFL, which has been christened GangBang. 

I managed a 7th place finish in L2 at the Jersey Pro (4th in class though, L3 bumped to L2), and it was like 40 degrees out, and windy, and damp, and sucky for weather. I think I'm getting the hang of it, so perhaps in DC I won't suck as much. I won't suck, but I'll be exhausted - I'm roadtripping with my sister-in-law to get her new MiniCooper in Kansas City, and we're driving through the night to get to DC in time for practice. 

Fingers crossed I remember how to drive it.

G-Fab Goes to Texas

G-Fab went to its first-ever Formula 1 race last month. We headed to Austin, TX for the inaugural race at the Circuit of the Americas, and it was one of the best vacations we could have taken together.

Peej, Pie, Justin, Dave, Rachel, Eric, and Tim

The first time I heard the cars, I giggled uncontrollably. The first time I heard them at full throttle on the straight, I was grinning so hard I couldn't even speak. It was one of the greatest noises ever - sexy, raw, and LOUD. Anyone who says only boys get turned on by the sound of a Formula 1 car is wrong. (I'm looking at YOU, certain Jalopnik contributor).

We sat at T11, which gave us a pretty good view of the run down the hill and the whole hairpin, into some of the DRS zone. After walking around, we think next year we'll try for somewhere around T9, but if I have my way (and my fantasies come true), I'll have paddock access :-D

www.fluxauto.com

The track is mid to lower speeds most of the time, so Fernando and Felipe barely stood a chance. The downforce issues have been terrible all year, so I wasn't hoping for too much. Though, it would have been nice, considering the CW wasn't there.

One of the super odd things was that there were 209561057205620852605 porta-potties, but only 30 food and merchandise vendors. We waited in line practically forever to do everything but pee. The food was decent, but expensive. Though after waiting in line for an hour, you'll eat nearly anything. Everything we wanted to buy sold out by qualifying, which was not really good foresight on their part, but also poor judgement on our part. I wanted a blue Ferrari hat, and a Force India shirt (this was my fault though, since they had SFI stuff - just not in my size), and PJ wanted a McLaren jacket and lanyard. And alas, they were sold out of everything. Note to self: Buy everything you want on day 1, during FP1. 

During FP 1, 2, and 3, we walked around and were able to get some really great shots of the cars. It was nice to have actual seats for qualifying and the race though, since there were over 270,000 people there in 3 days (and because yours truly is very short, which does not bode well for GA). We will definitely be getting grandstand seats again.

Lewis Hamilton

My other favorite driver, Nico Hülkenberg, who will be moving to Sauber next year. This is a good thing for me, since I cannot find a Force India women's shirt in my size. 

Oh hai, Fernando!

Each night, we went to the downtown FanFest area. There, we tried our hands at pitstops, simulators, and RC racing. The RC cars were kind of awkward, but PJ was able to win, so I think I need more practice.

They might need a little more practice before they are hired. 

Chair alone: $30,000

I was absolutely terrible at this. It was really fun though. I just need more practice. 

While downtown, we also ran into a few old friends. Janna lives in Austin, and Chris lives in Hawaii, so it was nice to be able to meet up with them and hang out. Janna got to do data entry in race control for the event, which is such a great thing. We miss them a lot, and I hope we get to visit them on their own turf too :)

Dave, Janna, Eric, Pie, Chris, Justin, Peej, Tim

Peej and I got up close and personal in the Ferrari garage. This was by far the highlight of the race (aside from Lewis being able to pass Sebastian and win - I might have cried if Seb had pole and won). I brushed up on my Spanish and got in touch with someone from Santander, and we had been corresponding all season. As part of their "Mas Mujeres en F1" initiative, I was able to get a pit pass, and he told PJ (in a Ferrari shirt) that it was his lucky day, and he was handed one as well.

Marussia Tires. People think autocrossers have a problem. They haven't seen anything yet. 

Busy inside the Ferrari garage. Just beyond the car is Fernando's chair - you can kind of see it under the wing. I want that chair for my living room.

Pit stop practice at Lotus.  Kimi Räikkönen nearly knocked us over trying to get into the paddock area on the other side of the garage, and then couldn't pull the doors open. It was kind of awesome. PS - he is really short.

McLaren, just next door to Ferrari. I did see the back of Jenson Button's head for a second.

One of the best days we've ever spent together. 

All in all, it was an amazing vacation filled with incredible memories. What started out as an impulsive and whiny want turned into an experience that only people who have gone to these races really understand. I can't wait to go back next year.

Still Needs a Name

Newman, you are slacking.

Newman Has Landed

Newman has been invited to contribute to this blog.

Hang on to your hats, folks.

Summer Camp Is Over :(

Another Nationals in the books. Cones were hit and avoided, cars were broken and fixed, friendships were made and questioned, and trophies were won and lost. It was another best 10 days of the year, and I'm sad to leave Nebraska.

The drive out was as uneventful as we could imagine. Grand Potato and the Fleet of Ships encountered Big Bear, King Kong, and an unfortunate bystander in the form of Chris Dressler, while stopping in Ohio. No one was left behind. We had only one tire puncture (on the truck), while we were pulling into a gas station, and the spare tire was not as dry rotted and terrible as we thought, so we were able to make it to Nebraska without further incident.

My first Pro Finale might as well have been called "How to move up in Session 2, and totally blow it in Session 3." I started in 8th, moved to 7th after the first session, and ended up in 6th by the end of Day 1. However, that's where the rest of the event went to hell, because I was back in 8th by the end of Session 3. Despite this, I was held for the challenge rounds (my first time!) and  even though I didn't get in, it was nice to see my name above that orange highlighter line.

I didn't feel like I drove as well as I could have, and that the push and general weird feeling from the car was just because of the surface. As it would turn out, the lower control arm bushings separated, which explains the massive push and why the car felt more difficult to control. It was fine at the last Devens event, and on the drive out, so I'm guessing the 24 runs on the grippy concrete knocked them out. Not that these are excuses, because G-Fab doesn't make excuses. G-Fab is awesome, or we suck, and for the Pro Finale, I chose the latter.

At least the banquet was fun. There were lots of boobs. I think we got in trouble for laughing so much (or so loudly). I love these girls. We make it like the girl's locker room, but better. Eat your heart out, gentlemen.

"Suck" for the Pro Finale is ok, as long as you pick "Awesome" for Nationals. Somehow, I managed to find the secret third option: awesomely sucking. When you only get three runs, you're allowed two fuck ups, and my first run fuck up was that Nate, James, and I did not check the shock settings when we reinstalled them. I came back from my first run, with tons of cones, and told PJ that I couldn't control the car - when I turned one way, the car was hopping, and turning the other way resulted in massive push. He, like the logical creature he is, checked and found that one side was set to full soft, and the other was set to full stiff. Note to self - check next time.

Run 2 was positively perfect.  Good lines, good speed, good acceleration and braking points. No really. It was about as perfect as I could have done it - aside from one tiiiiiiny error. I based a cone, and if the wind had been blowing the other way, it would have stayed up, but alas. The 0.4 second lead was eliminated by that silly cone. Mother eff.

Run 3 started ok, but halfway through, the car started to not do so well again. I tried to be more aggressive, but by the end of the run, I ended up with 4 cones and the car pushing like a mother in labor. At some point, the bushing popped out and that's what was causing the car to handle poorly. I suppose this is fuck up #2, but at that point, I didn't care. I was solidly in 5th, which is actually the same as I have finished at every Nationals. I suppose I should not be surprised.

During open class competition, the engine oil starved and you could hear the rod knock from 100 yards away. Yep, another blown Nissan engine. Sigh. Lots of drama ensued. I'll spare you, mostly because it makes me sick to my stomach to even think of it anymore.

I was able to get into another car - Kate Mewhiney from DC Region offered a codrive in her 2011 WRX, and at the eleventh hour I took her up on it - Thanks Kate (and Paul)! You guys are lifesavers, and you don't know how much I appreciate the offer, especially at such an important event.

Photo courtesy of Paul Przyborski

I have never driven a Subaru further than two miles to get beer. My first run was tentative but smooth, and despite (more) cones I was able to lay down a time that would have been fast enough to at least trophy. Unfortunately, I didn't drive around the ridiculous understeery push that is synonymous with Subaru, and managed to lose it just before the end of my third (and really awesome) run...and so I would stay in fifth. Hey, when you have a streak, you should probably not break it, right?

I was also overwhelmed by the amount of support from people I only see two or three times a year. They were concerned how I was going to get the Grand Potato, and myself, home, they were making sure I had a drive for Day 2, they gave me a sounding board, and some just gave me a hug (because I needed LOTS of them after everything that happened). Thank you very much to all my friends for being so wonderful. 

As it would turn out, Thursday and Friday would be the two best days of Nationals. I was able to watch all my friends run, got a surprise golf cart and broke every rule on the warning label, had a squirt gun fight, got drunk at noon, and got to play with Tony F-ing Savini's dog, Flame. Tom O'Gorman and I engineered the most awesome, ugliest windbreaker for the golf cart I've ever seen. And he hit cones in reverse. It was great.  I also may or may not be co-driving golf carts with these two next year:

Now I'm sitting with PJ's legs on my lap, and my laptop on a panda, reflecting on a really great week with some of the best people in the world. It's a good thing we've already decided that we're going to Spring Nationals, because I am not even halfway home yet, and I miss it already. 

Up, Up, and Away!

G-Fab's PotaTOW Edition rolls 5 + 1 deep, heading to summer camp!

Todd and Jojo (the +1) are in Grand Potato, which is getting fantastically better gas mileage than the mighty Armada, currently housing Nate, Dave, PJ, and yours truly. We are getting 8.3 mpg, and were just warned that Indiana gas prices are $0.40 more expensive than in Ohio, and I just paid $4.18/gal. Yay.

Somewhere behind us is the Big Bear and Queen Kong camp, followed by the Thursbymobile. Wiley will come in on Saturday, BreakingTheLau will follow on Monday, as will Stiff and Grant. I hear Newman and #35 are en route as well....eventually.

We're somewhere in Ohio, the sun is coming up, and I've gotten 3 hours of sleep. I love the road trip. Of course, all my "stuff to do while smushed against the door and having a head using my leg as a pillow prop" is in Grand Potato, but at least there's a pretty sunrise.

More later. I need to tell the "head in lap" person that my leg is falling asleep.

Back To The Future

Wow, it's already August. Obviously you don't care what we've been up to, nor do we care enough to tell you when it's happening.

Dave, PJ, and I did the arrive-and-drive thing for Spring Nats at the end of May. Yes, it was expensive. No, I did not win anything. Yes, I drove/spun a C5 Z06. Yes, I will absolutely be going to this event again next year.  I will say, however, arrive-and-drive makes me feel helpless, and like a girl. No more of this girly shit. 

Photo by Chang Ho Kim

Mobil 1's The Grid was there. They missed most of the good stuff though, like Tornado Party, Heat 3 at Lazlo's, FJA getting ready to gang up on Newman (SUCK IT, F125 finally beat you!), me trying to collapse a kart stand, Sam "just coming down here to tell me something," and all the new Facebook friends I made from that weekend. I watched the broadcast, and for some reason they decided to film a bunch of GP cars, and ignore SS, SM, SSM....obviously they missed the memo that slow sucks and fast is fun.

June saw my return to Panda, which at first went badly, then went awesomely. I used back-to-back Renegade Miata events to practice before I made a fool of myself in SSM at the mid-month Devens Tour. It was actually the best battle weekend of the season, with Brian Kuehl and I fighting for the top spot. In 7 runs, I hit 22 cones. On my only clean run, I managed to take the top spot in SSM by .1. The next day, I managed to hit fewer, and still win the class. Yay.

The Devens Tour also saw my debut in the timing trailer. I think I'll stick to being scanner. Due to all the superstar drivers, the top of SSM was rough. I was in the 4th and last trophy spot at the end of Day 1, and managed to move up to 3rd on Day 2, beating my codriver by a bit over a second (which no one expected, least of all me). I suppose we shouldn't count those results, since the Kuehls added a wing that takes up more of the allowable area than we have, and their bigger budget means they could purchase and install it. 

Photo by Ed Savage

I was unable to attend the Dover Evolution Super Shootout, so I can't comment on it. I was exceptionally sad, however. I did speak to some people on the phone, and they said blah blah AIRWOLF blah blah course is bad blah blah AIRWOLF. I think I missed something - apparently it's some show that debuted and ended before I was born. All these old people in autocross.

We just finished up the Toledo Pro, and it was a hot mess. Bad run/work order, bad schedule, bad courses (sorry Alex). There was some good, too, though. Good to see friends and hang out, good competition in L2 (6/8, again. I need to stop going so slow), and good that Newman finally manned up and found his big boy pants. He drove Panda in SSM. I think he had fun. Good new game too. Battle Pitchers. I will most likely lose this game, but I will put up a good fight.

Photo by James Newman

RAL is this weekend, and somehow we've managed to suck at fundraising. Too bad, PJ was going to shave his head if we got $2,000. Given only 26 people are going into this, it should be easy to solidify another GFab Jeff Gordon Challenge win. At least I hope so. 

Nationals is next...the Big Show....the whole Shebang...let's hope I don't completely choke this time. 

I beat Cox. Hard.

Followed by an ESP win at Fairfield County Sports Car Club.

Maybe GFab's slowest member is finally stepping it up.

Gah. That means I need to find someone slower than me to hold down the fort in DFL.....

2012 DC Not-Amateur Alone Event

Let me tell you something....

3 am comes VERY early. Especially after a massive, greasy burger and a few beers.

Despite all this, we went forth and hopped in the mighty Armada and began our trek to the nation's capital.Thankfully, the way down was more or less uneventful, and we arrived on site around 10 am. G-Fab's newest members, Big Bear and Tim, saved a stretch of paddock, and we set up camp.

Prior to practice, we decided if only one GFab Nissan could run, it would be mine. PJ and Dave set to taking the muffler off. It's a lot louder, sounds a lot better, and I get a lot more high while driving to work with the windows down.

G-Fab secret #825: The way to Big Bear's heart is through Chick-Fil-A. Or maybe through a giant trash bag.

Here's another tip: Ladies' class is not the fun little playground/easy walk in the park you boys think it is. It's highly competitive, highly stressful, and if you're in the wrong one, it will make you cry. Fortunately for yours truly, L2 (the former L1), while hyper-competitive, is very nice, and we had a good time in impound.

Day 1 went more or less ok for me in the newly christened GFabGrandPotato (so dubbed by James Newman), with $1525 worth of new shoes. It's been years since I've been on Hoosiers (and never been on fresh ones), and the two times I've raced this car it was below 50 degrees and the tires were corded. So I guess the only place I could go was up.

The AM was for feeling out the car, and the PM was to try to get a little faster. I pushed it in the second session: I had a great launch on one side, and then promptly redlit on the other for my first pair of runs in the afternoon, so after that my RT's and 60's were pretty pathetic. I finished Session 1 in 6th, and stayed there for Session 2.

On Day 2, things went better, aside from the car understeering and pushing terribly in one corner, which resulted me plowing through a cone wall. I sent the workers scrambling. Sorry Justin. I felt like each Day 2 run was successively slower, but PJ was making little hearts with his hands when I drove by, and beaming, so maybe I didn't suck as much as I felt? Especially after Todd came up to me and said "nice pickup." You know boys, it's not nice to be mean to girls.

Apparently they weren't being as mean as I thought, because I picked up a total of 0.85x.

A word to the wise: If there's a time that should be protested, do it then and there. Don't let it wait, because new pro-solo rules say you can't change anything after you're released from impound, even if the competitor herself wants it done. In impound after the first session, a fellow driver said one of her times was clearly wrong, but no one said anything to the impound workers. She did try to get it changed after impound on Sunday, because she didn't feel right about it, but alas. It was too late. Instead of removing the time, she had found a second cone on said run that was never called in, and they were supposed to add it before final results came out. Unfortunately, they didn't change it, and final results show me in 6th instead of 5th. It's my own fault - I'm the only person it affected, and it's just ONE measly Pro Solo point, but still. :( However, I really appreciate her trying, even if nothing came of it.

There was also wing pong, drinking, giant spitball launchers, and it was a lot of fun. Mancuso even brought his big boy pants.Those are 3 double shots of vodka. He even drank one to "see how it tasted raw." GFab has never been so proud of an affiliate before.

New England brought back a total of 12 or so trophies, with 6 being from GFab. Yay us! Next time maybe I'll get one too!

And So It Begins....

Somehow, blogging took a backseat in this offseason. My bad.

Our trip out to Nationals was a bit more than eventful - I'd try to explain it, but you'd have to be squished into a baby seat, have fumes blowing in your face, and be stuck facing a giant white screen for 30+ hours. I can't figure out how the guys made it to Lincoln in under 24 hours last time. Once we got there it was ok, but I'm pretty sure we might not have made it if we didn't make a pit stop in Ohio for a load leveling hitch. Note to self - if you're following an enclosed trailer, make sure you have a walkie talkie so you can tell them they're about to flip over.

Upon getting to the site (and Wiley drove most of the way, so thanks Wiley!), we were about 60th in line at 3am...wtf? After some much needed shuteye, we got in and managed to save a bunch of (yet somehow not enough) paddock spots, and ended up across from my WDCR friend, is somehow unable to ride a bike.  As I was not participating in the Pro Finale, I took the opportunity to say hello to our friends from far away.

I can't comment much on the Pro Finale - I didn't participate and ended up kicking myself. I was a one-eventer, and one is the loneliest number, so I sat cheering on the rest of the team. G-Fab's own Atlantic States Champion didn't fare so well either, but he can tell you about that.

We took Monday off of car stuffs so we could go and get married - yes, we took the plunge, and no, nothing is different. Aside from the fact that my name was changed at registration on Tuesday and it was broadcast that all over the SCCA Ustream.

I'm now fully convinced that a) you need to be 300 lbs+ to drive CP, and b) CP stands for Casualties Probable. I never want to run with CP or CPL again. I could stand running 5th heat again, but running with them is like just ASKING for a delay, an oiled down course, whatever. There was a huge delay on Day 1 when a CP car grenaded itself, so we sat in the shade trying to survive the hours before we were able to run again. 5th place after Day 1 wasn't too great - At least I was ahead of two people, but let's face it. Being that far off the leaders is no fun.

Day 2 was just as poor, with the Baby problems starting during second heat. The new water pump, with roughly 2000 miles on it, proved faulty and we were forced to take several mechanicals. While the impressed audience gathered around us ("I can't believe you got all those parts out, fixed it, and put it back together in 20 minutes!"), G-Fab and its affiliates pulled the best teamwork since Dover and Panda's wire-harness-eating. Unfortunately, we couldn't run with the water pump seal being blown, so Wiley missed out on his last runs, and Todd jumped into a nearby Corolla for his third run.

I had to work during third heat, so Big Bear and Tim Kong went to the local auto parts store and got a new water pump. PJ worked like the sweatshop Filipino that he is, and the car was back together and in grid, waiting for me, by 5th heat. All I can say is that I was very impressed, and super lucky. Luck ends there though, because there was another CP casualty, and another delay. When you're hot, sweaty, and tired, you don't drive well. I am a prime example. The standings from Day 1 didn't change, so I have a standing 5th place record with Nationals.

Our return home brought the Annual Team Challenge. There was some sneaking around, but I ended up driving a Honda CR-Z on Direzzas in FSP - imagine my surprise when I actually won, by a few seconds! Of course, because PJ is also sneaky, our teams tied for points but his team was overall higher in PAX standings, so I was jipped out of my first place trophy :( It was a good end to a good season.

Photo courtesy of Ed Savage.

We took the off-season to do some things like installing new fun parts on Panda, play around with Baby, get the G35 ready for DS, and buy a house and stuff. Yep, we're homeowners. We've had several small get-togethers since we've moved in, and it seems to handle company well. Now we just have to figure out where the turbo goes.

With LOTS of help, we got the G-Fab tire mounter/balancer in the basement, and experimented with Panda's old shoes on the 18x8" stock-size wheels for the G35. The experiment went well, and 315's on all four corners is just how we roll.



We decided that Baby just might need some rest after such an intense season, and with the G35 being reclassed into DS, it makes sense to at least try it. I'm hoping we can figure out a way to get more legal front camber, but if not, it will still be a really fun car to drive. We're in the process of upgrading the brakes (yay Porterfield). My birthday was earlier this month, and I got something every girl dreams of: A front swaybar.

 

The season has already started (where did the time go?!) with the first non-points event at Fairfield County Sports Car Club in Stratford, CT. Four spins, corded tires, and a new appreciation for warm weather later, I'm feeling more confident about driving a car with 120 more HP, two more cylinders, and about a square foot of more (and stickier) tire. I'm praying to the weather gods that April 7 will give me more of a feel of Hoosiers that actually stick - it's been years and it's not quite like riding a bike. After that is the DC Pro, where I'm going to embarrass myself again, but still have a great time. I'm actually super excited about the season, so I hope I don't suck. More to come....

2011 SCCA Solo Nationals Street Modified WORLD CHAMPIONS

That's right. We're kind of a big deal.

Armed with an Armada and an arm full of hopes and dreams, we set off on our journey to the 2011 TireRack SCCA Solo National Championship and Pro Finale with high hopes of hopping to the top of the Street Modified class. The last time we visited Lincoln, our Pro Finale finish wasn't so fantastic, and our final day on Friday of the National Championship was filled with F-bombs of F-modified failure on top of a freaking monsoon. Dave's single cone on his last run prevented the G-Fab team from fulfilling its goal of finally sitting at the top of the class as champions, but that was all last year, and last year was behind us. This year, we came packing. In fact, we were packing so much, we had to acquire a new enclosed trailer (thanks Ray!).

The trip out was pretty horrible. To really fill you in on how horrible it was, I'd have to strap you to a chair for 30 straight hours and shake you every time you were about to fall asleep. I'll spare you the details, but we made it to Lincoln alive.

(more to come. this is about as far as I get on break.)

STupid Late: MSNE, Engines, NE Divs, RAL.

This entry is stupid late...and stupid long.

PJ finally installed the Nistune board after getting the base image changed:

After some tuning, it is far better. At least he didn't ruin the ECU in the process!

He also swapped the Greddy EVO TT exhaust from Panda to the red car. It looks as though it fits the general location, with only a few minor modifications to the brackets and hangers.

We decided that Dave should try for the Triad Award...I mean, he accidentally won the Northern States Championship by winning the Toledo Tour, so why not try for the Triad? However, that meant he would have to drive SM at Divs....Panda + Divs = waste of time and money. That means Baby would inherit some 5-year old Hoosiers from the Sentra's former GS life.

Of course, Dave would need to test how Baby handles, and I needed to familiarize myself with the Toyo R1R's. GFab trooped down to the Dirty Jerz (again) for an MSNE event at the Meadowlands, the week before Divs.

Then, disaster struck.

MSNE Sunday: Meadowlands is great. Rod knock is not.


Quick tire review: Toyos have interesting grip compared to the Kooks. It's not instant -- It's kind of like "OMG WHERE IS IT? I AM GOING TO SLIDE....Ah, ok now it's sticking." The shorter sidewall means faster acceleration, and the light tune means more power, so overall it wasn't bad. The course was long enough (and laps were hot enough) to make it so the tires would overheat and drop off by 3/4 way through the run, which sort of sucked, but at least it was good indication of how to take care of the tires.

Despite the tire problems, the car felt great, probably due to the new front ball joints and bushings. Also probably due to the fact that we greased the crap out of the swaybar; it was binding as all the grease had squeezed out. We were considering dremmelling out a channel in the bushings, but it hasn't gotten that far yet.

Photo courtesy Perry Aidelbaum

Because of the setup (Dave + me in the same heat, and 8 runs each), I took all my runs at once, instead of switching tires between us, which would not have been possible. I might not have been pushing as hard, but the car felt good, despite the 95 degree weather and 100% humidity.

We pulled a pit stop with F1-enviable tire changing times (<7 minutes), considering we had one impact gun and one jack. Dave went out for two runs and the ancient Hoosiers were not so bad after the first run. They were actually pretty sticky. In the first two runs, Dave went fast enough to take top time in class. By Dave's third run, I heard something not so good from the grid (500' away?), and our friends working the course heard it too -- which is worse. After he pulled back into the spot, he stalled, and then tried to turn the engine over....which sounded like pain.

PJ was already sprinting in from his corner, having heard the noise while Dave was running. It was unmistakable. And unfortunate. AAA stranded us for 2.5 hours, and after getting a little feisty, the flatbed finally came and towed us home.

We pulled the engine Monday night. We were a bit low on oil, but not THAT low, so we have a few theories as to why it happened. Perhaps the sweepers were just too big? Perhaps the heat thinned the oil too much? Who knows. All we know is that the bearing was TOAST:

The other half of it seems to be fused to the connecting rod. The block looks like it is ok, but the crank is all scored. Sigh, oh well.

Also, a weird little round cap was rattling around in the oil pan:

Engines! We had purchased a freshened up block and head a while ago in preparation for this season. The motor was already bored 0.020" over (first overbore and legal limit for Stock class), new rods, pistons, bearings, oil pump, timing chain, and of course, all new seals. We put the bottom end together on Tuesday, overnighted more parts from Japan than should be legally possible, and decided Wednesday would be "Assemble the rest of the Engine" night.

I think we forgot how long it takes to rebuild an engine...

Wednesday started off with the bottom end mostly assembled, but PJ ended up loosening and re-tightening everything to spec. Since he didn't have a degree wrench handy, I ended up guessing the angle for the rods and head bolts, with all bolts at least to the alternate torque spec.

Taking time torquing things down - Check out the veins in PJ's arm!

Getting the new timing chain and front cover on were easy enough, since it's all relatively bolt-on:

Things slowed down after that, with all the old RTV to remove off of the PCV, upper chain cover, and removing the gaskets from the intake and other accessories. Removing the rear main seal from the old engine was a pain with it still on the stand, but it eventually came out and a new seal was tapped in. The finished product isn't as shiny up top, but oh well.

Divs Recap: I hit lots of cones, which put me solidly in 3rd place in STL. Without them I would have been ahead of 3rd by 0.7. I also had the worst DNF of my racing career. It's on video somewhere. Awesome.


We had exactly 3 miles of break in on the engine before my codriver, Solo Mom Kathy Barnes, took her first run. And you know, it wasn't half bad! We are admittedly the slower of the 5 drivers in the car for Divs, so it seemed ok...but the gentlemen were quite unhappy.

The car on Toyos requires a completely different suspension setup. The guys used day 1 to figure it out, and it was better. Though, my codriver (in ST) said that he felt he needed to drive the piss out of the tires, which shouldn't be happening.

Photo by Dan Boudria

By Day 2, it was much better. FYI, Toyos like to be run at stupid low pressures.

Good thing Toyo pays out to third place (stupid cones....), and Kathy ended up in 4th. The guys in open class were 2 and 3, so overall, we won $400 and learned some valuable lessons. With 55 miles of break-in by the end of the weekend, the engine felt pretty good. It's only been getting better since then, too, which is encouraging.

ST*L had a pretty good showing, too. 1 in STSL, and 5 in STL:


Even Nationals only has 6 in STL....

Despite the driving failures, it was a pretty fun weekend. Probably the only one where it's acceptable (and fun) to attend, and not drive:

Fast forward to the NER annual charity event, Racing Against Leukemia. G-Fab was able to raise over $1700, and I think as a program, Solo raised nearly $7000. We raised more than the other divisions, and though I don't have a total for the entire weekend, I'd say NER might be on the UMass Memorial Foundation's list of favorite organizations.

We returned to stock sways, since the 30/27 mm ones were binding like crazy. The car feels a little more controllable with them on, but I don't know if it's due to size or lack of grease. Or the fact that we were testing it on a 28 second course on a postage stamp of a lot.

We datalogged the Toyos vs the Hankooks, and there isn't much difference. Codriver #1 says he doesn't feel a difference, but the Toyos were run in the rain/drying, Hankooks were run in the dry and overheating. It's hard to say which is actually faster overall, but given the time constraints, financial constraints, and the supply/demand issue, the ST team will be purchasing a set of full-tread RS-3's for Nationals.

Personally, I prefer the Kooks (as does codriver #2). The response is instant, and when at temp, the grip is incomparable. I think the car accelerates and brakes slightly better with the Toyos, which might be due to the lower amount of grip and the shorter sidewall, but in the rain they're absolutely better. We'll be bringing the Toyos out for rain, but I don't think they can compete with Hankooks if it's going to be hot out.

We ran into some fuel pressure issues again, but PJ threw a new pump in, and it's far better. The car definitely pulls a lot harder, as illustrated by our THIRD double header in a row...Wiley was able to take first place in ST over two EF Civics. In the rain. On Hankooks. Yay for us!

Right now, we're just taking a bit of a breather, only doing "comfort and convenience" modifications yesterday. Baby now has working rear speakers! They play the Glee Pandora Station quite well. I feel like this season has really been quite the learning experience, both in driving, assembly, and just how expensive shipping costs are.