Kick Start My Heart

Yowzaa! What a weekend!

Marc finally got his racecar up and running; new engine, stripped down interior, and a tighter tranny and diff. Sweet. Saturday morning, I was at the track at 7AM, getting timing up and running for Perry, waiting impatiently for Marc to arrive. I guess he was up really late getting the final bits done on the car, cause he missed first practice. When he got there, I went into pit-crew mode, finished a few little details, then got him over to Tech to get looked at. A couple of small, minor things we missed (tape over the fire extinguisher clips so they won't come open in a race, etc.) and we were ready to go! The car performed fairly well on the Saturday, surviving about an hour and a half of running fairly hard. We didn't want to run the engine too hard being that it was a freshly rebuilt/overhauled engine, but Marc did well. I haven't seen him smiling like that in ages!

Sunday was a bit easier, only a half hour race and a fifteen minute practice. But we had a pesky oil leak that we couldn't find. Greg, the engine guru showed up, took one look and said "plug that hole". I can't believe I missed the hole in the engine block!! So much for being the mechanic. =) Sundays race was a little exciting for Marc. We had changed the fuel jets in the carb, and timed the engine again, so it was running a bit smoother and a wee bit faster. And being the racer that he is, Marc was trying hard to get by a Chevy Camaro. So, going into turn three, after struggling for some time behind the Camaro, he saw an opening on the inside. The Camaro driver, not seeing Marc in his blindspot, cut a bit harder than expected, and contact was made. Nothing serious, but Marc had hsi first racing contact. Looks like we have a bit of metal bending to do this winter!

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, with some great racing to watch. Two racers, one in a tube frame Monte Carlo and the other in a very high end Porsche 911 Turbo put on an amazing show in two races, each taking the checker first in different races. Brillant racing! The final race was a two hour enduro. Doesn't sound like much, but if you saw how tired the racers are after half an hour, you would appreciate a two hour race! The winning team had three drivers, the first got a three lap lead, came in and fueled, changed drivers, and checked the car over. The second got the three lap lead back, came in, changed drivers, checked tires, and fueled. Driver three actually almost go the three laps back again in the last half hour of racing! Outstanding driving!

So, it saddens me that the season is drawing to a close for the year. Next year, I am hoping to spend some more time in the pits, and less in the timing booth (although I like doing that too). Oh, and one other thing I got to do on Sunday was stand in the middle of the track and split the grid as they entered. (I made sure the cars went to the right sides of the track for their starting positions) It's a little scary having racers run by you within feet at high speeds. But the adreniline rush....=)

Till next year.

(Check out more photos of Marc's car in my photo gallery under "Mobile Phone Shots")