Formula Race Car Club of America
June 13th at Summit Point, Shenandoah Circuit
I'm not much of an author, but here's my report of this weekend.
Friday dawned clear. The truck was packed and car on the trailer, thanks to help from Will the night before, and we were ready to head out as soon as Neal showed up. 7:45am we were on the road. 3 hours into the trip, the right tire on the trailer blows, just before we hit NYC. 10 minutes on the side of the road, and we're off again, into traffic. It took us an hour and a half to get to the NJ turnpike. The turnpike added another couple of hours of unexpected time to the trip, so now its about 2:00 as we head across the Delaware river, and BAM, another tire on the trailer goes. Right side as well. Well, damn, we don't have a spare now. A call to the State Police gets us a service van. I take off with the dead spare AND the dead tire to a Firestone place, and purchase 2 new tires (to the tune of $240!!!!)
An hour later, we're back on the road again, but now about 4 hours behind schedule. We eventually get to the track about 7:15 or so, drop the car, set up the tent, and head back into town to purchase some groceries, and some odd bits at Walmart. Decide to take the 81 to 84 route back home.
Saturday we're up at 6, eat, I walk the track, then head over to registration. Say hi to 'mom' and Sue Heckam, and head over to tech with the car and all that. Got my inspection sticker, and back to the paddock to get the car set. I'll be running in group 1 with Bill and the other vee, and the FT cars. After the driver's meeting, I meet with Andy and he gives me a few hints about the track.
First session went ok, learning the track, but on the whole it was good. Car behaves well, understeers a bit, but thats ok. Shenandoah is a driver's track, lots of hard acceleration in 2nd followed by hard braking and twisty stuff. Two chances to let the car wind out in 3rd, but I never got into fourth. Some off camber bits, and the Karrusel to figure out.
Second session went great. I got a 'flag test' with a black flag, and then back onto the track. I'm being passed by the FTs, but then I see Bill come up behind me in his vee, and my "Oh, no freaking way" alarm goes off. He's got half my horsepower, but knows the track. We diced it for the last 5 laps of practice 2, me pulling away on the straight bits, and he *RIGHT* on my tail for the twisty stuff. We both came in with dumb-ass grins on our faces. That was the most fun I've had in the car so far.
But (and you knew there was a but) water in the puke tank. ARGH! So I go off in search of a compression tester. Compression in all 4 is good (CRAP!) but the general consensus is that it might be a bad head gasket anyway. Andy provides one, and while Neal and Will head off to town for oil, I strip the head off the car. A rainstorm pushes the schedule an hour, so, even though I miss the qualifier, I'll be in the points race.
We get the car back together with about half an hour to go. We retorque the head after its warm, then I run the car around the skidpad for while, making sure its behaving well and accelerates ok. Gauges look good, so I'm confident.
I end up starting in the back, and everyone starts pulling away from me. I catch up to the 2 vees in the straight bits, but they pull me in the curves. Every lap they gain about 100 feet on me. About 6 laps in, the FTs go whizzing by. I'm still having fun though, my lap times are falling a half second here, as I get more used to the track and find the good lines. I get the '2 laps to go' and the '1 lap to go' waves, and then it happens.
I was running hard. Timing sheets show that this lap I was 2 seconds (?!??!?!) faster than I had been all day. Neal said the car sounded better settled and I was more aggressive. Coming around The Hook and hitting the gas for Stone House Straight...Nothing...engine goes quiet. Then picks up again a half second later. Hard acceleration and braking into The Hammer, quick squirt on the gas in the Cave Esses, and the engine dies completely. Fortunately, pit-in is right here, and I drift in, and end up stopped right at the bottom of the entrance road. HALF a (*&#$* lap to go. ARGH!
Consensus is fuel problem, possibly a blocked jet, and/or float issues. While testing in the pits, though, I get the stuck accelerator problem like last time. This is a new cable, but some quick diagnostics show it might be the actual gas pedal binding. So we'll figure that out.
Dinner was provided by the track, with the Trophy Girls slinging the burgers. We give the karts a try for a session, even Will had fun. We watched that day's presentations and then decide to head off to town for a bit.
We drop the canopy low over the car, and pull the chairs and stuff under it, since it looks like it might rain while we're gone. We head off to Food Lion for some odds and ends, and to figure out how/when to proceed. We arrive back to the track to our canopy 100 yards away from the car, and in ruins. Every other canopy in the paddock, except Terry's and Bill's is down and bent up. The floorpan of the car is full to the top of the frame, the chairs are full of water, Neal's Leica camera is full of water and ruined (though the memory card is ok). The ramps for the trailer have floated away in the rain (not far). Apparently some sort of microburst hit the paddock.
We emptied Terry's and Bill's canopy, and start seeing whats up. Will reports that the tent is full of water, too. All 3 of us talk and decide that the Racing Gods are unhappy with us for some reason, and really don't want us to race on Sunday. Not wanting to taunt them (after all, they gave us some early notice with the head gasket and the fuel issues) we elect to pack up now, find a hotel, dry out (everything we own, including my helmet, is soaking wet) and head home early in the AM. We get on our way about 10:00, and get the last 2 rooms in the Hampton Inn in Frederick MD (about an hour north of the track).
Up by 7, rolling by 8, we have an uneventful drive up 81 to 84. After a lunch stop, we're back home by about 5:15. Neal heads home, and I start hanging my stuff up to dry.
We've got a few problems to diagnose, and a couple known things to fix, before I head out again. Definitely need to solve the clutch problem (probably a throwout bearing) and I want to drain and refill the oil a few times to get rid of the last of the water. Shift light worked well, so I need to position it better than it is.
All in all, a successful track weekend, but not a race weekend. I had the most fun, and the most frustrating, all in the same day.
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, there were $300 EZups flattened all over the place. You will get the good luck back double in due time. 
who kept me safe, especaily this weekend for a couple uncontrolled visitors on track. This is a great group, Thanks to all.
! .... then what Lions and Tigers and Bears... Oh my! 
