Very little rain passed through our area during the night, and the morning brought partly cloudy skies and cooler conditions. At first glance the car count seemed to be a little down, but what the track lacked for in numbers they made up for with quickness. It was a long morning making three time runs. Twice we waited in the staging lanes, once for a half hour and again for an hour. Needless to say the back side was getting sore. We made three time runs throughout the morning, running a 7.827, 7.753, and a 7.798. These may seem close but not really very consistent. A difference of .07 (7.82 to 7.75) from high to low is a significant time spread when trying to predict what you are going to run.
We chose a 7.80 for the first round and got very lucky. As they say in racing, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. On to the second round. We dialed a 7.77 this time thinking the car would pick up. We were wrong and ran a 7.82 again but won as the opponent lit the red bulb (automatic disqualification) leaving too soon. The third round we dialed a 7.80, ran a 7.78 and lost on a double breakout. This means that both cars went quicker than their dial, but I went under more.
On the return road I thought at least the day was not a loss as we had gained some points by going to the third round. Little did I know my problems had just begun. Upon climbing out of the car, I thought I saw some liquid pooling on the ground. Sure enough, I had a steady drip, drip, drip of water coming from a water pump gasket. Fortunately, I had a set of spare gaskets along with a fresh tube of gasket sealant. I decided to tackle the problem or I wouldn’t be racing Sunday. After a three hour thrash, which included removal of the fuel pump, vacuum pump, water pump, and motor mount brackets, I was back together and ready to go again. Now it was time to clean up my mess, including myself, get something to eat, and try to relax the rest of the evening.
