It has been a long process to say the least, but I loaded up the INS dragster on Friday afternoon with the hopes of getting a few runs in over the weekend. I headed for Earlville around 6am Saturday, and yes it was definitely raining. Not only was it raining at 6am, it was still raining when I arrived at 7:45. Certainly it is not going to rain all day; it never rains when I want it to rain. Obviously a lot of racers were significantly smarter than me because the pits were very sparse of trailers and racecars. I pretty much stayed put in the truck, sat around until 9:15, and then received the news that racing was cancelled for the day. It was the correct decision mainly because the radar for the rest of the morning did not look good.
Under normal circumstances, I would have unhooked the trailer and headed for home. Because my tow vehicle was still not functioning properly, I decided to stay and hope for better weather tomorrow. I will tell you this, it is a long, long, day playing hearts, solitaire, free cell, or reading manuals. It was a great afternoon to sneak in a nap which is something I never do during the day. We made it through the afternoon without rain, so I was hoping Sunday would be much better. I woke up around 6 am Sunday, looked out the window and all I could see was “humidity”. Yikes!!! I am fairly sure you could cut it with a knife; it was that thick!!
I was still hoping to get in a few passes with the new INS dragster, so around 8:30 I decided to unload. Usually that is the easiest way to make it rain. It certainly did not look very promising. We got the car completely inspected earlier, which took place inside the trailer where it seemed to be a little cooler and dry. We proceeded to warm up the car in our pit stall (stayed close to the trailer), fixed a small oil leak, added transmission fluid, and decided we were ready. I was informed by the track manager that I needed to do an upgrade on my license which means I have to make three runs, one moderate and two under power and under 7:50. (I certainly missed that rule in the NHRA rule book). I learned a long time ago that it’s best to keep quiet and do what you’re told.
As I am sitting in the car, I realize something isn’t correct on the delay box. After further investigation, I discovered the multiple layers of the screen were “bleeding” through. I do not know if that is the correct terminology, but the layers were showing through. When I typed in a number, say 1.093, it looked like 8888. I do believe the delay part was working, but you weren’t able to add or subtract and know what number you put in the box. Long story short, we finally made our moderate 1/2 track pass. The end result there wasn’t very good either, as one cylinder was not firing. After returning to the pit stall, a handheld heat gun verified that the #2 cylinder was not firing. I removed the spark plug which was black, wet and definitely had not been firing. I found a new plug, indexed the plug, and installed and started the motor again. Believe me, it sounded a lot better.
Through all this I was still looking at the sky and it looked really bad. Then over the loud speaker I heard the announcer say to everyone, “Load them up racers, the heavy rain is 5 minutes from here.” When the announcer tells you to load up, you know its coming. We loaded the car, got a sandwich, and wow did it rain. We finished our sandwich, finished loading up, and headed for home. My first day at the track with the new car was as they say “trying”. But wait a minute, the truck made it home safely, and the Quick Sixteen race that I would have missed will be rescheduled to a later date. Now that was good news!
I want to take a couple seconds and give a special “thank you” to my brother-in-law Dan Swick who drove up Sunday morning to help me. He is always there every opportunity he gets, puts up with my temperament, and it would have been a really long day without his help. Thanks, Dan
I would also like to take this time to thank a good friend of mine, Joe Notch “Joey”, as he is at home recovering from back surgery which was last Wednesday. He has always been there for me whether it’s loading, unloading, or helping me at the track when he isn’t in his Luv truck racing himself. He has become a true friend and I wish him well and a successful recovery. Thanks Joe.
