Finally!! Mother Nature gave us a couple of days off from the persistent moisture we have been receiving. Our previous trip to the track ended without the INS Dragster making any passes down the track due to, you guessed it, rain!! You do get reacquainted with just how much accumulated “stuff” you have when you load and unload it each and every trip to the track.
I have added a few items in the trailer, so sometimes it is a guess as to whether everything is going to fit correctly. It would not be the first time a floor tie-down had to be moved at the last minute. If a spectator stood outside the trailer and looked at all the equipment, the race car, support vehicles (golf cart/scooter), generators, grills, and chairs, they would probably wonder how anyone could possibly get all this stuff into one big box! Well, it isn’t easy. “Shoe-horned” is the term drag racers use to describe the method of getting all their stuff into the trailer.
We left the track Friday evening with the skies looking as though it was going to continue to rain for a while. The light rain and mist continued most of the way, but we eventually left it behind. We arrived at the track around 7:30 p.m. and of course the rain was only an hour or so behind. I proceeded to get a few things done before it started raining, but I was definitely ready for a little R&R.
Saturday started out very cloudy and chilly. After unloading the INS Dragster, it was time to put it on stands, warm up the motor and makes sure we had all the forward and reverse gears working. By 10:00 a.m., we were ready to make our first trip for 2011 down the quarter mile. We jumped in the open time run which I never usually do, mainly because the track wasn’t prepped the best and new rubber for the weekend had not been put on the track. However, since it was the first time out, I wanted the extra pass.
My first trip down the track gave Team INS the quickest and fastest pass the INS Dragster has ever made: a 7.680 time @172.81 mph. All the effort through the winter had just paid off! The 60′ time was a whopping 1.074 seconds! I had never gone 60′ quicker than 1.11 in the old car. The new car had never gone 60′ quicker than 1.17. To say I was excited is an understatement!! Running a tenth of a second or faster in the first 60 feet is sensational and very important. Getting off the line quickly can be extremely important in a race. Many races are won/lost in the first 60 feet. I knew the INS Dragster would run quicker when the air got better and it did not disappoint me later that morning.
Next was the “Quick Sixteen” event. With the first run of 2011 finally out of the way, we were ready for our first time run which took place at 12:10 p.m.
We slowed somewhat on this run because I got out of the groove (area where all the rubber is on the track) ever so slightly, spun the tires a little and ran 7.72 @172.47mph. Our second time run in the INS Dragster was better — a 7.645 @173.05. With less humidity, less water molecules, and more oxygen, it was our best run to date!
It was now time to choose our “dial in” (estimated time we think it will take to cover the length of the quarter mile). With only a few runs registered, it was a definite guess. With the weather station and our E.T. predictor, we left the trailer area with a 7.66 dial. We had qualified in the top half of the field, so I had a lane choice. Once in the staging lanes, the cars ahead of us seemed to have slowed a bit, so I second-guessed myself, changed my dial in to a 7.68, and then I ran a 7.676! I was too quick by .004 seconds. Oh well!! The INS Dragster had an exceptional day for not having many practice runs and I felt very good about the car in general. Stay tuned.
