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It may not be pretty, but...
Category Four-wheeled toysIt seems like Eddie and I have been building up one CRX or another for almost a year (actually this week does make one year). Well, after the disappointment of destroying our first effort, we finally got #72 out on track for its first races. Although registration for NASA's Hyperfest at Summit Point Motorsports Park was to start at 3pm on July 4th, Eddie and I took that "shadetree mechanic" thing quite literally, working on gauges and miscellaneous other stuff in his front yard until about 5pm.
We had gotten the suspension moved over earlier in the week and although we determined that no suspension parts were mangled from my barrel roll in March, there just wasn't a chance to get the car painted up in time for the event. Thankfully a red car with a silver hood and one silver door fits the Honda Challenge definition of presentable.
So the car looked fugly, but I knew after just two laps during Saturday's practice that the motor was still strong and the new custom Koni shocks were eons better than what I had before. The only thing I didn't count on was...
NO BRAKES!!!!
Actually, I had brakes for the first three laps or so but the one thing we didn't bring over from the other car was the master cylinder and it definitely appears as though the red car had a leaky one. There's nothing quite as scary as trying to haul down a car from 125mph and finding either a huge gravel trap or one of your competitors just feet in front of you. I never want to bleed brakes as much as I did this weekend and you can bet that this situation will be rectified before I head back to Summit for MARRS V at the end of the month.
So enough of the background. How'd I do?
Although the lack of brakes were holding me back a ton, I managed to come in second in class both days. Although it took me a day to get a handle on standing starts. I had a blast! Adding to the challenge was the 115 degree heat at ttrackside. Glad I didn't have a thermometer in the cockput. After a 20-lap race on Saturday you could practically pour me out of the car. Thankfully we had a much shorter race on Sunday (only 15 laps), but I struggled with the heat and the brakes too. My goal was to finish and I did. Got a nice kiss from a trophy girl too.
Here are links to the final results:
Saturday: http://www.ginsberg.org/echcresults/03/ECHC070503.html
Sunday: http://www.ginsberg.org/echcresults/03/ECHC070603.html
After Sunday's race I got a nice visit and a (desperately needed) bottle of water from Koni's Lee Grimes. After giving me some shock mounting tips earlier in the day, he critiqued my setup after watching me 'rounding the circuit. Since Lee is otherwise known as "CRX Lee" and it's his shock valving that currently suspends my car, it would be in my best interest to listen to him. He was right on about my car being slow to turn in. Although the car felt very safe, my base setup (as suggested by a fellow racer) was a bit too soft. Hopefully these changes as well as working brakes will make me a lot more competitive in the future. As long as I can keep the car on the track, I can only go up from here.