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Car
54 Update |
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10/15-10/17
World Series I
drove the 20 car for McNamara Automotive this weekend but it started with a
rainy Friday. We were able to make it
out for one quick slick practice.
Although we did not get to see how the car handled, I was able to try to
get used to a new car. There were a
lot of new drivers to Thompson on the damp track causing a lot of spin out
and ended with one slamming the wall ending their season a couple days
early. Saturday we were able to see
what the car could do. Although I was
able to get better times than the car has ever seen, it was off the pace with
the rest of the field. We made
adjustments to make the handling better but the motor just lacked the power
we needed to be competitive. In the
heat we started near the back and dropped to almost last giving us a 19th
starting position for the feature out of 26 cars. We made passes and also got passed but in
the end we finished in 19th. |
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9/26/10 Things
seemed to be going well in practice.
We were the same lap time as we did the past few races. In the heat we started 2nd but
dropped back to finish 9th.
That gave us a starting position of 17th out of the 31 car
field. We had a good run going after
only minor damage from trying to avoid a wreck in the front of the pack which
blocked the track. This put us closer
to the front. We were running in 9th
with only 5 laps to go until the clutch blew up causing the car to slow up
coming out of turn 2 leaving the 1 car with nowhere to go but in the back of
us, spinning us out. Unfortunately it
was another good run that ended with a DNF.
We finished the season in 16th place in the points. Not where we wanted to be, but we learned a
lot this year and know how to get the car closer to the front than we have
the past.
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9/9/10 We
finished the repairs from last week to the car late Wednesday night. In practice the car was not the same as the
week before but we were able to make adjustments to get the car even
faster. In the heat we started on the
pole but slipped to 2nd on the start. We held 2nd through half way
until we were spun in turns 3 and 4 where cars could not avoid us. We bent many suspension parts on the left
side which we replaced for the feature.
We started in the middle of the pack but the car was not the same but
was getting better as the laps increased until a spin happened in front of
us; we went low and onto the grass but that was not
low enough. Once again we had to get
towed off the track. |
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9/2/10 In
practice we were 0.3 seconds faster per lap. And the car was going well in
the heat after the first lap we dropped from the pole to third. Once in third we were bumped back to 6th by
an overanxious fourth place driver.
The 55 car broke before the finish which gave us a 5th
place heat race finish. In the feature
we started in the pole but slipped back to 6th after a few laps then
the 45 hit the wall coming out of turn four. We tried to go under him but
there was a car to the inside that stopped us from going low enough. We hit the 45 hard and bent and broke much
of the right front taking us out. |
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8/26/10 A
decent finish of 13th and a car we can improve on for next week
rather than repair is what came out of this week. In practice the car was powerful but lacked
the handling to get us where we wanted to be.
We started the feature in 13th and stayed around that
position most of the race. The 45 was
faster than us in the beginning of the race but his car slowly lost its
handling as we caught up to him. It
seemed as though he lost power or maybe had to let up coming out of turn 2
letting us by with the 46 right behind us.
We held him off for a while until he pulled on the side of us. We battled it out for a couple laps with
less than 5 to go, until a lapped car did not move to the low groove. We lost 12th position and
finished in 13th. Not a bad
finish, and this week we can work on speed and not have to worry about the
motor. Click here
for pictures |
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8/19/10 Unfortunately
the late Wednesday night attempt to get the car on the track did not work
out. We got the car together and
running in the early hours of Thursday morning but when we got to the track
the car did not sound right. We found
that last week’s issue caused more damage to the motor than we knew about and
we were unable to race this week. |
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8/12/10 We
had some trouble with the handling in the first practice but with some help
from the 55 team we were able to improve.
We did not have a heat race so we started 19th of 24
cars. We worked our way up to 14th
with only about 5 laps the go the car shutdown and would not re-fire. We ended up with a 20th place
even though we did not finish. The
motor needs a lot of work for next week and my son is
sick therefore we may not get the car ready in time for Thursday’s race. Hopefully things will work out and we can
get on the track. |
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8/5/10 Rained
Out- Rescheduled to Sunday 9/26 |
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7/29/10 The
day started out bad but we ended up with a decent finish. In the first practice the car did not have
the power still but in the second practice we found out why. I was running side by side with the 91 then
all of a sudden the car just lost even more power. It turns out a lifter broke. Luckily we had a late start for our feature. We were able to pull the top end of the
motor apart and replace the broken lifter before the start of the
feature. Because we did not make the
heat race we started dead last of 22 cars.
We quickly passed a few cars then went back and forth with the 00, 38,
15 and 46. There were many cautions
and wrecks, but we were able to stay out of all of them even with a couple
close calls. In the end we finished
with our best this season in 11th.
It turns out we did not get all the pieces of the lifter out of motor
and over the weekend found that the pieces caused some damage to the
motor. Unsure of the severity of the
damage, we decided the replace the motor with our original that we just
finished putting back together.
Hopefully it will have the power we need this week. |
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7/22/10 Practices
were not great but not too bad. Our
times were not as fast as the past few weeks but not horrible either. The car went great through the entry and
good through the middle but when on the gas the car was loose. With the lack of a heat race this week and
shortened practices we had trouble tuning the car in. We started 16th in the
feature. We were faster through the
turns than the cars we were racing against but the lack of momentum off the
turn made it difficult to finish a pass.
We had a few close battles throughout the race with the 46, 45, 02 and
38. We ended up with a 13th
place finish, not bad considering the poor handling of the car. |
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7/15/10 Practice
started out great! We were running the
fastest time we ever have. We were
only a little slower than the top runners.
Then we started 3rd in the heat, the car started off loose
and we dropped back to 8th.
The car came in near the end and we were faster than the 6th
and 7th place cars that were battling for position. In the 4th turn on the last lap,
we made a bold move to go inside three wide to take 6th. This put us on the pole for the
feature. Something happened to the
car’s power and we quickly dropped back after 2 laps. There was a caution and we were able to
come off the track to check the car out.
We made it back before the end of the caution but had to start
last. The car was no better with power
but the handling was great. We were
able to make a few quick passes but then the excitement got to me. I started overdriving the car and caused a
wreck which took out two innocent cars.
On the restart the car filled up with smoke from a tire rub and then
in turn 1 the tire blew out causing me to spin and hit the wall. Check out pictures from the day here. After a lot of work we have the car ready
for the 22nd when the PASS super late models will be there. |
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7/8/10 It
was another decent week for us. We still
are not where we want to be but the car is getting better. In the practice we broke a belt but we got
it fixed quickly. In the heat we
started on the pole but fell backwards after a couple laps. We started the feature in 16th
and with a last lap pass finished 14th. The car stayed consistent throughout the
race but still does not have the same power as the top runners and we still
have some work to do on the handling.
Some adjustments to the cam may give us the power we need off the turn
for next week. |
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7/1/10 Finally
we are headed in the right direction.
The motor had some power but it needs to be tuned to get more power
off the turn. We are back to running
the lap times we were running last year at our best. The practices and heat went well with no
issues. In the feature I had trouble
getting around the 02 car and we lost the rest of the pack. once I got around
the 02 I was not gaining or losing the pack.
All we needed was a caution but it never came. We finished 13th, a big
improvement from the past few weeks.
Hopefully with some adjustments this weekend we will continue to
improve. |
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6/24/10 We
got some tips from the 55 team on our setup for this week and we were
excited, thinking this was the week for our luck to turn around. We tried something different from what we
ever had and in practice, as expected, the car felt different. It took a little getting used to. The car
was still a little off but is something we can work on to get better. In the second practice, we broke a brake rotor
in the 3rd turn but I was able to keep it off the wall. We got it fixed before the race. The feature went caution free but our car
gradually got slower and slower down the straight aways
as the race went on. It turns out the
car was running on only 7 cylinders.
We found out later that one of the lifters fell apart. Maybe next week our luck will turn around. |
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6/17/10 The
motor was in and we were ready to race but still needs some adjustments to
get all the power out of the motor that we can. We were not as fast as usual but were able
to race. At the start of the feature
the lack of power was apparent but once it hit high RPMs it wasn’t too
bad. After 8 laps there was a caution
and, when shifting, the car would not go into gear. Unfortunately, we had to get pushed off the
track and did not finish the race. The
shifter linkage came apart. |
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6/10/10 This
would be probably the only week out of the season that would be happy to have
rain on a Thursday. We found out that the
car ran out of power because of a broken piston. We have been working on an extra motor that
was not completed. My father put a lot
of extra time in this week to try to get the car ready for today. I am not sure if it would have been ready
if the rain did not pass though causing a rain out. The new motor will be ready to go in the
main car for next week when the Modified Racing Series (formally the True
Value Modified) is in town. Our
makeup, along with the modified shoot out, from 6/3 will be on 6/24. |
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6/3/10 The
practice seemed to go well, we were back to running our typical lap
times. We started on the pole in our
heat race but the car lost all the power it had in practice and we got passed
by everyone. Before our race the rain
started and the track could not be dried.
Our feature next week will be based on today’s feature. |
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5/27/10,
50 Lap Feature After
our changes throughout the week, the car was still low on power. We started on the outside front row in the
heat race but dropped to third quickly, shortly after we had our first
caution. On the restart the leader
“tried to pay the second place car back” by pushing him into the wall on the
front stretch. His car bounced back
inside right at my passenger door and I sup hitting the wall taking us out of
the heat. With a quick response from
the track welder, we were able to bend the rear rails of the car back away
from the tire and get the torn bars welded up. Luckily we had no suspension damage. We got the body riveted and taped up in time
for the 50 Lap feature. Unfortunately
we started in the rear but we slowly gained spots but the lack of power was
hurting us on the straights. We
finished 16th out of a 25 car field. The night was a little disappointing but
considering the abuse the car took in the heat, I am pleased. We have a lot of work ahead of us this week
end to get ready for next Thursdays TNT featuring the Tour Type Modified
Shootout! |
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5/20/10 The
start of Thursday Night Thunder.
Things again did not go as planned but we managed to finish the
race. Practice showed that we had some
mechanical problems so in an attempt to repair them, we over compensated for
the feature. The car was low on power
out of the turn in the feature causing us to slip back from the start. We limped through the race to finish one
lap down. Unfortunately it was one of
our worst finishes, but we know what we need to do for next week’s 50 lap
feature. |
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5/13/10 We
ran into a little bad luck after practice on 5/6/10. We found out that the motor has a major
issue. We took the backup car to
practice today and found a setup we can work with for next week’s TNT. The
start of the season is one week away and we are excited! |
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4/11/10- Ice Breaker, Day 2 Things went a little smoother today
but we did not get the finish we were hoping for. We started 17th and finished 17th
out of 23 cars. The car slowly lost it’s handling as the race went
on and once again we went the entire race without a caution. Some good things came out of the
weekend. 1) The car came off the track
in one piece. 2) We know what we need
to work on for the start of Thursday Night Thunder in May. 3)
We had a lot of fun. 4) Our new
spotter loves the race track.
4/10/10- Ice Breaker, Day 1 Things started out a little rough
for us. We drew numbers for starting
position in the heat race; I pulled a 48 which meant I was starting in the
back of the pack. In the first
practice rounds, we had an oil leak which we could not find. Finally we found it and got the car dialed
in. In the heat race, a car spun in
front of me without a caution causing me to fall back behind the pack. Just as I was catching the pack, another
car spun in front of me causing me to lose the pack once again. This time I was not able to catch back
up. I will start tomorrow in 17th
place. 4/3/10 – Practice We took the backup car today to get
the bugs worked out and the get it handling better. Now, if we need it this season, it will be
ready. 3/27/10 - Practice First time on the track since
2009! Although it did not go as well
as we would have liked, the practice sessions helped us with what we needed
to know. What do we need to work on to
improve the cars for the Ice Breaker?
We had time to get both cars on the track and found some minor issues
that need to be fixed. We hope to make
sure that both cars are ready if needed, one is ready for the next practice
and we are trying to have the other ready before then also. The 10th and 11th is
coming fast and we can’t wait to kick the season off. |
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