This has taken a while to update because of a couple reasons. Mainly, I was getting very frustrated with the way things were going with the motor. We did get back on the track on June 27, but it didn't last very long. We never could get the clutch adjusted right, so it was slipping and getting hot. The 27th was kids night, so we were giving rides when the clutch started smoking. Not good, but I could still be pushed off and run a race. The only problem was, if I had to stop, I couldn't push in the clutch and leave it in gear because it would never completely disengage. That was only a minor problem compared to what was to come. During the first heat race, I would hit the corners and the oil pressure would drop to about 5-8 pounds for a second or two and then bounce back up to normal pressure about half way through the corner and be fine until I dove into the next corner. Well, after about two and a half laps, the motor started to tighten up going down the back stretch and finally died going into 3. That was the end of the night. It's not very fun watching the races from the pits. Not only would I like to be out there on the track playing with the others, but with all the billboards and stuff in the pits, you can't see more than about half the track.

Monday night, Jerry and I pulled the motor and did some investigating and found that we had burned up all the bearings in the bottom of the motor. Not good! At this point, I had spent all the money I had getting this motor put together and back on the track. I guess we sit out another race until we can get some more money to get it rebuilt.

Jerry made the executive decision that we weren't going to run the junkyard motor again. He did some looking into one of the free motors that was sitting in the corner of the garage and it didn't look too bad. Much better in fact than the one we bought at the wrecking yard. We did the best we could cleaning and putting this other motor back together. Got it back in the car and got it running Saturday afternoon with about 2 hours until it was time to head to the track. This motor sounds good! Let's try it again.

The motor felt strong while we were packing the track. Maybe we are back on track! Time for hot laps. Put her to the floor and turn left! On the first corner of the first lap the oil pressure dropped again and, poof! another motor up in smoke. Same problem. Burned the bearings due to oil starvation. We are only running a stock oil pan and were only using 5 quarts of oil. In talking to some other racers next to us, we found that we should be running 6 to 6.5 quarts in the stock pan. In running only 5 quarts, the oil was sloshing to the right side of the pan and the oil pump was sucking mostly air, thus our problem has been discovered. Finally!!!

The third time has got to be the charm. The motor is rebuilt again after having the crankshaft reground and new bearings installed. PLEASE WORK THIS TIME! We put 6 quarts of oil in and hit the track. Hot laps are done and so far so good! Now comes the real test. I am starting outside pole for this first heat race. Nothing too spectacular in this race to report because there are too many things going on in my mind right now. The oil pressure is still dropping going into the corners but come to find out, it was dropping to an acceptable level. The motor is holding up. Now to the car. In the process of just getting the car back on the track, Jerry decided that he wanted to adjust the spring rates in the front of the car which changed the set-up quite a bit. I can't get the car to turn. I finished 6th in the heat, but the motor held together! That is a good thing!

Coming in from the heat race, I pushed in the clutch and there was no clutch! The nut on the end of the slave cylinder which moves the clutch fork had come undone. Time to scramble. We got it put back together just in time to make the B feature. We still didn't get time to address the problem of the water temp running too hot. We did get a chance to adjust tire pressures to help with the car turning. Here we go again. I started in the second row, I think. I can't remember exactly. The car is working 100% better. I can pretty much put the car anywhere I want and it will stick. It was kind of a battle, but I did manage to finish a pretty close 2nd to transfer in to the A main once again! Things are looking good. The motor is still in one piece. One personal note in that B feature...I managed to hold off 3 guys in the top 14 in points and send them home early since they will not be in the A. Hee Hee!!! This is another good sign that we are getting back to where we need to be.

After the B, there isn't much time to do much repair or fixing of anything. We still didn't get a chance to address the overheating problem. Cross the fingers and hope for the best!

For the A Main, I get to start on the outside of row 8. A long way to go to get to the front but hey, at least we are back in the race!Green flag and I finally get a good start in an A feature! It must be all the built up frustrations coming out and making me more aggressive. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Going into the first corner I was able to get around 2 cars on the outside. The car is handling perfectly! Thank you Jerry! Let the games begin! After 3 or 4 laps I am in a pack of about 6 cars that are bunched together like a Daytona 500 freight train, only sliding around on dirt. It is hard to pass because everyone is pretty equal, so it is a matter of who will make the first mistake. I run high through the corners for a couple laps and can't get anywhere. I try the low side and am able to get by one car, but that is about it. I can get under them but don't have the pull coming off the corner to stay there. Back to the high side, middle, low. I am trying everything I can to move up. By the last corner of the last lap, I had worked my way up to 12th but got passed by Shawn Reed, who is currently 2nd in points, at the start finish line and I ended up 13th.

I think, knock on wood, that we are back! We are pretty much at the point where we left off when Michael took his motor and left. One thing that I noticed was that, whether it is me or the way the car was handling or a combination of both, I was by far the most comfortable and relaxed in the car for that feature race than I have ever been. Usually, I am working up a sweat trying to manhandle the car and probably over driving the car. This time I was nice and calm, not even breathing hard, just going with the flow and having fun. At one point during the race, I almost felt like I was sitting in front of my computer playing my Dirt Track Racing game. I liked that feeling. Let's hope it continues. One thing I would like to say though, is, I can't thank Jerry enough for all the work he has put in to getting us back on the track. Thanks, bud!

We need to work on our overheating problem for next week, beat out a few dents and fix my toe out problem that I have now thanks to #9 Andy Wieczorek, who wacked me pretty hard in the feature. I guess that is part of racing though and it sure beats the heck out of having to pull the motor and rebuild it for a 3rd time.

Talk to ya next week.

TTFN

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