Gladiators in the Steel Palace

I made it to, and through, DTRP. I can’t say it was the best experience ever but after much drama, I did come away with a positive feeling about the place.

After Spencer, I had a pretty good feeling about the car and the people in the series. Some of the talk after the show was about the next race and I was encouraged to try and make it. Once I got home and looked over the damage, I made a few comments saying I’d like to go if I could find tires and some extra cash. Amazingly, I immediately got an offer for a set of tires and a couple of donations. So I spent a few days getting the car back together and fixing the clutch, added up what I had to work with, found some help and a place for the boy, and decided to give it a shot.

In case anyone doesn’t know, DTRP is a LONG way from New Haven (not as long a way as Lancaster, PA however). I left at noon on Saturday and got to the track about 3 to find a ton of haulers stacked up in front of the gates. The pit passes were a little higher than Oswego but not as high as Spencer so I wasn’t too surprised at the gate. Something I figured out a little too late is that you have to be assigned a pit there. After a trip back out the gate I got a spot parked next to Billy Gleason, a guy I met after I pinched him up into the fence at Spencer in hot laps. Billy’s a pretty good guy and he and his family were a lot of fun to hang out with.

After unloading the car I chased down Joe Mancuso, who had made me an offer I couldn’t refuse on a set of tires. Then things started to go wrong. Since I was changing them by hand and the track moves things along pretty quickly, I missed the first hot lap session. Fortunately, Kelly showed up in time to get me ready for the second session. Another fun fact about Lancaster: It’s a maze. I headed out to run hot laps and drove past the track entry and had to turn around and come back. Since I wasn’t following anyone I just followed the road and got on the track. Where a different class was practicing… So I got yelled at and got off the track and lined up with the rest of the Super Stocks. Hot laps started off well enough. The car was loose and the track is wicked rough. I was bouncing all over and trying to keep the car pointed straight. Just as I was starting to settle in and see what I had, the car shuts off. That’s when it occurs to me that I have no idea where to get off the track. I stopped next to one of the cornermen and asked and he said turn 3. So the truck pulls up and pushes me around. We go by a spot that looks like a good place to pull off but it’s in turn 2 so I continued on and pulled into the gate I originally come in through. It was obviously the wrong place and I got hung up before I went over the steep hill. The tow truck eventually got me straightened out and told me to go ahead, obviously missing the fact that I needed to be pushed for a reason….

When I got back to the pits we discovered I had run out of gas. So I bought 5 gallons at $10 a gallon. No wonder I run pump gas. We got the car fired up and took out some stagger and made sure everything looked OK for the heat. I started the heat second to last and finished last. It was pretty uneventful and I did what I could to learn the track and figure out how the car was. I learned I was slow and the track was rough. As we pulled off at the end I also learned that the clutch wouldn’t disengage. It turns out that I blew the o-ring in the throwout bearing. Not something I could fix at the track even if I’d had a spare. So I talked to Joe about getting a push for the start of the feature figuring that I’d run a couple of laps and pull off. He said it was OK so we did what we could to tighten the car up and hoped for the best.

It seems that I can bump start the car in first with the starter and synchro through the gears without too much trouble. So I got on the track and let everyone by since I was starting last. Probably not my best decision ever since it got the tires covered with crap. We got lined up and took the green and managed one lap before I braked too hard going into one and looped it. Unfortunately, I ended up facing uphill and couldn’t bump start it. The push truck got me going again and the rest of the race went well enough until lap 20. I was starting to get used to the track and working on a decent line and even managed to hold onto the tail of the field for a bit. And then I got on it too early between 3 and 4 and started to go around. I had it mostly saved but ended up heading for the end of the inside wall. Given the choice between the wall and another spin, I decided discretion was the better part of valor and let it go around. And ended up pointed up hill again. A couple of laps later someone lost a motor and I got pushed off again. The rest of the race actually didn’t go badly. I was starting to almost get a feel for the track and actually passed a car (he did have a flat and pulled off right after that).

So I finished. 9th. Not a stellar showing but I’ve had worse. And after the night I had it felt like a win. I brought home $100 and some bonus money so I only lost about twice what I made. All in all I’m not disappointed. Am I not disappointed enough to head back? We’ll see. I have a busy several weeks coming up.

I have a lot of people to thank for letting play for the last two races. Kelly and Vera for not only putting up with me but driving to both tracks and buying passes to do it. I couldn’t have done it without them. Also Dad for showing up at Spencer to do the same thing. Joe Mancuso went above and beyond to get me there and the wackyracer, Jerry Harding, bought me fuel. Above all, my girlfriend Catherine for not only letting me do this but actively supporting and sometimes indirectly sponsoring me.

I’m not sure yet what the future holds for this season. I’m discovering I need a lot more track time. Sitting out for 3 years has not done me any favors. Especially trying to figure out a new car on unfamiliar tracks. I’d like to go back to DTRP and Spencer but RoC is more of a priority since I’m at least familiar with the track and it’s close. I also want to support the NYSS guys in the hope that I’ll run the whole season next year. Unfortunately, time and money are both a little scarce this summer. We’ll see how things work out over the next few weeks. I have some ideas…

Well we made it to the Spencer race. Surprisingly the car wasn’t too bad. The clutch slipped and kept me from really getting up to speed and a little tangle put me out with a broken tie rod but I’m pretty impressed with the way the car felt when it did run right. The motor seemed to be holding up much better than I expected. It stayed cool and was way more than the clutch could handle at least.

As for the track, I learned that mirrors are pretty much mandatory but otherwise it’s not a bad place to run. It’s relatively smooth and the car seems to like it. I think with some adjustments and decent tires, I could make some decent laps. The guys I met down there all seem pretty decent and the racing was good.

So since the damage wasn’t too bad and I think I have most of the stuff to fix the little things that aren’t right and Joe Mancuso made me an offer I couldn’t refuse on tires, I guess I’m going to DTRP (Lancaster) for the show on 6/23. I hope to make it to test & tune at Evans Mills next Wednesday to make sure the clutch is working properly and all the rest of the bugs are shaken out.

Well it’s loaded and ready to go. Or as ready as I had time for anyway. I’ve driven it far enough to get it on the trailer so I have no idea what will happen once it hits the track. But as they say, no guts, no glory.

I’m told I might have some people coming to watch and/or help. Whoulda thunk it? I’ll be glad of the help and hope I put on at least a respectable show.

It’s got brakes and moves under its own power. Kelly came over and helped with the brakes and toe so it’ll stop and stay pointed straight. I even scaled it. The numbers aren’t pretty but I’m just not in a position to do anything about it. I’ll see if I can squeeze a little time in to do something about it tomorrow but I’m not counting on anything. I still need to put numbers on it. Since I didn’t have the cash to buy some until too late I’ll be doing them with duct tape again temporarily.

So I’m going into a race Friday with no track time on the driver or the car, old tires, a sick motor, and messed up corner weights. And I’ll be up against some of the best SS cars and drivers in NY. Am I crazy? I’m hoping to just keep it together and run as much of the feature as I can. now that I’ve gotten it this far, I’ll be able to find out where I’ve missed and hopefully have it more prepared for some DTRP and SL2 shows and RoC. Maybe a miracle will happen and I’ll get my motor fixed and a tire sponsor by July.

So it’s black and it runs. I’ll spend the next couple of nights trying to get the last few things worked out and see what I can do about a trailer. I’ve had a couple offered but neither has showed up yet. I’m pretty sure I can make to to Spencer Friday. The trick will be to keep it running and not look too bad. I’d have liked a chance to shake it down but I’m just out of time.

I spent the last few days on an ill-conceived but much needed vacation to Boston and Maine. We met up with my friend Rob and took in some cool sights, visited a few breweries, and stopped in at Bentley’s Saloon. A good time was had by all.