After two weeks of thrashing where I had three rears in the car and finally had to buy one, I got the car back to the track. It was pretty out to lunch even with (because of?) new tires. I messed around with it until it felt drivable and took it out for the heat. Despite being dropped back to 4th even the though the lineup said 2nd, I got going pretty well and was chasing down the top 2 when the left rear axle flange came off. I managed to not hit the wall but I figured I was done for the night. As I was looking at it in the pits wondering how I was going to get it on the trailer, some guy came over and said something about the flanges being welded on and that in the future I should have someone run a bead around the back of the flange. A little later he came back and suggested I see if the track welder would weld it back on so I could take the green. So I talked to the welder and after some thought, he decided he could manage it. So I pulled out the axle and went to work closing off the broken brake line. 20 minutes later he handed the axle back and said “I’d run it!”. So I did. 15 laps, 2 spins and a hit in the LR wheel later I brought it home in 7th. Not exactly a stellar performance (though I did get into the top 5 twice) but it was a fun race and kind of impressive considering the shape the car was in.

I’m going to skip the Big 10 race next Friday and try to be ready for the Dave London Memorial on August 16. That’ll give me some time to catch up on all the stuff I’ve been ignoring and take care of some things on the car. Like getting another new rear end…