Thunderhill Raceway, Clockwise, with Cyclone
April 10, 2003
"The Kings of Thunderhill, in Reverse"

The Hope. The Glory. The Scandal.  The Redemption. The Truth!

First session we(uh...Erik) ran 1:59's in reverse.  Mumford is kicking everyone's ass in the morning session.

Session 2:
I was going to go out, and then we decided to switch and have Erik run session 2, and I would run 3 and 4.  Figuring we let Erik take advantage of the cooler morning weather.  Erik goes out, runs 1:58/1:59 or so, and then pits early.  He said the engine was "missing" slightly.  Damn....we have Smith/Arnold right on our heels, and we got Wayne/Rick right behind him in terms of overall points.......we gotta get the engine back to 100 percent.  We call Shad, and ask him a zillion questions.  We decide that it is best to let him look at it.  He can't leave Comptech, as he is doing research and development on Go-Fast parts for the new Acura TSX.  And he only gets to keep the TSX for a day.  Wayne and Rick need to run the 944 another couple of sessions to try to beat Kennedy's S2000.  So I decide to throw on the street tires and drive the NSX straight to Comptech, so they can see if it is something minor they can fix.  After it is fixed, I will meet the Mothership 48 footer somewhere on the 5 freeway.  It is about an 8-9 hour tow to Willow Springs, so it is imperative that we get the big rig to Willow ASAP so the rest of the crew can get some sleep. 

The Hidley/Shugg 1987 Ford Mustang GT

Session 3:
I missed the chance for some great video footage.  We are running counter clockwise today, (reverse direction), and it can be a little hairy.  Coming into turn 1, you are probably doing 95-100, and exit onto the straight is "challenging".  If you screw up and go off on the outside, you dip wheels into the grass, and there is a short wall in front of timing and scoring trailer.  Runoff is minimal, if you get wheels into the grass and lose it, you are doing 90+ mph into the wall.  If you hit the wall, you will probably flip and make a grand entrance into the timing and scoring trailer, which is right on the other side of the wall. 

Today we ran Clockwise (reverse direction)

I was getting ready to drive to Comptech, but stopped to checkout the laptimes that were being posted.  I walked into timing and scoring, and they asked me if I was driving #555.  I said it was my car, but my co-driver was driving in the last session.  They said in session 2, Erik came flying wide around Turn 1 in the S2000 at a very high rate of speed, got two wheels off onto the grass headed straight for the wall in front of the timing and scoring booth at 100+, and calmly pulled it back onto the track.  Timing and Scoring didn't trust him, so when they saw him go wide and get two wheels into the grass, and Erik didn't flinch or lift, they blinked and were throwing off their headsets and were getting ready to jump out of the trailer, fearing for their lives.  Most of the drivers were leaving a good 3-5 feet "insurance room" away from the grassy edge.  I watched Erik come around the turn in the S2000 in Session 3, and every time he came through turn 1, he was consistently about a half inch from the grass on exit.  I was ready to jump out of the damn trailer watching this, so I can see why timing and scoring freaked out when they saw two wheels all the way on the grass coming straight at them.

Rooke/Nix Porsche 911 Twin Turbo

The replacement motorhome is being delivered to Brent somewhere around Stockton(where it broke down).  The plan is he will take delivery, swap all of our crap out of the broken RV to the new one, and then proceed to Willow without waiting for us.

Scott in the BMW was kicking ass when I left Thill at Noon, running 1:58's or so.

So I think we are 5th or 6th overall for today's event, but still 4th overall in total points.  At least when I left.

Kennedy's aftermarket S2000 brake system failed when Jason was driving.  Jason was following Scott, and was sandwiched between the three Radicals, and was going pretty fast down the straight when something failed on the brake system.  All the bolts on the rotor hat sheered off, thus sending Jason into the weeds with the car.  Luckily he didn't hit anyone.  He was able to limp back to the pit area.  Kennedy/Speedventures guys were thrashing on the car all day trying to make it to the 4th run group, as they only got one lap in the first session before it failed.

Chavis/Blevins 2002 Corvette Z06

Looking at the lap times for Unlimited 1, DJ in the Radical takes 1st place.  Mumford takes 2nd, as I think he was kinda worried about how "risky" it seemed going in reverse... I know I was the last time I was here with Speedventures in the reverse direction.  Mumford had top time of the day yesterday in the reverse direction.  Morris gets by us for 4th, and maybe if the NSX engine didn't stumble, we might have had a chance against him.

In U2, Smith Arnold hand out yet another beating.   Kennedy and Rhoades continue their seesaw battle against Wayne and Rick for 2nd place in T2.

In Touring 3, Erik and Jason crush the field.  I didn't get a chance to drive the S2000, as I spent most of my time on the phone trying to chase down technical help to get the NSX running again.

The Newton/Morley 2003 Ford Mustang Cobra.  Damn nice paint job!

The NSX motor is just missing a bit, and we need full power for tomorrow's event at Big Willow.

Comptech was getting their Acura Spice Camel Lights car ready for the Auto Salon

Update: 6:00 p.m.
Shad thrashed on the car for four hours.  I did one moron move.....all the spare parts that I had Comptech send me (Injectors, supercharger, pulleys, belts, throttle body, plugs, etc) are in the go-kart trailer which is with the broken RV in Lodi.  Damn.  Shad checks compression, valves, etc, plugs, etc.  At least the car doesn't seem like we blew up the motor, which is a big relief, as I don't have the money for yet another rebuild.  Otherwise, Kennedy and Rylan better get ready for me to start throwing weight out of the S2000 after the OTC! 

I told Shad to do a quick engine swap with this motor and my motor...

One of the Comptech IRL techs suggests swapping out an ECU box, and bingo, car is alive again!  Look out, we are coming to Willow.  Rumors has it that the Scott/Arnold BMW finished four spots ahead of us in points at Thill today, so they are only 5 points behind us.  But they don't know the Willow Track, and they don't know Vegas in Reverse, so it looks like with a good motor we can beat them.  Erik says it is raining on the 5 freeway....and I don't have any passenger door windows on the car, and no windshield wipers.  Damn....Now I just have to navigate the NSX through the rain to catch up with the 48 footer.

Shad working on the Flamemobile

Thanks again to Shad and Comptech for their support of the Comptech Supercharged vehicles at the OTC.

Update: 1:00 a.m.
Made it to the motel room in Mojave.  Trip was....uh.....interesting.  Only one headlight seems to work on the Flamemobile.  My headlight up/down motors don't work, so I have to manually screw up the headlight covers.  Except the wind resistance pushes one of them back down, so I only have one headlight on the road.  I have no stereo, but I have that Wallflower's song (One Headlight) going through my head the whole way to Willow.

Hey, come on try a little
Nothing is forever
There's got to be something better than
In the middle
But me & Cinderella
We put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight

I was blasting up the 5 freeway, and a BMW, a Mustang, and an Acura Sedan were taking turns in the lead of our four car parade.  The drive is long and boring, so we started switching positions to keep ourselves awake and amused.   They seemed to enjoy it when I took the lead and went blaring by them at 110 decibels.  The probably got to see some flames shoot out the exhaust when I downshift.  Heh.  Except that a sheriff was sitting on the overpass, and was wondering who the yahoo was with only one head light and a bunch of stickers on the car with a big ass wing.  15 minutes later he caught up to our 4 car parade, and snuck himself in as the 5th car.  Unfortunately for me, I don't have a rearview mirror (it fell off a couple of days ago when Erik was driving), and my side mirrors wobble so much from being on a 3 lb carbon fiber door, all I can see is wobbling headlights behind me, so I assume it is the Mustang following me.   Otherwise, I would have seen a 5th car sneak in.

Anyways, he gets behind me as I am going 90, and it is my turn to go to the front of the line.    I hit the throttle, and blast up to the front of the line in about 5 seconds.  Flashing lights go on, I get pulled over.  Damn.  I am sure the other 3 cars in the parade are cracking up at me.  Bastards.  A new song goes through my mind.  "Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airman

We had flames comin' from out of the side
Feel the tension, man, what a ride!
I said, "Look out, boys, I've got a license to fly"
And that Caddy pulled over and let us by

Now all of a sudden she started to knockin'
And down in the dips she started to rockin'
I looked in my mirror; a red light was blinkin'
The cops was after my Hot Rod Lincoln

They arrested me and they put me in jail
And called my pappy to throw my bail
And he said, "Son, you're gonna' drive me to drinkin'
If you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln!"
                     
 

The Coffey/Lampe Beta Motorsports Z Car

Damn.  I give him my license, registration, insurance papers, etc., call him sir, etc.  I show him my 11-99 badge, showing that I give to the charity of slain CHP officers.  Except he isn't a CHP officer, he is a local sheriff.  Ooops.  And when I see the county that he patrols for, I think I am in deep shit.....as they have busted me and Wayne before a couple of years back when we were driving home from the Hill Climb.

He seems to think the NSX is cool.  He says, "You know, I could write you up for a missing headlight, no rear view mirror, blocking the rear license plate with that blinking box (AMB transponder), going 102 miles an hour on the freeway, and possible exhibition of speed since when you hit the gas, you threw rubber and rocks all over my windshield as you passed the other cars.  I will let you go this time, but you better slow down.  Be thankful that I am trying to bust drug dealers and cattle rustlers tonight".   Whew, that was close.  He was the most polite/professional law enforcement official that I ever met.  I even offered to send him some OTC shirts, but he declined as he said that would be "inappropriate".

The Ondrack/Salter Super Fiero

I get to the hotel, and notice that I am missing the gas cap from my car.  And it is a special cap.  Must figure out how to fix that in the morning......we almost have Raceaflais beat....

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