Over Memorial Day weekend the team slapped on a wing (that Marcus spent all week reinforcing) and headed to Calistoga Speedway for their annual Golden State Challenge race. The weekend started off with dad running himself over with the sprint car while pushing it back to our shop. We were hoping that after he tore up his arm and knee that we had gotten rid of all our bad luck.
On the first night I started off in hot laps by getting used to a wing sprint car on a monstrous half mile track. It didn’t help that an inch of rain on Thursday made the track the tackiest it’s been in probably 20 years and about as smooth as the ocean. We qualified towards the back of the pack and ended up starting in the back of our heat race and then stayed there as everyone played follow the leader from lap one. After making some changes to the car trying to figure out the awkward track conditions, we headed out for our Main Event. I started 17th in a 19 car field and from lap one we were moving forward. I worked my way through the field to about 11th position until my nose wing slowly started to bend on me. It became harder and harder to keep the front of the car on the ground and under control. On the white flag lap I drive into turn one and the wing finally broke and flapped back onto the hood. Then going down the back chute the car wanted to drive into the infield. I weighed my options and decided it would be best to pull off the track. After getting out of the car I noticed that we had also broken a hollow bolt in our tie rod. Nobody really knows how long it was broken but after looking at the tape we had concluded it had been broken for over a lap. Needless to say I was frustrated that I was unable to make the final turn of the last lap after doing so well for most of the race.
On the second day, the track was a more typical Calistoga dry slick, and qualifying times showed it. I was especially grateful that I got a taste of Calistoga’s reputation for being a dusty, rock throwing s.o.b. Going down the front chute for our heat race was extremely fun as I got blasted with dirt and rocks flying at 100 mph. The heat race tonight was similar to the first night, just a follow the leader kinda deal. Once again my team did a great job with set up as we went into the Main on the second night. Starting 13th was a difficult spot to be in as we took the green flag and the dust began to fly. I was only able to see two cars ahead of me and I couldn’t see the turn until I was there. As the field strung out and the dust began to clear I was able to start making moves through the field. Moving through lapped traffic I was trailing Calistoga local, Mike Benson, when our night went sour. With about 6 laps to go the car developed a horrific vibration coming out of the turns. As I once again assessed my choices I figured I should pull the car in rather than take the chance on an engine failure, especially when it is our only 410.
Once we got it back to our shop we were able to assess the damage. Everything in the motor checked out OK. Upon further inspection we believe our problem was a shock mount coming loose on the left rear torsion arm. This would cause a vibration as the car exited the corner. Overall we did well during our first race at Calistoga this season. Although I had hoped to finish the race there, I had a blast and can’t wait to go back in August for the Civil War 360 race.
I want to thank all the people who helped us and who cheered for us in Calistoga. I hope we can pull off a good finish for you when we return.
