Well the 2013 racing season at Sunny South Raceway is in the books and it will be another four months or so until the 2014 season kicks off. The next racing function is the annual banquet on Dec. 14, looking forward to it. Before the beginning of the 2013 season the #32 team sat down and established some goals that we would strive to attain.
1. Win the track championship in the Semi Pro division.
2. Win at least one race.
3. Win at least two heat races.
4. Win at least two pole positions in qualifying.
5. Record at least one lap under 13.00 seconds.
6. Represent ourselves in a professional manner,
exhibiting good sportsmanship and fair
and honest competition.
Lets examine the results for 2013:
1. Win the track championship. We fell short by 8 points. We were having a very successful season until Aug 2nd. after the heat race made a chassis adjustment to the right rear of the car, and did not check the ride heights after. The result was by raising the right rear we unknowingly lowered the left front, apparently we were right on the borderline of being too low (we had passed all pre and post race inspections up to that point) but we were now 1/32" too low and were disqualified. Zero points for the whole night. Our 75 point lead was now minus 12. We figured we would be able to make it up, which we should have been able to do, however Connelly began overdriving the car trying to make it up and to get a full feature win. We wound up ending the season ahead by three points.The track rules state that you MUST drop your lowest points race, the disqualification doesn't count. When we dropped our lowest points race and the #66 dropped his lowest points race, in our lowest points race we had outscored him by 11 points, so we had to finish 11 points ahead of him to win the track championship--we just didn't. Congratulations to Andrew Johnson and the entire #66 crew - they did what they were supposed to do and we didn't.
2. Win at least one race. We were scored winning one race, but it was a rain shortened race and Connelly felt that its value was diminished by that, I kept telling him that a win is a win, the check said first place and the trophy said first place. We also had three second place finishes in feature races
3. Win at least two pole positions. That one we accomplished. We won four poles and were tied to one one-thousandth of a second for another.
4. Win at least two heat races. That one we accomplished also. We won 3 heat races and also had 5 second place finishes.
5. Record at least one lap under 13.00 seconds. That one we did not achieve. Our fastest lap that was electronically scored was a 13.03 which was only three one hundredths of a second off--you cant blink that fast.
6. Represent ourselves in a professional manner, exhibiting good sportsmanship and fair and honest competition.--We feel that we have accomplished this, the disqualification hangs over our heads like a black cloud, but rest assured it was unintentional, we gained no competitive advantage from that 1/32 of an inch, but the rules are the rules and we not only abide by them, but whole heartedly support them.
Overall the 2013 season was a very successful one for us. We not only accomplished a lot, we learned even more. We have finally began to gain an understanding of what it takes to make one of these little cars perform. Connelly learned a lot and improved significantly in his driving abilities, we still have a long way to go but we made a start in 2013. We are looking forward to the 2014 season.
Paul, Betty and Connelly
Monday, November 25, 2013
Friday October 4, 2013--The Dixie Clash
Friday Oct. 4 found us leaving Brother Martin at the usual time, 3:10 and proceeding to SSR. This weekend was scheduled to be the "Dixie Clash" a two day program with Friday night being the regular qualifying, heat race, feature race format, and Saturday night being the "Dixie Clash" with qualifying and a 30 lap feature for the Legends. The Pro Challenge were to have their National Championship this weekend with qualifying and one 40 lap feature on Fri and another qualifying and 40 lap feature on Saturday.--However and there always seems to be a "however"--tropical storm Karen was scheduled to arrive on Saturday so they condensed the Pro Challenge to everything on Friday and the Legend and all other classes 30 lap races to Friday, with Saturday open for Karen. Wouldn't you know Karen fizzled out and Saturday was rain free, oh well!!!
We arrived at SSR on time and got registered, teched, and got on the track for some practice. The car was fast in practice so we only made two short runs and got ready for qualifying. The cars available tonight were the #44 of Brian McArdle, the #54 of Clayton Green out of Texas (he was only six points out of third place nationally for the Pro division in Legends and this was the last points race of the season), the #32 of Connelly, The #66 of Andrew Johnson, the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #44jr of Joseph McArdle, the #94 of Brad West who was involved in that wreck last weekend and got his car back together for the "Clash", the #55r of Ronnie Osmer, great to have him back competing in the Legends (has been racing the Pro Challenge but blew his engine last race sorry it took a blown engine to get him back), the #33 of Dustin Smith, and the #96 of Robbie Johnston. The order mention above was the qualifying order with the difference between all cars was only .375 of a second a very fast and competitive field. Oh by the way did I mention the "Dixie Clash" paid $600 to win!!!!!!
Since this was to be a 30 lap race and SSR is "hard on tires" this 30 lap race would require some tire management. You have to run hard enough in the early laps so that the leaders don't get away from you, but not abuse your tires in doing so. We qualified 3rd which put us on the inside of row two, a prefect starting spot. At the start of the race Connelly ran third for about 6 or 7 laps, (conserving tires) the #7 who started behind us started getting a little anxious to get to the front, and he passed us, we really didn't contest it too hard, the #7 got into a passing duel with the #54 with each passing each other two or three times--both using up their "stuff" at lap 16 the #55r and the #96 got together bending the right front spindle on the #55r finishing his night. On the restart I signaled Connelly to take the choose, almost a bad call as he was 6th before he could get to the inside. He worked his way back up to 5th. With the #7 on the outside of the #54 and #44 they went three wide through turn three and four, they were all running the tires off of their cars, we then got by the #7 for 4th., then with 5 to go got by the #44jr for third, which is where we finished. The remainder of the finishing order was #44jr, #66, #7, #96, #94, #33, and #55r. Connelly felt like he may have had something for the #54 but I had instructed him that we needed a podium finish for our points. Finishing third behind Brian McArdle (three time track champion) and the #54 (third place in national Pro points) isn't too shabby. Connelly was really disappointed as he felt he had a better car than he had shown. All things considered a very respectable night for the #32 team. This was the last race of the season, so it will be probably 4 months before we go racing again.
On several occasions in these posts, I mention the "#32 team" I probably should introduce them to you. We are Myself a 72 year old Grandfather, Betty, I won't mention her age, Grandmother and Connelly, the only youngster in the bunch.
We arrived at SSR on time and got registered, teched, and got on the track for some practice. The car was fast in practice so we only made two short runs and got ready for qualifying. The cars available tonight were the #44 of Brian McArdle, the #54 of Clayton Green out of Texas (he was only six points out of third place nationally for the Pro division in Legends and this was the last points race of the season), the #32 of Connelly, The #66 of Andrew Johnson, the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #44jr of Joseph McArdle, the #94 of Brad West who was involved in that wreck last weekend and got his car back together for the "Clash", the #55r of Ronnie Osmer, great to have him back competing in the Legends (has been racing the Pro Challenge but blew his engine last race sorry it took a blown engine to get him back), the #33 of Dustin Smith, and the #96 of Robbie Johnston. The order mention above was the qualifying order with the difference between all cars was only .375 of a second a very fast and competitive field. Oh by the way did I mention the "Dixie Clash" paid $600 to win!!!!!!
Since this was to be a 30 lap race and SSR is "hard on tires" this 30 lap race would require some tire management. You have to run hard enough in the early laps so that the leaders don't get away from you, but not abuse your tires in doing so. We qualified 3rd which put us on the inside of row two, a prefect starting spot. At the start of the race Connelly ran third for about 6 or 7 laps, (conserving tires) the #7 who started behind us started getting a little anxious to get to the front, and he passed us, we really didn't contest it too hard, the #7 got into a passing duel with the #54 with each passing each other two or three times--both using up their "stuff" at lap 16 the #55r and the #96 got together bending the right front spindle on the #55r finishing his night. On the restart I signaled Connelly to take the choose, almost a bad call as he was 6th before he could get to the inside. He worked his way back up to 5th. With the #7 on the outside of the #54 and #44 they went three wide through turn three and four, they were all running the tires off of their cars, we then got by the #7 for 4th., then with 5 to go got by the #44jr for third, which is where we finished. The remainder of the finishing order was #44jr, #66, #7, #96, #94, #33, and #55r. Connelly felt like he may have had something for the #54 but I had instructed him that we needed a podium finish for our points. Finishing third behind Brian McArdle (three time track champion) and the #54 (third place in national Pro points) isn't too shabby. Connelly was really disappointed as he felt he had a better car than he had shown. All things considered a very respectable night for the #32 team. This was the last race of the season, so it will be probably 4 months before we go racing again.
On several occasions in these posts, I mention the "#32 team" I probably should introduce them to you. We are Myself a 72 year old Grandfather, Betty, I won't mention her age, Grandmother and Connelly, the only youngster in the bunch.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
September 27, 2013
Friday found us leaving Brother Martin High School at the normal 3:15 time and proceeding to Sunny South Raceway. We had an uneventful trip and arrived at the track just a few minutes after gate opening. Got to our pit stall, unloaded, got registered and went through tech and got on the track in the first group. Connelly laid down a fast lap in practice of 13.03 which is very fast for a track that was still pretty hot. We felt that we couldn't gain anything by more practicing, so we just checked it over and got ready for qualifying. It felt good to not have tires to break in or adjustments to deal with.
The cars available tonight were the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson, the # 44jr. of Joseph McArdle, the #44 of Brian McArdle (who is just back from kidney transplant surgery three weeks ago. His doctor said he could go back to his normal activity, I am not sure that the doctor knew what Brian's "normal activity" was).the #04 of Dawson Keener, the # 94 of Brad West, the # 96 of Robbie Johnston, the # 7b (Hunter Lewis' backup car) driven this week by Andrew Johnson, and the #33 driven by Dustin Smith. A very impressive and competitive field of cars. In the practice session for the pro challenge cars the #55r blew his engine (connecting rod through the side of the engine) and emptied the entire crankcase of oil in the middle of the "groove" from the center of turn 3 to the entrance of turn 1, after an extensive cleanup the track was just barely raceable.
QUALIFYING: The timing system at SSR records the lap times to the thousandth of a second and the #7 and the #32 posted identical times for qualifying to the thousandth of a second a 13.169, the #44jr was third followed by the #44, then #04,the #94, the #96, #7b, with the #33 rounding out the field.
HEAT RACE: Since the #7 went out to qualify first he was awarded the pole with Connelly relegated to outside front row. With all of the fast cars tonight I figured we would be in fifth or sixth position before we could get to the bottom. The heat went just about a I figured we were in fifth by the time we could get to the inside where could race, we raced in fifth for several laps and was having difficulty getting by the 04 when with three laps to go Connelly drove it in to turn three very hard, made the pass on the 04 but was carrying too much speed when he hit the part of the track that had been oiled down by the 55r and he spun the car. He went from fourth to ninth in one spin. With only three laps to go he wound up finishing in 8th place a net loss of 8 points toward the track championship.
FEATURE RACE: Due to our poor finish in the Heat we started outside of the last row with a mob of really fast cars in front of us. The invert was a #5 so the up front cars were scrambled. After a caution on the first lap creating a complete restart, things settled down with Connelly working his way up through the field and by halfway he was in fifth. Shortly thereafter a caution came out, we took the "choose" and in one lap was third. We worked our way up to second, but another caution came out and since we hadn't completed one full lap in that position we had to give it back, got back to second as a result of the #7 and #44 getting together in turn 4, the #7 fell back to about 5th then another caution and another restart. The #7 was driving very hard and had gotten up to third behind us and the #44, with two laps to go we were right on the tail of the #44 when the #44 broke a rear trailing arm bolt and began to slide, we were still at middle of the turn speed and our right front wheel went inside of his left rear, at that moment the #7 touched our rear bumper (something that happens many times in the course of a race) and we got into the #44, then the #04 hit our rear bumper launching him into the wall on the exit of turn 2 taking the #94 with him. Connelly was able to drive the car away but with all of that contact he came off the track to check on the safety of the car. Which now relegated him to last place among the remaining cars. The officials red flagged the race and called it complete, awarding finishes and points by last completed green flag lap, which would have placed us second. A very "heated discussion" ensued and the finish as announced was reversed and we were given 6th place since we left the track. The net result was a loss of another 12 points. The finishing order as recorded was #7, #7b, #96, #33, #44jr, and #32. This race was to be crucial in our chase for the track championship. Next weekend will be the final race of the season "The Dixie Clash" a normal program for Fri. night with just qualifying and a 30 lap feature on Saturday. That will be our last chance to regain the lead in points.
The cars available tonight were the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson, the # 44jr. of Joseph McArdle, the #44 of Brian McArdle (who is just back from kidney transplant surgery three weeks ago. His doctor said he could go back to his normal activity, I am not sure that the doctor knew what Brian's "normal activity" was).the #04 of Dawson Keener, the # 94 of Brad West, the # 96 of Robbie Johnston, the # 7b (Hunter Lewis' backup car) driven this week by Andrew Johnson, and the #33 driven by Dustin Smith. A very impressive and competitive field of cars. In the practice session for the pro challenge cars the #55r blew his engine (connecting rod through the side of the engine) and emptied the entire crankcase of oil in the middle of the "groove" from the center of turn 3 to the entrance of turn 1, after an extensive cleanup the track was just barely raceable.
QUALIFYING: The timing system at SSR records the lap times to the thousandth of a second and the #7 and the #32 posted identical times for qualifying to the thousandth of a second a 13.169, the #44jr was third followed by the #44, then #04,the #94, the #96, #7b, with the #33 rounding out the field.
HEAT RACE: Since the #7 went out to qualify first he was awarded the pole with Connelly relegated to outside front row. With all of the fast cars tonight I figured we would be in fifth or sixth position before we could get to the bottom. The heat went just about a I figured we were in fifth by the time we could get to the inside where could race, we raced in fifth for several laps and was having difficulty getting by the 04 when with three laps to go Connelly drove it in to turn three very hard, made the pass on the 04 but was carrying too much speed when he hit the part of the track that had been oiled down by the 55r and he spun the car. He went from fourth to ninth in one spin. With only three laps to go he wound up finishing in 8th place a net loss of 8 points toward the track championship.
FEATURE RACE: Due to our poor finish in the Heat we started outside of the last row with a mob of really fast cars in front of us. The invert was a #5 so the up front cars were scrambled. After a caution on the first lap creating a complete restart, things settled down with Connelly working his way up through the field and by halfway he was in fifth. Shortly thereafter a caution came out, we took the "choose" and in one lap was third. We worked our way up to second, but another caution came out and since we hadn't completed one full lap in that position we had to give it back, got back to second as a result of the #7 and #44 getting together in turn 4, the #7 fell back to about 5th then another caution and another restart. The #7 was driving very hard and had gotten up to third behind us and the #44, with two laps to go we were right on the tail of the #44 when the #44 broke a rear trailing arm bolt and began to slide, we were still at middle of the turn speed and our right front wheel went inside of his left rear, at that moment the #7 touched our rear bumper (something that happens many times in the course of a race) and we got into the #44, then the #04 hit our rear bumper launching him into the wall on the exit of turn 2 taking the #94 with him. Connelly was able to drive the car away but with all of that contact he came off the track to check on the safety of the car. Which now relegated him to last place among the remaining cars. The officials red flagged the race and called it complete, awarding finishes and points by last completed green flag lap, which would have placed us second. A very "heated discussion" ensued and the finish as announced was reversed and we were given 6th place since we left the track. The net result was a loss of another 12 points. The finishing order as recorded was #7, #7b, #96, #33, #44jr, and #32. This race was to be crucial in our chase for the track championship. Next weekend will be the final race of the season "The Dixie Clash" a normal program for Fri. night with just qualifying and a 30 lap feature on Saturday. That will be our last chance to regain the lead in points.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
September 13, 2013 (Friday the 13th)
Friday night started the same as the other Fridays since school started, pick Connelly up from Brother Martin at 3:10 and get on the road to SSR. We made a safe and uneventful trip to Grand Bay and arrived at the track after filling up the truck for the return trip at about 5:15. We had plenty of time since we did not have to break in tires. Went through the usual ritual, unloading, registering, getting through tech and finally getting on the track for a couple of test laps. The car was good even with the track temp of 109 degrees. We put the fans on the engine and when the track had cooled off a little went out for another quick test run and laid down a lap in the 13.05 range, so we parked it until qualifying.
THE COMPETITORS: Tonight we had on hand the usual cars, #7 Hunter Lewis, #44 Joseph McArdle #32 Connelly, #66 Andrew Johnston, #94 Brad West, #96 Robbie Johnson, and from Monroe La the #96A (I don't have his name).
QUALIFYING: In qualifying Connelly laid down a fast lap of 13.085, good enough for the pole, #66 was second with a 13.129, #7 was third at a 13.159, #44 fourth at a 13.280, #94 fifth at a 13.439, #96 at a 13.603, #96A at a 13.651. A good close field for tonight's race.
HEAT RACE: In the heat Connelly started on the pole as his qualifying called for followed by the rest of the field in the order noted above. Connelly led for the first six laps when the #66 spun in turn 4 bringing out a caution. Connelly didn't need that as he had a lead of about three car lengths over the #7 and was in a good rhythm. A couple of cars took the "choose" Connelly held on to the lead for a couple of laps then got a little high coming off of turn 2 allowing the #7 to get under him and he got by, in the process #44 got by also and we were now in third. Coming to the checker flag the #44 broke his right rear trailing arm and spun and crashed hard into the back straightaway wall doing significant damage. We wound up second behind the #7 followed by the #66, #94, #96A. The #96 experienced a mechanical problem before the start and did not start.
FEATURE RACE: Hunter Lewis threw the big dice for the invert and rolled a six, meaning that he would start 6th, we would start 5th, the #66 would start 4th, the #96A third, the #94 second, and the #44 on the pole. As a result of his crash in the heat race the #44 was unable to answer the call to post and the entire inside line just moved up one position. Giving us the third starting spot. Coming out of turn two on the first lap the #94 got real loose and almost spun, Connelly checked up and got nailed in the rear by the #7 pushing Connelly into the infield, the whole field got slowed down, and Connelly just drove through the infield to turn 4 where he got back on the track, no harm no foul. Since they did not complete a lap a complete re-start was ordered. By the end of the second lap Connelly had taken the lead and held on with the #7 never more than a couple of lengths back. At just about halfway the #96A spun bringing out the caution. A couple of cars took the "choose" and after the restart the #7 was glued to our rear bumper. Connelly got up out of the groove coming out of turn 2 and the #7 got by, Connelly stayed right on his bumper for a couple of laps and re-passed the #7 again leading for a couple of laps and the #7 got back by for the lead. Connelly tried to pass back and got hung on the outside and ran a complete lap on the outside of the #7 at one point getting almost by but he had overheated his right rear tire being on the outside for that long and coming to the white flag he almost spun and fell from second to fourth, which is where he finished. Finishing order was #7, #66, #94, #32, #96 and #96A. It was a great race from a spectator's point of view. Connelly passed the #96A once for the lead, passed the #7 three times for the lead, unfortunately the #7 passed us once more than we passed him. If we had finished second it wouldn't have been too bad, but this was a double points race and by loosing those two positions with one lap to go cost us 12 points. The spectators definitely got their $10 worth tonight. I guess we just got Friday the 13th ed. We will just have to get em next time. Looking forward to 9-27 already, only that race and the big weekend of Oct 4th and 5th left in the 2013 racing season, so come on out and treat yourself to some exceptional racing.
THE COMPETITORS: Tonight we had on hand the usual cars, #7 Hunter Lewis, #44 Joseph McArdle #32 Connelly, #66 Andrew Johnston, #94 Brad West, #96 Robbie Johnson, and from Monroe La the #96A (I don't have his name).
QUALIFYING: In qualifying Connelly laid down a fast lap of 13.085, good enough for the pole, #66 was second with a 13.129, #7 was third at a 13.159, #44 fourth at a 13.280, #94 fifth at a 13.439, #96 at a 13.603, #96A at a 13.651. A good close field for tonight's race.
HEAT RACE: In the heat Connelly started on the pole as his qualifying called for followed by the rest of the field in the order noted above. Connelly led for the first six laps when the #66 spun in turn 4 bringing out a caution. Connelly didn't need that as he had a lead of about three car lengths over the #7 and was in a good rhythm. A couple of cars took the "choose" Connelly held on to the lead for a couple of laps then got a little high coming off of turn 2 allowing the #7 to get under him and he got by, in the process #44 got by also and we were now in third. Coming to the checker flag the #44 broke his right rear trailing arm and spun and crashed hard into the back straightaway wall doing significant damage. We wound up second behind the #7 followed by the #66, #94, #96A. The #96 experienced a mechanical problem before the start and did not start.
FEATURE RACE: Hunter Lewis threw the big dice for the invert and rolled a six, meaning that he would start 6th, we would start 5th, the #66 would start 4th, the #96A third, the #94 second, and the #44 on the pole. As a result of his crash in the heat race the #44 was unable to answer the call to post and the entire inside line just moved up one position. Giving us the third starting spot. Coming out of turn two on the first lap the #94 got real loose and almost spun, Connelly checked up and got nailed in the rear by the #7 pushing Connelly into the infield, the whole field got slowed down, and Connelly just drove through the infield to turn 4 where he got back on the track, no harm no foul. Since they did not complete a lap a complete re-start was ordered. By the end of the second lap Connelly had taken the lead and held on with the #7 never more than a couple of lengths back. At just about halfway the #96A spun bringing out the caution. A couple of cars took the "choose" and after the restart the #7 was glued to our rear bumper. Connelly got up out of the groove coming out of turn 2 and the #7 got by, Connelly stayed right on his bumper for a couple of laps and re-passed the #7 again leading for a couple of laps and the #7 got back by for the lead. Connelly tried to pass back and got hung on the outside and ran a complete lap on the outside of the #7 at one point getting almost by but he had overheated his right rear tire being on the outside for that long and coming to the white flag he almost spun and fell from second to fourth, which is where he finished. Finishing order was #7, #66, #94, #32, #96 and #96A. It was a great race from a spectator's point of view. Connelly passed the #96A once for the lead, passed the #7 three times for the lead, unfortunately the #7 passed us once more than we passed him. If we had finished second it wouldn't have been too bad, but this was a double points race and by loosing those two positions with one lap to go cost us 12 points. The spectators definitely got their $10 worth tonight. I guess we just got Friday the 13th ed. We will just have to get em next time. Looking forward to 9-27 already, only that race and the big weekend of Oct 4th and 5th left in the 2013 racing season, so come on out and treat yourself to some exceptional racing.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
August 30, 2013
Since school has begun we have had to pick up Connelly at Brother Martin High School which isn't bad as it is on the way to the track. We left school at around 3:10 and arrived at Sunny South Raceway slightly after 5pm, got to our pit area, unloaded, got the car registered, went through tech and got ready to go on the track. We didn't have to break in tires as our newest set was just about ready, but we did put one heat cycle on the new tires just to let them know we still loved them, It was good not to have to thrash to do tires and get the car ready, it was a lot more low key.
The cars available tonight were: the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #44 of Joseph McArdle, the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson, the #66 of Andrew Johnston, The #04 of Dawson Keener, the #96 of Robbie Johnson, the #94 of Brad West. Unfortunately the #96 burned up his wiring harness in his last practice session and couldn't get it fixed in time to compete tonight, leaving us only 6 cars to race.
QUALIFYING: Connelly overdrove the car in his three lap qualifying session, it is easy to do, but the fast way around is smooth, smooth, smooth. He wound up third behind the #7 at a 13.095, the #44 at a 13.124 the #32 at a 13.125, and the #66 was fourth at a 13.277.
HEAT RACE: Connelly started third behind the #7, the #44, with the #66 to Connelly's outside in fourth starting position. At the start Connelly was able to keep the #44 to the outside and make the pass for 2nd by the end of lap 2, the # 44 was able to pass us back by the end of lap 4, where they raced #7,1st, #44 2nd, #32 3rd #04 4th with the #66 5th followed by the #94 in 6th. Connelly mustered up a run for second and by the end of lap 7 had taken 2nd place, which is where he finished. The finishing order is the same as above with the exception of Connelly being 2nd, a good entertaining race.
FEATURE RACE: Hunter Lewis driver of the #7 was called upon to throw the big dice to determine the invert for the feature, he threw a 5 which put him starting 5th, Connelly 4th, the #44 third, the #04 second and the #66 on the pole. Fourth starting position is as tough as it gets, you are behind several cars, on the outside, you will probably have to fall back to last to get to the inside where you can race, but it is part of learning how to compete successfully. We took the start and fell back to 5th, but by the end of lap 2 was back to 4th, by the end of lap 7 was up to third, by the end of lap9 had gotten by the #44 and was in second place. Shortly after halfway a caution came out for the spin of the #04, This was probably good for us as it let our right rear tire cool down a bit, upon the restart the #66 took the "choose" which let him go up to outside front row. After two laps he was back to fourth, Connelly and the #7 raced nose to tail for several laps and going down the back straightaway with two laps to go got by the #7 for the lead, however coming out of turn four he got a little loose and wiggled slightly, but it was enough for the #7 to get back by us, we just didn't have enough laps left to mount another charge to the front, and we finished second, followed by the #44, #66, #94 and the #04. Not the finish Connelly hoped for, but we learned a lot about ourselves tonight. First of all we can start deep in the field in an outside starting position and get to the lead, we need to learn how to protect that lead and not overdrive turn 4 and be able to hold on for the win. We did have a good points night and we need to continue doing so. We are looking forward to the next race---Friday the 13--I am not superstitious, but I have my lucky socks ready.
The cars available tonight were: the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #44 of Joseph McArdle, the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson, the #66 of Andrew Johnston, The #04 of Dawson Keener, the #96 of Robbie Johnson, the #94 of Brad West. Unfortunately the #96 burned up his wiring harness in his last practice session and couldn't get it fixed in time to compete tonight, leaving us only 6 cars to race.
QUALIFYING: Connelly overdrove the car in his three lap qualifying session, it is easy to do, but the fast way around is smooth, smooth, smooth. He wound up third behind the #7 at a 13.095, the #44 at a 13.124 the #32 at a 13.125, and the #66 was fourth at a 13.277.
HEAT RACE: Connelly started third behind the #7, the #44, with the #66 to Connelly's outside in fourth starting position. At the start Connelly was able to keep the #44 to the outside and make the pass for 2nd by the end of lap 2, the # 44 was able to pass us back by the end of lap 4, where they raced #7,1st, #44 2nd, #32 3rd #04 4th with the #66 5th followed by the #94 in 6th. Connelly mustered up a run for second and by the end of lap 7 had taken 2nd place, which is where he finished. The finishing order is the same as above with the exception of Connelly being 2nd, a good entertaining race.
FEATURE RACE: Hunter Lewis driver of the #7 was called upon to throw the big dice to determine the invert for the feature, he threw a 5 which put him starting 5th, Connelly 4th, the #44 third, the #04 second and the #66 on the pole. Fourth starting position is as tough as it gets, you are behind several cars, on the outside, you will probably have to fall back to last to get to the inside where you can race, but it is part of learning how to compete successfully. We took the start and fell back to 5th, but by the end of lap 2 was back to 4th, by the end of lap 7 was up to third, by the end of lap9 had gotten by the #44 and was in second place. Shortly after halfway a caution came out for the spin of the #04, This was probably good for us as it let our right rear tire cool down a bit, upon the restart the #66 took the "choose" which let him go up to outside front row. After two laps he was back to fourth, Connelly and the #7 raced nose to tail for several laps and going down the back straightaway with two laps to go got by the #7 for the lead, however coming out of turn four he got a little loose and wiggled slightly, but it was enough for the #7 to get back by us, we just didn't have enough laps left to mount another charge to the front, and we finished second, followed by the #44, #66, #94 and the #04. Not the finish Connelly hoped for, but we learned a lot about ourselves tonight. First of all we can start deep in the field in an outside starting position and get to the lead, we need to learn how to protect that lead and not overdrive turn 4 and be able to hold on for the win. We did have a good points night and we need to continue doing so. We are looking forward to the next race---Friday the 13--I am not superstitious, but I have my lucky socks ready.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
August 16, 2013
We had to leave from Brother Martin High School at 3:06 as Connelly had begun school yesterday. We ran through a couple of pretty good rain showers en-route, but when we arrived at the track it was dry, I was hoping it would stay that way as there were rain showers in the area. We got to the track moments before the gates opened, got to our pit stall, unloaded the car, got it registered and went through tech. This time we checked ride height, we were legal, but too close for comfort so we raised the car up 1/8 of an inch. (Always better to check your "stuff" with the official gages because that is what you will be checked with after the race), we even checked the overall width with the tech man's width gage, and we were OK. So on to the track to test. The car handled OK but not quite there, Connelly made a slight adjustment and the car was "there".
There were 7 cars competing tonight, the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson, the #44 of Joseph McArdle, the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #66 of Andrew Johnston, the #94 of Brad West, the #04 of Dawson Keener, and the #96 of Robbie Johnson. A very good and competitive field of cars.
QUALIFYING: The cars were sent out in groups of 4 for qualifying, we were in the second group-only three in the last group for their 3 lap qualifying run, Connelly overdrove the first 2 laps with times in the 13.2's, got his concentration back for his third lap and posted a 13.125 to win the pole for the second straight race. The qualifying order was #32, #7, #44, #66, #04, #96, and #94. the #32 had a 13.125, the #7 had a 13.136 and the #44 had a 13.145 the top 3 qualifiers were separated by only two one hundredths of a second. That was extremely close and should make for a really exciting race.
HEAT RACE: Connelly started on the pole with the #7 to his outside with the #44 in 3rd and #66 4th, the #04 and #96 made up the third row with the #94 in 7th position. Connelly got a good start came out of turns 1 & 2 clean and lead down the backstretch and went into turns 3 & 4 with the lead, in the apex of turns 3 & 4 the #44 and #7 got together slightly, neither car spun but they both got "out of shape" which caused the #66 to check up to avoid a big wreck, all three cars were OK but that gave Connelly the chance to get away and have some breathing room. There was some good racing throughout the field, as the #96 was able to get by the #66 for 4th, the #66 almost took it back at the finish line but the #96 held on by about 1/2 a car length with the #04 challenging both of them in the far inside lane. They were almost 3 abreast at the finish line. All in all a very entertaining and well contested race. The finishing order was #32, #7, #44, #96, #66, #04, #94. It should be noted that the drivers of the #32, #44, #96, and #04 are all 16 years old. They are handling these race cars in such a professional manner it is almost scary. The Legend cars are among the most difficult race cars to drive, they have a short wheelbase 73" have a HP to weight ratio of 9.25 pounds per HP. they have a narrow wheelbase 60" and run on street tires--no slick racing tires here, and no anti sway bar. I find it remarkable that they do as well as they do. Connelly has been racing Legends since he was 13 as was the #44 I find that almost unbelievable. The #44 won the track championship at 14 with Connelly finishing in 3rd place that year. Great for all of these young drivers. The track motto is "training tomorrow's champions today" so true. We have had some really bad luck lately--overdrawn at the racing luck bank-- as Darrel Waltrup says, but finally we got a break. Before our feature race was to begin it started raining and we lost the track at about 11:00 pm no time to dry it out so the race was declared by the officials as over and prize money and positions awarded by heat race finish. This was our third heat race win without a feature victory we have had 6 class, (semi pro) wins but no overall wins so far. This was our first overall victory of the season, we would liked to have won it on the track, but these things are so hard to win and we have worked so hard, we will take it and be thankful. The next race is Aug 30 we will be there with renewed vigor.
There were 7 cars competing tonight, the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson, the #44 of Joseph McArdle, the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #66 of Andrew Johnston, the #94 of Brad West, the #04 of Dawson Keener, and the #96 of Robbie Johnson. A very good and competitive field of cars.
QUALIFYING: The cars were sent out in groups of 4 for qualifying, we were in the second group-only three in the last group for their 3 lap qualifying run, Connelly overdrove the first 2 laps with times in the 13.2's, got his concentration back for his third lap and posted a 13.125 to win the pole for the second straight race. The qualifying order was #32, #7, #44, #66, #04, #96, and #94. the #32 had a 13.125, the #7 had a 13.136 and the #44 had a 13.145 the top 3 qualifiers were separated by only two one hundredths of a second. That was extremely close and should make for a really exciting race.
HEAT RACE: Connelly started on the pole with the #7 to his outside with the #44 in 3rd and #66 4th, the #04 and #96 made up the third row with the #94 in 7th position. Connelly got a good start came out of turns 1 & 2 clean and lead down the backstretch and went into turns 3 & 4 with the lead, in the apex of turns 3 & 4 the #44 and #7 got together slightly, neither car spun but they both got "out of shape" which caused the #66 to check up to avoid a big wreck, all three cars were OK but that gave Connelly the chance to get away and have some breathing room. There was some good racing throughout the field, as the #96 was able to get by the #66 for 4th, the #66 almost took it back at the finish line but the #96 held on by about 1/2 a car length with the #04 challenging both of them in the far inside lane. They were almost 3 abreast at the finish line. All in all a very entertaining and well contested race. The finishing order was #32, #7, #44, #96, #66, #04, #94. It should be noted that the drivers of the #32, #44, #96, and #04 are all 16 years old. They are handling these race cars in such a professional manner it is almost scary. The Legend cars are among the most difficult race cars to drive, they have a short wheelbase 73" have a HP to weight ratio of 9.25 pounds per HP. they have a narrow wheelbase 60" and run on street tires--no slick racing tires here, and no anti sway bar. I find it remarkable that they do as well as they do. Connelly has been racing Legends since he was 13 as was the #44 I find that almost unbelievable. The #44 won the track championship at 14 with Connelly finishing in 3rd place that year. Great for all of these young drivers. The track motto is "training tomorrow's champions today" so true. We have had some really bad luck lately--overdrawn at the racing luck bank-- as Darrel Waltrup says, but finally we got a break. Before our feature race was to begin it started raining and we lost the track at about 11:00 pm no time to dry it out so the race was declared by the officials as over and prize money and positions awarded by heat race finish. This was our third heat race win without a feature victory we have had 6 class, (semi pro) wins but no overall wins so far. This was our first overall victory of the season, we would liked to have won it on the track, but these things are so hard to win and we have worked so hard, we will take it and be thankful. The next race is Aug 30 we will be there with renewed vigor.
Monday, August 19, 2013
August 2, 2013
After the race of July 19 and all of the mis-steps that the #32 took, we brought the car home and went through it with a fine tooth comb. We found that both the camber and the toe had been knocked out. We completely went through the brake system on all four corners and serviced the entire system, we found that we were quite low on brake fluid, so we took care of all of that and bled the system and deemed the brakes ready. We then scaled the car and got all of our setup numbers right and felt the car was as good as we could make it. We left early as we still had to make sure the setup was there and yes, we still had tires to break in--this would be our 3rd try to get that set of tires ready--but you know what they say, the third time is the charm.
We got to the track before the gates were open so we were the third car in, got to our pit stall unloaded the car, got it registered, went through tech and was in the "grid" when the track was opened for practice. Connelly went out got some heat in the tires we were going to race and then "busted" it for about 5 laps. The car was wicked fast, it rolled through the corners perfectly was neutral coming off and perfect going into the turns, so we came in and put on "them tires". It looked like we were finally going to get them broken in as we still had over an hour of practice time left. Well we finally got them done, refueled put our race tires back on and did a quick check over and went to the drivers meeting.
The cars on hand tonight were the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson, the #66 of Andrew Johnston, the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #44 of Joseph McArdle, the #96 of Robbie Johnson, the #04 of Dawson Keener, the #29 of Blake Gaither, and the #94 of Brad West.
QUALIFYING: We had a good qualifying run posted a 13.09 to win the pole position, followed by #66, #7, #44, #96, #04, #29, and the #94 who did not post a time (arrived late).
HEAT RACE: By virtue of Connelly winning the pole position he got to start on the inside of the front row with the #7 to his outside with the rest of the field assuming their qualifying positions. Connelly got a really good start and lead from start to finish winning by about 5 car lengths, the #7 was second followed by #66, #44, #04, #96, #94, and the #29. Connelly threw the big dice to determine the invert and he threw a 1 meaning there would be no invert, all cars would start in the positions they finished the heat race. Very unusual!!!
FEATURE RACE: The track came up with a new wrinkle, they offered either car on the front row the opportunity to go to the rear of the pack for an extra hundred dollars in prize money. Well Hunter Lewis in the #7 took the bet and went to the rear so he was starting the race with $100 in his pocket. Connelly got a really good start and lead for the first half of the race, he was in a good rhythm was driving a good steady race, had a fair lead of about 3 car lengths when the #29 spun coming out of turn 4 at the halfway point. We got another good restart when on the next lap the #04 and #96 got together spinning the #04, another restart. Connelly got a fair restart but the #44 was closer to him than before the spins, Connelly then overdrove turn 1 and 2 slid up the track slightly but just enough for the #44 to get by and the #7 took advantage and got by too. Connelly drove really hard and got back by the #7 and got close to the #44 but just couldn't pull off the win so he had to settle for second. He was really disappointed but the worst was yet to come, in tech it was determined that we were 1/32 of and inch below the minimum ride height on the left front and we were disqualified. Connelly drove the car around the parking lot and got measured again and the car passed, but the disqualification stood. It was generally felt that we damaged the internal valve in that shock when we "wheel hopped" the #7 the race prior. We seldom check ride heights as we set them with a good margin for error and they have never been an issue in over a year--you can bet the farm we will check them from now on. The biggest effect was that we went from leading the points for track championship in the Semi-Pro division by 68 points to being behind by 12. As car owner and crew chief it is my responsibility to make sure the car is legal, I have a rule book and know what they are so I take full responsibility. Oh well live and learn, now we will just have to get the lead back. We are already looking forward to the next race on Aug 16, did I say August??? man the season is almost over. Only 5 races left if they can get in the rainout date of July 5.
We got to the track before the gates were open so we were the third car in, got to our pit stall unloaded the car, got it registered, went through tech and was in the "grid" when the track was opened for practice. Connelly went out got some heat in the tires we were going to race and then "busted" it for about 5 laps. The car was wicked fast, it rolled through the corners perfectly was neutral coming off and perfect going into the turns, so we came in and put on "them tires". It looked like we were finally going to get them broken in as we still had over an hour of practice time left. Well we finally got them done, refueled put our race tires back on and did a quick check over and went to the drivers meeting.
The cars on hand tonight were the #32 of Connelly Dubuisson, the #66 of Andrew Johnston, the #7 of Hunter Lewis, the #44 of Joseph McArdle, the #96 of Robbie Johnson, the #04 of Dawson Keener, the #29 of Blake Gaither, and the #94 of Brad West.
QUALIFYING: We had a good qualifying run posted a 13.09 to win the pole position, followed by #66, #7, #44, #96, #04, #29, and the #94 who did not post a time (arrived late).
HEAT RACE: By virtue of Connelly winning the pole position he got to start on the inside of the front row with the #7 to his outside with the rest of the field assuming their qualifying positions. Connelly got a really good start and lead from start to finish winning by about 5 car lengths, the #7 was second followed by #66, #44, #04, #96, #94, and the #29. Connelly threw the big dice to determine the invert and he threw a 1 meaning there would be no invert, all cars would start in the positions they finished the heat race. Very unusual!!!
FEATURE RACE: The track came up with a new wrinkle, they offered either car on the front row the opportunity to go to the rear of the pack for an extra hundred dollars in prize money. Well Hunter Lewis in the #7 took the bet and went to the rear so he was starting the race with $100 in his pocket. Connelly got a really good start and lead for the first half of the race, he was in a good rhythm was driving a good steady race, had a fair lead of about 3 car lengths when the #29 spun coming out of turn 4 at the halfway point. We got another good restart when on the next lap the #04 and #96 got together spinning the #04, another restart. Connelly got a fair restart but the #44 was closer to him than before the spins, Connelly then overdrove turn 1 and 2 slid up the track slightly but just enough for the #44 to get by and the #7 took advantage and got by too. Connelly drove really hard and got back by the #7 and got close to the #44 but just couldn't pull off the win so he had to settle for second. He was really disappointed but the worst was yet to come, in tech it was determined that we were 1/32 of and inch below the minimum ride height on the left front and we were disqualified. Connelly drove the car around the parking lot and got measured again and the car passed, but the disqualification stood. It was generally felt that we damaged the internal valve in that shock when we "wheel hopped" the #7 the race prior. We seldom check ride heights as we set them with a good margin for error and they have never been an issue in over a year--you can bet the farm we will check them from now on. The biggest effect was that we went from leading the points for track championship in the Semi-Pro division by 68 points to being behind by 12. As car owner and crew chief it is my responsibility to make sure the car is legal, I have a rule book and know what they are so I take full responsibility. Oh well live and learn, now we will just have to get the lead back. We are already looking forward to the next race on Aug 16, did I say August??? man the season is almost over. Only 5 races left if they can get in the rainout date of July 5.
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