Illuminating the Racing World!!

Well the season started out just like always, COLD AND WET! I really did'nt think we
would race but after several phone calls to the track, it became painfully clear that we were
in fact going to have to go thru with it. I was torn; I really wanted to race, but didn't want
to face a normal nasty opening night. As we got there, I found several of my friends of the
same opinion: wanting to race but not wanting to freeze. Car owner, Jeff Hill and pit crew
- Dave Clark had spent the day Saturday making sure the car was ready to run. We went
out for hot laps, race track was wet and heavy so car was too tight in the corners. Just as
was everyone else's. Normal track after the first 10 laps is dry and slick, even on the first
night. One of the bright spots of the night was the way the Aero Automotive Machine 392
engine performed. Flawless with lots - o - power. After changing the shocks and springs,
we went out to qualify. Car was still too tight but, I was able to qualify in the top 14 to
be locked in the feature. About this time we found out the rumor of " NO ALCOHOL CAN BE
BOUGHT AT THE TRACK BECAUASE SOMEONE FORGOT TO GET A SHIPMENT IN." to be true.
Shame on us for not buying a barrel last week. Guess that won't happen again! The car
owner had to make a 20 mile ( one way ) trip to a facility that sells alcohol. While all this
was going on the car driver (me) wanted to make more changes to the car: namely springs,
but we did'nt have the springs that were needed and I was too stubborn to ask around to
see if anyone had any that could be borrowed. In the heat race, i could only run a few laps
because of the lack of fuel. Feature time finally rolled around, we had to start midpack,
rain was still a problem. Gloves were wet, and not nearly enough tear -offs were only the
beginning of the problems. A minor skirmish on the back stretch has me in the garage
trying to get it ready to take to T.T. Chassis to get it fixed. I can give a million and one
excuses, but truth to tell we just had a mediocre night. I'm looking forward to next week,
though I hope it'll be a bit warmer. Yeah right! Hats off to Jeff Kohn who gave Kris
Patterson's car a hell of a ride, and winning the feature.

Last modified on Monday, April 19, 1999