VIR,
August 2005
Going into the last national race of the Southeast Division, I was tied with Mike Schmidt for 10th in points. Under the SCCA rules, I would receive the final Runoffs invitation by virtue of having a higher finish. Getting some points at VIR would assure me of a Runoffs qualification.
I had to hustle to find a replacement motor after the Savannah race where the dog rings in the tranny had given up. Ed Crutchfield was most helpful in providing a very low mileage ’04 GSXR and modifying the crank trigger to work with my ’02 wiring. Phil Creighton was likewise helpful in providing replacement CV joints. Engine removal and replacement was without difficulty. I had put my carbon fiber front splitter back into the mold and added a layer of Kevlar to repair some road rash.
VIR is a great facility and I was looking forward to revisiting there. Eric and Thor would be in attendance. Sean would be at Pocono for the double being in need of a couple of finishes to qualify for the Runoffs. With Kathy off on her annual visit the to Wisconsin north woods, I would be trekking alone. Brian Little would join me there to crew. The weather forecast of temperatures in the mid 80’s was welcomed after seeing mostly 100 plus days lately.
Saturday qualifiers. Well the temperatures were near 100, cannot trust the weather. As group one, we went out early before the worst of it. Engine was stout and the shifting was like butter. I was running with a group of competitive cars and holding my own while trying some different gears in the slower corners. Car was handling great, although I was having some trouble running flat out in the infamous uphill esses. I was initially having a problem turning the car enough in Turn one with my hands on the steering wheel in the usual 3 and 9 O’clock position. I had to position my hand at the 12 and 6 position for than turn. Interesting. The clutch was slipping a bit coming out of the Oak Tree turn. About lap 7 of the session, my dash unexpectantly lit up in the middle of the esses (all lights light up and flash when I reach the rev limit . . . and I guess that my clutch had slipped causing it to happen). Anyway I looked at it for a split second. Oops, the next turn was upon me and I wasn’t ready. I found it necessary to straight line the next esses thru the relatively tall grass. This was working well until the grass tore off the front splitter causing a slow and lazy spin as the pieces passed under the car. I drove back to the pits to discover that the splitter had taken maybe 4 to 6 inches of the nose fiberglass with it. Damn. Apparently the new “factory” nose mounting “solution” was less than perfect. Given the slipping clutch, running in a pack of cars, and relearning the shift sequence, the lap time of 2:03 was acceptable.
Frank Malone and Brian helped bolt on the spare splitter and some alum bits to fill the nose holes. A fine coat of “roll paint” (duct tape of the proper color) completed the repair. The spare splitter was one that I had made as an experiment. It was of Kevlar with a Nomex honeycomb core. Two inches of the leading edge had a soft foam core, to allow some flex upon impact. I adjusted the cable-actuated clutch.
Afternoon qualifier. Boy was it hot! The experimental splitter was a big non-success. It immediately folded down to the track surface and ground away. Without front-end downforce, doing the high-speed esses was scary with much understeer. I did a few laps and came in. Best lap 1:07. The Tom/Steve Shelton clan, with their tunneled Stohrs, were near the lap record with 1:59’s. We decided to stiffen what was left of the splitter with some ¼ inch marine plywood. Brian and I went into Danville to the Lowes and bought the plywood and a saber saw to cut it. As we began the woodworking, we were treated to an afternoon thunderstorm. We completed the splitter repair/augmentation just as the cookout in the Eric/Thor adjacent paddock was ready. Frank kept telling everyone, that I now had a “woody”. Frank applied enough roll paint so that it could not be seen. (It was so hot that my duck tape had melted together on the roll, and we had to use Eric’s from his air-conditioned trailer!)
Race. Our race was off at 0900, so we avoided the heat to follow. I was 23rd in the combined FA/FM/FC/CSR/DSR/S2 36 car field. Having run 2:01 laps last year in my Cheetah in the heat, I knew the better Speads car was going to go a couple of seconds faster. I had a good first lap, passing a couple of cars, and as usual, a couple went off. By lap 2, the clutch was slipping a lot. I lost total drive and coasted into the pits. No points for me. The Shelton clan took advantage of the cool morning and turned lap record times of 1:57. Impressive. Thor would have an oil pump failure and would not race, and Eric would turn a nice 1:59 and finish second in FSCCA and (officially) 4th in FA.
Lesson learned. Check the clutch before using a “new” salvaged motor even if it had very low mileage. You never know what the bike owner subjected it to.
Well, again I have some fiberglass work to do. I am getting good at vacuum bagging splitters. The Speads, fortunately, is designed so that I can replace the clutch without pulling the engine. I will have lots of time to do the repairs, since Bob Urso bagged lots of points at Pocono and has bumped me from Runoffs qualification. I could do the last chance national at Mid Ohio, but I am not going to bother. I am tired of long tows. Will have to settle as being a spectator at the last Runoffs near the civilized world. I can live with that.