 May 24, 2008
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ORAF 500
A night race!!! You can almost feel the excitement..and tension for us. This is the race that one year ago, the truck rolled and caused a bit of work for the team. The dreaded mile marker 8.2. But, it's a new year with an improved truck and some more experience under our belts. Lucerne would be the home of this race and we know this desert like the back of our hand. We are ready! Weather wasn't quite as nice as last year, some wind and rain, but nothing will stop us from racing! Duane & Mario start the race, 4 wide. Looking really good off the start..nothing but dust. Great radio connection, we knew where they were at all times. Into to pit, lap 1 and WOW! We were surprised at how professional our pit ran! Guys everywhere, checking everything...nothing was missed. A few more laps in and a driver change of Scott & Julio and they are off. Electrical problems short out the radiator fan, but Julio fixes that. Tranny temp begins to run high and a flat tire. Into pit and checking everything as professional as earlier. Just to leave pit and run out of gas. We get some gas in the truck and continue on, until the alternator dies out. Thanks to team 721 for the help out at mm 34. Amazing the way these guys work! Chase team is out with an alternator (thanks Julio) and we are off and running. Finishing lap 5 with 10 minutes to s pare and then.....nothing. The truck dies and won't start. We didn't get credit for lap 5...but we finished it. And thankfully the truck decided to stop at pit. Wasn't a bad race. Was great to see the teamwork! Thank you to Mario, Mario Jr, David, Fish, Gilbert, Shane and Julio. Hope we'll have the same crew at the next race!
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March 15, 2008
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Balls Out 250
Another chilly race weekend. But any race weekend is better than any plain weekend. This race was similar to the Powder Puff race. Slower cars off the line in the morning with Balls Out racing for 3.5 hours. Start off the race with Duane & David (since David didn't get much seat time in the last race). Off the line and it's a great start! A tough course in the beginning lap, but fun just the same. Finished lap 1 no problem and on to lap 2. No major issues and picking up speed, but then....the dreaded broken spindle syndrome. Somehow we are haunted by broken spindles. This is in a bad spot, down in a valley and the truck laying across the course. A great pit crew rushed out to help get the truck off the course and onto the trailer. And a friendly spectator in a Rhino helped as well. Thanks to Cris, Gilbert, Scott Dean, Mario & Julio for all the work getting the truck back to pit. We had extra spindles...at home, so we were done for the day. As always....time to get ready for the next one!
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January 19, 2008
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Course B
After such a great race in December, we were really hoping for big things in January. But, this was not our weekend. First, tech seemed to take FOREVER on Friday night. Lots of people and lots of cars! Duane & David get in the truck to start the race. Line up, clean off the line. Looking good!! But, about 5 miles in, the GPS isn't registering, and they are off course. Calling for help, all we could do was tell them to look for dust. Eventually, they find it and get back on course, just to have the tranny burn up on them...and we are out again! Thanks to Mario for helping push the truck up on the trailer (no easy task). At least while we were out there, we were able to help another team who had a flat and no antenna. Ladies First finished with our antenna! Anything we can do to help a fellow racer. Better luck next time!
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December 1, 2007
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Toys for Tots
A rainy weekend makes for a very muddy course. But, where there is mud there is tons of fun! OUR FIRST FINISH!! Nothing beats a finish!! Well, except for maybe a win, but we're more than happy with the finish. After starting the weekend by getting the trailer stuck in the mud and then working on the truck until some ungodly hour getting it ready for tech, we are finally ready to go. Duane & Mario get in the truck and take off. Looking really good end of lap one, two and three. Then Scott jumps in to coride with Duane. And off they go! No major problems to speak of and finish at that! Was a great weekend. We did lose a spare tire and a jack, but hey...that's racing. Now time to get ready for the next one!!!
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October 13, 2007
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2nd Annual Powder Puff Race
Lots of prerunning after putting a new engine in the truck. We thought, "this year...we'll be way past 5 miles". And we're off and running! 4 miles into the race, a noise...always means trouble. The girls radio for help thinking they have a flat tire. Chase 1 made up of Scott, David and Mario charge out to the girls ready to change a flat tire. But upon arriving, they note there is no flat. what could be worse? How about the driveshaft disconnecting from the transmission? Yes, in the middle of nowhere as the cars race by. Chase 2 (Duane and Julio) race out to our location to take a look at the truck. Julio luckily has the parts needed to fix the truck and we are off and running. Smooth running til the middle of lap two when the truck gets a bit squirlly on the back side. The girls know something is wrong and radio to chase 1. The guys say it may be a flat and to pull over, they'd be right there. The girls didn't want to wait. They pull over and ask some guys if there is a flat to which the answer was NO! GO GO GO! So, the girls went. Turns out, one of the bolts connecting the axle to the leaf springs had backed out and again the girls stopped at Main Pit while the guys went to work. We had 15 minutes to make it to the start finish to get the last lap in. They guys worked hard and got it fixed and the girls made it for one more lap. No problems and the fastest lap. Although, we didn't get a first, we did get a finish! Even with all the trouble. It seems our luck has changed. Watch out! Next season is OURS!!!!!
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July 21, 2007
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Freedom 250
Well, this time I wish I could report at least 80 miles, but our streak of no finishes hasn't come to an end yet, but it will! The whole weekend started bad, but we are always optomistic. We had ever intention of prerunning the course and being very preparted for this race. As it turns out, we couldn't get out there until Friday afternoon in time for tech. And then the knock we heard in our engine made us a little uneasy, but still optomistic! But having just the right attitude isn't enough. The knock in the engine turned catostophic 13 miles into lap 1 and ended our race. The pictures show the damage done to the engine. Two major repairs one race after the other. Our time IS coming...watch out!!!
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May 26, 2007
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ORAF 400
80 miles seems to be our UNlucky number. After a front end rebuild, new rearend and stronger steering, we were finally ready to enter our next race. This would be our first race in the dark and one that we just wanted to finish. It was an interesting start, 4 wide, but fun just the same. The first lap was rough. We didn't get to prerun because the truck wasn't ready until the last minute. So, getting out there on that first lap was a learning experience. Smooth and fast at the beginning, rough and bumpy in the middle, and then smooth and fast again. We certainly weren't fast enough since we were nerfed a time or two. We got a little off course on lap one and blew our right front tire. Thanks to Martee's for helping us change that tire. And then we made it to the pits. Our great pit crew got us ready for lap two and we were on our way. Lap two was smooth and alot more fun. At least we knew what we were dealing with now. We did do our best to get out of the Class 1's way, but it wasn't easy. Best part of the day was cruising into the pits, floating over the whoops, wind blowing and sun going down. We cruise into the pit for a driver/codriver change. In to drive goes our oldest son, Scott and our crew cheif, Gerrit. We get them tucked in and send them on their way. They pause just a little to long leaving the pit, as we all yell at them to GO! Little did we know they were having communication trouble and couldn't hear each other. Scott, being the new racer that he is, blows through the start/finish (costing us our second great lap). They cruise for 8.2miles before our biggest nightmare comes to life. Scott rolls the truck. Although neither Scott nor Gerrit can recall exactly how many times they rolled, they ended up landing on their wheels. Losing a hood, a couple of fenders and who knows what else, they decide the better limp back to camp. Luckily, no one was injured (we are very thankful for that) and the truck wasn't a total loss. In any case, we are now getting ready to replace the cab and doors and be perpared for the next race on july 21. Everyone is working very hard to get the truck done and we look forward to the rest of the racing season.
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December 2, 2006
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F&L Fuel Toys for Tots Race
Finally, we have 80 miles under our belt! Yeah, the race was 200 miles, but we made it 80. A lot better than the 5 miles in the last race. Boy, did we learn a lot too. 3 brand new tires later, a lost high lift jack , an injured crew chief and a front end that needs some work, we did get some miles in our pocket now. We are now more than ready for the next race - after some repairs and new tires. The course was much rougher than any testing we did, but we did ok. At least we weren't broke on the side of the road..
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October 14, 2006
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Powder Puff Race - Race for the Cure
After a year of waiting, and a few late nights with spray cans and brake bleeders, we decided to enter into our first race. Sadly enough, this was an all girl race sponsored by MORE, meaning the girls would be the first to race. Lucky for the boys, the truck wasn't ready and therefore the girls didn't get to set the bar very high. After transmission problems the week before in testing, we experienced the same issue 5 miles into the race. The girls were instructed to turn around and come back to see if was fixable. It wasn't, and so we sat back and watched all the others race on by. But it was an experience and one we plan to try again next year.
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October 7, 2006
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Finally - Test Time!!
The time is finally here. Seems like it's been a lifetime! We took the truck out to test off Stoddard Wells Road. Everyone got a chance to drive it trhough the desert, but the girls had a little more time than everyone. They are preparing for the Powder Puff race and need the seat time. After a check of some fluids and a roar of the engine, we are off! What a great feeling! The wind rushing through the cab, bouncing in your seat, yet not moving becaused you are sucked into the seat so tight and the thrill of the power you have! It was amazing, until.......<cough cough> exhaust in the parker pumpers. Transmission is way too hot and our fun for the day is gone! That's what testing is all about, right? Break it, Fix it and Play some more! Watch out Powder Puff - Here We Come!
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