F X 1 6 G T S !

Hideous isn't it? I love it.

Since selling my MR2 to my brother I've been in need of a new street car, and I've been obsessing over the Corolla FX16 even longer. My first car when I left the family hand-me-downs behind was an 87 FX16 GTS. It turns out these cars are much more difficult to find than MR2s.

Today I got a $500 runner. There are things a that $500 buys you in a car that $10000 doesn't: I don't care if my dog Lego get's hair in it. I can spray paint it. When I get water in the distributor by spraying the 5mm cake of oil and dust off the engine and kill it, I can reach through the hole where a speaker should be, press the clutch start button, and drive the car up my driveway using the starter motor.

Not Just A Figure Of Speech

Reno will be a full 24 hour race. I usually have to explain "24 Hour Of Lemons" is more like 15 hours over a two days, but HQ just announced the May Reno-Fernley race will be 24 hours. In a row.

I think we're thrilled. It will be an epic challenge. Can hardly wait to spend 24 hours straight at a track with no paddock power or plumbing.

We need drivers. We are planning to enter Paul's Deathmobile for redundancy "just in case" the MRolla dies or just sucks to drive. That means we have 48 hours of seat time to fill. I'm full recruiter mode. If your mom has $400 bucks and fireproof long johns, I'll give her seat time.

I think we're going to need more than usual quantities of brake pads (especially), tires, fuel, and caffeinated beverages.

Lights. We also need lights. I'm thinking a set from a junked F-250 will bolt right up.

I wonder if the 24 format will draw more or fewer teams?

Stop Asking

Almost everyone, including people who know everything and people who know nothing about cars, asks the same question when they hear about our dual (duel?) engine MRolla project: "How will you synchronize the engines?"

We're going to use the ground. Both engines will be attached to a drive train and wheels which will contact the Earth. The static friction at these contact points will not be overcome by the torque (lack thereof) of the engines. (The static friction will certainly be overcome at times by over-baking corners or driving into the weeds.) As the car moves the engines will go as fast as the Earth allows. Get it?

This weekend's progress was minor. Did a few more stripping tasks and got everything ready to haul the MR2 down next week to start cutting it.

As nutty as a third testicle.

[Northern California, X-mas Eve]

(As posted to the 24HL mailing list)

As if 24HL is not crazy enough in concept alone, I have to say the fiasco surrounding this '08 Arse-freeze is more than extra-silly. This should have occurred to me before waking up from a nap shivering in my truck at 1 something AM Christmas Eve at a rest stop in BFE Nevada as I try to sneak through a break in the storms between Salt Lake and Ashland Oregon to hook up with my brother's team.

Maybe it's the holiday spirit, or maybe because I'm still a bit drunk this afternoon after a night at a non-Utah strip-club, or maybe it's the much improved weather forecast for Willows CA, but reading about the travel hardships and spousal wrath everyone is enduring just to share a weekend driving around and around with a bunch of other cold unshaven men has me feeling a little gay.

I love you guys. Merry X-mas.

Deficit

Ever bit off more than you can chew? Every race I think it will be easier, its not. There is a sinking feeling at a certain point in the car prep where the math involving money, time, skill and relationship capital seems only to pencil out to massive deficits.

Jay Lamm is a bastard.

We got motor back from the machine shop yesterday... about a week late. Randal and I put in about 7 hours in yesterday and another 7 or 8 today. The motor is in the car but I'd say we still have about 5 hrs worth of work hooking up the myriad of shit before we can fire it.

I keep finding more stuff we need to do or buy. I keep remembering stuff we need to do buy "before the next work session" promptly upon entering the "next work session" I haven't done a lick of Christmas shopping. I think I've barely said 200 words to my girlfriend in the last 72 hrs. I'm thinking this is not the ideal time to tell her I'll be doing three races next year.

do / buy:

Mirrors
Overflow bottle / cap / dohickie
Gear oil
Harness
struts
weld lid on the car
finish installing the motor
log 200 miles on the car to find problems
christmas shop

Stick Figure Racing

Bender has his new team blog up: Stick Figure Racing.

MR2 Methodology

I've run a first generation MR2 in 3 lemons races now and managed to not win every single time!

Here is what I've learned:

The MR2 very likely one of the best handling cars in history. It will certainly handle better than all but a few of your competitors on the track. You will be amazed and what you can do with it by the end of the race. Need to jam on the brakes mid corner? Just do it, you'll probabally be ok. Need to take the outside line and hold it at speed? No problem. Need sneek in to a 4' gap between the 67' buick and the inside of the track, no worries just stick stick your fender against their rear quarter panel... which brings me to-

Durability:

The MR2, while very small is actually built like a tank. the radiator is set back in the car about 2'. It's mid mounted engine is forward of rear bumper about 2.5 feet. The fuel tank is in the very center of the car. Everything is pretty well protected from impact, so let your bumper car urges free to the extent you are unafraid of getting black flagged. During the oct 07 Altamont race, often referred to as a demolition derby by lemons veterans, hitting people was pretty much my SOP when passing. (In accordance with the stricter contact rules, I've repented of my contact sins since the Oct 07 Altamont race) Tie rods up front are vulnerable to impact so try to avoid driving over course marking tires and use caution when passing from grass to asphalt. Cut away wheel wells and add some structure to protect your front wheels, as part of your car prep.

Driving:

Give yourself 2-3 hours to learn the capabilities of the car. At the start of our rookie race we all thought our car was slow... in fact its was one of the best cars on the track, we just didn't know how to drive it yet. As you drive ask yourself "should that '67 buick be able to pass me on a corner?" This will help you figure out if you are driving the car to its limits. After owning and driver several MR2's I thought I new how to drive. I didn't.

To pass large, high power/high torque cars: hang with them till you approach a corner, pass them as they brake for the corner.. inside is preferable but outside will probably work.

To pass lightweight front wheel drive cars: Choose medium sweeper, drift around them on the outside as these cars almost always hug the apex and generally can't drift.

To pass a medium weight rear wheel drive car (BMW): good luck.. be

persistent and little lucky.

Cage:

I strongly recommend cutting away the entire sunroof "hatch" it will give you more head room in the car. If I were going to do my cage over again today I'd cut holes in the roof of the car and form the top of the cage above the roof.. more head room, I'm 6'2.

Performance:

Don't worry too much about power, go for reliability. Winning won't be so much about speed ( the MR2 is fast enough) as keeping the car on the track as much as possible. If you have good compression and your engine is reliable, don't bother to open it up. If you need a head gasket, go ahead and try to find some cam timing gears while your at it. A performance header won't give you more power unless you change a bunch of other stuff in the motor also.... sum of parts kind of thing. the stock header is fine up to pry160+ hp. Just be sure to cut off the stock exaust just before the cat and put cheap, high flow, muffler to meet sound requirements.

Pit Procedures:

Keep the car on the track. Keep the car on the track. Keep the car on the track. All the performance mods you can dream up are outweighed by having good pit procedures. If fueling takes you 20 minutes (which is easily possible @ t-hill) shaving 10 seconds off you lap times doesn't really matter.

Suspension:

Suspension is going to be one of the best performance mods on the track. Anti-sway in back I don't think came on these cars except in 1985 and on the supercharged versions. The mounting points are there so buy, steal or fabricate one. We get better handling when we increased the stiffness of our rear sway bar by bending and welding an additional bar to it. Our struts are shot. We haven't taken the time to properly cheat some new ones on to the car or find some better ones in the junk yard. We desprately need to.

TIRES:

Buy good tires and wheels! Have a full set of backups if you can.

TEST:

Go to a track day somewhere and try to run your car for 3-6 hrs as continuously as possible. Try to sniff out a problem before race

day.

COOLING:

Read & execute proper coolant changing procedures and adhere to them when draining/refilling your anti-freeze/water. The car has a great cooling system but it will overheat if you have air in it. I recommend bringing a spare ignition coil. I had one develop a heat related intermittent problem which cost us about 1hr 20min tracking it down and fixing it.

Track record:

07 Altamont: worst postion: about 80th best postion: 14th place finished:18th place Bent steering rod (driver error), suspect clutch behavior, over hot inginition(toward the end).. all told pry about 2 hrs off the track poking proding and fixing shit.

07 Thunder Hill: Worst Postion 55th Best postion (4 hours later) 3rd place, finished: 13th Broken steering rod (driver error), over hot ignition, horrible fueling stops.. About 1.5 hrs off the track wrenching.

08 Altamont: Started 38th place ran to 10th place in 10 laps. spun a rod bearing=end of race. DOH!!

Good to hear V-ram is at it again, Andy and I won't be racing this winter (Money)
but we will be back at it in the spring. We put a new/used motor in our car and it's officially
road worthy. It will be interesting to see how well an automatic does Vs a Stick.
Our Team name will be "Knights of the round track" hope to be competing along side you guys in the spring. We will post pics of our toy as we get closer to racing, Good Luck! Bender

Life, Death, And Racing.

Someone died on the track this weekend. Reports are that Court Summerfield fell unconscious at the wheel for unrelated health reasons and slammed the wall head-on. This weekend's death cast a sober mood on the rest of the race and gave us all something to consider.

As soon as you get on the track among all the machinery, power, and Newtonian physics, you become quite aware of mortal frailty. Not strapped into a steel cage, a human body wouldn't survive even briefly exposed to the forces of racing. It seems crazy to some. I really do consider the risk of death or even minor injury to be very low at these races. All the necessary steps have been taken to assure safety.

I raced the first time to fulfill a dream. I continue racing for the same reasons anyone pursues any passion: Because I love it. I love the thrill, the accomplishment, the comradeship...

You've heard it often but I'll say in my words: A life cut short is of course tragic, but every one of us goes some day and we better have done something worth celebrating. Life without passion isn't living.

I celebrate the life of Court Summerfield. A life lived.

As Your Team Capitain, I Adivise You To BLAH BLAH BLAH.

[This is the email I sent out to the team regarding the upcoming race.]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to lie awake at night anticipating the race. I'm sure that won't make it any easier to get up and hit the road at 5 AM Friday. If anyone wants to drop stuff off for loading Thursday night, feel free.

Weather is looking great for the trip and race.

Remember our priorities:
1- Safe and fun.
2- Everyone gets a turn.
3- Finish the race.
4- Compete.


At the track:

Altamont is in the middle of a giant windmill farm, so be ready for windy, dusty. weather. I wore a mask most of day 2 last year. I also wore ear plugs spectating and driving.

You'll want a comfortable chair.

Photographing the track from the pit side of the track is hindered by the chain link fence and RVs parked right against the fence. Theres a small set of bleachers that help get a view above the fence. Photographing from the grand stands may be better. (Let's try to get
footage when the flag drops.)


Rotation:

Driver order will be:
Larry
Andy
Jerry
Pauly

This order is partly because Jerry will be using my shoes (and any other equipment of mine that fits), so he'll needs to race opposite me to give more time to gear up.

We need to keep a clip board to track wipe-outs (think 'video highlight reel') and the times of driver changes. We can download all the data of lap times after the race, but a stop-watch could be useful to gage lap times.

For the first rotation, drivers should hit the pit on the first yellow flag after 45 minutes, or in 60 minutes if there is no yellow. First rotation should be pretty conservative driving. learn the lines. keep the car intact for the next driver.

After the first rotation, try to stay out as long as fuel allows. Of course feel free to pit any time you think it's best for the car, or if you want to end your turn early. Fatigue and mental state have a real affect on your driving. If you feel that your driving sucks, come
in and take a break.


In the pits:

We need at least 2 crew always on deck (in the pit or watching the track) watching for the car to come into pit. One of us can wander off for whatever reason, but get back to the stand or pit ASAP.

During pit stops, one crew start fueling immediately. Next driver mark their start time on the clip board. Drivers assist each other with driver exchange. Driver report any mechanical issues. One crew inspect tires and car, pry out fenders as necessary.

After the car leaves the pit, prep for the next refueling. Put tools away. Next driver gear up. Previous driver take a brake, (hit the toilet, eat/drink), then get back where you can watch the car.

If we get radios (and can hear them), they should be used minimally; to call a driver in, or if someone is clocking laps we can call out a driver's new fastest lap time. ie: "Paul, that was your fastest lap. 59 seconds". If we don't get radios, drivers will need to watch the
clock.

Everyone bring a bag or box where you can keep your gear. Don't let stuff get disorganized.

Let's help the Snowspeeder guys as much as possible. We'll be relying on them for power, welder, tools, and secure storage. They could use a had with fuel and such.


On the track:

Keep an eye on the temperature. Normal is just below half, maybe higher under racing conditions. We should have a fan switch installed before the race. Verify that it is on as soon as you get in the car.

Keep an eye on fuel.

When you go out for the first time, stay wide for a couple laps. Don't let the closeness of the cars freak you out. Once you are comfortable, find a good car to follow. Try to mimic their line.

Remember to yield the apex to cars that are ahead.

Everyone is bound to hit the dirt at some point. Don't make a habit of it. One spin-out costs more than several laps of slow driving.

Don't take risks near barricades. Hitting a barricades is not acceptable by the race officials and less so by the team. If you hit one, come in and switch drivers immediately.

Note the 'lousy driving' section of the official rules. (http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/rules/) They are stern and affect the whole team.

Watch for flags. If suddenly cars become easy to pass, you probably didn't notice a yellow flag. If you realize you have passed under yellow, let the car(s) back in front of you.

The course is dynamic. Oil spills and displaced barricades change the course often.

Don't take anything personally on the track. All opponents are you friends when you are off the track. (You never know who you'll need parts/tools from.)

Many Almost Done Tasks

26 days before the race.

I mailed my taxes today, one day before the deadline. Not bad. If we can have everything done on the car one day before the race I'll be happy. For someone who loathes stress, I sure do procrastinate.

The weekend was productive again. Friday I drove 15 miles in about 50 minutes to get tires down in the suburbia end of the valley. Who knew rush-hour starts at 4:30? Got the tires. They cost more than the car even though my neighbor's brother hooked us up with a prime deal.

Saturday AM we converged on the Pick-N-Pull (that place is a rip-off!) where I had found an '85 MR2. We yanked odds and ends that we need or expect to need after plowing a tire-barricade.

Back at the ranch Paul was bending and welding. He came back today and has the cage done except 2 welds. Seat needs to be bolted in first. Harness tabs are done. He's also got a good start on mounting our beefy rear stabilizer bar.

The rest of us were on other tasks:

• Replaced bent control link.
• Flushed coolant.
• Charged battery.
• Replaced ignition coil.
• Installed O2 sensor.
• Mostly yanked parking brake system.
• Almost fixed hood latch.
  
• Ate sandwiches.
• Looked busy.

My big concerns now are paint and decor, and testing. Paint is just more work and time. Testing I'm stumped on. This thing will get impounded so fast if we take it on the street, unregistered, uninsured, unemissioned, unmuffled, and very conspicuous. We're renting a trailer for the race but don't have an easy way to haul the car out to the local track. I'd like to know the car has power before we race. I'm stumped.

After working on the car this weekend I had my first night where it was hard to fall asleep because I was getting excited about racing. I've since lapsed back to the race being some distant, vague experience I know will be fun hypothetically. Even my memory of the 10-2007 race is dreamy and insignificant.

Working on cars is filthy. It's so foreign after 15 years of jockying computers for a living. I get a little grimy working on my bikes and I've done a bit of wrenching on boats and trucks back in my blue collar days. But I'm loving it. I love the comradeship and watching the transformation.

Getting there is 1/10th the fun.

The race.



T-Minus 2 months… Plenty of time. Really. No worries.



T-Minus 5 weeks.



Haul car to shop.

Send out email to all race team members asking them to cough up their entry fees… I'm feeling a bit tight on cash since I just paid $975 in entry fees and $600 for total rule violating camshafts and pulleys. We believe we have burnt valves from the last race and know we have a shifting problem.



T-Minus 2 weeks. 3rd driver is starting to flake. He tells Randal that he will do it but if we could find someone else we would be helping him out.



"Hey Randal, Joe again. Is the car out of the shop yet? If you want to work on it this weekend together we need to pick it up from the shop this week. I'm leaving town for Christmas next week, K? Also what up with your buddy? Is he in our out… I'm sure we can get someone else if we get on it CALL ME" click.



The organizers, in a continuing demonstration of masochism have scheduled this race 6 days after Christmas.



T-Minus 7 days. I leave on a roughly 800 mile drive to Utah with GF and Child. That's Beth and Avery respectively. I proceed to call Randal with growing frequency and urgency every day for the next 5 days. Lots of messages left. No communication. Is the car out of the shop? Do we have our 3rd driver? I don't know.



Finally I end my Christmas Vacation half a day early and begin the 800 mile drive back toward my race car and non-communicative racing partner. As we approach Reno my phone lights up with a txt message from Randal… hurt back, dumped by GF, injured over Christmas and has been hallucinating on pain killers for about 4 days. But he wants to go racing. GAME ON. With Randal in your corner most things are possible.



All doubt about weather we will make it to the race is washed away.



We stop at one of the worst hotels in Reno for long night of pretending to sleep. I'm ready to hit the road @ 6:30AM. Its Wednesday AM I'm roughly 300 miles from home. We cut the long way through California due poor road conditions in south eastern Oregon. Roads are beautiful until hit the mountains in near the state line, which are under white out conditions. Sternly worded, flashing signs advise us that if we don't have 4 wheel drive or chains we will NOT be allow over the pass. California DOT has traffic closed down to one lane and they are asking every driver of a vehicle without chains on it if they have four wheel drive. I'm thinking we screwed. They have to know that a Honda Odyssey is not 4 wheel drive. The man asks and Beth calmly leans over from the passenger seat and lies her beautiful face off. The rest of our trip to Medford is uneventful. I arrive in the same city as my race car Thursday afternoon still no verbal contact with Randal.



T-Minus 28 Hours: 8 AM Friday. Dial Randal. Voicemail. Drive to his house. He looks like shit. Thin. Kind of pale. Disjointed. The car is not out of the shop. Valves have not been ordered. We are not getting direct answers about the status of the transmission.



I begin to doubt.



I print a list of phone numbers to junk yards. I print a craigslist add for a 80's corolla with a 4age motor in it.





T-Minus 23 hours: I drive to the shop.



The transmission is not in the car. They got it back from their transmission shop this morning and installed it only to find a loose output shaft as they started hooking up the half shafts. Head is still on the car. Head parts have not been ordered yet. They are not available in town for any price.



We. Are. Screwed.



Shop owner questions me further about our burnt valve symptoms and advises me to stand by for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes of tinkering he tells me we don't have burnt valves and don't need any head work. He found a distributor/plug/wire problem that matches our symptoms.



His transmission shop will drop everything and re-fix the "fixed" transmission.



We're un-screwed.



Randal arrives with his truck looking more human. We transport Mr. Grouchy 5 speed across town to the transmission shop. Owner advises us to call him in an hour. We go buy lights, drain pan, windshield wipers and a set of tires. Transmission shop calls: An output shaft bearing race had fallen out in transit and is easily repairable as soon it can be retrieved from his wife's car. Apparently our "fixed" transmission was transported to the shop in his wife's Chevy sedan.



We go get lunch. Randal is fading. He drops me at the auto shop and heads home to pack. I get my car, retrieve Mr. Grouchy head home to pack after dropping the cursed transmission off at the shop.



T-minus 19 hours: Head to Randal's to help sort out the trailer. At 6:30 PM the shop calls to tell us our car is back together and running. 7:45 pm we are rolling out of town. Randal mentions an upset stomach and look a bit pale… nothing new. 70 miles later Randal stops at a gas station and asks me to get him something to munch on. When I get back in the truck he is shaking. He informs me that I'll be driving. At this point I realize how sick he is. Did I mention we were driving through a bizzard? I get him a cup of soup, water, airborn, alkesetzer cold meds and ease his gianormaous truck with 2 axle, 20 foot trailer into the storm. Within 10 miles Randal calmly advise me pull the truck over, NOW. I slow the 13 thousand pounds worth of truck, trailer, tools and race car as quickly as possible on the snow covered road. As we approach 15mph Randal executes a beautiful rolling vomit out his open passenger side door. The rest of our journey to Willows is uneventful. We arrive around 1 AM.

The Bad News First

Bryan and Jordan had to drop out of the team for other priorities. Understandable since the cost per teammate is already over $800 with just the car, entrance fees, personal safety gear, and lodging roughly calculated. I'll try to lure them back when we do a practice day. Also, the June/Nevada race got bagged. Our other teammate Jared was planning to participate in that race only, and he's busy enough that I expect when I finally hear from him he'll pull out of the team.

The good news: Paul's brother Andy has joined the team. He's another mechanic and they have been making good progress getting the cage in (as well as fixing my roommate's muffler).

So we're only three for Altamont at this point. From a drive time perspective that's pretty cool, but financially it's not great. We'll keep an ear to the ground for another teammate.

So now that I'm home from vacation I need to get serious about setting priorities and making time line of tasks. Joe recommended we pass our own mock-tech inspection well in advance of the race.

My 24 Hours Of Lemons

[Copied from my personal blog]


The 24 Hours Of LeMons is a 2 day, 14 hour car race, held at a race track, and restricted to cars that are worth roughly $500 or less. My girlfriend called it "a bunch of dumb men going around and around all weekend". While that is mostly accurate aside from a few dumb women in the ranks, I'll add to that description.

It was the most thrilling experience of my life. It was incredibly intense and outrageously entertaining. It was like being in a Mad Max movie.

A little background: I have never raced ANYTHING before. Though often mistaken for a 'jock', I'm a pretty relaxed guy who has never been that competitive. When I was a kid my parents put me in pee-wee football. I loathed being put in the game and would hide from the coach on the sideline. I'm competent in my selected recreational pursuits, but at a young age decided the best way to ruin a fun activity way to take it too seriously. I had a passion for driving fast when I was younger, but now I find the speed limit is almost meditative in it's relaxation. There has always been a little rivalry among my brothers, but for the last decade they've been too out of shape to challenge me at much.

But the race: This is not a oval course with cars of nearly equal size and performance. This is tight course packed bumper to bumper with all sizes of shit-boxes. Vehichles no one expects to survive, or much less to preserve the paint jobs. The race started with 85 cars pacing under a yellow flag*. I watched the line of cars march around the course completely and still more cars were entering from the pits. The slow rumble was ominous. All the exhaust systems had been butchered for a cheap, loud, and effective horsepower gain. Weld in a roll-cage and remove all the lights and windows from any car and it is transformed to a machine you want to stay away from. The course was stuffed with these.


My jaw clenched when the decibel level abruptly shot up. Suddenly there was far too much sensory input to take in. I never had time to confirm the green flag**. My eyes were darting around the course looking for sources of the sounds of collisions. My attention was drawn to a cloud of smoke and the car it poured from in the middle of the course, then an uncomfortable car that has spun backwards and stalled in the first hairpin with a field of cars bearing down on it, then a car whose hood popped up on the far high speed sweeper, then cars throwing up clouds of dust as they are forced off the course in the narrow front side chicanes. My mind couldn't grasp all the insanity.

Some months previously Joe, my youngest brother, had sent me a link to a video article on the first 24 Hours Of Lemons. It looked like great fun. Yes I wanted to do it. Yes really. Yes enough to help fund a car. I knew better than to think this was one of the half-ass schemes Joe would lose interest in. His history demonstrates the crazier the scheme, the more likely Joe will follow through to the end. Later he finds an '86 Toyota MR-2 on Craigslist in his town, Medford Oregon. Doesn't run. Blown head gasket. No fifth gear. $250. Silver. Sounds perfect. A week before the race the car is running well, roll cage is in, and I scramble to get a helmet ordered in time.


Friday I take a day off and drive from Salt Lake to some burg south of Sacramento and meet Joe and the rest of the team. Randall, Joe's ex's sister's boyfriend, is the rest of the team. Randall is a contractor, has a tool trailer that fits the car, welders, generator, and a bunch of other tools that prove essential. He also is a great mechanic and driver. Our mandatory fourth driver was fictional.



Our race car was an '85 Toyota MR2. I'm 6'4". Despite being among the smallest cars ever sold in the states, I drove an '88 MR2 for years. They are comfortable for someone my size. People would ask if my clown suit was at the cleaners, but there was plenty of leg room and my head just cleared. I found it more comfortable than my grandmother's knee-mashing '84 Cadillac Seville. The MR2 cockpit was a comforting, efficient cocoon, and the ride was more like a go-cart than anything I've driven including go-carts.

Stripping the interior and welding a roll-cage in changed some of that. Graceful entry/exit was impossible no matter your size. It was like playing Tetris with your body parts (not in a sexy way). At some point your ass juts awkwardly out the door as you unfold the rest of yourself into the seat. The roll bar offered negative 2.5" of head clearance, so I had to sit forward with my dome poking out of the sunroof frame.


My first turn behind the wheel began under a yellow flag as they cleared wreckage. I Merged into the field of big bashed-up cars. When the green flagged dropped, (again I only knew by the ensuing mayhem) all the cars got very loud, fast and close. The comfort zone we are used to on public roads is vast. A car lengths ahead and behind and wide lanes separating neighbors, considerate turn and brake indicators... On a race track about nine cars take the space of two cars on a public road. Cars were within inches or contacting on all sides. Entering the first hard corner on my first green lap, a giant 1970ish Ford Ranchero (sporting school bus yellow paint and signals) demonstrated some of Newton's more anti-social laws of physics by transferring a large dose of kinetic energy to the ass-end of my car, through the roll bar, to the back of my helmet, and finally into an uncomfortable knot in between my neck and shoulders. My mood shifted from more than intimidated to less than terrified.

I had driven my old MR2 fast on the road at times. Fast in my mind, but never close to the capability I had no clue the car had. For the first laps I was still just driving fast in my mind, stomping the accelerator, shifting quickly, keeping the rpms near red-line, and getting a little squeal from the tires as I rounded the corners. All the other cars were swarming past. I was sure we had the wimpiest car on the track. As aggression gradually displaced intimidation, the flow of traffic past me slowed. I started keeping pace with cars that had been passing me easily. Then after several laps of focused concentration and patience, I saw and took the opportunity to pass one. In my elation I over-cooked the next corner, spun out, and was passed by the car and several others.

The essence of racing: You must submit to your deepest aggressive insticts, yet exercise the restraint necessary to remain focussed and aware of your limits and consequences. Conditions, equipment, and competition are all secondary to this internal psychological conflict. (Pro dual-slalom mountain bike racing is an incredible display of this conflict.)

Since Joe had forgotten his gloves at the start of the race and was flagged into the pits immediately, we started in about 79th position, just ahead of a few cars that died in the first lap. During the first day we were pitting on most yellow flags to pry our bashed fenders away from our wheels and switch drivers.

Each of our team learned the capabilities and limitations of the car and themselves. Joe was the fastest and rudest on our team. He really had no regard for yielding the inside line*** to the car ahead of him. He was playing bumper cars. Randall was fast and consistent, rarely making mistakes. I was the worst driver. Many times I would spin-out after finally struggling past a car into an unhindered section of track. One thing I was proud of was my instinctive spin-out recovery. From my first spin-out I had the car in reverse and moving back into position before the spin-out was complete. All of us were moving up in the standings.



Once we had each driven a shift, our attitude moved away from 'let's be sure we all get a turn before the car dies' to 'let's be sure to finish the race before our car dies'. By that evening when our standing had moved into the top half, we again changed our thinking to 'let's compete'. I started checking the standings frequently and picked a few cars that I wanted to beat.

When the day's racing was over the pits were alive. Everyone had repairs and maintenance to perform. We changed oil and checked tires. I went to work cutting our fenders away with a grinder and saw, then curling the resulting sharp lip up with pliers. Our car had been bashed, scarred, and even punctured. We were exhausted and aching. No one suggested getting drunk and goofing around. We were happy to collapse at the hotel after wolfing down a couple In-And-Out Burgers.


The next day I was in line to drive first. I was too nervous and let Joe start. When I got behind the wheel later in the morning I started applying some of the more advanced driving techniques I learned from 'Gran Tourismo' on Playstation. One of the great features of that game is the realistic physics of a car's handling. The game tutors you on 'weight transfer'**** techniques whereby you take advantage of increased traction under breaking and acceleration. Combined with the size and braking ability of the MR2, weight transfer allowed me to squeak past many cars that had to decelerate sooner before a corner. I continued to refine my technique until I was drifting corners nicely and having a riot.

Again I was over-excited after a difficult pass and found an long open stretch between me and my next opponent. I came out of the far high-speed sweeper too hot and nailed a stack of tires. Once passenger side of the car came back to earth it was not steering properly. In the pits we saw that the front wheels were pointed a wide angle away from each other. I had the sinking realization that I had blown it for the team. I had bent a steering arm, but using his know-how and some blunt instruments, Randall had me back on the track in about 15 minutes with perfect alignment. I mentally kick myself when I add 15 laps to our final result, but what a relief I didn't kill the car.

The laps ticked by but never became monotonous to drive or spectate. I was at the edge of my seat for hours. Our position had been hovering in the high twenties most of the day. One by one we put arbitrary rivals behind us, and I picked new rivals. As the finish approached the struggle became noticeably more aggressive. Finally the checkered flag flew. After nearly 700 laps, the first and second place cars finished seven seconds apart. I hovered around the bulletin board anticipating the printout of the final results. We were 18th.


Here is some one's in-car footage, Joe's photos, my photos, what happens when you bring a $30000 car to a $500 car race, a good video...


*Yellow flag means there is a hazard on the course, go slow, and no passing allowed.

**Green flag means "GAME ON!" Start/resume racing.

Red flag means stop on the course while wreckage is cleared.

Black flag is for a driver to enter the pits for a penalty.


***Yielding the inside line: The fastest way around a corner is to move from the outside of the track into the apex of a corner and back to the outside as you exit the corner in one sweeping motion. The reduces the need for braking and increases you exit speed. You're supposed to yield this line to a car that is ahead of you.

****The weight of the car shifts forward under hard braking, increasing the traction of the front tires, allowing you to turn a corner at a higher speed. Weight and traction to the rear of the car is decreased during this heavy breaking, so as you round the corner the rear end of starts to slip to the outside. Accelerating shifts the weight and traction to the rear end.