A 2

Jeff - hope you are fine and everything is OK.

A 2

The vintage racer has stowed away on a boat and is apparently sailing the high seas. I wonder if he is part of the posse that searched for the submersible. On the other hand, I had some time without JJ and little A at home, so I took half a day off and went to Track Night in America at Palmer. Sal B from Mohud was one of the coaches and there were some other friendly faces too.

This is my third event (second at which I drove) and the first one that was in dry conditions. Fitted the car with Hankook RS4s that have seen some use. There is no point trying to use the stickier track rubber. I also did not drive Palmer in a while (definitely been over a year) and so was approaching the day with some trepidation. Usually by now I have had at least 3-4 events done and some fluency. But I was feeling rusty, so decided to take the pressure off and just go have fun.

Come back in from the first session, the car is understeering so I decide to firm up the front shocks. Second session, I felt more confident. The final session it felt like the tires were greasy and I was sloppy a few times, but focused on looking ahead. By now, I'd become familiar with the track again. They've made some changes that I think are questionable. Primarily a big asphalt step up following the curbing at the track out for Turn 9. That thing is so gnarly it could upset the car quite a bit at best and cause wheel or suspension damage at worst. Quite a few incidents today, mostly in the novice group and those sadly happened on the out lap.

In any case things came together for the final run and I was able to be somewhat consistent. Overall I'd say the day was a success and I left Palmer feeling happy. Next up is Watkins Glen with Rico and Anthony. Freddy and his brother plan to be there too.

blueosprey90

Cleaning my desk this morning and I had some speed traces by lap of one run at Watkins Glen in July, 2020. It was the run where I fell in with a passel of Miatas.

Just looking at the speed traces scared me!

So I looked at the video and was equally scared!

A 2

Wait! Did you sign up? Should I be calling the motel to let them know we need a room with two beds?

blueosprey90

No, I didn't sign up for Watkins Glen. I was just cleaning off my desk.

I haven't fixed the wheel studs on the S2000, nor have I bought new tires, so even if I wanted to go, I couldn't run.

But I did pull the MGA out of the barn. On my boat trip, I cogitated about my carburetor problems, found the reason, I think, for why my front carb on the old set was flooding, fixed that - maybe - and this afternoon swapped in my old carburetors. I'm thinking of trying to go to Club Motorsports on July 6-7 with the VSCCA. But I'm not going to make that trip unless I think the car will run better than it has been running for the last three years. I have to decide tomorrow, and sign up by Friday.

blueosprey90

Spent the greater part of two days replacing front calipers and pads on the Toyota. inner pistons on the passenger side caliper were "frozen", resulting in that pad wearing down almost to the backing plate. Will be using the vehicle for the long tow to Club Motorsports tomorrow.

A 2

Good Luck Jeff. Hope you have fun there. Haven't visited there since 2017 and hoping I can go back sometime this year or next.

blueosprey90

Thanks. Say hello to the boys at Watkins Glen. Keep the shiny side up!

blueosprey90

Hot and humid - virtually blazing. I went through gallons of Gaitoraide, Snapple Iced Tea, waters and a few beers, and still I was thirsty. Car ran very poorly, but even with a constant misfire, I was able to finish each session in last place! That is until the third session today. I was running far behind the pack, enjoying myself and complimenting my good thinking to come to this event. But then a bang coming out of turn 1 and my steering is mostly gone. I couldn't tell if I had dropped my exhaust or broken the arms holding the spring pad - or broke a spring. I'm more or less able to track out and I come to a rest near the very end of pit out and half on pavement, half on grass. Took a good 15 minutes to get me off track and then at least an hour for the crew to get me on my trailer - backwards. Looks like a broken kingpin with some ancillary damage, including a hole in the oil pan. It's dripping as I write! Some body damage as well and I suspect that I crushed the fuel line trying to jack up the car.

I think I'll have to leave it on the trailer for basic repair.

Good luck at the Glen on Monday & Tuesday. I won't be there to jinx you!

A 2

Oh I’m jinxed already. Down with a stomach bug and it’s real bad, so had to cancel.