Archive for August, 2011
Good Guys Pleasanton: “Tweet” Days in Northern California
Monday, August 29th, 2011Bonneville 2011: The Challenge of 400
Friday, August 19th, 2011There’s no easy way to say it. We are done for the week and we broke pretty much everything but our spirits, and even those are a little bruised.
It’s just as much work (sometimes more) to race and lose as it is to race and win, and it’s far less satisfying. We had really hoped to bring you guys some good news and a new record.
Still, we would like to thank everyone for following along,visiting us in the pits and all the encouraging posts and phone calls.
All racing involves pushing the envelope, and at Bonneville, every run is an attempt to do something that no one has ever done before, often with parts that were never designed for the kinds of forces that record runs inflict on the machinery. In fact, the only component on the car which is “rated” for 400+ mph is our Spectre air filters, and you know, they have been working perfectly!
We’ll get a full recap video made after we pack up and get home, but in the meantime, we thought we’d mention some of the great things that happened this weekend.
We made a lot of new friends. Bonneville is one of the last “open pit” type races, and it’s a real pleasure to speak with people as they wander in to check out the car. We met some famous racers like NAPA Funny Car driver, Ron Capps,
and fellow landspeed record holders, Charles Nearburg,
and George Poteet and Ron Main. All of these guys know the drama of a new racecar shakedown!
Along with great racers, we were honored to have the company of some amazing photographers, like David Burnett, Linhbergh Nguyen and Larry Chen. We can’t wait to see all their images.
We also enjoyed meeting all the other Bonneville racers. There are big teams, little teams, families, all brought together by a common love of pure racing.
We’d like to congratulate all the teams who made it out to the salt. We know how hard it can be!
We do need to thank our crew, the many excellent media outlets who helped us tell our story and (perhaps most of all) Jacki and James, our incredible catering team. We would never have made it through the week without them!
A well-fed team is a happy team!
Next time, the record!
Bonneville 2011: In Shock from “Torque Shock”
Friday, August 19th, 2011While the crew packed up, Amir explained how much we’ve learned during the week, and how we’ll be back and ready for records next time.
Bonneville 2011: What’s in a Run
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011Bonneville is a pretty mysterious place. It seems like another planet, the weather is harsh and strange but when a car makes a run down the course it looks effortless and ethereal.
In reality, there’s a lot of work which goes in to every run, those that break records and those that simply break parts.
We’ve been breaking more parts than records this week, but it’s not for lack of trying. The crew had the new AA Gas engine in the car, but it looks like we’ll have to switch to the A Gas instead.
Somebody burn some sage or something and chase the bad luck away!
Anyway, while we’re moving motors around, here’s a step by step list of exactly what it takes just to make a single run.
This isn’t just something we have to do for the Speedliner. Almost every team out here has some version of the same checklist. This is a dedicated group of racers.
1.Raise the car on jacks ( These things are heavy!)
2.Test fire. This is when we check all the fluids, the computer, run through the gears, check the tire pressure, etc.
2. Put on the body panels: It takes over 300 Dzus fasteners to button up the liner.
3. Pack the Parachutes.
4. Top off the fuel.
5. Lay out the ramps.
6. Load the car
7. Load the chase car with safety gear, helmets, tools and coolers.
8. Head down to the staging lanes (about 4 miles from our pits)
9. Choose a lane: There’s a special lane for 300+ mph cars. The officials have graciously let us use it all weekend. It’s not easy to get a 38.5 ft streamliner to make tight turns, so after we unload the car, we push it up by hand.
10. Keep the cockpit cool. Unlike a modern Caddy, this car doesn’t have climate controlled seats and it can be really hot in the staging lanes. (This is actually a problem for the crew members pushing the car too, it gets warm enough to burn your hands!)
11. Put the car back on stands and warm the engine. Racing is funny, it can be 110 degrees and while the car and crew are melting, the engine oil is cold. Engine oil needs to be warm to lubricate properly.
12. Fill the intercooler with ice and water. Unlike the engine, turbos need to be kept cool.
13. Suit up the driver. Drivers wait until the last minute to get in the car, because all that fire gear is hot, and the fumes from race cars ahead in the lanes can be unbearable in the tight confines of the cockpit.
14. Strap in the driver
15. Start the car
16. Bleed the intercooler. Like a radiator, an intercooler won’t cool properly if it has air in the system. Once the water pumps are on, the crew cracks two small bleeders at the top of the intercooler and that allows the air out and the cold water in.
17. Stage the car. Staging is a bit informal, cars pull up in their lanes and officials talk to the driver, advise of wind conditions and ruts or bumps in the salt and just generally check the readiness of the team for the run.
18. Turn on the data system. Modern racers are lucky to be able to review details of rpm and tune after a run. In the old days, everything depended on a good ear and an astute driver.
19. Turn on the cameras. The RePlay HD cameras that we run at various points on the car are another helpful tuning tool. Even before reviewing the data, Steve and Courtney can hear the engine, see when the boost comes on and check on the parachute deployment.
20. Wait for the signal. This is the big moment. The starter waves us in and it’s go time.
21 Push start!
Once Kenny is enroute, the rest of the team makes a mad dash to their vehicles and races (uh, within SCTA speedlimits of course) down the return road to meet the car at the finish.
Once Kenny comes off the return road, the ramps have to come out again and the car gets loaded up on the trailer and brought back to the pits (or better yet, the impound).
Wash and Repeat.
Bonneville 2011: It’s the Little Things
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011So you may have noticed in the previous post that we mentioned changing the engine. Again.
We could hear the collective gasp and the question: Did you ever even make a run?
Answer, no. No, we didn’t even get to make a pass yesterday. The AA engine spun a bearing in the pits during the test run.
Those of you who are racers need no explanation, the more you push things, the more you blow up.
For those of you unfamiliar with that, less celebrated, aspect of motorsports, Amir explains the relationship between pushing the record and pushing components out the side of the block.
Never fear though, the new engine is already in!
Good Guys Joliet: From the Driver’s Seat
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011As the summer winds down, the racing heats up at the Good Guys shows. Spectre’s skilled hot shoe, Brandy Morrow has been on a winning streak, and we decided to let her relive the drama of her victory at Good Guys Chicagoland Nationals:
“Ryan Matthews from DSE brought intense competition to the table while driving the DSE 1963 Nova Friday and Saturday. He and I played a game of cat and mouse for two straight days. As I pulled ahead a tenth of a second, Ryan would catch up and bump me down to second place. Next round I would come back and knock him down pulling ahead another tenth of a second. This game went on for multiples laps- finally resulting in Trent from Goodguys (the coordinator of the autocross) refusing to update the score board until the end of the day for Ryan and my scores.
Phil Gerber from the Roadster Shop was a close third while driving Chris and Linda’s 1966 Chevelle. The chevelle has given everyone quite a run for their money including myself. Chris, who took first in the Street Machine class, is one phenomenal driver and is only getting better each time he comes out to an autocross event. It was also nice to see his wife Linda who was racing her Chevelle out there improving on her own times and having fun.
Saturday afternoon called for big storms. I was able to stay in first throughout the day, though Ryan ran his fastest run Saturday falling just 9/100’s of a second behind my quickest time. We would like to thank Ryan and all of DSE team for all their support for the Spectre team. If Ryan had beaten me it would have been a well deserved win, but luckily I was able to stay ahead of him by that nine-hundredths of a second. Ryan and I both agreed that the next autocross is always a new day with new competition. He is a fantastic role model to watch and learn from. Ryan has been great help throughout the year offering advice and making sure I am doing all right throughout the day. In a way it’s like having a big brother out there. He wants to help me but also wants to kick my butt! Haha.”
Congrats on holding the victory, Brandy! We’re proud of you!
Bonneville 2011: We got Class
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011While the crew works on the motor, Amir and Kenny tackle the paperwork. It’s not glamorous, but the reason SCTA records are so respected is because the classes are strictly defined and the officials keep track of every change.
Bonneville 2011: What’s the Combination?
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011It’s hard to explain racing to people who have never done it. There’s this mysterious energy, and when it’s on, a team feels unstoppable. Everything just falls in to place.
The downside to this voodoo magic is that when things go wrong, it can feel like the whole world is against you.
We’ve had a rough week this year. Little things keeps popping up and, in the case of yesterday’s run, causing some pretty big problems.
We’re getting very fast at changing motors. Stay tuned for a run this afternoon.
Good Guys Joliet: Rental Racing
Monday, August 15th, 2011Everyone at the Good Guys shows works pretty hard to make sure the races run smoothly, the show is organized and the participants all have a good time. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t occasionally get silly. Brandy gives us the full report on why you should never buy a fleet car if Bangshift’s Chad Reynolds is on the rental history.
BATTLE OF THE CHEVY AVEO – by Brandy Morrow
Sunday came and the weekend was finally coming to an end at the Goodguys Show at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. The vendors participating in the autocross were pretty tired after two full days of racing, and that often leads to “creative” racing.
Chad Reynolds from Bangshift.com who is also the MC for most Goodguys Autocross Events had rented a Chevy Aveo for the weekend. This car was a bright yellow bare-bones rental car. Now I am not quite sure who had the brilliant idea to take it around the autocross, but next thing I know, that poor car is packed with 5 people and is sitting at the starting line of the autocross waiting for the green light. Sure enough the battle of the Chevy Aveo had begun.
It ended with 5 different drivers battling on who could drive the Chevy Aveo around the autocross course with the quickest time. Chad hopped in around midday on Sunday to prove to everyone that he was the best Chevy Aveo driver of them all. Surprisingly the Aveo held up; though it looked like it wanted to tip over half the time. The other Aveo drivers finally gave up and let Chad have his victory. Besides being badly outgunned by Chad’s amazing Aveo driving skills, I think most of the passengers (especially those in the back seat) were getting pretty car sick.
On one of the final runs, Jason Childress from Gateway Classic Mustangs decided to run the Aveo backwards. After successfully going all the way through to the finish line backwards, the Chevy Aveo was the most popular car in the pits for the rest of the day. This is serious racing, folks.
Thanks to Bangshift and Bob Chiluk for the photo!
Bonneville 2011: Testing…Testing…
Monday, August 15th, 2011So we did finally make a full pass but it wasn’t under full power.
The car launched and was a wee bit squirrely (you can see it in the video below) but it looked like everything was going well to start.
Running behind in the chase car we heard the speeds climbing, 230, 279 and then, 258 through the 5-mile.
Photo by Ken Rappaport
258? What now?
When we finally caught up to Kenny, he was all the way past the 7-mile mark. It’s amazing how far these cars travel, even at the “slow” speed of 258mph.
Photo by Ken Rappaport
Kenny seems unconcerned, but then, we’ve never seen him ruffled. We’re not quite as optimistic about that little leak coming from the car on the trailer…
Bonneville 2011: Surviving the Storm
Monday, August 15th, 2011Bonneville is known for wild weather, and we got quite a storm last night. As this isn’t our first trip out here, we storm-proofed our pits, but some of the other competitors (and campers) showed up this morning to a wreckage of ez-ups and torn tarps, not to mention the “great salt lake” at the entry gate!
We think we may have worked out the shifting issues on the car and the team is buttoning it up now for a third run. Here’s hoping for a full pass!
Bonneville 2011: Guest Photo – The Team
Monday, August 15th, 2011Racers are drawn to the Bonneville salt flats the way sailors are called to the sea, but this place draws people interested in more than driving.
Photography on the salt has a quality all its own, and photographers have been making images out here since the first time a car ever ran.
We’ve been lucky to have some absolutely incredible photographers visiting us in the pits this year, and this morning, we received the following image in our email inbox:
From left to right:
Ken Rappaport, Greg Hoffman, lionel Pitts, Steve Schmalz, Amir Rosenbaum, Kenny Hoover, Scott Spencer, Courtney Hines, Taylor Kimbrough, Mladen Miladinovic, Wayne Jackson, Kurt Holteen
Bonneville 2011: Back to the Drawing Board
Sunday, August 14th, 2011Racing can be frustrating business. The car seemed totally ready to run for a record while we were testing in the pits, and when we warmed it up again in the staging lanes, everything seemed in top working order.
The staging lanes were packed with cars and while we waited for our turn, Kenny posed for photos and Amir chatted with fellow team owners and drivers like George Poteet and the Blowfish team.
We were even able to help those guys out by dumping one of our ice chests in to their intercooler. It must have been our lucky ice, because they ran a stunning number and we met with another round of early shut off.
We ran the engine back in the pits, and we’re hoping it’s just an air leak issue with the shifter. We’ll try again in the morning.
Good Guys Joliet: Another Win for Spectre!
Sunday, August 14th, 2011Brandy has been a killer on the autocross track this summer, taking win after win in the Spectre “Carbon Camaro”.
Spectre may have a “take no prisoners” attitude on the track, but we’re still going to shows to make friends, and Joliet, IL was no exception. Despite a dire weather forecast, we met up with some old friends and made some new ones at the Chicagoland Nationals.
Our show weekend started out with the now traditional Good Guys vendor karting challenge Thursday night before the show. We’d like to congratulate Keith Mac Donald from Detroit Speed for winning the Vendor Karting race Thursday night. This time, Keith took first with Ed Capen from Goodguys taking a close second. Nice Job Keith!!!
Since Joliet is hometown to many vendors including Roadster Shop and Peak Performance, the autocross track was packed. Vendors including RideTech, DSE, Gateway Classic Mustangs, RPM, Roadster Shop, Heidt’s, and many more all showing and competing. Brandy certainly had her work cut out for her on the track!
Keeping the Carbon Camaro company on the autocross course this weekend was RPM’s “Runt,” which is a 1962 Chevy Nova custom build. RPM built the car for Gerry Kerna. Curt and his crew had done some testing with “The Runt” before coming to Chicagoland Speedway, but this would be the car’s first official full weekend on a Goodguys’ autocross track. Curt ran the car Friday and Saturday, working out all the kinks and seeing how it would handle around the tight corners of the autocross. Gerry ran the car Sunday for her first official Goodguys autocross. Gerry was an autocross newbie, but she had a great line on the course and did very well. Gerry will be some great competition in the very near future.
On Sunday, Goodguys opened the car show to all American cars. We had several Camaros, a couple of Mustangs and an 1993 Nissan 240sz with an LS swap and slicks. It was good to see all years allowed into the show.
In the Spectre booth we had one of our customers, Rich Bryant, with his ’65 Chevelle featuring a Spectre Make/ Model Specific Bolt on cold air intake. The car a great addition to our booth and it received a lot of attention. Big thanks to Rich for displaying in the Spectre Booth.
At the end of the weekend came awards. Throughout the weekend Curt Ukasik, owner of RPM Hot Rods, had his daughter out at the show. Ashley rode as passenger while Curt drove the Runt around the autocross track. She also made a great motivational coach, cheering her dad and Gerry on along with all the other autocross competitors. At the end of the weekend, Brandy asked Ashley if she would help present awards. Ashley did a fantastic job, helping carry awards to the participants and even presenting Brandy with the 1st place Vendor at the Autocross. Ashley is a fantastic kid who we all hope to see behind the wheel alongside the rest of us someday. She has 8 more years before she gets her driver’s license and then she has to convince her father to build her a car. The second one shouldn’t be too hard, right?
Bonneville 2011: A/BFS
Sunday, August 14th, 2011The Spectre team was wrenching before the sun came up and we are back in action and ready for a run.
Changing a motor takes us about half as long this year as it did last year, but what with wiring, checking the data and putting the car back together, it’s still a serious six-hour job.
We wish this video had surround sound and smell-o-vision, because this methanol powered 484 A-fuel motor is a wonder to behold.