Race 2 has came and gone, and I am finally getting a post up about it.
Race 2 was another Sunday event, so I made the 5 hour trek over to Little Rock on Saturday, had a good meal at Bostons Pizza and chilled at my room. The trip over was a lot more eventful than that. Lets just say I took the scenic route. This was the first long trip with my truck c-notched and it made world of difference. It was a much smoother ride, even loaded down. And best of all, no more bottoming out on the frame at 70+ mph.
Sunday morning came early, and I made it over to the track. I setup my easy-up and pits. About the time I was ready to start practicing it began... calls from work. Of course a server had to act up while I was 5 hours away and had no internet. Messing with that took most of my practice, so I ended up with about 2 packs worth of track time.
Qualifying started, and I was once again running all 3 points classes. My 2wd was still being pissy, so it made for a long day. The track was slick, but not as bad as the previous trip. I had one run that would have put me in the A, but too many mistakes and going from 2nd to 6th waiting on corner marshalls that were too busy talking killed it. Oh well, I should not have wrecked I guess. In the last round the transmission then locked up. It was then alot clearer why the buggy has been horrible. All the loose dirt and lack of time to do proper maintence kicked my butt. I ended up in the B main, and after the tranny rebuild, the car was not bad. I take off and think I have a chance to bump up. I come on the front straight and I have no steering, further inspection revealed the servo horn came off. I got it back on before the end of the main, so I could at least feel out the car a bit more. After that I am now tied for 10th in 2wd buggy points.
In truck, the day was ok. I had some decent runs that I just could not close out. I think I qualified 6th or so. The main started and it was a rough one. I got out and lead a lap and then got drove through, by about 3-4 trucks and fell back to the back. I moved front and back through the field and ended up in 8th in the A. I thought I was farther ahead than that, but there was so much working going on, who knows. In all the mess I moved up to 3rd in truck points.
Now comes 4wd. The car was ok all day, but once again the driver was not getting it done. But just like race 1, I pulled out a 3rd place qualifying spot in the last round. The main started and I thought I had a good start. At this point I cannot remember if I just crashed on my own or had help, but I fell back in the pack. I worked my way up and passed for 4th at the line. I was able to hold on to my 2nd place in points.
The racing is pretty fun, but I sure wish the events were closer. I did get to wheel Jim's D8E after the races. That was cool and added some fuel to the fire. The setup cost right now is too rich for my blood, but I may try to get one setup next year. I will just have to decide what 10th car I am going to park to justify it. Race 3 was to be at Thunder Valley in Beebe, but it was rained out. The reschedule date has not been set, and it may be pushed back to the fall. The next series race is now going to be in August. It will be a nice break, and not a bad idea as the temps are in the upper 90's now and creeping into the 100 soon. Sadly, there are no videos for my mains this time. I think everyone was too busy working on their cars and trying to stay cool. I may post about some club racing during the hiatus from the series. That is all for now.
Showing posts with label off road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label off road. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
ARCORR Race 1 - Alison's Off Road
Race 1 of the 2009 ARCORR series finally kicked off on Sunday March 29th in Little Rock, Arkansas. I made the 5 hour trek over on Friday so I could be well rested. I went to a pizza place for dinner called Bostons. It was recommended by some of the guys on a sport truck forum I read. Next time I hope to try out a place called the Flying Fish. They are supposed to have really good catfish.
Saturday morning I got up and drove to Thunder Valley Raceway near Antioh. The track was huge and provide for some fun practice. I started off by breaking all 3 of my cars on their maiden packs on the track. The depth of the track was enormous and it took me all of practice and really my first qualifiers to get used to it. I ended up the tq of 4wd and had a great battle with Shane McCall, which in the end he got the upper hand. I tried one last banzai move on the last lap, but there was not enough track to make it work. In 2wd truck Shane ran off and never looked back. I finished second in truck as well. I drove decent and the cars felt good, so the race 1 the following day was not looking too bad.
I managed to get up the following morning, it is a miracle considering I ate McDonalds the night before, and headed down the road to Alison's. I proceeded to break my truck first pack out. This was the 4th pivot plate in 2 weeks. I ran all 3 points classes ( 2wd buggy, 2wd truck, and 4wd buggy). The track stayed very slick all day, and made being smooth the premium over blistering fast. Some guys are just wheelmen and were able to still post some really good times. I made all 3 shows, with a 3rd qualifying spot in 4wd being the highlight. The program ran a bit long so makeshift lighting was setup so we could run the mains. This did not bother me any because I have ran at practice tracks in alot darker conditions.
The 2wd buggy A-main was first up. The track was alot better after dark but I still did not feel real good with the buggy. It was just not very consistant. I did manage to work my way up to 5th, but that was the best I could do. I was at least able to move up a few positions from how I qualified.
Next was the truck A-main. I got a horrible start and ended up punted off the track and in last. I put my head down and worked my way through traffic. The truck was feeling really good. It is too bad I had to start so far back. On the last lap I was able to nudge my way into 3rd place. Eric Gahn and I drag raced to the start finish line for the position. I got a bit loose and tagged a pipe and had to settle for 4th. I wish I could have gotten on the podium, but 4th is not bad after coming back up from last.
My final race of the night was 4wd. With a 3rd spot on the grid, I knew I would have to do my best to get through the first parts of the track clean. The tone went off and about the top 5 or so go away pretty decent. I made a few mistakes early and then started putting in good laps. I was able to work my way up into second where I maintained pace and finished. Shane McCall had got away from the pack and cruised to the win.
Race 2 will be in a few weeks, depending on weather cooperating. If you would like to see other videos from this event, please check out Jim Kuca's YouTube page for more videos him and his brother have filmed.
Saturday morning I got up and drove to Thunder Valley Raceway near Antioh. The track was huge and provide for some fun practice. I started off by breaking all 3 of my cars on their maiden packs on the track. The depth of the track was enormous and it took me all of practice and really my first qualifiers to get used to it. I ended up the tq of 4wd and had a great battle with Shane McCall, which in the end he got the upper hand. I tried one last banzai move on the last lap, but there was not enough track to make it work. In 2wd truck Shane ran off and never looked back. I finished second in truck as well. I drove decent and the cars felt good, so the race 1 the following day was not looking too bad.
I managed to get up the following morning, it is a miracle considering I ate McDonalds the night before, and headed down the road to Alison's. I proceeded to break my truck first pack out. This was the 4th pivot plate in 2 weeks. I ran all 3 points classes ( 2wd buggy, 2wd truck, and 4wd buggy). The track stayed very slick all day, and made being smooth the premium over blistering fast. Some guys are just wheelmen and were able to still post some really good times. I made all 3 shows, with a 3rd qualifying spot in 4wd being the highlight. The program ran a bit long so makeshift lighting was setup so we could run the mains. This did not bother me any because I have ran at practice tracks in alot darker conditions.
The 2wd buggy A-main was first up. The track was alot better after dark but I still did not feel real good with the buggy. It was just not very consistant. I did manage to work my way up to 5th, but that was the best I could do. I was at least able to move up a few positions from how I qualified.
Next was the truck A-main. I got a horrible start and ended up punted off the track and in last. I put my head down and worked my way through traffic. The truck was feeling really good. It is too bad I had to start so far back. On the last lap I was able to nudge my way into 3rd place. Eric Gahn and I drag raced to the start finish line for the position. I got a bit loose and tagged a pipe and had to settle for 4th. I wish I could have gotten on the podium, but 4th is not bad after coming back up from last.
My final race of the night was 4wd. With a 3rd spot on the grid, I knew I would have to do my best to get through the first parts of the track clean. The tone went off and about the top 5 or so go away pretty decent. I made a few mistakes early and then started putting in good laps. I was able to work my way up into second where I maintained pace and finished. Shane McCall had got away from the pack and cruised to the win.
Race 2 will be in a few weeks, depending on weather cooperating. If you would like to see other videos from this event, please check out Jim Kuca's YouTube page for more videos him and his brother have filmed.
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