We took the restrictor to the track for the first time. Delaney into the restrictor and we made laps around the pit area working on using the clutch, starting, stopping, and switching the fuel pump on and off. She did really well. So we went out for hot laps, and I was really surprised...she hung right with them. She went out on the inside of row three for her Jr heat race with seven cars in the field. She got a really poor start and she was in fifth place going into turn one. She battled back to finish third, and was catching the leaders...it would be a sign of things to come. We got back to the pits to get her into the restrictor for her heat...we got up to the staging area with plenty of time. When it came her time to go out, she got a little excited...revved up the motor and dumped the clutch and killed it...we got it restarted and she got on the track with no problem...they threw the green flag as she was coming out of turn two, so she was effectively a half lap down at the start. She was real smooth and in the gas. She was up against the cushion all the way through the corner looking like a pro through turns 3 & 4, but she was entering turn one too low and would have to lift to get it to turn as she slide up the track. She did finish last but didn't give up hardly any ground to the leader. She had fun! We changed gears for the A-Feature on the Jr. She went out for the Jr A-Feature on the inside of row three with fourteen cars in the field. She did an outstanding job on the start and jumped up to second place going into turn one. She took the lead on the next lap and ran there for the next three laps when the 41 car got a run on her and hit her in the left rear as they went through turn three, turning Delaney sideways...being the leader and only four laps into it, the whole pack scattered except for the 44 car who didn’t' even slow up and plowed into Delaney head on as she sat there stalled, he also hit the 77 car who had spun as well. He hit Delaney hard enough to flip her over. The red came out and I got to the car at the same time as the track official...we righted the car and started talking to Delaney...she was shaken and hurt her arm...the track official asked her name and where she was...Delaney looked at him and said "Delaney" and "at the track"...like where else would I be! The medics showed up to check her out and everything seemed fined so she climbed out with her helmet on. She had a sore arm and the medic kept referring to her as "he", I corrected her and the other medic said he thought she had too pretty of eyes for a boy!! The car was a mess and we were done for the night, but the excitement wasn't...Cody tried to pass a couple of cars low and ran out of real estate on the low side and hit a tire marking the corner and went airborne, hit on the left front and flipped end over end landing on his wheels, as Wade ran to him, Cody gave him the thumbs up and Wade tore the wing off and Cody went on to finish fifth. Delaney had said before the Jr A-Feature she didn’t want to race in the restrictor A-Feature...so we were done for the night.
Sep 30
Delaney went out on the inside of row two for her heat with only five cars in the field...she had Cody on the outside and Gage (pts leader) behind her...tough heat. She made a good move to the inside to take the lead going into turn one...she never looked back...she was challenged by Cody and Gage. She went out on the outside of the front row for the Trophy Dash. She got a great start and easily took the lead going into turn one which ended up winning the race for her because all four cars were nose to tail for the entire five laps with no one able to gain anything. She went out on the inside of row three for the A-Feature. We thought about changing gears for the A-Feature, but decided against it...bad choice. She was able to get up to the front but was not able to stay there as she gave up several positions. We were getting out run down the straight aways and she ended up with a solid 5th place finish.
Sep 24
She went out on the outside of row two for the heat race with seven cars in the field. She made a good jump on the start to take the lead but the car was real tight and she couldn't hold the lead and ended up giving up second as well to finish third. We made some adjustments to loosen the car up for the feature. She went on the outside of row three for the A-Feature with fourteen cars in the field. She again did a good job on the start...she moved to the inside and they went four-wide into turn one...she lifted and settled into fourth before Cody got by her dropping her back to fifth where she stayed until the caution came out on lap 12. After the caution the car got really tight in turn four....she would have the wheels turned all the way left and the car was still sliding up the hill and wouldn't stop until she would get out of the gas. She gave up another position and finished in sixth place. She wasn't real pleased with her crew chief...but I told her I messed the car up...we'll get them next week.
Sep 17
She went out on the inside of row two for her heat race with six cars in the field. The track was real tacky and we were a little tight. She made a good move to the inside of the pole sitter but the outside line got a little jump and Cody got a big jump...too big as he jumped out to the lead but was penalized two spots for jumping. Delaney settled into second place the for the balance of the heat fending off challenges from the points leader. She was on the outside of front row for the Trophy dash. She jumped out to the lead, and battled Morgan for several laps, but just not enough to hold her off, so Delaney settled for second. She went out on the inside of row three for the A-Feature with 11 cars in the field....she made an awesome move to the inside to clear the two cars in front of her going into turn one, but there was a big wreck going down the front stretch...Cody got put into the wall by Morgan...he was done for the night and Morgan's car required some work before restarting...Greg (Morgan's dad) and Wade (Cody's dad) exchanged some pleasantries on the front stretch...not sure they'll be talking to each other for awhile. So after the restart, Delaney made the same move but ended up in second place behind the 77 car....she worked for a couple of laps and finally cleared him by making a great move off turn two to take the lead. She held the lead for 10 laps then made a mistake trying to change her line to avoid a rut in turn three....the 77 was there to take the lead back with six to go...she worked to change her line and found one that got her to the back bumper of the 77 coming to the white flag...she made a run on him going into turn three on the bottom, but just couldn't pull it off and finished second. All in all we had alot of fun.
Sep 10
Delaney went out on the inside of row two for the heat race with seven cars in the field...once again the start was horrible, the outside row jumped....but no call. Delaney dove down below the pole setter coming out of turn four coming to the green and she was already in third place. Her and 8 car made short work of the 22 car coming out of turn two with the 7 car close in trail...for the next seven laps, the 8, Delaney and the 7 car put on a good show...Delaney would make a run on the 8 car but just couldn't clear him, then the 7 car would make a run on Delaney and she couldn't close the deal either. They raced clean and hard for seven laps...coming to the checkered flag, Delaney made one more run on the 8 car going into turn three going low, she was able to pull even with him but just didn't have enough to pass him going thru turn 4 and bobbled a little trying not to slide up into him and the 7 car ended up nosing (literally) her out for 2nd at the finish line.
Delaney went out on the inside of row three for the A-Feature with 13 cars in the field. She made a great move on the start and moved into 2nd place coming out of turn two...she quickly disposed of the 36 car on the next lap. She held off any and all challengers for the next 12 laps until the 36 car spun bringing out the caution. On the restart, Delaney didn't get a good jump, but the 7 car did...a little too good of a jump...as she moved from 5th to up next to Delaney exiting turn four. With her run she was able to clear Delaney and the fight was on...(we were all informed by the track officials that the 7 car would receive a three position penalty for jumping the start)...the 7 car and Delaney fought hard for the next six laps when the next caution coming out for a spin by the 51 car in turn two with two laps left. They moved the 7 car back due to the penalty and Delaney restarted in 1st place with Cody right behind her. Once again she didn't get a good start and Cody got below her and they raced side-by-side for the final two laps with Cody edging her out at the finish line.
Aug 27
Racing was fun this weekend. Delaney started on the inside of row two for her heat race. She got a good start and quickly passed the pole sitter going into turn one. She raced Morgan hard for a couple of laps before giving up the lead to Morgan. She was challenged for the next six laps by the 8 car...but he wasn't able to get around her on the outside and she was real smooth and made no mistakes. Coming to the white flag in turn four, he got into rear bumper, but instead of lifting, he turned her sideways...she saved it, and finished third. We weren't happy...and discussions with the 8 car's parent and race director did little to sooth us. Delaney went out on the outside of row two for the A-Feature with 14 cars in the field. She made a good move on the start and was in second place coming out of turn two. She was really loose and was up on the wheel. It would take several laps for any cars to get around her...they would race side-by-side for a lap or two, but the loose condition made it hard to handle. She ended up holding on for 6th place...1st through 7th where split by less than a straightaway. It was fun watching...just wish I hadn't gotten the car so loose. We've been fighting a tight race car and I've done some things to get it loosened up...well we've achieved that and more!
Aug 19 / 20
Friday we tried a couple of things--clutch settings and gearing. Delaney went out on the inside of row two for her heat race. She got a good start but the outside line jumped out in front as Delaney had to clear the pole sitter first. She settled into third and that's where she finished holding off the points leader for the final three laps. She went out on the inside of row three for the A-Feature with only ten cars in the field. Again she got a good start but the outside line had the advantage going into turn one. Delaney made an aggressive move coming out of turn one to move into third. She settled into third she raced Morgan for about 7 or 8 laps before Morgan finally got by her and then she gave up a position to the 12 car to finish fifth. The car kept washing up into the rough part of the track and she would have to fight to keep it under control.
On Saturday, decided to put the other motor on to see if we could gain anything. We changed the car's setup as well. The car drove much better and we weren't getting beat off the corner either. She went out on the outside of row two with six cars in the heat race. She got a great start and cleared as again the outside row moved out...seems to be the place to be. She settled into second place...she made a couple of runs at the leader but just didn't have enough and she also held off all challengers to finish third. The changes we made seemed to work very well. She started on the outside of the front row for the trophy dash, but didn't get a good start, and the four cars settled into a nose to tail line with Delaney in third...where she finished after a little bumping with the 8 car. We changed gears after a lengthy rain delay, she went out on the outside of row two for the A-Feature with 12 cars in the field. She made a great move to dive to the inside on the start to clear the front two cars and falling into third going into turn three, she held off Morgan for a couple of laps but Morgan finally got around her to move her back to fourth. She worked to find a good line and finally she figured it out and started working her way back to the front three as they started to get into lapped traffic. Delaney caught the third place car and made a strong move to the inside coming off turn four and going down the front stretch they got together and Delaney got the worst of it, sliding sideways across the start finish line, she stayed in the gas, corrected it as she slid into the infield and shot around to reenter the track on the back stretch and she never lost a position. A very good piece of driving. She lost too much ground to the leaders but brought it home for a fourth place finish....best of all I think we learned a lot.
Aug 13
Rained out
Aug 5 / 6
This was Oklahoma Nationals weekend. We finished 2nd overall this weekend. We didn’t qualify very well….ending up with the fifth fast time. While we were in line for our qualifying session when it started raining Friday night….pushed back to the trailer, but I think the clutch got wet and when we finally went out on the track it just didn’t seem to be working right until about half way through the second and final lap. She nearly won the first heat…got beat by about a foot by the 7 car and finished 2nd again in the second heat as well to the 7 car. We ran a 30 lap A-Feature on Saturday night…it was caution filled…ran a total of 45 laps, we just didn’t have enough for the 7 car. Delaney was quicker right around the bottom, but just wouldn’t stay there. The track took a lot of rubber so it was really fast if you hit the setup….she was really fast around the bottom, but up one groove she had to work pretty hard. She nearly got run up into the wall by one of the new kids who spun and decided to turn in front of her and another car…we all held our collective breath…she stayed in the gas and was right up next the wall in turn two and managed to clear both cars. Delaney ended the Oklahoma Nationals Runner-up. Overall, we had a lot of fun!
July 30
Delaney finished 3rd in her heat. She led 11 laps in the A-Feature before getting stuck behind lapped traffic and ended up finishing fourth. More detail to follow.
July 23
The racing went OK on Sat. Delaney went out on the inside of row two for her heat race with seven cars in the field. She stalled the car going down the back stretch on the parade lap...I ran to start it and she caught the group going down the backstretch again, but the 44 car wouldn't let her in her position and they started three wide...I wasn't happy and approached the official who said the 44 was penalized two positions. But because of that start, they got all bunched up and it prevented Delaney from easily clearing the slower cars while the outside row quickly cleared the slower cars. She finally cleared them but was now in fourth spot....she caught ant passed the 44 car, but had nothing for the lead two cars to come home third. The A-Feature was pretty interesting...as we come out for the parade laps on the outside of row two, the red light suddenly came on....I look around and the 12 car has flipped on the backstretch after apparently smacking the wall really hard in turn two. Apparently his steering shaft broke and fortunately he was okay. So after the red we got started, Delaney cleared the slower cars but was passed by the race winner and slowly fell back....she was running a pretty steady third/fourth...her and Morgan battled for several laps for third place, Morgan was clearly faster than Delaney, but she was running the same line as Delaney so she was forced to pass her somewhere else. It was fun watching. Delaney and Cody also battled for a little while with Delaney prevailing. She held on for a relatively uneventful fourth place finish. The motor didn't see too strong so I took to George for a look. He identified an issue and fixed it so, hopefully we will be stronger next weekend and during nationals.
July 15/16
We have a pretty good weekend of racing. We went to Claremore on Friday...the Jarvis' joined us as well. We ended up with seven cars in the field. Delaney went on the pole for her heat race. She got a good jump on the start and held the lead for the first two laps then gave up first to her friend Hannah and then Cody got by her. She finished third. She went on the pole for the A-Feature. She got an okay start, her and another car got together and wiggled and ended up getting passed by the eventual winner at the end of the first lap....then there were four cars who battled for 19 laps side-by-side...three-wide....none separated by more than a few feet. Lot of fun to watch!
At I-44 on Sat, she went out on the outside of the front row for her heat with five cars in the field. She got a good start, but the track was pretty rough. She went into turn two, hit the bumps and slid up the track, which allowed two cars to get by her. She was now fourth, she battled back to finish third. Changed gears and added some rollout to free the car up. She went out for the A-Feature on the outside of row two with 16 cars in the field. Got a good start and several cars got wadded up going into turn one to bring out the yellow...she stalled on the back stretch, I ran....they threw the red flag, I ran...they got wadded up again, she stalled, I ran....they threw the red flag again, I ran...finally they got it going, I was ready to pass out. She started the next start on the outside of the front row. She got a good start leading the first couple of laps then got passed by Cody and the 12 car and finally by the 8 car and new car from Tulsa to settle in to finish 5th... While pushing the car in the trailer, I noticed the axel seemed loose...checked and it move about an inch....I need to solve that problem...and she should be running up front again.
July 9
The racing went fairly well. I think Delaney was a little rusty. Delaney went out for her heat race on the outside of the front row. She was watching for the green flag and ended up falling back from the pole setter and then got jumped by the second row....she was in fourth place going into the first turn. She was running down third place when he got way sideways coming out of turn two and came across her nose...she got hard on the brakes and tried to turn with him....they collided and she stalled the car and I ran to get her going again...she was never a factor and ended up finishing fourth out of six. She went out for the A-Feature on the outside of the second row. The car in front of Delaney didn't stay with the pole setter and Delaney stayed behind him coming to the green flag...as she went to make her move, Morgan was already there....she was behind Delaney in the line up, but jumped the start but wasn't penalized for it, so she had no where to go. She showed good patience and came out third at the end of the first lap. She gave up a couple of more positions while trying to work the high line...finally she moved to the bottom and stayed even with the leaders and held on for fifth place. It was a good learning night and we finished the race running.
June 25
We had another good weekend! She went out on the inside of row 2 with seven cars in the field for the first heat race. The track was real rough with only the lower groove being workable. She quickly jumped out to the lead on the first lap, but nearly got turned in turns 3 & 4 as she was passing for the lead. The car was a little tight and forced her up into the rough stuff a couple of times....but she was able to take the checkered flag. I made an air pressure adjustment for the trophy dash and prepped to make a gear change after the race for the A-Feature. She started on the outside of row one for the trophy dash. She jumped out to the lead but was still washing up into the rough stuff and that gave the 12 car enough to get under her. They waged a good battle for a couple of laps before he took the lead for good. We changed the gear for the A-Feature...I decided to set the car up to run up high...out of the rough spots. While sitting at staging area, I went up and looked at the track and the groove above the rough spots just didn't look like it was going to come in...so, I told DJ that she would probably have to run the lower groove and that it wouldn't be that quick down there. She went out on the outside of row two. It was a pretty dicey start as they went into turn one 3-4 wide. DJ ended up coming out of that mess in 3rd. She ran there for a couple of laps, but was having a hard time running at the bottom...the car really lugged of the corner and was giving up positions every other lap. She fell all the way back to eighth, then decided she would try the top groove and that seemed workable. Suddenly the car came to life, and she started picking them off one-by-one. She worked her way back up to fourth and was knocking on the door for third when they came to the checkered flag. All-in-all a good night...the best part is we finished running!!! Kim and Jess enjoyed too!!
June 17/18
It finally went our way as we've finally figured out our problem....who would have guessed. It was a great feeling actually finishing a race, let alone winning one. We are probably still going to look for a restrictor to finish the year and get some practice time.
June 11
N/A
June 4
Rained out!
May 28
At I-44 on Saturday, Delaney started on the outside of the front row for her heat race with six cars in the field. The inside row jumped the start, but they let the race continue and she went into turn one in third. The track was real heavy and tacky. She made great move in clearing the 38 car and then the 22 car to take over first place...she held off all challenges after that. It was a cool overcast night and the track really didn't change much. She went out for the Trophy dash on the pole. Again the 38 jumped the start and no restart...Delaney went into turn one in second, and challenged for the lead several times but just could not quite close the deal to finish second. No changes to the car for the A-Feature except for some air pressure to loosen the car up a little. We have figured out our washing up in turns 2 & 4.... Delaney went out for the A-Feature on the outside of row two with 13 cars in the field. She got hung up behind some slower cars, but once she cleared them, she started running down the leaders. She caught them, but couldn't get around them...she tried many different lines trying to find a way around them with no luck, but she could drive the car where ever she wanted to and it would get off the corner, but not enough speed down the straight away to complete a pass. She was running third when the motor let go on lap 13....frustration doesn't even begin to describe our feelings.
May 27
Went to Tulsa on Friday and raced at Will Rogers Raceway. Delaney went out on the outside of the front row for the heat race with five cars in the field. She finished second....we just didn't have enough for the winner. We were chasing the track all night...I was about one gear off for each segment. Made a gear change for the trophy dash and she went out for the "all girl" trophy dash on the pole. The car behind her jumped the start and tried to pull to Delaney's inside and ended up hopping her left rear wheel and came to a rest inside the cockpit with Delaney...bent a couple of pieces of sheet metal, but no injuries. Got them untangled and restarted. All four cars ran side-by-side for all eight laps with Delaney ending up third. Considered making another gear change for the A-Feature but decided against it...should have... Delaney went out on the pole for the A-feature with nine cars in the field and after at least four restarts for people jumping the start, they got it started. She held the lead for 2-3 laps before giving it up to the eventual winner....she continued to lose spots because she was cautious about trying to get around a new kid who was all over the track. We ran 38 laps in a 20-lap A Feature due to the cautions...many because of this new kid and the inconsistent line he was running. We ended up blowing the motor on the white flag lap while running in the fifth spot.
May 21
Delaney went out for the heat race on the inside of row two with 7 cars in the field. She quickly moved out to the lead by the end of the first lap. She held the lead for several laps before giving it up to the 12 car...they raced hard for a couple of laps, but he finally cleared her. We just don't seem to have enough to beat the 12 car. While coming into weight after the race the motor quit and I couldn't get it started....got pushed back to the pits. Did some work on it and finally got it started and it was running fine. Went out on the pole for the Trophy Dash. She jump out for the lead and again the 12 car ran her down and they raced for a couple of laps and he finally cleared her....with Delaney taking 2nd place....and again when they came into weight, the motor quit....again we got pushed back to the pits. This time I wasn't able to get the motor started so with limited time between races decided to do a motor change...we were the last ones to get into line for the A-Feature. While waiting to start the motor I looked down and wondered if I had remembered to tighten the pulley on the jackshaft....reach down and gave it pull and sure enough I hadn't tightened. The car in front of Delaney took off...no choice but either pull out or hope it stayed on through the A-Feature...if it had been a heat race we would have been good to go. She went out on the outside of row two with thirteen cars in the field. She cleared the first two cars and was battling with the 17 car for the lead. She was having a hard time getting around him....she would just get to his inside going into the corner and he would beat her off the corner. She got a good run off turn four and was well inside him going into one and through the middle of the corner and into two they touched...who came up or who came down is up for debate, but Delaney took the lead as the 17 car bobbled and Delaney got a warning the next time by the flagman for perceived rough driving....I talked to the Dad of the 17, and he agreed, it was a racing deal..nothing more. She pushed out to a pretty good lead and was pretty fast, then the pulley came off around lap 10 and we were done....if I was the driver I'd fire the crew chief! She took it pretty well, which you can take a couple of different ways.
May 14
Overall not a bad night, if the crew chief ever gets his stuff together. Went out for hot laps and the car seemed pretty loose, but quick. The track was already drying out. Decided we needed to changed the air pressure/stagger to tighten it up a bit. She went out for her heat on the inside of row two with eight cars in the field. She got caught low behind the slower cars as the faster ones went around on the outside. She fought her way back up, to take second place when she pulled into the infield...I noticed the chain dragging and the motor was all the way to the back...I instantly knew the problem...I hadn't tightened the motor completely down....we were both bummed. The car handled well and it was fast. Decided to tighten it up some more for the A-Feature...made a new chain and we were back in business. Delaney went out on the inside of row three for the A-Feature. We talked about not winning the race on the first lap and she showed great patience through the first lap. She cleared the slower cars and set her sights on the leaders. She took the lead on the third or fourth lap and held it through lap 17 pulling out to fairly large lead when the caution came out on lap 17 when the 38 car climbed the wall and flipped. We talked about the restart, she knew she would get a jump going down the back stretch....I told her to run in the middle of the groove, but we didn't talk about protecting the bottom....should have....as the 12 car stayed with her on the restart and dove to the bottom going into turn three pulling even with her, they raced side-by-side for the next two laps. He finally cleared her, and she made one more run on him going into three and he got caught behind a lapped car going into four....they raced to the checkered flag and he beat her by a car length. What an exciting race!!
May 7
At I-44 Speedway, she started on the inside of row two with seven cars in the heat. She got a good start, quickly jumping out to the lead, but there were some fast cars behind her but she built a good enough lead that they weren't able to close up on her after clearing the slower traffic. Our little computer on the car has gone on the frits, so we weren't getting any temperature or RPM information, so I am running the car a little rich...more fuel than necessary...than George recommended. So after winning the heat race and discussing it with George, we decided to lean....less fuel...it out for the trophy dash. She started on the outside of the front row for the dash. The pole sitter got a good jump on the start and it was a good battle between the four cars for the entire race. Delaney continued to run second, fighting off challenges from the 3rd & 4th place cars while looking for a way around the 17 car. After taking the white flag, she had a great run going into turn 1, as the 17 had opened up the bottom, much like Gordon on Busch at Martinsville, she stuck it in there...they made contact and the 17 car bobbled up the track (ended up in last place), Delaney took the checkered flag. As we were going across the scale, I was told she was disqualified, to which I nearly blew a gasket. The track owner was in turn one, and I discussed it with him on my way off the track....he told me he only penalized her one position for the rough driving....I was okay with that until I watch the video, which, to me, clearly showed she had the position and there wasn't contact until she slid up and her right rear hit his left front, which means she owns the position. She wasn't happy, but we've talked about her habit of diving in there and that she has to be careful. I don't want her to be passive but she needs to make sure she can make it stick and not bounce off people. Well, we went out for the A Feature on the inside of row three. She got a good start and cleared the slower traffic, but couldn't catch the leader, settled into 2nd place, and the were several cars faster than her and she battled hard but couldn't hold them off and ended up finishing in 6th place. New computer is on the way, so we will be better able to tune the motor next week. The car seem to really bog down coming out of the corners, so I am going to try something next week...BUT WE RAN NEARLY 70 LAPS WITH NO ENGINE FAILURE!
May 6
Well, it was a lot better weekend. Discovered our problem wasn't with the motors, but rather with our fuel delivery setup. A big thanks to George Shear, our motor builder, for his help in figuring that all out. Went to Will Rogers Raceway on Friday night. We were the only Jr Sprint to show up, which was okay. We ran hot laps and the heat race. The motor worked great and we finished without getting pushed off! The track director asked if we would mind running with the 250s. I asked Delaney...she was a bit apprehensive, but said okay. She started on the back row with four cars in the field, her and three 250s. They took the green flag and one of the cars quit running and pulled to the infield. She caught and passed another...he was a younger/new driver...she continued to run a good line and eventually was caught going into turn three coming to the checkered flag. So all in all it was a good night.
April 30
Another disappointing weekend....this was the worst of the last three. We had to be pushed off the track three times. Our motor builder rebuilt the motor that failed last weekend...he ran it on his dyno to test the motor. It worked great. We went out for hot laps and ran about two laps and it quit. Got pushed back to the pits, changed spark plugs and got ready for the heat race. She went out on the outside of row three with seven cars in the heat. She had worked her way up third and then the motor let go again. We got pushed back to the pits, and I changed motors. Went out for the A-Feature on the inside of row six with 16 cars in the field. She was a little aggressive on the first lap and going into turn three she tried to get underneath the 44 car, and he pinched her off...making contact and she got turned sideways. Fortunately, everyone behind her was able to avoid her....so now she started on the back of the pack. She did some awesome driving, and worked her way up to fourth and got stuck behind the 38 car as they were running the same line...she was finally able to clear him and ran another lap or so...making up ground on the leaders, when this motor let go as well....and we got pushed back to the pits....again.
We've determined it definitely wasn't a problem with the motors, but something in my fuel setup...tank, line etc. So I've rerouted the fuel line, and changed the valve from the tank. So we will see. Delaney and I are probably going to go to Tulsa on Friday night to get some extra seat time for her and make sure we have the answers to our problems. All of us are real frustrated....me, Tammy, Delaney, and George--the motor builder. Thanks so much to George at Total Concepts Racing for his help!
April 23
Delaney went out for her heat race on the outside of the back row with eight cars in her heat. She worked her way up to third but she kept sliding up in turns 2 & 4...not sure why we can't get that corrected, but then she almost lost it in turn 4 when she hit a bump and was completely sideways....she saved it and only gave up a single position so she ended up fourth. The car seemed to work well with the newly rebuilt motor, but decided the car was too loose....so we decided to go back to the setup, both gear wise and tire pressure wise that she won with. Made the changes and went out for the A-Feature on the outside of row 6 with 16 cars in the field. She had worked her way up to fifth when the first caution came out when the 78 car hit one of the tires going into turn 3 while running third. Delaney restarted in the fourth position and was challenging Cody for third trying to take him on the outside. She had nearly completed the pass when she fell off the pace, the car seemed to start running again but she was falling back through the field and then it finally quit and she pulled to the infield where Dad got a very unhappy look from a very competitive young lady. We tried to get it restarted with no luck....almost identical to the week before. She sat in the car for a few minutes once back in the pits and then went directly to my truck to have some time to herself. I am amazed at how competitive she is in the race car, because she is not that way in anything else.
April 19
Delaney and I went redneck racin last night....I didn't want to pull my trailer all the way up there, so we loaded the car in the back of my truck. Worked out fine. Ran the new/rebuilt motor and seemed to work fine...we also worked on lines to run, corner entry. I think we may have an understanding now. All in all I'm glad we went. There were only four cars there to practice...we were the only kid sprint.
April 16
Well, some days you're the windshield, somedays you're the bug. The week before we were the windshield, this week we were the bug. Not a good weekend.
Delaney, being the points leader, started on the inside, back row of the first heat. She worked her way up, but had a hard time getting around the 144 car, and ended up finishing third out of eight cars. Overall good effort. I had changed the adjustments on the clutch and ended up going to far, but she made it work and we went down one tooth on the gear. She went out for the A-Feature on the outside of row seven. Delaney had one close call with the wall when she got pushed high in turn three. She did a good job keeping it off the wall but gave up a few positions in the mean time. She had worked her way up to tenth when the first caution flew when three cars got together in turn four. While getting ready to go green, the car just didn't sound right. After the restart she was battling hard and had worked her way up to seventh, when the car just lost power. She coasted to the infield....as I was trying to start it, they threw a caution because we weren't completely off the track....I got it running again and she started on the back of the pack. She ran one more lap after going green and the car just quit.... Not sure what happened. More repairs I imagine. So we got our first DNF of the season. She was not happy.
We will be going to Tulsa Tues to run the other motor.
April 9, 2005
Since it was the first points race, they drew for starting positions in the heat races and that coupled with how you placed in the heat race decided where you started in the A-Feature. She drew #4....no one drew a smaller number, so she started on the pole for the 1st heat. She took the green flag for her heat and the 44 car came up to speed a little quicker than Delaney (partially due to the fact that he jumped) but they were side by side coming out of two, with Delaney gaining, she was able to take the lead coming out of four and pulled away for the win....she was never really challenge after the first lap. She ran a fairly good line, but kept washing up in two and four.
Decided I needed to tighten the car up a little for the trophy dash...did so with an air pressure adjustment in the left rear. She went out for the trophy dash on the pole and the 12 car on the outside of her and Morgan right behind her. Again the car didn't come right up to speed. They raced side by side for the first two laps with Morgan right behind them. Delaney finally cleared the 12 car and Morgan and the 12 car battled for a lap. Delaney kept washing up the track in two and four again and this time Morgan finally got to her. Delaney was faster down the straightaway, but would lose it in the corners....she finally ended up washing up the track in turn four to far and Morgan got under her . Delaney tried to get it back but ended up second.
Decided the track had gone dry slick, so discussed with Delaney what the car was doing....she said the car seemed to be too tight. So we decided to I would loosen the car up by changing the roll out/stagger and that she would not be afraid to ease more steering input into two and four and we also talked about changing our entry into turn one and three. She was on the pole for the A-Feature with the 12 car on the outside again...nineteen cars started the race. The start went the same way....but this time they battled for three laps side by side. Finally she cleared him and was off....she ran a real good line and no one was able to challenge her as she took the checkered flag. We only had two yellows. Just getting them all lined up though was a real challenge...Delaney did an awesome job on the restarts and navigating through the traffic, I think she lapped several cars four times in 20 laps.
What a awesome start!!! I think she will be very fast this year!!!
April 2, 2005
Our last practice session got rained out so I was a little concerned going into a two-day race with no laps in a month, so I decided to skip the Friday night heat race and go to Claremore OK for a normal night of racing. Figured there would be fewer cars and we would get more laps.
Friday at Claremore: Delaney started on the inside of row two for the heat race...only five cars total (four of them were girls!). One of the cars stalled going on the track and the pole sitter was going real slow and I had DJ set up to run pretty rich because it was pretty cold....I think the car loaded up with fuel and just wouldn't clean out, but she finished last and wasn't any too happy with her crew chief. We also had to much gear for the track...it was a single groove track and very sloppy. Went back to the pits and made a gear change, changed the spark plug, and put in fresh fuel. Went out for the A-Feature sitting on the back row. They took the green flag and she quickly got by the first car to take fourth. Going into turn three she had a great run on the front three....too much of a run and no where to go....ended up sliding up the track into the goo. Once she finally got out of the goo she was about a straight-away behind. She managed to catch the third place car, but couldn't get by, so she settled for fourth place. She got smoother with each lap and was running lap times equal to the winner, so all in all we were pleased with the results and accomplished what we set out to do.
Saturday at I-44: Since we didn't show up on Friday we had to start on the back row of the A-Feature. There were ten total cars. I told her that it was a 25-lap race and to be patiently aggressive....not sure an eleven-year old understands that, but she did an awesome job. When the green flag dropped, she made a move to the outside and got by the first two cars before coming out of turn two. The field spread out quite a bit and she continued to pick them off one at a time, by lap ten she was up to fifth place. She was closing on fourth when Cody spun out while running second (he has improved tremendously). The spin didn't bring out a caution as he was able to get going again. Delaney got a great run off of turn two on the third place car, but just didn't quite get far enough up on him going into turn three to make sure he knew she was there, Jake pinched her off and turned her sideways. She made a great save went down into the in-field and back on the track, but gave up three positions. She continued to run them down....one-by-one. She just ran out of laps...she ended up 3rd. All-in-all she got better with every lap and she learned a little too. We discussed her habit of trying to pass going low into the corner and the person not knowing she is there because she isn't far enough up on them. I think it was a great learning point for her. I was really proud of her.
