First day of the Stock Rubber Nationals. I want to get my goals out in the open. The main goal is to make the Expert class. Out of 46 racers for this race, 32 will make it to the expert division, and the rest will sort out the open division.
In the Expert Division, we run 6 Reedy style, heads up racing. Points are awarded for the position you place at the end of the race. First place gets 1 point second 2 and so on. With six races run, only four will count towards the overall score and the racer with the lowest score wins.
The Open Division will have one more qualifier and then go into triple mains. There will be triple A mains and Triple B mains.
Last year, I just missed the expert division by about 4 places. With all the success I have been having lately, I feel good about making the upper half this year.
I shook out some problems in the first qualifier. I was just in a little bit of a rush for some reason. I did get a practice run before the qualifying run so I felt good. My battery ended up slipping out of its tape and lodging itself to the front of my car. This made my car very unpredictable. I wanted to quit but my triathlon training has taught me to never stop until its over, so I never did. I ended this run with 16 laps. Not good in the standings and left with some minor work to do for the next two qualifiers.
In between rounds I noticed that the inside of my sweep tires were cracking. There were visible fractures in my front wheels. It must have been because of all the crashing in the first round. This created a difficult financial situation because I could not afford new tires. I decided to run my tires for another round. It turns out that I wasn't the only one with tire issues today. At the end of the day, Scotty and the race sponsor gave out a free set of tires to compensate for the issues people were having with the ones they purchased. Good work Scotty and Much-More !!
My second run was a bit better. With the battery in position (I used three strands of tape this time) the car was back the way I liked it. This round was a little rougher than what I was used to. I kept hitting another racer over and over again on the track. I think I was ahead of him. Every time I got behind him and went to pass, would deliver both of us to the board. 3 or 4 wrecks at the wrong time put me at 22 laps at the end of the race. This round was better than before, but not my best.
I apologized for my infractions and headed back to my pit. This is the part where I go around changing the car setup. I didn't want to touch anything. I did end up buying a new set of tires for my final round. With my run in the second round I was in 31st place. Right on the edge of the expert class. I thought about it and I needed the new set. I will use that for my 3rd qualifier.
My third run. What can I say. It was solid as I could. Turned well in the corners, full speed in the straights. I was nervous this round. I could hear the announcer calling my name at first place. All I wanted to do was to keep all fours on the carpet and run my race. I felt at ease toward the last of the race and finished strong. I finished with 22 laps and in 26th place. After the round was done, I had dropped 2 place because of racer that put in better times. Final word, 28th place. I made the expert division. Now what the heck did I just get myself into?!?!?
The expert division is like a constant A main. All the drivers were better than me. I just wanted not to suck. The car is fine. Compared to the other drivers, I am on of the slower drivers.
The expert racer will get 2 more races before the day was through and four on Sunday. Both rounds were rough for me as I tried to get out of the way of the faster racers. Since the heats were randomized to keep things fair,I felt I did have a chance to place. I placed 7th in both the races I was in. Lets see if I can pull something together tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, Scotty was good enough to spring for lunch tomorrow!! We all get to eat at Chipotle during the race. Oh Yea, that's the way to win racers over!! Looks like a fun time will be had tomorrow.
See ya there. :)
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