Santa Pod
Friday
They had recently put new asphalt on the track at the Pod, so we were curious on the track condition. In Q1 we got left lane, which we were told was the better lane. After the burnout Paul Ingar felt that the brakes didn’t work properly. It’s normally not a problem as the chutes slow the car down at the end of the track. Actually, it’s more of a problem at the starting line because the dragster goes up to about 6000 RPM at the starting line; but because of the lack of brakes holding the dragster back, Paul Ingar couldn’t go too high on RPM in fear of rolling the beams and cutting a red light.
The low RPM resulted in a bad 60ft time of 1,0391 and then the car hit shake from 60 – 250ft.
Q1: 5,62/255,13 mph and #3.
When we came back to the pits we discovered cracks in some of the pistons. We decided to take them all out and replace them, which turned out to be a smart choice. All eight pistons had cracks in them, which could be from the shake in Q1.
Q2: Really good 60ft time of 0.93! 5,53/251 mph at the ¼ mile and #4.
Saturday
After making a few changes after the qualifying on Friday, we were ready for Q3. We ran quicker and quicker yesterday, and our goal was still to get that 5.4 – and we we’re close this time!
Q3: 5,51/253 mph and #4.
Suddenly it got dark, and the last round of qualifying was to be a night race! It was a great show with header flames from the alcohol and fuel cars. The dragster launched like a rocket, and yet again a very good run.
Q4: 5,56/250 mph and #4.
The 5,51 was good for a #4, which means we qualified at the top end of the list. In Sunday’s eliminations we were up against Dave Wilson, who was fighting for the Championship against Fred Hanssen. If we beat Dave and Fred wins his round, the Championship would go to Fred.
Sunday
Paul Ingar was set on not cutting a red light, as he was up against a nitro injected car; which normally either goes up in smoke or run really quick. A red light would spoil every chance of getting through to the next round. It was therefore no surprise Dave got a better reaction time than Paul Ingar, but he went instant up in smoke. Paul Ingar ran a great 5,48/255 mph and was ready for the next round!
Happy after beating Dave in the 1st round.
Fred also won his round, and as we beat Dave, he won the European Championship. And the new Champion was also our opponent in the semi-finals! We made a few changes prior to the run and were aiming for a low 5,4. Unfortunately, the car hit instant smoke and Paul had to get off the throttle. Fred won the round, but we’re pleased with the weekend finally running that 5,4 again!
Semi-finals: 7,52/133 mph. |
