Grattan National, Race Report Options

[groot]

Bad weekend. My fault totally, too. I ran very well on Friday considering everything. I'm finally faster than my old race car (ITB Rabbit) in this car....when it's running well. I need to go up another step in 5th gear because I was maxed out on the straight (5400 RPM and no power). Based on my data, I'm getting ~110 horsepower and 130 lb/ft of torque (peak at 4500 RPM), which isn't too bad. I'm below 100 hp and 100 lb-ft at 5200 RPM.

So, the engine started to run poorly on Sat, and I figured it was the weather change. So, I changed jets and did the emergency practice on Sun before the race. Still sucked, but even worse. So, I pulled the plugs (which looked great) and reran all of the wires, hoping it was a loose connection. No dice. So, I figured I'd run the race to try and get some points. I made it 10 laps before it really went dead. Turns out it was my battery. It was fully charged on Friday. I use a booster box to reduce the load during starting, but it needs to be charged between sessions, I've learned. I'm running a huge Optima, too. So, I learned a lot, but no points. A couple others didn't finish and I dropped out of 3rd place. I was nowhere near the pace.

I also learned that my steering rack mount is not strong enough, so I have to beef than up. The rack was moving when I turned in, creating quite a disturbing, disconnected feeling.

I still have a mystery oil leak that I need to stop, too. I've stopped many of them, but there's a high pressure oil spray on the driver's side of the engine that I can't locate. It doesn't leak in the pits.

Mid-Ohio in 2.5 weeks.