I just got home from the above event at Sunshine in Clearwater...interesting time...

My crew chief and I got to the track at 2PM after a short visit with Glensgages and his fiancee'....it was pouring rain but we checked in, got our pit spot and dropped the car and trailer...then we headed to our motel for some rest...the rain stopped an hour later...

We went back to the track for the time shots at 6PM...my first I went 7.28 and my second was 7.29...WTF?...this was 7-8 hundreths slower than normal for me...turns out it was the track and the weather...everyone was slow...the air was like pea soup with 96% humidity...everyone's windows were fogging over..

First round was at 9:55PM...I raced a number of hitters and moved along right through the field...we started with about 100 cars in Sportsman...at 10 cars I ran a nice Vega wagon dialed 6.45...I put an .014 package on him with a .012 light and dead on 2...I was dialed 7.29...

It so happens a good friend, Craig Gingrich, also had a .012 light in that round...he got the bye though due to being first with his light...I am not at all sure I agree with this tiebreaker but, oh well...

At 5 cars the ladder paired me with the son of another buddy, Kyle Roberts..this young man won the NHRA world championship in Pomona as a high schooler 3 years ago...curiously, all five cars left were Camaro's of various generations...

Kyle was dialed 8,31 and I stayed with 7.29...it was 2:30 AM by this time...he launched green and I did as well taking chase...I had a tough time catching him and almost fed him the stripe...I got a nose in front in the traps and double ripped it...

His win light came on...turns out he broke out by two hun and I broke out by four hun!...I treed him, .026 to .074...his MOV was .0012...drat!...where my number came from, I had no idea...I had run dead on 7.29 only twenty minutes earlier...the weather/track did not change that much in 20 minutes!...oh well...

That left three, Kyle, his Dad and Craig...Craig won the event over Kyle, .019 light to a .020 on a double break out......nice going buddy!...

Today they started the second event at 9AM...I took my first time shot at 10 and went 7.25 missing 2nd gear completely but had a nice .002 light...on my second time shot I double bulbed the stage by mistake, never got on the converter properly and cut a .272 light...then I forgot to shift into 2nd...I honestly did not look at the time slip but knew something was not "right"...I felt funny and was shaking...I left my entry fee, loaded up and came home...

I do not know what happened but I think I was just beat from the night before...we got back to the room at 3 AM, to sleep at 3:30 and after an hour I was up for the day...I believe it caught up with me....

I knew I had nothing for them today...I'll get them next time...beware the old farts...lol...

 

Sounds like you had fun (except day two and pesky 2nd gear) LOL
I see Craig is still in winning form. Some things don't change.
I can't wait to get back behind the wheel again, hopefully only another couple months.

 

Nice write-up. Sounds like a pretty good showing.

I, too, don't quite understand the tie-break. Seems it should have gone off the package, if there was a tie in the R/T.

 

Thanks....yes, Craig is still a good racer...he sold the C5 two years ago and races his 69 Camaro with a 383 stroker now...he dials around 7.38 or so on motor...

I spoke with them about that tiebreaker...I told them it seemed a bit foolish to reward someone with the bye run based on them getting to the staging lanes 20 seconds quicker...my .014 package was low for that round so I wanted them to use that criteria...he he he...

Of course Craig gave me the Na Na Na...Na...Na Na...seriously, he helped me find and fix a tranny cooler line leak...they wanted to DQ me if I didn't fix the leak...thanks again, Craig...

BTW, I still think a coin flip is more fair than their method...I was told they use it to encourage racers to get to the staging lanes quickly when called...

Here is my biggest problem with their tiebreaker...suppose you go to the lanes when called and there you are the 5th car in the lane you choose...now it so happens there are 10 cars already in the other lane...they run the round and you tie R/T's with some racer who was the 10th car already in the other lane when you pulled up...

They give you the bye because you ran before him in the fifth pair out while he ran in the 10th pair out...but...in fact, he was in the lanes before you...see my point?...they did not want to hear it...

 

I know that some tracks award a tie-breaker like that based-on 'first-come/first-served', to entice racers to get into the staging lanes quicker, helping to keep the program moving-along, so that you won't hear things like 'this is the seventeenth & FINAL call to the lanes for Round #1' over the loud-speakers:
I can't say if this is right or wrong (I personally don't mind it), but it does serve it's purpose

 

I understand the tracks reasoning but they cannot deny it can and does backfire when they award a bye to a car that got to the lanes after another...to tell you the truth I have no idea where Craig was in the lanes when I pulled up...he could have come after me for all I know...

 

I was in the 2nd pair of cars that round. every track has different rules. I would have rather had the bye next rd to get into the finals.

I made it down to 3 cars on saturday, Chris Knapp had a .006 package against me

 

Yeah, I know you were ahead of me somewhere, Craig...I tried to explain to them how a racer could be in the lanes ahead of another but run after him...they were not interested...lol...

I thought I had Kyle beat but obviously could not see well enough to judge properly...anyway, nice job on Saturday...you were hot, buddy...I put a .014 on Knapp on Friday and he came up to me in the lanes on Saturday and we joked about it...nice fella...

Good luck at the Snowbirds and CFRC if you come over...I am working on the car due to a shimmy that needs fixin'...thanks again for the tranny line help...