This is the end of a very long racing day...it began yesterday at 4:00AM...then on the road at 5:15...towed to Palm beach and arrived at 8:45...btw it is now 3:35AM and I just walked in...

Anyway, I went through tech and got ready for my first time shot of the day...following would be two IHRA SSS points races back to back...the new motor only had one pass on it, 6.90 in mineshaft air two weeks ago...

My first hit went OK,,,had a .027 light and went 6.90 again...the second hit I had a .008 tree but the car acted funny and only went 6.95...on the return road the idle kept climbing and got to 2000 rpm at my pit...yikes!!!....turns out the bracket on the carb that hold the double throttle springs got loose and bent back...oops...

Now they call us up for the first round of elims in No Box...I dial 6.92 and catch a firebird dialed 5.82...off I go and at the stripe he is a blur going by me at 120mph...I treed him with a 22 to his 43 light and ran 1 over for the win...I can live with this being my first competitive run in 7 months...

Round two and I hear someone singing the blues...turns out it is me with a snappy .106 tree for the loss...fwiw, I dialed 6.92 and went 6.90...sheesh...my opponent was a vega dialed 6.14 and went dead on...

My excuse is I was exhausted and I was...rain showers off and on led to the second round not going off until 6PM...I was 14 hours into my day at that point...

I try to make a comeback in race two...first round I dial 6.90...I decided to up my launch rpm to 3200 but went to 3400 instead...this led to sliding in a bit deeper than normal...this made me wait a bit and a .44 tree ensued...my opponent was an S-10 pick up dialed 6.24...he red lit so I slithered my way into round two...oh yeah, I ran 6.93 by being in a bit to deep...

Now I catch a 70 Camaro dialed 6.16...no chasing for me today...I dial
another 6.90 since the rain has stopped and the air feels much better...at this point I am so tired I doze off in the staging lanes and they have to tap on my window to get me to move up...I told them I was just a very relaxed kind of guy....lol...

The nap did not help and I cut the tree down with a .116 light...say goodnight, Gracie...old man river, that old man river......I knew I was dead late so I ran it out...she went 6.88 with a zero...the new motor is making some steam...so I left the track at 11:40 and here I am at 4:00AM 24 hours later...

This seemed like a good idea last week...oy yoy yoy...papa'...the good news is the motor ran great and is making good power...6.88 on 93 pump gas with a 3740 lb. launch weight is not bad...small tire car to boot...

Time to shut down...see y'all next time...

 

Dan,

Glad to see you back in action. You are one hell of a man with that timeline. I had a good day/night at Orlando Speed world yesterday. I went to the quarter-finals in Pro ET getting by some very good racers along the way. On the last run I took the stripe but went out on a 7.498 breakout on a 7.50 dial. Hope to see you soon.

Jim

 

Damn, Jim, you had a real good day, congrats..2 thou breakout is tough...yes, I am very happy to finally be back out there...heck, at this point I am happy I woke up this morning....lol...man, I am beat...see you at OSW soon...now to go unhook my rig and put it away....sigh...

 

"...24 Hours of Palm Beach" ???

 

That's funny. Long day for me as well. Major oil down as I was in the staging lanes. I feel asleep in the car and got woke up by the PA system. Your are right the nap did not help. .070 and bye bye.

 

So between you and Kaz, I'm gathering naps are not recommended in a bracket race.

Our points races start at 1 pm and curfew is 11 so I've never been real sleepy at the track. I do sometimes get a red bull around 3 pm to keep the energy level up.

 

Naps = not so good...I am already formulating my plan for next month...so far it includes a bag of those miniature candy bars and a thermos of hot cocoa....lol....

 

5 hour energy. It flat out works...