Round 5- TWS Highlights

[Todd Covini]

I spent Saturday with the Texas AI/CMC crew, but unfortunately had to leave and go to work on Sunday.

Here are some of the highlights from the day:
+ All cars series teched prior to Race 1- (100% logbook checks and other items)
+ Great to see current AI & CMC Champions Burch & Pedersen at the track!
+ Jerry, Gary & Morgan ("The Kid") also checking out the racing action prior to their 2008 debuts
+ Jerry cleared to race CMC17 on Saturday from the back of the pack and never lost sight of them. Holding his own in the CMC group of cars despite continued brake issues.
+ Jeff Wirtz left his car at home and also came by to check out the action
+ Boudy & family trackside support for Argent Lab including Info Broadcast
+ Lee Ann Rimes sings the national anthem with skydivers landing on track with Texas and U.S. Flags
+ Track announcer all day long broadcast on 90.5FM
+ Track videographer tapes all AI/CMC races with announcer dubbed over
+ Fulcrum Motorsports debuts testbed aero packages on 3 cars

RACING ACTION
+ Liebbe takes pole position in CMC
+ White takes pole position in AI
+ There were no AIX racers until Love rolled on track after the green flag fell....and after that, there were 2 AIX racers for Race 2!!!

Race 1 winners
White (AI)
Love (AIX)
Landrum (CMC)
Warren (CMC-2)

Race 2 winners
Donovan (AI)
White (AIX)
Burch (CMC)
Warren (CMC-2)

Donovan had radiator issues
Marshall had splitter issues
Burch had rear sway bar issues
Liebbe had tire issues.
Landrum had tail-light issues
Love had tranny issues

Proctor got into the back of Dawdy during braking on lap 1 of Race 2.
No visible damage however it did result in a Dawdy spin.
Contact forms were filed and IRB determined it to be a racing incident.

A few drivers carried on the "fun-wagon" tradition of giving rides in their racecars with new passenger seats installed. Glenn proved that even GM drivers can have "big-offs" whilst showing off their AI/CMC skills on track!!!

Kudos to NASA for putting on a great show.
Kudos to Adrian for fighting (and I mean, fighting) for our NASA individuality and getting us a giant "finger flag" for "one to go"!! :wink: LOL
Kudos to Argent Lab for really stepping up the trackside support.
Kudos to Fulcrum Motorsports for their debut of some great products

The day ended with a keg of Shiner Bock with the corner workers followed by an AI/CMC group dinner later. Nearly every one of our racers and their families made dinner for 25+ at Outback Steakhouse a great ending to the day. I toasted to another safe and exciting day of AI/CMC Racing, but failed to mention that days & dinners like these are what make Texas AI/CMC racing, what it is today!!! (I had a blast with some great friends.)

-=- Todd

PS- More of the same action on today, and early reports are that Landrum got the CMC pole position but lost 3rd gear during Race 3.

More from series directors Donovan & Landrum regarding Sunday's action...once they return home.

[NASA13]

Big congratulations to Rob Liebbe for his first Pole position and First Win this weekend.
I knew he would shave his tires someday. Now we are screwed.
:D
I cant wait to lose to ya Rob, sorry I missed it this weekend.

Corey

[AllZWay]

IProctor got into the back of Dawdy during braking on lap 1 of Race 2.
No visible damage however it did result in a Dawdy spin.
Contact forms were filed and IRB determined it to be a racing incident.


:oops: Other than that... It was a good weekend.

[NASA13]

IProctor got into the back of Dawdy during braking on lap 1 of Race 2.
No visible damage however it did result in a Dawdy spin.
Contact forms were filed and IRB determined it to be a racing incident.


:oops: Other than that... It was a good weekend.

That was a dirty trick Proctor. I cant believe how cut throat you are playing for the 2nd place championships. That's ok because I will be there to back up my teammate in Houston.
CMC is all about Payback Racing. :twisted:
Right Todd?
I hope you have brusies from all the big guys that I asked to hit you in the arm. Oh well, I guess Pit Happens.
Wish I was there sounded like a blast.
See you kids at Nationals.

[Waco Racer]

Oh, and over $500 raised for Jerry MacNeil.

[GlennCMC70]

RACING ACTION
+ Landrum takes pole position in CMC (1:59.6xx)
+ David D takes pole position in AI

Race 3 winners
David D (AI)
Liebbe (CMC)
Warren (CMC-2)

Race 4 winners
Donovan (AI)
Mosty (CMC)
Warren (CMC-2)


yep Todds right, i gave up a pole to a Ford. i felt bad for taking most all the poles so far this year (Jeff W got one for being a new guy!).
Robs car is an animal. he's always been fast at TWS, and this weekend he did a really great job. sorry i didnt know it was your first win, i would have made mention of it in out meeting. Congrats!
kudos to Michael Mosty for his win today. he ran a great and consistent race. good job to little M&M!

my hoopty almost failed me two times this weekend. Friday practice i had a brake line fail. it was a quick fix, but a failure non the less. but sunday R3 was the big one. i lost 3rd gear during lap two and a lap later an off track exploration moment caused me to drop back to last. there was no quick fix for the missing gate for 3rd, so i informed all the AI/CMC drivers i was starting on the front row and to look for a point by cause i had no 3rd. the end result was i learned a lot about carrying momentum during that race. dropped a stop to Mosty on the start (2nd to 4th on the front straight makes for a less than stellar start). from there it was all about keeping on his bumper. i managed to keep w/ him a 2nd place finish. did i mention i drove the whole race in 4th? w/ one hand on the shifter to keep it in gear while driving w/ one hand? did i mention i also set fast lap of the race for CMC? i cant explain how much this issue taught me about my car and what it can do. i was dumbfounded that i could stay up w/ the leader. i was floored to see i set fast lap (2.01.0xx).


we had lots of really good racing from all in attendance and i'm 100% sure everyone went home w/ a tired smile on their face. we endured the heat and had a blast!. the announcer was awesome - look for DVD ordering info coming soon!
for those who missed it, you missed out!


also- yes, i did givea fun ride, and yes, i kept the Covini tradition alive. i took Jim Dulaney for a nice hot lap (90%) and we had a nice big off in T1. we did get a nice clean lap the lap prior. he''s hooked dispite the off, and commented that his CMC build time frame has just been bumped up to ASAP! i also took Kim and Morgan Lebaron for a ride. that was all it took to seal the deal for them to think more about CMC than AI. i'm sure we will hear more from this father son team in the near future. i think David D gave a nice ride to a former drag racer. former as in he was converted on satuday when he got the ride. 8)

over all this was one of the best event NASA TX has put on in a long time. good to see those who were there and missed those who were not.
more to come.

[marshall_mosty]

The weeks leading up to this event were very busy for both me and Neill Gathings (Fulcrum Motorsports) as we finished the design and fabrication of both the two AI spec wings (AI #7 and AI #67) as well as the CMC wing that is on Michael's #11 car. All three wings worked flawlessly. More information will be available very soon on Fulcrum's website http://fulcrumcaddesign.com/.

Enough of the shameless plugs. 8)

I had a great weekend fighting through both front splitter development issues. After some quick fab to support the center of the splitter, it was good to go.

I haven't run TWS in some 2 1/2 years with the last time on track being my first AI race ever with something like 2:08's as my personal best. Needless to say, that personal best was shattered by over 10 seconds getting me down into the 1:56 range.

After the splitter issues and missing qual on Friday, I gridded from DFL for R1. I fought my way through a very tough CMC and AI field. James Proctor (aka Tony Stewart :) ) was a difficult guy to get by. That Camaro just seems to be 15 feet wide at times! Misty was as courteous as ever, allowing more than she should at corner entry. at the end I was right on David Kiersh's bumper going across start/finish at the end of R1 to take a 4th place.

The R2 invert still had me at almost the back of the pack and after a very agricultural adventure in T6 dodging Morgan's spin, I was once again at the back of the pack. I was able to fight all the way back through the field to get up to 2nd behind David Donovan for a podium finish.

Qual on Sunday was where it all went bad. For some reason, I had dreams of something bad happening this weekend. I kept shrugging them off and rolling the dice. We'll, I "crapped out" during qual. During my 3rd hot lap going into the carousel, downshifting from 4th to 3rd brought on a mechanical symphony rivaled only by the music group "STOMP". I had vibrations going on that were more severe than a hula dancer on crack. I thought I had either broken a torque arm mount or the panhard bar due to the noises, but when I pulled it onto pit lane, the noises continued until I entered my pit stall. This is definately something that an oil change won't fix. Thanks to Nick, Matt, Morgan, David, and whoever else helped push the car on the trailer.

I'll tear into it and let everyone know what the diagnosis is.


All in all, great weekend. Clean racing, good times.

Hopefully I'll see you guys at Houston or Barber, but time will tell in regards to the motor. At this point, I'm thinking "season over" and just come out of the gates running in '08. 8)

[Todd Covini]

Sunday was Ford Day in the AI/CMC winner's circle!!!

FORD= First On Race Day

:roll: uh-oh...here we go with bad acronyms :roll:

[marshall_mosty]

For me this weekend...

Friggin' Overworked Rotating assembly Disaster

[mitchntx]

Nice write up Todd. Thanks for jumping on that. It's great read!

Also, thanks for working that magic in getting the announcer and videographer synced up for a race DVD.

Everyone was stoked about the announcing details of all the drivers. That was a fantastic job, there buddy.

I also enjoyed breaking bread with you Saturday night. I know you are under the gun at work. I appreciate your taking the time away from your family to support the race group.

I love you, man.




:roll: uh-oh...here we go with bad acronyms :roll:

Family On Race Day

[Rob Liebbe]

I am soooo pumped up after this weekend - and now my ego is even more out of control. :) :) :D I will look forward to getting in put back in check at the next event. :?

New shaved tires are indeed a LOT better than too many heat-cycled full tread tires - Thanks to Corey and Michael for that lesson.

Some of you met James Walker who was helping me out on Saturday. He has become my new secret weapon - as long as his wife is out of town or will let him come to the track with me. Hopefully he will be there in October and the chassis tuning can continue.

Tire issues - I didn't change the rubber valve stems when I mounted the new tires and two of them went bad, really strange and lesson learned. Archer motorsports fixed them up real quick while relieving me of the burden of some cash.

Car handled great this weekend - very easy to drive with little or no bad characteristics. It is usually good, but was just better this weekend.

Ford engine did well in the heat but ran hot in traffic during the heat of the day like everyone else's. However, with no oil cooler and running 10w30 Mobil One the oil pressure was dropping at higher RPM's. Running down the straight at 5000 RPM the pressure would drop from 60 psi down to 30 or 20 psi. I've been told that a higher weight oil on hot weekends to run 15W50. Any thoughts?

Speaking of heat - I think my engine mounts are failing again causing the engine to lean to the passenger side. This is in turn causing the driver's side exhaust to be closer to the floorboard and my right heel. In addition, the heat shield that I had under the car fell off at Houston and I didn't properly fix it. My right shoe has actually suffered some heat damage/melting. Had to drive the last half of every session with my right foot up off the floor.

Saturday
Qual Pole Position - 2:00:4xx
R1 - missed the 2 - 3 shift on the start - got 2nd place
R2 - inverted - got 4th place

Sunday
Qual 2nd - 2:00:5xx
R3 - got a good start and with the help of some traffic got my first win!!!
R4 - inverted - major battle with Proctor and Dawdy - got 3rd

Got home and my wife had mowed the yard for me - awesome!

A great weekend overall!! Thanks to Glenn, Todd, and David for being our leaders, thanks to NASA for running a smooth and fast-paced event, and thanks to the staff and corner workers at TWS.

[AI#97]

glenn left out the AIX win for me in R3 but no big deal.

Great weekend overall but I think it sealed the deal for a cool shirt for me. This is two years in a row that I have gotten heat exhaustion/dehydration at TWS in August even haven drank 20 bottles of water on Saturday!

Saturday qualifying was great and the cool track afforded me a new personal best at TWS with a 1:54.6 which brought a smile to my face. Race 1 felt faster but alas was slower in the 55's.

Race 2 on Saturday had to be some of the funnest laps I have ever turned. The inverted start was mind boggling and the 3 wide through turn 3 was totally on the edge (I was on the outside!) and then I passed Liebbe on the outside in T4...then seeing Morgan sideways in 6 I thought for sure was going to tear the nose off my car as I followed Micheal and Glenn through the dirt on the inside only to find Donovan, Burch, Landrum and myself about to go 4 wide through 7!!! I backed out and tried Glenn in 8 but he slammed the door and I finally got to pass him going into the carousel. Great fun!!! Got to see Marshall mowing a path in the grass in that T6 episode and grass was flying in the air from his spitter of death! Coming through those turns on lap two we were all dodging his newly bailed hay between 6 and 7!!!

Missed Qual on Sunday morning due to not feeling well and started at the back but found myself in 2nd going into T1...don't know how the hell I pulled that off but the exhaustion started kicking in and I just decided to take it easy along with saving fuel as I was low. I too learned some momentum driving using just 4th and 5th that race. Decided to park it for race 4 due to the way I was feeling. Ended up pulling off on the way home for an hour and half nap which was much needed.

Car ran great all weekend as usual and it was great to feel the pressure from Donovan and Marshal with their new Aero packages. It's going to start getting really interesting at the front of the pack in AI here real soon.

[jeffburch]

http://www.texicanracing.com/nasatx/JeffBurch/08_04_07_Race1_highlights..wmv



Congrats to RL!

I hope someone dumped their ice chest on ya! Sorry I wasn't there to bump you through Larry/Moe/Curly.

jb

edit: new link

[michaelmosty]

What an awesome weekend!!!
After getting to the track on Friday I knew I had some changes I needed to make to the car to get ready for the new Fulcrum Motorsports wing. Unfortunately I did too much talking and beer drinking and not enough work on the car, thus I was working on the car until 1:00 AM. At midnight I was attempting to install new rear brake pads but couldn't get the rear calipers to spin in to save my life. Huge thanks to Matt White for his idea of a giant C-clamp and some muscle and everything went together well.

Practice and qual. went well as I sorted out the wing adjustment, front camber, and tire pressures. I must have been sleeping on lap 1 as Morgan, Proctor, and Mitch all got past me. There was some awesome racing with Proctor lap after lap until a slight bobble out of T6 opened the door for the pass going into T7. Pumped up with adrenaline after the pass on James I had my eyes set on Morgan. I pushed the car hard to a lap and a half trying to make up ground. As I eyed T12 I just knew I could make the car hold but then went 2-off, then 4-off, then my only option was to drive out to the oval. :oops: The ground was surprisingly smooth with no holes (thank goodness).

R2 had me starting on the pole w/ the invert. Going into T1 "Madman" Morgan flew past me on the outside followed closely behind by Proctor. Going into T3 Mitch "the proctologist" wanted to get in on the action and late-braked me on the inside and got within 2 inches of Proctor's a$$. (One of the best passes I have seen)
During the end of the race I had some awesome racing with Frank trying to hold off his Cobra for the last 2 laps.

R3 has some excitement at the start and some awesome moves by Jerry and Mitch to avoid disaster, great driving!!

R4 was going to be interesting with Glenn not having 3rd gear. I got past Glenn on the strait and through T1+2. I thought for sure that without 3rd gear I would slowly start to pull away. Lap 2, still there. Lap 3, still there. I look in my mirror and all I see is a giant Moonlite Printing & Graphics decal. This trend follows for all 7 laps as I drive as hard as possible to keep Glenn behind me. On the last lap I put 2-off at the exit of T7 but luckily held on through T8 and the remainder of the lap. All in all it was the hardest I have ever driven the car for a race and it felt great.
I got an extra push of motivation for the last couple of laps as I began to wonder what would happen if Glenn got past me for the win. No CMC racer, past, present, or future would ever hear the end of how Glenn Landrum won the race without 3rd gear, driving with one hand. :D (Awesome drive Glenn!!!!)

It was a great weekend of racing. The car felt awesome thanks to Neal and Fulcrum Motorsports, amazing job.
Great times in the pits, at dinner, and on the track. Great to see everyone this weekend!!

[Rob Liebbe]

http://www.argentlab.I hope someone dumped their ice chest on ya!
jb

As I was dumping my own ice chest on the ground, I thought what a waste it was because I was so damn hot after loading the car. I should have dumped on me instead.

[Todd Covini]

Nice write up Todd. Thanks for jumping on that. It's great read!

Also, thanks for working that magic in getting the announcer and videographer synced up for a race DVD.

Everyone was stoked about the announcing details of all the drivers. That was a fantastic job, there buddy.

I also enjoyed breaking bread with you Saturday night. I know you are under the gun at work. I appreciate your taking the time away from your family to support the race group.

I love you, man.




:roll: uh-oh...here we go with bad acronyms :roll:

Family On Race Day

I'm onto you Mitch and I'll tell you right now that I'm a sucker for positive reinforcement!!! :wink:

[ShadowBolt]

I had a blast running with (behind) you guy's. Special thanks to JB for letting me drive to town in his truck for rear rotors and to Michael for the set of rear pads.

If you all just knew how good I thought I was prior to the weekend you would know I was supposed to win or at least run mid pack in my first weekend of races. I got served a huge plate of humble pie!


JJ

[mitchntx]

Jerry ...

Again ... kudos to your quick thinking and driving abilities. t saved me some serious body damage and at a great personal expsense. I owe you a large debt of gratitude.

I'll race door handle to door handle with you any time

You will be a great addition to this race group and definite force to be reckoned with.

[jeffburch]

I'll race door handle to door handle with you any time

You will be a great addition to this race group and definite force to be reckoned with.

I told yall so!
:wink:
jb

[rpoz27]

Thanks for another great racing weekend! Had a lot of fun and learned a lot of things.

New motor pulls hard, except for 3rd gear at 5000 rpm and in R4 it added 4th gear at 4400. T7 is interesting in 5th gear. Car won't idle. (Sorry, Glenn. I wasn't being impatient behind you in grid; motor was trying to die.)

On Friday, Mitch took me for a ride and showed me the difference between my comfort zone driving and being fast. It took to some extent. I didn't DFL all weekend; a first for me.

R4, when I pretty well lost power in 4th gear and oil pressure was 35-40psi, I dropped behind Mitch and drafted him down the front straight and into T1 and T2. I kept up, but had to do a pants check between T2 and T3 the first time through. Definitely learned some things riding with and following him. Thanks, Mitch! I had a great time side by side with you through several turns, also.

I learned that you guys will take any opening and I had to drive a really tight line.

Going from 10th to 1st on a start and leading a race for a couple of laps is a blast. I intend to do it again one day and make it stick.

Sunday morning, Rob Liebbe brought me a new sticker and put it on the back of my car. It said "You just got passed by a GIRL!" Awesome gift, Rob! Thanks!

R3, Frank and I had an incredible race going until the last lap when my engine decided that a new MAF and a code clear wasn't enough to keep it happy. You couldn't have put a gnat's whisker between us during the pass. I just couldn't quite keep up while short shifting and he beat me by half a second, but I had a blast trying. Amazing driving, Frank!

As always, racing with you guys just gets better and better. :D

[cobra132]

I had an absolute blast!! I am having a hard time concentrating today at work. I can't wait until next time. :lol: Frank

[michaelmosty]

Misty,
I don't know if you noticed the R1 results. I had a nice gap on you going onto the strait going towards the flag and I saw you flying up on me. We crossed the finish line side by side.
I looked at the results and you got me by .002 seconds. :shock: I don't know what the equates to but I'm thinking about 1 inch. :)
Great racing this weekend!

[mitchntx]

I had an absolute blast!! I am having a hard time concentrating today at work. Frank

And you are a doctor, right? :shock:

Welcome to the club, Frank. Glad to have you out there.

[AllZWay]

Since everyone is giving a full weekend run down I will too.

R1-- Qualified horrible... I am blaming it on new front tires...not ability. :D Finished 5th, but it was a battle the whole time with Morgan and Michael. Mr. Mosty got me....but then kindly returned the favor a few corners later. :lol:

R2 -- Started 4th and followed Morgan on the outside of T1 and we were off for another battle.... only one problem....T6 when I didn't brake hard enough and hit Morgan while he was leading. :oops: I sort of lost focus afterwards and made a couple of mistakes that Burch gladly took me to school on...but still managed a 2nd.
I would like to publicly apologize to everyone and especially Morgan for that mistake on my part and also want to Thank everyone for doing such a good job avoiding Morgan and what could have been a really bad situation. :cry:

R3 -- I had a great start and jumped past several cars on the outside of t1 through T2.....but just never had much for Rob as he was flying and finished 2nd again. I had a mirror full of Morgan most of the race and was definitely thinking about the R2 misfortune. :shock: Luckily no payback.
Great job and congrats on the win Rob... I didn't realize it was your first win.

R4 -- This was an intense battle with Rob in front and Morgan behind me. I made a few attempts at the 30 Foot wide Texas flag, but it kept waving in my direction. I had one really good run leading on the front stretch, but Rob made sure the cones came into play. :evil: Nice move though.
On the last lap I knew that I had only one more chance for that last podium spot so I ended up over driving into carousel and Rob drifted a little high and I ended up in the grass dirt tracking the entire corner and this let Jerry get by me and finished 5th.

[mitchntx]

I dropped behind Mitch and drafted him down the front straight and into T1 and T2. I kept up, but had to do a pants check between T2 and T3 the first time through. Definitely learned some things riding with and following him. Thanks, Mitch! I had a great time side by side with you through several turns, also.



Well, The Proctor kid and Dawdy lunatic schooled me through there.

I tried following them and wound up doing pirouettes in the grass on driver's right. :lol:

Misty, you have GOT to start trusting your instincts and get some confidence in your car and yourself.

You have proven you can plant the right foot and stab the brakes HARD. You just gotta figure out better timing of the 2! :wink:

R4 it was obvious you stepped it up. Keep the momentum going ...

[mitchntx]

There you go, Todd. 90% of the race write-up right here.

We're here to support you, brother.

[donovan]

What a weekend!!! Hot, Hot and Hot!

Another great weekend for NASA Texas and AI / CMC Texas!!!

My car prep was limited heading into the weekend with only time for an oil change and a quick wash and Armor All on the tires!!! ;-)

I spent most of my off time from the last event installing a passenger seat and fabricating the front splitter (Richard P., Thanks again for loaning me yours to help assist me in fabricating mine!) I completely underestimated how much time it was going to take to build a splitter. Looking at Richard’s it was just a square tube frame and some sheet metal… not problem!!! Not so much… three long weekends went into fabricating the splitter. The payoff this weekend was well worth it.

Now that the splitter was fabricated and ready for the track I needed to balance the rear with the new front splitter. Neill Gathings of Fulcrum Motorsports stepped in and mounted a prototype of their new carbon fiber AI spec wing on the # 7 AI Mustang. Marshall Mosty did some testing the week before, that helped for the initial setup for my car this weekend. Out of the box the setup was awesome, and racecar was very balanced. I was able better my personal best at TWS, running a 1:55.8 in Qualifying and in the race on tires that were 4 events old.

The new LX front end has some cooling issues on Saturday that resulted in water temps up in to the 240 range at times… Sunday morning I did some cutting and venting for the radiator that resulted in temps in the 190 range during the races.

I need to thank Neill with Fulcrum Motorsports for stepping up and taking part in our series, I look forward to seeing how well the wing performs at the other track, so far it is outperforming my expectations. WOW!

Thank you everyone for a great weekend!

DD

[AI#97]

R4 it was obvious you stepped it up. Keep the momentum going ...

She stepped it up earlier than that!! On the start in R3 she was flying down the straight about 75 inches from the wall...somehow I squeeze in beside her and the wall and I am thinking " I got her down the hill cause she will brake early".....on the way down the hill I am suddenly thinking "Misty, hit the brakes already cause I am about to get hung out to dry!!!!" She did a great job and we both made it through there and were flying....I think she stayed right on my tail through 3 and 4. R3 was a crazy start but nothing like R2!!!!

I bet Frank is still smiling from Race 2. He got out the car and was practically Giddy!!! Great times!

[y5e06]

Honestly, most race weekends are a blur for me and its hard to recollect details from one race to another. I can say for the weekend I felt like I had the starts down pat and had excellent results on, I think, the 1st two turns of each race.
Friday – after working on the the car all week to get it ready (hallet damage, right hand net, new seat mounts, cracked torque arm, pitted axles, leaking seals, etc). I finally get out to the track before noon. After a few sessions I have steering problems and with some trouble shooting and massive amounts of fluid loss I figured the pump has failed. With Mitch’s help the pump comes off and I replace it after a visit to autozone.

R1- qualified at the back as usual. Had a pretty good start, I think. The front half of the field checked out and left us behind. The back half of us battled it out. I watched my mirrors. I ended up ahead of Mr. Proctor and tried like hell all race to keep him back there. I also enjoyed his battle with Mosty and almost went out myself as I saw Michael lose it with his 4-off. That allowed James to get back up on my quick. It was a great battle and I finished 4th.

R2 – inverted start. Was 5th overall in the line up before the green flag drop. Again, an excellent start. My best of the year maybe. With a great reaction time, a timely opening, and just flat out slicing the car up in and hanging it out I some how went from 5th to 2nd over all by turn 3. It wasn’t to last as in T6 I spun & stalled… in front of the WHOLE FIELD sideways. It was like looking into a tunnel of cars, lines forming on both sides of the track. “ OH SH!T” was the 1st phrase in my mind, I believe. “don’t hit me, don’t hit me, don’t hit me, don’t hit me, don’t hit me” was the second. Everyone was HARD on the brakes. One image I have burned in my memory is seeing Matt White’s front splitter buried HARD in the pavement as he tried to whoa up. Luckly the corner was in such way that the folks in the back could see what was up around the bend and bail out accordingly. (Sorry Marshal!). Anyway, by the time I got the car restarted and moving in the correct direction I was hot and of course, drove the car way too hard. I then went off in T8. Trying to make up time (it never works) I carried way, way too much speed into T1 and went straight off. I decided to just keep on trucking and made it to the oval. As I was sight seeing out there I decided I had enough and decided to go ahead and mosey my way into the pits to avoid any further incidents.

R3 – uh, again qual’ed in the back couple spots for CMC. Had a great start and ended up 3rd. made some mistakes with trying to keep Glen at bay in the 1st half of the race. Tried to keep up with James but made a mistake and let him slip away

R4 – not so great of a start. I think it was Misty, Mitch, Michael, Rob, James, Frank and myself who all ended up in a train. Nose to tail we fought it out. Extremely close racing. I tried to stick my nose in a couple spots for a pass but never got it to stick. Tried again in Larry but had to bail into the dirt by Curly and ended up at the back of the line. By the next lap, after following all those yah-hoo’s my water temps were in the 240s and I decided I didn’t want to pop a gasket and just backed out and watched everyone drive away.

[mitchntx]

Please, right click/Save As ...

As luck would have it, I had a front row seat to a LOT of exciting racing ... thanks to Matt and David for leaving some paint on either side of my car.

http://www.lawmotorsports.net/mw/vids/TWS_8_07_R2_1st_lap.wmv


The good Lord giveth and he taketh away ... I was really pleased with how well my car responded in the draft. A rear gear change really made 5th gear usable.

http://www.lawmotorsports.net/mw/vids/TWS_8_07_R3_hilite.wmv


A close AI battle ...

http://www.lawmotorsports.net/mw/vids/TWS_8_07_R4_hilite.wmv

[rpoz27]

Misty,
I don't know if you noticed the R1 results. I had a nice gap on you going onto the strait going towards the flag and I saw you flying up on me. We crossed the finish line side by side.
I looked at the results and you got me by .002 seconds. :shock: I don't know what the equates to but I'm thinking about 1 inch. :)
Great racing this weekend!

Oh, yeah! That was great fun, as well. I was waving at you when we crossed start/finish. :lol:

[macstang]

I missed a very good weekend. Glad to hear all the cars kept the greasy side down.

I spent mine, umm, working in 85 degrees and humidity that is alot like Mississippi.

Cant wait to get back.

[rpoz27]

R4 it was obvious you stepped it up. Keep the momentum going ...

She stepped it up earlier than that!! On the start in R3 she was flying down the straight about 75 inches from the wall...somehow I squeeze in beside her and the wall and I am thinking " I got her down the hill cause she will brake early".....on the way down the hill I am suddenly thinking "Misty, hit the brakes already cause I am about to get hung out to dry!!!!" She did a great job and we both made it through there and were flying....I think she stayed right on my tail through 3 and 4. R3 was a crazy start but nothing like R2!!!!

I bet Frank is still smiling from Race 2. He got out the car and was practically Giddy!!! Great times!

Aww, thanks, Matt! I was determined to stay with you as long as possible.

In R2, I remember looking in my rearview right as the incident happened and thinking "Oh crap! Dodge, boys, dodge!" I almost missed the corner checking on y'all. Thankfully, everyone made it around.

[jeffburch]

http://www.texicanracing.com/nasatx/JeffBurch/08_04_07_Race2_Start..wmv

jb

edit: new link

[Boudy]

Come on James, that was a Boudy stunt. Just give it away.

Boudy

[AllZWay]

Come on James, that was a Boudy stunt. Just give it away.

Boudy

Dayum that turn 6.... :evil:

[Wirtz]

http://www.argentlab.com/nasatx/jeff/Vids/08_04_07_Race2_Start..wmv

jb

I'm getting a message I don't have access to see the vid.

[David Love AI27]

Took a year to rebuild it and 30 min to blow it up.... maybe racing is not for me.... on the bright side Jason earned his provisional racing license on Sat. got his first podium (3rd) on Sunday in TTF... too bad he doesn't have a ride....

Smiles in the LiiR Camp:

Jason - 1 big one
David - 1 but it is upsidedown
Cousin Todd - 1 enjoyed watching
Anna (Todds girl) - 1 always got one
Cousin Scott - 1 got one, but we never know why

[GlennCMC70]

you guys gotts get in CMC. its pretty hard to break stock stuff at stock power.

[Al Fernandez]

sounds like a great weekend which I'm damn sorry to have missed. Next time...though I bet its been a lot less hot here by the beach 8)

[David Love AI27]

you guys gotts get in CMC. its pretty hard to break stock stuff at stock power.

CMC Mustang #10 just needs cage
CMC Camaro (purchased 3 weeks ago) #TBD should be ready for in '09

Lesson learned with the AIX car... you can't piece together a motor with unknow parts... new motor on order with any upgrades coming from reliable sources...

Lesson learned from 2 years of racing... take budget times 3... if you don't have that kind of coin... STAY AWAY, FAR AWAY...

It is the "L" in Team LiiR that keeps us coming back.

Anytime you guys get to meet Mary "MeMa" Whitaker, thank her for her financial contribution to this sport, she has spent over $20K in the last two years keeping Team LiiR on the track and has yet to drive...

Email whitsend119@aol.com to show her how much she is appreciated as a sponser... I know she would love to know how much credit I give her...

[jeffburch]

both video links above fixed.

jb

[AI#97]

http://www.texicanracing.com/nasatx/JeffBurch/08_04_07_Race2_Start..wmv

jb

edit: new link

Thanks Jeff! I now know why everyone was saying my car was loud! 8)

[jeffburch]

hehe.
Stereo mic behind the center mirror using the windshield as a parabolic ear lobe might exaggerate it some.

jb

[y5e06]

hehe.
Stereo mic behind the center mirror using the windshield as a parabolic ear lobe might exaggerate it some.

jb

naw, it really is that loud. :twisted: you can tell where matt is on track without needing to check the mirrors. sounds great, but loud.

[jeffburch]

"Hey Man is that Freedom Rock? Well turn it UP MAN"!

jb

[Todd Covini]

Just catching up on email....AWESOME videos guys and gals!!!
I wasn't out there racing with you but I can tell from the folks racing in the videos that a bunch of people have REALLY STEPPED IT UP!!!!

Seeing stuff like this is what keeps recharging my batteries!

Misty, Mitch, Michael and Rob....whole new set of drivers!
Taconandez will need to be on their game when they return!!!

-=- Todd

[Alien]

It was great to finally put faces with names. And thanks to Marshall for riding along wik me and Jeff for lending me his fuel pressure gauge.

The only downside of the weekend (asides the car not running right) was I unfortunately didn't get a chance to stand in line to get my copy of GM High-Tech Performance signed. I'll be at MSR-H and try again.

[GlennCMC70]

man, i even got the future fresh meat busting my balls. i owe you a dounut.

[Alien]

True, but I really did buy a copy and not just read it at the newstand just because of you... and the fact that Strano was in it as well was a bonus. :D

[GlennCMC70]

dayum man, keep on twisting that knife.

[GlennCMC70]

update on R4. i noticed a thump, thump on the warm-up lap. suspected a cracked rotor. verified it this morning. big ass honk'in crack.

#70 showing some weakness.

[Todd Covini]

update on R4. i noticed a thump, thump on the warm-up lap. suspected a cracked rotor. verified it this morning. big ass honk'in crack.

Nevermind what you've been smoking...what did the rotor look like. :P

[GlennCMC70]

i'de post a pic, but it may push Michael (and a couple others) over the edge. :wink:

[michaelmosty]

It won't bother me. To be honest I didn't really push the car very hard in R4. I figured I would rather keep you close to give a good show for the spectators and video, I didn't want it to be a run-away victory. :wink: :lol:

[mitchntx]

whoa! ... Little M is getting the hang of this smack talk.

Good job!

[GlennCMC70]

It won't bother me. To be honest I didn't really push the car very hard in R4. I figured I would rather keep you close to give a good show for the spectators and video, I didn't want it to be a run-away victory. :wink: :lol:

very nice.
by the way, your poker face sucks, even over the internet. :P

[michaelmosty]

I don't know how you were able to see my face since you were behind me the whole race. :shock:

[GlennCMC70]

I don't know how you were able to see my face since you were behind me the whole race. :shock:

lets just say - you drive your mirrors too much...... :P