Now that the holidays are behind us, it’s time to start thinking about the next season of racing. But there’s a lot of work to do before we get there. It’s time to get the hands dirty again!

We put something like 80 passes on the engine this year, and it already had a couple hundred on it before we got it. That means it’s long overdue for a freshen. And there are a number of parts that are at or close to their certification dates; we need to get those out and replaced. So just from the strict maintenance perspective we have work to do.

But, we also have some improvement goals as well. For the trailer, I’d like to get a better weather station. While our current unit works, it is cumbersome, needs 110v which requires us to run the generator at all times, the pager is flaky (dying at the worst possible moments like in the staging lanes), and generally is technology from the early 1980s. I have a new one in my sights, from Family Software. I also have some other improvements, like air and electrical lines to the pit side of the trailer and a new awning. But those will have to wait for the incessant snow here to finally disappear and outside temps to get above frigid…

For the car, our main goal is to get a few more miles per hour at the top end. In Super Comp, the faster car has a distinct advantage, being able to see the opponent throughout the entire run — and can play all kinds of “finish line games”. We don’t really want to play those games, we need a few hundred more passes behind us before we’re at that level. But if we’re closer to our opponent’s speed, it will make it hard for people to play those games on us. So I’d like to see our top speed, currently around 168, move into the low 170s. This simply takes more horsepower, which just takes more money — of course.

Fortunately, we have been very lucky to find a super engine builder just a few miles from our house. Bob Johnson is a local legend, having raced and built engines for years. He’s been building a lot of engines for people in the our local association (the PNSCA), and is the nicest guy you want to meet. And he’s a member of the NHRA’s sportsman advisory council, which is helping to set the rules for sportsman classes.

I’ve been talking with Bob about freshening the engine for a couple of months, but just never found the time to get the engine out. The other day he came over and we got the engine and transmission out of the car. It wasn’t hard to do, except that when it’s 40 degrees outside (with snow all around) it sure makes it a little chilly. But with Bob’s expert help, Em’s help and support (and a painful trip to the trailer for a couple of tools), and the occasional sun break, we got it done in a couple of hours.

Bob took the engine and the tranny back to his house/shop to begin the work. He’s going to get the engine all torn down, and give it a thorough going over so we can decide what to fix, or update. His son is going to take the transmission and put it into a new SFI certified case.  We’ll send the carb to get a full once over as well.  When we get it done, we should have a great engine and a nice solid transmission and converter.

Our goal is to take the engine from an estimated 850 horsepower today to something just over 900.  Bob and I think this is a reasonable goal given the engine combination we have, and we should be able to get there without having to resort to boring it out to 572 or other more extensive modifications. Just to be sure, and to make sure we get just the right new torque converter, we’ll be running the engine on a dyno when it’s complete. That will let us tune it just right (eliminating some of the tune part of our first test-and-tunes with the new combination) and give us some solid baseline numbers for the future.

The only weird thing is that the car is now sitting in the garage almost naked.  It’s so weird to go out there and see just a rolling chassis with a hole where the engine and tranny used to be.  The one saving grace is that Em and I got a chance to run the engine before we took it out — how great it was to hear it and smell it running again.  Can’t wait until we get it all freshened and ready for the spring, then we can really run it in earnest!

I’ll keep you posted as we decide our next steps in our constant quest to make more horsepower.

Last night the Pacific Northwest Super Comp Association had its end of the year banquet.  Like any such event, it was a great chance for all the racers to get together, celebrate the champions, reminisce about the past year, generally wish it wasn’t cold and rainy outside.  Unfortunately, Emily couldn’t make it, with too much homework to make the 10 hour round trip worth it, so I had to represent EMDUB Racing myself.

The event was held at an interesting place, the Nifty Fifty Bar and Grill, which besides being a bit of a dive, offered a challenge when it was realized that you had to be 21 to enter.  While none of our racers were underage, some of their families and significant others were.  After much negotiation with the establishment, including threats to move 50+ guests to another location, we eventually convinced them to allow the others in — if only through the back door.

Once that was settled, the annual meeting began.  We decided on a couple of rules changes and drafted elected  folks into the leadership positions.  Ed Hauter graciously accepted the president’s job, John Young the vice-president, and Connie Woodruff the secretary-treasurer job.  And I got drafted volunteered to be the webmaster.  The PNSCA.com site is over a year stale and needs some help.  Good thing I have nothing else to do…

Then followed festivities.  There was a nice round of door prize handouts — the members all brought things, and Dale Green, the engine builder to many in attendance, brought loads of nice things for the crowd.  I won a case of brake cleaner that was brought by Terry and Bambee Haddock (the Funny Car driver), a couple of hats, and other small items.  I love it, I’m almost out of brake cleaner.

A wonderful letter from Steve Iverson was read.  Steve was involved in a horrific crash at the Seattle national event this July.  He crashed violently just as Emily and I were walking past the finish line.  We saw up close the car and a rear wheel bound past us in a shower of sparks.  After the better part of an hour of rescue including cutting him out of the car, he was taken to the hospital.  He spent more than a month there, and the PNSCA took up a collection to help him out.  Steve was told by his wife to never race again.  Well, that didn’t last long, he couldn’t attend the banquet because he was driving to Texas to pick up his new car…  Racers are hard to keep down.

Then the awards were handed out.  Nice payouts all around, all the way down to 10th.  The winner for the year was Bob Woodruff, who gave a moving and emotional speech thanking all those who helped make it happen.  It was great to see him win, even though he beat out our friend Rick Dearinger by one point.

We ended with dinner that was, well… not special.  I’ve seen less grease on the floor of a race shop.  And they had but one waitress for 50+ people.  Took most of an hour for the food to just be delivered, a few plates here, a few there…  But the beer was cold and the company was warm.

It was a great evening, fun to get together with some super people, and it was just the proddding I need to get the engine out of the car for a freshen.  Better get on that right away.

After a year of watching, wrenching, and worrying, it seemed only fair that I, Chris, get a chance to experience this whole driving thing.  And it certainly couldn’t hurt for me to know in more detail what it was all about when it comes to tuning or setting up the car.

I have been a fan for 35 years, watching racing at Milan and Norwalk since my teens.  I have seen more passes down the track than many people I know.  But, other than a couple of forgettable times as a teenager, I’ve never made a pass down the track in earnest.  So when the email from Frank Hawley’s School advertising a new class in Las Vegas came, I was intrigued to say the least.

After much hemming and hawing (along with begging and pleading of my forever tolerant wife), I decided to go for it.  I signed up for the class in late September.  Now the nerves could begin in earnest.

My biggest concern, strangely enough, wasn’t about driving the car.  I pretty much knew what to expect there, having been through it with Emily in January.  It was about fitting in the car in the first place.  I’m not a small guy, and I’ve been denied seats on roller coasters and other tight fits in the past.  My fear was compounded when, just days before the class, someone from the school called to warn me that there was a non-zero chance I wouldn’t fit in.  Ugh.  I’ve been working out, Emily and her Mom even talked me into a “90-day Challenge” at the gym.  I’m getting smaller.  But these things are tiny…  And I don’t do tiny very well.

When the time finally came, that cold morning in the desert with a whole group of other nervous students, I was awfully close to panic.  Would I license?  Would I like it?  Would I simply fit in the car?  I’d been up most of the night with these concerns.  But Frank is good at this, and he settled most of it down…  Until it came time to get in the car.  I picked out a fire suit, gloves, helmet, and neck ring and waited my turn.

When I finally wedged into the car I was amazed, I actually fit.  Sort of.  I told the guy who came to strap me in how worried I was, and he said “oh, don’t worry, we’ve squeezed way bigger guys than you in here”.  And he strapped me in.  But the helmet was so uncomfortable and the neck ring so thick that I couldn’t see the dash.  I made it to the line and made that stumbling first pass that everyone makes, to 200 feet, and quickly wrenched myself out of the car.  I had done it.

Two more passes that day and I was through day one…  With a welt on my forehead, and a pit in my stomach.  Boy, that car sure hits hard on the launch.  And that helmet and neck ring hurt.  And I can barely get in and out of the car, the bruises in my armpits from wriggling out of it were painful.

I even, for a moment, considered not finishing day two.  But when Frank said in his day two chat that comfort was key, I decided to do something about it.  I asked for a new helmet and neck ring, and you’d be surprised how much easier it is to drive when you can actually see what you’re doing…

I was never really comfortable, though.  And it wasn’t all about the fit.  My lights were just this side of lousy.  It turns out 165 mph is pretty darn fast (who would’ve guessed?).  And I never really got the whole “I love this, gotta do more” feeling that I really expected.  Don’t get me wrong, it was cool, but…

So I completed the course, and got my license.  I’m now NHRA license number 6304 (matches Em’s 6104 nicely).  But I’m not sure what I’ll do with it.  We’re really not in a position to add another car to the stable.  We have a trailer that really only will work for the one car, the economy is taking a bite out of everyone, and it wouldn’t be popular on the home front.

For now, I’m ecstatic that I am licensed.  I understand a lot more about what Em is going through — maybe I’ll be a little less of a butthead when she makes a mistake.  I make enough for both of us anyway.  And we’re both really looking forward to getting back to the racing next spring.

Well, it’s nearing the end of the season for drag racing and Chris and I knew we had to get one last race in before the rainy season hit. The Pacific Northwest Super Comp Association was having their last two races at the Woodburn Fall Classic in Woodburn, OR and it seemed like a perfect chance! However, there were a couple hurdles we had to jump before we were able to make it to Woodburn and one was transportation!

Chris had it easy with a fairly straight forward five hour drive from Woodinville to Woodburn. I, on the other hand, has a six hour drive through nowhere Washington. I left on Friday right after work and hit the road. Chris made it just fine and kept me company on the phone during the second half of my drive. I managed to hit construction, waiting for the clearing of a car wreck and sat through one lane traffic on I-84 due to the horrible fire. After 7 hours I finally made it to Woodburn and crashed in the hotel room.

Saturday morning Chris and I were pumped to get to the track. We unloaded and made sure we were all set up. We spent extra time checking the weather, our calculations and the track. We wanted to be able to get the most out of our two qualifying runs. Our first two runs went well, even though we waited in the staging lanes for a good hour before each run. I qualified 11th and was paired up again Marcia Miller, a strong racer in the Super Comp division. Important to note that during the day I had been hitting killer lights on the tree. My first shot was a .009 and my second was a .003. I should have known that my lights would only get better and that it would be helpful to put some delay in the box, but I didn’t. So, I red-lit the first round against Marcia and I was really upset. But Chris reminded me that these things happen and that we still had a whole other of racing. We where both so exhausted that it may have been a blessing in disguise as a packed up and headed to the hotel.

Sunday was a much better day. Chris and I felt really rested and were pumped for our last race of the season. Like I mentioned before, it was the Fall Classic that weekend and the track was packed. We were called into the staging lanes early, but there was a blown engine a few rounds before us. As they were trying to clear the track two tow vehicles crashed on the return road and we all waited as fire trucks and ambulances tried to clear the crash. We finally got a chance to run and almost everyone in the field broke out. Only four of the seventeen races were above 8.90. Even with our breakout we were able to qualify 8th and were matched against Ross Souza. Ross is quite a talented racer and had significantly more experience than I did, so we knew we had to step it up. I put a little delay in my box, as I red-lit in the qualifying run, set the throttle stop and hoped for the best. And just to make things interesting, Chris had me change the throttle stop setting as I rolled into the water box for the burnout.

I couldn’t believe it when the win light came on and Chris screamed in my radio that I had won! First round win ever and with an 8.904 to his 8.907. Not a bad run at all! I couldn’t have been more please and that one win light made the entire year worth it. Having never been to a second round, Chris and I didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We jumped the gun a little and put too much in the throttle stop for the second round. We did breakout, but we were still so excited about our first round win that I doubt anyone noticed our second round loss. What a great day!

Overall this year has been amazing. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better first season and I am passionately in love with this sport. Chris has been an amazing Crew Chief, father and fan. Thanks for everything, Dad!

Please keep in touch during the off season. We’ll keep you updated as we freshen the engine and tweak the little things to get ready for 2009.

Thanks for all the support!

EMDUB

Okay, I’m officially behind on my blog and I don’t really have a good reason. Whoops! So much has happened in the past month and they are all very exciting events. So, lets back up and start from the beginning.

Chris and I only had a few weeks before I had to be back in Pullman for school, so we wanted to get in as much racing as possible. We were searching the track websites for any chances to race when we happened to stumbled across the Pacific Northwest Super Comp Association’s race at Bremerton the weekend of August 9-10. After Jack Beckman got on our case about not having entered a race yet, we decided to go for it. So, we headed out to Bremerton and spent Friday night testing to make sure we were reading for the race on Saturday! We had a great night with strong times right around 8.90 and we felt like we really had a handle on the track and car.

Saturday morning we were a the track early and met the group of racers in the Super Comp Association. They are all very nice people who passionately love racing in the Super Comp class. They are casual and really out there to race. I was welcomed with open arms and they all offered as much advice as possible. I honestly could not have asked for a better group of people to help me get into the racing scene. They had a race scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in order to get the most racing in as possible. We had two qualifying runs in Saturday and were getting ready to race when it began raining. It ended up raining out the entire day, but we spent a lot of time in the pits getting to know all of the association members and making some great friends.

Sunday we decided to see if we could get in both races, depending on time. We had one qualifying run and I managed to qualify 2nd! Pretty impressive for our first race. We were paired against Mo (a pretty tough competitor) in the first round. I left the line with a .033 light and had a 8.91, which on any day would be a great run. However, Mo is quite a great racer and cut an even better light with a 8.907. Although I lost my first race, the experience was such a great learning situation.

We were able to get the rained out race in on Sunday. We were paired up with Rick Dearinger, the winner of the previous race, on our first round of this race. I knew it was going to be a tough race, so I really focused in my light. I managed to cut a .013 light (my best light of the weekend) and even beat Rick on the tree (by .001)! Yet, once again, we were paired up against a tough competitor. Rick has been racing for many years and was able to play some games on the track (like lifting on the accelerator toward the finish line or being able to ‘feel’ an 8.90 run) and ran a perfect 8.903. However, our 8.896 was not far off! I was disappointed that we lost both races, but my dad pointed out just how well we had done for our first time out there. And honestly, I haven’t had that much fun in a LONG time!

We plan to head to Woodburn on September 13-14 for another Super Comp Association race. Hopefully I will come back with at least a round win!

Today has been a day from hell. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong and even things that I didn’t know had the ability to go wrong, went wrong. I guess it was due to happen sooner or later and sooner it was.

Alright, let’s start from the beginning. Today was an extremely hot day, upwards of 90 degrees with some nasty humidity. Chris and I debated going out because we knew it was going to be hot, but we both had the drag racing bug and wanted to get out on the track. Plus, we had a couple of spectators heading out to the track, so we decided we could stand a little heat. We made it out to Pacific Raceways at 3:30pm for a 4pm gate time. Instead they decided to open at 4:30; you know, just for good measure. We pitted where we always do, and got ready to pull the car out. I go to back out the car and it bottoms out on the chassis. Chris and I are totally boggled, because the trailer is completely raised and we loaded the car fine. We finally had to jack up the front of the car and roll it out of the trailer, which quickly produced an on-the-loose dragster. We managed to get it into place and proceeded to warm it up.

The warm up was quite frustrating because about halfway through the water began to boil over when the engine was only 160 degrees. Chris and I were, again, confused. After some head scratching Chris figured out that the water was leaking out of a broken seal along the water filler neck and it was only set off by the intense heat that day. Realizing that this was not something we could fix at the track, we decided to call it a day. I headed to the registration booth to get the money back for the tech card on the quad. I managed to get the money back, but as I went to head out the quad wouldn’t start; par for the course. It took an embarrassing five minutes to get the thing started and suddenly it started. And just to top off the day with a fabulous ending, Chris and I go to put the car away and what did we forget? Anyone? The nose! We managed to skate away with only a small scrape on the bottom, but seriously… could this day get any worse? Silly me for asking. Chris pulls into the driveway and realizes that none of the side lights are working on the trailer, only the brake lights. Perrrrfect.

The only saving grace for this jinxed day was the ability to get it all out of the way at once. Chris and I are planning to head to Bremerton for the Super Comp divisional race this weekend and we would have been livid had this happened there. We are very excited for this race, as it will be our first race in the car. We will head out on Friday night for the test and tune and race in the #3 divisional race on Saturday and the #4 divisional race on Sunday. Hopefully our jinxed days are over with and this weekend will be a blast. Stay tuned for an update from our first race!

EMDUB

Pacific Raceways has proved to be quite a trying experience this year. Chris and I have been there many times, both with the car and as spectators. Each time we have been there we have been greeted by disgruntled workers and unorganized events. It is frustrating to travel the hour long drive to a nationally known track to find nothing more than an absolute mess.

A couple weeks ago, Chris and I went to Pacific Raceways for the Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals. I have been going to this race for the past couple of years, but Chris has been in attendance for at least a decade. When we arrived on Friday for qualifying we were at least an hour early. Yet, the track decided it would be too much of a hassle to hire police officers to direct traffic. It took close to an hour an half to get off the exit for the track. Chris and I missed the first round of Pro Stock on Friday, and Saturday and Sunday were the same experience. The parking lots were an absolute mess. We arrived so early, and the lots were so crowded already, that it was impossible to fathom where they were going to put all of the cars that were lined up behind us on the freeway. As much as I love the national races, it is the little aspects of the race, such as parking, paved pits and event organization that make those races fun. When everything is in shambles, the drags lose some of their appeal.

On Wednesday, we took the car out to Pacific for a test and tune. Again, the track was a mess. The crew members were at each other’s throats all night long, yelling and screaming as they worked the starting line. The track was prepped horribly and could hardly hold our car. We attempted to get a handle on the track, changing our throttle stop multiple times. However, each time we changed the throttle stop the response from the car was in no way related to the changes we had made. We were completely baffled by the track and it ultimately was very frustrating. The one saving grace was that we were able to get out five passes. Even though the times were not what we were looking for and the track was impossible, we still got the experience of running on the track, which is the most important part.

We figured that maybe it was just the Wednesday test and tunes and that things would be better on a Friday, where there would be more people. So, Chris and I pack up again (which can be quite an ordeal) and make the hour trek to Pacific Raceways. When we arrive we find a lonely sign saying “Sorry, we are rained out.” Although it had rain earlier that day, the currently weather was sunny and 75 degrees. After a conversation with a few fellow disgruntled racers, it was suggested that there was conflict between the crew and track employees and they would rather just cancel the test and tune. Although there is no way to prove this, it was very frustrating for everyone that made the trip out to the track, no matter what the reason was for the cancellation. The one good thing that came out of the track closure, was our ability to find some appropriate racing fuel. We currently run Rockett racing gas (at 118), however, it is only sold in California/Oregon. Pacific Raceways sell Sonoco, but they only go up to 112 octane fuel. We managed to find some Trick fuel in the area at 119 octane. We bought a couple gallons, only to find out later that Trick uses a different calculation for their octane levels and our 119 is actually 114. The couple gallons we purchased will suffice, but we are still on the lookout for some true 118 fuel. We may end up purchasing Rockett and having them deliver it.

These experiences with Pacific Raceways were something that Chris and I never expected. We had always believed the track to be a nationally recognized track and expected that the pro teams wouldn’t accept anything less. However, we have come to find that Bremerton is a track used for classes much like ours. It is a true bummer that Bremerton doesn’t have more test and tunes. But like I said to Chris the other day, “A pass is a pass, no matter what the ET is.” It’s the experience of drag racing that keeps us coming back for more and I will be out there every chance I get.

EMDUB

Now that Chris and I have actually been able to spend some time with the car, it needs some regular maintenance. This is something Chris and I (okay, mostly Chris) have been not really looking forward to. Chris wanted to make sure he remembered every little item on the to-do list and got everything safely put back together at the end of the day. I watched for moral support… from the living room.

The car needed an oil change, tires rotated, valves lashed and a fix for a minor transmission leak. Chris set out to take care of all of these and in keeping with the spirit of automotive maintenance, our previously competent tools conveniently broke. Chris went to jack the car up with the floor jack and it seemed to refuse to lift anything — or more accurately, anything that it lifted didn’t stay lifted. Our defiant jack sent Chris to Google to find out what problems could arise with a jack and found that this particular floor jack has a tendency to spontaneously break the valve inside and will only become more defiant with each attempt to fix. Apparently we are purchasing a new jack. However, when is this maintenance getting done? We found a neighbor with a floor jack, a snazzy one at that, and Chris was able to get all of the work done. Soon after, we got the same jack. Nothing is ever easy in this sport.

This week the graphics will be done for the car. We will give it a ginger sponge bath before the Chris dives into that project. Check back soon for pictures of the final makeover of the car! It’s going to look great.

This past week Chris came up with this great idea of heading to Woodburn, Oregon (just south of Portland) to watch the divisional race of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. This would be the series that we would be racing in the future. We thought it would be a great opportunity to check out the competition and how these divisional races work. We want to make sure we have all the bases covered before we enter our first race. And this seemed like a great step!

Sunday morning we headed out bright and early for the three-plus hour drive to Woodburn. We arrived just in time to see the first round of the alcohol classes. Woodburn is a great track (with some amazing food!) and a perfect ice-breaker for us — so to speak, it was over 95 degrees. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the cars run and paid close attention to those running in Super Comp. We soon realized that we could do it and only boosted our confidence. After the first round, we trolled the pits and observed the Super Comp operations. It was quite interesting to see.

We returned to the stands to watch the rest of the race. Sadly, in the final round of alcohol funny car Jason Rupert and Brian Hough were racing for the win and Rupert took a hard turn to the right. He crashed the car head on into the guard race about 100 yards from our seats. The body tore off and ended up on the return road while the chassis bounced around on the top end of the track. Luckily Rupert made it out of the car safely and on his own. Here is a link to a series of photos taken of the crash. It is fascinating to see the progression and to realize how luckily he was to be properly secured in the car. The most interesting part is the shot where you see a 16 second time in Rupert’s lane. The time was stopped by the safety crew crossing the finish line from the other end. It is amazing that it took less than 15 seconds for the crew to make it to Rupert after the crash. If you are someone who is interested in a more “high action” view, here is the link to a video on YouTube. However, I must post a warning that videos like this aren’t easy to watch. Although accidents like Scott Kalitta’s are absolutely heartbreaking, it’s situations like these that hit home for me. The pro classes are so far removed from the sportsman classes, that it is hard to relate. Either way, it’s only one more reason to triple check every nut, bolt and buckle before each run. Thanks to all of the safety crew who are out there day in and day out. They really make the difference.

EMDUB