LIVE from IHRA Sportsman Spectacular @ MIR

[Michael Beard]

Updates will likely be few and far between, at least from this reporter, this weekend. Robbie Draughon was kind enough to carry the Duck Tape Turismo in his stacker, so I'll be shoeing both it and the freshly DragPak-powered GT/HA Duck Tape Volare, on top of trying to install lettering on customer cars. It's going to be a handful!

I'm a complete newbie to fuel injection. Sloan Engines built the motor with pieces parts and some tips from Southland Speed, and several racers including Mark Nowicki have provided us with a little insight and a shove in the right direction. (Hey Dummy! The regulator goes on the return line! Oops.). Ironically, since we corrected the plumbing, the car now wants to spin the tires, something that was never in its genes before. Even so, I managed a R/U at a bracket race last week, but it's something we know needs a FIX, not a bandaid. A call to Alex Denysenko at Moneymaker Racing has put us on the right path: the whole rear suspension setup has been ordered: Split monoleaf, CalTracs, and adj shocks. I've heard from others just how knowledgeable Alex is with these setups, so in a few weeks we should be able to rip the bandaid off and go after it like it needs to be.

Arrived at the track right at 3pm. A few people got some test laps in between sprinkles. I got 1 hit in before the skies opened up conclusively. Tried the radials this week, spun two tenths right at the hit, pedaled once hard, and when I got back in it, it yanked the fronts! Wild. Ran 11.03 @ 122. Still, got some data and made some extensive changes to the program. We'll try again in the morning... With the bias plys and with a bunch of timing knocked out of the low rpm range.

The most important thing you need to know about Friday... K/FIA Cadillac. 'Nuff said!