Viva Skeg-Vegas!

After the shunt at Birmingham we knew it was going to mean a couple of busy nights getting the car ready to go again.    We went straight at it, changing the axle and checking everything was back in square.   The body work and spoiler had been pushed across so it was all removed, straightened, repaired and re-fitted as best we could using bits of aluminium and lots of rivets!    Everything was given a check over and the tyres were all fitted in the right places.   This proved to be as much of a pain as normal and after several fittings they were still not really playing ball!    Having to fit some wets as well as slicks only made it worse and by the time we eventually had them sorted I had run out of swear words and obscenities to call them!

We had everything sorted so that all we had to do was hitch the trailer up to the truck and load up on Saturday.    With the car all strapped in and ready Dad then decided that as it’s a long way to Skeggie he would check the fuel filters on the lorry to make sure there was no water in them.   After finding some water he set about changing them only for the truck to flatly refuse to run afterwards!    After a great deal of fiddling about Dad got it all sorted and bled through and we were ready to roll.

We’d arranged to meet Jason at 7am and travel up together - just in case either of us had a problem.   It’s quite a long journey for us but we got there without any excitement or drama.   The weather was looking undecided again, threatening to rain at any second but apart from a few spots here and there it held off and except for a really nasty wind blowing all day the weather turned out to be alright.

I like the track and the atmosphere at Skegness and although it’s one of the furthest journeys for us I look forward to our visit there each year.   Upon first glance the track looks as if it’s going to be slow and impossible to get round but when you get out there the speed is actually quite surprising.   I headed out for practice and everything all felt good so once again I returned to the pits happy.

I wasn’t in the first race so it was nice to watch it and get a bit of a feel for what was going on.  It turned out to be a pretty wild race with cars heading off in all directions at one point, a pattern that looked set to repeat itself all day.

My first race went well, with no major incidents to report and I crossed the line in 8th place picking up some valuable points along the way.   My second race turned out to be even better with the car going off the line like a rocket and managing to gain a couple of places.   The rest of the race went pretty well too with me crossing the line in 3rd, picking up even more points!

The final was one of those races where it didn’t really seem to come together.   After a few good opening laps I started to go backwards with me losing places every lap.    I managed to pull it back together at the end and hang on to 14th.    I’m a bit disappointed with myself about the final, not because I didn’t finish particularly high up, but because I can’t find a reason either with the car or myself for why I didn’t do my best.

Although a bit downhearted about the final it was still a good day and certainly well worth the trip.    We had escaped the damage and had a good laugh all day.

With two weeks to go till the next meeting and not much to do to the car I’m hoping to grab some time either mountain biking or kayaking with Ross.    Jason has invited me to go go-karting with him and some of his other friends on Saturday and although my karting skills are pretty poor it’s just too good an opportunity to miss.    I know it’s going to be a laugh although it may well end in tears with one or other of us getting a bit carried away!

With only one meeting left the season seems to have flown by, and even this close to the end it’s all still wide open, the battle to qualify is still very much alive!   Whatever happens next weekend I just want to wish everyone the best of luck!   I’ve loved every minute of racing this season and I can honestly say racing a National Hot Rod really is a pleasure.

Thanks as ever for reading

Until next time

Mikey

The excitement continues!

The car came home pretty healthy after Hednesford, it had a few scars around the body work and was in desperate need of a new rear bumper but it was all superficial.    The mechanical bits were still spot on.   Ross and I were heading off to Cornwall on the Wednesday, and coming back on the Sunday, so that didn’t leave us many nights to get it ready.

First thing Monday morning I ordered the bumper and sorted out getting it painted with Terry.   We unloaded the car from the trailer, washed all the cement dust off, pushed it onto the ramp and locked the door until I got back.    Dad spends his whole life working or helping me and the racing definitely couldn’t happen without him.   Letting me loose on the car on my own would prove to be a complete disaster but I think he was quite looking forward to having a few nights off from it as well.

Despite exhausted legs (someone could have warned us Cornwall was that hilly!) it was straight back on with the car.   It was all the routine stuff; changing the diff, cleaning and fitting the tyres and running a spanner round everything to make sure it’s not worked loose.    All the jobs we do before every meeting are just a matter of course but it’s still surprising just how long they take.  I’ve now added ‘measuring the tyres’ to the list of jobs I hate - as well as repairing wheels - because no matter how many times you let them down, blow them up or rotate them around the car it seems impossible to get them just how you want them!

We have also been a lot more diligent with the set up recently, spending more time making sure everything is perfect.  In my opinion it’s paying off too because the car feels really good and I’m starting to get more confidence with it . . . at last.

While we were at work on Saturday morning the weather was lovely - the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.   This had changed by the time we got to Birmingham though with the sky turning grey and rain looking imminent any second.   We rushed to get the car unloaded and ready so I could have a practice in the dry to get a feel for everything.    Just as we were sitting in the centre waiting to go on track it started spitting but nothing to overly worry about.

The track was pretty damp for practice and it was enough to keep you on your toes - the car was great though and I went back to the pits to check it over for the first race.   I decided not to bother with the official before-meeting practice and dad and I headed up to watch it.   Just as we were walking down the hill the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down.   This was going to make it interesting for the night!

As a lot of you know, apart from problems ‘seeing’ (wearing specs doesn’t help my cause) I don’t mind racing in the rain.   But it needs to be properly wet; I can’t be doing with it when it keeps stopping and starting making tyre choice an absolute nightmare.   With the rain coming and going, it was always going to be one of those nights.    I wasn’t in the first race and hoped that by the time I went out the rain would have stopped and the track dried out.

Although the rain had pretty much stopped everything was still cold and damp and we decided that four  wets would be the way to go - a decision I instantly regretted as soon as I got out on track. Although it wasn’t bone dry, the track was a long way from being wet!   Considering the tyres were wrong it wasn’t a bad race but as the laps went by the car got worse and worse, understeering more with each bend, and I was glad to see the flag drop and take the points for seventh place. Looking at the tyres when I got back to the pits it was fair to say the two on the outside were certainly past their best!

The rain was still holding off for the next race and not going to be caught out twice we headed down on four slicks.  The car felt good in warm up and the race got under way.   After just a couple of laps all hell broke loose exiting the bend, and heading down the straight I felt the back of the car get touched and break away.   It was one of those moments when you find yourself looking up the straight at the oncoming traffic thinking this is going to hurt!   Luck must have been on my side though as the car glanced the fence and ran along the length of the straight without anyone else hitting me.  The race was stopped and the car seemed ok so I went round and re-gridded for another go.   The first bend showed everything wasn’t ok - with the car pretty much having a mind of its own!  Pretty soon the main pack had gone past and I was left at the back; determined to get home and try and salvage at least a couple of points from the race I kept going.   The last bend of the last lap saw things get even worse when the tyre came off the rim throwing the car into a pretty extreme slide! Somehow by sheer luck I managed to cling on to it over the line before coming to an abrupt stop on the rumble strips, complete with a point for 15th place!

Back in the pits an inspection revealed yet another smashed wheel, a very bent axle and some pretty unhealthy bodywork.   All the spoiler and back end had been pushed across leaving us with a pretty funny looking Tigra!   With the racing running such a tight schedule there was no time to repair it so back in the trailer it went.    The final turned out to be a cracking race too and watching it from the sidelines was a bit of a killer!

Even though it wasn’t the best of meetings, Birmingham is still my favourite track and I can’t wait to get back there again.    A meal at ‘Big Johns’ with Jason and his team made up for the bad night.    Anyone who has been to Birmingham and not stopped to eat at ‘Big Johns’, just doesn’t know what they’re missing!

With only a week to go until Skegness we’re going to have a busy couple of nights - but as ever we will be there.   With only two meetings left to go, and everything still so close, it’s guaranteed that the excitement is going to continue with the points race coming down to the last lap of the last race I’m sure.

Thanks as ever for reading.

Until next time.

Mikey

Aeroplanes, road trips and a cracking day’s racing!

After Northampton we decided to give the car a thorough check over and make sure nothing was ‘obviously’ wrong with it.   I had all the shocks off and checked all the clicks on them and made sure they seemed to be working as they should be.   I also had the brake calipers off and checked to see if anything was bent or damaged.   The inspection revealed both a bent rose joint on the front and a bent load jacker on the rear.  Both would need changing, but at a guess both had been bent for quite a while so the car would have been set up around them.

After a conversation with Sonny Howard, we came to the conclusion that the brakes weren’t set properly - with too much bias going towards the back - making the back end loose going into the bends.  The gauges I had for reading this had been damaged in an accident earlier in the year and quite frankly weren’t fit for anything!   With a new set ordered and on their way it was just a matter of getting them fitted and then finding a nice flat piece of tarmac to set them up on.   Luckily there’s an RAF base not a million miles away, and even luckier, my friend Daryl works there and said he knew just the spot we could use, and that he could get both me and the car on without any major problems.

Once on the base we had to drive past all the aeroplanes that are used to fly all the supplies and troops out to the various wars we’re fighting, and right across the runway and into a quiet corner out of the way.  Daryl stopped on the way round to pick up his V8 stock car - and it was quite funny to watch the looks he got from people as he drove it along the roads to our chosen testing ground.  I must admit I’m quite ignorant when it comes to other racing formulas and don’t really watch anything but Nationals, but the stock car is just a work of art with everything being so nicely finished and the quality of the work being so high.  It’s fair to say it makes a pretty awesome noise to go with it!

The brakes were definitely wrong and after spinning it a good few times and what seemed like an age freeing up and adjusting what turned out to be completely seized adjusters, we finally got it right.    With me happy it was loaded back into the trailer.  Roy from Race Car T-Shirts was also on hand to take a few photos of us skidding about and show me how the picture of my car is coming on; it’s amazing to say the least.

Whilst all this was going on we decided that we really should be running an ‘undertray’ on the car but seeing as we left it so late there was no time to get it sent across to us, the only option was a road trip to Norfolk to collect it from Boss Panels.   Ross was off work so we arranged to go up on Saturday morning, collect it and be back in time for lunch.    When a 3-hour trip to get there turned into a 5-hour trip, that plan was soon forgotten.   The motorway was shut meaning we had to take a detour past Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds stopping in every village along the way!    We finally did arrive though and Mark had it sorted out and in the pickup in no time.   A quick look at the map found another route home which apart from the radio packing up and leaving us to sing proved pretty uneventful.

With everything fitted and sorted it was off to Hednesford for the annual bank holiday meeting and as I said before I’m starting to like the track more, but after having a big accident caused by brake problems last year and no practice to check everything was ok it was fair to say I was pretty nervous as we lined up for the first race.   After the warm-up laps everything felt good though and I just decided to ‘go for it’ from the flag.   It turned out to be a good, clean race with the car going and handling wonderfully and I managed to collect a sixth place in the process.

The car was brilliant again in the second race but it was just one of those races where it didn’t happen.  There was a lot of oil and dust covering almost half the track, and in all honesty it unnerved me a bit and I soon found myself at the back of the field.   As the dust cleared and my confidence came back I managed to gain a few places but it was all too late with me being well outside the points as the chequered flag dropped.   The dust was pretty extreme at one point and I can still taste it in the back of my throat!

Judging from all the other races the final was always going to be a fast and furious affair and it didn’t fail to disappoint.   The speeds you get up to round Hednesford are pretty insane and when you get 35 cars all packed onto the track its always going to be exciting.   It was a brilliant race though and I loved every single lap.   A fifth place and a straight car at the end of the day was an added bonus!

Overall I thought it was a brilliant meeting with some good points, some close racing and some good laughs.   My friend John and his girlfriend Mel came down from Scotland so it was great to catch up with them, and being parked with Kewy on one side and Gav on the other, it was always going to be a bit of a laugh.

With not much to do to the car for next meeting Ross and I have decided in a moment of madness to head off to Cornwall and do some mountain biking this weekend . . . it’s one way to keep fit I suppose!   Then it will be back home to get the car sorted for Birmingham.   This has always been my favourite track and with everything still so close I’m sure it will be another brilliant meeting to be involved in.

Thanks as ever for reading.

Mikey