Checker on day two

After a rough start, Lugnut had a quick run and ended up in 16th. The rough start was engine cutting out and a bump on the front fender. He came back and the fender was hammered out and we chased the engine issue to a broken water line for the cool seat. The broken hose poured the contents of the cooler on the fuel computer. Once dry the car ran great again.

The Miata had no issues and Muddy wrapped up his 4th hour today taking the check for 61st. 

Day1 checker

As the day wore on things went less well. The butchers bill tonight is a bit more than yesterday and mostly involves hammering sheet metal.

Before I get to that, the good news is even with the bump, there were no black flags and the Z ended up in 22 place. That's very good for us and the fact that the only time off track was routine pit stops for drivers, has made for a fast day. 

The bad news is the 'bump' took out the passenger door. Lugnut reports it wasn't sever and no black flags were issues, but the doors hooked up and the sheet metal damage means hammer gets to work on his nick name a bit more.

Speaking of Hammer, he finished his stint in the D with a bit of contact and a trip through the penalty box. A long pit stop was needed to repair the fender (more hammering) and fix a striped lugnut. Once resolved Sparky hopped in and started his stint with a spin and another trip to the penalty box.  Driving the D like the Z doesn't always work well :-(  After that, things calmed down and both cars ran to the checker. 

The pizza oven has been fired up, the temperature has dropped and everyone if feeling good. 

Race day 2

We got all the repairs and prep done last night so this morning went fast. Hammer is out in the D and Muddy is out in the Z. Race starts at 9:00. 

If muddy can stretch the gas this morning, we can get by with 3 drivers. Given we are in 22nd place this morning, we'll give today a good go. Not trying to put down super fast laps, just keep the cars on track as long as we can. 

The goal for the D is to have a lot of fun today.

Track is green,3 race is on and we even have a plan!

Mid day update

We are through the better part of the day and have 1 driver change left for each car. 

 

So far,  problems to report. The Z is currently around 38th place and the D around 75th of 180+ cars. Very happy place for us right now.

We'll put lugnut and sparky in to wrap up the day. 

Race day 1

Well, this is closer to an Audi moment. The cars are ready and we have 30 minutes until the drivers meeting. So we are sitting around having a great breakfast and talking shop.

Couple updates from yesterday. While we had a couple of off-road events, the first one came home with some friends on the front bumper. 

We also pulled out the heat-misser hats for tech and got through with with 0 penalty laps for both cars. Both in class A, but we knew that was likely. Pretty much all Miatas and BMWs get A and new Z has proven itself quick around the track.  We keep pointing out that we haven't placed all that well and they keep pointing out that they are judging the car not the drivers.  In any case smooth trip through tech and lots of good practice laps yesterday. 

Grid time

We have hammer in the Z on track, and Troll is getting ready to take the D out. The mirror broke as we were getting started.  So much for sitting around. The crew has jumped to install a backup, and sparky is working on chilling out the team. 

Driver change

First driver change is done. The first stint was very smooth and both drivers did awesome. There was a full course yellow after a stopped track so we brought the D in a little early.  Lugnut is now behind the wheel and the track is green again. 

Race Day Driver Lineup

After a tough Thursday and more work needed today before practice, it has not been the smoothest start to the weekend. After the repairs, we were able to get the cars on track. Both cars perform well when on the track. As few excursions did some damage to the front diffuser of the Z that will need to wait until we have more time to go through it.

 Once we got past the early issues, both cars performed well. Sparky was the clear King of the day smashing the rest of us. He found his line and put done some blistering laps. We are now off to rest, and will look forward to the run tomorrow.

As for the driving schedule here is  my  plan:

Day 2	Race Session I
D					Z
Start	Finish	Pilot	Notes		Start	Finish	Pilot	Notes
10:00 AM	11:27 AM	Troll	Estimated   23 laps		10:00 AM	11:51 AM	Hammer	Estimated   34 laps
11:39 AM	1:06 PM	Lugnut	Estimated  30 laps		12:03 PM	1:54 PM	Sparky	Estimated   34 laps
1:18 PM	2:45 PM	Picasso	Estimated   30 laps		2:06 PM	3:57 PM	Muddy	Estimated   24 laps
2:57 PM	4:24 PM	Hammer	Estimated   30 laps		4:09 PM	6:00 PM	Lugnut	Estimated   34 laps
4:36 PM	6:03 PM	Sparky	Estimated   30 laps

Practice day

We are about 10 degrees cooler than the forecast. Still 99 degrees, but much better than we thought.

The cars have been running well, although several Z drivers have tried driving off road so I'm sure we'll be doing some work to the bottom of the car. 

The D has continued its trend of just running round and round in circles without any issues. 

At the track

We got out the door pretty much on time and and got to the track at 7:00 am time to unload and set up!

Packed and ready

Ok, that took longer than hoped for but everything is packed and we are done for the day. Whew. 4:00 departure will come early, but at least it is still 4:00 am tomorrow instead of 4:00 am an hour from now. 

In other news. Picasso dropped this model off. WOW. Perhaps it is time to replace my old Porsche with another one. 

Pack up

Well, it isn't an Audi day for us. Aside from the fact that we have about $1B less budget, we have always scored our prep agaist theirs. While most teams are sweating in the pits while trying to make the cars run, Audi is using the time to wax the cars because they are all ready. Some races we do well agaist that standard, and others... Not so much. 

This is starting as one of those. Instead of packing and having dinner, we are still wrenching.  Here we have Don (who still needs a proper nickname) and Muddy working on a new oil cooler for the D. Dinner will have to wait and so will packing. 

Plan is wheels up at 4:00 am for the tow to the track. 

Pre-race work

Well we though we where doing well, but.... We found the rear bearrings on the Z are worse then we thought. So, Lugnut and Hammer are on it.

Wont be long now. 

Race Weekend Menu

Now for the most important part of this upcoming weekend.  Straight from Z-Chef, here is the feast for this weekend.

	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	·  Pumpkin Bread (on the road) ·  Fresh fruit	·  Egg Croissant sandwiches with ham and swiss cheese ·  Fresh Fruit	·  Egg and sausage sandwiches ·  Fresh Fruit
Lunch	·  Deli Sandwiches ·  Carrot and celery sticks ·  Chips ·  Cookies	·  Cuban pork sandwiches Roast pork Ham Swiss cheese Dill pickle chips Pepperoncini ·  Green salad	·  Chicken Wraps - Bacon - Blue cheese - Lettuce, cucumber, carrots - Ranch dressing
Appetizer	·  Spinach Artichoke dip ·  Veggie sticks	·  Eggplant Zaalouk ·  Harissa ·  Hummus ·  Flat Bread ·  Marinated mozarella
Dinner	·  Grilled Tri-tip, Sausages, Zucchini, Peppers, and onions. ·  Baked beans ·  Potato salad	·  Pizzas - Spicy sausage and wild mushroom pizza - Spinach and bacon pizza - Sausage and broccolini pizza - Everything pizza ·  Greek Salad
Dessert	·  Apple Crip	·  Tiramisu
Beverages	· Beer · Gatorade · Water · Margaritas · Coffee
Snack	· Chocolate chip cookies · Chocolate Orange crackle cookies · Peanut butter cookies (Note: Driver cookies are only for non black flag runs!)

Last Stretch to Get Us Ready

Here is the list of the last items to get the cars ready for Vodden.

Work Checklist for 2015 Thunderhill Vodden the Hell
Electrical Systems			Status
		Items	300z		Type D	Comments
	10	Switch for the cooling seat				Inspect
	12	Cooling fan				Possible auto switch to be installed
Engine and Driver train
		Items	300z		Type D	Comments
	3	Replace oil filter	Done			D - Install new filter housing
	11	Check and add water to radiator			Done
	12	Check and add water to overflow
	14	Oil cooler and lines inspection	Done			D - Add new cooler and lines. D - Install new system
	15	Run engine to temperature	Done

Suspension and Brakes
		Items	300z		Type D	Comments
	3	Check wheel bearings			Done	Z-Replace
	9	Alignment			Done
	10	Tires and rims				D – 4 tires need mounting
	11	Check tire pressures				Z – 29 f 28 r D – 28 f/r
Safety Systems
		Items	300z		Type D	Comments
	8	Check tow hitch				Make sure they are labeled
Chassis
		Items	300z		Type D	Comments
	2	Front skirt			Done	Z – Create new shirt
	6	Door Panel Repair			Done	Z – Passenger side door dent

Pit and Logistics Systems
		Items	300z		Type D	Comments
	7	Menu				In Process (Pizza likely)
	9	Check radio harness
	11	Radio				7 Radios
	13	6x5-gallon carboy				Repair fill can and inspect others
	18	Pack for the track
	21	Install seat cooler and test
Décor
		Items				Comments
	1	Car number				Need 12 x 11x17 label
	4	Paint				Touch Up