Race #3

I got a break and found a co-worker willing to trade shifts with me so we could go racing.  I was interested to see if any of my fine-tuning would pay dividends on-track.

The weather was beautiful - sunny, mid-seventies and a light breeze.  It couldn't have been more pleasant unless you could magically make the pollen go away.  There were a total of six in Lian's class ready to race so we had some good competition on the track.

The practice sessions went pretty well and Lian was keeping pace with the rest but it was hard to tell who was fast and who was just riding along.  Lian admitted that she wasn't going hard on the first session and her best time was 22.20 seconds.  She backed that up with a better effort during the second session with a 21.76 second lap.  She complained that even driving hard didn't get her as quick as some of the faster kids on the long straight.

For the heat races, Lian started 4th and 3rd.  In the first heat, Lian was passed at the start by the 5th place racer but held onto 5th and put up some good lap times.  Her best three are below.

I should note here that one of the competitors was a relative rookie and was not moving fast.  He started behind Lian in the first heat but he started on the pole in the Heat 2 - directly in front of her.  When the green flag waved, the outside line went and the 5th place starter followed.  Lian had to wait for them to clear before she could attempt a pass.  She was less aggressive than the other racers and was not confident that she could make a clean pass although she knew she was faster. She was hoping for a blue flag to wave but it never came and Lian finished in the back.

Here she is on the starting grid sporting her new drivers jacket and helmet.  We ordered a dark visor because there are many sunny days ahead...

Starting in the back of the feature, Lian managed to get past that slower driver at the start.  Later that first lap, the 3rd and 4th place drivers bumped causing one to slide wide in a turn and stop.  Lian slipped past cleanly and held on for a 4th place finish.

Despite my efforts, Lian still feels that she is down on power at the end of the straight.  I've discussed this with a few other crew chiefs and I'm hearing mixed signals.  Some don't see that there is a difference on the track, others suggest leakdown testing on the engine to see if a valve is leaking.  I'm even considering a new engine to take any doubt out of the issue.  I'll let you know what I decide in my next post.