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SM practice. 101 db limit. Ran with CAT. It was great. Lots of fun. Had a really hard time passing people, but got a 1:53:950 and finished 15/38 cars.
SM Qualifying. 101 db limit. Ran with straight pipe. Didnt do as well. Got stuck behind one car and he wouldnt let me pass. Fastest time was a 1:54:xx and I qualified 19/38 cars.
ITX Practice. 90 db limit. Ran with straight pipe and super trap. Everything was going great. Had some awesome fights with various cars, especially this red 1st gen rx7. Best lap was a 1:53:53. Unfortunately on the lap that I finally passed him I overshot the corkscrew and ran wide on the exit, launched the car in the air off the drainge ditch and tagged the wall. Justin Wilson helped me bang the panel out and Matt helped me re-align the car. Matt also helped me rotate the flat spotted tires to the rear. Also I got black flagged for 91.8db.
Sunday Morning. Turned the car on, horrible rattling noise. Justin Wilson claimed his engine made the same noise before it died. Doh! Took the car over to Larry Oka. He said oil pressure is good so no way engine is dying. Suggested changing the oil to a heavier weight after qualifying.
ITX Qualifying. 90 db limit. Ran with CAT and super trap. It totally totally sucked. There was lots of traffic and the car handled really poorly. The flat spots in the rear were freaking me out in the corners. Only got 45-50 on the oil pressure gauge so I was very worried (I seem to remember getting above 60 before). Qualified with a 1:56:xx and I dont even remember the position.
Ran to town to get some oil. Came back and Barry comes over and says he heard I am having engine troubles. Listens to my car, fiddles around and finds the alternator bolt is loose. I tighten it and the engine purs like its brand new!
SM Race. 101db limit. Ran with CAT. Well, I was stressed as hell. The first pre-lap was the most stressful. I didnt know when to re-line up, kept worrying i'd forget who to line up behind, and was most stressed about turn 2. We all re-lined up at turn 10. When I got to about 30 feet from turn 11, everyone hit the gas and started going, I freaked out and floored it, rounded the corner (going slightly wide) and everyone slammed on their brakes again! The race hadnt even started!!! I re-line up and we get the green flag. It was crazy, I got KILLED at the start and turn 2 by like 4 cars. Then I just kept fighting with the cars in front of me. It was so hard! Finally I get a good run on the guy from turn 11, and he starts squeezing me out against the wall. I just look at the wall, look at him, look at the wall, look at him, and I finally passed him. I glance up and see the corner worker waving a yellow flag. I kept the pass though because I was stupid. 2 corners later some guy passes both of us, its still yellow condition everywhere. This SM hit the wall and totalled the car between turns 4 and 5. I follow the pace car for 2-3 laps until the restart. I stay behind the car infront of me into turn 11, but he fucks it up and doesnt gas it even though its the green flag. At least 4 cars pass me on the inside before I get around him. So that sucked. The rest of the race was just the usual. Trying to find a good place to pass the car infront of me without getting any body damage. After the race they took my car to impound and gave me a 1-lap penalty for passing under yellow. So I would have finsihed 22/38 but now probably finished close to last. I was so tired in the end that I decided to skip the ITX race. My fastest race lap was a 1:54:xx, most laps were 1:56:xx.
Thats it. Next time should be much much better since I'll know what to do before the start, during the start, during pace cars, etc... etc...
Nitzan