PittRace - East Region Chumpionship

[Mark Krueger]

Let's discuss the racing and share pictures and videos.

 

Full results are on mylaps.com, http://www.mylaps.com/en/classification/3738115

 

I failed on the video aspect this time.  No video from Saturday and only 2 x 1 hour segments on Sunday.  GoPro really needs to make better batteries.

 

I have 2 videos done so far.  The first is of my fastest lap on Sunday, 2:10.505 and the second is of a 7 lap segment starting around 2 pm when I was chasing Ryan in the Kim Jung Il Racing Integra.

 

Fastest lap:

>https://youtu.be/uKy2jiSY63U

 

 

7-lap segment:

>https://youtu.be/c5-Fz9pFB0g

[jlboygenius]

Do you have any highlights from the Saturday spinfest?

Edited October 6, 2015 by jlboygenius

[flytime]

We Failed on the video part as well, had no Go-Pro mount  left at home (car 53 Ztek Racing).  It was a heart breaker for us after more that 14 hrs of hard fought racing, (especially Saturaday) we succumb to a head gasket failure        Our little Sentra was as high as 8th overall and 1st in class (EC). 

 

Oh well we had a great 14hrs of racing none the less. 

 

 

Jay

Team Ztek Racing

[oldschool1921]

Hi all #75 EC SpedSource RX7.  

 

Slow going on Saturday because us like many teams didnt think we needed a defroster, wrong move. We were fogged up for most of the morning. Completed the day in 16th with no spins for the day.

 

We then had a solid run through most of Sunday running in 13th spot and lost brake pressure coming into turn 1.  We found out we had some corrosion on a hard line right at our front caliper.  While taking the wheel off a lug stud spline turned and we couldn't get the wheel off.  We ended up cutting the lug stud and replacing the hard line just in time to hit the last 30 minutes. Overall we dropped to 22nd after being off track for 1 hour and 54 minutes.

 

Thanks for the Sahlen's guys for the assistance with the brake lines!

[Doc]

Plug your GoPros into a cigarette lighter outlet with the "ghost case". 

[Mark Krueger]

Plug your GoPros into a cigarette lighter outlet with the "ghost case". 

 

I did this and it the GoPro still died.  I thought it would work fine, but it didn't.  I'll need to do some testing to see why it didn't charge while it was on.  It definitely had power as the red light was on, indicating it was receiving a charge when the camera was off.

 

It was disappointing, as there would have been some great spin footage.

[Richard]

 I'm pretty sure with our GoPro3 when you connect it to a power source (usb/wall outlet) the red light comes on on the front of the camera but it is not actually charging the battery. You have to turn the camera on (3 beeps) and that starts the charging process. Once the camera is on and connected to a power source you cannot turn it off (7 beeps) until you remove the power source and then it will shut off automatically. When the red light is on it means the camera is connected to a power source and nothing else.

[Hi_Im_Will]

Speaking of Saturday GoPro spin footage, I was right behind a huge pileup in the corkscrew on the restart around 9:00, involved the racing strong MR2, a couple Acuras, looks like 6 cars total:

 

https://youtu.be/9YSh0Ec7-2M

[inlay]

Wrong link ^^^ ?

[Andrew D Johnson]

Wrong link ^^^ ?

 

It wasn't recording. 

[mcoppola]

We didn't take any video. But if anyone has any footage of our focus, the black #393, please share. It would be great to have something to see and save. Thanks! Great racing out there fellow racers. For how bad the conditions and visibility were on Saturday, it was great to get through the day relatively unscathed. Running in the dry Sunday was just a big bonus to be able to really enjoy the full track at Pitt.

Edited October 6, 2015 by mcoppola

[Hi_Im_Will]

Since my camera failed too, it would be really nice to see some footage/pics of the #991.  Grey E30 with a big wing.

[mcoppola]

Ghetto Fab'd Racing

Last 3 event results:

Eastern Chumpionship 2015 (PIRC):  3rd

Gingerman 2015 Sunday:  2nd, Saturday:  2nd, Chump track record (1:47.953)

MIS 2015:  1st

 

Been a pretty good year, huh Will?

Great job all year! I was glad to be present at the 3 races you've listed to see your success (and actually compete in 1 of them instead of working it.)   Thanks for the kind words (I think) in the other thread (low dollar car, LOL).

Congrats, it was great spending time with your team at the banquet Saturday night, and was also really special to finish our first race running together with a friend on track at the end!

Good stuff!

[Andrew D Johnson]

Ghetto Fab'd Racing

Last 3 event results:

Eastern Chumpionship 2015 (PIRC):  3rd

Gingerman 2015 Sunday:  2nd, Saturday:  2nd, Chump track record (1:47.953)

MIS 2015:  1st

 

Been a pretty good year, huh Will?

Great job all year! I was glad to be present at the 3 races you've listed to see your success (and actually compete in 1 of them instead of working it.)   Thanks for the kind words (I think) in the other thread (low dollar car, LOL).

Congrats, it was great spending time with your team at the banquet Saturday night, and was also really special to finish our first race running together with a friend on track at the end!

Good stuff!

 

And they beat my Gingerman track record. 

[enginerd]

 

Ghetto Fab'd Racing

Last 3 event results:

Eastern Chumpionship 2015 (PIRC):  3rd

Gingerman 2015 Sunday:  2nd, Saturday:  2nd, Chump track record (1:47.953)

MIS 2015:  1st

 

Been a pretty good year, huh Will?

Great job all year! I was glad to be present at the 3 races you've listed to see your success (and actually compete in 1 of them instead of working it.)   Thanks for the kind words (I think) in the other thread (low dollar car, LOL).

Congrats, it was great spending time with your team at the banquet Saturday night, and was also really special to finish our first race running together with a friend on track at the end!

Good stuff!

 

And they beat my Gingerman track record. 

They were driving on new pavement..., your track record on the old pavement is set in stone forever now

[Andrew D Johnson]

 

 

Ghetto Fab'd Racing

Last 3 event results:

Eastern Chumpionship 2015 (PIRC):  3rd

Gingerman 2015 Sunday:  2nd, Saturday:  2nd, Chump track record (1:47.953)

MIS 2015:  1st

 

Been a pretty good year, huh Will?

Great job all year! I was glad to be present at the 3 races you've listed to see your success (and actually compete in 1 of them instead of working it.)   Thanks for the kind words (I think) in the other thread (low dollar car, LOL).

Congrats, it was great spending time with your team at the banquet Saturday night, and was also really special to finish our first race running together with a friend on track at the end!

Good stuff!

 

And they beat my Gingerman track record. 

They were driving on new pavement..., your track record on the old pavement is set in stone forever now

 

 

I don't think that is how it works. 

[Hi_Im_Will]

Ghetto Fab'd Racing

Last 3 event results:

Eastern Chumpionship 2015 (PIRC):  3rd

Gingerman 2015 Sunday:  2nd, Saturday:  2nd, Chump track record (1:47.953)

MIS 2015:  1st

 

Been a pretty good year, huh Will?

Great job all year! I was glad to be present at the 3 races you've listed to see your success (and actually compete in 1 of them instead of working it.)   Thanks for the kind words (I think) in the other thread (low dollar car, LOL).

Congrats, it was great spending time with your team at the banquet Saturday night, and was also really special to finish our first race running together with a friend on track at the end!

Good stuff!

 

Thanks! Certainly hasn't been bad.  As much as I liked BS'ing with you while waiting to go out on track, it's great to see your car finally racing.  I was seriously impressed by how quick that thing was, especially for a debut race!  Top 10 at a chumpionship race with a brand new car?!  That's awesome. Now to just add some wings and go win it all  

 

Any plans for next year yet?  I wouldn't mind chasing you to the finish a few more times...

[NigelStu]

Speaking of Saturday GoPro spin footage, I was right behind a huge pileup in the corkscrew on the restart around 9:00, involved the racing strong MR2, a couple Acuras, looks like 6 cars total:

 

https://youtu.be/9YSh0Ec7-2M

Fix your permissions / sharing.

 

 

 

I wold really have liked to have stuck the data/video in the Focus for this weekend, but making sure the car was good to go and visibility was OK was more important.   That 7 am drivers meeting and 8am start time with the rain was rough.

 

 

I may not have had good video from the rest of the race, but I found this little bit that gives a near-perfect account from the first lap on Saturday from my viewpoint.   Just stare at it for about 4 minutes; it is pretty much what I saw from the driver's seat!

 

 

 

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[mcoppola]

Yeah, I messed up. Ben and I texted back and forth Thursday night about fitting the car with a defogging system. My plan was to rig up 1 of those 3" dia. bilge fans with a hose directed at the windshield - one of the final things I needed to do to get the car ready. Oh, and install the roll bar padding (the good SFI 45 stuff - who said this was a low dollar car?) that we put on just before driving the car to Tech Friday night. So Thursday night I'm all set to go pick up the bilge fan, but I've got new Hawk Blues up front that I have to bed in. Having never done this before, it's like, no big deal right? I go out to my local test track (haha) and make the 6-8 moderate stops, and I'm, thinking, wow, these things feel really good. (First time on the sticky 225/45/17 Rivals too! This used to be my son's street car.) So after about the 4th "race speed" stop, as the instructions on the box said to do, the chili dogs and (only 1 ) beer I had for dinner a few hours earlier were telling me they weren't really in the mood for this carnival ride. So I might have made 6-8 hard stops, maybe not. But I felt well enough when I got home to at least sprawl down on the living room floor to chill for a couple hours. Damn, there went installing the blower, along with the rest of my last minute preparation plans! At least I was really encouraged by knowing I was physically and mentally ready to race against some great teams in some really great conditions. Yeah right - dream on, my son Danny and I were just a little bit nervous, about the conditions, competition level, and lack of recent seat time for either of us. 

 

So anyway, back to the race. Can I tell our race story? This IS the thread right? Sorry, I tend to be long winded, but here goes...

 

Our team basically consists of my son and I. Some friends turned me on to Chumpcar a few years back when I built a rollcage for "The Tools" Merkur. We also built a previous Focus SVT that we ran a few times. But those guys have all kind of dropped out for family and other reasons. For 2 years, we've been slowly building our low budget car (it's true, because that's all we could afford was investing slowly.) I've been lucky enough to work with some professional and amateur race teams, and have built some cars previously, but this car has been our first chance to do something of our own since I was sand drag racing or motocrossing in my teens and 20's. 

 

I started the conversations with Ben about buying his Pitt entry back in August when the Z's engine let go. I also knew I need a 3rd or 4th driver, but was extremely apprehensive about reliability (wheel bearings & hubs), and the fact that we were a new, inexperienced & very small team. After suffering race ending problems in the old focus, and having tension among teammates, my mind set is that we're not entering a race without having spares for things that we know may be Achilles heels, or wear items.

I don't know who was more apprehensive, Ben or I. But he must have had some sort of confidence - my forum BS skills, or pit marshal conversations maybe ,  that he decided to drive with us, without ever SEEING the car until Friday morning when he came by with his truck and trailer to pick it up.     

 

So, after the fogging problem bit us Saturday morning, we basically started the race 12 laps down, including the 2 we took for being a 510 point car (oil cooler, poly bushings, front coilovers). We knew the FWD was going to help in the rain, and the rain also relieved some of my wheel bearing/hub failure fears. (We're running this car much lower, with more rubber than the old one.) We talked about trying to get some rear grip for the rain, and took our best guess at setting up the car to keep the rear from stepping out in the wet. I finally got Race Monitor up on my phone to see that we were in 48th place, and other teams were having similar fog issues. When I switched over to see how we were doing time wise, I don't know if I was more shocked or pleased - Ben was running 6th fastest at the time!

We were able to click off 2 hour stints and decent pit stops for 3 guys on Saturday, but more importantly, Danny and I were able to do our stints without hurting the car too badly. Right after i got out, Danny had a minor spin and brushed a wall. Ben pulled out the right side fenders and he went back out. As the track dried, Danny was running some respectable times, especially for a noob. On Ben's final stint Saturday, we got caught up with a few other teams that were deemed to have pitted after 3:45, and we were impounded and lost another 7 laps. More importantly, after Ben settled down, he reported some handling issues. We saw the issue was a slightly bent right side tie rod, causing about 3/4" toe out. 

Sunday morning, Ben made the 1 yellow flag lap and pulled in. Danny and I orchestrated our pit stop to: refuel, remove helmets, rotate left side tires, rotate right side tires, and leave off the right front so I could adjust the toe. Got it right on the 2nd stab at it, and off Ben went. I was anxious to see if he could improve on his 2:21 Saturday in the somewhat dry, and was once again ecstatic to see him immediately ripping off 2:13's and eventually getting down to 2:10's! We had a scare at the end of that stint. As Ben parked the car, he said "Left front wheel bearings" and my heart sunk. We jacked up the wheel and felt it wobbling around. We noticed the wheel was loose and after re-torque'ing it, it never came loose again the rest of the day. Relief!

Our small fuel tank kept us from making 2 hour stints in the dry, so we had an extra stop.

It was interesting and exciting to see how this went from a test session for a new car, to seeing Ben starting to work pit strategy to get us the best finish we could. I hurt our effort a bit on Sunday, as our plan was to leave Ben in the car as long as possible, since as Rob WVUMTNBKR put it "that car was bad fast when the seasoned driver was in it" LOL. (Thanks Rob, appreciate the kind words and it was great meeting you too!) I held out the pit board to indicate P11 to Ben, and as i put the board down, i looked at Danny and said "does that look like it says "Pit?" Sure enough, Ben was in the next lap, and we weren't ready. I told him to go back out and he said let's change, he already undid the belts. So I went out for the last hour and a half, just trying to focus on bringing the car home, and not doing anything heroic. I guess Ben and Danny were nervously motioning for me to step it up, but I was in a zone. With a little luck, we got some help form someone dropping out late, and somehow ended up with a 10th place finish! Heck, i was just happy the car never broke, and was pleased to see that a lot of hard work and time paid off to provide us with one of the best weekends of my life! i hope to see you guys and do many more starting next season.

Thanks to Ben for his confidence, willingness to take a risk, and his wealth of experience. There's no way we could have pulled this off without his help. Thanks also to all the friends, well wishers, and constructive conversations on this forum that have helped to get us this far. My sincere gratitude from the bottom of my heart. Go chumps!

[Guest E. Tyler Pedersen]

Mike you are what this organization is about. You've been at a lot of races I've been at and I'm glad to see your car out and running. We've enjoyed some beers together while you've been a pit marshall and you're just an overall good car prepper and racer. I look forward to competing with you more. If you need a driver don't be afraid to ask. Congrats on a top 10 finish. Now go do another Eastern race and run the East chumpionship next year!

[inlay]

As Ben parked the car, he said "Left front wheel bearings" and my heart sunk. We jacked up the wheel and felt it wobbling around. We noticed the wheel was loose and after re-torque'ing it, it never came loose again the rest of the day. Relief!

 

 

Pro-Tip

 

We torque to 90 lb-ft cold and then follow that up with a "check" at 70 lb-ft during the next stop.  If they don't move during the "check" they are good but if any move we "check" again the next pit stop.  

 

Lugs will loosen when heat cycled (the studs expand and contract), so as long as they don't cool off you should be ok.  Always re-torque to 90 lb-ft overnight.  Another thing people don't understand is that all the lugs having even torque is just as important as the torque spec itself.  We use an impact to remove lugs but never to tighten them.  If someone mistakenly does, simply loosen and re-torque them all evenly. 

[mcoppola]

Justin, thanks for the tip, and for the help and camaraderie this weekend. Before the race, I thought about the stretching you described. We went with 90 lb-ft cold, but only backed down about 5-10 lb-ft hot. Hope we didn't stretch any studs too badly by doing that.

[mcoppola]

As much as I liked BS'ing with you while waiting to go out on track, it's great to see your car finally racing.  I was seriously impressed by how quick that thing was, especially for a debut race!  Top 10 at a chumpionship race with a brand new car?!  That's awesome. Now to just add some wings and go win it all  

Any plans for next year yet?  I wouldn't mind chasing you to the finish a few more times...

 

 

 

Mike you are what this organization is about. You've been at a lot of races I've been at and I'm glad to see your car out and running. We've enjoyed some beers together while you've been a pit marshall and you're just an overall good car prepper and racer. I look forward to competing with you more. If you need a driver don't be afraid to ask. Congrats on a top 10 finish. Now go do another Eastern race and run the East chumpionship next year!

Will, Tyler, Ben, Justin, Andrew, Rob R, Nate(s), and many others - THANKS for your kind words and support. Tyler had it wrong though.  

It's ALL YOU GUYS that are what this organization is all about. The sharing of knowledge, support, resources, and well wishing in chumpcar is 2nd to none! Going W2W road racing has been  life long dream of mine, and there's no way I'd be where I'm at without all the help I've gotten from you guys and many more that I'm failing to recall right now. I also know that our new car is much better than my buddy's old one, and that is from knowledge that you guys and other Chump members have been so graciuous to share here on this forum. Thanks again.

Now c'mon man, doesn't anyone else have any stories or videos? I'm feeling bad for dominating this thread. (Still on cloud 9 & proud! - sorry)

 

Here's "Old Johnny Cash" before and after

Edited October 7, 2015 by mcoppola

[theblue]

It was a great event and a heart breaker for kim jung il's 949 integra which is now heading back to the frame machine.

 

for now I'll share this clip of us chasing simon.

 

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uk59OBz2ow

[oldschool1921]

Who has some pics.  I am still waiting to see some stuff.