Rims

In the collection of parts Eric purchased was a set of rims that fit my car.  These originally came off Chuck Parsons Lola Can-Am car.  I'll have them checked out, and now I have rims for rain tires.

What's next?

With the car back in the shop, I think I'm going to call it a season.  A couple of months ago I was planning on going to San Diego for the Coronado event.  But after careful consideration, I decided it was going to be a very expensive trip for a 2 day event.  So, I'll save that money and put it into next years racing budget. 

When I was at Road America I talked to Eric about the radiator for Lola T192, said he had one and will send it to me.  Then I can send back the Lola T190 radiator that never fit right.

Interview with Brian Redman and David Hobbs at Road America

Road America Photos

Here's a link to photos taken by Steve Johnson at Road America.
Road America photos July 15-17, 2011

Elkhart Lake Movie

Very short video taken by Deb at the
Race car parade to Elkhart Lake

Race Recap

Sunday was one hot day.  The heat index was over 100 degrees.  The one thing bad about these old formula cars is that the radiator is directly in front of the driver.

The first couple of laps of the race I was able to better my qualifying time by over 6 seconds.  But the cars in front of me started to pull away and the cars behind, faded back.  By now I was pretty much alone.  By the 5th lap my water temperature was at 250 degree's, by the 7th lap I was losing 3rd gear.  With one lap left, I slowed down and took the checkered flag. 

Tony Adamowicz took 1st place. 
 I was 2nd in class, 4th overall.

Eric's weekend did not go well,  he spent most of it working on a fuel problem.  Only turned a couple of laps in the race and then stopped with a water coolant leak.  He has 2 months before the next race, he really needs some track time to resolve all those little problems.

Sunday night through Chicago, no traffic. 

Back home

Good to be home, arrived early this morning.  I'll start to work on the photos and place a few on the blog tomorrow.

Sunday Elkhart Lake

The internet service at the hotel we're at is poor. So this will be a short report. I finished the race 2nd in class and 4th overall. Should be home late Monday tonight.

Saturday Elkhart Lake

Saturday qualifying went OK, was third in class.  The qualifying race in the afternoon was half run under the yellow flag and was only two laps of racing.  Finished second in class.  The car ran good the the whole day.  Sunday is going to be in the 90's.   But I'm ready.  Sorry no photos, running late again.

Friday at Elkhart Lake



Practice in the morning went well.  The engine is running good and I'm starting to learn the course.  Qualifying in the afternoon was uneventful.  We also did the race car drive to town.  Thousand of people lined the streets, just amazing.  We we're still up at 11pm last night.  Today should be a little slower pace.

Long day yesterday

Arrived later in the afternoon at Elkhart Lake.  For some reason it just took a long time to unload the truck and set everything up.  I guess we bring more stuff.  Didn't get back to the hotel until 10:30 last night.  Today is a practice at 11 and qualifing 4.  Then the race car parade and I won't get back from that until 9pm.
I have photos but no time to post them.  Maybe tomorrow.

Fremont, Indiana

First stop, Fremont, Indiana.  A unenventful trip so far, the way it should be.  Expecting to be in Elkhart Lake late afternoon.

Eric update

Talked to Eric yesterday, he left Seattle Saturday and now was about 200 miles from Elkhart Lake.  He missed the Canada event.  Said he had fuel leaking problems with is newly installed fuel injection unit.  He's bringing a set of wheel rims for me that he got in his Lola parts acquisition.  These should be usable for rain tires.
Anyway, leaving soon and hope to be in Indiana tonight.

Leaving Wednesday for Elkhart Lake

 Every time I pack the truck, I'm left with a little more room.  Wish I could fill those voids with spare car parts.  Haven't heard from Eric lately, guess he's been very busy getting his car back together.  We'll be leaving Wednesday morning and stopping to overnight in Indiana. 

F5000 race schedule for Elkhart Lake

I believe that's it

Needed a little more gasket cement

For the most part, we're ready for Elkhart Lake.  The only problem found was a small leak back by the gearbox. 

 That's fixed and no other leaks located.  The clutch  pedal works properly, and the engine sounds just right.  I'll start collecting the spare parts and tools.  Should have the truck loaded by evening.

Brake pads

The new brake pads are here, but they don't fit.  I recall Eric telling me that he had to preform some grinding on his.  Sure enough, I saw what he was talking about, and now a perfect fit.

The old pad is in the front, the new one is in the back.  The 2 small tabs above the arrows needed to be ground down on the new pads.

I'm using paint on the brake rotors that melts at a certain heat range.  In this process, it leaves a history of maximum temperature achieved while on the track.  Each color is a different heat range.   This should help me set front to rear brake bias. 

Watkins Glen-----Revisited

The folks in the red shirts are know as "Team Bedford".  They have been coming down from Canada to Watkins Glen for years.   Lately they have been assisting the F5000 association.  A great group of guys.



L to R  Mitch, Steve, me, Mike and Ken



One week to go

Road America is coming up fast.  Finished mounting the Goodyear's, now their ready.

I have decided to order all new brake pads.  The pedal was getting pretty long at Watkins Glen. After all, how much service can you expect out of 36+ year old brake pads.  The new ones should arrive Friday or Saturday.

Goodyear tires

Removed last years tires and will be mounting my fresh Goodyear's for Road America.  I noticed at Watkins Glen this past June, a whole lot more drivers are using Goodyear's............hmmm.

Gear box

Installed the new 2nd gear.  It will be nice to finally have a usable 2nd gear.   Looking forward to Road America.

The oil temperature gauge stopped working at Watkins Glen.  I think the vibration broke the sending unit.  Purchased this one on eBay.