8/17/07: Frank Jr.
The latest event on the Pmotorsports.com racing schedule was back in Beaver Springs, PA. This track as you may recall was where I had a runner up finish a few short weeks ago. The team was looking forward to coming back to the “beav” as the track is affectionately called and making a run at the win. As an added bonus this would be the teams first night race of the season which everyone was looking forward to. Our team arrived early Saturday morning to setup and make sure everything was ready for the race. We all have really gotten into a routine and know our roles very well. Before we knew it, the pit area was setup, both cars cleaned, and lunch was on the grill. We were so happy that we had a few hours to relax before time trials started and all of our prep work was done. So the team relaxed for a little bit and enjoyed the sun. It was nice to relax at the track and hang out together, usually we are always so busy. This didn’t last long as those few short hours evaporated and it was time to go to work on pulling out a win.
Time Trials went well and both cars performed almost flawlessly. This track has a few bumps in it that really played havoc on the suspension of dad's 48 Anglia but he did his best to keep control of the car and hit is index. While my 40 Willys coupe continued to be deadly on the dial with a 9.01 and a 9.02 in the left and right lane respectively. Unfortunately when it came time for eliminations the team faced the sometimes inevitable issue of our cars facing each other in the first round. This was a bitter sweet moment as we realized that we would get a car in the second round but only at the expense of one of our own. Our cars went up there and put on a great show for the crowd, but in the end I took the win and moved on to the second round. When it came time to race round 2, I was up against Dan Slout and his Altered bodied funnycar. Dan was having a great day with lightning fast reaction times and a car that was running very well. Unfortunately I made a small error on the starting line that cost me the race. After the burnout I forgot to put the car in first gear. When I went to engage the transbrake and stage the car it rolled forward, because the transbrake will not work in high gear as a safety precaution. I caught the error and went to correct the problem but when engaging the transbrake for the second time the car rolled another inch or so and that was enough to cause the car to break the beams and red light away the run. It was very disappointing for me to give up the round like that. I felt really bad for my team, it was bad enough to have to face each other in the first round, but then to go out and red light away the win was even worse. I definitely had the car to beat and everyone knew it. Now as team we just have to pick up and move on. You can rest assured that I wont let myself forget this little error for a long time.
Sorry that we dont have any pics this week, I promise to take twice as many next time. |
