Woodburn LODRS Divisional Race #1 ~ 07-14-13
If you’re following us here, by now you’ve seen the Pics of our Carnage from our Dropped Intake Valve that happened during our final Qualifying Pass late on Saturday. Parts failure is a constant threat when pushing our Equipment THIS hard. We normally do VERY well, in fact we have VERY FEW Parts fail, owing to a TON of Maintenance, however, someone said it best a long time ago ……… “Poop Happens”. It certainly did to us during Q3!!
The Crew worked VERY hard, burning a LOT of Midnight Oil and a few Adult Beverages too, as they got our Hot Rod all ready for the Dance on Sunday- but, alas a repeat performance of our Win in 2012 was simply NOT to be, as when we started Her up for Round 1, it was pretty clear- something was DRAMATICALLY wrong. I was given the option to shut it off, but I decided to go ahead with the Burnout and then opted to Stage the Car, having a pretty darn good idea, it was NOT running right. BUT, if we shut the Car off- we were GUARANTEED a R1 Loss. If I took a Green Light and Stepped down on ‘er, there was a CHANCE, however small, there WAS a chance of a Win. We were Racing Shawn Cowie, who was coming back after a 2 ½ year absence, returning after a devastating Motorcycle Accident injury he sustained through no fault of his own back in Tennessee. (Sidebar- I saw a sticker on Joey’s Car {Friend and Competitor, TAD Driver- Joey Severance}. It said- “Enemies for 5 Seconds; Friends for Life” Very Well said.) With this sentiment in mind, although we REEEAAALY wanted to whoop up on Shawn pretty badly, we all felt that if it wasn’t ours to win that day, it would be good for Cowie to take it that day. He’s been through an AWEFUL lot. Along with most TAD and TAFC Racers, we too have carried a sticker on our Car in his memory and honor during his recovery. But, regarding our R1 pairing, Shawn COULD have Red Lighted, or he COULD have Crossed the Center Line, or he COULD have had his OWN problems ……… but- he did not. He made a GREAT pass. BUT – we DID put ourselves in a position to win and that was all we could do at that time. I often refer to it this way- “Swing at the Damn Ball!!” We swung. Sometimes you connect. Sometimes you don’t. BUT, always Swing!
Shawn went on to win the Event and we at Gregg Racing congratulate him and his entire team!
One more- Before every Pass we make, we do a Warm-Up in the Pits. This allows us to not only Warm the Motor up, but we’re also able to check the Ignition Timing, Fuel Settings, EGT’s (Exhaust Gas Temperatures) and a variety of other items to make sure they are just right prior to our Run. One other routine is for us to check the Reverser- to go between Forward and Reverse gear. This is MUCH easier said than done, as the saying goes. My Bride, Robbie, has had the “Driver’s” duties in the Pits for the Warm-Ups for many years now, and She has always found the “Forward and Reverse” chore to be the most challenging. There ISN’T any “Synchro” between Forward and Reverse. If the Rear Tires are spinning- AT ALL, She can DESTROY a $1,500.00 Reverser in a FLASH. There’s just not much “forgiveness” in the process. Oh yeah- NO pressure either. J And, the Clutch works like no other, being a Centrifugally operated one. Did I mention? No Pressure. She’s gotten QUITE good- My point is- it’s MUCH more difficult than it looks. Prior to one of our Qualifying Passes this weekend, and after completing a truly Picture Perfect Warm-Up, including the requisite “Forward and Reverse” test- Which Robbie ALSO completed Perfectly, Robbie NEW she’d “NAILED IT” and the Picture that follows is her “Candid Camera”/“Kodak Moment” reaction captured as it happened by Cheyanne Helvey, the daughter of our Social Media Guru, Julie Helvey. The raw emotion seems to say a lot about her feelings of success. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Thanks, as always, for following us here! Our next outing will be on July 26th and 27th, back at Woodburn as we go to a Night Race there- Nitro Flames under the Lights! WHOO HOO! Come join us, or at least follow our results and stories here. Thanks much and God Bless!
Gregg Racing- Good Times with Good Friends at 260 MPH!
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