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Wolf Racing "Taking Life 13 12 10 8 Seconds At A Time!"

2008 Racing Season Updates

June 27, 2008

School's out for summer, but our team was out at the track doing what we do best. Sit and bake in the sun, while taking in the smell of VHT and burnt rubber. Today was the last race for our two grade eight drivers, so it was decided by the majority of the other drivers and pit crew that they could automatically drive our two fastest cars, "Jessie" and "Molly", in the elimination rounds. As with all races, the driver with the fastest reaction time got their choice of car. Graeme had the fastest R/T, so he drove "Molly", while Rick drove "Jessie". As for the rest of our drivers, they all got to drive at least twice today. Not bad considering the number of drivers we had at the track today.

In the elimination rounds, Graeme M. in Molly, went up against Devin D. from Mouat. Devin was eliminated due to a close red light, allowing Graeme to go on to the next round. In the other pairing, Rick C. driving "Jessie", went up against Rae-Anne M. in "Chilli". Rick C. eeked out a win and went on to face Graeme in the final round. Two grade 8 students on their last day at the track under our school's banner, going head to head for first place - couldn't have written a better script! There were no losers in this one, as both drivers did a fantastic job. Both boys will be sorely missed on our team, as they were an inspiration to the younger drivers. Both of them took the time to show the younger team members "the ropes". They join a list of great drivers that have gone through our drag race programme. Former students like Samantah Pain, Dan Chalmers, Levi Tremblay, and Kyle McCarthy.

In the final elimination round, the drivers got to choose their own dial in times. It certainly takes the pressure off of us adults, that's for sure. If you look at the results of that last elimination round, their dial in times were pretty darn close.

With the final two race dates of the season being in September, the dragsters will now be stored for two months As of now, our school is ahead in team points. For more info on how our drivers and cars are doing so far this season, please visit the BCSSMA (British Columbia Secondary School Motorsports Association) web site.

Time	Lane	School	Car	Driver	R/T	60'	330'	1/8	MPH	Dial	Elimination
10:37	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	0.232	2.184	6.276	9.925	65.97
10:37	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rick C.	0.289	1.839	5.434	8.680	73.76
10:38	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Simon T.	0.313	2.806	8.485	13.771	44.93
10:38	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Michael P.	0.269	2.167	6.454	10.455	59.21
11:03	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	0.013	2.151	6.207	9.840	66.21
11:03	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rick C.	0.153	1.826	5.405	8.647	73.83
11:05	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Michael P.	0.407	2.134	6.255	10.091	62.07
11:05	Right	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Simon T.	0.928	2.916	8.488	13.673	45.85
11:46	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Rae-Anne M.	0.229	2.149	6.361	10.270	60.90
11:46	Right	W. J. Mouat	451	Devin D.	0.305	2.090	6.071	9.663	66.58
11:47	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Ben P.	0.340	2.742	8.371	13.548	46.18
11:47	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Graeme M.	0.275	1.940	5.685	9.058	71.22
1:27	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Nick V.	9.025	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
1:27	Right	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Sam W.	0.290	2.787	8.393	13.518	46.55
1:29	Left	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Graeme M.	0.224	1.838	5.414	8.653	74.09
1:29	Right	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	0.078	2.158	6.177	9.809	66.11
1:56	Left	No Data*	-	Devin D.	0.056	2.111	6.062	-	-
1:56	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Graeme M.	-0.427	2.621	6.369	9.742	71.30
1:58	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Sam W.	1.129	2.692	8.138	13.157	47.39
1:58	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Nick V.	1.094	2.249	6.478	10.418	60.43
2:40	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Devin D.	-0.039	2.237	7.053	11.371	58.83	9.60	R1 Eliminated
2:40	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Graeme M.	0.045	1.961	5.727	9.123	70.78	9.03	R1Win
2:41	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Rae-Anne M.	0.627	2.747	8.255	13.336	46.63	13.00	R1 Eliminated
2:41	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Rick C.	0.210	2.116	6.255	10.133	61.09	9.75	R1 Win
4:09	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Rick C.	0.165	2.115	6.272	10.173	60.79	10.10	R2 Win
4:09	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Graeme M.	-0.077	1.946	5.723	9.127	70.50	9.06	R2 Eliminated

* no data for car number, ET, and MPH on time slip (reason unknown).

June 13, 2008

After four weeks of no racing, our students were itching to drive. A light drizzle in the morning and forecast of possible rain in the afternoon had most of us worried, but as it turned out, it stayed dry with the sun breaking through in late afternoon. For the first time this season, we took along all three dragsters. Our friends from Mouat had their new junior dragster fixed and ready to run. To our surprise, their dragster ran in the high 9's. Well, at least it was a surprise to us. We were led to believe their car was to run in the 12's.  In any case,  Molly, our flagship car, performed well again. We ran into some problems with the roller chain stretching, but after a quick removal of a few links, we were ready for the elimination rounds. In the first round of eliminations, we had Chilli go up against Jessie, while Molly went up against Mouat's dragster. Jessie, our sponsor's car was eliminated and Chilli went onto the next round. In the other pairing, Mouat's dragster got eliminated by Molly, which led to the final pairings where Molly went up against Chili. Chili, driven by Ben P. went on to win first place. Congratulations, Ben - nice trophy, BTW.

Mr. Glum and the MMH class joined us at the track today. We fired up the BBQ and had burgers and smokies. It's always great when the MMH class comes out to MRP to cheer us on. Food always tastes great with good company. Thanks, Mr. Glum for getting the BBQ up and running!


Alternating colours are used in the table below to make it easier to keep track of pairings.

Time	Lane	School	Car	Driver	R/T	60'	330'	1/8	MPH	Dial	Elimination
11:11	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	0.109	2.253	6.378	10.056	65.46
11:11	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rae-Anne M.	0.203	1.976	5.658	8.978	72.17
11:11	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Michael P.	0.184	2.245	6.422	10.295	48.01
11:11	Right	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Ben P.	0.495	2.707	8.123	13.178	46.90
12:25	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Simon T.	0.606	3.051	8.849	14.210	44.32
12:25	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rick C.	0.414	1.890	5.493	8.751	73.32
12:27	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	autostart overridden due to starting problems - no results
12:27	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Nick V.	0.114	2.317	6.585	10.563	59.60
1:29	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Devin D.	0.477	2.246	6.360	10.010	65.96
1:29	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482A	Graeme M.	0.352	1.972	5.752	9.154	70.65
1:30	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Rick C.	0.922	2.621	7.937	12.946	47.35
1:30	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Sam W.	0.205	2.214	6.507	10.463	60.24
2:19	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Brittney H.	1.030	2.679	8.036	13.021	47.65
2:19	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Michael P.	0.144	2.142	6.313	10.185	61.41
2:20	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Devin D.	0.664	2.137	6.137	9.724	67.04
2:20	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rae-Anne M.	0.075	1.921	5.598	8.913	72.32
3:00	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	0.275	2.207	6.239	9.858	66.36
3:00	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rae-Anne M.	0.082	1.900	5.560	8.871	72.28
3:01	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Ben P.	1.293	2.729	8.128	13.147	47.09
3:01	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Nick V.	0.450	2.191	6.455	10.421	59.66
3:28	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	-0.264	2.180	6.211	9.848	65.84	9.80	R1 Eliminated
3:28	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rae-Anne M.	LB3A	2.404	6.124	9.445	72.51	8.85	R1Win
3:29	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Ben P.	0.106	2.731	8.125	13.600	39.35	13.14	R1 Win
3:29	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Nick V.	0.636	2.180	6.841	11.750	45.87	10.40	R1 Eliminated
4:17	Left	CDGMS (Chilli)	482B	Ben P.	0.406	2.702	8.100	13.556	41.31	13.14	R2 Win
4:17	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rae-Anne M.	LB3A	7.129	10.801	14.122	72.02	8.85	R2 Eliminated
4:17	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Michael P.	0.311	2.101	6.240	10.113	61.24
4:17	Right	W. J. Mouat	451	Devin D.	0.405	2.099	6.045	9.626	66.71

May 16, 2008

It has been quite some time since we updated this web page. Weather has been terrible this season. Our first two race dates for the season, April 4th and 18th, were rained out. The weather on May 2nd, our third race date, was also predicted to be bad. So certain was the bad weather that the BCSSMA executive canceled racing the day before. Despite the cancelation, we decide to take our chances and headed out to Mission Raceway Park. The race gods kept the dark clouds in check and we had a full day of racing without a drop of rain. It started to rain as soon as we got back to school at the end of the day. Thank you, race gods. Results from that day to be posted later when we find them....... ooops.

Today, May 16th, the weather reports called for sunny skies with temperatures in the Valley to hit well over the 30 degrees Celsius mark. Sure enough, it was sunny and hot, hot, hot! The track was pretty full today with all kinds of test and tune cars along with a full compliment of high school cars and even a few juniors. Today, we faced off against Mouat Secondary's new junior as well as a junior that represented A. D. Rundle Middle School of Chilliwack.

We had a great day at the track. "Molly", our black dragster with the newly purchased JR Racing, stage 5 motor and new Shockwave clutch, did very, very well. On one of the runs, it ran through the 1/8 mile in 8.702 seconds with a trap speed of 73.72 miles per hour! Two weeks ago, the dragster went a surprising 8.98 seconds in the eighth. We were told by JR Racing, the place where we purchased our refurbished motor from, that the motor would take our car with its combined weight of vehicle and driver into the mid 9's. Well, it's always a big bonus when the car goes half a second faster than it's supposed to. On that day, our last run resulted in the sprocket hub breaking off from the axle. It actually split open and warped to the point it spun and caused all kinds of damage to the axle and sprocket. It was a case of too much power for an old and tired vehicle. We immediately ordered a new axle, an upgraded heavy duty hub, and a new set of sprockets. This, of course, led to the improved times we saw today. Too good are the times, in fact, that we will have to investigate to see if the gear ratio is wrong for the motor. If so, we may have to change the gear ratio and slow the car down to ensure the motor is not being overworked. After all, we are a public school with little funding. Longevity of the equipment is so important. You break stuff when you go too fast.

So far this year, we have had five new drivers trained. All have done very well on their first runs at the track. A very promising group of drivers, indeed. At this time, we would like to take the opportunity to thank all the parents who come out and support the team. Mr. McCarthy, our mechanic, Mr. Wilson for building us the tow dolly and getting us a second support vehicle, Mr. Cartright, who comes out each time to help set up at the track, Grandpa Dugdale, our counselor, who's there each time to help stage the cars. It's always the people behind the scenes who make a difference. We get compliments at the track for how organized we are and how professional looking we are and it's all because of the help these guys give. Everything from loading and unloading equipment, and fixing up the cars, to helping out at practices in the school's parking lot. To Rad Torque Systems / New World Technologies, our main sponsors, thanks for all the help you have provided us. It's amazing how much work and sweat goes into the end result which, ironically, lasts for only a few short seconds.

Our next track date is June 13th. Hopefully, we will have our third dragster, Chilli, up and running by then.

May 16, 2008 Race Results.

At 11:25, Jessie, our sponsor's car, lined up with Mouat's brand new dragster.
At 2:03, Molly, our dragster with the new motor went up against Mouat.
At 2:06, Jessie went up against the dragster from R. D. Rundle.
At 10:59, Molly broke the all time CDGMS record with a pass of 8.702 seconds in the eighth mile with a trap speed of 73.72 Miles Per Hour.

In all fairness, the Mouat car had clutch problems today and was not running right. In three weeks time, it'll all be fixed and we will look forward to a rematch.
R. D. Rundle Middle School had problems on their inaugural run and were finished for the day. We hope to see them again in three weeks.


Please note that on some runs, the cars were not paired up. Alternating colours are used in the table below to make it easier to keep track of pairings.

Time	Lane	School	Car	Driver	R/T	60'	330'	1/8	MPH
10:42	Left	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Kevin Y.	0.027	1.869		8.745	73.46
10:59	Left	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Kevin Y.	-0.256	1.851	5.448	8.702	73.72
11:25	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	1.091	3.985	10.036	15.123	48.01
11:25	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Ben P.	0.222	2.170	6.578	10.684	57.99
12:20	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Ben P.	0.358	2.228	6.597	10.679	58.15
12:20	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Kevin Y.	0.134	1.839	5.464	8.753	72.86
1:05	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Kevin Y.	0.166	1.854	5.492	8.793	72.59
2:03	Left	W. J. Mouat	451	Kyle M.	0.723	5.117	12.345	18.301	40.89
2:03	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Kevin Y.	0.176	1.879	5.575	8.967	70.1
2:06	Left	A. D. Rundle	483	???	-0.038	8.290	17.144	26.149	24.23
2:06	Right	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Rick C.	0.713	2.180	6.583	10.738	56.76
2:56	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)	482A	Kevin Y.	0.888	2.249	6.670	10.848	56.89
2:56	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rick C.	0.39	1.853	5.465	8.735	73.13
3:35	Left	CDGMS (Jessie)*	482A	Ben P.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
3:35	Right	CDGMS (Molly)	482C	Rick C.	0.310	1.825	5.44	8.724	73.00

February 18, 2008

Our PAC (Parent Advisory Council) approved the spending of funds to purchase a motor and clutch for one of our dragsters. We are looking forward to working on the dragsters and breaking our speed records from previous seasons. By April 4th, our first race date, we are hoping to field three junior dragsters.

New 2008 race schedule is up on our web site.
 

2007 Racing Season Updates


September 30, 2007 (September 28th race day)

The last event of the season and it looked like the weather was not going to cooperate. Forecast called for rain all day long. The BCSSMA executive were so convinced of the forecast that they canceled the event. Mission Raceway Park was still open, so we went as usual. The morning was cold and miserable, but dry. Dark clouds gathered overhead and it looked really bad at times. However, the skies did clear up after a few drips and toward the end of the day, it was bright and sunny. The track surface wasn't in the greatest of condition, but we did get a few runs in. Although there were less cars at Mission than usual, we didn't get as many runs as we normally would due to numerous break downs, a late start, and a large number of drivers licensing. We usually get to Mission at around 10 am, but this time, we were early by almost an hour. We were itching to run, but didn't get started till after 11 am! We usually call it quits at around 3:30, but we stayed a little longer to get in our 6th run. No complaints, though. It could have rained on the last event of the season.

We took along two dragsters this time around. Chili could not be resurrected in time. The brake problem Molly experienced last race day was due to the brake bleeders coming loose on their own. Something we thought we had fixed, but on run three, they came loose again which almost caused a problem at the turn off lane. All three dragsters will be thoroughly checked over in the off season and they will be back faster and better than ever in April. Rumour has it that we will have some tough competition next season as Robert Bateman Secondary is looking to get into junior dragsters. Mouat Secondary has shown some interest in juniors, as well.

Congratulations to our two new drivers, Rae Anne M. and Graeme M. First time driving down the track and they did an outstanding job. Having to wait for over a year to be able to drive is tough at times, but it paid off. Great runs, guys. The team is very proud of you.


11:13

Car	Lane	Driver	R/T	60 ft	330 ft	1/8 ET	1/8 MPH
Jessie	right	Julie S.	0.578	2.186	6.472	10.398	60.66

11:14

Car	Lane	Driver	R/T	60 ft	330 ft	1/8 ET	1/8 MPH
Moly	left	Graeme M.	0.111	2.430	7.426	12.253	46.03

11:38

Car	Lane	Driver	R/T	60 ft	330 ft	1/8 ET	1/8 MPH
Moly	left	Graeme M.	-0.033	2.415	7.426	12.098	51.46
Jessie	right	Julie S.	0.225	2.179	6.475	10.402	60.81

12:31

Car	Lane	Driver	R/T	60 ft	330 ft	1/8 ET	1/8 MPH
Moly	left	Rae Anne M.	0.912	2.616	7.559	12.250	50.59
Jessie	right	Jessica L.	0.222	2.175	6.433	10.352	60.47

1:50

Car	Lane	Driver	R/T	60 ft	330 ft	1/8 ET	1/8 MPH
Moly	left	Graeme M.	0.509	2.485	7.553	12.281	50.42
Jessie	right	Jessica L.	0.281	2.178	6.433	10.349	60.65

2:26

Car	Lane	Driver	R/T	60 ft	330 ft	1/8 ET	1/8 MPH
Moly	left	Rae Anne M.	0.575	2.333	7.334	12.292	47.62
Jessie	right	Rick C.	0.175	2.051	6.160	9.991	61.80

4;15

Car	Lane	Driver	R/T	60 ft	330 ft	1/8 ET	1/8 MPH
Moly	left	Rae Anne M.	0.572	2.413	7.365	12.034	51.05
Jessie	left	Rick C.	0.334	2.096	6.215	10.050	61.77

September 17, 2007 (September 14th race day)

We finally did it! One of our dragsters finally got into the 9's. We took two dragsters to the track on Friday, but only ran one. Molly's brakes were not working well, so it was decided that we stay safe and not run it at all. We got 9 runs in and overall it was a very successful day. One of the other highlights of the day was watching Mr. Lilly, our mild-mannered librarian, drive our sponsor's 7 second dragster down the track. Because it was Mr. Lilly's first time ever on the track, he had to go through a certification process. His first three runs had to be slower than 10 seconds in the 1/4 mile. It was unbelievable to see him do a perfect burnout on his first attempt. Mr. Lilly got two runs in and will have to do one more before he is allowed to do a few medium speed runs. After that, he will be able to go full tilt. Mr. Lilly was so excited after the two successful runs that it was hard to tell if the wrinkles on his face were from being so happy or if they were from pulling over 3 G's at the starting line. For those of you who have not been in a dragster capable of going well over 200 miles an hour, the inertia is unbelievable. Another highlight of the day was watching our good friend Leo (one of the employees and head mechanic of our sponsor) recorded a personal best ET in his amazingly fast dragster. Can you believe it? 5.7 seconds in the quarter mile. Enough to make your head spin for quite some time. Both of his runs on Friday were in the 5 second range. Needless to say, the track was in excellent shape. Our next race date is September 28th. We are hoping to have all three of our dragsters operational by then. Our friends from Mouat did very well and won first place in the high school division. A couple of our former racers are now on Team Mouat.

Time Slips

You will notice by the reaction times in the second and third runs that we had a difficult time staging the dragster. Since we were the only junior dragster team at the race track we decided to change lanes. Sure enough, moving over to the right lane solved the problem. For next race day we will make adjustments to ensure the dragster interupts the laser beams properly.

Car	Lane	Time	Driver	R/T	60 ft	330 ft	1/8 ET	1/8 MPH
Jessie	left	10:44	Rick C.	0.165	2.417	6.593	10.396	62.99
Jessie	left	11:12	Rick C.	-0.037	1.865	5.986	9.749	63.40
Jessie	left	11:58	Jessica L.	LB3A	9.345	13.584	17.465	61.55
Jessie	right	12:09	Jessica L.	0.122	2.152	6.369	10.249	61.42
Jessie	right	12:35	Jessica L.	0.127	2.145	6.390	10.327	60.37
Jessie	right	1:13	Julie S.	0.519	2.172	6.471	10.439	59.96
Jessie	right	1:53	Julie S.	0.461	2.189	6.505	10.497	59.60
Jessie	right	2:36	Julie S.	0.511	2.194	6.455	10.403	60.16
Jessie	right	3:37	Rick C.	0.464	2.047	6.123	9.922	62.46

 
Pics


All suited up!                     Remember what I said.......                                  At one with the machine...... 


Where's the parachute button again?                     Who let the genie out of the green bottle?                              Leo's 5 second monster.

Back To The Top

June 29, 2007

The best way to deal with misfortune is to get back up and come back better and stronger than ever. As of one week ago, our race program came to, what seemed to be, an abrupt end. With no funds left, we had zero cars that were in any running shape for the final race date of the school year at Mission Raceway Park. A die hard racer at the track in Ashcroft came up to us after seeing the blown motor on "Jessie" and said something to us that gave us great inspiration. He said, "Something good will come out of this. It always does." He was right. One of our parents at the school, Mr. McGuire, generously donated enough money to the team so we could get back up and running - unbelievable, and at the time we most need it. On top of this, the competitor we faced during the second round of eliminations at Ashcroft happened to have a spare motor that was in great shape. We jumped all over it (and through about a thousand hoops - red tape) and by the night before the races, we got 'er done. The motor we acquired was a 9.8 second motor that came with a Shockwave clutch. For those who have no idea what that is, let's just say it is a way better clutch than anything we have ever had in any of our cars. When the car and trailer showed up at school Friday morning, we just couldn't wait. We pulled her off the trailer and took her for a spin in the school's parking lot. The students couldn't believe how well the clutch engaged. We were even able to spin the tires on dry pavement. Oops, we kind of took the paint off the basketball court (hopefully the principal won't find out, lol).

The weatherman had been calling for rain and sure enough there were plenty of black clouds in the sky. We were determined to let our grade eights, who would be leaving our school, get one last kick at the can. Two of them were not at Ashcroft, so they were praying that things would go well for the last racing event of the school year. Today was not a school day for our team as the last day of school was yeasterday. The students knew that only the grade eights would be allowed to race, yet most of the team came out to help and watch the grade eights drive for the last time. The sponsor teachers were very impressed by this - we must be doing something right.

Did all our hard work and effort pay off? Oh yeah, says the grade eights. How good is the new clutch? How about a 0.002 second reaction time by Robert? That is about as close as it gets to perfection. He nailed it! He won a trophy for best reaction time in the high school division. Not a bad way to end his driving days with Wolves Racing. The new clutch is pretty responsive and allows us to do some nasty burnouts. Before this, we would be too embarrassed to even try a burn out. Now we can do 15 foot burnouts. Wow, something good did come out of this...........

Car	Time	Driver	Lane	Dial	R/T	60	330	1/8	MPH
Jessie	10:35	Kevin Y.	Left		N/A	3.059	7.282	11.257	59.29
Jessie	10:48	Kevin Y.	Left		0.700	2.226	6.419	10.399	59.77
Jessie	11:21	Kyle M.	Left		0.190	2.183	6.462	10.409	60.47
Jessie	11:34	Kyle M.	Right		0.282	2.179	6.459	10.412	60.24
Competitor	11:34	Unknown	Left		-0.274	2.377	6.965	11.319	49.24
Jessie	12:00	Robert S.	Left		0.206	2.141	6.363	10.282	60.66
Jessie	1:04	Robert S.	Left		0.002	2.172	6.427	10.349	60.97

The first two runs, with Kevin behind the wheel, were with a 14 tooth gear on the clutch side. The person who we had bought the motor from told us that it didn't sound like the motor was revving high enough on the two runs he saw and heard. He suggested we use an 11 tooth gear, which he happened to have with him. After the two runs Kevin made, the car came into the pit area where the pit crew changed the oil and adjusted the gas and brake pedals to fit the taller drivers. At that time, Mr. McCarthy promptly exchanged the 14 tooth gear for the 11 tooth and this definitely improved our ET and MPH. The chart doesn't reflect this as much, but one has to remember that Kyle and Robert are much taller and heavier than Kevin - somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50 or so pounds of difference. With Kevin in the car, we should easily be in the 9's and be going 63 to 65 miles per hour. In fact, Kevin was in the car suited up and at the staging lanes for our seventh run when it started to pour. Our hopes of getting a car into the 9's will just have to wait.

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June 28, 2007

Our little trip to Eagle Motorplex in Ashcroft was quite interesting. We've been trying to go to Ashcroft for nearly five years. It finally came together for us and it was one trip most of us will not forget any time soon. Going to a different track and seeing so many junior dragsters at the event was a real treat. There were, by our estimate, close to twenty "junior diggers" there, but only sixteen or so were racing. On Saturday, our cars ran well with Jessie making it past the first round of eliminations. During the second round of eliminations, "Jessie", driven by Robert, had a terrible start. It was sputtering and cutting out as if the motor was running out of fuel. We were facing a faster car at the time, so we got the green light first. Because of the poor start, we "rattled" the competitor and the driver did not have a great run. We were told, right after the race, by the other team that we had won the race and that we would move on to the next round. The other team knows how consistent our cars are, so it was assumed that we had won. As it turned out, our ET (Elapsed Time) was way off our dial-in time - much worse than our competitor. Once we got "Jessie" back, we started to look for the problem. We later found out that the wire to the shut off switch on the steering wheel was grounding out. What a way to lose in the elimination rounds. On Sunday, we switched drivers and were looking forward to another great day of racing. It sprinkled a bit in the morning, but the rain drops basically dried up as soon as it hit the track. Everybody was excited. "Jessie", our fastest car was going to be driven by our lightest driver, Rick, so we were excited about getting faster times - perhaps into the 9's? It all came to an abrupt end when we blew both motors. The engine block on Jessie's motor had a huge hole in it. We were done for the rest of the day and most likely, the rest of the season. "Moly", our other car was also not running well and it had to be brought back limping. Overall, we had a great two (three days for some of us) days of racing and camping in Ashcroft/Cache Creek. Most of us stayed in the same campgrounds and the best part of this trip was the "getting to know each other." It was a great experience for the parents to see what sort of things the students do at the track.