NOPI Race Wars yields Win Number 2 in 2003!

      

Call it what you will, but the Hometown advantage sure worked well for us this weekend.

 

We started out the weekend trying out a new clutch setup. The reason, we destroyed the clutch in Moroso last time out. With no time to test the new clutch setup we decided to run the first qualifying pass as a testing session.

A 14 second run, Ouch! Well we decided quickly that the clutch had to change, that meant jacking up the car and removing the transmission. And change it did! Chris Ott from RX7.COM was present to lend a hand and help Ken and I change to another setup. With additional help from some of Ken's friends we were able to get the new setup in, in record time. With plenty of time to sit back and relax before the second round of qualifying Saturday.

Our second round pass a, 10.53 easily netted us a #2 qualifier in the Pro Stock field. However we still had an uphill challenge with the first place position being a 10.18. This was the time our new Data Acquisition began paying off. We were able to identify our clutch problem and make corrections to improve the cars performance. Sunday morning came quick. We arrived at the track and quickly started setting up our pit area to get ready for the final round of qualifying.

On our third round we managed our best run for the weekend so far. a 10.27 at 130.00 MPH. The Mile Per Hour was a great indication that we had selected the right direction with changing the clutch, however we were still slipping badly on launch.

Unable to eliminate the slipping clutch we just decided to work with it. With some minor adjustments to the car we tried to make up for the slipping clutch setup. Now knowing the bar had been set from 10.18 to a 10.01.

Eliminations went without a hitch as we finally wound up positioned next to the number one qualifier Eric Agular. I ran Ken thru his burnout for the final round, then like everyone else I had to wait for Eric and Ken to finish lighting the staging bulbs. Several of the other teams crew stood next to me as we waited to see if Ken could tackle the 2 tenths of a second Eric had on us all weekend. The tree started, lights flashed, and they were off! It was so close I couldn't tell who was the winner. I saw Ken's numbers light first but was still unsure about the win until I heard the announcer say "Ken Scheepers is the Winner!". A 2 tenths of a second win. It was all at the tree. Ken showed his skill once again at winning the tree's timing battle.

 

With our first NDRA Victory under our belt it's time to get ready to head to New Jersey for our third NHRA event this year and hopefully a continuation of our wining streak.