• chuck
  • chuck
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  • From: Powell Butte, Oregon
  • Registered: 2012-04-30
  • Posts: 24

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

I had a blast. Double-shifted for two teams:

1. Did the first stint on Saturday in the Flying Scotsmen Tartan One - whose kilt flew off and up onto the windscreen in the soaking wetness. Thankfully I was able to radio in and have somebody jump the wall (fully suited of course) of the hot pit and rip the kilt off 'er and continue. I would imagine that continuing with "windscreen covered in soggy kilt" is a black-flag worthy event, and given that I had clean-drive climbed from the basement into the top ten at that point it was better to lose half a lap than explain to Phil the physics of wet tartan and how the wet northwest was JUST LIKE SCOTLAND LADDIE! Handed over to Clan Leader Guy, who apparently drove or black-flagged his way back out of the top ten. Oh well. Such is Lemons in a nutshell, right?

2. Spent the rest of the weekend with the W.O.W. Weed crew, who were having a blast, despite burning up two clutches. The car drove great, but had HORRIBLE reward visibility. (Sorry for anyone who needed to pass us, we couldn't see you... I pointed by cars I could recognize by sound. On the checklist for fixing!) Car crapped out for good around 1:50 PM Sunday. No worries though as everyone was having a great time. Super-nice folks, and the perfect attitude for first-timers.

Good to meet a bunch of new folks, and check in with old friends. We'll be back with BMW-powered mediocrity at T-Hill or Miller with my regular team, Clowntown Roadshow.

chuck's Website

  • Registered: 2012-11-27
  • Posts: 96

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

What a great race weekend.

Back safely in San Jose (not that there is anything wrong with Shelton... smile)

The Neon Pope finished a best ever 3rd in B but once again behind the John Galt BMW 2002. Many fun and clean laps were turned with the BMW and the 999 in the chase.

Very unexpectedly wet on Saturday and the two black flags ruined any chance of actually winning. The track is awesome and we transmitted two full days at racecast.me from my iPhone. I think I used about 4 gigs of data... oh my...

Congrats to the Uboat Porsche for winning B and the devil 666 for winning it all.

Congrats also to our neighbors the #300 MR2 Frankenstein for winning the IOE after a major rebuild and thanks for finally turning the generator off at 3am...lol.

Looking forward to Thunderhill when we will take another run at the B trophy. It should be much warmer and less wet and we will show a movie on our outdoor screen Saturday night if we don't have to majorly wrench.

Until then... the #40 Neon Pope

'96 Dodge Neon, a.k.a. "Neon Pope" - 20 Lemons races - 1 Class B win
  • Registered: 2014-08-16
  • Posts: 58

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

Well, MacGyver Motorsports with the super slow Soylent Celica (mysteriously placed in class B) had a blast at our first race. Our car did much better than we thought she would. 333,000 miles on her and we really haven't done any engine work. As usual her problems were due to us. Believe me, WE NEED a car that was built right the first time smile our team motto is "tertia instaurabo fixa forsit" - the third repair fixed the problem. Big thanks to everyone who resisted the understandable urge to punt us off the track- we tried to stay out of the way... and to the Transcontinental Drifters who sacrificed their drip pan so we could cut it up, and gave us lots of good advice. It was a wonderful weekend, a well run event, and lots of fun folks and "great" cars. Jagvair was spectacular. Karla the '86 Mustang w/a very klassy canopy stole the show in my book! Hope to see you all out there again.

Driving like a girl for 33 years.
  • bshorey
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Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

Once we got past the Friday "How to gain access to The Ridge" clusterf*ck (seems like that's becoming an annual event), the rest of the weekend was a total hoot, as usual.  We love the track, the people, the Casino buffet, the lack of traffic, even that wet stuff that falls out of the sky up there.

We also got our mojo back, after a few miserable events in which our 21,000 Lemons miles motor slowly told us it had enough, we popped in a new old motor and that held up well for the entire weekend.

I spent 5-1/2 total hours driving this weekend, and can honestly say I didn't see a single instance of ass hattedness on the track.  Neither did my team mates.

Can't wait to see that Porsche/Mazda in action when it's running well.

bs

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Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

p.s.

One of our team mates saw what looked like a pristine, freshly restored Nash on a trailer in the paddock.  We saw a pristine Pacer filling up with gas at the Casino (I don't normally take a second look at a Pacer, but this one was really nice).  On the way home we saw 3 more pristine Nash's on a 3 car trailer, following another that was being driven.  Anybody know what kind of AMC event was going on up there this past weekend?  I dream of seeing a row of freshly restored Pacers in an AMC concours some day..

bs

  • Registered: 2014-07-23
  • Posts: 7

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

Fergus' Fault wrote:

Karla the '86 Mustang w/a very klassy canopy stole the show in my book!

Ahem, HIS name is Karl... Karla is dead and gone, she was weak, Karl is strong wink

  • Spank
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  • From: Escondido, CA
  • Registered: 2009-06-10
  • Posts: 5,864

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

I just want to thank everyone for giving us room and a place to "race".

We hoped to contribute to the spectacle that is Lemons, spend time with friends new and old (and eat their food-- thanks Silversleeves!), help where we could, and arrive back home safely with more stories to bore random strangers in the checkout line at the grocery store.

Special thanks to Mike Harrell for providing the opportunity to put a cage in another wretched car. I'm truly honored and humbled to have been part of such an incredible team with Mike H, Andrea, Robb, and Super SparkyPete.

Spank's Website

83 Reply by BrianK (edited by BrianK 2015-07-14 12:21 PM)

  • From: Los Angeles
  • Registered: 2009-05-01
  • Posts: 57

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

The Chotus arrived back in Torrance (just south of Los Angles) at around midnight last night.  It should be noted: I was the lucky bastard who flew back - Steve and Dave (Dave fresh in from Holland, where he lives) schlepped the truck/trailer back over 2 days.

We had a better-than-average Chotus race - which is to say the wrenching to racing ratio was fairly low.  It was a bit annoying that our freshly rebuilt transmission was still broken (would select 2nd and 4th when trying for 2nd, and would not stay in 3rd) - so we were either racing with one hand on the wheel and the other on the shifter, or torquing our way around the track in 4th.  Our water pump sprang a leak on Friday, but was caught and fixed by Friday evening.  We cracked a shock tower - almost completely in half - but caught it Saturday night at around 10pm & were able to get it welded back together* Sunday morning.

Outside of that, the car ran really well.  This was our first time at The Ridge & we all had a blast. 

The front straight is amazing in the Chotus.  big_smile

It was great racing with everyone.  Lots of good drivers at this race and enough room to have fun.

* We lent another team our welder on Friday night.  By Saturday night, it hadn't returned, so I went to get it back.  Found it out in the open with no one around.  Tried to use it and found that all of the welding wire had been used.  Not cool.
Had to borrow another welder from another team Sunday morning [for Steve] to repair our shock tower.

BTeam Racing
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#74 "Llama" Lotus Elite, aka Chotus
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  • From: Portlandia
  • Registered: 2014-08-08
  • Posts: 1,035

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

Much love to those who said the Jagvair looked spectacular. It was also spectacular to drive until the rear suspension bushing failed, after that at the end of the front straight it would do this unholy unload of the rear end. Almost got into a tank slapper once when I took her to the limit, no triple digits after that. Day ended with an hour left to fuel rail issue (no return, probably should have cleaned it out better). Looking back, great weekend! Quadrupled our lap count from last year, car was great with minor issues, and went home with some jewelry. Wife is pissed, thought this may be my last race, she was expecting to go to Europe next summer. Now, I have all theses things to fix on the car before PNW 2016!

'18 PNW-Organizer's Choice '17 PNW-IOE '15 PNW-Judge's Choice '14 PNW-Heroic Fix
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  • From: Seattle, WA
  • Registered: 2009-10-28
  • Posts: 2,111

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

Spank wrote:

Special thanks to Mike Harrell for providing the opportunity to put a cage in another wretched car.

Thanks, but I can't take all the credit. Much of it should go to the guy in the SUV who ran a red light just so he could smash the Metro's right front corner. Without his selfless efforts I probably would have kept driving the thing instead of asking you to take it off my hands, drive it to California, and turn it into a race car.

I suspect he's not having nearly as much fun with his vehicle.

1982 MG Metro 1300: IOE 2015 Pacific Northworst GP, Longest Distance 2010 Cd'L Box Wine Country Classic
1980 KV Mini 1: Worst of Show and Fright Pig Supremo 2009 Concours d'Lemons
1978 H Special: Second-Round Elimination 2010 Lemons Pinewood Derby at Sears Pointless
1967 SAAB 96: IOE 2012 Pacific Northworst GP, Organizer's Choice 2022 Hell on Wheels California Rally
  • From: Aumsville, Oregon (Near Salem)
  • Registered: 2010-08-22
  • Posts: 1,913

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

I apologize to anyone who was freaked out by the purple Mini's (#187) sudden changes in direction.   It had a ferocious case of torque steer, and would almost jerk the wheel out of my hands if I hit the throttle hard.   I don't know the car nearly as well as Mike, and was unprepared for it,
Also, on Saturday, there was a problem with the rear suspension which caused it to wiggle badly going down the straight.

Aside from that, I had an absolute ball out there getting passed by almost everyone.   My best time was a six or eight lap duel with Racer Kate in the Land Crab.   There may have been another race going on at the same time, but all I cared about was having land crab for dinner!   smile

It is nice to see that the track's problems appear to be in the past and that construction is proceeding.   When they get the restrooms & showers done, it will be much nicer.   A pedestrian bridge to the upper area would make it awesome.

Everyone was super-friendly and I can't wait for next year.

"I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!"
IOE winner in the Super Snipe -- Buttonwillow 2012
IOE winner in Super Snipe v2.0 -- Buttonwillow 2016
"Every Super Snipe in Lemons has won an IOE!"
  • bshorey
  • bshorey
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Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

CPT_Trans_Continental wrote:

Much love to those who said the Jagvair looked spectacular. It was also spectacular to drive until the rear suspension bushing failed, after that at the end of the front straight it would do this unholy unload of the rear end. Almost got into a tank slapper once when I took her to the limit, no triple digits after that. Day ended with an hour left to fuel rail issue (no return, probably should have cleaned it out better). Looking back, great weekend! Quadrupled our lap count from last year, car was great with minor issues, and went home with some jewelry. Wife is pissed, thought this may be my last race, she was expecting to go to Europe next summer. Now, I have all theses things to fix on the car before PNW 2016!

We stopped by to admire the Jagvair in person, but I'll say it again here - that thing was way cool, and I loved all of the fabrication.

Tell your wife that you are now a Lemons legend, and you have an obligation to make an appearance next year.  We can't have you schlepping all over Yurrup now, can we?

bs

  • zadar
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  • Registered: 2014-06-14
  • Posts: 76

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

CowDriver wrote:

Also, on Saturday, there was a problem with the rear suspension which caused it to wiggle badly going down the straight.

If that got fixed when I hit you in rear wheel on end of saturday you owe me beer smile

  • From: Land Of Subarus, Colorado
  • Registered: 2009-04-30
  • Posts: 9,416

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

Fergus' Fault wrote:

Well, MacGyver Motorsports with the super slow Soylent Celica (mysteriously placed in class B) had a blast at our first race.

Well, now I know that it's not a Class B car. Some Celicas are a bit faster.

Murilee Martin aka Judge Phil on Facebook
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  • Registered: 2011-04-05
  • Posts: 1,353

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

Camerlengo wrote:

The track is awesome and we transmitted two full days at racecast.me from my iPhone. I think I used about 4 gigs of data... oh my...

Thank you, and the Snowspeeders MR2 team, for streaming the race for those of us who weren't there.

Fourteen time loser. You'd think I'd know better by now.
  • From: Portlandia
  • Registered: 2014-08-08
  • Posts: 1,035

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

Judge Phil wrote:
Fergus' Fault wrote:

Well, MacGyver Motorsports with the super slow Soylent Celica (mysteriously placed in class B) had a blast at our first race.

Well, now I know that it's not a Class B car. Some Celicas are a bit faster.

Oh, I KNOW how to make it a bit faster. Somebody grab me a welder and a Dew.

'18 PNW-Organizer's Choice '17 PNW-IOE '15 PNW-Judge's Choice '14 PNW-Heroic Fix
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  • From: Aumsville, Oregon (Near Salem)
  • Registered: 2010-08-22
  • Posts: 1,913

Re: Pacific Northworst GP - The Ridge - Who's in?

zadar wrote:
CowDriver wrote:

Also, on Saturday, there was a problem with the rear suspension which caused it to wiggle badly going down the straight.

If that got fixed when I hit you in rear wheel on end of saturday you owe me beer smile

That was Scott driving, not me.   But it did cause Mike to get under the car and examine it, finding the problem.
When I was driving it felt really weird going down the straight at speed.   It felt like the car was not really on the track at all -- just kind of floating.   Mike said that it would get better if I went faster, but I didn't have the balls for it.

All in all, this was one of the most fun weekends I have spent.   The weather was cool, the track was in great condition, and there was much less aggression than at many west coast races.   On Saturday night it seemed that everywhere I went people were shoving food at me.   I ate so much that I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like a furnace.

"I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!"
IOE winner in the Super Snipe -- Buttonwillow 2012
IOE winner in Super Snipe v2.0 -- Buttonwillow 2016
"Every Super Snipe in Lemons has won an IOE!"