Topic: High Plains Drifter from the eyes of Flat Face Racing

Facility:

We were once again in one of the covered parking spots, this time in one of the coveted end bays.  This was great as it fit our trucks, trailer, camper, and guest vehicles with space to spare.  It was also right next to the track exit which was convenient. 

Lemon’s stuff:

I drove/pushed Scrappy into the tech area an hour early because I don’t read so good which led to a bunch of other teams doing the same.  Whoops!  Phil did the BS inspection anyways and we left our car to eat lunch before the actual tech inspections began at the appointed time.  Our bribery failed to lower our designated class but we knew it was a long-shot.  Ironically if we’d been placed in class B we would have fared worse in the standings so it was all for the best. 

The potluck was a lot of fun.  We made twice as much chili as normal and it was all consumed which was a win.  The food others provided was tasty.  My personal favorite was the curry chicken. 

Weather:

There was no rain at all which was nice though the temperatures were a bit high.  Our cool shirts certainly were useful in keeping us from overheating on the track.  We complained about the wind until it died down and the sweltering heat settled upon us so we complained about the lack of a breeze. 

Self-inflicted wounds:

There was an issue with the cable-pull on our kill switch twisting and preventing the switch from fully switching off which led to the alternator not charging the battery which led to me thinking the wiring I had just redone on Friday was coming apart.  Luckily I didn’t tear up any wires before the kill switch problem was discovered.  Unfortunately we lost several laps while we figured this out. 

The track:

We are lucky to have HPR.  As always it was a blast to drive. 

Driving:

We collected three black flags: two for offs and one from a miscommunication with the on-track safety person.  In defense of my drivers they both went off to avoid other vehicles and the miscommunication was understandable.  These mistakes resulted in painful deserved penalties and we’ll try harder next time.  The field was smaller than the June HPR event so there was more open track which was nice.  It seemed to me that there were more point-bys and fewer worthless duels than last time too. 

Scrappy the racecar:

This proved to be Scrappy’s redemption race as it ran all weekend without complaint.  The latest engine was smooth as it did was it was intended to do.  On Sunday morning I thought we’d need to stop to replace the front rotors but the vibrations under braking weirdly calmed down after a few laps so we left them alone.  We ran slightly worn tires from the last event on Saturday and a brand-new set on Sunday. 

Summary:

Despite our black flags and kill switch issue we managed 319 laps (one more than last time at HPR!) which was good enough for third place in class A and eighth place overall.  This was our third event of the year and as a team and our last race of 2019. 

Future stuff:

There’s a good chance Scrappy will be largely remade in our offseason.  While things haven’t been finalized there isn’t much off the table at this point.  We also have a mostly Lemons-ready E30 to work on and are hoping to run along with Scrappy next year.  After three races we have a few sets of half-worn tires we’re looking forward to finishing off on open lapping days.  I do believe we will be trying out a different tire for 2020.