OK, so I was really intimidated by racing in a "Major" race. To be clear, this is a race designed to attract racers from all over the Western Region - form Washington to SoCal, and East to <who knows where>. There were two other majors this year, both of which I opted to miss.
Fontana was the first, at the end of January. I had never run a major, so I didn't know what to expect. I had never run Fontana, and though it looked like a fun track, trying to learn it and run a major all in one weekend seemed a little daunting. Then, when I found out it was supposed to rain like hell on Sunday, that put it over my risk profile. And, after looking at the rooster tails coing from some of the cars in the pictures, I felt it was a good decision. Fine. Willow Springs was next.
Anticipating the February major at Willow Springs, in January, I opted to go to an open test day there to learn the track. While it took the better part of a day to feel comfortable there. it turned out to be a HOOT!. Once you hit the back straight, you go full throttle and don't let up. At the end of the straight, there is a sweeping right turn. Instinct says "let up", but if you're doing it properly, you don't. So, you enter the turn at 100 mph, and if you keep full throttle, you exit at about 107. Yeeeeee Haaaaaaaaa!!
Unfortunately, it would have been "domestically unpopular" to be away that weekend so, despite being prepared, I opted to miss it.
So, Thunderhill was my first major. I decided that if I couldn't run a major on my "home track" (the one on which I had the most experience), then I couldn't run one anywhere. And, they were haveing two different race formats - Saturday on the 3-mile track and Sunday on the 5-mile track. I LOVE the 5-mile configuration. Most people hate it. The front side (the 3-mile) is a high speed track. But the back is a very technical track with lots of tight turns that require excellence at every turn (no pun intended... well, ok... maybe a little). And, twice on each lap, you have to change from fast to technical and back to fast.
Before the actual SCCA event, there were two open test days - Wednesday on the 3-mile, and Thursday on the 5-mile. I had planned to attend both - thinking that the extra practice would only help. But, events at home conspired to make my attendance at Wednesday impossilble. So, I drove up Wednesday and only had Thursday for practice. Fortunately, with the exception of T9 (on the 3-mile) the 5-mile includes all of the 3-mile. So, I don't lose much by only getting one practice day.
But, things don't go all that well on the drive up. Turns out, if someone has a giant wreck in the middle of 680, everyone else on the freeway is going to have a bad day.
When I arrive, I find one of the few paddock spaces left with AC power plug-ins. As I introduce myself with my neighbors, I find that on one side, they had 3 (or 4) corners of their car mangled by someone who had "dive-bombed" them in T14 (end of the back straight). They were busily fixing it so they could compete on Saturday. On the other side, there was a stock car, that apparently needed a new wiring harness to fix its issues. They had a new harness FedEx'ed up and spent most of Thursday replacing it - only to find out that their differential rotated in bad ways (front moves up along the axis of the axle), bending the roll cage.
They went home early.
For some reason, the weekend seemed to eat cars. Another car (driven by someone I've raced with) had electrical problems, and also had to go home early. And, we hadn't even finished test day.
My first session on test day wasn't the best one for me either. On my first turn, my lap timer came off the windshield, and was flopping around on the floor on the passenger's side. Turn left. Ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. Turn right. Ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. So, I pull into the hot pits and re-seat the suction cup. Fine. Back out on the track, and the fire extinguisher comes loose. Turn left. Ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. Turn right. Ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. Back into the hot pits to resecure the fire extringuisher. Back out. One good lap, then the phone holder comes loose. Turn left. Ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. Turn right. Ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. Damn. Back int he hot pits again. By the time I get back out, we get the checkered flag and the session is over.
The rest of the sessions of the day go well, for me at least.
Friday was the start of the race weekend. I had decided to race in two classes - Spec Miata (SM) and Super Touring Lite (STL). SM was combined with T3 (Touring 3), but it was mostly Miatas. STL ran in a very mixed group. But, since I was running in two classes, that meant two warmups and two qualifying sessions as well. So, Friday was two warmup sessions in the morning, which were uneventful. However, in the afternoon I began to have more trouble than usual with the starter.
Ever since buying the car, it has had starter problems. The former owner was very up front about it, saying it was likely an intermittent ignition switch. So, I had my mechanic install an auxillary push button starter button. That fixed it for a while, but it began to recur. It wasn't really a big issue - you just had to push it several times before the starter would engage. Friday, it decided to take 20-30 times before starting, but it started fine for the first qualifying session. At the end of qual, we all had to go into the tech inspection area for 30 minutes (standard procedure in SCCA Majors). When it was time to go beck to the paddock, it woudln't start - at all. A couple of guys helped me push it back to my spot.
Nothing seemed to help, so before the second qual session, a friend helped me push start it. It wasn't an easy push start, like the MG used to be. We actually had to get up a bit of speed going downhill before it actually started. He also gave me some advice: "Don't stall it!" Doh!
So, I was able to qual, but then after tech, we had to push it back again. He said the starter had probably died and just needed to be changed. So, I called O'Reilly (Auto Parts) and found they had a new starter. So, I drove into town to pick one up. I also picked up a remote starter switch, which would prove valuable later, but initially I figured it would help me mess with it under the hood.
Meanwhile, it appears that NASA has raised the bar for SCCA. After the qualification rounds are over (3:45PM) there is an announcement that there will be dinner - a BBQ - at the main clubhouse, and it's starting at 4:30. Huh? 4:30? For dinner? That's more like a late lunch!! I guess the organizers have to eat dinner at 4:30, if they're going to be in bed by 7. Yep... SCCA volunteers are THAT old. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go to the BBQ. I had car problems to fix.
It turns out that, once the remote starter swtich was connected, it became clear that it wasn't the starter. It cranked just fine. But, it wouldn't start. So, I called Ryan, my mechanic. We spent several hours trying to diagnose various things. Spark? Yep. Fuel pressure? Yep. Blown fuse? Nope (and let me just say that some of the fuses have been optimally located for lack of accessibility).
He offered to come up to Thunderhill and work on the problem, commenting that he used to do desert racing and desert racers would fix their car all night, so they could still race in the morning. Still, it was pushing 9PM, and he wouldn't get up here until about 1AM, and that just seemed too much. And, the cost of that seemed prohibitive.
He also offered to stop by my house, pick up my son's car and bring it up, and then take mine home. Again, the cost was a deterrent. And, I wasn't sure Chris would like me to commandeer his car, even though I had paid for it. I had really wanted to run a Major, but it looked like the car issues that plagued everyone else were also hitting me. <sigh> I began packing up. I guess it wasn't meant to be.
Then, Ryan called again after he ate dinner, about 9:45PM. He had an idea. Check the power at the main fuse block. Dead. Zip. Nada. OK, so now connect the positive terminal from the battery to the main fuse block with a long wire, and see if that works. Unfortunately, I didn't have any alligator clips or anything that could substitute, so this was a two-person job with only one person. Wait! There was an alligator clip on the end of my voltage test light. So, I used that to clamp the wire to the battery, and then held (with one hand) the other end on the main fuse block. With the other hand, I used the remote starter switch and IT STARTS!! So, now all we have to do is figure out why the main fuse block is not getting power.
Up goes the car on jack stands, and I began tracing wires and testing voltages. Everything looks good. So, while I haven't found the cause of the problem, I have a viable work around that means I don't have to go home. Kludgy? Sure. But, it will get me started for Saturday morning's races, and then I can make trip #2 to O'Reilly for some better materials to do a better fix.
As I leave the track, I notice the time - 11:40PM. Fortunately, I had bought some beef bits in Jack Daniels sauce at WalMart the day before. Guess that was going to tbe dinner. Cut open platic bag, microwave, enjoy the delicacy... Yummy!! In the same way that shoe leather in a nice wine sauce is yummy. (Note to self - next time, grab a few ribs from the BBQ and put in fridge for later.)
Starting the car in my paddock space before the race wasn't an issue, but I then had to put the reomte starter, the long wire and the tester (with the alligator clip) into the glove box so I could start it in the tech inspection area after the race. I got some very funny looks as I was connecting everything saying only "This is how I have to start it." Times two - once for each race.
During the first race, I ended up spinning off track in Turn 8. Fortunately, I spun to driver's left - driver's right is a rollover courtesy of a ditch. But, I'm on the better side and, after waiting for traffic to go by, I reenter the race (video). On the next lap, as I come around Turn 11, the corner worker has a debris flag out (to warn of debris on the track).
I figure some overly aggressive E46 has gone wide and dragged a bunch of rocks and dirt back on the track at the exit of the turn. Not so. (video) Hay? In the middle of the track? Who decided to come out and feed the horses in the middle of a race? About halfway down the back straight, I realize that it might have come from me, after spinning off into the cut grass on the previous lap. That's right, the rear-facing video confirms that it was indeed me that decided to feed the horses!!
After the second race, I head into town to pick up the parts I need for a better fix - alligator clips, better (larger guage) wire, an inline fuse (because you don't run unfused wires very far unless you like to live dangerously), etc. On the drive, I get a call from Ryan. He has put a Miata up on the rack at his shop, and traced the wiring. Turns out, the main hot lead goes from the battery to the starter. That was why the starter worked with the remote switch. But then, a cable runs from there to the main fuse box, and that cable had to be bad. Sure enough, when I get back to the car and check it, I find that the cable end has frayed and one by one each of the strands has broken. So, I run a temporary fix from the battery, through the passenger compartment and up to the main fuse box. I put the inline fuse right next to the battery so the rest of the wire is protected in case of a short. I opt for a 20 amp fuse, since it was a really thin wire that I did my initial testing with, and it worked fine.
The car starts. HOORAY!! I turn it off, and start it again. It starts again. HOORAY! A couple of more times and I'm pretty satisfied that my fix is working. I can do a more proper fix once the car is at home, but this will get me back in the game. I missed the STL warmup session while fixing the car, but that's OK for two reasons: 1) my car is fixed, and 2) I can use my best time from either warmup or qual for starting position in the race, and there is a qual session in the morning.
An hour later I get in to go out for the SM warmup, and it doesn't start. Huh? OK... Has to be the fuse. Sure enough, the 20 amp fuse is blown. So, I change it. It starts, and I go out for warmup.
When I come back from warmup, I check the fuse, and it's blown again. So, I try another one. I drive the car a little bit and the fuse is blown again. Crap. I guess I need a bigger fuse. So, I look up on the Internet how much load an 8-foot 12 guage wire can handle, and it's 40 amps. So, in goes a 40 amp fuse. The rest of the weekend, I have no more starting problems - not even the intermittent ones from before. It appears that the problem is completely fixed.
Sunday morning, I ran qual for both classes without any issues, though it was raining. My best time (in the rain) was about 30 seconds off my best time w/o rain. But, everyone else was in the same boat (really, no pun intended this time) so I figured it worked out. Since the race starting order was determined by your best time from either warmup or qual, I needed to go out for the first class - STL - (since I was still fixing the car for Saturday's warmup), but for the second session (SM) I had already set a much better time on Saturday than I would be able to set on Sunday in the rain so going out for qual was pointless from the perspective of starting position. But, I went out anyway for the rain practice. By the time the first race started in the afternoon, the rain had stopped and the track was dry enough to swap off the rain tires and put the dry tires back on.
The first race on the 5 mile course had more spins and off-courses than I've ever seen in a first lap of a race (video). Four. Really? Well, it turns out that, if you're used to running a fast course (like the East) and then transition to a technical course (like the West), it can be a challenge unless you have some experience (uh... like me?). So, all of their misfortunes only serve to put me further ahead. Do I win? Of course not!! I'm racing the Tortoise. Do I place? Of course not!! But, do I have fun? Absolutely!!
In the second race (SM), there is less carnage. More skilled drivers? Maybe. But in any event, the track had stopped eating cars for the weekend, and it was finally fun for all. Another clean finish and a quiet return to the paddock.
And, as it turns out, they also had shirts made up for the event.
Wait... What's that?
Nice. OK. My first major. Commemorated.
I guess that means - Been there. Done that. On the shirt!