The Last Waltz -- A DW '14 Adventure

[MR P-BODY]

As of a short time ago... I was told on another post that Jenny said there
is 316 cars at the moment
Edit
Larson showed up a short time ago with his new S-10... still never
been down the track but will run it later today

[TheSilverBuick]

Speedy, you got a trailer! The time saved will add to your enjoyment experience I'm sure!

[38P]

Great Bend, KS -- September 11

The adventure blogging thing did work out. Apparently Bangshift's software and my Android-powered mobile telephone don't get along well (threads over one page lock up).

At this point in DW, fatigue predominates. Operating on minimal sleep, even some of the most ordinary activities take extra concentration. For those teams who have fought the mechanical demons (their stories are widely reported elsewhere and I've got nothing profound to add), I imagine they're running on "impulse power" . . . sheer will.

On the other hand, I may not have much insight into the typical DW experience. I haven't rushed everyday to a cushy motel (not that there's anything wrong with that). I'm not battling for any honors. I can run longer than 100 miles at a time and I've avoided major mechanical calamity.

But that doesn't make it any less fatiguing. Even mediocrity at DW takes considerable effort.

The highlights so far . . . j

Sunday -- The latch broke on the U-Haul trailer .(I don't know if any of my prior posts on this survived the Android-Bangshift feud). Finnegan confronted me about taking his photo while he was working the tech-in . . . I guess that now he's a celebrity, he's worried about the paparazzi. Or maybe he holds a grudge about my "Roadkill" comments . . . It's not important. I'm not going to use the photo.

Monday -- TRP was out of unleaded so I decided not to spray unless the car was within a half-second of where it needed to be. It wasn't. Three dampeners, no gears and green slicks slowed the car way down from what it ran at Bowling Green in 2013. I kept overdriving the car . . . missing shifts and blowing launches.

Afterward, I had to rush to the U-Haul office to swap out the broken trailer. A couple of hours later, I finally got on the road to HRP . . . already exhausted.

Tuesday -- With 100 octane in the tank and a full bottle (thanks Monte), I started sorting out the new combination. Ten or so passes (mostly without nitrous). The car simply wouldn't get back to the twelves without spray.

[38P]

A friendly Mustanger from Michigan offered his data logger and some suggestions. The data logs showed nothing amiss. Yet the car continued to bog and be very inconsistent at the launch. The 28" slicks killed thed M.P.H. Finally, the car got within a couple of tenths of its best run at Bowling Green. 60-foot times were still worse than the old combo. One racer commented that "He can't launch and he can't shift . . . . " The YouTube comments that flow during DW "garbage time" were also unsurprisingly negative.

The air conditioner stopped working.

Disappointingly, Hot Rod ignored all of my route suggestions I sent in last winter and sent us down the Kansas Turnpike . . . Getting very sleepy . . . ,

In Ponca City, it seemed to have fouled out a plug. I entertained the checkpoint crowd by turning the wrong way and then searching for the correct turn.

I got home about 1:00 a.m. At least I could get a few hours of good sleep.


Wednesday -- Friends and family made suggestions, I tried them, but more driving mistakes fouled-up some of the tests. The last two runs finally got back to around the best pass at HRP . . . still not back to where it was in 2013.

[74NovaMan]

Thanks for the update. Good luck the rest of the week.

[38P]

Great Bend,KS:

Be sure to watch the end of the feed that sadly wasn't streaming live. The last hour or so has plenty of Unlimited drama. I don't want to spoil it.

However I do need to explain one thing that may not be apparent from the video . . . . .

DW now has a rule that requires the big boys to be in line when the lanes close if they want to run. Everybody in line gets to run (where was that rule when Turk booted me out of the lanes twice last year?). But the Unlimited guys have to be staged within five minutes of getting the "call" from the lane boss (or whatever he's called). Unlimited has its own priority lane, so the five minutes don't start until the non-priority lanes are empty of cars.

A certain racer in unlimited class hot lapped his car . He pulled into the lanes with only about five minutes left. As many of his competitors jumped in to help prep . . . a complicated turnaround for a chute-equipped turbo car . . . the certain racer asked the competitors in the non-priority lanes to "use as much time as possible."

Seemingly this "stall call" mostly went unheeded as the lane boss hustled cars through the last round . . . .

But then some moron old guy who :"can't launch and can't shift" was apparently so tired and sleepy and clueless that he "accidentally" "granny-creeped" his "storebought" late model to the line, hilariously muffed his weak-sister burnout . . . and then had a whopping 19.4 second reaction time . ,. ., . Watch the video to see if the certain Unlimited racer benefited from the hi-jinks and made the five-minute deadline . . . .

[38P]

[38P]

[TheSilverBuick]

Thanks for the heads up Speedy on the "Live Feed" ending. I'll try and watch it in the morning.

[RockJustRock]

I need to watch "More American Graffitti" again.... Was there an Icelandic Blonde involved too?

Start at 21:00

[TheSilverBuick]

Great Bend,KS:

Be sure to watch the end of the feed that sadly wasn't streaming live. The last hour or so has plenty of Unlimited drama. I don't want to spoil it.

However I do need to explain one thing that may not be apparent from the video . . . . .

DW now has a rule that requires the big boys to be in line when the lanes close if they want to run. Everybody in line gets to run (where was that rule when Turk booted me out of the lanes twice last year?). But the Unlimited guys have to be staged within five minutes of getting the "call" from the lane boss (or whatever he's called). Unlimited has its own priority lane, so the five minutes don't start until the non-priority lanes are empty of cars.

A certain racer in unlimited class hot lapped his car . He pulled into the lanes with only about five minutes left. As many of his competitors jumped in to help prep . . . a complicated turnaround for a chute-equipped turbo car . . . the certain racer asked the competitors in the non-priority lanes to "use as much time as possible."

Seemingly this "stall call" mostly went unheeded as the lane boss hustled cars through the last round . . . .

But then some moron old guy who :"can't launch and can't shift" was apparently so tired and sleepy and clueless that he "accidentally" "granny-creeped" his "storebought" late model to the line, hilariously muffed his weak-sister burnout . . . and then had a whopping 19.4 second reaction time . ,. ., . Watch the video to see if the certain Unlimited racer benefited from the hi-jinks and made the five-minute deadline . . . .

I just watched it, nice job Speedy! 19.5 second reaction time, DF said its a record, and Lohnes said after 15 seconds you are usually declared dead

[andy30thz]

Looked like a nice pass tonight! 12.46 @115 ain't too shabby!

[ksj2]

No offense but beat on that car like a 2 dollar whore.You will never have transmission issues.

[cstmwgn]

No offense but beat on that car like a 2 dollar whore.You will never have transmission issues.

Everyone knows it cost more to do it with a Ford - make that a 3 dollar escort!

[TheSilverBuick]

1st Round Fodder Looking good Speedy! Nice try and the EXTRA deep stage