Reno Fernley - 30 May 2009
The sharks, as we are now most commonly known, bit off more than they could chew in our third 24 Hours of LeMons race. A late departure from LA combined with a scenic tour of the central Californian mountains put us at the Reno Fernley track at about 1pm (6 hours later than planned). The paddock was already full and we ended up in a dark corner far away from LeMons HQ. We thought the turbo shark was ready for the remaining half day of practice but after we were black flagged for spewing oil all over the place, we collectively scratched our heads wondering what we missed. Several red herrings later, Mike made the discovery that the turbo was in fact boosting the crank case pushing oil out of every possible crevice on the 25 year old engine block.
Long story short, only Clay and Mike managed to get time on the track on Friday. The rest of us would have to discover its 3 dimensional wonders and blind corners while fending off the barbarian horde. Saturday started out perfectly. After two hours, we were 4 laps off the leader and I was suiting up to go out. Just as I was about to radio Clay and tell him his lap times were exceptional and that he could back off to a comfortable pace, he radioed in that he'd been hit. Then the red flags came out and the entire track came to a halt. Rumors that the shark was upside down with its guts spewed all over the track were pouring in thick and fast. Fortunately, it wasn't THAT bad but bad it still was. The bull bar re-inforced DILLIGAF CRX, having gone completely sideways in the back straight, broadsided the shark as Clay tried to aggressively power through the mess. The result was less than pretty. Retrospectively, Clay realized that it might have been better to back off when faced with a windshield full of sideways cars rather than try to squeeze through it.
As the shark was towed in, right front wheel dragging on the ground, our hopes of a good result were dashed and many thought we were out for the rest of the weekend. We surveyed the damage and quickly agreed the plan of action. Off to the pick and pull we went for a new front sub frame, right wheel strut and related acutrement. Just as the checkered flag waved on Saturday's racing, the shark was back on all fours and ready to fight again albeit with some rather enormous dents. Chief LeMons perpetrator, Jay and his tech crew inspected the car and begrudgingly agreed to let the aggro sharks race again on Sunday. However, Clay was given a red card and was ejected from the rest of the weekend's racing for his role in the "all at fault" red flag incident. Jay was less than amused by our all too fast car and all too reckless getaway driving. We got a stern talking to yet again. We took shelter in our trailers, licked our wounds and drank the night away.
Sunday, the shark ran 100% of the race and was black flag free. Mike, Antonia, Manhattan and I put down clean laps until the checkered flag dropped at 3.30pm. Our morale was further boosted by the many compliments from fellow teams who were genuinely surprised to see the shark swimming on the track after Saturday's eventful crash. The mood was mixed at the awards ceremony having placed in the bottom quarter of the 102 car pack but valuable lessons were learned and the team will be back in Buttonwillow and Thunderhill with a new attitude towards ENDURANCE racing.
The Shark Gets A Taste For Blood
Los Angeles - 19 May 2009
With less than a week to go to our third 24 Hours of LeMons race, the turbo shark is ready to hunt. For the past four nights, I have been arriving home after midnight looking dirtier than a coal miner. So dirty that it takes me 30 minutes in the shower with a brillo pad to get most of the dirt off. The turbo, now completely operational, is louder than the exhaust at full boost. The blow off valve sounds like a steam train slowing to a stop. At 2,000 RPM, the turbo is fully spooled up allowing the shark to lunge forward ferociously. We ran the car twice in the neighborhood both times drawing confusion and fear amongst innocent bystanders as they took cover from the bizarre sight and sound of the approaching turbo shark.
Yesterday, while Clay and I worked out issues in the cooling system, the shark attacked. In a moment of crossed synapses, Clay put his hand too close to the shark's mouth (the radiator fan) and the shark bit him. Four hours and thirteen stitches later, Clay returned to the scene of the crime sporting two tusk like bandaged digits on his right hand. And the work carried on...
We still have odds and ends to take care of, but the shark is itching to feed. Keep an eye out for her as she arrives to her new hunting ground in Reno next weekend for the 24 Hours of LeMons Goin' For Broken race.
Los Angeles - 05 May 2009
In true peasant style, nothing has been done that can't be done much much later. The ambitious turbo upgrade is... well... still ambitious. Much of the team continue to neglect the outstanding work in hopes that another teammate will suddenly freak out and do it all in a fit of 24 hour madness. It's like a game of chicken. How close can you get to the race without being ready? Read about the detailed build update here and the detailed banned technology here
Los Angeles - 23 Mar 2009
The coveted banned technology award is in our crosshairs. But maybe, just maybe I got a little carried away. After all, it is the 24 Hours of LeMons and not the 24 Hours of Lemans. At first, I thought about a paintball gun trained on tailgating cars that fires when they get too close. After I realized that might seriously piss off a bunch of unsuspecting pedestrians as we drive through the pits, I thought twice of it. I settled on some slightly less menacing toy sharks set up on the trunk lid to turn and face the enemy eyes glowing with LEDs when they get too close. Not quite as punchy as automtatic weapons but hopefully entertaining all the same. That's where it started.
Then I wanted to add a wing. I figured I could take the low tech bowling ball idea used by the Faster Farms Plymouth at Thunderhill and add some high tech to it. After all, I am technology person; how hard could it be? Measure the g forces and braking inputs and move the wing accordingly. So I set that up too.
After a couple of runs around Hollywood, I noticed how interesting all this braking and g force data was. Could be kind of interesting to graph it on a chart. Why not send it to a server so I can look at it from a website? And there began the slippery slope. Many a night up passed 3am writing software code and assembling what many have thought looks like a home made bomb. In the end, I've built an entire real-time telemetry system for our cuddly little shark car. Read here for the full account on this out-of-control sub-project: http://www.ianwood.com/news/story.asp?sid=36.
Los Angeles - 01 Mar 2009
Relax, it's just a Photoshop drawing and not much more. But now that I've figured out you need a specific aluminum filler wire to MIG weld aluminum alloy, it's only a matter of time before this becomes a reality. Not shown is the turbo freak show that will protrude from the hood as I currently have no idea how freakish it is going to look yet. Don't you just love the wind flow lines I've added! My amateur fluid dynamics modeling tells me this is exactly how it will work. Yup. Figure it adds +30hp in looks alone. And at 24 Hours of LeMons speeds, I am sure it will make a huge difference! Bwaah!
