My first prosolo story!

July 20, 2010, 10:38:51 PM

This was quite an experience, I must say! It is quite a challenge when you are technically racing somebody at the same time, launching off a tree (dragstrip start).

Friday was the check in and tech inspection, along with practice starts. I got there early since I was working tech(about the best job there is since you dont have to do anything the rest of the event, lol)

Saturday started the event and the first session - 4 runs (two on each side) resulted in an off course, two red lights and a 32.472 second time, and all the car wanted to do was drift. Had the settings on the car so screwed up that all it wanted to do was go around, so needless to say, I was dead last and had to make up time in the afternoons 2nd session.

The second session, I tightened up the front shocks and added some air all around in the tires, adding more in the front. Tires were rolling way too far, even starting with 47psi. On to the runs. I was careful on the tree and had a pair of .700 lights (.500 perfect) and one shorter and one longer light I believe. Had 4 decent runs in this session(a 31.788, 32.082, 32.238, and a 32.106. The car still wanted to go around itself, but not nearly as bad, but my car is just not able to get around better prepared awd cars, mainly because its 2wd, heavy, and just plain doesn't have the technology all these new evo's and subarus have. So I still was last in class, but I was putting on a show, since I was out launching some of the awd cars!

Sunday brought the last session of runs. I decided to get drastic on car settings. Seriously stiffened up the front shocks, loosened the rear shocks to keep the axle planted, and raised the front tire pressure to 50psi cold(early in the morning before the sun managed to really heat the tires up affecting pressures). This resulted in a car that no longer wanted to go around itself, but it still occasionally did, but no where near what it was the day before. Ran a half second faster or more on each side which resulted in times of 31.296, 31.662, 31.568, and a DNF. The dnf was my last run, and that was rather interesting. The run felt great and I knew it was going to be a fast run if I kept it up, well when I got to the corner to start the turn around, I started getting into the corner great, and then all of a sudden something went bang, and it seemed like the whole weight of the car went onto the drivers front tire, and not knowing what happened, I pulled off and stopped not knowing weather it broke a spring, tire went flat, wheel studs broke, or what happened. Turned out the sway bar end link failed. The washer that holds the polyurethane bushing pushed over the spacer between the sway bar and the a-arm. When that happens some WIERD shiznit happens!! :shiznitbricks:

Here are the second and third session runs in video form for your viewing enjoyment, and to sort of explain the format of a pro solo over a normal local event.
2nd runs

3rd runs

Then, after all dads runs are done, he comes back and asks me if I signed up for the bonus challenge that I didnt know about. My cars broken at this point, and have less than 20 minutes to fix it. He tells me to go get signed up because I have no chance If I dont get signed up. By the time I get back after signing up, he's already got the swaybar link bolt out and we find some washers to put in there to get it back in buisness in case I get picked.
You have to be present to be picked, and we get there with about a minute to spare, and turns out I am the 3rd drawn out of the hat!! Now I have to rush back to the cars to rip the stickers off dads car and put them on mine(since I didnt know there was anything else going on, my dumbass ripped all the stickers off my car

) Also had to put my car numbers back on. The only thing I'm glad of is I didnt rip the tirerack decal off my windshield!!! I get up there, and find out this race is run off a dial in - what you have run earlier in the competition runs is your dial in.
Anyways, my first match up is against a 65-70 year old woman driving a lotus elise. What threw me in this race was the fact that the lotus actually got the handicap launch off the tree(the lotus left first) so I have to run down a lotus around corners :o The first run didnt go very well, bogged the launch and ended up .3 seconds back. Switched sides and made sure not to bog the launch, and managed to make up .4 seconds and won by .1, and I said to myself holy shiznit :bowdown: Got back in line knowing my car had just started going into fuel starvation just over a 1/4 tank thinking GREAT. Knowing there is no way for me to get any fuel being my dad is working out on course, and not having ANY fuel in the car hauler. Would have to borrow some.
Next race is against an a stock porshe. Not exactly sure what it was, but I think he was leaving after me, but I got to the turn around and didnt see him, I kept going in case I just didnt see him, and find out after the run he red lighted and was like DAMMIT, that was just that much extra fuel I didnt need to use.
This brought me into the final against charina hansen, in her uncles ep civic. Knowing I was on the drastic edge of fuel starvation(knowing this would make me have to change another head gasket), and being nervous, I must've ended up getting staged a little deeper than normal, and I red lighted a .438 light :punchballs: Probably better for me knowing my car didnt get hurt from having major lean issues under 25psi of boost coming off a corner and having to lift in the middle of ANY straight after it lean popped out the exhaust. Unfortunately, I didnt know theyd be taking pictures afterward, but It would've been sweet if I had gotten my TBird in that picture! The prize (one free prosolo entry) truthfully would have been worth it for the picture in a magazine, but it still wasnt worth having to change another head gasket, so I keep telling myself I redlighted on purpose :rofl: