Well guys, what can I say? We went into this race not knowing the track and with 85 entries, figured a top 10 or 5 finish would be good.
I drove the car 4 hours Friday morning arriving at 11am. Go thru tech to find they are cracking down on safety big time. Our lap belts were not mounted correctly. Ok we fixed that and passed tech. Now comes the BS judging. Oh they wanted to penalize us 20-30-40 laps. This car is a cheater they said. The engine is hot rodded. They got a boroscope to look thru the oil cap at the cams to see if they were new!!? Why is this starter so clean? Because I replaced it 3 races ago. Finally they give us 0 penalty laps. Thank you very much judges!
We tested on Friday for only 30 minutes and found 2 problems, one minor and one more serious. First the front rotors were warpped. No biggie. The O'Reillies near the track had 2 96 rotors for $60. And they would deliver them!! Great. Then when we refueled the car, it wouldn't start, no spark action. Oh crap the crank sensor took a dump in the 100+ degree heat. Being a SHO owner we'd brought a good sensor to put in. We don't have timing covers on so it's easier to get at but still it's a PITA to work on a hot engine. We replaced the CPS and went back to test some more only to find out the test session was over. Damn. Jay didn't get to drive the track. At least he could learn a bit while he went out first in the morning under caution.
The race Saturday was grueling 10am to 8pm. We took the doors and trunk lid off to help get as much airflow thru the car. First hour we were in 10th. Second hour 1st. Then came the first stop for gas. I go out the hot pit and look for the guy that lets you on the track at the end of it. I don't see anyone, so I gas it. About the time I get to the end the guy comes running out from somewhere off to my right. He comes to the passenger window and says, that was a little more than 10mph. I said well there was nobody here so I started to go. He said turn back down the cold pit and go to the penalty box. Oh great! I don't even get on the track for the first time and I got a BF. The judges ask me why I was speeding and I tell them what I saw. They let me go with probation. That was close, but we lost about 2-3 laps and were 4th by the 3rd hour.
I saw 115 on the thermometer mounted on the dash during my drive from 12 to 2. The oil temp was 240-250 depending on how much I revved the motor. Short shifting into 4th on the straights for a few laps would bring it down in the 230 range. But then racing hard for position with the faster cars would make it climb back up again. Water temp was never above 210. Good radiator ducting probably helped that. Cars were dropping out in the heat. Thank goodness we use a cool shirt. It's like having air conditioning. If not you can't take that kind of heat for 2 hours at a time. Every 2 hours we needed fuel and the cool shirt cooler needed ice too. We made quick stops and were back out on track in 5 minutes. At 5pm we had an 8 lap lead. By 8pm it dropped to 7.
Awesome! We bring the car into the covered garage, rotated the tires, check the brakes and all the suspension mounting bolts. The track has some high g-load turns that really put a strain on the suspension. Tires are fine. Brakes look great. Fill the car up and go back to the hotel to shower and eat. By bedtime it's midnight. Driver's meeting is at 9am Sunday, so it's up at 6 and off to the track by 7.
On the grid, the first 10 cars are placed at the front, then the rest. Had a bit of luck, 'cause the second place car #35 failed to make the grid in time so they started at the back of the field! We go green and everything is fine. It takes the 2nd place car an hour and fifteen minutes to catch and pass us. 15 minutes later they come in for gas. We come in shortly after. About 30 minutes later the 35 spins, comes in for a black flag penalty. Not sure exactly what happened to them but they were 20 minutes or so off track. At the 2:22/lap we were running they lost 8 laps to us.
Next car to worry about was the #94 BMW, 13 laps back. No sweat. We tell Jay to take it easy. He's turning fast lap times but 30 minutes later he spins! We go to the penalty box. I get there and see that Jay is getting the 3rd degree from the Chief Perpetrator, Jay Lamm, who says you just lost the race. CP says you guys get me another driver in this car with all the proper safety gear and we'll talk about it. McShit! We go back to the garage. I get suited up. By now it's 12:30. If we fill the car to the brim we can make it to the end without stopping. We are real careful to observe all the safety rules on fueling. I get back to the penalty box and they check me out. We're good to go. We lost 5-6 laps.
At the next posting of the running order, we have 7 laps on the 94 BMW, Martin tells me. So, I start driving easier. The 94 passed me twice in the last hour and a half. Our lead was 5 laps at the finish, which is 10 miles at this track.
I can't believe it. The SHO wins again?!
The incredible thing is that 6 SHO's raced AND finished! Can someone tell Ford about this?
My team was great and everyone was fast as always.
I want to dedicate this win to Sally Bulger, mother of the SHO friend we got the car from, who passed way on Sunday morning after a long illness.
