wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 05:53 PM
TFA West Labor Day Full Race Report
First a little background, I've been running in the local Summit Series at Infineon Raceway all season. The race on Labor Day was the last points race this season. Going into this race, I was 4 rounds ahead of my buddy, Trace. The only way for him to catch up was for me to go out in the first round and for him to win the race. So, if I made it past the first round, that guaranteed me the track championship.
It was butt hot here on Sunday. (Well in local terms anyway) Sunday night wasn't much cooler for me in my house. So, I tossed and turned until 3AM when I finally feel asleep from sheer exhaustion. Unfortunately, I had to get up at 6am to get to the track in time. (OK, so I like to get to the track a little early.) Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how freakin tired I was already as I pulled into the track on Monday. It was not a good omen. (dum....dum....dummmmmm)
  
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 05:55 PM
The first pass off the trailer:
Normally, we don't get our first pass until around 10am. This time, there weren't as many Street ET and Pro ET cars, so our first pass was at 9:19am. It was already 85 degrees at the track at 9:19am!!! I went off and made the following run in the left lane:
R/T - 0.044
60 ft - 1.505
330 ft - 4.073
1/8 mi - 6.229
1/8 mph - 113.78
1000 ft - 8.112
¼ mi - 9.729
¼ mph - 138.78
It felt OK, and I got back to my pits and noticed that my 60-ft was slower than I'd like. I ran 8.0 psi in the rear tire this pass. I decided to go up to 8.5 psi during the next pass. I figured that my rear tire was hooking up too well, which was causing my motor to bog down a bit on the launch.
Also, I saw that my reaction time kinda sucked the big one. (At least in my book.) I'm usually pissed at myself if I don't cut a light under a 0.030. The 0.044 would be OK at the local race, but it's still not as good as I wanted it to be. (By the way, we run a 0.400 Pro Tree here.)
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 05:57 PM
Qualifying pass #2
So, I add ½ a psi in the rear tire and fill up my air shifter bottle back up to 120 psi. I put in another quart of fuel in my tank and chalk up the wheelie bar wheels, and I'm ready to make the next pass. We make the next pass at 11:15AM, and the temp in my shaded pit area is now 92 degrees. Yes, it was much hotter in the sun and in my leathers. I still managed to pump out this run in the right lane:
R/T - 0.057
60 ft - 1.484
330 ft - 4.016
1/8 mi - 6.152
1/8 mph - 114.47
1000 ft - 8.018
¼ mi - 9.620
¼ mph - 140.33
It looked like my setup choice worked. My 60-ft time improved, and it brought my ET down to 9.62 seconds. That was good, but I was pissed at myself still because my reaction time got worse. That lack of sleep was really hurting me on this day. (dum...dum...dummmm)
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 06:00 PM
Qualifying Pass #3
I decided that the 60-ft was good (for me anyway), but my experience told me that it was a little too good for the current track conditions. I needed to back it off just a gnat's ass to make my runs a bit more consistent. Luckily, they had time to give us another qualifying hit before eliminations.
This time, I went down to 8.25 psi. They call us up to the staging lanes at around 12:15. We stand out there in the heat for half an hour while the track crew took a lunch break. (Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.) I figured that I might as well make the best of it while they were taking a break, so I figured that I would get a good look at the track. So, I walk over to the launch area. I was shocked to see the left lane just full of a bunch of slippery oil droplets. (freakin cars!) So, I decided to move to the right lane for this last qualifying hit.
We finally got a run in at 12:43 pm. By then, my thermometer in the shade showed 96 degrees. I ended up with this run:
R/T - 0.050
60 ft - 1.497
330 ft - 4.032
1/8 mi - 6.166
1/8 mph - 114.10
1000 ft - 8.035
¼ mi - 9.642
¼ mph - 139.82
OK, the change in tire pressure did exactly what I wanted it to. This meant that I was in total control of my setup today. That doesn't always happen. Sometimes the track conditions are so weird that I get totally lost in my setup and just cross my fingers going into eliminations. This time, I felt good about my setup. Unfortunately, my reaction times didn't inspire a lot of confidence. (dum...dum...dummmmm)
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 06:03 PM
Elimintations: Round 1
So, I pick up the ladder and notice that I had the guy who beat me in the last race in the first round. Normally, I'm pretty confident racing him, but my reaction times told me that I shouldn't take anyone lightly today. I went ahead and dialed a 9.64. My better qualifying spot gave me lane choice, and I chose the less-oily right lane. He dialed an 11.35, so I did a mental note on how long it would take before my light came down.
I do my burnout and slowly work my way up to the line. I take my time in order to give him enough time to deep stage like he normally does. (I never want to be the guy that needs to play the staging games to mess with people's heads.) After I see his top bulb turn off, I get on two-step and push my bike forward to stage. He launched, and a short time later, my light goes, and I launch. I know that if everything went the way it should for him, I should pass him a little after the 1000-ft mark. Instead, I pass him at half track and just reduced the throttle to make sure that I didn't break out. I crossed the line and saw my win light turn on. I get off the track and take my gear off so that I can at least cool off during my ride back to the pits. My buddy, Trace passes me after his run giving me a thumbs up letting me know that he won his round too.
I look at my time sheet and notice that my opponent beat me on the tree. He cut a 0.039 light to my slow-ass 0.049. Whew! That could have been ugly. I went over and shook his hand and said, "Nice run, dude. Did you miss a shift or something?" He tells me that his motor was misfiring even during the burnout. I don't usually like to win like that, but I'll take it.
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 06:05 PM
 Edited By: wannabe on 7 Sep 2004 19:06
The realization sets in
So, I'm writing in my log book, and I see my buddy, Trace come towards me. He sticks out his hand and says, "Congratulations." Then it hit me. I sealed the deal. I was now officially the 2004 Infineon Raceway motorcycle champ!!! Go TFA West!!!
But, I was too tired to really enjoy it. I was so ready to pack up and just take off right then and there. I did what I needed to in order to protect my lead in the points. I was done...physically and mentally.
But, then I noticed that I was paired up with the #1 qualifier in the second round. He had a bye in the first round. I was not about to give him a freebie. I figured, what the heck. One more round, and I was in the money. Let's see if I can suck it up and keep going.
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 06:09 PM
Eiminations: Round #2:
So, I sucked it up and dunked my head in my ice chest to cool off. I go talk to my opponent. He's a cool guy, and I've raced him before. But, usually, I'm cutting better lights that he is. Not today. Today, he's cutting lights that are two hundredths better than mine. He asked if he could have the right lane. I agreed. I left my dial alone at 9.64, and saw that he dialed a 10.12.
In the staging lanes is where I had my TFA moment.  Right when they announced, "Motorcycles, suit up!" I felt a little breeze after I pulled up the zipper of my leathers. I looked down and noticed that the zipper was broken. My fat gut broke the zipper. I pulled the zipper up and down a few times hoping that it would magically heal itself. No luck. So, I just tucked the two sides together and leaned down on the tank to hold the two halves together hoping that none of the track officials would notice. I did NOT want to lose because of a busted zipper. So, I did my burnout with my chest on the tank in a full tuck so that the front of my leathers would stay together. Luckily, nobody noticed.
As we staged, I must have forgotten just how small the difference is between a 10.12 and a 9.64 because my light came down much quicker than I expected, and I cut an absolutely obscene light. (Either that, or the busted leathers, distracted me.) Either way, I knew it going down the track. I ended up passing him right around the 1000-ft and let off. I knew that the only way that could happen with my shitty light was if I totally broke out or if he ran on his dial and I ran right on mine. I crossed the line and said a quick silent prayer hoping to see my win light. It was on. 
Here are the numbers from the run:
R/T - 0.091
60 ft - 1.500
330 ft - 4.034
1/8 mi - 6.171
1/8 mph - 113.96
1000 ft - 8.042
¼ mi - 9.696
¼ mph - 128.41
I was right. The reaction time sucked big green donkey dick. I lifted off the throttle right when I passed him, and I still ran a 9.696. (You can tell this by my ¼ mph.) This means that I most likely would have been right on my 9.64 number even if I didn't lift. So, it turned out ok...busted zipper and all.
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 06:12 PM
Eiminations: Round #3: The Semi Finals
OK, so this round, I noticed that I was paired up with my buddy, Trace. (Can you tell that I never look ahead in the ladder. It's just one round at a time for me in my head.) He wanted me bad. I already beat him in the points. He was looking to at least salvage what was left of his ego. I wasn't about to make it easy for him no matter how tired I was. Trace has been bracket racing for over 20 years. He was the one who got me started, and he has been helping me every step of the way. Most of what I know now, I learned from him. Now it was time for Grasshopper to grab the pebble out of his hand.
So, I'm now sitting in my trailer in my underwear busting my ass trying to fix the zipper on my leathers. The thermometer in my trailer is reading 100.6 degrees. So, add the stress of trying to jerry-rig my leathers in time for the next round to the three-digit heat, and Aris is now sitting in a big puddle of sweat.
Thank goodness I have perforated leathers. I notice that the zipper just wasn't coming together at the bottom 2" of the leathers. So, I put a small tie wrap just above that spot and the zipper held. Whew! Now on to the business at hand.
It was hot. This means that the motor is not going to run as well. I thought about slowing my dial down to compensate. I figured maybe a 9.67 or 9.68 would do the trick. But, I decided against it and just left my 9.64 alone. I noticed that Trace was dialing a 9.42. Cool. That meant that I would leave first.
I have raced Trace a million times before. He has much better 60-ft times on his bike. So, what usually happens is that I launch, he launches and passes me, then I chase him down the rest of the way. This time, I launched, and he launched but didn't pass me. I had half a bike length on him at the 330 cone where he usually has the lead. I figured that he must have cut a bad light. I start pulling away from him and lift off the throttle right around the 1000-ft mark. I cross the line first and see my win light.
Here are the numbers:
R/T - 0.013
60 ft - 1.526
330 ft - 4.071
1/8 mi - 6.213
1/8 mph - 113.87
1000 ft - 8.088
¼ mi - 9.714
¼ mph - 133.87
During the staging, I 'took a bite' at the light. For those of you who don't know, this means that after I turned on my bottom stage light, I inched forward a couple inches in order to help my reaction time. You really have to be careful when you do this because it affects your ET also. But, I knew that I needed to cut a good light to beat Trace. It worked. I was happy to see that I cut a good 0.013 light to his 0.041.
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 07, 2004 06:15 PM
The Finals:
OK, in the finals, I'm paired up with a guy who usually has my number. He seems to kick my ass just about every time we line up next to each other. So, just like with Trace, I knew that I had to do my job against him.
He always prefers the right lane, so I let him have it, and against my better judgment, I left my dial at 9.64. I knew that I should have dialed softer. I also thought about adding another quarter to half a psi in the rear to compensate for the changing track conditions. With the added rubber on the track combined with the heat, I thought that there was a possibility that I would bog off the line. I just shrugged and left my setup alone. That was the wrong thing to do.
I get up to the line and slowly stage again giving him time to deep stage too. I knew that he dialed a 12.03, so I knew that I would be waiting a while to go. I get on the limiter and push my bike in. He launches, and I see his side of the tree go red. Wahoo, free pass! Let's see if I can still run him down.
Even though he went red, I was not about to give up a free run for my logs to verify whether or not I guessed correctly with my setup. Since I knew that I already won, ran it out all the way to the end and came out with this run:
R/T - 0.042
60 ft - 1.543
330 ft - 4.142
1/8 mi - 6.302
1/8 mph - 113.11
1000 ft - 8.191
¼ mi - 9.817
¼ mph - 137.92
It turns out that I was right. I should have bumped up the rear tire pressure a bit. I bogged enough off the line to slow my 60-ft down by a lot which dropped my ET by over a tenth off my dial. Whew! I so would have lost if he didn't go red. I shook his hand and he smiled because he knew it too.
I was happy to get this one. I have given away three races this year because I went red. One of them was even in the finals. So, I don't feel bad at all about winning this one this way.
So, I was now track champ, and I won the last points race with authority. Plus, I got another $250 for my race fund. What was the only thing on my mind? "Pack your shit and get in your air-conditioned truck!"
The track championship means that I now get to race in the Division 7 'Race of Champions' at the Summit Finals down in Bakersfield in October. I will be racing against all of the other champions from all of the other tracks in Division 7. Mental note: get more sleep the night before the race.
That's it. I hope you're weekend was as good as mine.
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zxboy
Expert Class
Posts: 292
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posted September 07, 2004 06:54 PM
Congratulations Aris !!!!!
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entropy
Moderator
Posts: 8671
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posted September 08, 2004 01:15 AM
Congrats Wannabe!!!!!!!
GREAT blow-by-blow action reporting!
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This moderator uses moderation in moderation
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MadMike
Moderator
FEAR THE BLACK FLAG!!!!!!!!
Posts: 6579
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posted September 08, 2004 04:33 AM
CONGRATS STUD!!!! Your doing awsome!!!! great race report!!
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200-MPH CLUB MEMBER!
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zrxdean
Needs a job
Posts: 2225
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posted September 08, 2004 06:49 AM
Good job, congrats. Do you get a gold card?
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wannabe
Pro
Posts: 1931
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posted September 08, 2004 10:52 AM
Thanks, everone! I still insist that you guys helped me quite a bit along the way, and I still have a long way to go.
Dean, nope. No gold card until I win the Summit Finals next month.
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draggsxr1000
Expert Class
Posts: 190
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posted September 08, 2004 03:05 PM
give it up for tfaaaa
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RedBull
Expert Class
Posts: 406
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posted September 09, 2004 09:12 PM
Red light . . .
quote:
Thanks, everyone! I still insist that you guys helped me quite a bit along the way, and I still have a long way to go.
Dean, nope. No gold card until I win the Summit Finals next month.
Until you win ?
Don't red light again . . .
Thanks for the NMRA Sacto. WIN . . .
I needed that race for the NMRA points !
We'll have a lot of bikes in Bakersfield . . .
Red, *<(:{)-
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1998 Prostar West Super Gas top ten.
1999 Prostar West Super Gas Champion !
2000 NMRA / Prostar Pro E/T runner up.
2001, 2002, & 2003 NMRA Pro E/T Champion !
2004 #3, 2005, & 2006 NMRA Pro E/T runner up.
2007 Pro St. Legal #6, NMRA Pro E/T Champion !
2008 Motorcycle Drag Race Assoc. SS Champion !
www.dragbike.com - www.MDRA4U.com
www.PMRcomponents.com www.NAARDEN.biz
Photos by www.HooliganUnderground.com
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