Saab wins at Iowa!

No not ours, but the Team Cougar Bait Saab 9-3 that was right next to us in the pits.

After building their car in the paddock at Brainerd a few weeks ago and going on to finish top ten in the Sunday race there, they did little to the car in the interim. Fortunately their Saab was pretty reliable. They did have to replace a serpentine belt or two, but they soldiered on. A late race gas stop by the leading B.A.R. BMW 325 allowed the Cougar Baiters to move into first. A late race charge by the Tubby Butterman BMW 325 kept nicking at the lead, but at the end the Cougar Bait Saab took the checkered flag only 40 seconds ahead of the Butterman gang.

A well deserved win, and worthy of a true Chump team.

Our race ended early

I'm a couple of days late in following up on our activities, but it has been hectic.

With Jesse behind the wheel in the early morning hours of Sunday, about 3:30, the temp gauge climbed into the red. He brought the car into the pits, but what crew that was there at 3am could not see anything wrong so sent him back out. Bad decision made when tired. The temp gauge went back to normal because there was no water in the system. The head gasket had given up its assigned duty and was allowing water into the cylinders. Our race was done.

Still, the Saab ran exceptionally well for its first time out. We were happy with the brakes and the tire wear, and there seemed to be plenty of torque. Not quite like having a turbo, but good enough to worry the V6 drivers.

The race was red-flagged at 4am due to the threat of severe thunderstorms. Organizers threw the flag before the wind and rain started to allow everyone to pack up their pits and EZ-Ups. There was a 6am drivers' meeting, and racing re-started about 7. It was decided to throw the checkered flag at 12 Noon sharp, so the race length was really about 20-and-a-half hours.

Fart-hinder racing was credited with a 12th place finish, barely in the top half of the 24 starters. A couple of cars that had had more problems but were able to keep running moved ahead of us in the standings late in the race, one with only about ten minutes remaining.

Now we need to decide if we are going to do this again. We have the car, we have the enthusiasm. Do we have the time, or the money?