Fart-hinder* Racing: 10/01/2014

...and some days you just get the beer.

Photos by Jake Galstad and Tim Winker

A bit rumpled, but still racing!

Our weekend of racing at Road America nearly ended a couple of minutes after the green flag fell.

It could have ended a week earlier with the discovery of a transmission problem.

Instead, it ended with the Fart-Kontroll Saab 9-3 finishing both 7-hour ChumpCar races with few issues.

Getting ready for another race

Repairs were necessary to the 9-3 following the failure to finish at the Brainerd ChumpCar race in August. The left front strut and wheel hub that ended the race for us were replaced. In addition, the aftermarket springs that had cost us penalty laps were replaced with stock springs. The Fart-hinder 900 would be sitting this race out, as the damaged transmission replacement would have to wait for the off season. John Stiller's Awesome Racing Chevy Cavalier would be the second team car. With a 4-cylinder engine and automatic transmission, it was a tortoise among a herd of hares.

Tim and Mark took the 9-3 to Brainerd a couple of weeks before the Road America race for a bit of testing. We played with the angle on the rear wing and were able to pick up several MPH of top speed. Near the end of our day, however, the brake pedal slowly went to the floor under hard braking. It was still possible to stop, but not confidently. That indicated a failing brake master cylinder.

On a Saturday with only a week to go, Tim and Mike tore into the car to repair a transmission leak, and found a bearing failure. That meant our questionable gearbox would absolutely need to be replaced. Hanover European Parts had already provided us with a spare gearbox, but it meant many more hours of work. And if the spare box had issues, we probably would not make the race.

Mark, John and Aidan joined the work crew on Sunday. While Tim replaced seals in the spare gearbox, the rest of the team replaced brake pads (EBC pads from eEuroparts), the master cylinder (with a good used one thanks again to Hanover European Parts) and made other minor repairs. With many hands to hoist it into place, the gearbox was quickly installed. A damaged roll bar link kept the racer from being finished, but Mark and Mike were able to complete the job on Tuesday. A brief run down the road (damn good thing that Fart-hinder Central is on a dead end road) and the 9-3 was pronounced ready to race.

A pair of new tires were ordered for the front end, the Dunlop Direza ZIIs, to replace the two that were destroyed when the safety vehicle dragged the car into the paddock at the Brainerd race.

Saturday's race

There were seven drivers lined up for this event and we would be sharing two cars, the Saab and the Cavalier. They were Tim Winker, Mark Fitzpatrick, Mike Mandy, John and Aidan Hicks, Travis McCormick and John Stiller, owner of the Awesome Racing Cavalier. In addition, Larry and Cyndi Walter, Lisa Fitzpatrick, and Aidan's friend Sweden were on hand as crew.

Green flag, and the front bumper is still sort of straight.
Just behind the 9-3 is the Team Failcar Saab 900 Turbo.

Tim was the first driver for the 9-3 and joined the 80 car field on a very chilly, rain dampened track for the warm up laps. As soon as the green flag fell, he took advantage of the turbo engine's torque and passed a few cars. His intent (so he claimed later) was to just get used to the power and handling of the car, which he had not yet driven in a race. He passed a much slower car entering the Carousel, lifted for the turn, and the rear end snapped loose. He tried to regain control, but instead found himself on the wet grass sliding toward the Armco barrier on the inside of the turn. The front bumper slapped the Armco, the car spun around, but the engine was still running so he got back on track and headed for the pits.

Tandem drifting, the start of the first lap spin. The Swiss
Cheese car just ahead also tried to spin in the Carousel.

The damage appeared to be only cosmetic so Tim went back on the track for nearly two hours, coming in a littel early during a full course caution. He was informed that he was close to being black flagged because the brake lights were on all the time. It took awhile, but an adjustment to the brake light switch at the pedal took care of the problem.

Mike went out for his 2-hour stint, then turned the Saab over to Mark. A few laps later Mark was back in the pits complaining that the turbo had no boost. The wastegate had become disconnected so the turbo was not creating boost pressure into the intake as it should. Aidan found the problem, made a quick fix, and Mark was back on track, shaving 10 seconds off his earlier lap times.

Since Travis somehow twisted his back early Saturday and was in too much pain to drive, John Stiller took the final stint in the 9-3, bringing it home under the checkered flag. We were officially classified as 37^th place, 16 laps behind the winner. The replacement gearbox worked great, shifting as smooth as butter, even on those occasions when the driver clicked into 2nd gear to pull through The Bend after The Carousel.

The Awesome Racing Cavalier being hounded by the IROC Camaro that eventually won on Saturday.

The Awesome Racing Cavalier kept a slow but steady pace to be classified in 41^st place. Aidan and John Hicks took time behind the wheel of the Chevy to get used to the 4-mile Road America track. Mark brought the car home. Brake pad wear was an issue, but not as bad as at Gingerman Raceway earlier in the season.

Sunday's race

The Trav-Am had problems with shifting
and ignition, and only ran a few laps.

Travis had hauled his Pontiac Firebird to the track just in case it was needed. With the consent of ChumpCar officials, it was decided to race that car instead of the Cavalier on Sunday. Travis's back was still giving him trouble, so John Stiller took it out on the track first. Unfortunately the automatic transmission did not want to shift into high gear, so it came into the pits after a couple of laps. They were unable to find the problem, and eventually the Trav-Am would not run at all.

The Cavalier was again put back on track, with consent of ChumpCar officials, of course. Since it took to the track about an hour after the start of the race, and was one of the slower cars on the high-speed course, it was never a threat to the race leaders.

As if to protest its early relegation to paddock queen, the Cavalier started to overheat. It turned out to be a stuck thermostat. The offending thermostat was gutted (because you need some restriction in the cooling system) and the Cavalier went back on track with John Stiller at the wheel. He tried to calm it down... kind of like the guy talking to his iPhone 5 in the iPhone 6 commercials.

Aidan gets ready for his first laps behind
the wheel of the 9-3 at Road America.

In the meantime, Aidan Hicks was first driver for the day in the 9-3. After his two hours he turned it over to his dad, John. The only real issue of the day was when the ABS cable from the left front brake wore through due to contact with the front axle and the anti-lock brakes quit working. This meant that the rear brakes would lock up during hard braking, but careful modulation kept that to a minimum. Tim put in his two hours without incident, and Mark brought the Saab home for a 31st place finish, 19 laps behind the race winning MR2.

Thus ended our fifth season of racing crap can Saabs. We got involved during the first season of ChumpCar racing at Brainerd with drivers Darrell Peterson, John Hogdal, Greg Wold and Tim Winker. There have been plenty of other drivers since then, and several races each year. Plenty of highs and too many lows, but a lot of fun along the way.

We are already making plans for 2015, with a couple more drivers planning to join the team. In addition to the usual races at Brainerd and Road America, we are considering racing at other tracks in the Midwest. Work has already started on prepping both the 9-3 and 900 for another season of endurance racing. There is even a possibility that the 900 may see action in an ice race or two during the winter months.