Testing, testing. Is this thing on?

The Saab got a workout on Friday before the World Racing League enduro, as we took to the track for some testing. Brainerd International's Performance Driving Schoool had an open track day, so we entered. Good thing we did as we found several issues.

Since Hawk Performance is the title sponsor of WRL, and we were in need of new brake pads, we ordered the Hawk Blue racing pads. They arrived on Thursday, after some odd shenanigans with attempting to order directly from Hawk. Tire Rack came through with 2-day FedEx delivery and we were able to install them before going out on track. They work GREAT! Much better than the old Metal Master pads we have used in previous seasons.

Once on the track, Tim felt a misfire above 5,000 rpm. We checked the spark plugs and wires and found two plugs that were not quite tight and a not quite snapped into place spark plug wire. The Bosch plugs of unknown age were replaced with a set of new NGK plugs and the engine now runs great!

Another problem we encountered was a sudden intermittent misfire. Mike was out for a practice session when it happened and came right into the pits. It turned out to be the negative battery cable which had apparently not been tightened properly.

Travis took advantage of the BIR Performance Driving School to get some track time in his 1984 Chevy pickup. He recently added some 50-series Dunlop performance tires and wanted to play.

With those issues on the race car taken care of, we were expecting a good start to the race. And it appears we were correct... for a change.

Drivin' a Moostang

Mark, Mike and I met up with Jasper Drengler and Brad Nelson, and had a damn good time racing Jasper's V6 Mustang at Brainerd. It was a pair of 7 hour races. We finished both days, but not without some drama.

Though Jasper had installed a surge tank to keep gasoline flowing to the engine as the tank ran down, we still had some fuel starvation issues. Tim managed to go wide entering the cloverleaf and hit a concrete berm, damaging a wheel and flattening a tire.

The 'Stang finished both days, but had to make a few extra pit stops for fuel. Jasper was the final driver on Sunday, when the V6 dropped to 5 cylinders. It slowed down but Jasper was able to make it to the checkered flag.

Results:
Saturday - 13th of 39 starters.
Sunday - 18th of 32 atarters

Ya gotta start somewhere

In order to provide up-to-the-minute action from the Fart-hinder Racing Crap Can effort, we have created a blog. You are reading it. Our intent is to keep you informed on our team as it happens.

We have had a Facebook fan page for about a month, and over 150 followers there, but viewing that is limited to Facebook users. This blog will allow anyone with Internet access to check up on the race team. It will also keep us from clogging the Facebook walls of those who are only mildly interested in Fart-hinder Racing. Look for that page here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fart-hinder-Racing/105559672821287?ref=ts

A little history: When I was visiting Sweden in 1987, walking around Gothenburg, I spied a road sign that had a couple of bumps and the words "Fart-hinder" below. I handed my camera to Tom Remedios, my traveling companion, and had him take a photo of me and the sign. After all, the phrase has a completely different meaning in English. Anyone who knows me knows that the phrase in English is appropriate.

When looking for a team name for the ChumpCar effort, I tossed out a lot of ideas to the other team members. Since our car is a Saab 900, built in Sweden, a Swedish phrase seemed appropriate. From the deep recesses of my mind came that sign in Gothenburg. Everyone agreed, it described our team on several levels, not the least of which is Scandinavian heritage on the part of most. And we are all from Minnesota, where Swedes, Norwegians, Danes and Finns are the rule.

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