"Live" from Norwalk 2014

[Ken Miele]

Last batch...

[Ken Miele]

John DiBartolomeo from Drag Racing Action Magazine sent me some great actions shots.

[Ken Miele]

One more...

[Michael Beard]

Originally Posted by Jack Matyas

My pit for example is on the 1/2 and 1/2 side but is at the end of the track - quite a ride to the staging lanes - better charge up the battery because it will be hot when you get to the lanes .

Look for an issue with the cooling system, or you may have it too lean. We were also parked down in the very last section of the pit. It's a virtually straight shot to the staging lanes, with only one little jog to make. The Stocker was at 125 degrees when I got to the lanes each time, right where I wanted it, and the Super Stocker I had to either warm up more when I got to the lanes, or not run the fan on the way to the lanes. (The first run, it did get to 160, but the water pump wasn't running at all due to a blown fuse. Thanks to Ciaravino who had a spare in the lanes!)

I wanted to say a big thank you to Eddie Bolton for this weekend. I broke the sprag in the trans on the first pass (one of the few things that wasn't new on the car this weekend!) I figured I was done for the weekend, and was trying to formulate plans to get it fixed in time for the World Footbrake Challenge at Bristol this week. After Q2 was over, he suggested that the car would still physically move, and just drive it down the track to scale and fuel check to get on the sheet, and then he'd put his spare in that night. My car is a #$*&^#$ nightmare to work on, but with a lift, the right tools, and an experienced transmission guy, Eddie made it look like a breeze. Thanks also to Terry Knott for the extra muscle getting the trans in/out.

Thanks to Ray Thurston for the pic! (and to Kenny for the other pics posted on this thread!)



Tidbit of trivia... the cars I ran in *Stock* were dialed 8.69, 9.40, and 8.70.

[RonTheAnnouncer]

For future reference for those going to a race at Norwalk, the cell service there is sketchy at best and horrible most times. My Verizon phone had good signal, but I have a dumb phone and don't need the 'net. I had several Sprint users at the Bud Gate telling me their phones were useless. The closer to the starting line it is, the worse it is. When I'm in the tower with all of the electrical interference I've got about a 50% chance of getting calls.
I stood at the Rt 601 (Bud) gate the whole weekend as "Bud Gate Traffic Control" and didn't see a single pair of cars go down the track. I did, however, get the occasional whiff of nitromethane when one the wind was blowing right when the A/Fuelers warmed up.