Team Lazy Racing

06/01/2022

So the good news is that we made the trip up to Watkins Glen, NY and made the double-header 7-hour race, joining over 100 other teams to compete. The car felt good, despite the rain all day on Saturday. This truly is a beautiful part of our country. Such a historic town and racetrack.

We finished Saturday’s race, but unfortunately the engine was impaired and felt down on power as the day progressed. After the checkered-flag, some trouble-shooting revealed that cylinder #4 wasn’t firing. We had spark, but no ignition. We replaced the plugs and plug wires, but our problem will have to be resolved at a later date. That being said, we did not start Sunday’s 7-hour race. So, we watched the start of the race, packed up, explored the town, had lunch on Lake Seneca, caught the end of the race, and had a relaxing dinner. Certainly is a long haul from FL to NY but we’re glad we went and certainly had a great time.

05/27/2022

It's Nate's first time at Watkins and he gets to learn the track in the rain today!

05/27/2022

And we are here!

05/23/2022

In just a couple of days the team will be heading up to Watkins Glen for a double 7+test day! Here's to hoping the car is finally ready to finish a 7hr race! Then we can work on our... excessive fuel consumption :)

05/02/2022

Confirmed the suspected alternator failure today. This was the voltage with the car running. New alternator (and a spare) are on order.

04/21/2022

Race recap at the last race ever at PBIR:

Yes, this was an unusual Tuesday race as ChampCar rescheduled the original September race weekend to April to get this race completed before the sale and closure of the facility. It was scheduled for 8-hours. Not the longest race we’ve entered but certainly an endurance endeavor.

We approached this race primarily as a test for our car and a [new] driver in preparation of the Watkins Glen race at the end of May. Tuesday’s random start had us near the back of the field at the drop of the green flag. Our little engine puts us in the same class as the Miatas, in which there were many turning fast laps. Out of the 47-teams entered, there were certainly more Miatas than any other car competing. Throughout the day, we slowly and methodically etched upward in position, eventually making our way into FIFTH overall and THIRD in class (Class A includes all those machines with an engine displacement of 1.9 liters and below.)! However, about fifteen-twenty minutes before the checked flag, our driver radioed-in that the electronics in the car were starting to act up. Then, at exactly 12 minutes before the checkered flag, [nearly] all the electronics in the car shut off right in front of the pits approaching turn One and the car coasted into a disappointing stop a couple turns later but still in view. He safely pulled off into the grass and communication eventually halted as there was no more power to run the comm system. Due to the proximity to the end of the long race, race control elected to leave our disabled race car out there so they could end under green flag conditions. Right at the very end, we lost lap after lap as the leaders powered their way to the finish in those last few minutes.

Our little car was fast and was very competitive, but never finished the race. Eventually Dave was flat-towed off the track after all the other competitors passed by the checkered flag.

We still consider this race to be successful despite the disappointing finish, or lack thereof… We had no mechanical failures and had smooth pit stops all day long. We didn’t even break any axles, which tended to plague our last car with this same exact drivetrain. 🤞Our drivers were consistent, got many quality laps, and really enjoyed themselves. We know the car is fast and fun to drive! We met some other great racers/peeps to boot!

We left the track as quickly as we could and arrived back home late last night. Our current theory is that the alternator failed, which should be fairly easy to remedy in the coming weeks. Thanks to the team for their hard work, intelligent heads-up driving, and attentive pit stops! We don’t always epitomize our team name…

-Team Lazy

12/22/2021

Thoughts on last this weekends ChampCar Bell Double 7's race. at Sebring International Raceway

Back in 2018 we retired our prior team; Catch Me if you Can Racing, and our previous chassis, the #151 Acura Integra Crapcan from ChampCar due to multiple years of use, several crashes and getting less and less competitive. We planned to build a new car, a Honda Civic hatchback, and have it done in 6-8 months by transplanting our proven powertrain in a lighter shell.

For excuses too long to discuss here, the car took much longer than expected to "complete". Early in 2021 we set a plan to get the car completed in time for the December Sebring 7's races. As the date kept getting closer, we kept getting further and further behind. After a last 2 week hail mary, we actually had a car "ready" to attend just 2 days before the race. Problem was, there was no time to "test" the car prior to the event...a risk we were willing to take.

That eventually ended both days on track earlier than we wanted, but hey, that's racing.

We are all excited by the results of this test race. The car is fast and capable of running at the front of the pack, easily.

We also uncovered some weaknesses in the car, our strategy, and our team that we will work to address.

Full dislosure of our issues that pulled us off track each day.

Issue #1 (Sat): Car losing power mid race.
This happened a few times on Saturday, we knew it was electrical or tune related. What we found and believe to be the cause was one of 2 things; 1) The O2 Sensor that came disconnected during the race, or 2) Vehicle Speed Sensor wiring issues.
Both of these were corrected at the same time we corrected Issue #2 and didn't occur on Sunday.

Issue #2 (Sat):
Midway through the 3 stint we noticed fluid on the ground after a pit stop. Pulled car behind the wall and found a very constant leakage from the transmission. We decided not to gr***de the transmission, let the car cool down and figure out the source of the leak. After we did that it was clear that it was leaking from where the case halves go together. We had rebuilt the transmission ourselves during the new car transplant/build so our fault. We decided to pull the transmission, split the case and reseal it and reinstall it Sat afternoon/evening to be able to start Sunday's race.

Issue #3 (Sun):
Drivers front left wheel fell off during second stint at T16 on the 3rd or 4th lap. Several things here, we had that wheel off during the trans repair, it was reinstalled and torqued properly. We normally check the torque at each pit stop but our driver change/pit stop was a cluster fk for several other reasons and we missed rechecking it. And lastly, after inspection of the failed components, we were using OEM style lug nuts on aftermarket wheels that clearly require and acorn style lug nut. Things missed when we upgraded to the aftermarket wheels from OEM. This put us out of the race due to fatigued lug studs that were damaged from the wheel issue and no spare knuckle/hub assembly on hand.

We are working now on correcting the issues we uncovered with the car, our pit process and strategy, spares and more.

After reviewing the race coverage and stats there is alot to be happy about.

Saturday we started 80th overall of 83 cars. With the help of some early cautions we gained 67 spots in 17 laps for 13th place overall (11th in race standings because EC cars aren't counted). By lap 22 we had taken the class lead just before the car shut off on Lap 23 and put us 28 laps down while we were trying to figure it out.

We also, had the 12th fastest lap of the day on Saturday with a 2:37.466

Sunday we started 3rd overall of 81 cars. Was 2nd overall after the first lap, then remained in the Top 10 overall (3rd place in standings because EC cars aren't counted) and held the lead in our class until the first driver change/pit stop.

We have a plan, and we'll be back on track soon!

12/22/2021

Check out our new website!

Team Laz…. Welcome to the Team Lazy Racing page. This page is under construction and will debut with awesome content in 2029. Sebring Race Recap – 12/17-12/18

12/22/2021