09/11/2016
We were finally able to get this car into a race weekend with Kyle at the wheel. This was Kyle's first ever midget race. The races were Sept 3 & 4 at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL. The track is a 1/3 mile paved track that is perfectly suited for midgets. There were several good cars and experienced drivers, so we had set the goal to finish in the top half each feature race.
Sept 3
Kyle started the weekend by qualifying a very surprising 5th in his first ever oval qualifying attempt. Since it was his first race, we requested to start at the back of the heat race. The goal of this first race was to get time in traffic and passing in a race setting. Kyle finished 7th in the heat, but obviously every session is a great learning experience.
Illini Midgets runs the heats with the fastest qualifiers in heat 1 and the less fortunate qualifiers in heat 2 and then the feature starting order is basically how they finished in the first heat, with the second heat filing in behind the drivers in heat 1. Kyle started 7th and finished 6th. A very satisfying and successful run in his first race.
In the debrief after the race, we determined there were several things we needed to correct for the next day's race. The most significant of which was the fuel mixture. The car was "fluttering" very bad in the corners as it was loading up with fuel and then would not accelerate off the turns. We also found we had broken a throttle return spring that actually slowed the reaction of the throttle when he lifted off the gas. There are multiple springs on the system to ensure one broken spring does not cause the throttle to remain wide open.
Sept 4
We started the day Sunday, by unloading the car under a large shade tree outside the track entrance (yes we were true shade tree mechanics). We completely stripped the car down and began working first on the suspension. All fasteners were checked to ensure they were tight and we began adjusting the suspension based on the feel from the previous night. Normally, we would have used scales to know exactly how the car was adjusted, but that was no an option here. Once through the suspension, we literally removed each component of the fuel system to ensure there were no obstructions or issues causing the fuel issues during the previous night. The throttle spring was replaced. We determined the fuel system required an adjustment by replacing the restrictor, commonly referred to as a "pill". The pill regulates flow through a brass restrictor that is drilled with a hole of less than .100". A small adjustment of .005" makes a significant difference in how the engine runs. We just did get the car back together in time to sign into the pits and get the car unloaded for practice.
Kyle qualified 7th and was again in the fast heat. He finished 7th in the heat, but we felt another fuel adjustment was in order. In the feature, the 3rd though 6th cars ran nose-to-tail or side by side in what seemed to evolve into basically a one lane track. It appeared the outside lane from Saturday was not nearly as fast Sunday. In the end, Kyle had completed the 30 lap feature in a very competitive 6th place. We determined we had missed on the last fuel adjustment and definitely had cost some speed. Kyle had also learned to improve his lines and felt like there was now a lot more speed to be gained by the driver.
All things considered, it was a very successful weekend. Both the rookie driver and mechanic learned a lot that will apply to all future midget races. Now that we have a "feel" for what the driver wants / likes in the car, we have a whole list of things to try next time out.
Special thanks to Johnny Murdock for his support in getting this program together. Even though we had missed the fuel adjustment, the engine still ran strong with the Zero Motorsport supplied components. We know horsepower will not be an issue.
