The first weekend in August finds us back in the little dragster at Sacramento Raceway.
This race offered 3 qualifying passes before the eliminations began.
First round of qualifying was pretty good running a 9.21. Second round of qualifying was even better at 9.18. But the third round was bad….really bad as the car seemed to have idling problems after the burn out. Randy launched the car and about 1000 feet out heard a squeaking noise and a loud clunk. Randy shut the car off and let her coast to the end. We knew watching that there was a problem also as the car blew a large puff a smoke as it rolled past the finish line.
Returning to the trailer the guys began the inspection. First item they found was the belt was missing to the oil pump, not a good sign as obviously something had gone through the pump to lock it up. Upon further dismantling of the engine to see what had happened they found large chunks of metal in the oil pan which was not a good sign either. Finally they got the pistons out and found that the number 3 piston was dead, melted, blown out and destroyed. This accounted for what went through the oil pump and the metal in the oil pan.
With much disappointment we rolled her back into the trailer. There will now be a major rebuild before she returns to the track, a new bore on the block, new pistons and sleeves and at least one exhaust and intake valve. We also need a new oil pump and get the injectors flowed.
This was the last race of the season for the little dragster so it will give us some time to get her ready for the next season which starts on January 1. Maybe Santa will bring some new pistons…if your really good.
June 19-20, 2009 - Dragster
Well I am sure that Randy will tell you that the best gift for Father's Day is a weekend of racing so that's what he got. The weather was really nice for racing low 80's and a breeze. Both Cory and Brandi spent the weekend with their dad at the track so that made it extra special too.
Although we didn't win the race we did run the fastest time yet in the little dragster a 9.01 and 148 mph. We were very excited to see those numbers come up on the ET board. In fact it hooked up so good that it picked the front wheels off the ground on the first pass Sunday morning.
It seems that each time we take it out we gain a little ground on making her run better.
Congratulations Green Motorsports...and Happy Father's Day Randy!
Brandi and Cory at the track with dad for Father's Day
May 17, 2009 - Dragster Wow is it hot! The overnight low was a balmy 65°. An early morning start at the Green house as we headed to the track around 7am for another day of racing. First round of qualifying was at 9:30am and it was already 90°. The car ran a 9.24. A very good time taking into consideration the heat we are dealing with. First round of eliminations Cory dialed the car in at a 9.24 and Randy ran a 9.26 with a good reaction time and won the round. Great job guys! After prepping the car for the next round we all tried to find shade and stay cool however possible. Cory tried to take a nap but it was to hot to sleep. We always seem to have extreme temperatures when racing, either very cold or very hot. I am still waiting for that perfect day to go drag racing! The guys say it’s always a "perfect day" to go drag racing but even they were hot! Round 2 of eliminations it was 104° and track temps over 150° but there was just a hint of air moving around. Cory changed the dial in to 9.22 and Randy ran a 9.23 almost perfect except Randy red lit at the start and was disqualified. It’s really tough to get the start right when your opposing car has a 4 second lead and your waiting on your light. But every race Randy gets more practice and experience. The car is back to running good and Cory has the dial in times nailed down so I am confident that the little dragster and Dad are going to be back in the competition by the next race.
First Round Win
Well it seems that there is always an adventure (that’s a nice way of saying something always goes wrong!) when it comes to Green Motorsports.
This is a big 3 day NHRA National Event for Randy in the dragster, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is also the first heat wave of the year hitting
We got to the track around 2:30pm on Friday afternoon to get the car through tech and get ready for a run of qualifying later that evening. It became apparent very soon after starting the car that there was a problem with the rebuilt fuel pump. The fuel pressure was dropping 40 pounds every time it was under full throttle. We got on the cell phones and started calling around to try to find a new pump. Finding a fuel pump to fit a dragster on a Friday afternoon is not an easy task. No one had one in town. So we called good ole' Summit Racing and they had one in there store in 
burn out. The car had no reverse and the trans brake wasn’t working either. Thinking quick Cory manually held the switch on the car as they backed it up on the starting line. The first qualifying run was a 9.32 ET. After returning to the trailer they found the wires that go to the trans break/reverse buttons on the steering wheel had broken off so they were repaired. The motor was also covered in oil after the run so we tried to locate the source of the leak. They siliconed the bolts on the head and we were ready for round two of qualifying. Round 2 was much better but with track temperature at the starting line at 148 degrees it’s hard to get traction. 2nd qualifying ET was 9.24.
By the time first round of eliminations came around it was really heating up and Randy was paired with a car that was given a 4 seconds head start on the line. Randy turned the red light on at the starting line and our day was finished.
But we will be back tomorrow morning bright and early for another race in the event.
Wish us luck….we could use it.
Well the good news is the new lifters arrived last Friday and the guys were able to get the motor rebuilt and back into the car in time for the race today.
The bad news is the very first run the car was having fuel problems. The fuel pressure was dropping 30 to 40 pounds in a matter of seconds. So after the first qualifying pass Cory cleaned all the injectors and the fuel filter hoping it was just stopped up but the second pass found the same problem with the car.
Returning to the trailer Cory tore apart the fuel pump itself and found that the magnets in the motor had come unglued from the side and broke one into small pieces. Well this explained the change in fuel pressure. We didn't have a spare with us so we once again were done for the day.
Someday.....we will have a spare part for everything in the trailer....someday we will run a full race without breaking something....someday that lottery ticket will hit!
Until then we will continue to get things back together and hopefully see everyone on May 16 and 17 for the next major event.
The guys decided to try some new injectors in the car to see how it performed. Saturday was a beautiful day in the high 70's so we took the little dragster to the track to test and tune with the new injectors. It took a couple of runs to get it right but again had the car running good and ET was a 9.09 and 144 mph.
But Sunday, race day brought a new day and with it a high wind advisory and some very cold temperatures. Seems like every time we have a race scheduled the weather turns cold.
After getting the car through tech the track announced that due to the very high winds and concerned about the saftey factors they would only be running an 1/8 mile race instead of the usual 1/4 mile.
First qualifying round was very good. Best times in the 1/8 mile that we had run so far. ET for the 1/8 was 5.68 and 119 mph which was about 2 mph faster than prior runs. Excited and cold we closed the doors on the trailer and tried to warm up out of the wind while we waited for the 2nd round of qualifying.
2nd round Randy did the burn out and a very loud noise was apparent. Cory listened for a moment then told Randy to shut it off and we pushed it back off of the starting line and towed it back to the trailer.
The guys went to work on the motor to locate the problem. It didn't take long to find we had broken a lifter and after further inspection also found it had also chewed up the cam shaft a bit too.
Well our day was over before it really got started. So with disappointment we loaded up the car and headed home.
The guys will have some work to do to repair the motor but with a bit of luck when they get it all apart the damage will be minimal. They are hoping there is no major damage to the head itself. They definitley need a new lifter and to re-grind the cam.
The next race in the dragster isn't until April 19th so that gives us some time to get it repaired and back to the track.
Cory begins his season with the mini-sprint on April 11th so with both cars now running full time it will really start to get busy.
March 15, 2009 - Dragster
Well when we woke up this morning the weather didn't look promising to get the race in. 40 degees, wind blowing and storm clouds looming overhead but we loaded up and headed for the track hoping it would clear. We managed to get in 2 rounds of qualifying and was in the staging lanes for round 1 of eliminations when the rains came. So back to the trailer we headed and loaded everything inside so it wouldn't get wet. We moved the lawn chairs inside the trailer and ate a bowl of chilli waiting for it to clear. In a little over an hour the rain drops stopped and with the strong winds it didn't take long for things to dry out enough to start racing again. So back to the staging lanes for round 1. Randy ran a slower than usual 9:30 due to the fact that the car was cold from sitting so long in between rounds but the opposing car turned on the red light at the start and Randy moved on to round 2.
Round 2 the car was running good, in fact it ran it fastest pass ever at a 9:09! A little too fast for our dial in of 9:18 but the other car ran too fast too and so Randy had another round in the win column. Round 3 they changed the dial in to a 9:08 and the car ran a very good 9:10 another great time for the little dragster but the other guy was just a little bit closer to his dial in and took the round.
All in all it was a great day of racing. We started with 40 cars in the field and made it to the top 10 and ran a new fast time for us. Congratulations Randy you made to to round 3 for the first time and had your quickest time yet.
See you at the next race on March 29th.
February 28, 2009 - Dragster
With the alcohol conversion complete we took the car to the track for some testing and tuning. Since the cars timing, fuel and all of the vitals are controlled by a computer, getting the mapping of that just right took some work. But after numerous passes and Cory making many adjustments, they had the car back to running 9.18 seconds. That is quite an accomplishment for one day.
Once again rain came in on Saturday night and the Sunday race was cancelled. The next race is March 15 so hopefully the weather will be sunny and the car is ready to compete.
Well several winter storms heading into Sacramento has cancelled the race this weekend. The forcast continues to be a wet one for the upcoming week also. Randy decided it is a good time to convert the dragster over to alcohol (methanol) so the down time is being put to good use. We have been running the car on C25 fuel which has been difficult to aquire and also $25 a gallon. The alcohol conversion will be a much better solution and hopefully a little cheaper to run also. Since Cory is also converting the mini-sprint to alcohol we will have one fuel for all of our cars. Hopefully the guys will have the conversion completed in time for the next race March 1st. Let's hope for a sunny day too.
February 1, 2009 - Dragster
Well we finally got the little dragster to the track this weekend. With a freshly rebuilt motor we decided to test n tune Saturday before the race on Sunday. Randy made a couple of passes and they made a few adjustments and tightened a few bolts but everything looked good for Sunday's race. Returning to the track early Sunday morning Randy took his place in line for the 1st qualifying run. Not bad at a 9.23. Second qualifying pass was better at a 9.16 but the dragster blew smoke all the way down the track all. Fearing the worst as we watched from the starting line, we jumped on the quad and went to see what had happened. After getting the car to the trailer and upon further inspection found that the oil covering the car was just because the oil was a little over filled. After wiping the car down Randy was ready for the 1st round of eliminations but on the burn out once again blew some fluids from the rear of the car (this time it was water from the overflow tank) but the crew at the track black flagged Randy for the leaking fluids and we were finished for the day. The weekend wasn't a total loss as we got in several good passes and made many adjustment to make her run better.