Hi all,
Well the 2010 State title has come and gone with the following results.
Winner Gavin Davis.
Second Tim King
Third Chris Ackland
Fourth Caroline Sotirroff
Fifth Steve Crabbe
Sixth Ian Dhu
Seventh Stacey Chisolm.
First I need to apologise to Mick Doble for putting the kiss of death on him by giving him favourite status.
Secondly I must say Michael Armstrong is a man on the move in the limited sprintcar circle, he held down fourth until he got over excited coming off turn 4 for the last time and looped it.
Bad luck goes to Anthony King who melted his motor after winning the night one feature, Tim King who destroyed his car on night one and myself who lost a motor in the first heat of night one.
Tim got into night two with Anthony's car and his motor, I got in with my performance unlimited motor and no sleep.
The time trials had a best lap time of 15.110 seconds, almost a second faster than the 360's.
Our feature had a best lap of 15.080.
We continue to have more competitors in the open wheel division than the 360's and the speedcars, and given the camaraderie around the club it is easy to see why.
Close exciting racing with a mixture of new and old drivers, always forming up quickly and just getting on with the racing.
Well done to all who competed.
Catch you.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Team Crabbe talk.
Hi all
Just a little reminder that Jimmy Naylor from Naylor race engines is going to be at the state title this weekend.
Jimmy built the motor we have just installed in our J&J, and I must say it is a beast.
I have nick named it Physco, you stand on the pedal and it just spins up, we were wheel standing coming off the turns in Bunbury.
Jimmy is looking to forge a relationship with racers in WA to help out and he is reliable.
If you are looking for engine parts to a complete engine come on down and have a chat with him.
Catch you all at the title.
Just a little reminder that Jimmy Naylor from Naylor race engines is going to be at the state title this weekend.
Jimmy built the motor we have just installed in our J&J, and I must say it is a beast.
I have nick named it Physco, you stand on the pedal and it just spins up, we were wheel standing coming off the turns in Bunbury.
Jimmy is looking to forge a relationship with racers in WA to help out and he is reliable.
If you are looking for engine parts to a complete engine come on down and have a chat with him.
Catch you all at the title.
State Title odds and sods.
Hi all,
Well what is going to happen this weekend?
We are going into the state title and the pace has lifted considerably over the last 2 meetings.
This is the rankings as seen by myself- no science has been used and the top 8 cars are all in with an equal chance, even the second tier drivers are so close that one of them may get up.
Well what is going to happen this weekend?
We are going into the state title and the pace has lifted considerably over the last 2 meetings.
This is the rankings as seen by myself- no science has been used and the top 8 cars are all in with an equal chance, even the second tier drivers are so close that one of them may get up.
- Mick Doble- Just based on form at Kwinana Mick has to take the honours as favourite, subject to only his set up or mechanical drama he is the one to beat.
- Gavin Davis- Fitness is the key to how Gavin will run, he showed good form at the Krikke boys and if he can drive the laps he will be jostling with Mick and co all the way.
- Todd Davis- Only mechanical issues have stopped Todd from being up with the best of us this year,
- Anthony King- Really should be rated higher possibly even favourite but given we are running on a Saturday and the track should be hookier he may struggle for power but not spirit.
- Tim King- Tim is due a big win and again may lack some power if the track is fast, like Anthony above Tim should be higher ranked given some of his times this year.
- Nathan Chant- Nathan shows a lot of promise and has travelled down to Perth to try out the track, will be in there giving it a good shake.
- Chris Ackland- Chris has shown some seriously fast speed this year but admits his fitness is holding him back.
- Glen Oliver- Not had the best of years with his car owner changing engines on him, now has old faithfull back in and likes the way it delivers power and got straight back on the pace.
9 onwards and not in any order.
Dhuy is fast and has now got some laps under his belt.
Caroline Sotiroff will be fast if she gets near the front of the feature, possibly and arguablt the fastest driver in our division if she gets to the front with no traffic.
Steve Crabbe swapped chassis and has now found a whole new world of car speed.
Michael Armstrong has been getting quicker by the meeting.
Grant Chisolm dark horse who has run quick at Narrogine.
Stacy Chisolm making up the numbers this year but improving with every drive.
Sorry if I have missed any one.
Krikke boys wash up.
Hi all,
Krikke boys has come and gone, and another great meeting was had by the Limited Sprintcar Club.
We had 12 cars turn up and ran in two separate heats.
The track was wet and sloppy and track packing was no fun, come heat time there was good drive and the heats were fast and furious as has now become the norm for our division.
Heat one winners were Dhuy and Todd Davis.
Heat 2 winners were Crabbe and Nathan Brady.
The feature line up was to invert the top 6 so Nathan Brady and I as top point scorers started out of positions 5 and 6.
On the roll around laps I fed Glen the front bar, just to let him know that his usual slow starts were not going to be tolerated, as we gassed it of the green flag I popped a wheelie and thought to myself that we were in for a big feature, I had gotten up to fourth and had Glen in my sights for a big passing manoeuvre when the real Crabbe came back into the driving seat and ran into turn 3 way to hot and took a big spin, and that was the end of it for me, Glen ran 3rd as they called the race after 7 laps, the only disappointing part of the whole meeting.
On the drive back to Mandurah this morning Janette voiced her displeasure at the tracks that keep cutting short our races, and after much reminding she pointed out that Bunbury was the track at which we get cut the most.
Given that we spend as much getting to the races as anyone else and we have the second biggest car count we do not really get the track time we deserve, we look after ourselves with stewarding and lap scoring, all first rate and mostly we put on a great show.
So why are we treated so badly?????????
My personal opinion is we should start looking at alternative venues where we can be the main division of the night.
So the main things of note after another great time was had by all.
Krikke boys has come and gone, and another great meeting was had by the Limited Sprintcar Club.
We had 12 cars turn up and ran in two separate heats.
The track was wet and sloppy and track packing was no fun, come heat time there was good drive and the heats were fast and furious as has now become the norm for our division.
Heat one winners were Dhuy and Todd Davis.
Heat 2 winners were Crabbe and Nathan Brady.
The feature line up was to invert the top 6 so Nathan Brady and I as top point scorers started out of positions 5 and 6.
On the roll around laps I fed Glen the front bar, just to let him know that his usual slow starts were not going to be tolerated, as we gassed it of the green flag I popped a wheelie and thought to myself that we were in for a big feature, I had gotten up to fourth and had Glen in my sights for a big passing manoeuvre when the real Crabbe came back into the driving seat and ran into turn 3 way to hot and took a big spin, and that was the end of it for me, Glen ran 3rd as they called the race after 7 laps, the only disappointing part of the whole meeting.
On the drive back to Mandurah this morning Janette voiced her displeasure at the tracks that keep cutting short our races, and after much reminding she pointed out that Bunbury was the track at which we get cut the most.
Given that we spend as much getting to the races as anyone else and we have the second biggest car count we do not really get the track time we deserve, we look after ourselves with stewarding and lap scoring, all first rate and mostly we put on a great show.
So why are we treated so badly?????????
My personal opinion is we should start looking at alternative venues where we can be the main division of the night.
So the main things of note after another great time was had by all.
- Team Dhu continues to keep that motor running and is on the pace.
- Team Webster with the baby motor (cheapest in the division) drove with his boot in it and surprised us all, some poor line choices in heat 2 almost saw him into the fence, all I could think about as he was headed rapidly towards the wall was ' we don't need this work this week" but he got it back together and finished well, some more laps and the Burgundy car is going to give some of us bigger budget teams a real shock.
- Team Brady Rocka continue to improve and his car speed is right up there.
- Team Crabbe pulled the fastest lap for a limited on the night after receiving some in car advice while waiting at the gate for heat 2, thanks Darren I needed the wake up call.
- Team Chisolm junior had a small roll but was not too shaken up, she is getting on the gas and a run in the state title will see her only get better.
- Team Joyce turned up for the night and looked smooth.
- Team Tim Davis made a comeback from the shed and smoked his brother in heat 2, there was some spirited chasing by Gavin though, he was not going down without a fight and I must say that between the chase by Gavin on Shane Webster and then the chase to run down Tim I got to see that these Limiteds are as spectacular to watch and look as quick as an open even if we do run a second or so slower a lap, when I am driving I always think we must look slow.
- Team Oliver made it through a night without a hick up and at the end of the night voiced his displeasure of me taking his old engine out and up powering him, with the old Bombak motor back in and the right length bolts in his torque tube he was flying.
- Team Todd Davis got through the night trying to run his motor in, he drew 1 in the first heat and running the engine in went out the window, he is looking like he will be right in the mix for the state title.
Catch you.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Furious Fast Friday. 12-02-10
Hi All,
Well finally we have got a package capable of taking us to the pointy end.
The JEI chassis has been put in the back shed for a while and we wheeled out a shiny J&J with the motor from the USA.
The car hooked up so well and never felt like it was going to bounce or bicycle so we managed to start using some of the power we have had all year but not got onto the track.
The meeting was fantastic with Ian Dhu finishing the first heat in his own car, we have not seen this for almost 2 years as Ian struggled with motor issues, he took the win ahead of team Crabbe.
Second heat was equally as quick with Mick Doble finishing ahead of team Crabbe.
The heat races had multiple passing moves and close hard racing all the way through setting it up for a great feature race.
The feature race had the usual fast guys from the rear format with 3 360's thrown in.
Mick and I started off the back and as soon as the green was waved the pace was fast and furious, there were 5 of us jostling for position and we knew who ever got the clean air first was going to be hard to run down while we were all dicing for position, Nathan Brady got away and led from start to finish, Mick Doble managed to move into second with Chris Ackland third, I came home 4th with Dhuy close by for 5th.
It had to have been one of the best race meetings of any WA sprintcar division this year, passing was constant, no race was won by a runaway, no damage was sustained by anyone.
So to the state of play leading into the Krikke Boys Race.
Team Tim King has suffered a motor setback on Friday night, he thinks he will be ready for the State Title.
Team Anthony King has his chassis back and it looks like new, he is assembling it ready for the State Title.
Team Glen Oliver has had another setback, this time the sabotage was by his mechanic, another torque tube failure and possibly the new motor may have had a mishap, so off to Moora to get back the rocket engine Anthony borrowed from us, then to put it in Glen's car for the Krikke Boys.
Team Dhu has no work other than cleaning before the Krikke Boys.
Team Crabbe has a small oil leak problem with the new motor, could be they forgot to do up the oil pressure line fitting at the gauge end.
Team Doble still looks the goods going in to the state title.
Team Gavin Davis has returned from exile in Dubai and should be ready for the Krikke Boys but may suffer from a lack of fitness.
Team Todd Davis was trying to be ready for the Krikke Boys race and although not confirmed by Todd I am sure he is still on track.
Team Chisolm from Narrogin may be at the Krikke Boys and the State title.
Team Webster is looking for more power can you help?
Team Brady Rocka has some pace but needs more consistency to be up the front more regularly.
Team Doble is not running the Krikke boys, he must be preparing his spare car in secret for the big Title night.
Well folks back to team Crabbe talk.
The guy who built my motor in the USA is coming out for the state title.
His company is Naylor Race Engines, he is coming over on a PR tour, and after the performance of my new engine I would recommend that you look at his services, he sells heads, blocks, cranks etc and builds complete motors, he is as cheap as you will find and when he says he will do it he delivers, I am bringing a lot of gear in from the US for crushing plants and buy most of my race gear direct out of there, catch up with Jimmy Naylor during the state title and have a chat with him.
It is amazing how much quicker and harder you go when you can trust your car to behave, the J&J we now run is so predictable, after I got a bit cocky in the feature and backed it in to turn 3 a bit hard the car near spun, I was ready to turn left and go for the 360 but as I thought about it the car pulled itself back straight, this was impressive to say the least, we are hoping Bunbury delivers a nice smooth surface that is hooked up so we can really test the new engine, we are only pulling 7,200 rpm on the track and the motor did not pull maximum HP until 8,100 rpm on the dyno.
Well bring on the 28th February.
Catch you.
Well finally we have got a package capable of taking us to the pointy end.
The JEI chassis has been put in the back shed for a while and we wheeled out a shiny J&J with the motor from the USA.
The car hooked up so well and never felt like it was going to bounce or bicycle so we managed to start using some of the power we have had all year but not got onto the track.
The meeting was fantastic with Ian Dhu finishing the first heat in his own car, we have not seen this for almost 2 years as Ian struggled with motor issues, he took the win ahead of team Crabbe.
Second heat was equally as quick with Mick Doble finishing ahead of team Crabbe.
The heat races had multiple passing moves and close hard racing all the way through setting it up for a great feature race.
The feature race had the usual fast guys from the rear format with 3 360's thrown in.
Mick and I started off the back and as soon as the green was waved the pace was fast and furious, there were 5 of us jostling for position and we knew who ever got the clean air first was going to be hard to run down while we were all dicing for position, Nathan Brady got away and led from start to finish, Mick Doble managed to move into second with Chris Ackland third, I came home 4th with Dhuy close by for 5th.
It had to have been one of the best race meetings of any WA sprintcar division this year, passing was constant, no race was won by a runaway, no damage was sustained by anyone.
So to the state of play leading into the Krikke Boys Race.
Team Tim King has suffered a motor setback on Friday night, he thinks he will be ready for the State Title.
Team Anthony King has his chassis back and it looks like new, he is assembling it ready for the State Title.
Team Glen Oliver has had another setback, this time the sabotage was by his mechanic, another torque tube failure and possibly the new motor may have had a mishap, so off to Moora to get back the rocket engine Anthony borrowed from us, then to put it in Glen's car for the Krikke Boys.
Team Dhu has no work other than cleaning before the Krikke Boys.
Team Crabbe has a small oil leak problem with the new motor, could be they forgot to do up the oil pressure line fitting at the gauge end.
Team Doble still looks the goods going in to the state title.
Team Gavin Davis has returned from exile in Dubai and should be ready for the Krikke Boys but may suffer from a lack of fitness.
Team Todd Davis was trying to be ready for the Krikke Boys race and although not confirmed by Todd I am sure he is still on track.
Team Chisolm from Narrogin may be at the Krikke Boys and the State title.
Team Webster is looking for more power can you help?
Team Brady Rocka has some pace but needs more consistency to be up the front more regularly.
Team Doble is not running the Krikke boys, he must be preparing his spare car in secret for the big Title night.
Well folks back to team Crabbe talk.
The guy who built my motor in the USA is coming out for the state title.
His company is Naylor Race Engines, he is coming over on a PR tour, and after the performance of my new engine I would recommend that you look at his services, he sells heads, blocks, cranks etc and builds complete motors, he is as cheap as you will find and when he says he will do it he delivers, I am bringing a lot of gear in from the US for crushing plants and buy most of my race gear direct out of there, catch up with Jimmy Naylor during the state title and have a chat with him.
It is amazing how much quicker and harder you go when you can trust your car to behave, the J&J we now run is so predictable, after I got a bit cocky in the feature and backed it in to turn 3 a bit hard the car near spun, I was ready to turn left and go for the 360 but as I thought about it the car pulled itself back straight, this was impressive to say the least, we are hoping Bunbury delivers a nice smooth surface that is hooked up so we can really test the new engine, we are only pulling 7,200 rpm on the track and the motor did not pull maximum HP until 8,100 rpm on the dyno.
Well bring on the 28th February.
Catch you.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Geraldton
Hi all,
Long time no blog so here we are again.
Geraldton has come and gone with some super fast racing.
The track was hooky and did develop a few major ruts but not to much too worry about for most.
Caroline had a good run starting from front in the feature and leading all the way to the flag from Mick Doble and Nathan Chant.
Anthony Riffici made a good comeback but pulled out of the feature with fatigue I think.
Shane Webster continued his fast improving way and was at the pointy end with a fifth.
We had 2 dnf's, heat 3 and the feature, I give Shane advice on setup and his car handles beautifully, I set mine up and it is a right pig, why is it so? Same set up but such a different result.
Anyway the Geraldton surface is looking good for the big meets this year, pity we have run our last meet this year at Geraldton, I am in Europe from Late March until early May so we finish the main part of our season after the State Title.
We are on the hunt for a 2008 or 2009 Maxim or J&J raised rail, tall cage chassis to try, do you have one in your shed you want to part with? Must have a body kit fitted and be very straight.
Give me a call on my mobile, the number can be gotten from the Limited web site.
We want it before the 6th of February so we can have it ready for the fast Friday on 12th February.
Well have to go and pack, I am off to Koolan Island on a work trip so we will not be in Moora this weekend.
Good luck to all who run in Moora.
Catch you.
Long time no blog so here we are again.
Geraldton has come and gone with some super fast racing.
The track was hooky and did develop a few major ruts but not to much too worry about for most.
Caroline had a good run starting from front in the feature and leading all the way to the flag from Mick Doble and Nathan Chant.
Anthony Riffici made a good comeback but pulled out of the feature with fatigue I think.
Shane Webster continued his fast improving way and was at the pointy end with a fifth.
We had 2 dnf's, heat 3 and the feature, I give Shane advice on setup and his car handles beautifully, I set mine up and it is a right pig, why is it so? Same set up but such a different result.
Anyway the Geraldton surface is looking good for the big meets this year, pity we have run our last meet this year at Geraldton, I am in Europe from Late March until early May so we finish the main part of our season after the State Title.
We are on the hunt for a 2008 or 2009 Maxim or J&J raised rail, tall cage chassis to try, do you have one in your shed you want to part with? Must have a body kit fitted and be very straight.
Give me a call on my mobile, the number can be gotten from the Limited web site.
We want it before the 6th of February so we can have it ready for the fast Friday on 12th February.
Well have to go and pack, I am off to Koolan Island on a work trip so we will not be in Moora this weekend.
Good luck to all who run in Moora.
Catch you.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Geraldton here we come.
Hi all
Well we have been down in Bunbury last weekend for the sponsors and practice day.
I went from team owner and driver to Crew Chief for two new drivers to have a go in our 360.
The track was smooth but dry and slick and after the first run we had the car set up right for some real fun driving.
Aldo was the main driver with Norbert's daughter's boyfriend Shane also lining up for a run.
They both had a great time and showed immense promise, I think we will get at least one new driving member out of it.
While we were there I had some interesting chats with a couple of powerhouses of the Sprintcar Media World.
Our main topic was the promotion of the limited division in a national magazine, we should get some press soon you would think given we consistently outnumber all other divisions but the opens.
Whilst chatting to one particular journo we talked about the politics of Sprintcar racing, it is hard to imagine how we get so many groups with different agendas in the sport.
From tracks with favourite drivers to clubs and associated body's with favourite drivers to teams that just hate each other, it is a big ask to get our sport moving in the same direction.
So onto Geraldton, The cauldron of pain for visiting drivers, the Limiteds are strong here, probably the biggest number of cars in one spot.
Last year our team ran here three times with two very hard stops (Upside down) for the car and a good run in the Armstrong Cup until we overheated.
There will be another new (returned driver) here this year, Anthony Rifici returns in the ex Benkesser ex Aussie #1 Tatnell car.
Not sure about the Armstrong clan, I know Caroline will be there but am not sure about Michael.
Mick Doble and Nathan Chant will be the movers and shakers I think but we are slowly getting more and more power to the track so maybe we can at least give them a run for there money.
Shane Webster continues on his merry way progressing quickly from being lapped to moving up to and soon into the traffic.
Word is that Geraldton has become Hooky so this will be a new experience for us as in the past it was a little slick, Mick tells me this is because the sprintcar gang has moved into the club ranks and gets more of a say in track prep.
Anthony King still awaits a new or repaired chassis after his Muster mishap but with some luck we will see him again this year.
Well folks need to go and get the car prep started, if you are in the pits on Saturday make sure you come over to the Gold trailer and say hello.
Catch you
Monday, January 4, 2010
We have a winner.
Mick Doble has correctly named the team.
Shane Webster's crew filled his tank with unleaded fuel.
Steve
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The day after the muster.
Hi all,
No after muster poetry here, just the state of the event through Crabbe coloured glasses.
We had a very ordinary night, heat one had us fast asleep off pole, poor gear selection and poor car set up saw us go from pole to 4th by the end of the race.
Heat two had us about where we should have been during the first heat with set up but still not quite where we should have been, started last, passed a few cars but still we had a poor run.
The feature saw us starting off of position 8 with the 8 320's half a lap ahead, so really we started out of position 16, I got away well and the car got hooked up, some laps at a moderate speed to try out the lines and then we gassed it, we were lapping well and pulling in the leaders slowly, then Anthony King had a coming together with another car and ended up in the wall, the reds came on and I thought "beauty, we will restart nose to tail".
Somehow I ended up starting from 7 on the restart so had made up 9 positions to that point.
At the greens I had to try and round up Carolyne, I had passed her just before the reds came on but after unwinding a lap I was relegated back behind her, Carolyne had her foot on the gas but kept running low out of turn 4 and lost some drive there on a few occasions, so around the outside I went, we stayed a bit higher than most and passed most of the cars in the feature around the outside.
Finally in the last lap I got by Darren Francis, now Darren and I go back to the first muster I ran, that year I got stuck behind him and Mick Doble got by me for the feature win, last year I pulled a somewhat shaky pass on him going into turn 3 for the last time that almost had both of us in trouble, so it was good to go by him, I really wanted to get a couple more laps in as Gibbo in his 320 was still ahead of me, and I have just got to beat him one day.
So we finished in track position 5, 3 limiteds and 1 320 in front of me, those poor heat finishes really cost me.
Well done to Tim King for the feature win, he was quick.
Overall points winner was Mick Doble, Mick is undoubtedly the man to beat this year and we hope to be putting some more pressure on him over the next 2 months leading into the state title.
The Davis boys are slowly getting back on track, Todd had his motor working well and just needs the laps now to get back up to front.
Gavin is reporting in every couple of days from his Middle Eastern pipe fixing job and tells me he will be back by the first week of February, and should be able to get his car ready to do a couple of meetings before the state title.
Dhuy still is having dramas with his engine, Bernie Cook and Ian had a chat long into the night discussing why an engine continues to burn out plugs and pistons.
Dhuy had the services of the Watson's Express house car and like me has not yet got used to an engine that actually makes power and how much more difficult that can be to drive, but all of us were glad to see Ian out there at last getting some laps in, and he was stoked just to get the laps in unscathed, but disappointed that he did not go a bit better.
After the feature Carolyne and I had a chat about what we have come to know as "Tail tank blindness".
Now I am the first to admit that I suffered from this disorder for a long time, this year I have tried so hard to find new lines to run, I have gone higher and higher learning the craft of being able to move around on the track to enable a passing maneuver to be done, with out the need to slow down, once you have slowed up you are stuck at the same speed as the car in front and have to wait for a mistake to happen to get by.
I first became aware of this at Geraldton last year, during a heat race Carolyne was on my tail and I saw her put her nose up the inside for a few laps, I was holding her up with a poor drive and eventually moved up and slowed to let her through, after the race I went over to have a chat and Rickster was giving her a talk about following other cars tails, it was as if a light was switched on for me, I realised that I was worse than Carolyne by a long way, this year we have really tried to use the momentum that puts you on another cars tail to get you by, it has been slow but by the end of the year we are expecting all of this to make us a faster team next year.
You can work out which drivers suffer from this easy, we are the ones who go hard from the front and drive fast, then when we run from inside the pack we tend to not move forward.
Take my advice drivers and forget about running on someones tail, it may take a while to get the hang of it and you will most definitely go slower to start, but it will pay dividends in the long run.
Of course none of this applies if it is a one lane track but even if you try it on a one lane track and you go backwards at least you are trying.
Some of you may have read my blog some time ago about sabotaging your own team.
So I have a quiz for you with a prize for the first person to respond with the correct answer.
Family and friends of the guilty team may not enter this competition.
Which team in the 320/limited feature failed to finish due to them filling their fuel tank with unleaded fuel?
Prize is a voucher for $50.00 from Parr Motorsports.
Happy new year all.
No after muster poetry here, just the state of the event through Crabbe coloured glasses.
We had a very ordinary night, heat one had us fast asleep off pole, poor gear selection and poor car set up saw us go from pole to 4th by the end of the race.
Heat two had us about where we should have been during the first heat with set up but still not quite where we should have been, started last, passed a few cars but still we had a poor run.
The feature saw us starting off of position 8 with the 8 320's half a lap ahead, so really we started out of position 16, I got away well and the car got hooked up, some laps at a moderate speed to try out the lines and then we gassed it, we were lapping well and pulling in the leaders slowly, then Anthony King had a coming together with another car and ended up in the wall, the reds came on and I thought "beauty, we will restart nose to tail".
Somehow I ended up starting from 7 on the restart so had made up 9 positions to that point.
At the greens I had to try and round up Carolyne, I had passed her just before the reds came on but after unwinding a lap I was relegated back behind her, Carolyne had her foot on the gas but kept running low out of turn 4 and lost some drive there on a few occasions, so around the outside I went, we stayed a bit higher than most and passed most of the cars in the feature around the outside.
Finally in the last lap I got by Darren Francis, now Darren and I go back to the first muster I ran, that year I got stuck behind him and Mick Doble got by me for the feature win, last year I pulled a somewhat shaky pass on him going into turn 3 for the last time that almost had both of us in trouble, so it was good to go by him, I really wanted to get a couple more laps in as Gibbo in his 320 was still ahead of me, and I have just got to beat him one day.
So we finished in track position 5, 3 limiteds and 1 320 in front of me, those poor heat finishes really cost me.
Well done to Tim King for the feature win, he was quick.
Overall points winner was Mick Doble, Mick is undoubtedly the man to beat this year and we hope to be putting some more pressure on him over the next 2 months leading into the state title.
The Davis boys are slowly getting back on track, Todd had his motor working well and just needs the laps now to get back up to front.
Gavin is reporting in every couple of days from his Middle Eastern pipe fixing job and tells me he will be back by the first week of February, and should be able to get his car ready to do a couple of meetings before the state title.
Dhuy still is having dramas with his engine, Bernie Cook and Ian had a chat long into the night discussing why an engine continues to burn out plugs and pistons.
Dhuy had the services of the Watson's Express house car and like me has not yet got used to an engine that actually makes power and how much more difficult that can be to drive, but all of us were glad to see Ian out there at last getting some laps in, and he was stoked just to get the laps in unscathed, but disappointed that he did not go a bit better.
After the feature Carolyne and I had a chat about what we have come to know as "Tail tank blindness".
Now I am the first to admit that I suffered from this disorder for a long time, this year I have tried so hard to find new lines to run, I have gone higher and higher learning the craft of being able to move around on the track to enable a passing maneuver to be done, with out the need to slow down, once you have slowed up you are stuck at the same speed as the car in front and have to wait for a mistake to happen to get by.
I first became aware of this at Geraldton last year, during a heat race Carolyne was on my tail and I saw her put her nose up the inside for a few laps, I was holding her up with a poor drive and eventually moved up and slowed to let her through, after the race I went over to have a chat and Rickster was giving her a talk about following other cars tails, it was as if a light was switched on for me, I realised that I was worse than Carolyne by a long way, this year we have really tried to use the momentum that puts you on another cars tail to get you by, it has been slow but by the end of the year we are expecting all of this to make us a faster team next year.
You can work out which drivers suffer from this easy, we are the ones who go hard from the front and drive fast, then when we run from inside the pack we tend to not move forward.
Take my advice drivers and forget about running on someones tail, it may take a while to get the hang of it and you will most definitely go slower to start, but it will pay dividends in the long run.
Of course none of this applies if it is a one lane track but even if you try it on a one lane track and you go backwards at least you are trying.
Some of you may have read my blog some time ago about sabotaging your own team.
So I have a quiz for you with a prize for the first person to respond with the correct answer.
Family and friends of the guilty team may not enter this competition.
Which team in the 320/limited feature failed to finish due to them filling their fuel tank with unleaded fuel?
Prize is a voucher for $50.00 from Parr Motorsports.
Happy new year all.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Tis the day before the muster.
Twas the day before the muster
and not a competitor in sight
the Crabbe shed is all closed up
secrets kept nice and tight.
Tyres grooved in secret
Engine tuned to win
Hope we don't melt a piston
or engines off to bin
Coyle's tuned the chassis
Crabbe's tuned the head
This poetry is getting hard
So I'm off to bed.
Well Banjo eat your heart out, a poet I am not.
Hi all,
Sorry for the long time between posts, but with all the seasons cheer going on not much has transpired down my way.
I got my first tune up about not keeping this up to date so I thought I had better pass on some of the goings on around the place.
* Tim King has a brand new Maxim and is looking very quick (I was spying at practice)
* Anthony was also at practice and had some dramas getting all the horsepower of Glen's motor onto the track, I left before the end of practice and have been told he was getting it well sorted by the end of the night.
* The Armstrong clan are ready for Kwinana with the new US rocket ship engine in Caroline's car.
* Rickster and driver are also ready to go.
* Todd has his cam sorted, Geoff had to be resuscitated after blowing a gasket whilst trying to remove valve collets, Norbert gave CPR and solved the problem.
* Michael Armstrong's US motor is in transit and Carole is saying that the 23rd in Gero looks like a likely day for its unveiling.
* The Dhu meister is up at Rob Watson's, he is still having drama with his engine melting plugs, even when the fuel is pouring in and methanol fumes overcome you they still melt, hope they have it sorted for the muster, if so watch out for an inspired Dhuy on the fast groove, he was at practice and after his first drive the fire was in the eyes.
Well folks, see you all at the Muster, hope the track is nice and hooky, it is going to be good if we can get all this new horsepower in the club turned into speed.
Thanks for the tune CA.
Crabby
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