4 Times In 1 Year? Yep !!

Well, its been a fun and amazing year for our team....I've long joked that we have never run the car more than 2 times a year..Well, We have made it out 4 times this year...We've made lots of changes, Had some mixed results....But, as always..We had FUN !

It was a little warmer than I had hoped, but not too bad as it was mid 80's and sunny...kind of windy tho...I used the winch to load the car by myself...man that and the electric trailer jack were the best things ever !

Kaleo and his friend John were waiting as we pulled in, Mark was there as well too....It was great having everyone join us...Dawn handled the lens work and warm-up...

We started it up and it sounded great, but not long after it started blubbering and spitting fuel out of cylinders 3 & 7 ...Kaleo couldnt get a handle on it despite changes in timing and jet changes in the system. It was pretty frustrating

Bottom line, we got 2 runs 9.71 @ 136 and 9.81 @ 134.....not bad considering it was fat beyond reason. The upside, is the top end charge on both passes was vastly improved...

Not sure when we will run again again as my life is about to go thru some major changes, but no matter what we will be ready to run when we can

Finally, I want to THANK all my crew, Kaleo for his knowledge and sense of humor, Mark for his help and enthusiasm...

Most of all Thank You to Dawn who has been my biggest supporter and boot in the butt. She has gotten me in "Racing Condition", Getting me set-up with a cpap, THEN shot hundreds of fantastic pictures, seen that I've eaten and stayed hydrated, watched over and supervised my strapping into the car, all the while, making sure the parachute pin was pulled...and then being a tireless worker helping with loading and unloading...Thank You just doesnt seem big enough....JAG, You are the best.

So until next time.....I'm Out!!

Mission Accomplished...

Well 2016 has been an amazing year for the team. Since taking the car to the track for the first time in 2006, we have never run more than twice a year. Money, time and location have worked against us. We have now broken that record by getting out 3 times this spring !!

We were supposed to run on April 23rd but my annual bout with pneumonia caught up with me the week before. Once again (Praise be to God) I beat it again. But Enough about that.

The next test n tune was scheduled for May 14th and we were determined to make it. It was a good news/bad news deal. Kaleo wasn't able to join us because of illness. Because of my love and respect for my friend, I wont go into details, I would ask you to keep him in your prayers.

Dawn & I loaded Ol' Blue up and headed to the track where we were met in the pits by a good customer and now friend & honorary crew guy, Mark. We quickly unloaded, warmed up and got teched in. I decided to leave the tune-up alone. I felt that while it wasn't on "kill", it would run well enough to finish licensing. We wanted to get the 3 runs we needed because it was going to be brutally hot. By the way it was 97 degrees...Dawn suggested wetting and freezing a towel and I built a water bottle straw for the staging lanes.

Because of the heat the car count was low and we never waited more than 5 minute once we were in the lanes.

Run # 1: It started easily and Mark was perfect as a crew guy...no panic, no rushing. The car did a decent burnout. It was then I realized I had forgotten to switch from warm-up spark plugs to me race plugs..oooops.... It stumbled down the track @ 10.10 ..130mph.

Run # 2: I had switched plugs and the car came to life. It did a helluva burnout..The run started out fine but it nosed over after I shifted to High Gear. 9.87, 129mph

Run # 3:  This was a repeat of Run 1, Not sure if we got enough of a battery charge between runs.

We loaded up and I chased down some signatures for my license. Dawn hurt her leg helping load the car..Nothing serious but we need to use the winch.

Big Thanks to Mark for all his hard work, and Dawn (as always) for her motivation, support and keeping the towel iced.

Thats likely a wrap for 2016 for the team. My life is in transition again and I'm not sure if I'll still be in Vegas for much longer. There is a window opening that I must consider. But as always I am looking forward to the future.

Thank Yous again to Dawn, Mark, Kaleo (Get Well Buddy), Pat & Steve Rezz, Mark P. and shout outs to Les Figueroa, Kayla Sewell for your autographs !!! You all made a kids dream come true.

ItsJustDave......out!

Redemption, Getting Better & Going Faster

The Photographer

The Man !

The Test Dummy

I get worried when he starts staring !

After January's dismal outing, I knew something had to change...Kaleo laid out a great game plan and golly, what a difference. I cant thank him enough for his time and brain power.

Saturday, March 12th dawned bright, clear and cool...We were running late (what else is new?) but got to the track by 10:30....and as soon as we unloaded we heard over the PA that they were running a bit behind. I was happy about that because I had time to set up our pit area and visit the tower to pay homage to the powers that be....I even got a small bike ride in.

Our pit was visited by many friends and customers from the store. Once we were unloaded, it was time to fire it up. The warm-up went well except for a backfire that was loud. It sounded great and was very angry.

Run # 1 started super easy and boy, when I whacked the throttle for the burnout, I knew it was VAST improvement over last time. I was very confident when we back up...It was wonderful to know it was running right. Kaleo and I had worked out our signals and we looked like pros on the line. When I hit the throttle, It MOVED...and went straight as an arrow. I had to lift early because it was supposed to an "easy" run. We Ran10.90 @ 84.50 mph....The incremental time were very good tho.

Run # 2 started easy again...everything went perfect again and ran it out further to a 9.87 @ 110.76...The incremental times were really good...My 60 ft time was my best (1.39). It really felt good !!

Run # 3 was a little less impressive only because we didnt charge the battery between runs. The MSD sucks up a lot of battery power. I will have to charge the battery between every run and possibly add a 2nd battery. I raised the rpm as I staged and it slowed down in the 60 ft time (1.475) and it felt a little sluggish. I shifted and it didn't get better and then just past half track, it nosed over and I got off the throttle to 9.72 @ 123.34 mph....It blubbered thru the shutoff and died as I round the corner leaving the track.

When we got back in the pits, We tried starting and it wasn't trying hard to run. Kaleo just stared at the engine..  He was very deep in thought. He then started to giggle and said "Hook up the battery charger". After 5 minutes, we tried again and it lit right off and sounded great. Problem Solved, Crisis Averted, World Saved.

I spent the next hour chasing down drivers to sign my license and got Randy, the track manager to sign it as well. He mentioned that we looked so much better than last time out and was very impressed at our turnaround. That really made my day.

As we were loading up, Kaleo says  "...and that was a MILD TUNE UP...next time we turn up the wick....."

I can hardly wait !!!.. Not sure when we will get out again..Hopefully soon...

Thank You again to Kaleo whose knowledge, savvy and great sense of humor really turned it around for me. Thank You also to Dawn for her Friendship, enthusiasm, hard work, wonderful catering, monitoring my blood sugar and some fantastic photographs...amazing

Thanks also to everyone at The Strip at LVMS, who were incredibly helpful and shared my excitement.

Last but not least, Thank You to Terry Souza & Jon Phlegar for signing my paperwork and getting me halfway to my dream of hold a Division 7 competition license.

Changes in Attitude, Changes in Magneto-tude....

So, after another embarrassing outing on January 23rd, I officially gave up on the ol' Vertex. I loved the old school look, appeal and uniqueness of it, but enough was enough. Kaleo said "We gotta change this thing out for an MSD"  I agreed......So Kaleo donated an MSD distributor that needed a little TLC (just a reluctor actually) I bought new 6AL2 box, a coil some new plug wires and few other trinkets.

Now I was told that the MSD units are easy to mount, set up and get working, and since I am a pretty smart guy...This oughta be easy....and for the most part it was. I just needed to cleanse my brain of "magneto fever" ...Like grounding the MSD box instead of putting power to it. It turned out very nice. The footbox mounting location was perfect and the wiring is pretty clean. I was especially happy with the coil mount.

How did it work you ask? I will tell you it started like mom's minivan and sounded angrier than it has in years. I attribute that to not only the MSD, but to Kaleo's insistence on re-jetting the main ports and high speed bypass.

Normally I will not make big changes like these, and would never make multiple changes at one time, but I felt that with the freshly rebuilt injector and pump, we needed a new baseline tune-up.

The gameplan is this: 1 easy run, 2 Moderates and then 3 full passes. I am doing this for 2 reasons, I want to see what the new set-up will do, and comply with the licensing procedure. I am hoping the track manager will allow me to make all 6 runs as he did last time.

So, with all the changes and all the great help..I am looking forward to this weekend. Special Thanks to: Ken Gonyo, Kaleo, MSD, MSG, Nestea, Jack Links Beefsticks, Cali & Riley....especially Cali & Riley.....

But The Weatherman Said It Was Gonna Be Nice!

Jeff & I loading it up..I LOVE my trailer

Kaleo and I discussing the days plans

Dawn doing the Warm-Up

Our Pit Area

Mutual Photographers.

Really, He said it was going to be mid 60's and sunny...It was a cold dreary 50 degree's...

Perhaps I should digress...with my upcoming trip to Florida looming, I really wanted to get an early start this year. The LVMS big wigs decided to open the track a few weeks early, so we decided this was a great chance to see:

A: IF the trailer would work
B: IF my magneto would stay in place
C: IF we could make my final 3 license passes

The trailer works PERFECTLY. The car loaded easily, and it tows like the dream.

The Magneto Still is giving me fits....

Don't even mention the license...I have to start all over on it.

But, as they say "A bad day at the races, is better than a good day at work" I picked up the trailer at 8 am and we had it loaded by 9:15...A minor shifter issue popped up while loading it and as soon as we got to the track we fixed it....or so we thought. Dawn invited her friend Jeff to help us out, which was great.

After we got to the track, one of my customers Kaleo popped up out of nowhere. He's a really cool drag racer and a very mysterious guy who is always laughing.

We were concerned if the car would even start in the cold weather. I invited Dawn to to the warm-up honors. To our surprise it started pretty easily. Ken Gonyo's injector tune-up seemed to work well. I literally ran 4 gallons of alcohol thru it warming and setting the timing....The motor had some decent heat in it for once.

Run # 1 ...It started easily enough abu the magneto slipped again after the burnout. It was running rather rough when I tried to stage it...It was then that the shifter decided to act up again>> it wouldnt go back into reverse. I finally lost my patience and waved everyone off and slammed the throttle and drove it hard halfway done...No time or speed.

Back in the pits Kaleo and I worked on the shifter and he figured out the problem. I asked what he did..to which he put his hands together, bowed and said: "Ancient Chinese Secret" I knew better than to ask for details..

Run # 2 ...Again , it started easily, did a decent burnout and once again the magneto slipped. The shifter was still not right and I had trouble backing up and staging. I stabbed the throttle and made a 1000 foot pass..10.12 /105 mph. We didnt have enough fuel for a 3rd run and we were running out of daylight...and well, It was too dang cold...So we called it a day.

Bottom line ...the trailer is perfect and we had fun!!

Thank You to Dawn for her great photos, and keeping me fed and calming me down. Kudos  to Jeff for his help, patience and for being a great crew guy.

Kaleo, your help was invaluable, your humor was so appreciated.. I hope you'll be a regular member of the IJD Team.