“It wouldn’t be racing without the peaks and valleys many of us know so well.”
Racing brings out the best and the worst in people. It wouldn’t be racing without the peaks and valleys many of us know so well. We are but one practice session in, and we the roller coaster has already begun.
The car was ready to go. We have worked nonstop on the car to prepare it to drive. Even on the morning of practice, we were still finding things to make better. Then when we got to the track we unloaded with plenty of time to relax. When it came time for the first practice session, we were more than prepared.
The first practice session was interesting. The car had an insane push, and it didn’t feel like there was any way to keep the car rotated through the corner. Something had to change, and I figured now would be the best time to try something new. We changed every shock to one of the setups that came with the car (in a book from the previous owner). It worked wonders for a few laps, or at least long enough for us to find out something was wrong in a big way. We reached the peak and it was time for a valley.
“My instincts kicked in and I immediately threw the car in neutral”
On lap 4, I felt something break halfway down the backstretch. It felt like I jabbed the clutch. These cars don’t have a clutch in 2nd gear so that was an issue. My instincts kicked in and I immediately threw the car in neutral. At first I figured that something in the transmission broke so I should try to save it. Then I tried putting it in first to drive down the back stretch and into turn three and four. I put it in second again to make sure something actually broke. Again it was like I was holding a clutch. Something was definitely broken. The flagger gave me a confused shrug. He was likely confused why he had to throw the yellow if I could drive around the track. I’m actually surprised I got as
far as I did.
I drove up to my dad in the pits. He gave me a confused look and told me nothing looked broken. We got the bad news the second we got the car on the jack. The car was in neutral: the left rear wheel would turn, the right rear wheel would not. Something was broken in the rear end. We didn’t know what yet. The axle wouldn’t come out.
It still hasn’t.
It’s Friday night, and it’s time for me to collect my thoughts. We need to work through this as a team. Our work is cut out for us. It’s time to climb out of this valley and to a peak once again.