First Race Impressions: MORE F&L Fuels 400
by Steve Morgan

The F&L Fuels race went pretty good January 31, 2004. I was the first driver out, left the starting line at about 8:30AM. Scott's plan was for me to drive 2 laps, Eric 2 laps, Scott 2 laps, and Willie for the last lap. I started in the 11th position out of 13 Class 9 cars. The course was interesting, it had everything from narrow rocky canyon bottoms to sandy wide open washes, fast silty dry lake beds, and at least a million whoops. Also, did I mention that there were whoops? I'd guess there were less than 2 miles in total without whoops. Each lap was 39 miles, and our class had to complete 7 laps, at about 1 hour each. It was mostly cloudy and windy,and the temps were in the 30's at night, up to the low 50's by mid day, brrr!

I started out warm enough, but my fingers went numb from the cold wind for the first 1/2 hour. I alternated one hand at a time at the bottom of the wheel, since the lower 1/2 of the steering wheel was protected from the wind by the cowling. My hands warmed up after I worked up a good enough sweat, and then I started getting too hot, until I managed to get my jacket unzipped a bit, and my sleeves un-velcro'd. It was several miles before I really started to pick up the speed, since I didn't know how far I could push the car over the different types of terrain. I was nerfed by faster cars 3 times in the first 15 miles, so now I finally know what that feels like. The Class 5 cars that nerfed me felt like I'd suddenly found a new gear, and a 1/2 1600 car hit me hard enough to knock my head back into the seat, no big deal, just a solid wake-up call. Funny how I got over quicker for that guy! Our car has big rubber shipping dock bumpers on the back. I guess we should just do it right and tie on a sign that says "Hit Me!"

By the end of the first lap I was starting to feel some fatigue and thirst, but I still had plenty of stamina for the second lap. With the limited suspension and short wheelbase of Class 9 cars, I decided it's more of an endurance event than a driving event. I had no idea how rough it would be inside that thing, and it really never lets up. It's a game of finding out how far you can push the car before it rolls over or endoes, and also how much you're willing to punish your body. All I can say is that my entire body is sore, even my jaws ache from clenching my teeth for two hours. I found that pushing with my left foot hard against the "dead pedal" really helped me set my upper body firmly into the back of the seat, and that helped with that sharp pain in my lower back, as did keeping my stomach muscles tight. I also kept my thumbs out of the steering wheel most of the time, since it kept threatening to take off a thumb or two. Learning how to juggle between all the controls (clutch/dead pedal, gas/brake, shifter/steering wheel) all while bouncing through the air was quite a challenge, one which I didn't get comfortable with until the middle of the second lap.

By the middle of the first lap, I didn't think I was doing too well, since I'd been passed early on by the only 9 car that had started behind me, and by three 5-1600's, which I thought were supposed to run the same speeds as us. I couldn't keep up with any of them for very long. So I just did my personal best, remembering that finishing is more important than having the fastest lap times. Seven completed laps counts more than six faster laps with no seventh lap. Soon I came across three vehicles that had passed me earlier. One guy was rolled over on his side, he was out of the car and was waiting for a support vehicle to flip him back over. A second was limping along with a flat, probably nailed a rock in the twisties. A third had damaged his undercarriage when he bottomed on a boulder hidden on the low part of a whoop in a fast sand wash after Pit C. I slowed when I saw him nearby, so I wound up hitting the same boulder, but with less force. Two loud bangs, dash check, no engine warning lights, pedal to metal! I knew where it was hiding on the second lap, so I stayed way right and never saw it again.

By the end of the first lap, I knew the course at speed in the car, which was way different than how it felt when I pre-ran it on my dirt bike the weekend before. I also had more confidence in how far I could push the car, so I entered the 2nd lap feeling faster than the first. I had already experienced the "OH SH%#!" events where things looked like the rear end was going to become the front end, and I knew what caused them and how to avoid them. The number one rule is to make your choice on which path you're going to take, and stick to it! Even if it's rougher and slower, just suck it up and take your just punishment. If you make the mistake of trying big direction changes at high speed, it won't happen as quickly as you want it to, and stationary things like large mounds, bushes and holes will definitely do their best to ruin your whole day.

By the middle of the second lap, I was feeling pretty good about my pace. No more 9 cars had passed me, so at least I wasn't being lapped. As a matter of fact, only three cars in faster classes had passed me, and it took longer for them to disappear from view. Going faster taught me just how high the back end of the car could go (hey, doesn't this thing have any rebound damping?!), and I learned to use that to my advantage at certain times. I found that it's possible to time certain whoops so that the back actually stays airborne long enough to clear every other whoop. The problem is that the spacing between the whoops changes, and things get ridiculously out of control when you don't get the timing right! There were those brief moments where you just say to yourself "Oh oh, now I've done it!", but somehow the car recovers and settles back down into the usual mayhem and you just keep on going.

There were three pits along the way, and they all gave thumbs-ups and hoots & hollers while I flew by, which was a real kick. Some areas had spectators and camera guys, who served as advance warnings for me to slow down, 'cause you know they're waiting to see cars catch a ton of air in the "surprise" sections. I guess I won't win any "best picture" awards.

At the end of lap 2, I radioed in as I approached the pits, alerting them to my arrival and the driver change. It all went smoothly, and Eric was off in 2-3 minutes, which included fuel and a quick inspection of the car. I was surprised to learn that my lap times were competitive with the other Class 9 cars, and we were already up to 7th position due to others having various problems.

Eric and Scott did great on their laps, and as expected Scott had the fastest lap of the day. He crunched a wheel and got a rear flat at pit A, they had it changed and he was off in something like 2 minutes. When Scott gave the car to Willie for lap 7, someone told us we were in first place! Then out by pit B, Willie radioed in with some bad news: the transmission had completely blown, and we were out of the race. Everyone was bummed out, we had just lost something like a $3,000.00 purse plus all the contingencies, and had gone from 1st to 7th or 8th.

So we had a great time overall, met lots of great people, and got outstanding support from the Checkers pit club. Looking forward to the next race!

Now that the results are in, we actually would have gotten 3rd place if the car didn't break. We also found out from our fabricator Ricky Crum that the undercarriage is caved in and the bellhousing is cracked, gee I wonder how that happened? Must've been those other maniac drivers...

Questions? Comments? Please visit our forum