Well...half of one anyways...I managed (by hook or crook) to make it to the Semis last night...every car I raced (slower)...redlighted...I know I tend to get a little qwik on the button when I race a faster car...but 5 opponents redlighting...sheesh...I woulda have easily got to the finals but something went wrong in my electronics, cut a good light .021 (good for me) and was pullin hard and my shifter solenoid didn't activate...by the time I realized it, it was too late. Shoulda.woulda,coulda....pfffft. The car was well over a tenth slower than last week (20 degrees colder) but run the number every pass...5.86 and I actually cut an .001 light on a pass. All this begs the question...was all this just dumb luck or was any skill involved? Either way it was fun being one of the last to leave the track.
Ha! Sometimes it just be's that way! I know a guy who seems to be the luckiest at drawing someone that's going to red-light. Nothing like an extra free Time Trial to help you dial in for the next round. Congrats on your 'good' luck! - too bad about the shifter thingy.
Riporter, it's better to be lucky then good or something like that. Nice run, getting ready for FFW? Good Luck! Hey Rayzorsharp, those tail lights look a lot like that ones I have in the back of my Mav. Nice! I see I'm not the only one with good taste. Bossmav
I asked a wise racer once what his secret was to winning rounds. His reply? "10% driver, 10% car, 80% LUCK". Holds true to this day. Jeezus...I went 3 lousy rounds--and finally made all 3 in the Maverick instead of having to kick my hired driver out of my other car. Guess what...worst light was .511, best was .501...and that was in the 3rd round where I lost...to a guy that had raced the mustang's driver in the first round...he had a .638 against me and a .702 against Fisher who was driving my backup car. Damned if the Maverick didn't break out. Big time--7.96 on an 8.02 dial and on the brakes hard at 118 mph (usually runs 127). Guy was still making rounds last time I checked, by PURE LUCK. It was a 4 speed '66 Chevelle, dialed around 11 flat and taking out some heavy hitters. I hate to knock the guy, but I was a little weary when I drew him. His slower car, he left a good 3 seconds before me--I was afraid that the damn thing would fall apart somewhere on the big end and spray chevy parts all over my lane. Trust me--if you've seen it you'd know what I'm talking about. Andy probably knows who I'm talking about. There for a while he was breaking something every time he ran it. Of course he couldn't break something when I had to run him. I watched the 4th round--guy in the Chevelle dials 10.99, runs a missed shift into 4th 11.42 against a 7.55 dialed car...and WINS with a .667 light. Now with all do respect, if I was the driver of the Chevelle, I'd make a trip after the races are over and buy a few lottery tickets. Sometimes you win. More often you lose. Its just racin'
Well Rick, if I had got off my fat butt and ventured down the coast yesterday I could have claimed to be responsible for some of the good luck. We decided that Saturday should be a beach day and stayed close to Pawleys. The whole crew is returning the first week of May and I will be looking for some relief in the form of bench racing at the very least!!.....hope to see you then. Dave T
Congrats Rick...it is a lot of fun sitting in the staging lanes, just you and a couple other cars.....its a great feeling! I have been lucky enough to have it happen a couple times.....and I know I might be weird when I say this. But everytime, as I am walking around waiting for the cars to coll down and the semi's or the finals. I always look back at the staging lanes, I see that little ole mav sitting there, in the dark of the night, around those other "big" cars....and I get little goose bumps (proud pappa type) and the lump in my throat.....for me there is just some sort of bond between me and my car...its times like that for me, that all the long hours working on it is all worth wild. I guess for a guy that builds his car to show, its taking home the show trophy, for me its getting deep into eliminations and the little ole mav, kicking ass and taking names, hearing guys/gals walking from the grandstands as they walk past the mav (not knowing I am the owner) watching them look at it, trying to peak under the hood and hearing them talk about how "bad" it is.....thats when its all worth it!
