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Team Half Fast Is Ready to Thump Down the Quarter Mile again in Bowling Green, Kentucky!
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June 2010. What a weekend! We broke down on the way to the track and we spent the evening in a parking lot just inside Bowling Green before limping our way late at night into the track. We’re very thankful for Chip’s wrenching talents! Friday was spent trying to get our bearings after our ordeal the night before, and we were fairly certain that our vehicle was going to get us home (thank you to those at the track who helped us diagnose it!). We spent the day visiting and getting our pit set up with our new sponsor banners. We knew we were in for some hot times! |
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Along with working out a new combination on the race bike, we also got to try out our new helmets from Z1R helmets. “The helmet that fits!” is their motto—and it is REALLY TRUE. It is the best fitting helmet Chip has ever used in racing. It doesn’t ride up or move around when he gets into race position, the field of vision is perfect, and the venting is great, too! THANK YOU Z1R!!!! |
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The view of our pit from the concession stand. |
Chip with Snappy & one of our new Z1R helmets |
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Saturday morning—it was already nearly 90 degrees at 10 am! This was going to be Snappy’s first run since putting the bike back together. We had to take the first pass slow and steady, so that run was a 12.082. It would take us a few passes to get this new combination dialed in, especially in this heat. Our next pass was much the same thing. There was only time enough for two Time Trial runs, so our third pass was our first qualifying effort of the day and it was for the 11.50 class (SE).
The heat was really taking its toll on crew, rider, and bike! By noon, it was already 95 degrees—115 degrees with the heat index! We knew we wouldn’t be able to get the power we needed on this new set-up we had. On our first qualifying pass, we ran an 11.682 on the 11.50 dial. Probably good enough to get us into the field, since everyone was battling the heat and humidity. Even though we knew we would not get down to 10.90, we went ahead and ran the 10.90 (PE) class as well. The best we were able to do was an 11.460. That turned out to be good enough to make it as 2nd alternate for the field of 16 bikes. |
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Erik Nelson, Shoestring Racing |
Tracy Craghead, Heathens & Hardheads Racing |
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The weather for Race Day Sunday promised to be a little cooler with less humidity—so we were pretty sure we’d have our power band for the day. Our time trials in the morning were a little better and more consistent—we were still running a little slow with an 11.645 for our first pass, then we improved significantly with an 11.582 for our second run.
Our first race was the SE 11.50 Class and wasn’t until the afternoon. Chip chopped out because he knew he had a good 60 foot time and he believed his opponent was going to break out. Oh well, we’ll get it next time. We have not had enough seat time this year, and it showed in that first race of the year. We still had “E” class, and we were hoping for the best.
We dialed an 11.65 for our E run—we had a “BYE”, so it was a best guess. SO glad we had that bye, because we did not perform well that run. Chalk it up to the heat, the stress from our trip down, a new combination on our bike, and no seat time for the year. That’s racin’. So, we pulled off the win J.
For our next round, we almost got the win… we were the quicker but losing bike. We lost on a hole shot. We dialed an 11.65 and ran 11.673. We enjoyed rooting on our friends for the rest of the day. |
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We look forward to seeing our friends again in September here at Bowling Green’s Beechbend Raceway Park. Look for more updates on our Main Gallery Page. Oh, and remind us to tell you about our trip home—far, far, worse than our ride down! |
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