2 WEEKS UNTIL SUMMIT RACE

Why do I always wait until the last minute? It's just two weeks until the first Summit race at Famoso , and I decided to move the Flying Pig out of the current storage joint. It's just gotten too expensive, not to mention the storage facility was 130 miles from home, and 90 miles from my "home track"! Don't ask.

Things went nearly perfecty. Well, until we started the pig, and fuel came sqirting off the steel braided lines like they were used for pin cushions in the off season. Maybe Dave punched holes in them so he could prove his wrenching skills. What the?! So we went over the fittings, checking everything for tight...and bottom line...the fuel lines need to be replaced. But not today. So that means we get to use the old winch to run the pig up onto the trailer. But first let's re-wire that water pump and fan onto two separate relays to eliminate the pesky fuse blowing that plagued us at the end of last season. Untangle a spaghetti of wires and guess what- they already ARE on separate relays. Crap. So why is the water pump blowing 30 amp fuses? Time for a new pump. I don't know why we didn't do all this a month ago...

On a good note, I got to tow with the new Flex for the first time. It was outstanding. I was really impressed with the power and the gas mileage. Remember the Flex is just a V6, albeit a twin turbo V6. This thing is unbelievable. It hauled my 4000 +/- LBS with no problem, and got 16.5 MPG while doing it. While cruising at 60MPH it was only taching 1600 RPM. The Flex never ceases to surprise me!


Anyway, after long day on Saturday, including about 300 miles of driving, the flying pig is now located just down the street, and I can spend the next two weeks (really) getting ready for that first race. We have Summit Race #1 and #2 on the 10th and 11th of April, followed by ANRA #1 on April 17 and 18th. I am looking forward to putting this "off season" behind me and getting back to competition. It's a lot less stressful than getting ready! :)

Day Tripping 2

This is what spring looks like in eastern San Luis Obispo County! That's what I've been hearing, but had never experienced first hand. Until Friday, that is.

With the temperatures creeping into the mid and even high 70's and nothing but blue sky above, we decided that Friday would be the perfect time to head on out to the eastern edge of SLO county and onto the Carrizo Plain to see if this "wildflower thing" is all it's cracked up to be. I'm here to tell you that it is!

My wife and I packed a lunch, loaded up the dogs, and set out to see if we could find something really spectacular. Without much of a plan, and no map, but with the "local wisdom" that says "go to Shell Creek Road and turn left", we struck out at 11:00 AM heading through the quaint and charming Santa Margarita, and then continuing east on CA HWY 58. A mile out of Santa Margarita the road becomes a winding 2 lane that takes you through some beautiful "horse country", spotted with the occassional ranch house and country estate. The hillsides are a lush green, and already we begin to see large swaths of yellow painted hills, and clusters of poppys along the roadside. We pass the occassional patches of blue and lavender flowers, mostly on the flatter meadowlike stretches along the highway.

At Shell Creek Road we take the left turn and immediately are greeted by a meandering country road, following a running stream, and flanked by vibrantly colored hills on both sides. We pulled off on a seldom used dirt lane where we walked the dogs and ate our picnic lunch.

It was so quiet out there that literally the only thing we could hear was our own breathing, and the occasional hum of an insect or bee flying by!

After basking in the sun for a while we loaded up and headed furhter east on HWY 58 to the Carrizo Plain. I mean this is some spectacular, untouched, expanse of natural beauty. We took the drive out a ways, driving through the largely deserted town of California Valley, and as far as the entrance to Carrizo Plains National Monument. At times we actually stopped the car in the middle of the road, rolled down the windows and shut off the engine to listen to the complete silence. It was truly a remarkable place! And a remarkable day trip!

2010 March Meet Revisited

The 2010 March Meet concluded on Monday. What a great time to take a few minutes to revisit/relive the event! I have to tell you, I didn't actually make it to Bakersfield to witness or participate. I was ambivilent about the weather, and unsure I wanted to make the drive (5 hour round trip) with the threat of rain looming. But then, as the weather began to look like it would cooperate, I found myself sitting around the house feeling like I was really missing out! I mean this was one of the biggest March Meets since it fell off of the NHRA premier series and came back as a Nostalgia Race. Grand Marshall - John Force! Among the funny car drivers - Gary Denshem, Robert Hight, Ron Capps, and the relative newcommer (and event winner) Lea Pruett-LeDuc! Plus 13 other classes, and a car show like you can't believe.



The race gods smiled on me when I went to Famoso Raceway's facebook page and found a link to Bangshift.com ! These guys are AWESOME! They were live streaming video and audio of the whole event. It was the next best thing to being there. In fact if I just could have opened a can of nitro and taken an occassional whif...



The pics below are "borrowed" from their site. I recommend you go here and have a look. You'll find replays of the event and hundreds of photos. You can relive the whole thing over and over! See ya there!