Open Track Challenge 2003

Day 3: Buttonwillow

These pages were written, late at night or on the road, during the race. They are not always accurate about other teams as we were both tired, sometimes cranky and working on insufficient information. Since they do capture the mood of a team in competition we have left them unedited.

April 8, 2003.
Down to the wire.

Unlike last year when it was between an Lotus and a slower Integra, the Dog has some real competition this year. The Rusty Old Datsun team is a good match for Flyin' Miata. Both cars are swinging well beyond their weight, running in the top 8 for the day.

After some drama when an NSX spun and bounced off the wall in the first session, the day was relatively uneventful mechanically. Repairs were minor - some tweaks to the wideband O2 wiring, a check of the tranny cooler and a new set of brake rotors for the front. The only persistent problem was a miss under certain conditions. We're still trying to diagnose that one.

It was a different story on the competition front. The Datsun team knows Buttonwillow well and were really moving. Their car is very well sorted and running big fat slicks. It's funny, the Dog seems to have pretty wide tires in our shop, but out on the racetrack it's undertired. As a nice contrast to last year, the Dog is fairly well set up.

A fierce battle broke out between the two cars as they traded fast laps right up to the close of the final session. When the smoke cleared, the Datsun was out in front but only just. There was a lot of excitement in the timing tower as the times came in and both teams gave a little trash talk. The S2000 was a couple of seconds behind. We're going to have some very exciting video to watch...

The calm before the storm.
Joel pulls off the old rotor.
Okay, that one's done. We're keeping a scorecard for the drivers about who breaks what. There was some dispute between the drivers about who should get credit for this.
Gary gets ready to reel off some fast laps.
Joel feeds the Dog as Sam supervises. Our fuel consumption is up this year but it's apparently minor compared to a 3500 lb Subaru. As you might guess, we've really appreciated having Gary and Joel along for driving, prep and wrenching help. They're leaving us tonight because Gary has to attend a wedding. He's the groom.
Due to the nature of the OTC, you don't do any wheel-to-wheel racing. But that doesn't mean you can't play with someone and learn their lines. The Datsun team was good enough to tell us in advance how they would let Gary past when he was on a fast lap and they were cooling off. It's a competition, but a friendly one.
Going for a fast lap.
Hood pins are cool - but not if you leave them in the pits.
One of Keith's favourite cars in the OTC - a real 289 Cobra. It makes a truly spectacular noise and is pretty fast. Not quite up to the Track Dog, but it's also a little prettier.
One of many NSXs in the event. This is Doug Hyashi's car, one of the few that's actually faster than the Dog.