LeMon Fall - We're here

The team is on track and turning laps. We got class B and one penalty lap during BS judging because judge Phil thinks all Hondas are cheaty, damn judge Phil. Roger is in now and then Ricky, myself (Robert), and Danny. The car has been reliable on our last two outings, so we hope it holds up. No issues so far and we're 6th in class and 24th overall. Many hours of catching up ahead of us. Will update with some pics tonight.

We Were 44th And We Are Calling It A Victory

CarolinaHondas.com Racing just wrapped up our Chump 24 Hours at VIR race. In spite of some glitches, it was a great weekend. Here's a quick rundown with some pretty pictures.

Ricky crosses the checked flag at 10am on Sunday (sans windshield)

We (Roger, Ricky, Kraig, and I) made it there Friday after having to drop the race car off the trailer and drive it the last 10 miles. The tow bus transmission was slipping and overheating. It needed a break, and is in need of a rebuild. But we all got there, got teched, and were all set to go racing. Chump Car races tend to be a little less picky about some of the rules, and the cars are generally much faster than your average LeMons field. Definitely much faster than us. We were not looking for a win, but a nice top 20 would be a victory to us.

Oh, and it was HOT and humid. A couple of hours working during the day could wipe you out. Ice would melt out of the coolers in an hour or so. Brutally hot to go racing. It would be tough on both the car and drivers.

We started off about 77th out of 101 cars that actually made the start, By the end of my first stint we were 27th and less than 10 laps off of the leader. As we pitted our position hung between high 20's and mid 30's and we generally stayed about 9 laps off of the leader. With the attrition at this sort of race we were looking at top 10 potential. Then it happened.

At our 8pm pit stop the hood pins were either left out our fell out. One lap into Kraig's stint the hood flies up on the front straight at over 100MPH. Kraig amazingly keeps his cool and makes it to the pit safely. The roof caved in, the windshield smashed, and the hood crumpled we just took ourselves out of any competition for the top 10, and had some work to do. After 2 hours of removing the windshield, cleaning up glass shards, and bending some metal we were back.

A few more relaxed pit stops later we crossed the finish at 44th. How could that be a victory? Well, the car ran great. Handling and braking were fantastic. It is a good race car and we learned that if we don't screw it up we have top 10 potential in a field of much faster cars. And, we had a blast; late braking past cars, schooling BMW and Miata drivers through the turns, and pwn'ing most of the field in the rain. Just a few pics below;

An Opel coupe. One of the few cars we could pass on a straight.

This picture is not blurry. That's actually what racing at night looks like.

Ricky down the front straight.

Stick a fork in us, we are done. (L to R: Robert, Kraig, Roger, Ricky)

Next up - LeMons Sept 21-22.

The next event for the team

We are of to the track again. Well, some of us. The Duff Beer Civic will be running at CMP for the THSCC HPDE event next weekend (June 15 & 16). Looks like Roger, Ricky, and Kraig will be flogging Duffy around the track, and collecting data via the new AIM Solo GPS. I'll be home in Atlanta diligently assembling my track toy (B18 CRX). Have fun, and next time my CRX should be ready to join ya'll.

Want to get your car on track? CMP is a great course for beginners and experts alike, and THSCC runs the best HPDE's I've ever been to. Join us: http://thscc.com/timetrial/

Or, show up to watch the action. We should have beer and t-shirt for any race fan that stops by.

Come join us at the track

Here's our planned schedule for 2013. Subject to change at any moment, but this is the plan:

March 6-7	LeMons	@CMP
April 6-7	THSCC (HPDE)	@VIR North
May 4-5	Track Daze (HPDE)	@VIR Full
June 15-16	THSCC (HPDE)	@CMP
July 20-21	THSCC (2 day AutoX)	@Fayetteville Coliseum
Aug 9-11	Chump (24hrs)	@VIR Grand West
Sep 7-8	THSCC (HPDE)	@VIR Full
Sep 21-22	LeMons	@CMP

Come out and join us. Better yet, sign-up and race with us. We'll try to have free beer and t-shirts on hand.

Some of our latest beer recipes

Other than racing cars the next awesome thing about our team is that we have several beer brewers. This means we always have delicious and inventive beers on hand, at the race track or the shop. Many brewers record their recipes to revisit or share their favorites. Since we have a blog, I'll post some of our ideas/recipes here. Use at your own risk.

Rosemary & Clove Wheat

Boil 2.5 gal water
3.3 lbs liquid wheat malt extract
Approximately 4 tbsp dried rosemary
10-12 cloves
1 oz Mt. Hood bittering hops (40 mins)
3.3 lbs liquid wheat malt extract (15 mins)
0.5 oz Mt. Hood flavor hops (5 mins)
Pitch wheat beer yeast

Absinthe Minded

Steep 1 lb Kolsch and 0.5 lb Caramel (10L) grains for 25 mins in 2.5 gals of water
Boil and add 6 lbs gold liquid malt extract
4 tbsps anise seed and one diced medium sized fennel bunch
1 oz Motueka bittering hops (40 mins)
1 oz Pacifica flavor hops (5 mins)
Pitch German ale yeast

Turkish Delight

Steep 0.75 lb 45L British Crystal and 0.75 lb Rye grains for 25 mins in 2.5 gals of water
Boil and add 6.6 lbs gold liquid malt extract
1 lb dried figs and 1 lb of seeded dates blended
16 oz orange blossom honey
1 oz Liberty bittering hops (40 mins)
1 oz Hallertau flavor hops (5 mins)
Pitch Nottingham ale yeast

We are high tech!

Yes, we now have data acquisition. Ricky got an AIM Solo GPS (http://www.aim-sportline.com/eng/download/software.htm) for the car. Roger, Ricky, and a new driver, Kraig, took Duffy for a spin at THSCC's VIR North event this April. Roger did some analysis and learned that too much shifting, too little track use, and early braking are all slowing him down. As a plus, everyone on the team dropped their times and Ricky dropped more than 10sec off his lap time from the last event when he ran his much faster Beetle Turbo.

Here's Roger's analysis:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3lEGzJs8ik_cTF4Y0ZFOWFteGM/edit?usp=sharing

Late engine failure disappoints at Southern Discomfort.

Sure the rings were a little loose, but the engine had run an AutoX, an HPDE, and did great at Friday's test session - what could go wrong? So...

It was too good. We should have known. The weather was mild, 50s at night and 70s during the day with a strong wind and overcast skies. Pleasant enough to hang out all weekend at the track. The car was running fine and well sorted, and the trailer and tow bus were better than ever. Our only hint of trouble was Judge Phil's 3 penalty laps he assessed during B.S. inspections. One glimpse of "VTEC" on our valve cover and he figured we were fast. I can assure you the D16 SOHC will never be fast, no matter what is stamped on the valve cover. BUT, we were class B and we had a very solid shot at overcoming those laps.

Then the race started. Gradually the penalties and mechanical failures sorted out the competition. By mid-day we were top 20 and second in class. However, 8 laps in front of us was a clean and fast #140 Escort, being driven annoying well by Team Questie. By the end of the day Team Questie was turning laps faster than most of the top Class A teams and still six laps ahead. We were 2nd in Class B and 6th overall. No penalties and no mechanical problems. It was the best we've done.

After changing the brake pads, shuffling some tires, and filling the tank, we were set for Sunday. That night we drank beer, ate grilled animals, and generally had a great LeMons time. The next morning it was more of the same. Clean laps no problems and Team Questie kept their lead. Resigned to a 2nd place finish, barring the Escort's untimely demise we started to be OK with second in class and our highest overall finish. It would be a team best.

Then Ricky pulls in with issues. No power. Were had lost compression in one cylinder and had three left. Roger pulled the injector power, and I figured I could keep us top 20 if I could just turn some laps for the last 2 hours. I went out on track and was able to keep pace with the Class C cars, for a bit. 5 or 6 laps in, the rest of the cylinders went. I made it to the pits and we packed up and left. 33 out of 86, another typical LeMons for the Duff Beer Civic.

Here's the pics:

Guess what's brew'n?

Since I am taking my entire store of Pumpkin Spice Porter and Jalapeno Beer to LeMons to give away, I have a replacement batch brewing. You can see by the airlock the yeast are gong crazy.

Under the lid is a lovely smelling red ale. It has willamette bitterring and aroma hops. Then I dumped a couple of bags of whole hallertau hops for dry hopping. Of course it has a ton of extra Agave nectar to add a kick. This should smell and taste amazing. And... This is my first batch that I actually used a thermometer when steeping the grains. Hopefully this eliminates any bitter aftertaste. I don't think this batch will last until the next race, but I'll make another if it is successful.

New shirts for you!

To celebrate our new race season and twisted humor we have a whole new array of socially unacceptable t-shirts. We are not liable for anyone getting kicked of the PTA or being asked to no longer coach youth soccer. If you want them, visit our t-shirt shop: http://carolinahondasracing.spreadshirt.com/

Here's a sample:

Back at the track for 2013 - LeMons

We have returned! Shaking off the cold and the rust from Duffy's undercarriage we are going to the first LeMons race for the Southeast in 2013. Roger has prepped the car with new brake lines and wheel bearings and fixed up our tow vehicle and trailer. The tow vehicle warrants a separate post, because it is amazing (Duff beer curtains), but that's for another time. 

Roger and Ricky have already run Duffy at the THSCC AutoX, where she ran perfectly. We are hoping this is the one. No mechanicals, no black flags, and we could be the class B heros. Come out and see if we can pull it off. Anyone who stops by gets free beer, and one who mentions our blog gets a free t-shirt. The event page on LeMons: http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/sodisco13.aspx

Southern Discomfort (Charlotte NC)

Race Weekend: 16-17 March 2013

Track: Carolina Motorsports Park (FULL TRACK), Kershaw SC