Race Day, "Speeding is FUNdamental"

After a long hot two days (did I mention it was hot before? No, ya. Freakin' hot) we where at the day we've been working towards all winter, Race Day.

The morning again started at 8 a.m. for the drivers meeting. Then practice. Shawn had entered two races for the day with the Honda in the IT group and the Miata in the Prod/Spec Miata group. This would mean keeping focused on two different styles of cars. Practice for both groups went fantastic, no issues or problems. Then qualifying. Shawn put some fast laps down with the Honda and ended up 5th on the grid out of about 40 plus cars. The Miata was a learning experience, with a qualifying spot of 33rd out of 38 cars. A little disappointed with the time Shawn looked forward to getting back into the Honda.

Lunch came and I was given a ride around the track by Devin, who showed me the proper lines and also talked about how the car would react. I learned a lot on those few laps. Hopefully some day I can put them to use.

Race one with the IT group was up next. When the green dropped Shawn was stuck to the inside and dropped a few spots but quickly got them back and returned to his 5th place starting spot. As the laps clicked off so did the cars (waving twice to Andy), getting around a SM and a RX-7 put Shawn in third place behind a Porsche, and Bimmer which is how the race ended. Overall that put him in 3rd overall and 1st in class.

Race two with the Prod/SM group was next. Starting 33rd Shawn pushed as hard as he could and clicked off some consistent lap times, improving threw the race to push up into the 25th spot by the time the checkered flag fell. For the first time under race conditions in the rear wheel drive Miata that is already a sign of improvement. Seat time in the car will result in even more improvement in the future.

That put a end to our day at Blackhawk Farms. A great weekend with somewhere in the area of 6 or so hours of track time. We where spent, mentally and physically. It took around 3 hours to get packed up. Finally arriving at home sometime on the 11 p.m hour.

Sleep and A/C felt good. Til' next race

Saturday Driver School

Our weekend continued at Blackhawk for the Driver School. With last years motor letting the magic smoke out of every cylinder Shawn was one race short of getting his Novice Permit signed off so would have a Comp license. So back to school, back to school, to learn. As Billy Madison would say.

The morning started at 8 a.m. and ran all the way threw until 5 p.m. or so. Long day with a lot of track time. At one point during the day a suspension noise that was thought to be solved decided to rear it's ugly head. The lower control arm bolt going into the sub-frame had come loose and the nut had become unattached from the sub. So some grinding, swearing, more grinding and a hammer fixed it in no time. The rest of the weekend we checked the bolt between sessions just to make sure it hadn't come loose again.

Rain passed threw just before a session. A lot of cars quick changed to rain tires but we stayed on the same set. Which was a good idea since the track dried fast and was only slick in 6 and 7. Shawn took it easy threw the session until Andy decided to pass a ton of cars and put Shawn in the cross hairs. Shawn not wanting to hear Andy rib him the rest of the day dropped the hammer and put some distance between the two of them.

The practice race went of without a incident and afterwards licenses where handed out. That night we pulled the cars threw race tech and prepared for a long Sunday, thankfully the beer was still cold so as Crew Chief I made a last second call to drink some of them.

Friday Test Day

On the 26th we arrived at Blackhawk Farms for the test and tune day put on by the MSCC. We took part of the morning to setup the hauler and get the cars teched.

Andy Schmiechen also was pitting with us for the weekend with his newly purchased Honda Civic. So we put him to work right away, along with Dave and Devin Andersen. With the five of us, and just enough knowledge to get us in trouble, we set the haulers side awning up in just a hour or so.

unfortunately Dave's Honda ran into a overheating problem so his weekend pitting with us came to a end. Devin though was around for the weekend to still help with the cars, give advice, and pointers.

The afternoon we had enough time to run two sessions in the Honda and two in the Miata. Both session went without a hitch with no problems on either car. By the end of the day we where happy with how things went so a vote was taken, and off to watch some live music nearby. Which gave us a chance to unwind after a long day.

Spec Miata at Milwaukee

It was nice to see the Spec Miata for Redhead racing run good at the Milwaukee Mile in the Great Lakes Gran Prix. The first weekend out as a rental and it did well.

Qualified 1st in the Spec Miata and finished 2nd. It also qualified 1st in the ITA group but did not start the race.

Honda Improvements

Wednesday night was spent adding a A-Spec racing rear subframe reinforcement brace on the Honda. Not a very big job, but it will help keep cracks from forming where the rear lower control arms attach to the body.

In other news, the Miata is rented for a weekend of racing. More details on it's adventures come Sunday!

Team meetings

Monday night was a "Team meeting" night at Willie's Repair. With Shawn and I going over every aspect of the upcoming race which is Memorial Day weekend.

Both cars are near race prep, with just minor adjustments needed to the Honda, and then a final tune on the Dyno at King Motorsports. The Miata only needs to have a "pre-load" inspection before it is tied down in the Hauler. The CRX was also looked over and a plan of attack has been devised to get it squared away this season.

The Hauler, just some final adjustments to the tire rack will be done. Then stocking it with all the needed gear for a full race weekend.

We will be heading down to Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Rockton Ill on Friday the 26th for a test day. Then a driver school on Saturday to refresh Shawns skills. Followed by Sunday's race which is a Madison Sports Car Club sponsored event.

If you would like to join us on any of the three days to see the new toys Redhead Racing has, discuss a possible rental, or just enjoy a weekend of road racing, please feel free to contact Shawn or myself threw www.redheadracing.net

Bj

Drivers are so busy

They are, you wouldn't believe how busy the Driver/Owner of race teams are. So much going on trying to get ready for upcoming seasons that they never have time to update their blogs. So, the Crew Chiefs have too, as usual, step in and kick start things. Shawn's lucky I only have a size 8 shoe.

All kidding aside, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm B.J. Ruland, Shawn's "Crew Chief" and also one of the sponsors of Redhead Racing threw my family owned business, Willie's Repair. One of my new duties at Redhead Racing will be making an attempt at updating the blog portion of www.redheadracing.net as the season goes on.

A very busy spring with some great additions to the team in equipment should make 06' a fun and competitive season. Let's hope over the next few days/weeks I can show all of you what has been going on behind the scenes at RHR and what to expect in the future. Wish us luck!

B.J.