Following our bad luck in our last touring race, at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, we began preparing our car for the annual Grant Fritz Memorial 100-lapper at Anderson Speedway in Anderson, Indiana. This track is billed as the world's fastest quarter-mile, with banking as steep as Bristol Motor Speedway. From our experience, it lives up to the claim.
After our mechanical failure (the steering arm came loose) in the Langley touring race, we went over our car mechanically with a fine-tooth comb. In Legends racing there are no pit stops for adjustments or repairs, so small problems often put you laps down and out of contention. You may come off the track during a caution, but going to the rear of the field in a Legends race usually ends any chances of a good finish.
Our practice times were Top 5 at Langley, and we were counting on a Top-5 finish to mathematically put the 2005 Legends National Touring title away for good. We still had a sick feeling in our stomachs from having to go immediately to the rear of the field on the start due to our loose steering arm, so we spent extra effort in preparing our car for the Anderson race. We certainly didn't want to experience that feeling again.
Running 100 laps on the high-banked Anderson quarter-mile in a Legends Car is something every Legends driver should experience. However, don't attempt it until your seat time qualifies you to do so, particularly in this annual event. I recommend you hop in one of their weekly shows to see if you're confident enough to bite off a full 100 laps on this tough little track.
My first experience here was in last year's event, and it was a good one. We came up the night before and entered the Friday night weekly event for the practice time but skipped the race to save our car for the next evening's Grant Fritz 100-lapper. We made no major setup changes last year, and last year's coupe took to the track right away. We added more pinion angle and rear steer, then took off.
Having good notes from last year's race, we were confident about our setup for this year's race. We got to Anderson the night before but skipped the Friday weekly show to get some much-needed rest. The next morning, we arranged for some practice time on the track and unloaded the car. With a little wedge change, we were ready for the race.
During practice, we were in the Top 5 in speed and again made no changes. Anderson Speedway uses transponders to score the race and continually posts the practice times of the Top 5 cars. This is very helpful in maximizing practice time and comparing yourself to the other entrants.
We qualified Third overall in a very competitive field, but we were having a blast and feeling confident about our chances to end our recent streak of bad luck. Again, a Top-5 finish here would also mathematically give us the touring title.The race started well and ran somewhat caution free for several laps. In this 100-lap event, the last 50 laps must be green flag laps, so once they are past the halfway point, competitors still have 50 more green flag laps to complete. We were running strong in Third Place and gaining on the Second-Place car when, around Lap 30, my car's engine briefly cut off in the middle of Turns 3 and 4.
Coming off the turn, this sudden and complete interruption under full power caused my car to jerk violently to the right, aimed directly at the wall. Then, just as quickly as it cut off, it re-fired. Somehow I was able to gather it up and drive off the turn without wrecking or losing position.
I continued and tried to focus on the job at hand. Not knowing what had happened, I was only hoping it wouldn't happen again. No such luck! Midway down the backstretch it suddenly shut down again. This time Tommy Jordan and I mated up in a way neither of us expected. I motioned him around while still trying to cope with the intermittent behavior of my engine. Quite frankly, I was driving scared. At that moment, I would gladly give up a couple of positions if I could just hold on for a few more laps.
With about 15 laps remaining in the event, I was freaking out because I didn't know what to expect from my car while speeding around this demanding quarter-mile bullring. A caution came out and allowed me to take a breath, say a quick prayer, and cross my fingers. The car ran smoothly during the slower caution laps, so I tightened up my belts and decided to hold on until the end of the race. In about 15 more laps, the touring championship would be mine if only my car would settle down.
On the re-start, I hit the throttle to take the green coming off Turn 4 and-you guessed it-the engine died, re-fired, and continued this pattern down the frontstretch. I had to act fast; I was barely holding on with the entire field hauling off into Turn 1. I dove to the bottom as quickly as possible and jerked the car into the infield coming off Turn 2. As the field roared by me, the "little engine that wouldn't" smoothed out again at the slower pace and I rolled to a stop in the center of the infield. In that moment, I went from Third position with a touring title in the bag to spectator.
When the race ended, my engine fired as if nothing had ever happened, and I made the steep climb off the track through the Turn 4 gate and continued to my pit. I could see the look of disappointment on my Dad's face and knew exactly how he felt.
We took a few moments to gather ourselves. Between the two of us, we couldn't determine the cause for the failure. The engine would fire and run smoothly as the car sat still, without sputtering or anything. We suspected the ignition box but had no way to troubleshoot the problem. So we loaded the car and went to the nearest watering hole to sort everything out.
Back at the shop, we began poking all around the wiring harness while the engine idled. When we reached behind the dash where the ignition on/off switch was, the engine stopped. We took off the dashpanel and continued the same prodding.
The culprit was a $12 single-pole toggle switch, the stock switch 600 Racing uses on its new cars. One of the connectors gradually vibrated loose from the body of the switch. OK at rest, it was literally falling off under the vibration of competition. When we jiggled it a couple of times, it fell off in our hands.
That's racing! It'll get you in the gut every now and then.
We have replaced the switch, of course, but we intend to upgrade to aircraft-quality switches like the ones the NASCAR Cup boys use. I recommend each of you do the same. The aircraft-quality switches are only a few dollars more and certainly worth it.
Our car performed well in all other areas, so we made the repairs, went over our setup, and set our sights on our next touring race in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, at the Canadian Nationals Championship