whistlin six
04-05-2011, 10:04 PM
I posted this on another site and it got good response so I'll share it here too.
Some of my experiences working on the crew.
I thought I'd share a little insight on what goes on before and after a fuel car makes a pass, some of the things you normally don't see.
Once the car is towed to the staging lanes and Bode gets out, we do a final once over on the car, checking the belt, fuel and oil lines, making sure the valve covers are seated properly and everything is where it should be ect...
I'll get under the body and prepare the restraints for Bode to get strapped in, put the turning bar on the blower pulley and get the clutch to a certain spot for the clutch guy to make a last minute weight change on the clutch. Meanwhile the tire guy is keeping tabs on the rear tire pressures and wheelie bar adjustment.
Our crew chief is out on the starting line watching and determining the track condition.
With about 4-5 pairs of cars ahead of us, Bode will start getting ready for the run. We'll get his boots and helmet on, and the Hans device.
He walks to the back of the car and pulls the chute pins and checks the chutes one last time, hands me the chute pins and climbs into the car.
I'll get the restraints hooked up and adjusted. Lap belts, shoulder belts, arm restraints, leg restraints, helmet strap, gloves, air line and radio and all get done at this time.
Once he's in and comfortable I'll climb behind the rear tire and turn the o2 bottle and radio.
Next I'll back the motor down and install the starter on the blower, then I'll
pull the fire bottle pin and show it to Bode.
Once the car reaches the starting line, our crew chief will make his last minute adjustments to clutch flow and timing curves in the computer box.
We'll spin the motor over to prime it and wait for the "fire em up" signal.
Wally then squirts the gasoline into the injector and I'll spin it over and bring it to life.
Burnout/back up and body up, one last check of oil psi and idle speed by the crew chief, I pull the throttle stop, msd plug and Racepak screen and then Wally guides him into the beams, opens the fuel regulator valve and sends him with a couple good luck taps on the hood.
He makes the pass and we head down to the shut down area. Bode is already out of the car by the time we get there. Jake will lift the body and
I'll put the kill wires back in, fire bottle pin, msd plug and throttle stop, run around to the other side of the car and shut the air and radio back off. Then I get in the seat and Jake lowers the body. The car is very hot and smoky inside. It smells of oil/rubber/clutch dust and brake dust, I can tell it just made a hard pass. I'll pat her on the dash and tell her good job! or it's ok, we'll get em next time. We head to the scales and back to the pit area. The car sounds like a bucket of bolts inside, stones ping off the sticky tires and hit the tubs, the clutch is growling and the body is bouncing on its perches.
It's a real rattle box.
I steer the car into the pit, hop out the hatch and grab the LR body and lift it off to carry it into the pit area. Then the thrash begins....
Some of my experiences working on the crew.
I thought I'd share a little insight on what goes on before and after a fuel car makes a pass, some of the things you normally don't see.
Once the car is towed to the staging lanes and Bode gets out, we do a final once over on the car, checking the belt, fuel and oil lines, making sure the valve covers are seated properly and everything is where it should be ect...
I'll get under the body and prepare the restraints for Bode to get strapped in, put the turning bar on the blower pulley and get the clutch to a certain spot for the clutch guy to make a last minute weight change on the clutch. Meanwhile the tire guy is keeping tabs on the rear tire pressures and wheelie bar adjustment.
Our crew chief is out on the starting line watching and determining the track condition.
With about 4-5 pairs of cars ahead of us, Bode will start getting ready for the run. We'll get his boots and helmet on, and the Hans device.
He walks to the back of the car and pulls the chute pins and checks the chutes one last time, hands me the chute pins and climbs into the car.
I'll get the restraints hooked up and adjusted. Lap belts, shoulder belts, arm restraints, leg restraints, helmet strap, gloves, air line and radio and all get done at this time.
Once he's in and comfortable I'll climb behind the rear tire and turn the o2 bottle and radio.
Next I'll back the motor down and install the starter on the blower, then I'll
pull the fire bottle pin and show it to Bode.
Once the car reaches the starting line, our crew chief will make his last minute adjustments to clutch flow and timing curves in the computer box.
We'll spin the motor over to prime it and wait for the "fire em up" signal.
Wally then squirts the gasoline into the injector and I'll spin it over and bring it to life.
Burnout/back up and body up, one last check of oil psi and idle speed by the crew chief, I pull the throttle stop, msd plug and Racepak screen and then Wally guides him into the beams, opens the fuel regulator valve and sends him with a couple good luck taps on the hood.
He makes the pass and we head down to the shut down area. Bode is already out of the car by the time we get there. Jake will lift the body and
I'll put the kill wires back in, fire bottle pin, msd plug and throttle stop, run around to the other side of the car and shut the air and radio back off. Then I get in the seat and Jake lowers the body. The car is very hot and smoky inside. It smells of oil/rubber/clutch dust and brake dust, I can tell it just made a hard pass. I'll pat her on the dash and tell her good job! or it's ok, we'll get em next time. We head to the scales and back to the pit area. The car sounds like a bucket of bolts inside, stones ping off the sticky tires and hit the tubs, the clutch is growling and the body is bouncing on its perches.
It's a real rattle box.
I steer the car into the pit, hop out the hatch and grab the LR body and lift it off to carry it into the pit area. Then the thrash begins....