It's A Major Award.

Even though I shamefully rolled the car, and kept us from finishing the race, there was some consolation. Our Hillbilly Wing won us the prestigious Unsafe Banned Technology award!





Pictures coming as soon as I can find them.

Sunday.

Patrick starts the day with some very fast laps. The passenger is happy.


Pat continues to pilot the beast for about an hour before getting black flagged. It's our first offense for the weekend, so the judges go easy on us. Penalty: Driver change and back on the track.

Next up is Mike who also turns in some fast laps before also being black flagged. The passenger is no longer happy, but more importantly, the judges are mad as hell.



Penalty: The whole team is tied together and must walk the length of the entire paddock and back wrapped in caution tape to display our shame.



After the shaming, a driver change was required. My turn. Back on the track. I'm instructed by my teammates to take it easy. This is an easy assignment. I'm doing it. Taking it easy. Until I spin and flip the car (yes that's right) in the exit of turn one. The driver behind me noted the brand of muffler we were using as I presented the soft underbelly of the beast while in mid-air. I landed right side up and was groping around for the start button when Shawn called on the radio to ask if I was OK. More groping around, this time for the radio microphone. Yes I'm fine. Yes yes wait for the safety crew. I guess I'm done.



Thanks to the engineers at Chrysler and also to Mike Maier for building a stout roll cage.

I'm given a lift back to the pit and the car is towed in. There is minimal damage. Two flat tires and a scraping fan shroud. All is fixed in short order.








The judges say we can't go back out. We are banned for the rest of the season (three days). Their word is final. More shame. Sorry, team.

The passenger is sad.



On the bright side, I am relatively undamaged and so is the car. Mike drove the car 150 miles home last night without incident.

All in all, not a bad weekend.

More later.

For coverage of the event go to Jalopnik.

Saturday.

Saturday was great, Thunderhill Raceway is a beautiful track with some tricky turns. The organizer makes sure that the track is suitable for both seasoned drivers and the numerous beginners. Chicanes are added too keep the top speeds down to about 70-80 MPH.

All of the team took a turn at the wheel. We all stayed out about an hour.


Patrick First.


Then Mike.


My Turn.


Adrian.


Al.


Last, But Most Fastest, Shawn.



Made it look effortless.

Inspection.

The chickens were a little nervous.

To be honest, so were we.

Sigh of relief.

Everything worked out well.

Penalty laps = zero! Hurrah.

Now it's time to practice. More later.

Not Your Average Kids In The Hall.

We arrive at Thunderhill Raceway early in the morning. Couldn't resist this photo.





Tech Inspection and Bullshit Inspection later.

Good Morning?

Headed for Thunderhill Raceway Park. It's very early. Will post more later. Yawn.

Downforce II.

The hillbilly wing is finished. Check it out.

Sound Effects.

Just for fun.





How about that?

Put A Tigger In Your Tank!

Relocating the fuel filler to a less crash prone area seems like a good idea.




It also leaves room for an additional passenger. Have a nice ride Tigger!!!

The Hillbilly Wing.

Step one complete.



Now if only I could find some springs and a bowling ball.


When finished, the wing will change its angle when cornering, accelerating, and braking.

Yes, it's an ironing board.