Thread: Electrathon - A Different Kind of "Hotrod"

Tweet

The race at USF Tampa (Feb 23) turned out to be a good one...

My son drove the #13 car to first place in the first race, but along the way he got crowded into a curb by an inexperienced driver and damaged the front axle. While checking for loose or broken spokes (as I always do) between races, I noticed that the front axle tube had a crack next to the left king-pin boss! In the second race this would be on the side that would be predominantly on the outside, so would be under the greatest stress. Doubting that the left front wheel and spindle could survive my son's agressive driving style, I traded cars with him for the second race.

I had planned to start the race with his damaged car, drive a few laps to get on the scoreboard, and park it. When the green flag dropped it took Jim Jr. about 2 laps to get into the lead with my #94 car. Meanwhile, I drove his #13 around at a conservative pace, constantly watching the left front wheel for some sign of impending failure. It never got any worse, however, so I ended up finishing the entire hour! At the end of the day, my #94 car was declared the winner with 152 total laps. Rodney Schreck from Miami ran 143 laps for 2nd place. I clocked enough laps in #13, combined with Jim Jr's win in the first race, to get a total of 135 laps and 3rd place. My #86 car had a wheel bearing problem in the second race, but after getting DNF's in its last three outings, Ralph Foss nursed it along for enough laps (134) to get 4th!

With 3 cars in the top 4, I'd say we had a great day... FINALLY!!

The picture below shows the lineup for the first race. Jim Jr.(13) is on the pole, Ralph (86) is in the 3rd row and I (94) am in the 4th row.