Our second fast time of the season! Everyone put down some pretty fast laps, mostly due to everyone having four new tires for the double header. We managed to squeeze out a 17.343. If my memory serves me right, that is the fastest lap time we have ever made on the 3/8s.
Since we qualified first, we drew a four car invert which placed us on the outside of the second row. The car was okay during the first main but we didnt have the consistency that we have been lacking lately. While we did turn the fastest lap time out of everyone in the first main, we wanted to make that speed last longer. We were running in the top five when we spun out of turn four. We restarted the race in the back. After a few laps and a few accidents later we found ourselves in fifth when the checkers came out.
From our finish in the first race, we were put into third on the inside of the second row for the start. We followed the 70 as he got a good jump on the start but the officials didnt like it so they called the initial start off. On the next start, the 70 car once again got a good start and we followed him to second place but we had another restart. By the time the race got underway, we found ourselves in second looking for an opening to take the lead. A few laps in we found that opening and made our move. Once we got into the lead, we began getting into a rhythm and we were looking good. But as the laps wore on the car started to fall off more and more. We fell back to third and with only a few laps remaining we fell back to fourth where we finished the race. We have found the speed, we just need to make it last or just be fast at the end. We know we can do it, just need that little bit to get our first win!
The car went from one extreme to the other. Last weekend the car was very loose getting off the corners but it drove down in and rolled through the center really well. We worked at changing the setup to tighten the car up, but we ended up with a slight push in the center of the corner. The stagger was the driving force behind the push but we had to adjust around it and try to get the car better.
We tried a few changes throughout practice to get the car to turn better. They seemed to help but we still needed more time. The car was still not handling the way we wanted it to in qualifying but we ended up qualifying fourth.
The heat race began with our transponder not working properly so they gave us a mechanical black flag prior to the beginning of the race. Dexx looked at it and couldnt find anything that was obviously wrong. We went back out and they put us to the back of the pack. As the race was nearing the end, we closed in on a car and began looking for an opportunity to pass. They were running real defensively but we found an opening in turn one and two on the final lap when they drove it in too deep and washed up the track. As we pulled up door to door, their car came back down the banking at such an angle to our car that our right front tire climbed their left front causing me to go for a ride up and over their car. Luckily our car was okay with only a quick repair on the door and fender was required. Throughout the whole incident we maintained our position and finished the race.
We started in third place for the main race. On the initial start we fell into a good spot to begin working toward the front but the caution came out because of an incident in turn one with the 70 car. They lined us back up in our original starting positions. I drove into second place after the restart and begun working on the 28 who was leading. After a few laps we got our nose inside and completed the pass. We started to get into a rhythm and established a substantial lead. Near the half way mark the caution came out for a car that was sitting broad side in turn one. We chose the pole position and we were able to get back out front on the restart. We ran a few more laps, and then the caution came out again for a car that was stopped on the front stretch unable to move. On this third restart we were once again on the pole but with the 00 on the outside. We pulled back into the lead on the restart and tried to hang on for the last third of the race. The 00 was able to get their nose inside of us in turn four because the car drug on the ground and bounced us partially up off the inside of the turn. We fell in behind them and we were waiting for a mistake that we could capitalize on. But the push was not getting better and we fell a few car lengths off by the end of the race where we finished second, again. The car was far more consistent this weekend which is important to finish well. I believe that we have found a good setup now for the 3/8s to accompany our 5/8s setup.
Our first fast time and heat race win at Evergreen Speedway occurred last weekend.
During our practice sessions we made some small changes but when it was all said and done, we qualified the car just as we brought it to the track. We qualified first place with a time of 17.563. This was one of the fastest times we have run on the 3/8s. I believe that the decision to scrub the tires before qualifying was what caused the greatest improvement in our time.
We started on the pole of the heat race. We ran side by side with the 06 car for the few opening laps. He gained the advantage on us and pulled around the outside. We ran in second place for a few more laps until we were able to get our nose inside of the leader and challenge for the lead. We raced side by side all the way to the checkers where we had a .005 second lead. It was our first heat race win!
There was a four car invert for the main race so we started on the outside of the second row. On the start, the 70 and I drove around the outside of the 06 and 94 and began to check out on the rest of the field. I was able to drive into the corners deep and roll through the center quickly but we were starving for bite off of the corners. As the race progressed the car began to fall off. We slipped back to third place and with a few laps remaining, we fell back to fourth. After being passed for fourth by the 94, we bumped their rear bumper on the exit of turn four, which caught both of us off guard, and sent the 94 spinning. With such a lack of bite, we either hit a patch of new asphalt or they didnt accelerate as expected. Either way we received a black flag and was penalized for the accident. We had to start the race from the pit area which meant that our tires would be cold when we had our drag race to turn one. We were about a half a lap behind after the restart. The leaders got together on the last lap which allowed us to close the gap but with the way the car was handling, I was unable to capitalize on it. If we are able to prevent the car from falling off, we will have a strong race car. Our fastest lap time during the main was the same lap time as the 00 who won the race.
A lot of work went into Saturday's race, but it all paid off in the end.
Last race weekend we had a few things working against us. At the end of the race we had about an inch and a half too much stagger in the rear. The motor also had a small, yet consistant, leak coming from the front of the engine somewhere. We tried to repair the leak during the week and when we test fired the car Saturday morning, we notice that the motor was once again leaking. Dexx checked the sealant that we used but it didn't cure hard and remained tacky. It was now almost ten o'clock and we made the choice to put the back-up motor in the car instead of trying to seal up the leak. We had to tear everything off of the old motor and bolt it to the back-up. Two hours later we were setting the timing and packing up the trailer.
When we arrived at the track, the first practice was completed and the second practice was just begining. We didn't make either one but there was a session to scuff our tires. We took advantage of that session as a practice. The car felt okay so we were going to try it in qualifying and see if we wanted to make any changes to the car after qualifying. Unfortunately they impounded the cars after qualifying and we were unable to make any adjustment or we would lose our starting position. Just as we were getting ready to get in the car and get the race started, it began to rain. After they ran a few other races, it was now time for our main race.
The officials told us prior to the race that they were going to give us 100 laps instead of the original 125. They also told us that they may cut it back even farther to a time that would be determined later on. Since we were starting on the pole, we planned to just run hard right from the start and try to hold the lead incase they cut us sort on laps.
We lost the lead on the start but quickly gained the position back in the first few laps. At that point we drove away from the pack building a rather large lead on second place. A caution came out because a car lost an engine and spilled oil all over the inside groove of turn one and two. Once the officials found the oil and tried aborbing the mess with speedy-dry, Shawn and I began talking about what our next move would be. With the new cone rule this year, we were able to choose if we wanted to start on the inside in first or the outside in second. We talked about the options and Shawn left the call up to me. I felt confident on the outside and I knew that the inside would be a challenge with all the loose speedy-dry in the groove. As we approached the cone I believe I shocked most of the stands and Shawn when I went around the outside of the cone. On the start we fell back slightly but I knew that once a rolled through the small patch of speedy-dry in my line that I could give him a good run around the outside. And that was exactly what we did as we cleared him on the back straight. We had a few more restarts and we maintained the lead for most of the race. Toward the end of the race we began battling with the 00 car on the restarts but come to find out we had a tire going flat and our lap time were falling off. Considering all we went through Saturday morning, it was a great run for us, a great points night, and we hope to break out of second place and get our first win soon!
Same issue, just a different weekend. All day Saturday we were having the same problem trying to get forward traction out of the corners. The first practice went okay but we decided to change a spring. When we had the tires off, we noticed that the right front tire had a huge deep cut in it. The car was better in the second practice but we wanted to make some more changes for qualifying.
The car was pretty good during the heat race but we were caught behind the 34 and 70 car who were battling side by side during the closing laps. The main race we started third place. A car went off of turn three after the start so we had a restart. I was now starting second on the outside. We were able to drive around the outside and take the lead until we were spun in turn two. We had to start in the back of the pack. We were waiting for the car to come to us and as it did we once again were caught up with another car. As I was getting the car fired back up, the other car decided to drive into our left front tire which broke the tie rod connection. The car was slightly darting going down the straightaway so we just wanted finish the race. Unfortunately the tie rod finally broke all the way off of the spindle and I didnt have control of the left front tire. We came into the pits and tried to fix it but we didnt have enough time.
What a weekend! Our best finish so far in the NASCAR Whelen Series at Evergreen Speedway.
Friday night we returned home from school and began working on the car. The previous weekend we looked over the car to see if we encountered any major damage from the tire we lost the week before. We didnt see anything major that needed to be replaced. The focus of the repairs was on the starter and flywheel which was missing nine teeth. To even remove the starter, we have to remove the transmission, so it is a bit of work.
We ordered the parts and they were waiting for us when I got home. Joe and Dexx came over to help get the car prepared for Saturday. Dexx was working on getting the new tach in the dash. Joe and I worked on putting the clutch, starter, and transmission back in place. After we got the bell housing back on, we realized that the new flywheel required different shimming than the old one. Joe was a good sport and took it all apart again. Finally with the car all back together, we were able to begin working on the setup.
As we were changing things around, we noticed that the right front upper A-arm mount was bent almost ten degrees towards the center of the car. By this point it was nearing 3:30 in the morning and we decided to call it a night.
We started fresh, or as fresh as five hours of sleep will let you, and began tackling the list. We had to figure out a way to fix the upper mount and we also had to fix a few other things. By 12:30 we were still welding on the car and we didnt even start to pack the trailer up yet. By the time we finally got to the track and signed in, we missed the first practice.
The second practice started and we had some pretty old tires on the car. We only ran a few laps before the new muffler attachment design failed once again and we had to sit the remainder of the practice out.
We put the new tires on and gave it our best shot for qualifying. We didnt do too bad considering how the morning began. 8th out of 13 cars. We made a few changes to the cross weight and prepared the car for the main race.
We were outside of invert so we had to start the race in 8th place. We ran in sixth place until the 78 car crashed about half way through the race bringing out the red flag. Unfortunately the car was overheating so the track allowed us to slowly drive around the 1/5 mile to get some air through the radiator.
On the restart we started in fifth place. The car seemed to stay pretty consistent throughout the whole night. In the past, we may have a car that was good at the beginning, but it always seemed to fall off toward the end of the race. Not on Saturday, we began reeling people in and passing them. We worked our way up to third place and another caution came out. The running order for the restart was Bennet, Lang, then us. The 4 car brought us down to the single file restart real slow. When the green flag flew, Lang went to the inside of Bennet and we went to the outside of Lang. We raced around the outside and into second place. Lang challenged us on the inside headed to the checkers and we got the line first only by a fender. It was a fun night for us considering all we went through that morning. We are looking forward to next weekend with the double header on the 3/8s.
Last night we were at Evergreen Speedway to help promote our race next weekend. All the fans entering the track got the opportunity to check out the car and get an autograph or coupon card. The show was great and the stands were full. Glad we were available to help out track! We are getting excited for next weekend!
Another first time experience for us this past race weekend. In my sixteen years of racing, I have been fortunate enough to never get a flat tire during a race. Saturday night we lost pressure in the right front tire going into turn three and slid into the outside wall in turn four. But we were not the only one with tire troubles. The 70 car lost a tire during practice which resulted in a blazing mess and as we were in the pits changing our tire, the 06 car also spun in turn three, from what I understood, was a flat tire.
Our first practice session was cut short due to the fire in the 70. Luckily no one was hurt in that accident. We didnt quite have the correct gear in the car so we were not too concerned with losing part of the practice session. Since the speedway used up the fire extinguishers, we had some time to work on the car before we could go on the track again. We changed the gears and made a few other adjustments to the car to prepare it for the second practice session.
We were pleased with how the car was handling. We were running consistently low twenty-four second lap times. The car seemed to be consistent throughout the 25 laps we ran. Shaun had a few more changes that we wanted to try for qualifying to see if we could get down into the twenty-three second range.
The changes seemed to work. Our first qualifying lap we ran a 23.638, followed by a 23.317. We decided to do more to make it a bit faster for the main.
We started the main race in third place. We fell back to fifth till lap six when we moved up to fourth. Until the tire blew, we ran in fourth place with an average lap time of 24.1 seconds. The car was probably the most consistent that it has been so far this season. When the tire blew, there was very little I could do since it went down right as I was entering the corner. I tried to get the car slowed down as much as I could but we still collided with the outside wall. We changed the tire and headed back out onto the track. Luckily there was a caution out due to another accident so we only lost a few laps. Once we began racing again, the passenger side doors rivets came loose and I was able to look out of the side window and see the contingency stickers that are on the bottom of the door. This also caused the muffler to fall off. We decided to return to the pits to fix the door and make sure the car was okay to continue. At this point we just wanted finish the race without damaging the car anymore. We finished the race in seventh place, eight laps down. We will get the car back together and be ready for the next race in two weeks. It was unfortunate that we lost the tire, but the car has some real potential for the next race.
We are getting close. Each week we have made numerous changes to the car at once trying to get the setup better. The combination of the shocks and all the other adjustments we made last week paid off. From this point forward we will be able to fine tune the car.
Before the first practice, we started the car to make sure everything was okay, but it wasnt. The car was running rough so we immediately pulled the air cleaner off and started to troubleshoot. The floats in the carb were not adjusted correctly and the distributor cap was loose. By the time we fixed the problems, the first practice was over.
We took the car out for the second practice and the car was feeling pretty good. It was much better than it has been up to this point. We decided to make some adjustments to the ride heights and scaled the car. We also made some more adjustments to the carburetor.
Qualifying went well with our best qualifying position of third place. We were still about two tenths off of the fast time but we still were not finished making changes.
We were running well in the heat race but we were fighting a push in the center of the corner. On the last lap we got crossed up coming out of four and lost a few positions.
For the main race we started in fifth place due to the invert. In the first couple laps the third place car got under the leader and went three wide going into turn one. The leader ended up spinning out and we followed the third place car to second place. No caution flag came out and we had a good lead on the rest of the pack. We closed in on the leader but the push in the center was still there and progressively worsened. The third and four place cars caught up with us about half way through the race. As we slipped back into fourth place the first caution of the night came out. On the restart we were racing on the inside through three and four when we came in contact with a lap car on the outside. The contact ended up tearing off the front fender, the door, part of the rear quarter panel, and the muffler. With a deafening roar in my right ear, we once again had another restart. We were battling for position and the engine began to cut out. The remainder of the race I could only get about half throttle. We finished the race in sixth place. We made good progress this weekend and look forward to the 5/8s next weekend!
The weekend went well. We were making changes to the car all night. We were battling with the brakes all the way through the heat race. The front brakes were not being applied evenly and under hard braking, only one of the front tires would lock up. We replaced the pads and took the glaze off the rotors which fixed the problem. But that fix caused another problem to arise. Since the front brakes had new pads and the rotors were scuffed, I could not get enough rear brake adjustment into the car during the heat race to compensate for the additional braking capability of the front brakes. I had to be cautious when trying to pass other cars because the car could slide up the track under hard braking. We duplicated the repairs that we performed to the front brake on the rear which made the braking balanced for the main race.
Our fourth place finish in the main event will move us closer to fourth place in points. We have our sights set on a top three finish in the next few races.
Congratulations to James Mugge and the entire 34 team for a back to back win.
Each race weekend so far, we have tried a different setup in the car. Each weekend, the car isn�t getting much faster, but we are able to maintain our speed throughout the changes which is very good. Now that we have arrived at where the car should be, we can refine the setup instead of making big changes. We have collectively decided that a change in our current shock package is needed to improve on the car�s handling. The past couple races, the car has been competitive for short sprints and at the beginning of the race, but then it begins to fall off. We believe that the changes we make to the shocks will help us not only improve in the short runs, but stay consistent throughout the entire race. The car will remain balanced and in turn will be more consistent. Luckily we have a two week break until our next event which gives us some time to get the shocks lined up and fix our post race damage.
In regards to the post race incident, we spoke to the officials of Evergreen Speedway and they agreed with our team that incidents that occur off of the racing surface are dangerous and should not be tolerated. Evergreen Speedway insured us that they must deal with the issue appropriately.
Last night was our first top five finish! We led the first seven laps till we were passed by the 34 and 00. As the race progressed, the right rear tire was being used up too quickly. The car wasn't handling the way we wanted it to in qualifying and the heat race. So before the main race, we made some changes to the cross weight, the track bar, and a spring rubber to try to get more forward bite. We finished the race in 4th place.
Next week we plan on making some big changes to get the car to handle better. Everything we plan on changing will be easy to change back to the way the car was last night if we don't like the new setup. These changes should prevent the car from falling off towards the end of the race.
Well the weather held off and we went racing! As I arrived back home from school on Friday night, I too had to wait to see what the final product looked like. Both A&B Customs and Deyoung Inc. did an awesome job making the car look great!
Friday night we had a few things that we still needed to finish up which rolled into Saturday morning. We were not sure what gear we should've been running in the new car, so we tried what we ran last year. We checked the measurements on the car to make sure we would pass tech then headed to the track.
Once we arrived at the track and got the car unloaded, we rolled it down to tech to get it approved for practice. Turns out that the track's scaling system is way different than ours. We had to shift weights around to get the car to pass. But first we needed to get some seat time. The first practice went well. I liked the way the car handled even though we didn't do any adjustments on it yet. The biggest problem was that the gear was really far off. I could almost use third gear instead of fourth. Not knowing the ratio of the rear end ring and pinion, we were throwing gears at the car all night. A total of five times throughout the night, Dexx and Joe changed out the rear end gears.
The timing system at the track had some sort of a problem so our final lap of qualifying was the one that was gong to count. But in our case, none of the laps were counted so we had to go out and qualify again. The second session earned us a fifth place quailing time.
The heat race was once again a practice session for us. The gear was still too far off but we still did okay. After the first start, we were turned around coming out of turn four. Luckily no one else hit us.
With advice from Shaun, we did a radical gear change which landed us rather close to where we needed to be. We started the main race in eighth place. We made it through the first few laps okay. We ended up getting together with the 26 car which brought out a caution. Once the race restarted, we got stuck up on the outside and started to fall back. We found ourselves at another caution and we were deep in the pack. With the new commitment cone rule, we were able to jump to the outside and move a considerable way back up. Fortunately, there was another caution which enabled us to stay up front and gain all those positions we lost. After a few more restarts we found ourselves running in the top five till one lap where we were driving down into turn three and the brake pedal drops to the floor. I managed to keep the car somewhat under control and rolled over the edge of the track, through the grass, and back onto the track. With no brakes, we limped our way to to finish. The results have not been posted yet, but I believe that we may have finished around tenth place.
Overall the night was definitely promising. The car was quick without any time prior time on the track. We have some work to do, but we will be out there to get them next week!
There will be some photos posted of the car and of what happened to the rear end and brakes later this week.
The new graphics went onto the car tonight! Visit the photos page to see a picture of the new paint job. The first race is right around the corner! See ya Saturday.
Tracy Deyoung of Deyoung Inc. is working on making up the graphics for the car. He will be installing the graphics on the car on Wednesday. Tracy gave us a rendering of what the car will look like and it will be really sharp. Only one more week till the first race!
Posted on April 03, 2009 by Daniel Moore
The car is back and it looks great! Boone did an awesome job on the car. We are currently having the graphics made, and they will be put on as soon as they are finished. We worked on the car this week and completely prepared it for the practice today. Unfortunately, the weather was decent all day until it came time to head to the track. So Evergreen decided to cancel the practice due to the rain.
Heading back from A & B Customs with our freshly painted car!
Heading to the track with typical Washington weather!
Boone ofA&B Custom was tied up finishing a customer's custom car when we brought the car to him last time. But we were able to bring the car back up to his shop yesterday and he should have it completed by next week. Speaking of next week, we are hopefully going to be renting the track with a few other teams, for practice, on Wednesday or Thursday.
To see the results of this weekend, go to the photos page and see the new video. The car sounds really strong. We fitted the new hood onto the car and finished up everything that needed to be completed. Due to the rain on Saturday, we didn't go to the practice session. We were crazy to think that we would have a sunny day in March. In other news, the car from last season was offically sold and taken away on Sunday. We sold the car to a local Legends car team.(See their legend car ad) It was too bad to see it leave, but we needed the space pretty badly. The word on the street is that we will be running Goodyear tires this season. We have not raced with Goodyear tires since the Baby Grand, but they shouldn't be too different. The Hoosiers we ran last year were a good tire but someone saw a need for change. Shoot me an e-mail of a song request for next week's entry!
Dexx, my dad, and I certainly stayed busy this weekend! We dropped in the motor and transmission on Saturday. On Sunday, we rebuilt the quick change and prepared that for next weekend. There are only a few more things we need to do to be ready for the practice. I will be heading back to Snohomish on Friday afternoon to tie up the loose ends. We still have not decided what shock package we are going to be running this season, but we should find out soon!Just a little insight, we are discussing the possibility of racing in the ASA Tour race at Pacific Raceways in Kent, WA on June 28. This is a big MAYBE because the expenses are outside of our budget. But I do think that it would be fun for everyone!
Posted on March 9, 2009 by Daniel Moore
I just want to encourage everyone to use Chassis Help to search with Google. Income generated goes directly to the sponsorship fund! So click here to set Chassis Help as your homepage and get searching!
Posted on March 3, 2009 by Daniel Moore
Moore Motor Sports had a fun filled day on Saturday. Thanks to the great guys at RPM Dyno Services, we were able to take the motor down and try out some things to see if they had any influence on the output of the engine. We tried such things as different spark plugs, different timing advances, and different jets in the carb. I want to thank Rick, Jim, and Mike for answering all of the questions we had. They were all so knowledgeable and we are fortunate to have them as a sponsor this season. We are also proud to announce a new corporate sponsor Still Waters Massage Clinic of Snohomish, we look forward to offering them exciting new opportunities this season. They have a great new facility in the new shopping center by Fred Meyer in Snohomish. Stop in and let them help you relax. Remember to tell them that Daniel sent you!
Posted on March 2, 2009 by Daniel Moore
The car is off to A&B Custom Collision for an awesome new paint job! We can't wait to see the final product.
Posted on February 23, 2009 by Daniel Moore
Since we have an extra motor in the shop, Moore Motor Sports has decided to offer a crate motor rental program. We hope that this will help the racers at Evergreen in two ways. We hope that offering our engine will increase the car counts since we have to run this particular package to comply with Evergreen's rules. We will also be a backup for teams so that they won't miss a race due to engine troubles. We plan to bring the engine to the track with us most weekends, and if we don't, the shop is just 10 minutes away!
Posted on February 19, 2009 by Daniel Moore
We are proud to announce that Work'n More has signed up to support us again in the 2009 season! Follow the link on the "Sponsors" page to see their great product lines.
Posted on February 11, 2009 by Daniel Moore
We have just added two new features to the site. The first is on the "About Us" page. We are starting a new exciting program in 2009 and the details are found there. The second thing is found on the "Sponsors" page. Check it out! The car is almost ready for paint. We are getting excited to get everything put together and get the car out on the track!
Posted on February 9, 2009 by Daniel Moore
This past weekend we went down to Cope Bros to pick up our primary engine. Our back up motor should be ready soon. A few clutch plates and we will be back in business.
Posted on February 02, 2009 by Daniel Moore
Hey everyone! I hope to use this as a tool this season to provide you with a weekly report. Check back to gain some insight!
