My Racing Roots Part 3.2: The Golf Years.
By the summer of 2002 we found out that we could reclassified the Golf into Improved Touring B (ITB). This would put us with more cars about our speed. So in Arizona, are season Starts in the fall and goes into the spring of the next year, we got the OK to start the new class in the fall. Again this was an OK season.
Nothing really exciting happened in this season. I was still learning the car and we were breaking half shafts almost every other race. we learned that if we stopped buying the Volkswagen ones, the problem was solved.
The Fall of 2003 brought a new season. The first race of that year was at Firebird east. For most of us that went to drivers school in Arizona, this was the first days track. So it was a track that most everyone knew. I went out to practice and did a few laps and came in and could not get the car out of third gear. I finally got it out of it, but we can not know what the problem really was till qualify.
Qualifying comes and I try to go through the gears. No second gear. I have first and 3rd, but no 4th. Now this track has a sharp hair pin that takes you to a long straight where start finish is. To best get through this turn is to shift into second during braking and then turn, and back on the gas and 3rd gear. So I would have to do it in 3rd.
The race came and I had a new competitor in ITB this year. He had and older Golf. I was hoping that this would be my first win, but with gear box problems, it looked less likely. The track was very busy and I could still see my competition in front of me. As the race went on, I noticed that I was catching him. And with a few laps I was right up on him. I was right on his bumper the final lap. It all came down to the final corner. As the race went on I learned that if I took the hair pin wide, I could gain back some speed out of the corner.
We got to the back part of the s-turns where I was able to pass him which set me up to be able to take the hair pin wide and regain my speed to the finish. So I took it wide, and got on the gas as fast as I could, but he had 2nd gear and was able to gain more speed out of the corner than I was, and saw him pass me on the outside and pass me for the win.
I was not mad. I was happy that I was able to catch up to him and make it a good race. After we got our trophies, I found out that his car was overheating really badly and so he backed off his car.
We fixed the transmission and got ready for the next race at PIR This was going to be a good race. This was a different format. Practice times would count as qualifying. Qualifying was a race that would set the final race of the day. We did great in practice, to qualify ahead of Davis. But there was a factor we did not count on Rain.
By the time they started the qualifying races, it was raining pretty good. We were the last group to go out of 7. So the track being wet was an understatement. There were puddles. We put on a set of tires that had the most tread on them.
So we start the race and all you can see is water flying up from the car in front of you and red lights when someone was breaking. I was going good, all I had to do was keep Davis behind me. We made it through the road course of PIR and was back on the banks of the NASCAR track. I make it throw 3 and going into 4, and the car starts to spin. All I can see is wall coming at me and that is the last thing I want to see. Lucky the car turns around and I am now backing into the wall. I get lucky and get the car stopped. For me the race is over. Davis passes by and in these conditions there is not chance in catching him.
The race finally ends, me spinning out at least one more time. We get in and they tell us that they are suspending all racing for the day. For me the weekend is over and there is no chance of that first win. Onto the Spring races of the next year.
Nothing really exciting happened in this season. I was still learning the car and we were breaking half shafts almost every other race. we learned that if we stopped buying the Volkswagen ones, the problem was solved.
The Fall of 2003 brought a new season. The first race of that year was at Firebird east. For most of us that went to drivers school in Arizona, this was the first days track. So it was a track that most everyone knew. I went out to practice and did a few laps and came in and could not get the car out of third gear. I finally got it out of it, but we can not know what the problem really was till qualify.
Qualifying comes and I try to go through the gears. No second gear. I have first and 3rd, but no 4th. Now this track has a sharp hair pin that takes you to a long straight where start finish is. To best get through this turn is to shift into second during braking and then turn, and back on the gas and 3rd gear. So I would have to do it in 3rd.
The race came and I had a new competitor in ITB this year. He had and older Golf. I was hoping that this would be my first win, but with gear box problems, it looked less likely. The track was very busy and I could still see my competition in front of me. As the race went on, I noticed that I was catching him. And with a few laps I was right up on him. I was right on his bumper the final lap. It all came down to the final corner. As the race went on I learned that if I took the hair pin wide, I could gain back some speed out of the corner.
We got to the back part of the s-turns where I was able to pass him which set me up to be able to take the hair pin wide and regain my speed to the finish. So I took it wide, and got on the gas as fast as I could, but he had 2nd gear and was able to gain more speed out of the corner than I was, and saw him pass me on the outside and pass me for the win.
I was not mad. I was happy that I was able to catch up to him and make it a good race. After we got our trophies, I found out that his car was overheating really badly and so he backed off his car.
We fixed the transmission and got ready for the next race at PIR This was going to be a good race. This was a different format. Practice times would count as qualifying. Qualifying was a race that would set the final race of the day. We did great in practice, to qualify ahead of Davis. But there was a factor we did not count on Rain.
By the time they started the qualifying races, it was raining pretty good. We were the last group to go out of 7. So the track being wet was an understatement. There were puddles. We put on a set of tires that had the most tread on them.
So we start the race and all you can see is water flying up from the car in front of you and red lights when someone was breaking. I was going good, all I had to do was keep Davis behind me. We made it through the road course of PIR and was back on the banks of the NASCAR track. I make it throw 3 and going into 4, and the car starts to spin. All I can see is wall coming at me and that is the last thing I want to see. Lucky the car turns around and I am now backing into the wall. I get lucky and get the car stopped. For me the race is over. Davis passes by and in these conditions there is not chance in catching him.
The race finally ends, me spinning out at least one more time. We get in and they tell us that they are suspending all racing for the day. For me the weekend is over and there is no chance of that first win. Onto the Spring races of the next year.
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