YEAH, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE
INK ON YOUR HANDS THIS WAY
Jok, you should have asked why people read
DRO in your survey at the track. I read it
because it's a good source of info that is
not candy coated, your opinions are to the
point and common sense. If you were a (print)
magazine I would not have to deal with this
computer every week.
Mark Case
PRINT MAGAZINE? SUBSCRIPTION?
REX, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO?
(letter is unedited)
Re: Chris the moron.
About the last thing I read in your print
or online magazine is your column. You..strike
me the wrong way..is the way I'll put it.
But in your latest rant.....Keep the politics
out of it "WINDBAG". Go hold Al Frankin's,
Michael Moore's, and Barbara Striesand's hands
and go skip off into your airhead sunset.
I will not renew my subscription when it comes
up....but I can still get what I want online
(for free).Thanks for letting your blatant
(inappropriate for a motorsports rag) bias
into your column. I'll save a few more bucks
a year. BTW.....286,000 new jobs in Sept/Oct...and
an economy that has had its largest growth
quarter since 1984.....G'bye.....MORON!
Rex Lawler
ANOTHER SUBSCRIPTION! WHO
IS GETTING ALL THIS MONEY?
I have been a subscriber of Drag Racing since
inception and must say that it is the highest
quality magazine that has ever been produced
for the sport. Coupled with Agent 1320 which
is the most informative and timely information
source in the sport it is a combination that
cannot be beat. Again that from my perspective
covers the history of drag racing right from
the days of Drag News!
Thank you for this great package.
Brian Kennedy
MECHANICS 101
Dale, Welcome to my world! I have been a
mechanic for a long time (20+ years) and have
assisted (crewed) drag racers for just about
as long. What you have described is exactly
what we run into daily. Only we get second
hand information about what happened and when
it occurred from our ticket writers, tow truck
drivers and the helpful neighbors that "used"
to work on cars before all that computer junk
was put on them.
Now, getting back to diagnosis of problems.
This is what G.M. taught me about this subject.
1) verify the complaint 2) duplicate the condition
and 3) follow a specific diagnostic procedure
for repair. In, most, Crank-No start cases
I start with 2 things. 1) is there spark?
and 2) is there fuel? And in all cases, NEVER
forget the battery. 9 1/2 volts can create
some very stupid things. Too many times, I
have seen racers "field strip" their cars
at the track or automatically dive into the
carb just knowing that they will find the
problem. I can tell you, most expertly (if
this is a word), off the cuff diagnosis WILL
BITE YOU IN THE ASS EVERY TIME!!! It is real
easy to get sucked into the shotgun approach
when you have a problem and everyone around
you has an opinion about what could be the
problem but, if you follow a planned strategy
for diagnosis... making the next round, usually,
is not a problem.
I am not a computer person. I enjoy searching
the web for drag racing sites and e-mailing
fellow racers but, that's all I know. If this
thing acts up I will get someone here to fix
it. I have never and I will never remove the
cover from the hard drive (I think that's
what that one box is called) much less attempt
anything more than putting paper in the printer
tray. What does this mean? If you don't know
what you're doing, either 1) don't screw with
it or 2) take the time to learn about what
you want to fix before you start fixing it.
You are dead on the money. There are tons
of manuals, tech articles and books about
every system and sub-system in a car. And
don't forget the local community college night
classes for auto tech. Also, there are a lot
of old wrenches, like me and your new found
friend, that really love helping out whenever
we can. Hell, if I can't learn something new
every day, I'm not trying hard enough. Keep
up the great articles on a great site and
by the way I miss the old mag too.
Thanks,
Mike Heminghous
