"What is going on before, during and after one pass in Project 4-Link?"
I have had several readers ask me similar questions about Project 4-Link.
This month is a very busy one for us. I thought it might be a great
time to answer some questions between a very busy race schedule this
spring. We will run at St. Louis' Gateway International Raceway at an
NHRA National Open, the following week at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet,
IL for an NHRA Lucas Drag Racing Series event, then to Byron Dragway
outside Rockford, IL for an IHRA Pro-Am race, then the next weekend
at Tri-State Raceway in Earlville, IA for an NHRA National Open and
then it is off to Cordova Dragway Park in Cordova, IL for the IHRA Amalie
National event. We finally have a week off to get everything looked
over and, hopefully, the new trailer will be ready to pick up. All these
races are 8.90 Quick Rod and Super Comp races. The bracket racing for
"Project 4-Link" starts in June.
I have one weekend on the all-new King Demon alcohol carburetor and
I am very satisfied with the results so far. The weather has been very
cool (mid 40s and 50s) and the only problem I have had is getting the
engine warm enough to go racing. The alcohol will pay off when the heat
of the mid-western summers gets here.
Now for the Reader's Questions:
With all the electronics in S/Pro and Quick Rod (Super Comp) cars why
not use a ROBOT and remote control to drive the car?
This one is pretty easy to answer but let me break it down into one
word first.... FUN! I have a heck of a lot of fun every time I go down
the track. Jeff, our fearless editor, asked me to write down what I
do before, during and after each run. Well, here it is. The first thing
is to make sure the engine oil, water and transmission fluid are up
to the temperature I want. In my case it is at least 160 degrees oil
temp, 170 water temp and 150-170 trans temp. It takes some planning
to maintain those temps while waiting for the run.
I use an oil pan heater for the engine oil and freeze plug heaters
for the water. They are a great help in this early spring weather but
won't see much use this summer. Consistent oil temps are crucial to
get repeatable ETs. Then Barb or I take all the weather readings from
our Computech Race-Air weather station. Get the tire pressures set and
head for the staging lanes.
Once in the car I try to get into a habit of doing the same things
every time. Put the harness on the same way, put the helmet on and plug
in the fresh air system, get the gloves and neck collar on. One last
check of the delay box settings (my dial-in and the opponents if we
are bracket racing) and make sure the throttle stop settings are correct.
Make sure the CO-2 bottle and pressures look OK. Turn on the Computech
EGT recorder.
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