2lbs!...2lbs!

I should have known the weekend was going to go this way as work commitments forced me to leave Saturday morning instead of Friday afternoon.  Getting a flat on my trailer on my way to the track didn't help either.

When I finally did arrive at the track I was in no mood to rush the car out of the trailer to make the qualifying session that was to start in 30 minutes.  I would start at the back of the grid in 28th position for the Saturday afternoon race.  

The race itself was uneventful except for a light nose-to-tail tap coming into turn 10 (the fastest of all 10 turns) that got my attention.  I spoke to the driver after the race and we sorted out the discression and it was put down as a 'racing incident' - no harm no foul.  In the end I managed to pickup 9 positions for a 19th place finish with a best lap time of 1:33.9.

After a post race wedding celebration (yes, that is a cake replica of Alton's car) I closed the trailer and headed home for another commitment Saturday night.

We left Alexandria Sunday morning at 5am in the pouring rain but by the time we got to the track at 7:40am it was nothing but blue skies and sunshine.

All that I needed to do was change the tires and my usual pre-race check of the fluids, suspension and brakes.

Race 2 was to start around 10:15am on Sunday morning and I was 18th on the grid.  The start was fast again but I did get passed by a few cars with more confidence in thier cold brakes than I had.  After a few laps the field started to spread out and I battling it out in a group of 4 cars - and again AJ's (Art Jasco) #55 MR2 was one of them.  I was able to pick them off one-by-one over a period of about 5 laps but was stuck behind another 2002 for several more laps until I managed a late-braking pass at turn 1.  From then on I was able to put some distance between myself and the group but never caught sight of the faster cars ahead.  The race finished after 20 laps and I was very pleased with the car and my driving.  I was even more surprised when I was directed towards the tech shed after pit-in.  The worker held up three fingers...3rd?  No way.  I parked the car and waited anxiously in line with the other drivers for an equipment check and then they requested I run my car back over the scales...twice.  I was 2lbs under the minumum weight of 2,280lbs.   

I was advised by the tech steward that even though it was grounds for a DQ I was to be relegated to last position in my class - or 20th.  After a trip to the tower for some more scolding I was told that I was to be listed in last place overall - or 26th.

This is an unfortunate lesson about fuel consumption for me.  When you think about it, had I about 1/2 a gallon more fuel in the tank there would be no problem.  As it is my 8-gallon fuel cell was filled to capacity before the start of the race and I will have to add at least 5lbs of ballast to the car - maybe more - before the next race in July.

If you were wondering I would have finished 9th in class and 12th overall with a fast lap of 1:32.8. 

I still don't know what the three fingers meant...