THEQuagraine

I was at Dialed In today, turned a few laps, and prepared for their Spring Classic race. And that got me thinking that it could be a good idea to go through some advice regarding that. Here are a few points to keep in mind.

Sometimes things get really out of control, like in the picture above. By preparing well, you can make sure that does not happen at the race. Get all of that out of the way before the race. Don’t try new things at races, new parts you haven’t run before, new setups, go with what you know. Keep it simple.

You need to keep your stress level as low as possible at races, and the best way to do that is to have everything done before the race. Glue your tyres, or at least one set so you can start the race on them. Charge everything, receiver pack, transmitter, glow ignitor and starter box. Make sure your transponder is in the car and it’s working.

As for the car, I think this is the most important part, and the part where a lot of people over think and over wrench, and a lot don’t do enough, or don’t do the right things. The way I build a car, the important bits will basically stay on for the lifetime of the car. This means that I never take them apart. I think it is silly to tear down a car completely for a rebuild. You only need to check hinge pins, re-fill the diffs, re-fill the shocks, change the clutch, and clutch bell bearings, put a newly oiled air filter on, and clean the car all up. You don’t need to take every screw out.

If possible, run your fully prepared car on a track for a tank to make sure everything is working perfectly.

Try and figure out who will be your pit guy before the day of the race, if you don’t have a permanent grease monkey.

Go to bed as early as possible the night before.