Night of Destruction – Partner Enduro – Irwindale Speedway – 11/1/2014

11.1.14 – “PARTNER ENDURANCE RACING IN MY ACCORD RACING MACHINE”

Skip all this reading and jump to the VIDEO if all these words are overwhelming!

Normally I run this car in “skid plate” races at Irwindale. However, several times a year the track holds a “Night of Destruction” featuring the same or similar cars that normally compete with skid plates running with all 4 tires.

If I’m honest – the main reason I put together a skid plate car was really to have a car for these “enduro” races. It is really one of the cheapest way to get into wheel to wheel racing.

This was the last race of the season and would consist of two 15 lap races, with each half driven by a different driver. This meant I would need a co-driver – a friend and all around goofy guy named Alex Miller helps me out a ton with the car. He helps me repair it when I break it and he helps me at the races with the car and cameras. I felt like he should get to drive it also. Alex drove the car one other time at the last Enduro and did pretty well.

As for the car – it would remain unchanged, aside from getting 4 tires instead of two. For more info on the car – see the full post of the car build here.

AUTOGRAPH SESSION

Before we knew it, it was time for the autograph session. There was a big turn out and many thanks to my friends and family that came out to watch!

Thanks to my friends and family for coming out!

Was looking like it would be a rain race for a bit! I am also looking rather creepy in this photo.

THE RACE

I took the first stint in the car. I felt they did a much better job with the course layout for this race. It was clearly marked and left enough room for cars to actually pass cleanly. I also felt the course really suited our car. They extended the long straight and our car is relatively quick so that was a good thing. The car still suffers from a lot of understeer but if you are patient and get a good exit onto the straights you can makeup a lot of time. It was also the coldest race of the season which I am sure didn’t hurt.

We started in 10th and I was able to get up to 4th. Even with getting passed by several cars under a red flag I was able to end my stint with the position.

It was time to hand the car over to Alex. The last race we did I totally cooked the brakes but this time he had no excuses because they were working great. Unfortunately a few cars jumped positions before the race restarted. This made Alex have to fight with them rather than fighting for 3rd place.

After finally fighting off those cars he could work on getting up to 3rd. He had a nice battle going with with the 25 car for the final laps. He passed him into 3rd place but then a combination of overcooking it into the corner and some contact with an angry 25 car caused him to loose that position.

He fought hard until the end but never could get close enough for another pass.

All and all a really fun race – our best result of the season. It was also one of the cleanest races with only very minor damage to the car from some light contact. Thanks again to Robert Rice and all his guys (and girls) for making this possible. Without their help I would never be able to do this!