March 2015 Update

Icebreaker 2015 is 2 weeks away.  So much yet to do, but yet so much closer than we were last year.  Call it a draw.

The photo above is from this past week.  Some of the parts are just mocked up on blocks etc.  The car is also in the process of being dressed in a wrap job by Jeff Winsor of J&J Custom Signs.

My hectic schedule will still make sleeping enough a challenge, as preps continue for the Friday April 10^th practice day that is now part of the Icebreaker weekend.  We hope to fire up the Nat’s Racing Engine early next week. We will then finish bolting up the body panels, and move into making all of those finer chassis tweaks that could get us into victory lane soon.

Thanx to Wayne Wildermuth, Jimmy Smith (and son Sean), Ron Smith and Jon Chmura for helping as much as they could over the last few weeks.  We are getting closer.

We could use a bit more help at the shop, and at the track to be best prepared.  Give us a ring if anyone wants to be a part of the fun. 

Planned Events include:

The Icebreaker 2 feature race weekend.  April 10^th through 12^th

A practice session on the Thompson Road Course April 25^th

A NESST tour race event at Lee Speedway on May17th

We also would welcome any Sponsorship Partners for events this season.

Larry

January update

Slow but sure progress over the last couple months.  The frame repairs are complete.  I have picked up a new set of tin from Rayline Racing Bodies.

This week I hope to have the engine, tranny, drive train etc. back into the car.  Then installing the rest of the parts, and body mounting will follow.

My tentative Schedule For 2015....

We will start out at Thompson Speedway, possibly running the entire schedule there.  I also hope to compete with the New England Street Stock Tour for their event being held on the Thompson Speedway Road Course in September.

Other races for the street stock tour will be considered, if time allows, and if the series is able to peg the fun meter.

11/14/2014 Update

The 2014 Racing season is in the rear view.  Some highlights, and more than a few lowlights.

3 wins and a lot of fun playing spotter for Bobby Santos in the Tinio 44.  Scattered a few guest appearances as spotter for other drivers.

The #73  Modified was Sold.  The car made its way to Canada.

The 73 Sportsman car showed up at the Icebreaker not very well prepared, bad luck followed (they are often related).  Followed by soon after by a bad wreck on May 29^th.  (See www.Sidsview.com) The car then sat bent and idle.

The engine was oiled down and stored this summer.  I recently stripped the body off the car.  I hope to get the chassis down to Spafco soon to get the clip replaced again.

Once the frame is repaired we will await schedules being released, and begin putting a plan to attempt between 5 and 10 race events most likely for the 2015 season.  We always have room for sponsorship and crew help, and could help us be more competitive on the track next year.

I hope that we can add to our teams 67 wins next year.

Cheers

Larry

May 29th Race Report

Heat race win with a fast car, then a wreck on lap 1 of the feature.  Likely my final oval track pure racing event. A bit sad for sure.

Thank you again to Kim, Jonny, and Amy for the help at the track.  Thanx also to the Hutchins’ team for all of the help loading up our car.  It will need the front horns replaced it appears.

Preps for this event were again a challenge.  All crew members were tied up with other things, and tech from may 15^th had our engine torn all apart.  Once I got everything back together, not enough time remained to paint the car, so I worked to finish up some of the  other wished for chassis tweaks.

We showed up on race day to find out we were drawing for our heat race starting position.  How we would start the feature had yet to be determined.  This plain old sucks.  Believe it or not, some of us just may set up a car based on where we will start a race.  Going fast out front, and passing 17 cars requires entirely different plans. I happened to draw #11.  Which would have had me starting 4^th in my heat race.  Turns out that the planned 2^nd place starter, chose to go to the back of the field.  I then moved up to 2^nd for the start.  I then won my heat race fairly easily.

THEN>>>>>>>

The decision was made to invert the field.  A few chose to start  behind the rest of us.  I would start 18^th.  Points leader happened to spin out in his heat, so he finished poorly in his heat, and ta da, he starts the main event near the front.  See anything wrong yet?

The rest is just racing history, as likely is my oval track driving career.  I lasted 1 lap before the mixture of slow cars up front, fast cars out back, and guys with little racing experience mixed poorly through the field resulted in a huge pile up.  While stuck outside, I tried to squeeze by, I got drilled by a car coming straight up the track.  Hit me hard enough I did a 273 deg spin and planted the left front into the outside wall.

My days of spending 100 hours or more to prep for a night of demo derby style racing are done.

I will ponder things for a bit. Decide if I want to research road course racing, antique car racing clubs, move to another division, or even build a hot rod.  Once I know a direction, I will sell the stuff I do not need.  $13K would likely take my sportsman car just as it came off the track.  The engine could not be built from scratch for that.  I have spent 1000’s of hours making the car what it is / was.  There is no other machine just like it.

Until then, I have life to enjoy. I have my spotter duties with the Tinio team, and I can rub elbows with Muffy as an apprentice Spotter whore possibly.

A bit of time away from wreck repairs, will do my brain some good.

It was a fun ride, for a long time.

Cheers,

Larry

Thompson May 15th Report

Frustrations in preps to “Exposing me pistons”.

I wrecked pretty badly at the Icebreaker event.  Bent the front horns, all 4 tie rods, center link, spindle etc.  My biggest challenge was very little time to work on the car due to 75 hour per week work schedule.  Also adding to the challenge was car chief Jonny was not able to help until the night before the race due to his commitments elsewhere.

I finished re-attaching the body at about 11am Thursday, then began setting the car up after having changed most of the front end parts.  I missed all practice sessions too.

Our division did group time trials, and I had to ramp up speed carefully to give new brakes a chance to break in.  Was able to set third fastest time.  A redraw of fastest cars placed me on the pole, my first lucky break in a while.

The race…Corey Hutchings and I were putting on a pretty good show side by side for the first 6 laps, he finally tried a bit too hard and bumped me from the groove, that gave Moose the chance to knock me into the marbles and I fell all the way back to 5^th place on lap 7.  I got my rhythm back in a few laps and began making my way back towards the front.  Finishing 2^nd.

Then the bonus news in tech.  Pull a cylinder head.  Oh goodie.  Jonny, Amy and I pulled our Nats racing engine apart.  All good, but made for a pillow time after midnight.  4am wake up for work felt like I had only used the snooze button.

We hope to be even better prepared for the next race on May29th.  Maybe even some paint on the car.

Things are finally getting closer to normal.  

Cheers,

Larry

IceBreaker Update

The 73 arrived at the track mostly without paint

We made it to the Icebreaker Event, barely.  No time for a proper set up, no time for any paint.

It seemed everything that could go wrong, went wrong  during preps.

During the last week, everybody on the crew did their best to bail me out of my jamb.  Not much sleep for a few of us.

Saturday, we manage to make it to the track, only to find out the tire guys are out of tires.  We could only buy one right side tire(the last one they had).  Yikes.  The track scales are not really available for teams to use, and my lack of time to make adjustments at home, adds to my on track issues.  Car is just way off.

Saturday’s segment race I manage to survive, finish 5^th over-all, while battling some brake issues.  On Sunday am, we find that the right rear axle seal had been leaking.  Not a real help for drum brakes to work!

Sunday Race.

I was trying my best, with my Nat’s racing engine keeping me in the hunt.  My car seemed to have a mind of its own in the corners.  Loose, tight, very tight, good, etc. with each different trip through the corners.  I tried to adjust brakes while driving, to find that sweet balance that had been lost with the brake issues from Saturday.

Near lap 12, I had a run down the back straight and tried to make a pass for second over Scott Sundeen.  I slid into Scott, and either the ball joint broke (or had already broken) or the right front tire went down.  In hind sight, maybe the ball joint had failed a lap or two earlier causing the crazy handling.

Either way….after the bump with Scott, I tried to get back on the gas and the car shot to the right into the 96 car and the front straight wall.  Lots of damage.  Not certain what is worse, being taken out, or being the guy that causes the issue when my car failed on me.  I guess it sucks either way.

Damage to 73 after Sunday feature

We hope to get the car back together for the May 15^th race.  We will be 100%, or we just won’t show up at all.

Thanx again to Jonny, Wayne, David, Jimmy, Sean, Amy, and most of all Kim for helping this crazy adventure happen.

It wasn’t all fun and games this time around.  I certainly struggled.  It will end soon holding the checkered flag, most likely on May 16^th.

Ltd Sportsman Point Standings

Ltd Sportsman Icebreaker Results

Cheers

Larry

Will we make it to the Icebreaker????

Paint is highly over-rated, anyway.  

Boston Marathon fundraiser

Shawn Courchesne of Race Day CT has put out the word that Larry will donate his IceBreaker winnings to support his brother David, who is running in his 20th Boston Marathon this year.  Shawn writes....

"Thompson Speedway Limited Sportsman division competitor Larry Barnett is looking for race fans to help him participate in a special fundraiser for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Barnett’s brother David will be competing in his 20th Boston Marathon on April 21.

David Barnett is running to raise funds for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in memory of his father and also his brother Jack.

Larry Barnett will donate his race winnings from the 20-lap Limited Sportsman feature at the Icebreaker at Thompson Speedway on April 6. He’s asking race fans to join him.

“I will donate my Icebreaker Sunday race purse to this cause. Will you donate $20 in honor of David’s 20th Boston Marathon. You could also consider donating $73 – such a nice number – or more?” — Larry Barnett"

Here is the link to David Barnett's Dana Farber page.  Please consider making a donation if you can.

David Barnett's Fundraising Page