The 2017-2018 season got underway with a great day of racing. With the aftermath of Irma it was not certain how many teams we would have for the season opener. At least 3 teams were not able to attend because of storm related issues. Some were still without power and all the school teams lost at least a week of preparation because of the storm. We still had 11 cars which was a good showing considering the last few weeks.
Some of the teams affected by the storm and not here were I Will Mentorship Foundation, Palm Bay Magnet, Silver Bullet Racing and the Electrocutioners for a total of 6 cars. Hope to see all of them back on the track soon.
We want to give a big shout out to the new team from Mulberry High in Polk County. They are using one of our loaner cars and had a good day on the track. They used multiple drivers to give more of their students a chance to drive.
Another big shout out goes to Simmons Career Center in Plant City. They were absent last year but returned with a vengeance with a new Advisor and a whole new team. They are racing two very fast cars by Jim Robinson of Silver Bullet Racing. They are using some old batteries but have a new order of Yellow Tops on the way. When they get them watch out. They took 3rd place in both races and a 2nd place Overall in the High School Division with the 53 car.
In the 1st race Mulberry High School in the 38 car set a blistering pace for the 1st half of the race before the battery bug got them. Cliff with Pro Ev in the 39 car was running away from the field with his Lithium batteries when he had a battery warning alarm sound causing him to pit. That allowed the other Lithium powered car from USF to take first place in the Advanced Battery Class.
Tiger racing with Rodney at the wheel cruised to a 1st place over the host HCC car in the first race when HCC had to make multiple pit stops.
In the High School class it was the Brandon High School 09 car running very fast and steady for a 1st Place finish with the 365 Duck car from Middleton coming in a strong 2nd. The Simmons 35 car had electrical wiring problems and had to withdraw early but made a strong second place finish in the second race.
In the 2nd race Pro Ev had his battery problems sorted out and finished 1st for an overall 2nd place for the day with USF taking the 1st place overall in the Advance Battery Class.
Tiger Racing continued his winning ways with a 1st place and a 1st place overall in the Open Class.
In the High School Class the Brandon 09 car finished with another 1st place and a 1st place overall in the class.
You know the saying he is trying to drive the wheels off of that car. Well it happened today with the Middleton 365 car having a good race and looking at a possible 2nd place overall finish. Right up to the time the left front wheel fell apart. The 365 finished the race in the pits but still managed a 3rd place overall.
The Simmons 53 car had two 3rd place finishes for the day and a 2nd place overall for the day. A great showing for their first race in over a year.
Observations From The Pits:
With all the uncertainties over the last few weeks its not surprising there were not more lapse in attention to the little details. A loose connection on an electrical circuit. A switch in the wrong setting. A battery not fully charged. Some teams need more or better battery chargers. When working with batteries a meter to test Volts and Amps is a must. Long sleeve shirts. Enough Ballast and no duct tape. Proper battery hold downs (NO Bungee Cords)
Other than the mild fall temps (NOT) it was a great first day of racing. Now there is a short turnaround till our second race of the season at USF. So charge those batteries change those tires, fix those wheels, tighten those bolts and lets do it again.
Open Class: 1st – Tiger Racing #4 206 laps, 2nd – HCC #30 165 laps
Advance Battery 1st – USF #132 211 laps, 2nd – Pro Ev # 39 199 laps
High School 1st – Brandon #09 205 laps, 2nd – Simmons #53 186 laps, 3rd – Middleton #365 186 laps, 4th – Brandon #14 172 laps, 5th – Middleton #80, 6th – Mulberry #38, 7th – Simmons #35
Vic
