Friday – Race Day
I woke up feeling somewhat better. We got a quick breakfast and suited up. Dustin and I drove our race car #1914 to staging about seven blocks from our hotel. I knew I’d have to wait there in the car for 90 minutes before starting to move toward the starting line. In that time I felt ok, then sick, then nauseous, then very sleepy.
I had to give it hell for 210 miles, then Dustin and I had a plan – and it was a good one for a sick driver who was starting and finishing the race.
We got the green flag, but it was only the ceremonial start. We were in the middle of a big city. We had one hour to drive out of the city and regroup off-road for the real start. All in all Dustin and I had been in the car for over three hours before the timed race actually started for us at about 12:15 PM. I thought about how much better off we were than the poor motorcycles who started at 12:30 AM. I had been there 6 times before, and I am glad I wasn’t on a motorcycle this time.
Here we go. Green flag. Lots of dust. Movement – finally. Waking up. No time to think about whether I felt sick or not. I was happy to be driving – because that I knew how to do and was good at. Dustin called the turns like a champ. It was on!
There were eight in our class. They let cars go every 30 seconds. We started 5th.
At mile 35 we passed Eva Star, a 19-year-old girl who was an up-and-comer. She always had her Dad in the passenger seat. What a great thing to do between father and daughter. Eva was in my car last year as a navigator for the Baja 400. That’s a story I’ve told. Something about passing a teenage girl in a pink UTV that makes me feel like a bully. But…it has to be done. Sorry.
The Factory Honda car in in the lead. Our arch-rival Joe Bolton is in second, and David Pedder, who is the season points leader is in third with a ringer driver at the wheel. We chased them down. It takes 110 miles after passing Eva, but we can see them both ahead of us on the next hill clear as day, one behind the other.
We are in the hills in a technical section. Perfect. The rougher it is the more of an advantage I have over them. Maybe it’s my motorcycle eye picking the smoothest lines like my life depends on it that has them checking up more than I do in the rocks.
“Light him up!” I yell to Little D. Dustin pushes a button in our car that lights up a big blue light on the dash in the points leader’s car. That tells him that someone is on his butt and closing, and he should pull over and let us pass. This wasn’t one of the dustiest sections, but the closer you get, the thicker the dust is and the less of the rocks you can see.
It works! He lets up and drifts to the side of the course and we go by. Third place! I’m thinking we can only better our position. We will never be in fourth place again.
We see Joe Bolton’s dust ahead. We are in hard red clay with lots of embedded rocks sticking up. We pick through quickly. A steep descent is ahead, Joe is already at the bottom. I know this hill. It’s very rough with rock ledges going uphill. But going downhill those ledges are simply drop-offs and not hard on the car. I’m flying down, trusting I am right. At the bottom, we chase Joe between farm fences, left, right…”Light him up!” Joe pulls over, and we go by. I’m sure he is upset that it was us going by. Too late now! Bye Joe!
Second place at mile 145! I like where this is going! Now to extend our lead. Not easy. Joe’s car is fast. Back up into the hills. More red clay, more rocks. We are flying for this terrain.
A decent, off-camber (sloped right to left) as we go down. There’s a deep rut presenting itself on the downhill side. I try to stay above it, but it’s so off-camber that we are dropping into it.
Bang-Bang!
Oh Sh#*! It was the unmistakable feeling of rim to rock – twice. We knew we had two flat tires. We get to the bottom of the hill where three other cars had flats just like us. Apparently, there was a sharp rock there slicing tires by the dozen on that hill. The problem was we had two flats and only carry one spare!
I know two of our competitors are close behind. Dustin gets out to change the tire. We wait for car number two to roll up and figure they’d give us their spare. This is where the plan to have a chase car in the race will make a difference. We put our spare on the front as Joe goes by. Then Pedder’s car goes by. Fourth place again. Ughhh. I had chased so hard and so long for the spot, then lost it.
Our race car number two pulls up after 8 minutes. Mikey is driving. He’s the mechanic who built our cars and the son of Mike, who is the driver I will be giving the car to at mile 210. Mikey explains that he had a flat, so his spare is flat! Oh no!
I’m sweating looking at my watch and coughing. The minutes are ticking by…
Is this how it ends?
My first thought is switch their good wheels to your car