Beatrice Spring Fling 2005
2004 Jet Phantom IMCA Stock Car - Photo by Nick Vrtiska
It's sure been a long winter, but the days are counting down to the start of the 2005 season for the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo. This year will be a new adventure as we're fielding two cars.
At the end of the 2003 season, Beatrice Speedway announced that the Factory Stock class would cease to exist at Beatrice Speedway after 2004. In May 2004, I aquired a brand new Jet Phantom stock car. It was not finished and had never been on the track. During the summer I tinkered with it. Toward the end of the season, it was announced that the decision on the factory stock class had been reversed and we would race through at least 2006. So, I decided to keep the factory stock, which will be run on a weekly basis, as well as the stock car, shich will be raced on a limited schedule.
The plan right now is to race in the Spring Fling at Beatrice on Saturday 19 March in the new stock car. We'll also have a test & tune on Thursday evening, 17 March, from 6 PM to 9 PM, Mother Nature permitting (as well as the racing gods allowing me to have the car ready to go on the track). On Saturday 26 March there will be a car show at the fairgrounds in Beatrice from 10 AM to 1 PM, then there will be a test & tune session from 1 PM to 5 PM. I'll have the factory stock at that session.
Opening night at Beatrice is Saturday 2 April 2005 with hot laps at 5 PM and racing at 6 PM.
We have also registered the stock car at Deshler and plan on racing there on Sundays every 2nd or 3rd week. I'll keep everybody posted on our racing plans.
As the season draws near we're starting to feel the rush to be ready. We're leaving for Las Vegas on Wednesday 9 March for the annual NASCAR weekend and will get home on the evening of 16 March. So, both cars will have to be pretty much ready to race before 9 March.
Ernie #6 Factory Stock & #6 Stock Car
Beatrice Speedway
Blue Knights Nebraska I
The 2005 Racing season is dedicated to my nephew, Sgt Charles Reiss, USMC, who served in Iraq from February 2005 to September 2005, as well as all of our warriors serving at home and abroad.
Beatrice, NE - 19 March 2005
Our first night out in a "true" IMCA stock car was a learning experience that came with a bittersweet pill. After coming from last in the consi to qualify for the A Feature, the scales showed that we were "about 3 gallons of fuel too light." That meant we were disqualified.
Let's back up to the beginning. After spending a good part of the last year buying equipment at swap meets and from eBay, the new IMCA stock car is finally ready to race. The Beatrice Spring Nationals were scheduled for this weekend, March 18, 19 & 20th, with races for the IMCA stock cars set for Saturday March 20th. With the weather doing complete turnabouts every couple of days, we were just hoping to be able to race.
A practice session on Thursday evening helped to shake the car down and when we got home we were able to correct a couple of things that needed attention.
Saturday morning we finished up and loaded the car. Pit gates were to open at 11 AM and I wanted to get there early so any last minute stuff could be handled without rushing.
At the check-in booth, I drew for starting position, getting #17. As it ended up, that put me on the pole in the 3rd heat.
It was plenty cool with a sharp northwest breeze when we pulled into the track. The breeze would eventually die down. Thankfully, there was a bright sun shining.
We made it through pre-race inspections with no problems. As soon as the scale was open, I ran the car across it to be sure I was over the minimum weight of 3,100 lbs. We were told we weighed 3,130 lbs. The fuel cell was full and there was no mud from the track on the car at the time.
The track was pretty greasy during the hot lap session, but the car seemed to handle well. I tried to keep it in the middle of the track in the corners, but not too high. When we came in, the tires had heated up slightly, which is normal.
We wanted to keep the fuel cell full as the weight would help keep the car glued to the track. I knew that we would be under-powered as the engine was one of the factory stock engines I've run in the past with a little better set of heads on it. It's probably the lowest dollar engine on the track. I was hoping to get through the first lap without being shoved off the track by all the fast cars behind me.
At the drop of the green, I gave the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo all I could. As we went into turn one, a car behind me was pushing on my back bumper and I was doing all I could to keep the car straight. Out of turn 2 on the bottom, the pack cleared me and I fell in at the tail end of the convoy.
There were 10 cars in the heat race and we were going 10 laps. I tried to glue my front bumper to the back bumper of the car ahead of me, but he was loose in every turn. I decided to see if I could run a bit higher and maybe make a pass on him. On the 3rd lap, there were cars spinning out ahead of me in turn 3, but I managed to miss everything and keep going. No yellow, they managed to keep going. Seven laps left and I'm now in 8th place. Top 3 go to the A Feature.
I'm still close to the 15x car in front of me, but he's extremely loose and almost spinning out on every corner. I don't want to get caught up in his deal and I can't quite make a run off the corner to pass him. I get to his inside a couple of times, but can't clear him. With 2 laps left, the #2 car, which is running someplace ahead of us, gets the black flag. I still haven't been passed, so that moves us to 7th place. That's where the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo finished.
I got back to the pits and parked. Our finish would put us on the outside of the 4th row in the consi. There were 14 cars scheduled to start the consi and the top 6 would fill in the back of the A Feature.
We'd been having trouble starting the engine when it got warm. Prior to leaving for the track, we changed batteries and I made sure we had a different starter with us. We changed starters after hot laps, but after the heat race, the engine would not start again.
I decided to check the timing to see if that was right. Sometimes, if it's off, the engine will start hard when it's warmed up. However, the engine would barely turn, let alone start. We put a battery charger on in hopes of getting the battery charged enough to start the car. When the call came for our consi to line up, the engine still had not started.
The rules say if you have to be pushed to start at the beginning of the race, you have to start at the back. That's what happened to me. I got pushed off and had to start at the back of the 14 car, 14 lap consolation race. The top 6 finishers would go to the back of the A Feature.
Starting at the back gives you a chance to watch everybody in front of you beating and banging on each other. At the drop of the green, it was like a blue light special at K-Mart. I was once again just behind the 15x, who was still loose in every corner. With 3 laps down, a car stalled in turn 2, bringing out the yellow. It took several laps under the caution before he was off the track.
Once again the green flew and I figured I was now in 13th place. The track had turned pretty dry slick and this new car seems to like the track that way. I could run a higher line and it would work, or I could go to the bottom and it seemed to work pretty well there, too. With the track being dry slick, the expensive engines weren’t beating up on me as badly as they would if it was tacky.
Two more laps down and a car was spinning in front of me in the middle of turns 3 and 4. I got by without incident and watched for a yellow, but it never came out. Either other drivers were going in too hard and spinning or I wasn’t going in hard enough to spin.
On the next lap, going into turn 1, the engine on a car ahead of me blew up in a big way. There was so much smoke I couldn’t see to the end of my hood. I was afraid I’d get in his oil or water and spin, or worse; he’d stop on the track and I’d hit him. However, he was able to coast off the track at the turn 2 exit and the caution did not come out.
With 6 to go, the 15x got loose and I was able to get under him coming out of turn 4 and beat him to turn 1, putting me in 7th place. The 66 car was ahead of me and I was gaining on him. I’d pick up a couple of car lengths on each straightaway, and he had some serious handling problems in the corners. The problem was trying to figure out which way he was going to go in the corners; if he went in high, he’d slide to the top of the track and if he went in low, he’d almost spin out.
With 4 to go, the 66 went into turn 3 low and slid high coming out of 4. I was close enough that I made a run under him and beat him down the front straightaway. That put me in 6th place for the final transfer into the A Feature. Now, if I can just keep the spot.
Every time I come out of turn 4 I look at the scoreboard to be sure there are no yellows and to check on how many laps are left. I concentrate on not making any mistakes and trying to run a straight, clean line. I don’t hear anybody near me and hope if there is, they’ll run me clean. White flag is out, one more to go. Into turn 3 one last time, out of 4 and heading for the checkers. It’s a 6th place finish, and the R & R Racing/Blue Knights Monte Carlo is in the A Feature!
All the qualifiers from our consi are directed to the scale where we’re weighed and our wheel base is measured. Then we’re directed to an inspection area where the hood comes off, the carburetor is inspected and the wheels are all checked to be sure they have the IMCA sticker and manufacturer’s sticker on them. As we finish up, an official approaches and tells me that they forgot to weigh me, so I’d need to run across the scale again.
When I got back on the scale, there was a lot of discussion between the officials and I was told the car was about 20 pounds too light, that I was disqualified! I could not believe it. I told them I’d been weighed earlier with a clean car (no mud) and I was 30 pounds over the minimum. No matter how I pleaded, they told me their decision was final. Our night was ended.
We got the car on the trailer and watched the stock car A Feature. It was a good race with only one yellow that happened in the first couple of laps. After the checkers, there were several claims. When the cars went across the scale, it was suddenly found that they were all under weight. Before it was over, there were at least 5 that did not make weight.
Several drivers approached me and told me about it. I attempted to talk to the IMCA official that had told me I was disqualified, but he said he didn’t know anything about anybody being light in the A Feature. He told me I’d have to talk to the guy that was weighing the cars. When I did that, I found the scale had started going haywire and not making accurate readings. Of course, I already knew that! The scale guy said he’d have one of the track promoters contact me.
Later, I was contacted by one of the promoters. I told him everything that had happened with me and he told me to go to the Coop and weigh my car and let him know what those scales did.
We left the track and went directly to the Coop, where we unloaded the car and ran it across the scales. These scales showed 3120 lbs. We loaded the car and headed back to the track, where I once again contacted the promoter. I told him what the car weighed and he said he would be sure that the mistake was “made right.”
I guess you could say it was a good night, but it was also a disappointment. I can look on the bright side, though. The car is in one piece and after we get it washed and cleaned up a bit, it will be ready for the car show on Saturday the 26th at the Gage County Fairgrounds. Play Day will follow at 1 PM, and we plan to have both the stock car and the factory stock on the track.
Opening night at Beatrice Speedway is Saturday April 2nd with races starting at 6 PM. Hope to see everybody at the track soon.
Ernie #6 Stock Car & #6 Factory Stock
Beatrice Speedway
Secretary, Blue Knights Nebraska I
Front Page
Beatrice Spring Fling 2005
Opening Night April 2, 2005
Results from April 9, 2005
Results from April 16, 2005
Results from April 23, 2005
Results from April 30 & May 1, 2005
Results from May 7, 2005
Results from May 14, 2005
Results from May 21, 2005
Results from May 28, 2005
Results from June 18, 2005
Results from June 25, 2005
Results from July 2, 2005
Results from July 9, 2005
Results from July 16, 2005
Results from July 23, 2005 (Gage County Fair)
Results from July 30, 2005
Results from August 6, 2005 - Kids' Night
Results from August 20, 2005
Results from August 27, 2005
Results from September 3, 2005
Results from Eagle Raceway September 10, 2005
Archives
Here we are, ready for the first night of racing in our rookie season (1998.) The guy in front in the brown suit is probably the only one that knows what he's doing!!
Email: blueknightne1@email.com
