Down to the Details

We are getting down to the small details on the dream of driving and tuning a ProMod drag car.

Mike Janis Sr. and Jr. booked their flights today so everything is a "GO". When Mikey told me that he had booked flights, my heart began to race! Wow, I am about to do something that only a few thousand people on earth have done, drive a sub 6 second ProMod! I am blessed beyond belief.

Pretty much all of the big stuff is done but there are a thousand little things that have to be done before testing on Aug 13-14.

"The Black Hole" was loaded into Moby (the big white race trailer) for the first time this weekend to make sure we could fit everything we need for two days of running the car. Everything fit fine and the new air suspension was able to lift all of the weight without a problem.

The car even went in without dragging on the front end which kept us from having to take the front end off of the car every time we load it. There was maybe an inch to spare for the Honda UTV to fit under the car. Almost looks like the trailer was made for our operation!!!

You will notice in the pictures that the new carbon fiber wheelie bars have arrived (Purple and black thingies sticking out of the back of the car). They are beautiful, light weight, and very strong!

We sent out an invitation for you all to join us for the test session. At this point, we have a bout 35 - 40 people who will be attending one or both days. Some family, some friends, and some people who just keep track of the dream on the blog. It is going to be a lot of fun for me to share this experience with others! Those of you who can't be here will be able to see some highlights on this blog and Facebook!

Lodging accommodations are just a few miles down the road on Interstate 10 if you need a place to stay. There are 3 or 4 big name hotels and lot of eating joints in the same area.

I will be filling in more details as we get closer to test day.

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The Dream Day is Set

I have had bigger days in my life (accepting Jesus as my savior, marrying my best friend, having our two kids, having grand kids, etc) but this is my biggest hobby related dream ever. I just spoke with Mike Janis Jr. and we have set the date for testing "The Black Hole". We will be renting Houston Raceway Park on August 13th and 14th for two evening/night testing/training sessions. 

After nearly three years of building, rebuilding, and struggles, we are nearly there!

God has blessed me beyond belief to enable me to pursue this dream. At times I feel guilty to be where I am at while others struggle. Just know that I recognize what I have and I am praying for those who are struggling. "There but for the grace of God, go I"

For those of you that want to be there, you are welcome to show up. Houston Raceway Park is going to allow us to use the Media Suite so everyone has a place to stay out of the heat. Many thanks to Austin Hayward and Houston Raceway Park for accommodating us.

A few things you need to know about testing. I am a rookie and we will be taking baby steps to get the car and driver to be able to do the job.  Although this day will be super exciting for me, don't expect competitive runs early on. The Janis family will be coaching and guiding me to a successful outcome. Their goal is to keep me safe and get me as much seat time as possible, not to be competitive! I will be following their coaching to the letter. Only when they tell me to drive it to the finish line, will I do that. I suspect that our best runs will happen on the second day after the car gets tuned and my heart rate stays below a ridiculous rate!

These cars require lots of maintenance after each run and most of our time will be spent working on the car, not driving it. That is just the nature of the beast! 

Mike and I have acquired all of the spare parts we think we will need but there is always a potential to break a small part that prevents us from running. Again, the nature of the beast!

Traci and I are normally the kind of people that host all of our guests when we schedule a gathering of any kind. This will be different for us. Traci is a key member of our crew and we will have to be focussed like a laser to make sure we get everything right and learn as much as we can. We would love to host and I apologize in advance for not being able to focus on all of you that are there.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with the current world champ in ProMod and we will be shadowing them every waking hour. You will be able to watch us work but our pit area will be a work zone and a dangerous place so everyone will have to give us the space to work. I want to make sure that nobody gets hurt and we get as many runs as possible. Everyone will get a chance to look at there car but we will have a buffer zone when it is game time.

I will give you more details as we get closer but I wanted everyone to understand the environment at the track.

I hope some of you can be there because this is a big day in mine and Traci's life. We would appreciate your prayers during our dream coming true!

Clifford Gets a Makeover

Those of you that follow this blog know that my cousin's daughter Kayla has been battling cancer and has started a new treatment trial to stop and defeat the cancer. She is so tough and is fighting this battle with a tenacity that most people do not have. As a tribute to her willpower and as motivation for both of us, I have initiated a campaign for us both to accomplish our goals. I am calling it "5.80s For Kayla".

I chose 5.80s because it is a goal that is a pretty tough for a newbie who pretty much built my car on my own. Not impossible but tough! Just like Kayla's battle, not impossible but tough!  Luke 1:37 "Nothing is impossible with God"!

I am sitting in bed writing this and I am more tired than I have been in years. I just finished doing a two week marathon makeover on Clifford The Big Red Truck. I have not done anything to Clifford since we bought him and it was time to go completely through it to make sure it is ready to go racing.

I ended up replacing every component on the brakes (both front and rear), wheel bearings, king pins/bushings, changed the differential oil, transmission oil, engine oil, anti-freeze, dash lights, dome lights, cab heater pipes, hoses, belts, mounted the trailer hitch,  and a bunch of other stuff!

I am pretty sure that I do not want to be a heavy truck mechanic any time soon. Nothing is more nasty, heavy, and stuck like parts on a heavy truck.

Clifford rolled back out of the garage this evening with his shining new undercarriage and even had his wheels polished back to a shine.

Now I am back on the trailer to get the spares that have been coming in loaded in the trailer, and to test fit The Black Hole. It has never been loaded into Moby the Big White Trailer! I have to build brackets to store the doors of the car, a holder for my TIG welding gas bottle, and wire up the TIG welder to the generator. I did manage to get the weather station mounted in the trailer and tested it. The weather vane was not showing wind direction or speed but I am working with the manufacturer to solve the problem. It is a nice weather station and will be critical for tuning the car to the performance altitude. Weather conditions have a major effect on the tune up of a race engine and its performance. For instance, on the day I installed the weather station, the performance altitude was nearly 2000 feet and we are only at 165 feet above sea level here in Magnolia. That is a big difference!

We have narrowed our testing dates down to two possibilities. One is on August 13-14 and the other is on August  20-21. We have penciled in track rental dates with Houston Raceway Park for both sets of dates and will cancel one of them. We also will have the use of the press suite for our family and friends to have a place to hang out while we are working on the car between runs. It will be air conditioned and will be a big relief for everyone to stay out of the heat. There will be a lot of downtime between our runs. We are also going to be renting the track in the evenings and into the night so the track workers and our crew do not overheat. I cannot wait to get to work with the Mike Janis Sr. and Mike Janis Jr. to get the car down the track. It will be an experience I will never forget.

Please keep Kayla and us in your prayers to help us achieve our goals! God is guiding us every step of the way.

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