FansCar Motorsports
The Fans Car
J.P./Squid Racing TEAM
P.O. Box 20672
Floral Park, NY 11002-0672
www.FansCar.com
(516) 775-4005
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FansCar Motorsports P.O. Box 20672
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| Take it for what its worth, there are dozens of ways to do it, This isn't right or wrong, this is just the way we went about it. Also, please read through it's entirety before attempting, Some items which may be listed near the end have to be planned for ahead of time. If you care to comment or add a footnote please let me know at Squid@Squidster.com 1) 1st things first! Plan ahead, or have some idea of what you want to do, who you want to help, how it gets paid for, who can sponsor, how to get all this done, what it will cost you and all you get involved, in fact, 1st lets get a set of rules! Contact Riverhead raceway for that, they'd be happy to mail you a set. When you get them, read them thoroughly, then break open the piggy bank. But plan and get your friends and ask them for their ideas and suggestions too, you'd be surprised how well things work when you have a semi descent plan of attack. And by all means, if you do have a few buddies helping out, get them involved, they'll love it too, most important communicate! You see what i mean as this project gets underway. It can be done by yourself, but if you've got the talent of others, use them, use them wisely, and if your working on one aspect of the project and you ask someone to tackle another aspect, make sure they know what you want them to do, or things start to get a little hectic. I also keep a log of what we do, date time, what we fixed, how much it cost, any info that could help, as the season goes on, you see what areas are getting more attention than others, or what is lacking in work to be. Oh, one more thing, don't hesitate to ASK anyone for help! Other Drivers, other crew members, I know I've gotten tons of help just by asking. Go to an Enduro race, ask us questions!, we like to love help out! It's not only more fun when you know who your racing with, but we're always swapping stories, and do's and don'ts and what have you, we all end up having a better time. You may get stuck out on the track at the end of the race, you give a wave, and the guy you may have asked a question, who probably already checked out how you made out on your car during inspection, could see it, and you get an instant push to the pits! Saves you some headaches! 2) You'll need a car. Got one? No, ask someone if they want to get rid of one. If they do want to get rid of it, will you get it for Free? If not Free, how much? $100 ok sounds good enough, more or less, what's in your pocket for what your getting? Ask around, look around, my first car (Boneville) I found by driving around in Farmingdale, saw it, looked good, but they wanted $500. I was running short on time so I splurged. 3) Does it Run? Hopefully it does, but hey, if it did, maybe it would have cost a bit more? If it doesn't, we'll have to fix it, hopefully you and/or your friends. And hopefully, it doesn't need major parts like engine, transmission or a rear end to name a few. Ok, so it somewhat runs, but you may have to still work on it. so fix it. Get it running, at least half-way decent. you can always go back and improve on it running, but you don't want to continue if you can't get it going at all. This is were a few $$$ could come in. On the Lincoln, we've had to replace break pads, steering hose, a belt or two, an inexpensive muffler, etc. but our engine ran fine for the $100 we paid for the Lincoln. Basically, our fixes were all things that normally get done to the car if you were driving it on the street. A couple of things we needed to replace were the master cylinder and the radiator. But all cars needs are different. 4) Gut it. After gutting 5-6 cars over the years, one of us came up with a not so brilliant idea to just leave it on the side of the road on the cross-bronx expressway. Check on it every day or two, I'm sure something will disappear, but if your not quick enough the whole car just might not be there anymore! If your lucky, you'll even get some free graffiti on the side! On the down side, you'll either have to answer to the N.Y.P.D. why your car was there, and if they didn't tow it to their lot, your in luck, you'll just have to pick it up yourself, that is if the engine or certain engine parts, it still has its tires, and the whole thing wasn't visited by F.D.N.Y.! Do the gutting yourself, Yup, pretty much everything, rear seats, front passenger seat, all windows except front windshield, all the chrome trim, all the headlights and taillights. all the carpet, roof lining, windshield wipers and on and on (its all in the rules). you can leave the dashboard, the drivers seat & the front windshield. Save your back seat! Use the foam in it to make a little barrier that will fit between you and the raw steel on your left side when sitting. Wrap it in duct tape, it's already got a million uses, one more can't hurt. 5) Make it Safe. ok, now its running and gutted, lets weld or chain the doors, the trunk, the front and rear bumper and chain the hood. Also, cut a hole in the hood above the carburetor. Don't have a torch or a welder? no problem, the track offers welding insurance for $5 and ask a reasonable fee to do all of the above for you. (it may mess up your paint job in the next step though, if you do paint it) When welding the bumpers, weld the bumper to the plates that hold the bumper. (chain it too if you can). I've had a bumper sheer off the bolts that connected it, which is why we weld them now. 6) Paint it. hey, what the hell, you already spent most of your time getting it to the point it is, and how often do you see a race car looks like it did when it was on the road? Besides, I'd have to say painting can be quite fun when you got a few buddies and your thinking up paint colors & schemes. What kind of paint? CHEAP, ok, again, 1st year I bought a couple gallons of rustoleum, pretty expensive ($25/gallon?). Past couple years, we just go to Home Depot, match our colors from those little paint sample cards, and get plain old water base indoor/outdoor house paint. We hand it to the guy who in turn mixed us two gallons of our colors (1 yellow & 1 green) and thought we were nuts, we told him we were painting our house that color to we couldn't bear it no more, we told him what it was really for. I think it came to $9 a gallon, like I said - cheap and extremely easy to clean ---just water. It does have its down side, Keep it in doors for now!! After we put 2 coats and let it dry a couple days, when it was left outside, there was a light drizzle, and the car looked like it grew warts! (ok, Charlie Bullfrogs, warts, go figure!) Anyway, whatever reason it did do this, moisture collected under the paint (could be we just slapped the paint without a real good cleaning), but in any event, once the sun came out, and re-dried the car, they all disappeared, and hasn't been a problem again. Each race, using the same 2 original gallons, we go over certain areas to "freshen up" its appearance. 6 races later, we still have left over paint, told you it was cheap! Having fun yet? How's your wallet? 7) Fine Tuning & Race Setup. An area of great detail and great debate, but little for me to say. (I got my crew chief for this part) You got the copy of the rules. Go over and do what you can to make it better on the track. Caster/Camber, Tow In/Out, any Modifications, etc. Most importantly, do what you can without getting disqualified. Tires, ok, how's your wallet? We've picked up brand new steel belted radials from Pep Boys, 4 for $99 or cheaper for other places, shop around. We've had a set of Bias Ply tires one year, harder to get and more costly, but this too depends on who you ask and what they prefer. I prefer the bias ply with tire tubes. I've ran both on the Lincoln, but for some reason the Lincoln runs better on the bias ply. Why? weight distribution? I don't know. Again, it's all driver preference and car type combination and the size of your wallet. 8) Register it. Call the track to have you put on the mailing list, if your not already on it by asking for the rules. Riverhead usually accepts applications 2 week prior to the race, you get it a week or two before that. They tell you where, when and how much it cost to enter, as of now, $40 entry fee, 1st come 1st serve in the starting positions when the doors open at 9am. You'll also need a return envelope, which they'll have at the office. What you do is write your name and address on the envelope, wait in line, and hand in the envelope, the application and the $40, and that's it. They will mail you back which race your in, and the starting position is which is also the number of your car. They also let you know what time inspection begins for the race on race day. 9) So your all set. Or are you? If you just registered it, your probably still working on the car, in fact you'll probably end up working on the car until the day of the race. There's plenty to look over and make sure what you've done is ok by the rules, or things you didn't have time for before and now do. Now's also a good time to get your "Pit Kit" together, that's what we call it anyway, a kit of basic tools, a jack, some 200mph duct tape and anything else useful to use during a pit that get you back on the track. Or use the kit to fix last minute fixes that may have been overlooked or failed inspection. 10) Numbering/Lettering. By now, you should have received your car
number from the track. Time to take out some more paint and paint those
numbers large and clear on both driver & passenger door areas. Try to
pain them a different color from your paint scheme from earlier. You want
them high contrast to be easily visible. Make them fill the entire door top to
bottom. You want your scorer to recognize your car by it's number and you
want the track announcers to see it too. When your done painting the
numbers, Don't put the paint away yet, you better paint your sponsors name and
phone number on the car too if you want them to continue to support you.
If you don't have any sponsors, go to town yourself with the painting, after all
you sponsored yourself. Keep in line with the rules though, it has to be
rated-G for the kids. If your handy with the computer, as I am, you can do
some designing on the computer and see what the car would look like before you
start. Here's a sketch we did for the Lincoln: 11) Sponsors. If you have sponsors, Show it off. We took the car and parked it in front of our sponsor, took some pictures, made a few 8x10's and now the pictures hang in the sponsors establishment. Not only did they like it, but the customers were all commenting about it for weeks. We also drove around town with it for 20 minutes and got quite a few double takes, waves and kids on bicycles following us. It does just what the NASCAR show cars do, it attracts attention... ...and support. 12) Ready to Go. So now it's the night before the race, you and your crew are ready to go. Or are you. Let's make sure your set for tomorrow. A few checks and double checks. Got your helmet? Long Sleeves? You need long sleeves to wear during the race, I'm in the local Fire Department, and I bought a nomex jump suit years ago, so that's what I've been using. Bring a water bottle! It's always hotter inside the car than it is outside. Add the fact on a 90-95 degree, you in long pants & shirt, in car temperature around 110-120 degrees, your body gets thirsty! I've got one of those water bottles with a plastic straw, Fill it 3/4 water and lay it sideways in freezer over night, in the morning fill the rest with cold water. The ice lasts pretty much till mid race. Also, bring a small towel to dampen and wipe your face or use to wipe sweat off when it gets really hot inside. Is there gas in the car? don't laugh, I've know people who overlooked that. Most importantly, believe it or not, is plenty of sleep. A good night's rest makes the long day tomorrow go a lot further. Alcoholic beverages the night before just dehydrates your body making it harder to replenish fluids. Granted, we all worked hard for the day, and we do chug a few cold brewski's, just don't over do it, tomorrow is the day to celebrate! 13) Towing. Perhaps one of the items I didn't mention earlier, because there wasn't really a need for it until now. There are several ways to get your car to the track, and we've tried quite a few of them. Tow Strap, Tow Bar, Tow Dolly, Trailer, Tow Truck and Flat Bed. I don't suggest Driving it there, funny, it has been done. Ever wonder why you see some S.C.P.D. squad cars at the track that morning! For us, being about an hour from the track, a tow strap was ruled out immediately. In fact I think it may even be illegal these days, not sure. Our very first couple of cars were did with a tow bar. Just happen to have one, so it didn't cost us anything to do it besides the time. You can't go 65mph with a tow bar, you'd have to be nuts (although I've seen some guys do it too!). Same with the Tow Dolly method, which is around $45 a day from U-Haul. A Trailer from U-Haul is around $55 for the day, which for the $10 more is worth all the headaches. Reason being as what happened with us on our very first race. The front end bumper was so mangled, I couldn't get the tow bar to hook up. So I ended up giving the car to another driver (who raced it for a couple seasons!). Plus, you can have 4 flats, no bumpers, and still trailer the car. So we rented a Trailer for one season. but had problems when it came to the Lincoln. This car just doesn't fit on any of the U-Hauls! And the wear and tear on the tow vehicle, my jeep, It was just getting too much to handle. So a buddy of ours, who just happens to have a Flat Bed, helped us out. We give him money to compensate for his own wear and tear, gas and travel time, but the amount will vary with whomever you have do it, and it's unfair to state what we give him as a comparison (he's a friend of ours). Anyway, towing usually means more $$$. 14) Race Day: Inspection. Inspection for the 1st race is 10-10:45am, we wake up at 8am, have breakfast and are on the road by 9am for the 1hr or so trip. We had nothing to do because we had it all set to go the night before. We get there around 10am, our car arrives within minutes, we offload her and wait in line with the rest of the cars & drivers. We wait, and wait, and most of the morning is just waiting, we won't start the race till around 1pm!. If it's your first time, Don't just sit there. Walk around, check out the other cars, talk to the other drivers. Ask one of the more experienced drivers to check your car out. We're all just waiting and B.S.'ing too, and helping out is all part of racing. During the Inspection process, someone who works at the track will come along asking if you want welding insurance for $5. This is not mandatory, but is well worth it if it happens you need some welding during the day. We've yet to use them, but we continue the $5 insurance just in case. Eventually, a Track Inspector comes by, and (if its your 1st time) your nervous as crap. After all, if he says the car can't race, your out of luck, and all that time and effort wasted. Don't worry, if you followed the track rules and done everything they require, you should pass. If the Official says something, he usually says, "that's no good, take it off right now" or "have it fixed by the next race". I'm sure they've had cars not pass inspection, but believe me, the guy who set it up probably never read the rules and probably left all the glass in the car or something like that. 15) Race Day: Pre-Race. Sometime before or during the inspection process, they open the Registration window at the track. Go over and sign in, and have your scorer & pit crew sign in too. They will give you a wrist band and charge $20 for each member (your already paid for with the initial $40 entry fee). There should also be a Track official handing out a claim card. This claim card is required for you to leave the track with your car. When the Officials have concluded a majority of the inspections, they will open the gate to the pits. Follow the cars ahead of you through the gate, getting a visual inspection of the interior of the car to make sure you have no paint or alcoholic beverages in the car. Depending what race and your car number is depends where your pit stall is. If you don't know where it is, ask and/or follow the golf cart that may be there. Once parked, you can unload any of your spare tires, pit kit, etc. I recommend you chain it all up with a padlock. It's a shame things would walk, but they do. We lost a spare tire once, thanks, now we lock up everything. Most likely, there are other race events going on the same day, and the pits are crowded with different teams. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to show you anything you ask, but remember they are getting ready to race too, try not to bother them to the point you may be annoying. And keep an open eye for cars coming down pit roads at ALL times! There may be a race going on, and they're coming for a pit stop. If your in their way, you could cost them some time. I guess around a 1/2 hour before your race, they will make an announcement for all scorers to the scorer area (by the start finish line), and all drivers to either their cars or to the pits for a drivers meeting. At the drivers meeting, you'll hear any problems the officials had during last year or last race, and any new changes or rules that will be strictly enforced this race. They'll most likely ask new drivers to raise their hand, if that includes you, please do. It gives both the drivers and officials an idea of what kind of field we're racing with. If there's only a handful of rookies, the officials know right off the bat we've all heard their speeches before, and they won't be taking any unsportsmanlike driving lightly. 16) Race Day: Line-Up. Now its time to get to business. Long Sleeves on, Helmet on, Seatbelt buckled, Car ready, ready to go. Follow the line of cars down pit road onto the track. Oh, that "high" your getting is the adrenaline pumping, it usually stops when the race is over. Once on the track, you be lined up by a Track Official, most likely in car # order, 3 abreast for 34 rows deep. Depending where you start, depends on what you do with your cars engine. By this time, you should know your engine and how it runs. Your about to put it through a major stress test. Starting in near the front, and by the time the car is up to operating temperature, I shut it off. It's a hot day, and I don't want to put any more stress on the engine than what's in store for it. It takes a while to load a field of 100 cars, and 10-15 minutes engine off won't hurt, and may even help a bit. Near the end of the field, your probably talking like 5 minutes until the green flag, so this may not help any. Sometimes, you will get a car that won't restart in the front of the field, this too is why you should know your engine, specifically in the case of the starter sitting close to a hot engine & track, sometimes just don't like the heat. 17) Race Day: Race. I won't go into the actual racing of a race, as there is no easy way to put it on paper, but I will touch on some key aspects you should look out for. Starting, of course is the Green Flag, be ready for the start. You could try flooring the gas no matter where you start in the field, but unless your driving a Mac Truck, you ain't pushing anyone anywhere, you'll have to wait until the field starts moving. So keep cool and don't put more stress on the car that is not needed. By the the 1st lap, there'll be room to maneuver. Look ahead, plan ahead, watch your rear, some of the things all going on at once. Remember it's a Race, not a Demolition Derby. There will be rubb'n and bang'n going on, but it's only a result of the mass quantity of cars on a little oval track. Steer clear of the wrecks that do happen, and you'll make it to the end if all goes well. Use hand signals to wave cars on or to let other drivers know slowing down fast. If it doesn't go well, you know about it immediately, or if you don't know about it, you get a black flag (or like some, know about it, get a black flag, and continue to race). Black flags mean OFF the track, pull into the infield. Flat tire means OFF the track. Hanging bumper means OFF the track. And believe me, you do know it. My very 1st race, It was a little tricky though. I did not have a flat, but must have been low. I heard a semi "grinding" sound from my right front tire on turn 4 only. My driving line was tight, especially in turn 4, and the rim barely touched on a few occasions. It wasn't a blown tire as in many cases, so I widened my line to keep less forces on the tire. At that point, and for about 10 laps, The official in turn four was paying close attention to me, and what I was doing (I saw him looking at it as I turned). I was watching the Start/Finish Flag man too, and had no black flag, so kept on going. I knew it was a matter of time. I had to make a sharper turn at one point as a car now sat on turn 4, and when I turned, back to grinding, got the black flag, and in the infield I was. In the end, the tire wasn't flat, just too much under inflated. After speaking to the official, he said I tried the best thing possible, but that the disabled car, made me turn sharper, which was no good. Point is, if you have a flat, normally its a blow out, and that means off. In my case, it was "correctable" to an extent. When you pull into the infield, be careful, as there could be many cars in there already. There's also other drivers pulling in too, and possibly exiting their car. Pull close to the cement barriers if possible and if there is sufficient safety for you to exit the car, do so cautiously. Any question, just stay in the car until it's over, better safe than sorry. Red flag means Stop the race immediately. S-T-O-P, not after passing 5 cars, or ramming the backend of a car at full speed when someone is already stopped, it means STOP immediately. Let the track officials take care of the matter at hand without worrying about you or who you'll kill or mame. Don't move your car, don't work on your car, don't do a thing but sit there and wait for the yellow flag. When the yellow, comes out, I believe it was 2 yellow flag laps. Be ready for infield cars to exit to the pits and return to the track. Stay in line and wait for the restart. Lastly, the White flag, then Checker flag, 1 lap to go and finish respectively. If your still in the field, you did a great job. Doesn't matter at this point where you finished, there could be 15-20 cars on the final lap, if your one of them, your most likely in the top-20. Out of 100 to start, that's pretty damn good. 18) Race Day: Post-Race. The race is over, you may or may have not won or even come in the top 10. Not a problem. Everyone wins in their own way. Whether you come in 15th or 100th, you've accomplished a massive task to get to where you got. One thing I didn't mention earlier, as you raced, your scorer was keeping times on your laps. They write down the seconds count on a clock every time your car passes. When you've finished the race, these time cards are handed in to the official scorers who will check or authenticate the card and its times. Once the officials have an official winner, they will announce who it was, if your that lucky and/or that good, it will be you, which you and your scorer would have already had a good idea where you placed on the checker with the top 5 on the scoreboard. And if it was you, do what the officials ask for the post-race inspection. Otherwise, it's time to load up you stuff and get ready for the trip home. No matter how you finished, you probably learned quite a few things, and also have a list of things to be done to prepare for the next race. Oh, that "low" your getting now is the craving for adrenaline, the days pretty much over, and exhaustion should be starting to set in. 19) Race Day: Celebrate. No matter how you do it or who you do it with, pat yourself on the back for doing what you did. There's been a lot done since the 1st day when it was just a "Plan". While your at it, thank all you pit crew and sponsors who helped out. You'd be surprised how powerful the words "Thank You" are. We celebrate back at our sponsors establishment, Charlie Bullfrogs Sports Bar & Grill. And with us, we've got our entire pit crew with us to exchange stories, and "what I saw/what you saw", and even Fans that watched us or the video tape we bring back. Opening the wallet again, a Pizza or two helps out. 20) Repeat. As often as necessary. Not much I can say, but I'd bet you'd want to do it again. And if all went well, the 2nd time is a lot easier, most of the work is already done. The 2nd time is not only easier, it is a little easier on the pocket depending on what needs fixing. That's about it. I'm sure I missed some important and not so important steps, but I'll update when need be. Now we've done all this several for several seasons with "fresh" cars, and "repeat" cars. We even have an end of season Steak & Lobster B-B-Q for our sponsors and crew members that, even though it costs the team some more hard earned dollars, it pays for itself in continued support from all involved. If you care to comment or add a footnote please let me know at Squid@Squidster.com. Special thanks to all the team members and all of our sponsors (All of which can be found on this site). Good Luck Racing! -- Larry "Squid" Kiewra (Driver) |
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