06-19-2006, 09:24 PM
As a few of you (well more like Julie and Rex) know, I am on a pit crew for a Late model car that regularly runs at Hagerstown Speedway. Saturday Night we Left from Winchester for the racetrack. We got almost to the Falling Waters Exit on 81, when our ambulance driver (yes our hauler involves an ambulance and a 26 foot enclosed trailer) noticed that we had a shredded tire on the trailer. No big deal, right. We're a race team, we have a jack, an cordless impact,a spare, and 4 knowledgable team members to change a tire. No dice. Jack wouldn't jack the trailer up high enough. So oh well, We'd figure that deal out after we got the wheel off. Bubba (the crew cheif) uses the impact gun to attempt to get the lug nuts off. No luck, too tight. So we get out the 1/2 inch drive ratchet. Bubba tries to get the lug nuts off with that. Unfortunatly,he breaks the 1/2in drive to 3/8 drive adapter,so now we don't even have a lug wrench and the socket is useless. So we get back on 81 with the shredded tire and everyone lets us know its flat as they pass. We see a roadside assistance truck and ask if he has a 13/16in socket. no luck,he only has stuff for big trucks. So we get on a back road and travel for 10 minutes before seeing a sign on a building that reads "Liqour, Hardware, Bait&Tackle" So we park along the street in a handicapped spot so our car owner could run in to see if they have a socket. They only have alcohol and 2 bicycle tires.
So back on the road. 15 minutes later we see an Advance auto. We buy a new socket,and unload the race car. We take 4 of the lug nuts off with a ratchet and a claw hammer. The last lug stud strips and the nut wouldn't come off. So after using a chisel to remove the lugnut (15 minutes of work) we remove the stud so it wouldn't luck up the hub. Jack still doesn't jack the trailer up high enough,so we drive the back tire up onto some boards and install the spare.
So we are on our way to the speedway finally,with 30 minutes to get there,and get set up. So we get into the pits,and we unload the car, plug in the oil heater for about 5 minutes before we start the engine. 10 minutes later,our driver Brent is on the track. 1st lap he gets tagged and spun by the 13 car. All is good,no real damage done,and Brent finishes warm ups,and actually ran pretty fast.
During his First Heat race, Brent is running great when we comes off turn 2 a little free and spins down low,without hitting anything. All looks good,until another crackhead driver decides to turn down into him,and the car has to be towed back to us.
So we fold out the nosepiece and send him out to the second heat race about 20 minutes later. I see him come out of 2 a little loose,and everyone passes him. I see that the nose had folded under the left front,and he could barely turn. So yes, our racing ended with us running over our own car.
On the other side. about an hour later a car flipped and had to be suspended in midair by two towtrucks to get it back to their pits,so at least we didn't have that much work to do this week.
So back on the road. 15 minutes later we see an Advance auto. We buy a new socket,and unload the race car. We take 4 of the lug nuts off with a ratchet and a claw hammer. The last lug stud strips and the nut wouldn't come off. So after using a chisel to remove the lugnut (15 minutes of work) we remove the stud so it wouldn't luck up the hub. Jack still doesn't jack the trailer up high enough,so we drive the back tire up onto some boards and install the spare.
So we are on our way to the speedway finally,with 30 minutes to get there,and get set up. So we get into the pits,and we unload the car, plug in the oil heater for about 5 minutes before we start the engine. 10 minutes later,our driver Brent is on the track. 1st lap he gets tagged and spun by the 13 car. All is good,no real damage done,and Brent finishes warm ups,and actually ran pretty fast.
During his First Heat race, Brent is running great when we comes off turn 2 a little free and spins down low,without hitting anything. All looks good,until another crackhead driver decides to turn down into him,and the car has to be towed back to us.
So we fold out the nosepiece and send him out to the second heat race about 20 minutes later. I see him come out of 2 a little loose,and everyone passes him. I see that the nose had folded under the left front,and he could barely turn. So yes, our racing ended with us running over our own car.
On the other side. about an hour later a car flipped and had to be suspended in midair by two towtrucks to get it back to their pits,so at least we didn't have that much work to do this week.
2014 Tacoma TRD Sport Double cab
2017 Toyota iA/Mazda 2
2017 Toyota iA/Mazda 2