Desert Dingo Racing

Author: Jim

  • We apparently raced the San Felipe 250 after all

    Apparently a shot of us tearing it up at last weekend’s San Felipe 250.

    Bob worked overnight and through this morning, reporting at 1 p.m. today that he had disassembled, replaced a seized main engine bearing, reassembled and tested the engine. We will be ready to race come Saturday and Sunday.

    El Jeffo, who handle chase duties for us in his tres cool International Harvester whenever we pass through San Felipe (and who is kind enough to let us crash at his place whenever we’re in the area) shot these photos of 1102 during the San Felipe 250 this past weekend.

    This is us apparently leaping a spectator’s truck. Note the vandalism to the passenger side door. What is it with today’s youth?

    And this is us apparently going up a pretty steep hill.

  • Some days are better than others

    Scott, momentarily not under the car fixing something, fixes something inside the car.

    One week til the the first short course race of the VORRA season and we were all set to button up 1107. Realized that the pulley is tight. Engine was back on the truck. Bob and Mike will be going through it tomorrow. As a backup, we’ll pull 1117’s engine, but we will be racing.

    Some photos from today’s work day.

    It’ll be good as new in a week.

  • San Felipe 250 underway – Eric has the lead

    You could cut the tension with a knife watching the tracking website update every once in a while.

    The San Felipe 250 is underway and at least four of the six registered Class 11s are on the course. I’m suspecting the other two overslept and are parked out at the beach. Eric Solorzano has the lead, followed closely by our buddy Gustavo Garayzar. Scott says he’s already heard Weatherman call one person a “Richard Cranium”. You can track all the VW on VW action here.

  • Nine days to our first race of the season and counting

    This light bar has nothing to do with what I’m about to write, but it took me all winter to paint, clear coat and install the TrailGlow HIDs, so you’re gonna have to check it out.

    We head out on Friday, March 19, for Prairie City for our first race of the 2010 season and between now and then we need to get the skid plate and bumper integrated, our transmission put back together and the engine installed. Piece of cake.

    Creech is trailering 1107 to the race. Seth is cooking for everyone. Robert and Mike have been putting the finishing touches on the newly rebuilt engine. Skid will be there. Crusty and I will be working on integrating the skid plate with the rear bumper this weekend (technically, Crusty will be doing it and I’ll be standing around). Also, I’ve volunteered to do scoring because, as I told the organizers, “it makes it easier for me to black flag any other Stock Bugs that get too far ahead of us.”

    Am I missing anyone?

    While I can’t mention any names, I want to thank the anonymous sponsor who is providing us with equipment we need and who, for reasons I entirely understand, doesn’t want to be mentioned. Thank you.

    So remember how, in the The Sporting Life interview, I said my favorite race vehicle of all time was one of the Kamaz trucks that won Dakar? Here’s a video and photos validating that statement.

    Now if only I can convince our team manager to take a vacation to Russia in the winter.

  • The magic’s gone

    I’m sure this will make sense as it relates to 1107 at some point.

    Crusty came by the office and dropped off “Prepare to Win” (new copies go for $600) and “Tune to Win” ($14.95 new), by Carroll Smith, both published in the late 70s.

    Mind you, I maintain that the internal combustion engine works “by magic” and expecting me to understand these is about the same as giving a chimpanzee a copy of “Godel, Escher and Bach” and expecting it to expound intelligently on self-referencing objects.

    So here’s what Smith says on the first page of “Prepare to Win”.

    “THERE IS NO MAGIC! The one basic truth of successful race car preparation bears repeating. THERE IS NO MAGIC. There is only logic, common sense, forethought, vast amounts of hard work and a fanatic dedication to the task at hand.”

    Great.

    Another work day this Sunday. Three weeks til our first race of the season.