Desert Dingo Racing

Category: Class 11

  • Everyone loves a parade

    We are having no luck in the fender department.

    Crusty and Charlie took 1107 to the lumberyard parking lot Saturday morning, joining the Lompico Ghost Mountain Riders, military vehicles, fire trucks, bands and horses for the annual Felton Remembers parade.

    The staging area is something out of a Fellini movie. Not sure whether the Big Foot guy was there, or the 4H kids who shaved their sheep to look like giant poodles and dyed them pink and blue, but there’s always a tow truck with a totaled car on the back and a “DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE” banner. And the last entry is always the local Honey Pot truck.

    Can anyone tell me whether that’s a real falcon on that guy’s head? Parade photos are here. (Thank you Monica).

    We have some time til the next race, the KC Hilites Midnight Special race.

  • Desert Dingo Racing finishes third at the Caliente 250

    No photos to go with this yet – the team is expected to arrive back in Ben Lomond around 6:30 p.m.

    Here’s the details as I know them. First, the morning of the race, 1107 wouldn’t run smoothly and kept dying. The team borrowed an entire ignition system from another Class 11 team, installed it…and…nothing. Then a guy from another team came over, said “Hey, sometimes the carburetor float gets stuck”, he taps it with the handle of a screwdriver and we’re off to the races.

    Bob starts off with Creech co-driving. (Actually Richard, the driver of record, started, then hopped out just after the start line and belted Bob in). First half of the course is reported to be pretty tough. The get stuck at Mile 27 and a truck tows them out of the silt. Creech takes over driving and finishes off the first of two laps.

    Cary starts the second lap with Crusty co-driving. Sometime during the second lap Richard got word that one of the Class 11 teams had broken a spindle, so he headed over to their pit, grabbed one, handed it to a race car heading out with instructions to drop it with the car (SNORE rules require only race cars to deliver spare parts). The part was dropped off, installed and the car was back in the race.

    Crusty crossed the finish line and the team was packing up when they got word that Mark Murrell was broken down eight miles out. Because SNORE wasn’t offering retrieval at this race and Murrell didn’t have anyone with a chase truck, the team went out in Creech’s dually and retrieved Murrell and his car. They spent the night in Vegas and headed out this morning.

    The unofficial results have Felipe Neri-Sanchez taking first place, Robert Johnson taking second and us in third. I expect to get more details (and photos) when I meet the team when they pull in tonight. Next up the KC HILITES Midnight Special July 24-26.

  • Waiting on a bowden tube

    This should be a walk in the park. A rocky, silt-filled, multi-water-crossing walk in the park.

    “Busboy” Bob Russell reported in just now with an update on car preparation. First thing they had to do was purchase a disposable phone (just like the terrorists use!) because Caliente doesn’t have cell service for AT&T.

    With that out of the way, they mounted the new BF Goodrich 7.00×15 tires, which give us an additional 1.5-2 inches of clearance in the back. We’re now approaching Monster Truck levels of ground clearance. Thanks to everyone at Skip’s Tires, one of our sponsors, for mounting those for us.

    A serious issue for us is that technical courses like Caliente have a tendency to chew up tires, primarily by sharp rocks cutting into the sidewalls. These new tires have six-ply sidewalls and Bob reports it will require an act of God to puncture one of them.

    They’re holding off on installing the skid plates until receiving a new bowden tube from a VW shop in Vegas. Once that’s done, they’ll install everything and run the car through contingency this evening.

    #1111 (Felipe Neri-Sanchez) and #1101 (Robert Johnson) are also on site in Caliente.

    You can check out a larger version of the Caliente 250 map here.

  • One week to the Mint 400 and counting

    Richard works on making our steering situation legal for SNORE and the Mint 400

    The sound (and smell) of precision.

    Major work day in preparation for our Wednesday night departure for Las Vegas and the Mint 400.

    Started with a team meeting to iron out last minute details. Scott will drive the first 100 mile leg with co-driver Carrie. Richard will drive the second leg with Creech as co-driver. Bob will drive the third leg and I’ll co-drive. SNORE rules require that the driver of record (Richard) either start or finish the race, so at the last checkpoint prior to the finish line, Bob will hop out, Richard will take over driving and we’ll get the checkered flag.

    All the logistics are in place, except for those things that you decide when you’re on the scene. We’ll do finishing work on the car Monday and maybe Tuesday and we’re on the road to Vegas Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific time.

    Some photos from today’s work.

  • Airborne at the Baja 1000 redux

    Scott qualifying for his pilot's license at the Baja 1000 2008

    Scott qualifying for his pilot’s license at the 2008 Baja 1000.

    Just ordered a couple of print copies of these photos from Trackside Photo. Jim Ober and his team are some of the best shooters who cover all the major races.

    I’ll be out of town, but the team meets on Sunday to continue prep work on the car for the Mint 400 coming up March 26-29 in Vegas.

    Here’s what’s on the to do list, courtesy of Busboy Bob:

    Spare for trailer -Skid
    Shock sent back to Bilstien – Richard
    Tie Rod repair and improvement – Scott
    2x new rear tires – Richard
    Move transponder bracket – Scott/Richard
    Repair front fender mount – Bob & Scott
    Oil Change – Bob
    Valve Check – Bob
    Air Filter Check/clean – Creech
    Make all hardware metric – Creech/Scott
    Skid plate made into 1 piece/fix – Scott
    Move air pump switch – Shawn
    Inspect/replace/ grease wheel bearings –
    New Zerts – Bob
    Lower front seat – Creech/Richard
    Cheap shock spares – Bob
    Blue/Amber lights – sCary
    Spark plug check – Bob
    Power wash car –
    Paint fenders – Shawn
    Clean seats –
    Ball joint replacement –
    Tool Bag – Bob

    With Scott’s additions:

    Portable power washer for track
    Portable air compressor for track
    Fix the brushes on that damnable angle grinder
    Gaffer tape for in-car toolbag
    Rear-facing camera mount
    Appoint camera czar
    Source half-axles and bus CV spares.
    Wire brush for toolkit
    Source spare studded drum
    Fab & weld footbrace for navigator

    Our own version of Dust to Glory at the 2008 Baja 1000