Desert Dingo Racing

Category: The Car

  • Prepping for the World Diabetes Congress

    The videoconference was a bust (my fault), and so was using our fancy teleconferencing unit (my fault again), but I did connect with the folks at the International Diabetes Federation in Brussels to map out what we’ll likely be doing for the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal in mid-October.

    The Congress draws researchers and industry reps from all over the world and attendance this year is estimated at 12,000 to 15,000. We’ve tentatively identified a spot for 1107 near the entrance to the Montreal Convention Center where all attendees will pass on the way to registration and the seminars. In other words, high traffic.

    We’ll be painting the car and adding all new sponsor logos before it begins the 10 day trip East. I’ll meet it at the loading dock and put the display together. One of our tame racing drivers will fly in and handle autograph and fan appreciation duties.

    We’ll be printing several thousand new hero cards in English, French and Spanish using our new favorite photo along with the IDF’s new key messages on the back. I expect they’ll be a big hit.

    A lot of work to do between now and then to get everything ready. Creech, Crusty, Skid, Seth and A.J. head out tonight with the car for the Black Rock Desert for some driver training as part of the annual Fourth of JuPlaya gathering. Should be a good time.

  • Preparing for the Playa

    Scott retrieves a dropped bolt. Or nut. Or wrench.

    Actually Scott is bolting in the co-driver’s race seat. We designed it such that it requires a contortionist to get one of the bolts properly torqued.

    1107 is coming back together now that we’ve had time to go through it from stem to stern. The reinforced bumpers went back on. Shawn even painted them to match the car. Shawn and Bob worked to bleed the brakes. Shawn installed the rear skid plate. Crusty and pretty much everyone worked to re-install the fuel cell.

    Crusty and I fueled the car and I managed to get my first “Sunoco facial”.  Actually, considering how much 110 Octane fuel I spilled on myself because I hadn’t tripped the fuel cell flapper valve, it was more a Sunoco full body wash.

    Skid, Seth, Creech and Crusty will be hauling 1107, sans fenders, out to the Black Rock Desert this week for Fourth of Juplaya for a bit of a shakedown run. Our next race, the KC Hilites Midnight Special, isn’t until August, so we’ve got plenty of time to dial the car in.

    I’ve got a 7 a.m. teleconference with the International Diabetes Federation folks to discuss plans for the World Diabetes Congress in Montreal in October and for World Diabetes Day and the Baja 1000 in November.

    Here’s a gallery of photos from today’s work.

  • Bilstein rocks

    We run Bilstein shocks and they’ve been working great for us.

    We’re going through the car from stem to stern. Looking at the front shocks, we noted the hoses between the shocks and reservoirs were a bit frayed from rubbing against the inside of the fenders. I got in touch with Joel, the Off Road MotorSports Technical Supervisor for Bilstein. I asked whether his team could fab a couple of shorter hoses. He came back with an offer to upgrade us to their newest reservoir design.

    “Let me think about this yes.”

    The team got new bushings in the front beam and got the whole front end buttoned up. Our first logistics meeting is tomorrow. Seth is bbqing tri-tip.

  • Men at work

    Shawn and Bob work on the co-driver side front drum brake.

    In advance of our first logistics meeting for the Baja 1000 on June 21 at Seth’s place, the team put in time doing advance prep on the car. Crusty continued stripping out the car, eliminating rust and painting any bare metal. Shawn and Bob worked on the brakes, replacing some bits that kept the passenger side wheel from rolling relatively freely. Richard pulled the fuel cell, power washed it in preparation for pulling the bladder and sponge, which apparently needs replacing every couple of years.

    We may have some interesting developments in the communications department. Photos from last weekend’s work are here.

  • 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.