[Wichita-SCCA] Congratulations to Guy Roberts!

[Greg Laws]

WAY TO GO, GUY!!!   

Guy Roberts took the top spot in FSP last Sunday at Strother Field in a back-and-forth battle that continued through both heats.  Guy was driving the Phrog for the first time ever and dang if he didn't go and beat me with it.  <Congratulations, Guy!>  Of course this means that he'll never drive it again ...  <grin>   

Don't worry, Guy.  The list of drivers who have beaten me in my own car is long and growing.  I can't ban them all!  

Bill Preheim did well in his A-H Sprite too.  I've learned not to judge a Sprite by how solid its fenders are ( ! ) -- Bill has built a very quick car and he's a darn good driver too.  At the end of the day there was only a half-second between Guy, Bill, and myself.  The competition was tight, tight, tight all day!  I suspect that the only reason why Bill didn't win was due to the course design which had rewards for horsepower cars that were just not available to his tiny Sprite.  I know that he had me running scared and that I only just squeaked by him on the 6th & final run.  Then Guy came out in the 2nd heat and sandbagged both Bill and me!

First-timer Steven Bromley got with the program too, ending up less than 2.5 seconds off the pace - a most remarkable result for first time out.  He is from England and is a former motorcycle racer.  I believe that he is a fellow engineer who works with Bill.

The Phrog had a couple of problems to deal with.  The first was an electric radiator fan that started clanging away with the blades hitting the fan shroud.  Just a worn-out old stock fan that reached its end on a hot day.  This is no biggie as I have spare parts at home.  The other problem has forced a re-evaluation of my induction system.  All day long but especially in the heat of the afternoon the engine was running very rich like someone had pulled the choke on.  Black smoke would come out the tailpipe while the engine coughed and sputtered.  I knew that it was running rich but it had been doing okay last year and this.  Sunday, however, had much warmer temperatures than I had been competing in.  The hot temps pushed the fuel mixture from being rich into being too-rich.  I don't have an easy way to lean the mixture out with the current carburetor so I've got yet another type of carb coming my way now.  I'll have to re-do the adapter to the intake manifold (again) and ditto with the throttle linkage and fuel lines but maybe this new one will fix my problem for good.

Enjoy,
Greg Laws


"Life's greatest gift is the ability to enjoy enjoyment."

Lwaxana Troi;  Star Trek Next Generation
5th Season: 'Cost of Living' episode
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