#73 Larry Barnett: 2013

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Selling the Mod

We hope to sell our modified stuff. Why you ask?

Reasons include the following:

costs to race keep climbing. For example, vMRS series rules now allow 4 tires each race vs 3 tires a year ago. Change tires coming soon?
crew member availability declining. Had 10 crew members many races in 2012. had 3 attend final Seekonk race.
sponsorship decline. 0 dollars of sponsorship in 2013.
competition levels. More cars attend and compete for qualifying positions. 2011 season had less than full field often. 2013 season 10 cars went home several times. Racing hasn’t suited my more conservative driving style, where I hoped to make my move at lap 73. I completed only 1 of 6 attempted races in 2013. Went home 4 times without even making the show.
My income has shrunk some, and fear further challenges in future.
Part time teams are very rarely successful. We simply cannot afford to race enough to raise the bar. Giving it your best, and yet not making a race isn’t very fun.
Might return to sportsman division, or find another driving option. I still hope to hold a steering wheel in 2014 (in a place where I can compete, at reasonable out of my pocket cost). I also enjoy playing spotter.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

73 Mod & Equipment For Sale!!

2008 Design Troyer Modified

Chassis Built Dec. 2009

Last raced as #73 vMRS Seekonk DAV 2013

Larry Barnett 860-917-7056

leadfoot@barnett73.com

Car history:

*Raced the 2010 season as #91 SK modified at Waterford by Jeff Paul / Gary Paul owner

* Purchased SK-complete. (LB winter of 2011) Converted to vMRS rules. Attempted 11 events in 2012. Attempted 6 events in 2013. Stripped and frame corrected at North East (Brad L. and Co.) summer of 2013. chassis set up at North East following assembly.

Bought $9000 in spare parts at 50% off with car. Bought many more parts since to outfit as tour type car, plus tour type spares. Many items never raced / new in boxes etc.

Car Buying Options:

As vMRS car. Could sell “race ready” minus engine proper. Car has Jerico Transmission (rebuilt by Magnus august 2013). Quick change rear. Sweet steering rack. Pro Shocks.

As complete SK package. Could remove tour type only parts. Could supply SK engine, headers etc. Engine was built by Gary Espinosa. 18K value at build time. 3 races old.

Stripped down chassis?

Current “in/on car” details:

Best quality “Fast shaft” moly driveshaft. Lightweight battery. vMRS legal body. Adjustable panhard mount. Rs torque arm. Left panhard. 2.25 sweet rack. Headers for steel head engine. Bolaws 750 carb (have offer). 5-1/2 clutch, starter, set up. 22 gallon cell. Lajoie Seat ( I plan to remove it). 4 wil-wood calipers new 2013. oil tank / heater.

Tour Type parts / spares:

See above in car. Plus new flywheel. Ignition box, tour rear engine plate. 2013 belts.

SK Type parts:

Sk engine. Raced 3 races. Waterford 2010 season rules. 18k cost to build. Dart heads. Bowtie block. Told should sell for 12K. make offer. VDL carb. Headers. Mufflers. W engine plates. Spare engine plates. Scatter shield. Clutch. Flywheel. Hood.

Misc. Parts. (Many items never raced)

*5.0” rims, 4.5’ inch rims, 6” rims, 1/4inch spacers. ½ spacers. Long studs. Wheel weights.

*New in box front hub, new in box rear hub. Sets of bearings and seals. Used hubs.

* 2 left side nerf bars. 3 rs nerf bars. Rear nerf bars. Jigs to make all nerf bars.

* 4 new Frame saver sections plus 2 used frame savers. Plus jigs.

*Tin: New rear quarter panels. New rear section. Corvette style. 3 belly pans. Lots of misc. and used tin sections.

84 outlaw brake calipers. Used. Staggered piston size.

*2 Left side panhard support brackets. 2 spare shock tower bars. Rear end brackets. 1 plus spare for every bracket on car.

*RF sweet spindle. Spare pro shocks. 12+ springs, tie rod ends, race ready sweet rack, repairable sweet rack, shock hardware. Factory rebuilt small alternator. Hub drives.

Inventory reduction of Street stock type parts:

2 of 15” wide rims w/ modified tires 5 on 4 ¾” pattern. 4- 8” wide rims used for 2 open races. 3.73 posi rear end from Monty SS. Several rear end housings. Several Saginaw trannies rebuilt by Buzzy. Many chassis springs. Endless chassis parts.

Note: this is 10-16-13 version of my list. Will update as I remember / find more.

Cash talks. Promise notes walk. Thanx to teams like 23 sportsman.

I am getting out of owning / driving a modified completely. May consider repairing my sportsman car, pending rules, selling of modified stuff, and track schedules.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Next Mod Race - Seekonk Speedway DAV, October 5th

Larry and crew are preparing the car for its next race - at Seekonk Speedway's D.A.V. on Saturday, October 5th. Hope to see you there!

Here's a long overdue update on the last three races of the 73 mod.

8-20-12
Rain has been altering race events for much of the summer.
The sportsman car still sits resting, no idea if I will ever care to repair it. I will sell the nats engine if someone wants a solid piece. Maybe the car too?

The modified:
Beech Ridge 8-3-13.
We made the long tow up to Beech Ridge, Maine. Had a good car in practice, but missed the set up for the heat race and missed qualifying in the heat. On to the consi, and I could not get the car in gear for the start. Caught up to the pack (car was pretty fast), but didn't get far enough to make the race. Bummed out.

Waterford 8-10-13.
Made a few changes to the car for set up. Car was better. Missed qualifying in heat by one position again. This stuff isn't easy. On to the consi. Was comfortably running in third when caution came out. 18 car forced me to the grass, and then a 5 car pile up ensued. After getting hit on all 4 corners, plus a car hit the a pillar with its tire. I was pretty sure that was a season ending crash. Have I mentioned Waterford is not my favorite track?

Seekonk 8-17-13
Once getting the crumpled modified home and unloaded, we started finding some of the parts that were ok.
It turns out damage was nearly as bad as thought. Bumpers, nerf bars, rims, and several front end parts, but most of which we had spares. We decide to shoot for going to seekonk.

Rob swapped the broken front end parts, Jonny swapped the bars, and hammered out the body. I began planning how to set the car up. I flipped open the sportsman notebook and dove in. Actually made the decision to try some things on my own.

We make it to Seekonk and run practice, the car is really good. Wayne Darling offers to jump on the radio as spotter. He gives me some "seekonk" tips, and we are fast. Qualify easily.

Race: start 9th. Get tapped from behind on lap 5 and infield I come. Start working my way back forward, but I get too aggressive on Lap 36, and make contact with 19 car and break a tie rod end. Our race is done.
Bummer!

Until my next race, as usual I will play spotter for the Tinio modified, spot for Todd Ceravolo, and try to help the Holdridge team as much as I can.

Cheers,
LB

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Next Mod Race - Thursday, July 25th

First, an update on the Sportsman car:
On July 18th at Thompson, we picked up our 4th win of the season, our 67th win overall, in the first of two features. During the second race, the car was heavily damaged, when I was turned directly into the wall off turn 2 by Joe Plonski. He will get an assist for anyone winning a race the remainder of this season.

It will be the last race for this year in my #73 sportsman car, and may be the last ever. I have no plans to make any repairs to the car. All good things come to an end eventually. With oval track racing potentially ending soon at Thompson speedway, it is hard to justify the work and money to make repairs.

I will sell my awesome Nat's Racing Engine for $6,000 now, or mothball everything for possible use someday.

Modified update:
We are almost done with preps to bring the car to Thompson speedway on July 25th. I had hoped to concentrate on driving the mod on some of the shorter tracks, but do look forward to the better power under the hood I have this season. We will plan our next event for the mod after the Thompson event.

Possibles:
Beach Ridge on August 3rd (tough because most of my crew can't attend)
Waterford August 10th(sorry, but I just don't like this track)
Or Seekonk on August 17th

For those who want to enjoy the video of an in-car camera when pummeling the car against the wall (without feeling the pain), see you tube video which should be posted soon. It will be Here, on 3400 modified videos.

Cheers,
LB

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Seekonk Speedway Race Update, June 8th

Modified:

See photo by Howie Hodge and it tells the big story from seekonk speedway event. Great shot, Howie!
http://www.racerhub.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=257091

My goals included driving to the car's potential. Of course who knows what that is without pushing the limits a bit. I spun more times this event than the rest of my career combined!

Essentially we attempted to run per Brad's advice on set up, but could not get anywhere close to the correct sized tires ( very limited supply). We learned from a few set up mistakes for sure. I tried to drive through the issues, and failed a few times.

Next Race?
Next mod race planned is for Lee Speedway on June 28th. Possibly Oxford plains event will follow next. Without any sponsorship, it is one race at a time.

Sportsman 73 at Thompson. Thank you John Simlick for helping out with some funds for fuel and tires. It means a lot! We still lead the point standings, but have only finished 3 point races completely. We have had 3 rain outs. Two rained out after we had our heat races. I plan to keep going back till I run out of time and money to prep the car. No promises as to how much longer my team can keep it going. So far the racing has been fun.

Whelen Tinio #44 team.
I will be zipping all over playing spotter for the 44 team. A few weeks ago Bobby Santos won the pole at Stafford, then managed to finish 5th with a Quirky brake issue. I also went to Waterford to spot for the team. Riverhead Speedway is next for the NASCAR tour type mods.
See everyone at the tracks!
Larry.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

May 28th update

My night shift assignment is finally over. Most weeks have been 75 hours at work. Little time for anything at all. I am back to day shift and 40 hours a week.

I have no sponsorships for either car so far this season, but then again, you can't get money if you don't ask. I will race when and where the fun is. And where and when the crew can attend. I am hopeful that the modified will respond to adjustments much better after getting the frame repaired. I suspect it was not perfect when we got it.

Sportsman: The old sportsman car is spot on. We won both races at the Icebreaker, and it ran flawlessly on May 19^th for practice and the heat race before the rains came. Was told that 32 cars were in attendance on the 19^th. Things are looking better at Big T.

I am considering running the next race at Thompson with the Sportsman car. Money and smiles will be the biggest factors.

Modified schedule??? Plan to finish up car this week. Hopefully can bring it to Brad’s shop to allow his eagle eye to look it over. I will be running the Seekonk race on June 8^th. I will be skipping the Stafford Speedway event. I currently plan to attend the race at Lee Speedway on June 28th.

I will be playing spotter for each of the Whelen Modified races, working with Sully Tinio’s #44 and driver Bobby Santos. Great team.

See everyone at the Tracks.

Larry

Monday, May 6, 2013

Frame Repaired

Northeast Race Parts has replaced these parts of the frame of the 73 modified. Several components were bent - these were the two biggest. We are now trying to get the car back together to race at Thompson on the 19th, we'll see how quickly we can get it back into shape.
P.S. Congrats to Bobby Santos and the 44 Tinio team on their win at Stafford Speedway last week.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Thompson Speedway Icebreaker Weekend

We pulled the sportsman car out of its winter storage in time to attend Icebreaker weekend at Thompson Speedway. Luckily the car was race-ready when put into storage, so limited prep time was good enough. I was able to leave work from my night shift assignment, catch a short nap of about 2.73 hours, and make it to the track before the Saturday AM practice. My last minute decision to attend the icebreaker, along with many of my crew members having to work, ended up with a one-person crew on Saturday. David Nichols was there at Thompson for his first time ever! I drew a #2 chip (very rare for me to draw well), and then headed out for practice. Car was awesome. No need for more practice.

I started in the front row in the heat race and pulled away leaving the others to battle. NO issues.

Then comes the “Best of the Rest race”. I was asked to participate. I was there to race as much as I could, so I agreed, based on the other cars that were expected. The plan was for me to start dead last. I was penalized for going three wide (even though that wasn’t the cause of an accident) part way through the race. I had to start last yet again. Car was perfect, and I slowly picked off the cars. I was able to pass multi-time winner Bill McNeil, Kevin Mason, and eventually former champ Scott Cook with three laps to go to take the win. I thought it was one hell of a win. Far from any walk in the park for sure.

Win # 64

Sunday: Another great race. A couple of race starts vs. Steve Kenneway in which I was able to inch my way to the lead, then a side-by-side battle vs.Jesse Gleason. What a race. He had me beat - I thought, but I fought my way back over about 5 laps to finally take back the lead. Lots of fun. Win #65 in the books.

Win #65

My Spotter duties for the day did not go quite as well. Todd Ceravolo would finish a lonely 5^th in his Sunoco Mod, Danny Gamache joined the masses with a DNF is his light mod debut, and then Bobby Santos finished 18^th in the Tinio Whelen Mod. All will do better the next time around.

Modified plans: I will not be attending the monadnock vMRS race. The car is nearly ready for a visit to North East Race Parts to get the frame checked and repaired. If that goes well, we might be able to race at Thompson on May 19^th. Sportsman car? Depending on the modified, crew help etc. I will consider racing the May 19th show with the Sportsman car. Stafford: I will be at the Sizzler to play Spotter for the Tinio / Santos # 44 Whelen Mod. Looking forward to running up front where we belong!

Boston Marathon: On the Monday after the IceBreaker I was finally able to manage going to see my big brother David run his 19th Boston Marathon. His goal was to finish in 3 hours 10 minutes, so his son Jake, daughter Marie, and her boyfriend Xander joined the race at ~ mile marker 18 to help him power up the hills and maintain a pace needed to complete the race at his goal. All three kids (ok, not kids...in their 20's) are excellent runners and figured their presence would give him a kick in the pants.

LB and Mom Janet wait at mile marker 25 for David to come by.

David runs every year in memory of our father Phil, our brother Jack, our uncle Bud, and others who have passed away due to cancer. He has raised an astronomical amount of money for the Dana Farber team, and this year was no different. David beat his goal of 3 hours 10 minutes with an official finish of 3:07:52.

Marie, David, Xander, and Jake approach the family at mile marker 25. Nice to see these smiles.

Sounds like his son Jake will join him next year, and his goal is to beat his own personal best Boston Marathon performance of 2 hours 46 minutes. Way to go, guys, we were all very proud of each of you on Monday! Thankfully none of the family was directly involved in the chaos that ensued about an hour after David crossed the finish line.

LB's niece Marie, her boyfriend Xander, and his nephew Jake after they helped their Dad run the hardest 8 miles of the marathon. They weren't even winded -- ah, youth.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Waterford Speedbowl 4-6-2013

After a great team effort by LB and so many friends and family, LB did not qualify for the race yesterday. That’s what makes it so depressing. Even worse is seeing your car hit driver’s side square up against the turn one wall in the consi.

The day started out crappy; LB drew 49th out of 50 to qualify. So, he started 10th in his heat out of 11 cars. He got stuck behind a slow car for a lap or two, and his car wasn’t responding to his efforts to get it to pass other cars. He ended up spinning out in turn two by trying to force a pass. The car seems not to be responding as it should be. Consensus on what would be causing this crappy handling is that the frame is bent.

Failing to qualify in the heat had the crew making some adjustments to the car to make it less tight. In the consi, LB noticed a definite improvement to the heat but still the car was still not right. Enter a tap from behind during a tense and all-out effort to qualify, and the turn one wall ends the hopes of qualifying in Sunday’s 100 lapper.

LB planned to next race the modified at Thompson at the end of May. LB and crew will be stripping the car down to the frame so that it can get tested to see if it’s bent. From there, we’ll make a plan on how to proceed.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Update for March

The 73 car rolls off the trailer after having been treated to some attention by the Tinio #44 Whelen Mod crew.

We are behind schedule…..but so far ahead of normal! Last season we were hanging just-painted panels up to dry at 4am one day before the Waterford season-opener event. We then had to mount the entire body Thursday night. Friday we were trying to stack boards in an attempt to fit the modified into the car trailer. That was not pretty!

The 73 crew installs the motor

This year, we are far ahead of that. Chassis set up is nearly complete, thanks to Rob Clorite and also to the Tinio #44 Team. There are a few things to finish up, but car has been adjusted and scaled already. The body is mostly done, but we hope to make a couple of new front tin pieces.

The revamped pit box

We still are fine tuning the pit bull modifications, but it has been along for the journey to the Tinio Shop. It fits nicely into car trailer now. Yes, thanks to everyone’s help, I am hopeful for a solid run at the ‘Bowl on April 7^th.

Audrey is growing and looking forward to seeing her Grandpa race for the first time.

The Icebreaker is the following weekend. I will be there on Sunday to spot for the 44 Tinio Car. It will be tough to pull off as I likely will work Friday and Saturday night shift. The 73 Sportsman being there is only a long shot, based on work schedule. I would love to get it there, but it seems unlikely I will have the free time to run it. Maybe later on in the year if not at the icebreaker. Cheers! LB

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Note the new .url!

I've finally updated the blog's website address to more accurately reflect LB's car number. What used to be www.37modified.blogspot.com, you'll now note is www.73modified.blogspot.com. The old link has been deleted so mark your favorites page with the new .url!
Kim

Winter progress…

We are making progress! Shop nights have begun for the 2013 race season. We have had three new additions to our “shop nights” also. Welcome Dave, Curt, And Kyle. Wintertime is not just about tweaking the car. A huge part of racing, is transporting the car and tools needed from home, to the track, and then even to pit road. This pit box was bought last year, and we barely fit it into my trailer to attend the world series race at Thompson. Not exactly the best size for us (but price was much lower than most others)

We are in the middle of shortening it up (so it can fit ahead of the car once inside the trailer). We are then making some changes as to how it will store our stuff. I look forward to the finished product, and that it should help save time and confusion during the busy race season. As everyone knows, sometimes projects can wear on the brain, when they take longer to accomplish than originally thought. I struggle with “getting it done” vs “getting it done with everything perfect” often.

Meanwhile, I have had a few challenges with street vehicles too. I had a mystery draw on the truck battery that took hours to track down. I also had to have my cherished Pontiac Grand Prix towed home this weekend. The throttle body appears to have failed. Repairs hopefully will happen this week!

The actual car itself: Last year, it was a huge challenge to just get the car to the track for the season opener. This year we are more knowledgeable, and will have the time to make many more improvements. Fine tuning of component placement, and adjustments to the chassis will be ongoing all winter. It takes a lot of small improvements to get the big improvement. Last season we did not qualify for the first two events. We then made every race we attempted after that. This season I am planning on not only making the starting field, but running closer to the front as well!

Larry