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

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2012 from the Barnett Race Team

So much for a restful off season! It seems life has been at full throttle most of the time, lately. 

The World Series seems like a long time ago!  Since then, lots has happened:  

• I worked 75-hour work weeks the whole month of October, 
• survived another surgery in early November,
• dug a 90 foot trench in my backyard to run power to out to the barn,
• traveled to Mexico & scuba-dived,
• stripped the Mod & returned the engine to Jack Bateman,
• became a grandpa to little Audrey on the 16^th,
• and got several hours of sleep along the way.

Almost time to take a couple of days to enjoy Christmas with the Family!

On my "Wish List" for 2013:

•  race in all of the vMRS races, 
•  sell the sportsman car,
•  sell the SK engine, 
• Spot for Bobby Santos in the Tinio 44 Whelen races.

What will really happen? In reality, time constraints, the ability of my crew to fit racing into their busy schedules, and money limitations ensure that all of the above is not likely to happen.

So:

Plans for 2013. (subject to reality, of course!)

Whelen and vMRS schedules have been announced. Thompson schedule is still top secret.

1. I will be Spotting for Bobby Santos / Tinio 44 car. They hope to run entire Whelen schedule if all goes well.
2. Mod car. I spent a lot of moolah in 2012. I wish we could do the whole schedule, but highly unlikely this year.  I can probably do 10-12 races out of their 19 race schedule.  I am least likely to attend Monadnock, Stafford, and Canaan races. I plan to do the races where we can finish in the top 10, and drive hard enough to do so!
3. selling the Sportsman. No serious inquiries yet. Maybe I'll race it a few times in 2013.  
4. Selling the SK engine:   I've got one serious call, so far.  I might consider parting it out if it doesn't move soon.  
5. Sponsorship: I think we might do best on raising funds for the Mod by offering little donation / sponsorship deals. Lots of folks may help in small ways. Someone might buy us a tire, get their name placed as a donator on website, things that are simple and easy. The quest for large sponsors is a full time job, maybe it is just too hard fighting for money that does not exist.

Basically, I want to drive as much as money and time will allow (in the mod, or anything else)! 

Have a Happy Christmas everyone

Larry

Thompson Speedway "World Series" Report

The Valenti Modified Series was a late-season addition to the World Series line up. We decided to give it a shot with the modified, and for a while, I considered trying to get the sportsman car there also.  Eventually, common sense changed my mind on the sportsman car.

 

Preps for this event were a challenge (big surprise) as we had some damage to repair from the Seekonk race the week before. Meanwhile I was in week two of my outage night shift assignment. Hours were ramped up this week too…SO I leave home at 5pm and do not get home until 7:30 am. I tried to allow for two hours on the car each day, it wasn’t easy. The crew all pitched in, and then Rob C. and Jonny took on the big challenges. Jonny even prepped our (new-to-us) pit bull, finding a way to mount our normal tool box inside it (Rob and I had failed).

 

Race day: (Saturday the 13^th)

I managed to leave work early, allowing me the chance to get home, pack my stuff for the camper etc., load up the coolers, and arrive at the track near 6am. I turned over the keys to Rob C. And climbed into the camper. I managed to get about 2 hours worth of a nap in while the crew prepped the car for practice.

 

Next up: practice

Climbing into a mod on a cold morning, after logging 72 hours at work that week is tougher than you think. Another thing….Thompson is my home track, but just because I have 53 wins there in a sportsman car, it really means squat when it comes to driving a mod. It may even be a disadvantage! I know how everything should feel in a sportsman car, and it may just make it harder to crank up the speeds in a mod.

 

I hit the track, handling isn’t bad (a bit tight), but something under the hood (ok just above the hood actually) is really messed up. Our Proform carburetor is causing a major stumble. I was a bit sleepy, so we headed back out for one more round of practice. Yup, carb was the issue. We quickly (as in Jonny did it) bolted up our carburetor we originally used on our sportsman crate engine. Meanwhile Rob made a chassis adjustment, and we also figured we better scuff our new set of tires. Stumble off the corner solved, push went to a tad loose, but power on the straights was killed with the small carb.

 

The heat race:

Of all times….We had drawn the pole for our heat race. I think the 5 fastest cars were in our heat to boot. Jonny found a blown out power valve in our carburetor, so we bolted it back on thinking it would run much better. Meanwhile, I had run off to spot for Bobby Santos during his Whelen mod practice. We finally got back out on the track for our heat race. I decide to keep my pole start position knowing I had to finish 9^th or better and that 6 cars would not make the race. I nailed the throttle taking the green, even shifted very quickly, but the carburetor stumble was back in full glorious force. I was 4^th across the line, and 8^th by the end of lap one. I did manage to get the speed up enough to finish 9^th and make the race. Everyone on my crew told me that the talent behind me would be more than capable of finding a way around me if they needed to (and boy, did they need to!) and they were right. 

 

The feature:

Boy, was it cold! We were nearly frozen by the time our race was ready to start. It also turned out that the Sportsman division ran their race directly before the vMRS series, so I was really glad I left the sportsman car home (it was supposed to follow with two divisions in between). The race: I was holding my own, mostly due to borrowing a carburetor from my Uncle Dale Holdridge. Several times I lifted to avoid getting pinched into the wall coming off turn 4. We pitted for adjustments around lap 40.

 

At lap 50 we were up to 11 place, as a few cars fell out of the race, and several cars pitted. Around lap 50 the 53 car must have thought he cleared me off of turn two, he drifted into my left front wheel, and caused me to go careening off the back straight wall. Luckily, all the other cars avoided ramming into me as I landed and slid sideways down the back straight. (youtube vidios of the highlights coming soon) Our race day was done. Lots of broken parts.

 

We had already decided to skip the race at Lee before the Thompson race had even started. The accident ensured we did not change our mind. The Lee event can get a bit silly anyways. They try to fit a bit too much racing into a short window of track time. And my night shift assignment runs for another few weeks.

 

Future?????

After the dust settles from our challenging 2012 season, we will assess how much racing we can afford to do in 2013. 2012 did a serious bit of damage to the racing budget. We attempted to make 11 races in 2012. We may choose to do a limited schedule in 2013 also. We certainly have learned a lot this year, have started to aquire the needed tools and equipment. The results are sure to improve next season. My crew did a great job this year trying to make a rookie competitive with a limited budget.

 

Cheers,

Larry

Seekonk Speedway October 6, 2012

The vMRS series season is winding down.  Two races remain - next weekend at Thompson Speedway, and the following weekend at Lee USA Speedway.  LB plans to drive in both events, despite his work schedule, which has him working 12 1/2 hour days for the next month - with only Saturday nights off.

Several key crew members were unable to make the Seekonk race (Jonny, Amy, Alan & Marty) so LB was a little nervous how Bob would handle all the duties completely by himself.  Bob quickly recruited Ron, who has helped out in the shop and at the races when his busy firefighting and quarter-midget racing schedule allows.  Rob and Laurie Clorite came out of the woodwork (whoo hoo!!!!), thanks to LB's pleading.  Also, two Tinio crewmembers answered LB's call; Danny Gamache & Ron Hequist.  The Seekonk crew ended up larger than usual, as a result.  Bob Smith, Ron Smith, Rob Clorite, Danny Gamache, Ron Hequist, Linda Lianos Smith, Laurie Clorite and myself  (Kim) were in attendance on Saturday morning.

The duty board

Bob torquing the tires

LB hadn't raced the modified since Monadnock, which was about a month-and-a-half ago.  The car went out in practice session 1 and LB complained it was tight in the center.  A few minor adjustments and he went back out and the car had improved.  He logged 7th fastest time in practice out of 33 cars.

In heat race 1, LB started in fourth.  As LB describes it, "Our heat race start position was 4^th. Not terrible, but we started behind the 76 car on the outside row, something was wrong with the 76 car, and we were freight trained all the way to last place, was then able to make our way back to 8^th. To the consi we went, along with 14 other cars."  It was pretty painful watching LB out there on outside.  To coin a phrase, he was basically hung out to dry as there was no room on the inside to fall into line and he couldn't get the momentum going to pass anyone on the outside as he was right behind the 76.

LB in Heat Race 1.  Photo courtesy of Charlie White.  

Everyone was nervous for the consi.  Fifteen cars started and only four would make the transfer to the feature.  There were a lot of good cars in the consi.  Once again, LB started in fourth position, outside.  LB says, "I had to get the job done. The crew had worked too hard to not make the race. I ran hard and made the pass for third the hard way, on the outside! Next up I ran down the 79, and made the pass for 2^nd. With no pressure from behind, I went into tire saving mode. Kept close enough to Dave B. in the 82 car to ensure we made the race."  To say the crew and driver were ecstatic would be an understatement.

On to the feature.  Everyone had to painfully sit through a very long 100 lap Pro Stock race that went on and on and on and on.  Cautions came out every 3 to 5 laps.  The dark clouds started to roll in and everyone knew the Modified feature might not make it the full 100 laps.

I know you've been working 12 hour days but this is not the ideal time to take a nap.  Photo courtesy of Charlie White.  

LB says, "We knew that having to run the consi, and the tire sizes we had, were going to be tough on getting a good feature finish. We planned on riding for the first half of the race, pitting to swap tires (position on car), then trying to work our way forward from there. Around lap 40 we pitted. This is where our tire sizes that we had ended up with challenged us, our RS tires were not even close to the same size. After pitting, we also got collected up in an accident ahead of us, and banged the RF wheel pretty hard. We pitted again at lap 48 to inspect for damage and make adjustments. Soon after the restart the rains came. The race was called complete at Lap 53 of the planned 100 lap race. We got credit with finishing 17^th."

Despite the early rains which prevented LB from finding out whether the adjustments made would have allowed him to move forward, everyone was happy.  The car was in one piece, and LB got to log more seat time.  The crew really meshed & did an awesome job.  LB was really happy with the results & was very impressed with everyone's performance.  If he didn't say it enough at the race, THANK YOU to everyone who helped out.  You guys rock!

Update for 9-23-12:

Sportsman Car Race report for Sept 9^th at Thompson Speedway.

As we had planned, we chose to attend the UNOH event, which meant that we skipped the vMRS race at Waterford. Up to the last minute, I toyed with the idea of trying to do both races, glad I did not, as my head may have exploded!

Car preps dragged a bit longer than I hoped, and I brought my camper to the track Saturday AM, then came home to load the sportsman car to bring it to the track. Imagine if I had to drop off that car, then head home to pack up the modified?

Car was the best it had been all year in practice. Ran it once, and waited for the heat. Meanwhile I spotted for Bobby Santos for the tour mod stuff. In the heat we ran second to Sundeen. We ran away from the rest of the cars. My car was really good, his was just as good, if not better?

In the feature, my car transformed itself into a demon, or most likely the track conditions were way different. It slowly got better as the race went along. I finished 3^rd. Sadly,  many of the guys were into demo derby mode. Fenders rolled out to cut other guys tires etc. If I ran the place, they would be sent home for doing so. Race was pretty ugly. Surprisingly, many guys got flat tires. I am not a fan of guys running guys up into the marbles before the restart, and some turning even higher before the flagman. Scott did it to his best buddy the 7 car a couple of times. I just think that if you are the inside row on a restart, and you are 15 feet to the right of the groove before the green flys, then turn more to the right, something is wrong. Basically I did not have much fun running this race. The other 5 races I did this season were lots of fun.

Bobby Santos finished 2^nd in the North race. He did not do quite as well in the showdown race (9^th). Todd Ceravolo opted to go down to the Speedbowl and win the SK 150 lapper, driving Keith Rocco’s car.

vMRS race at Stafford Sept 14^th

As planned, we skipped this race also. This year has been pretty expensive getting the modified team started. Jonny, Bob, and Alan could not attend to help as crew members. It was best for me to stay home.

Loudon NH Race report:

I headed north early Friday the 21^st to play spotter for Bobby Santos (whelen Mod #44) and Dale Quarterley in his K&N #32 car. 

I love the red wheels on Dale Quarterley's #32 K&N Series car.  Wish my crew would let me do that again with my car. 

Both cars struggled a bit in practice. I had to drive back home Friday eve, then head back up in the early morning. I was hopeful both cars would be better. Bobby Santos was working his way towards the front during the mod race. Just after the silly half time / pit stop (Maybe the idea will grow on me eventually), something broke in the right front suspension and he was forced to park it. Rats.

Dale started 27^th. He was slowly working his way forward, but had his hands full with a quirky car. He did a masterful job working his way through some late race carnage, and brought home a 9^th place finish. Funny division this NASCAR version of boarding school for rich teams and rich kids. Funny listening to other spotters before practice started.  Some teams basically rent the car out so young drivers can audition their talents.  Many of the drivers are fresh out of high school.  Many spotters are paid babysitters for their drivers. “No Juan, you don’t need to turn on your helmet blower on the first lap of practice”. For Dale, my job is much easier and probably more entertaining. “Caution for a spin in turn 4. 73 laps completed” or “Square beside, on your quarter, clear, clear by one, clear by 3” etc. Dale would finish 9^th.

Kudos to Ray Parent who would win his first race on the ACT tour on its biggest stage Saturday at Loudon. Ray has built and supplied the body parts for my sportsman car for many years. 

Ray cruising out front, mid-race. 

Coming up:

I may travel to Dover Speedway to spot for Dale if work time off is possible. I would leave Wednesday night and return Friday night. (quals are Thursday the 27^th, race is Friday the 28^th) Car pool/ ride share would be great if possible. Anyone else going from CT area?

Larry Mac, Dale & Aiden at Dover last year.  

Saturday and Sunday ( 29^th and 30^th) the Whelen Mods will race at Stafford Speedway. I plan to go Spot for Bobby Santos in the 44 Tinio Mod.

October 6^th the vMRS series will be at Seekonk. This will be the next race for the 73 car. I will be working night shift which makes this event tricky. I am seeking some extra crew members to help coordinate things and fill in for missing crew members who will be at work. (close to the begging point!)

World Series at Thompson

Night shift schedule, and crew members possibly missing will make this event tough too. I will be spotting for Bobby Santos and Todd Ceravolo. I hope to race the vMRS car on Saturday, and if another trailer and enough help could be found, I may even race the sportsman car also. The sportsman car will have a heat race on Friday afternoon, and then have a 20 lap feature after the 75 lap vMRS feature on Saturday eve. Piece of cake. Right?

Lee Speedway vMRS race

I hope to arrange to be able to attend this race. Current work schedule has me working Friday night shift and Sunday night shift. Can we get the car to Lee? I had my best run of the season going at Lee earlier this year. I tangled with another car while trying to make the pass for the win on the last lap. I would love to have another shot at that one. Kim had promised to do a back flip from the stands if I won (as I was picking off cars late in the race). I will blame her for my aggressive attempt for the win. Never my fault, right!?

Cheers,

Larry

Schedule Update - 9/7/12

Due to 73 factors, including, but not limited to: money, crew help and weather, LB will be racing the Sportsman car at Thompson Speedway this Saturday and Sunday.  He will also be spotting for Todd Ceravolo and Bobby Santos at the race.

LB will not be racing with the modified at Waterford Speedbowl.  The next event LB will likely race the modified is at Seekonk Speedway on October 6th.  Stay tuned because things could change.

LB is always trying to get extra time behind the wheel.  Here he is at Mount Auburn Cemetery trying to race this poor soul into victory lane on 9/2/12.