This week I want to talk about what a normal week is like for me before going racing. I’m sure a lot of people might think you just go to the track and just put the car in the trailer until the following week. Now some people might do this, and it all depends on how expensive of an operation you have and normally the faster you go the more work it is.
When I first started racing we had a very low maintenance car that didn’t require a lot of attention during the week. Now that I have moved up to faster cars it has required a lot more attention during the week. The faster the car is that you drive the more important it is for you to have a weekly checklist of things to do on it. It’s best to do this no matter the car though cause if something was to come loose on the car you’re not just putting your life in danger but also your competitors.
After a week of racing the first thing I do once I get the car into the shop is I over check every single nut and bolt on the car. Unlike a normal daily driven car, a race car is always constantly shaking just between making a run and having a high horsepower engine between the frame rail. Once this is done I will inspect the motor to make sure everything is in good operating order and insure there aren’t any leaks. On the car I currently drive we will check the valve lash after every race since the valve spring have so much seat pressure on them. It is a lot cheaper to do this weekly maintenance and maybe have to replace a $200 part then it is to have to build another $30,000 race car engine.
Once the car has been checked over before every race I thoroughly clean the car so that it looks good. From a young age my dad always told me that if the car isn’t clean we aren’t racing and that’s something that has always stuck with me. Along with all the things I have listed above as a driver I practice for an hour or so everyday on a practice tree so that I can stay sharp on my reaction times. The reasoning for this is when I go to the track I don’t want to go just to participate I want to go and win so the practice tree helps to make me better as a driver.
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