2008 ANRA Finals Race Report

Since Drag Day at Irwindale was the same weekend as the ANRA Finals where we were leading in our class, we missed Drag Day. Here is our race report

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I have to admit that there was some degree of apprehension heading in the American Nostalgia Racing Association Season Final. It was due in large part to our lead position in the season point standings, ahead of Rocky Phillips in E/Gas (11.60 index) by a mere one round. I guess I should have been satisfied with a guaranteed second place at the very worst, since we could not be caught by the third place and below guys. But I wanted the Big Prize in our first season in this venue.
Things weren’t really going our way right from the start. I kinda figured something was not quite right after a couple of runs as I couldn’t get the reaction times to come around. I typically have to pull back a bit since ANRA E/Gas runs on a .5 pro tree rather than the .4 we run on in VW-PRA competition, but I had to do all the stuff I normally have to do on the quicker tree just to bring it down into the .04 range. Then I missed the shift to second gear in the second qualifying run and I was getting a bit rattled.
I reckon it just wasn’t our race. Maybe I sabotaged the whole thing because I wanted it really bad, or maybe it was just the way it was.
We still ended up qualifying in the number 3 slot with an 11.62 on the 11.60 index, and I had no more shifting trouble, but the car felt really soft on the launch, not lifting the front wheels at all.
There was pretty much nothing to be done mechanically that I could do at the track, so I just figured what would be, would be.
I was hoping to pair up with Rocky in early rounds so we could decide it for ourselves “mano a mano.” However, we ended up on opposite sides of the ladder, and as such, we wouldn’t see him until the final should we survive that far.
I drew a young fella named Jarred Tickel in an early Chevy Nova for round one. His stats for qualifying indicated he was all over the place on reaction times. Still, I’ve had hard-learned lessons about underestimating my opponent!
The car was running crisp and clean, but the clutch felt strange. Weeks before I had changed from the four puck disc I normally run to a six puck due to the unavailability of the four puck. It felt different at the VW PRA Vegas race three weeks before but I figured it would be OK for the slower tree. Jarred and I were the first pair out. We staged, the tree came down and I let ‘er fly. The car seemed to remain motionless then lazily moved out with the engine RPM high, the clutch slipping badly. I managed to reel Jarred in at the stripe and got there first, but ran 11.53 to Jarred’s right on the money 11.60. Jarred’s sizable starting line advantage was played out at the stripe.
We were now spectators. But man, did that sting. Jarred definitely earned the win and rightfully so. It stung mostly because I didn’t come prepared to win. I had plenty of time to fix the clutch in the three weeks between our Vegas race and this event, but figured it would be OK for this. Another hard lesson.
Rocky had won his first round pairing, so we were now tied in the standings. He then went on to win his second race of the season, and with that the season championship in E/Gas. Way to go Rocky! You were really on your game for this final race and really deserved the win. Rocky and his “posse” are genuine good guys that I can include among a select group of people that I call friends!
We’ve had a really good time in ANRA competition this year and are really looking forward to running with ANRA again in 2009. The people are great and we are making new friends at every event. Everyone has made us feel like we belong, even though we have a different approach to racing.