It was an incredible weekend. We spent nearly four hours Saturday morning at the track putting our car together, making some minor changes to comply with rules, making a couple half-way-up-the-hill practice runs, and going through the inspection and weigh-in. Then they impounded the car. It was really a relief, knowing that for the rest of the day I couldn't touch it if I wanted to. We got in a couple hours of swimming at the hotel and a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese before the banquet Saturday night. At the banquet, we were surprised by winning a plaque for Best Car Assembly. Evidently, the judges thought our car had the neatest-looking assembly.
Sunday, we were at the track at 8:00 to get our cars out of impound and weigh them, then there was a parade up the track with a color guard, etc. Alex and some of the other new kids got to take a practice run down the hill, and the races began.
There were a total of about 35 cars at the race . . . 12 were in the Stock division (8-10 years old, I think). Alex was the youngest, since his birthday was just a couple weeks ago. It was a double elimination race, with the winner getting a trip to Ohio in July to compete in the national championship. Each heat of the race consisted of two cars going down the track twice. The first time, one kid would win by some number of thousandths of a second; they would then swap lanes and swap tires and do it again. The kid who won with the biggest time differential won the heat. The biggest differential I heard was about 0.7; the smallest was 0.007. The time differentials over the ¼ mile track averaged about 0.1 seconds; at the roughly 35 mph finish-line speed, this is around 4 feet . . . less than a car's length.
At the banquet, we had been drawn to be in the first Stock heat, and would be going up against Kayla Allen. We knew this was not a good omen because Kayla was one of 3-4 drivers in the division who were in their 2nd year of racing, and the only driver who was in her 3rd year. Kayla was one of the drivers to beat. Phase 1 of this heat had us beat by 0.6 seconds. This was a wake-up call. I had instructed Alex on what I believed was the best line down the track – this is a complicated affair consisting of a slow drift to the outside curb, a slow drift back to the centerline, then a quick turn to the outside to take advantage of the steep crown near the bottom of the hill. Watching his car drift back and forth in the lane, I realized that this line may work for older, more experienced drivers, but Alex needed something a little simpler. For Phase 2 of the first heat, we decided we would concentrate on driving straight. I told Alex to keep his nose on the white line down the middle of his lane. Watching this 2nd trip down the track, it was obvious that he was trying to do just that, and his car kept jerking 2 feet side to side, crossing the centerline perhaps 10 times over the course of the 15 second race. We lost this Phase with a 0.2 second differential.
I was okay with loosing this heat to Kayla, but was a little surprised by how badly we lost to her. I had about 5 minutes at the top of the hill to compose myself and strategize before the truck carrying Alex and the car delivered him to the top. Looking at the brackets, I decided that our next heat would go much better. We would likely be racing against the looser of a race that was comprised of other new racers. When Alex got out of the truck, he was very distraught. He knew that this was a double-elimination race, and that he was going to be able to race until he lost twice. He had just suffered his second loss. I explained the two-Phase format to him once again, and told him we had only lost once. Once again, he was excited to be racing. Knowing that we likely had a while before our next race came up, I let him go run and play in the grass with the other racers for a while.
When our second heat came up, I was shocked and surprised to learn that we were going up against Jarritt Youngers. Jarritt's dad, Jim, had conducted our initial inspection last month, and had spent quite a while giving me tips and advice. When we showed up in Salem with the wrong kind of bolts in our weights, Jim had given us some bolts to race with. Jim is a very nice guy, and obviously knows what he is doing with a car. Jarritt's older sister, Jill, has a long winning record under her belt, is now a very strong contender in the Super Stock class, and is considering a move to the Masters class next year; Jarritt is not a newbie, and has an impressive string of very solid finishes and wins. How he ended up in the consolation bracket, I don't know. Evidently, I missed it when he made a mistake and lost to one of the other new racers that we were planning to race.
I talked to Alex about concentrating on the lane, and keeping the car straight down the middle. I also gave him the age-old speech that every dad gives his son when he knows the situation is hopeless, but doesn't want his son to know it yet. You know . . . the one about how we're here to have fun.
In Phase 1, Alex kept pretty close to the center line. He could have been straighter, but this time at least his movements were smooth, and he only moved two feet side-to-side about three times on the way down; even this was done in long, sweeping arcs. We lost this phase by about 0.1 seconds.
Phase 2 is really a blur. I don't remember much about it. I honestly do not recall how Alex drove. The steep crown at the bottom of the hill was tantalizing me . . . you could almost see the cars accelerating as they moved to the curb near the bottom. I believe that because Alex was getting the straight-line driving down, I had told him to try moving to the outside curb on the bottom of the hill, but only if he thought he could do it gently. I think he may have done this. At the top of the hill, I only recall the announcer saying that Jarritt had won the heat. From her lawn chair half-way down the hill, Tiffany recalls the timing light at the finish line flashing on Alex's side, indicating that he won the Phase. At the bottom of the hill (we later learned), Alex jumped out of his car and ran at the timing stand, yelling that it's not fair . . . the race was a tie!!!
Alex very quickly calmed down, and, although we had to console him quite a bit, he had a lot of fun. Although there were four drivers eliminated in the second round, Alex's heat was run first, so he was the first driver of the day eliminated, and this weighed heavily on him. Also, because we won the Best Car Assembly award, he was certain that the problem must have been the driving . . . the car was great. Actually, this is very incorrect – Alex's driving improved greatly from his first to his last run, but the car does need quite a bit more setup and alignment work in order to be competitive.
In his mind, he finally decided that he got 11th place because one of the drivers did not compete in the second round. During the first round, she lost control of her car on the hill, drifted into the other car's lane (there's an 8 foot divider lane between the two lanes), and crossed the finish line behind the other car. She got a lot of coaching from her dad and the officials, but decided that she wanted more practice before going down the hill again. She decided to not compete in the second round. Alex decided that this means he got 11th place. I've tried telling him that he didn't get 11th place . . . he just didn't place. You could call it a 4-way tie for 9th, but even that isn't quite accurate. The most accurate thing you can say is that we simply did not place.
Alex took home a pretty big trophy for participation. And, if nothing else, we had a very nice day in the park. We were there about 10 hours on Sunday (8 AM to 6 PM), but it is a nice shady park with big lawns, play structures, and paths. After racing, Alex had fun playing with the other kids and riding his bicycle. I believe Kayla Allen won 2nd place, and Jarritt Youngers got 4th or 5th. Jarritt also got the Sportsmanship award, and I am convinced that it is for not punching Alex as he was yelling about the race being a tie. Jarritt seems very sportsmanlike, and from what I've seen of him, he was probably the one calming Alex down and consoling him.
We also learned a lot. The Soap Box Derby families are all very friendly and very helpful. Because of all the help and support that they readily provide, I believe that with a little tweaking and a little more practice, we can be competitive.
The association has several adult-sized cars, and for $5 you can take a couple runs down the hill in them. After Alex was eliminated, I indulged. I learned that going down that hill IS intimidating, and although they say the cars go 35 mph, it feels more like 75. And it's a blast.
On the way home, Alex told us that he's confident he can drive that hill better, especially since we walked the track with him after the race and showed him exactly where to break to the outside. He was surprised when we told him the next race is at a totally different track. The next track is flat, with a short but steep ramp at the starting line, and a 90 degree corner in the middle of the track. It will start the learning process over completely.
I have been telling Tiffany that I am looking forward to a little time away from the car. The Soap Box season is over this year, and the next season starts in the beginning of August. Last night after dragging all the tools and equipment out of the van, instead of crashing in bed, I took off the car's body and moved the foot brace back a few inches so Alex can hold himself toward the back of the car better at the top of the hill. This took about 20 minutes; when I was done, I remembered that I had been looking forward to a week or two away from the car, and went to bed.
Alex was already asleep.
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