Michigan Trip We have returned safe and for the most part sound from out interesting trip to Michigan to race the car. On the way out to Michigan we lost a day due to two flat tires in the Nevada Desert. On the last day of driving to Michigan, in Illinois the weather was especially poor as we were driving through tornado country. Fortunately we didn't get caught in one, however the rain was so bad we had to pull off the interstate twice. So we arrived in Michigan a day late and still had a lot of work to do on the car. Half of the team stayed up all night to try to get the car ready to pass technical inspection on Friday. We failed to do so and spent the entire practice day getting the car ready for tech. The weather was poor that day, it was windy and rainy however due to some clever lashing of the tent to the Suburban, it did not fly away. On race say we passed tech and got the car out on the track. After two laps (six is a compete run) the wheel guards we had fashioned caused a tire to blow. Fortunately we were not running the race tires at that juncture. We cut up out BBQ table and fashioned new wheel guards that would not run and got back out on the track. On the third lap of our second attempt we threw a chain. It caused no damage, but it meant that we had to re-start the run. On the first lap of the third run James smells iso-octane and pulled off the track to discover that the carburetor had flooded. We fixed the carb and were having Kevin practice driving the car when a relay melted. After Mike fixed that, the car was still acting unpredictably (like turning on if one plugged in the battery) and since there was only 45 minutes left in the competition, we decided that we had to call it a day. As such, we do not know how efficient our car was, but we hope to fix the problem with the car and take it Michigan again next year. Loading the mini van Over Loaded Suburban First flat in Nevada The Federal Prison across were we got the flat The exhaust of the suburban after the tow truck Second flat in Nevada Diligently making sure the Suburban is ok Park in Illinois we pulled off at during bad weather Getting the car ready on practice day The polycarb wheel covers that killed the wheels Putting the decals on the night before Working on the car the night before Race day Getting ready to finish tech Yanking James out of the car for tech James and car after bow out and 180 spin Dirt in wheel well from going off the track New wheel guards Car on the track Getting the car to the starting line Mike being pushed in the car after group picture James doing burnouts May 2 2004 Update | 2004 Gallery Contact Cal SMV © 2004 - Berkeley, CA Contact Webmaster