Dear Susan and Friends of Triumph,
Thanks for the vote and it was a pleasure to meet all the inhabitants of the
Triumph Ghetto this weekend at VIR. The ghetto was more than willing to make
another space by the fire no matter how small the fire was and supply ample
quantities of cold beer and conversation. It was a joy.
How the weekend ended for me....
This was my first time racing at VIR and as my confidence grew my lap times
shrank accordingly. Dennis Delapp (sp?) was kind enough to help diagnose a
problem in my vent system that not enough air intake into the system was
helping to build too much pressure in the engine and filling my puke tank with
oil. The car and driver continued to decrease lap times up to the start of
vintage enduro. I love the vintage enduro as a spitfire racer. Its a chance
to show a few faster cars what David did to Goliath. I managed to pass a few
MGBs, MGAs, TR3s and a few of the pesky Formula Vs by the 3d lap and could see
the next group of cars in my sights. Going into turn 1 very hard the puke
tank spilled oil on the exhaust manifold and blow white smoke into the cockpit
and out the rear of the car. Not knowing what had happened, I retired only to
find the leaking oil but decided not to go back out on the track until I could
fix the problem at my shop. On the way to the FOT photo shoot in the paddock
I heard a small clink? and figured it was the hardware on my belts clinking in
the cockpit. On the way to loading the car on the trailer the clink became
obvious as the left rear axle broke and the wheel fell off the car and the car
crashed to the ground. Upon closer inspection it appears the axel broke on
the track only partway and finished heading towards the trailer. My friend
exclaimed I was the luckiest SOB at the track and that I should by lottery
tickets that day...I did. Luckily a formula V driver and former 1147 spit
owner saw the entire event and offered his oversize racing axels off his shelf
for free if I wanted them. I hope to be back on the track for the season
finale in Savannah.
About me...
My first car was an early 63 TR4 which I restored when I was 14 and was
bitten by the bug. I have had 5 TR4s and 4As until I was bitten again by the
racing bug in Savannah and sold my last TR4a for the Spitfire race car in 2003
where my wife and I started CAR (cheap ass Racing) a division of low rent
motorsports. I am a professional Archaeologist in Asheville North Carolina
and from time to time find my self with vast amounts of down time. During one
of the longer down times I found myself as the manager of the British
Connection in Hendersonville North Carolina where we specialized in british
restoration and race car prep. Later I worked as a mechanic in that business'
later incarnation of Standard Performance specializing only in Triumph
performance parts. Now I own my own Archaeology company and work for another
and can rarely find time to turn wrenches on any thing but my own growing
small fleet.
Thanks again for a great time at VIR.
John Preston
> From: spitfiresuz@141.com
> To: fot@autox.team.net
> CC: jpflyingsquirrel@hotmail.com; seacubeco@aol.com
> Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:25:30 -0400
> Subject: Two new prospective members
>
> Hi all!
>
> After all of the good that has been said about the VIR event this past
> weekend, one more good thing has come from it: two new prospective members!
>
> John Preston, from NC, attended and made a great showing with his '64
> Spitfire 1147. It's a nicely prepared car and he did well with it through
> the weekend. He's knowledgeable about things Spitty, and will make a great
> addition. He joined us at the Triumph Ghetto Friday and Saturday nights and
> has proven he can hold his own with the rest of the motley crew. ;) His
> e-mail address is (I love this) jpflyingsquirrel@hotmail.com.
>
> Chris Bock, from NJ, attended as a spectator but is working on a 2- to
> 3-year plan to build a Spitfire racer. He has been crewing for a father and
> son team in an MGA, I believe (please correct me if I am wrong, Chris), and
> has been bitten with the British bug. His e-mail address is
> seacubeco@aol.com.
>
> Seconds, anyone?
>
> John and Chris, when you are added to the list, it's kinda customary to
> introduce yourself to the rest of the group with an e-mail with a little
> bit about yourself and how you got into competition Triumphs.
>
> Thanks so much!
>
>
> Keep Triumphing,
>
> Susan :)
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> mail2web.com Enhanced email for the mobile individual based on Microsoft.
> Exchange - http://link.mail2web.com/Personal/EnhancedEmail
>
>
_________________________________________________________________
The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with
Hotmail.
http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multicalendar&ocid=PID283
26::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_5
[demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/jpeg]
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