Car #34 (read the 8th place overall car) is headed back through IN for a second shot as I type...

First, the official results are in! We are actually the second fastest BMW. Catesby Jones knocked out a 0.91 in the skidpad (2nd) and 10th? at Road America. Vic's skidpad final is 8th and I pulled 16rh at Road America. I think there were 4 mechanical and damage casualties by the time my (second)group was done. Doing well will definitely be about consistency for us - not enough tire, wheelbase, or power to do it with an overdog (or on par) car alone.

Now the fun. We have some pretty worn brake rotors. Alex pointed this out and I was going to bring spares on my plane, but I was running late and couldn't find them quickly, so I decided to have them shipped to us later. We have been keeping an eye on things. After Road America (three straights that I pegged the speed limiter at 150 and slower it for a 3rd gear corner), we inspected. The ears that connect the rotor disc to the center hat are cracked. All of them. Sketchy!

For you techy guys, here is my thought... The floating rotors (this is a race version) float a lot. And we have been driving on race pads, operating way on the low side of out of their temperature range - meaning they are very abrasive. Also, we have no pad clips due to the racing version pads, and they are 4 piston, 4 pad - lots of leading edges to bite. And here is the kicker - newer BMWs have a feature built into the electronics system that keeps the pads close to the rotor at all times to be better prepared for an emergency stop. This, coupled with our racing rotor float spec, means the car is automatically applying light braking pressure often to the system. All this equals high rates of rotor wear!

This sends us into a whirlwind of logistical fury. I have parts at the shop but at 6PM with no close large hub airport and we need parts in Iowa at 8:30 AM tomorrow. The drive from our shop is 1200 miles - with 14 hours to go it would take som eimpressive speeds to make that happen. Then it occurs to me - my buddy Bill Heumann who now wishes he had looked away and walked on by me, leaving me thinking he was still in China on Friday, has the same Performance Friction brake discs we are using (not an Advance Auto part) in Louisville, KY. I track him down at dinner, but with the Derby, his airport is busy and we can't find anything that helps there either.

One of Bill's friends finally calls back and agrees to drive the parts to IN to meet us in our rerouted trip! But now instead of a 580 mile drive tonight, we are looking at arriving when the track opens after a good 8-900. Small proce for getting to see mile after mile of cornfields again. As a bonus, I am in the back working on my laptop and with 1100# rear springs (about 3x stiffer than a stock car) my head bounces into the roof at roughly every bump.

Being back on track is pretty awesome. Racing is all about comaraderie and friendships and having a friend like Bill who is willing to find us a part and figure out a way to get it to us at 8PM on a Saturday night is a good feeling.

More tomorrow from me when I am not bouncing around in the back of the car and when I can dig out the camera to add pictures. Vic is on for MAM tomorrow, then we have about 1000 miles to TX. Good thing we are getting a good night's sleep tonight to prepare. Does the fun ever start?