Landracing Forum
El Mirage => El Mirage General Chat => Topic started by: TWKundrat on May 05, 2019, 08:46:02 PM
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What's the word on the June meet? Does it look like it's going to be a go? Is the lake bed in good enough shape to run on? Do we know if it will be a two day meet? Will Gilligan and the others ever get off the island?
-Tim
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Good questions mate.. I,m looking at the Test n Tune possibility in June with the Utah folks .. Took the Bantam down the street today , first time since November .. Nice to be chasing details now that it runs and drives .. STEVE
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:cheers:
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Last Monday I contacted the SCTA on Facebook about this, and they hadn't made a decision yet. Someone said they'd make a call, but I haven't heard back.
I plan to drive out from Georgia, so I'm hoping for a 2 day meet.
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I was at El Mirage clean up day last Saturday (May 4th). While some deep ruts remain, I believe they could form up a clear course or 2. My buddy was sifting fill for the remaining ruts as part of his cleanup days tasking. I was picking trash. I was out on the lake bed a couple of weeks ago and I saw what looked like earth movers, graders and water trucks. Filling the ruts properly is important (very). I drove over some of the repaired spots, and they appear to be firm (good). Frankly if we had to, we probably could have made the May event, but you do not want to hit these ruts at any speed, even return road speeds. While they don't look that deep, the sharp edges will give your suspension fits.
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What's the weather like in June?
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90/60 dry sunny tailwind
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Thanks,I wish they would make a decision so we can make a plan,only way we could go is if it’s a two day show!
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I just heard from the SCTA that June (as long as the weather cooperates) will be a one day meet.
Fingers crossed,
Dean
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Long range forecast is dry up to and including the event with a sidewind (possible tailwind) for June 9th El Mirage event.
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This was just posted on the SCTA Facebook Page
Attention Racers:
Bill Lattin the SCTA President made a trip to El Mirage today. Due to the unsafe conditions from the stress cracks on the lakebed, the June Meet has been Offically Cancelled. There is no return road and the stress cracks between the course and return road are severe and unfilled.
Thank you,
SCTA Board
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Arrrrgggh.
I don't know what I'm talking about, but this doesn't seem like something that will get fixed before July without human intervention. Those fractures need to be filled?
I'm trying to resist asphalt racing... the lakebeds are not cooperating.
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It is being fixed but following the BLM protocol is slow. Clay berms from the north side of the lakebed are passed through a trommel to break it up and screen out any debris. It is then trailered to the cracks. The dirt is unloaded and put into place with shovels along with water from a truck. There is no other power equipment used and probably rightly so as heavy equipment like graders and skip loaders are just going to tear up the surface. Call the visitors center weekdays to volunteer to help shovel.
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I suspect the issue is more than simply getting enough room to lay a race course, the SCTA has to ensure that a car going off the course at speed, because of a spin, turn-out, dust-out or whatever, doesn't end up hitting one of those canyons as well.
These damn ruts are a big problem and the fact they have now happened two years in a row is scary.
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The ECTA will honor SCTA memberships and offer $100 of the entry for our June 7,8,9 event. hope a few of you can make it out to Arkansas, and race with us. remember we do require 4 wheel brakes on cars. Other than that if it is legal for elmo you are good to go.
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From the SCTA Facebook page;
El Mirage Update from Werner Schwarz:
SCTA Fissure Filling Friday, Fact Finding
Stress Cracks at El Mirage Dry Lake
To All,
I wanted to share yesterday experience I had at El Mirage, so we are on the same playing field. I’ve attempted to share facts as I saw them, and keep my opinions to a minimum.
I arrived at 8AM at George Callaway’s El Mirage ranch to help with a project the Callaway Racing Group has been working on. Bill Lattin and Scott Mattern were there as well. This was no official work party, just Bill, Scott, myself and others trying to gather facts on the amount of fissures (stress cracks) that have developed on the lake bed, and seeing for ourselves on how two different filling methods actually work.
George Callaway, Monte Warnock, and Pete Prentice have been working on a piece of equipment for a while that they hope will contribute to solving our fissure problem at El Mirage. With the help of Ed Fenn’s skip loader, we set out on the lakebed to do a trial run on filling the numerous fissures. After about three hours of tuning and tinkering, the bottom line is it does work. The Group is going to work on further refinements to speed up the process as they go. When everything is working, it roughly fills about a foot a minute. A wild ass guess of the amount of fissure length to fill is well over a mile of twists and tributaries.
The Friends Of El Mirage also had their crew there working away. They have a full-size skip loader, 20-foot flatbed heavy duty trailer, and a 4000 gallon water truck. The four of them have a method in place that they know well, after watching and helping them for an hour. They gather screened and separated dirt from an area 1000 feet north of the lakebed. They have a screener/separator piece of heavy equipment set up there. Stored there are about 8 large piles of screened dirt piled up ready to be transported out to the lakebed on their flatbed trailer to fill fissures. Shoveling from the trailer by hand, they mix that screened dirt with lots of water to make a slurry, then agitate by hand and go over it with a yard rack to make it smooth. They told me they average about 300 feet a day (looks closer to 200 to me).
Bottom line on both methods; the Friends are making slow but steady progress, Callaway Racing Group’s method does work, but is even slower (and yes, they are working to speed it up).
· The BLM will not allow any heavy equipment on the lakebed during weekends
· The Friends are working every weekday, 6AM to 2PM, when lakebed is open
· The Friends operation costs the SCTA nothing, it’s 100% funded by grant monies
· As announced at the last two Board meetings, The Friends accept any help they can get, and were appreciative that several of us were helping them (thank you to the crew of #218 roadster for helping them!!)
· The SCTA is pursuing other methods of faster/better fissure filling. Bill is currently negotiating with the BLM on these other methods. There is no guarantee that they will grant permission to use them.
· If you want to repair the lakebed to go racing, the best option right now is to support the Friends efforts and get volunteers out there during the weekdays to help. We need to do this no matter the outcome of the negotiations with the BLM. There is no shortage of ideas of how best to get this done. But the Friends are filling stress cracks every week day right now, and until something better is worked out, we need to be helping them.
· We will keep you informed of any news with the BLM
· Each SCTA Club should coordinate its effort so that we don’t have 100 people show up on a Friday, overwhelming the four guys who are working. Get in touch with you Club and then myself so efforts can be coordinated. If you do go out and work, please send me a short note about your activities
Thanks,
Werner Schwarz
SCTA Secretary
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Does anyone know how the lakebed repair process is going? I hope the earthquake didn't open any new fissures :)
I sent a message to the Friends of El Mirage on FB, but no word back yet. Hoping to head West next week.
thanks,
Dean
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Well, that answers the question I had for you. Not planning on running myself, but may be available if you need help.