In this previous thread on another forum,
HERE, I talked about my journey after nearly 40 years into Land Speed Racing.
El Mirage was our first Rookie event (September 2009) in the SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) and where I broke my LSR Cherry per se. After we competed there and "Licensed Up", we were invited to come to the World Finals at Bonneville on October 7-11. Since I had not planned on going to Bonneville until SpeedWeek 2010, I thought this would be a good way for us to run on the Salt in a competitive environment and learn the ropes of the Bonneville Nationals.
In between the time of the El Mirage event and World Finals, we were "voted in" by the members of the San Diego Roadster Club (you have to be in a club as a member to be a part of the SCTA).
I was excited and apprehensive about going to Bonneville. First of all, this is the last Bonneville event of the year, and the World Finals attracts generally the best of the best to close out the year with record runs. I knew there was no way in hell we would set any records, but I felt the chance to run there with the cream of the crop was an opportunity that could not be missed.
We frantically worked on the bike, got more parts, did dyno work and tuning. Two days before we left, we were buttoning up the last minute details and loading up for Utah. It was a non-stop team effort that got us out the door. Everyone involved worked hard and meticulously.
Then, a major snag hit us; the Weather. It was unsure as of 4 days before the event if the rain would hit the Salt and shut down the event. In the LSR Circle, dozens of us were running the predicatability charts on the NOAA Weather Models and placing odds on success of the event actually beginning. Then, on Saturday before the event only 3 days away, it rained in Wendover Utah and some rain hit the Salt.
Now at this time, SCTA-BNI and scores of volunteers were on the ground at Bonneville studying the Salt and also predicting the outcome of whether the World Finals would occur. All this time, we are still readying the Bike, packing and loading up the Rig to leave.
Since inspection was scheduled to begin on Tuesday October 6th, we had to get out of dodge no later than Monday at 7AM if we were gonna make it on time. It's not like it would be an easy road trip either. We were loaded to the gills with the Toy Hauler, 150 Gallons of fresh water on board, 100 gallons of Fuel of all types, 2 generators, spare parts, food, this and that. It was a Heavy Load. Plus, we have 8 legs to take care of on the trip up. That means stopping every 3 hours for potty time, food, water and play time. I anticipated if we ran straight through, with all the stops at an average of 65MPH we would be there in 14-16 hours conservatly.
By Sunday night, there was a good report from SCTA that only a mild amount of water hit the Salt, and they would announce Monday AM if the event was On, Postponed or Off. Still preparing as if we are leaving, I left a message at the SCTA Office for a call back Monday AM as to what was happening before we left. Thankfully, we delayed leaving at 7AM and waited for the call. When the office did call, they had good news and bad news. They said the Event was ON, but delayed by 1 day while they dragged the Salt to make sure the course was fit. That was good enough for me, so we headed out for Utah just after lunch on Monday and took our sweet time getting there.
We pushed through to Winnemucca Nevada on the first leg, and crashed at some truck stop and slept in the trailer for a few hours. MrsPapi had some red blinking neon light flashing on her during the night at the truck stop, so she was less than happy on Tuesday AM when we set out for Wendover. The drive through the Nevada High Desert is very tranquil. I love being up there, as the high desert reminds me of frontier days gone by and the trek "Out West". There is just something about it up there that really makes me feel very peaceful.
As we got closer to Eastern Nevada, the scenery began to change with snow covered grounds and mountains. Again, that simple beauty of the high desert was all around us. Simply magnificent.
On the decent into Wendover, it looks like every other industrial mining town in many ways. Western Utah also has it's simple beauty with stunning rock formations rising from the desert floor. At a certain altitude, we could begin seeing the Salt.
Shortly thereafter, the signs of life appeared and we had arrived at our destination.
Upon getting to the entrance, we were greeted by SCTA-BNI staff that informed us that setting up our Pit area was OK, but no camping on the Salt. We were to set up what we had, then return Wednesday AM for registration and tech inspection. As we rolled out onto the Salt, MrsPapi was amazed by the area of shear salt across the expanse.
We found a nice Pit spot about 3 miles from the starting line, and 1/4 mile from the SCTA-BNI booths. As we pulled up, I was greeted by an old salty "JD" who is also in the same club as us. He was there with his son who is close to my age, and we chatted up about the days to come. JD is really a wonderful guy, and he has many "Bonneville Stories" as they are called.
MrsPapi was setting up and I was breaking out tables and chairs for our Pit Area.
We pulled out the bike, made some room inside the trailer and set up shop. As the clock approached 6PM, we started getting ready to haul out of the Pit and go find a camping spot. I got on the bike to ride her up the ramp to back of the trailer. As I rode her up, the gaurd in front of the drain plug on the bottom of the oil pan and drain plug caught the center hinge of the ramp on the trailer and shoved them inside the base of the pan with a CRACK sound.
It was by far, a heart dropping moment. I looked at MrsPapi and said I hope that was wasn't my oil pan, and she looked down by my feet, and said,
"I think it was" as 1 gallon of Motul 5100 drained in a nice big puddle between my feet in the trailer. That "Oh Subaru" moment was one of the worst feelings I have ever had in my life. Here we are at Bonneville, 1 day before inspection, all the weeks of preperation and money to get there, and I have a bustificated bike with a hole in the oil pan the size of a fifty cent piece. I was pissed, I was tired, I was anguished. There was no single way to describe at that moment how I really felt, except one; failure.
We frantically dropped towels under the bike to soak up the oil. The sweet smell of Esther in the oil filled the rig as we mopped it up with bath towels. Just then, many others swarmed in to begin solution fixing. Now I want to stop here for a moment to discuss this phenomena that is uniquely motor sports related, but especially in Land Speed Racing.
This "solution fixing" phenomena happens when another racer is stranded and something needs fixing and a solution to the problem. No where else will you find a greater bunch of folks that rally around you to come up with a solution and fix your problem ASAP. It is truly an amazing event when it does happen, and I have been blessed with this twice now, both at SCTA events. It is as if some of these old roadsters guys have seen it all, and there is nothing that can't be "solution fixed" with the right recipe of knowledge and resources.
Now, back to the oil gusher under my bike. She bled out in about 30 seconds all the oil she was carrying. It was a real mess. JD and his son were the first on the scene acting as if it was no big deal. Me, on the other hand, was ready to commit Hara-kiri with a pipe wrench to my head. I was so amped up and disgusted by what just happened, I couldn't even speak. For a moment, I was catatonic. I looked at MrsPapi and said
"Pack it up, we are going home". Now remember, we had just arrived. In less than a couple hours, the dream was over.
JD was not so pessimistic. He looked at me with his wisdom filled eyes and said,
"Look, this is Bonneville. Magical things happen at Bonneville like no where else in the world. You are gonna get it fixed and race. Don't worry, you will race and we will find someone here to help you fix it." For a moment I thought there was someone actually crazier than I. Where in the hell am I gonna find an Oil Pan for a ZX14 in the middle of BFE Utah?
Just then, more hands arrived on scene, and JD with his wisdom and slight smile said,
"Don't worry, your gonna race". In the meantime I have no idea what to do.
Mr. Lee Kennedy who is on the SCTA-BNI Board rolled up in his truck. He to was very consoling but was already on the phone looking for an Oil Pan at a local Kawasaki Dealer. We also were on the phone, and talked with a nice kid named Brian at a dealer near SLC Utah. He said he didn't have a pan in stock, but could have it to us in a day. We went ahead and ordered it, as even if we were delayed one day, we could still race Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun. We also ordered anything else like gaskets and so on. Brian assured me that the parts would be there on Thursday AM in his hands. We thanked him, thanked the instant crew that had built up around us and MrsPapi looked at me and said
"We aren't going home, you fix this thing so we can race".
With the disaster momentarily out of the way, and a plan to get her out on Thursday, I was mildly relieved, but still shaken up by the whole thing. As we saddled up back in the rig, it was now 6:30PM and time to get off the Salt. As we drove to check out, Lynda, the great lady running the front gate asked me how it was going so far. Then, like a school boy who just had his first break up with his honey, I almost broke down. I gave her the whole download and the bit about wanting to just go back home. Like JD, she looked at me with confidence and said
"Here is what you need to do",
"You need to go into town to the Auto Parts store and see Mike the owner",
"he will find a way to help you". Again, like I felt with JD, here is another person telling me to do something that I feel is no where near related to my problem. I was beginning to think that the Salt was effecting these poor folks in some weird way. So, I listened to her instructions, and we headed into town. MrsPapi asked if the auto parts store would have my oil pan, and I said no way in hell. But maybe, maybe we could weld it with a Tig Welder. We arrived at the parts store, I entered and asked for Mike. He was a tall guy behind the counter and he said
"that's me". I gave him the download and asked if he knew anyone that could Tig and Mig weld cast aluminum and plate aluminum together. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down a name and phone number for me, then sent me on my way.
I called the number on the paper, the gentlemen answered and I gave him my name and story. He asked where I was, I gave him my location and he said he would meet me there in about 45 minutes. I was shocked. Here I was in BFE Utah, a broken bike, calling some stranger I had no idea who it was, and he was gonna meet me to see how he could help. In between this time, I was on the Cell with Jon and Nancy (SSS). We met up with them in town, and I cried on their shoulder for a bit as well. SSS is a great guy. He also had the atitude that it would get fixed and not worry.
We had the trailer ramp down as I was tearing into the bike on a side street to get to the pan so he could see the problem when he arrived. He arrived in about 20 minutes, looked at the hole in the pan and said " I think we can fix that". He asked
"When do you need it done?", and I replied
"Now". He scratched his chin for a minute (although it seemed like eternity) and said
"Alright, my shop is down the street, let's get it over there". We drove over there, and as we arrived, another Racer's mechanic was into a speed setting car and motors and parts everywhere. The welders shop was a relic from days gone by, but he turned it into an eclectic shop that could basically do anything motor sports related. We got the bike apart, the pan out and observed the hole. It was mess. He grabbed a thick piece of plate aluminum and cut it to size, cleaned up the whole and went to welding me up a custom bottom part of the pan. It was a miracle.
Like ol' JD had said, Bonneville
is a Magical place.
After the pan was done, we started getting the bike back together. It was 2AM on Wednesday, and tech inspection was just 6 hours away. We buttoned her up, filled her with fresh oil and a filter, and ran her hot to make sure nothing else leaked. She was perfect once again. At nearly 3AM she was reloaded into the trailer, and we drove off to park at the truck parking lot at the Bonneville exit to sleep for 2 hours before having to get up again. Needless to say, I didn't sleep. But now, I had my own Bonneville Story.
