Qualifying, Day One: Start Line

Qualifying started! Everyone was on their game today. The crew never slacks, but today marked the beginning of qualifying. The more runs made, the better. So it was important that Big Red make as many qualifying runs as possible. It’s 4:00 a.m and about 58°. Only a few clouds in the sky. This day they were in their designated spot for race day. It was on a narrow dirt shoulder, so this will be a good test run for the crew. Even though Big Red’s hidden headlights were removed for the Pikes Peak setup for space, those valance-mounted Fesler headlights might come in handy. Big Red’s tires were in the trailer being incubated with the Chicken Hawk Racing Tire Warmers. At 5:00 a.m., the colorful sun rose behind Big Red as RJ was staged and waiting for the officials to start running cars. The crew had been idling the car in the staging lanes, but in order to conserve fuel and cool the engine, they were going to push it closer to the line before starting the car again. Between runs, Tim sneaked in a suspension adjustment. He went more “compliant,” not stiffer. After a morning of good runs, the team started working on Big Red. They performed a full inspection of the clutch and the oil system