It’s the second day of qualifying. RJ and thecompetitors that ran with him a day earlier at the lower section will qualify from Glen Cove (elevation 11,440 feet) to Devil’s Playground (12,780 feet). It’s 53° at 4:00 a.m., a little cooler than it was the morning before. Another beautiful sunrise. What an amazing backdrop for Glen Cove. There was a good snowfall not too long ago, and there was still a little bit left. Such a peaceful mountain was about to get a big dose of horsepower. The pits are bustling with activity as racers warmed up their cars and headed to the starting line to make more test runs to the Devil’s Playground. While the crew got Big Red ready to make another qualifying run, RJ was mentally going over where on the course he can improve his time during his next attempt. After making every qualifying run, RJ pulled Big Red into the pits for more safety checks before he staged for another run. RJ talked with New Zealander David Rowe about his turbocharged
Audi Quattro S1 racer. They swapped stories about how their cars came to be. RJ was really digging David’s car. The little Allen screw was a gift from one of the manufacturers. It was found stuck to a magnetic drain plug during service and inspection. The crew called the manufacturer, and it confirmed that it couldn’t have come out of anything. Good thing for magnets; they rule! During this repair/maintenance, the guys pulled the differential apart to replace the leaking center section gasket, as well as made an inspection, and they also pulled the transmission to do a fluid change and inspection
