Day 1 of Racing

I guess I didn't really know what to expect from this racing trip when I first signed up, but I sure have been pleasantly surprised with what a most excellent adventure it turned out to be!

So here we go with action packed Day 1 of racing from Chihuahua to Madera and back to Chihuahua:

Since we had the truck filled with supplies and spare parts, I thought it a good idea to meet the race at the servicio stop at midday, taking a different route that was direct and less curvy than the race route. That was Plan A.

However, the night before, the power steering belt blew when Dad drove the car to dinner. They had an extra in the car and fixed it, but that meant that I had to go find an autoparts store to get more spares. So Friday morning we were off to the closest AutoZone. (There were 3 of us in the truck - me, John and Denise who is another racer's girlfriend). We got the extra belts but then realized that we were now headed the opposite direction from Plan A and that there was bumper to bumper traffic on the highway that we needed to take. Thus we devised our new plan - to go the race route, we were ahead of the racers at this point anyway, and park on the side of the road to watch them race by and then file in the end of the pack with the other service vehicles.

We found a good place to watch the race go by and even made friends with a burro who brayed at the cars as they flew by. It was a blast to see the cars in action and to hear the roars (and some sputters) of these magnificent machines.

After the last car and the control cars and ambulances went by, we filled in behind. We weren't but 2 turns down the road and we came across a beautiful Mustang GT 350 that had crashed into the guard rail, but fortunately the piloto and co-piloto were ok. THEN, we came around the next turn and THERE WAS DAD! They were pulled over with the hood up. OH NO!

They had been having some troubles and thought there were problems with the carburetor. We got it all apart and made sure the injectors were clean, but still couldn't get it started. So the only other option was to tow the car with a tow strap behind the truck into the nearest town, 20 miles away.

We rolled into this little pueblo and asked if there was a mechanic around and we were pointed toward a tractor mechanic. I went and asked him if he knew anything about carburetors and he said he only knew about tractor parts, but that there was a gas station a mile farther. So we went to see if there was a mechanic there.

As we pulled up, out came a Mennonite man (huge Mennonite colonies around) dressed in bib overalls and a big straw hat with several silver teeth. I asked him if he knew anything about carburetors, he took a deep breath and said, "we'll see."

In the mean time, Shields filled up a gas can and put gas into the fuel cell and immediately the fuel pumps started making a healthier noise and then the car started right up!!!

I know, we couldn't believe it either!

Dad and Shields were able to speed off and catch up with the rest of the race, while I thanked the mechanic very much for his help

We went through beautiful country and into the wooded region of Madera and then back to Chihuahua.

Thus went day 1!