Very funny!!





Here's a couple I shot last season.
Jim

 

It is good to see my beard is finally coming in.

Lookin Good

 

Wow, you guys sure did change since last year at Monterey .

-Brian

 

Yes we have Brian and so has your dash!!

 

Someone sent me a link to this photo site. . . a lot of great shots of the Rolex and Koni Challenge.

Of course, I like this one the best . . . with credit and thanks to Mr. Duenkel.


Take a Look. . .

www.wesduenkel.com

Randy

 

i thought that is was time to start a new thread focused on the next grand am event. how is the engine rebuild going? did you discover anything new on tear down? what else is new? us DE guys/gals like to live vacariously through real racers.....

 

Nothing new to report.

We will be doing some testing in Arizona later this month and in March.

I sent the $$ for Miami / Homestead today so we will appear on the 'entrant' list next week.

The engine is back together and more importantly, the spare engine is also done. Hopefully, no more engine problems but if so, we will be better prepared.

To be perfectly honest . . . we really don't know what happened to the race engine at Daytona . . . or more precisely, we don't know what caused it. There was a nice round hole burned in the center of the # 1 piston. All indications from the data logs show no lean condition. It sounds like a cop out, but it may have just been a faulty spark plug. We switched brands just in case.

We will be watching it closely when we test at Phoenix International and Firebird over the next few weeks.

Randy

 

Hello Rsstopper, let me start off by thanking you for racing the MINI brand and getting thru that race in Daytona.
Can you tell us what kind of plug you were running over there?

James

 

We switched to Bosch from NKG.
Randy

 

Good! Now tune up that suspension, and with the added power, you guys should be running great!

 

I'm taking the car to Phoenix International tomorrow (Friday 3/2/07). There is a NASA / BMWCCA event this weekend. Friday is test day. We'll get five 30 minute sessions.

This will be an important test for the car. Phoenix, Miami/Homestead and Iowa have a lot in common. All three tracks are relatively short infield courses, surrounded by a nascar oval. Success in Phoenix could mean success in the next two rounds. We will NOT race over the weekend.

We will work on suspension setup and run-in the rebuilt motor. We will also log some seat time for the next crew of Drivers. Two experienced Mini Racers will drive with me in the April races. . . Ali Basakinci in Miami and Craig Hansen in Iowa.

We spent some time on the dyno yesterday working on the fuel map. We are pretty happy with it. Since we must use the stock ECU, we are limited in our options. . . but we got the fuel/air pretty well balanced.

I'll post an update tomorrow.

Randy

 

Randy,

Thanks for keeping us posted on your progress.

It is especially instructive to hear all the work you and your team go through to prepare and optimize the car.

Good luck in Phoenix!

 

Good day of testing. Lap times would have put 4th on the grid at the last Phoenix Grand Am. The times look even better when you realize all the '07 ST cars will be slower this year due to added weight.

Spent most of the day lapping and running in the engine. We also progressed with the suspension.

We are having a minor problem with the 'ASC' which was affecting the ABS. We were getting rear wheel lock up under braking. This will require a visit to the dealer to read the fault codes.

All in all . . . a good day. Excited about Miami.

Randy

 

Good progress! Nice to know your speeds are now in the competitive range!
Have fun at Miami!

 

Randy

The car ran great at PIR last Friday. I am confident you will have a good run with Ali at Homestead and Craig at Iowa. I can't wait for my next turn at LRP, you have made great strides with the setup and engine.

 

i'm glad to hear that testing has gone well. you should, again, see strong support from the local MINI community here in so. fla. good luck, greg

 

It was an ugly weekend for us at Daytona as well. So which two drivers will I see at Homestead?

Chris Yano
www.chrisyano.com

 

I was digging though some posts couldn't get a definative answer, but is Lime rock in you plans this year or was this one of the rounds you were skipping? I'm heading up there w/ some VW buddies and was hoping that I'd be able to see a mini in action

 

I will be at limerock on april 7 with 9 other mini's

 

We WILL be at Lime Rock for the Memorial Day Grand Am Weekend.

Randy

 

[quote=Rsstopper;1410751]We WILL be at Lime Rock for the Memorial Day Grand Am Weekend.

Randy[/quote
Good i will be there with a bunch of people from my club so you have a cheering section

 

great, can't wait to see you guys up there

 

Quick update . . .

I am planning on taking the Car to 'Pahrump' NV to race in Phil Wilkes event at the Vegas Mini Rally on March 23rd.

We are still in the shake down process and this will be a good chance to test the setup in a friendly enviornment. It's close and there will be lots of Mini owners there who should enjoy seeing the car.

Randy

 

Sounds like a good idea to me! Nothing like more seat time, in a race situation, to learn and improve, etc.... try different setups, talk with other MINI racers, et al....

 

Randy,

And I thought you were totally dedicated to the racing thing and that you were going there only to test. Now I know better....

"The 2007 North American MINI Cooper Championship (NAMCC)
starts its second season of racing at Spring Mountain Motorsports Raceway in
Pahrump, NV, near Las Vegas on Friday, March 23rd.

NAMCC's television partner, MavTV national cable network, approached the
series with a special request. One of their television reality programs,
"Bikini All Stars" wanted to shoot some scenes for an upcoming episode using
MINI racing as a backdrop. As a result, forty of the nation's, if not the
world's, most beautiful and stunning models are scheduled to visit the track
to shoot special scenes of the program with NAMCC MINI Coopers as
background. In honor of the NAMCC, the models will also sport "mini" skirts
in addition to their bikini wardrobe adding a, how-do-you-say, special
attraction to the seasoning opening event!

"I'm excited about our 2007 season," added series organizer Phil Wicks. "The
addition of the 'Bikini All Stars' is a fun addition to the racing scene.
My vision for this series is to make it the most entertaining and cost
effective form of racing in the United States. What other series would get
an offer to host some of the world's most beautiful models? I am thankful
that the producers of the show and our friends at MavTV thought of the NAMCC
series when they needed a special location to shoot their program."

So now fans of the NAMCC will get two chances to watch the racing
competition on MavTV; one from the coverage of the race itself and again
from the "Bikini All-Stars" program. With MINI racing and mini skirts,
there will be action on the track and perhaps just as much attention off the
track as well!".

Randy, please make sure you take good pictures of all the "cars" in attendance....