What a Way to End the Year! (10-3-09)
We finished up the 2009 season in a HIGH note by winning the Lamb, Piel, Witcher Memorial Race at Sweet Springs Raceway! We started seventh and passed the top point cars to win this race. This Memorial race win is extremely important to me and this trophy will be cherished. Read my entire blog about this night HERE.
Rough Weekend (9-25-09 and 9-26-09)
Wow, what a difference - we stunk up the track this weekend. We crashed Friday night and nursed a sick engine to a seventh place finish on Saturday. This is what makes racing such a GREAT sport -- You have a Dominant car one week and then struggle for a mid pack finish the next! Read my entire blog about this night HERE.
Third Win in Four Weeks!
(9-19-09)
That is the most fun I have had in a race car in a long time! This car just keeps getting better. We started 14th and had the lead by lap ten. The car was on a rail and lightning fast right through the black-slick middle of the track. This was a special win with two of my three chassis builders in attendance: Richard Canaday and Jerry Whitworth - we'll have to drag Jack Canaday out to the track one of these days! Read my entire blog about this night and watch video HERE.
A hard fought fourth place. (9-12-09)
Our engine's new intake system worked really well and we came from a outside second row starting spot to lead the first fourth of the race. An ignition misfire plagued us throughout the race and cost me dearly, losing the lead on a lap 13 restart. Eventually, I was spun and hit head-on while trying to repass for the lead. Restarting last, we fought through our ignition issue, a severely damaged nose wing and running out of fuel to race back up to fourth! Read my entire story of the race night and watch some video of the race HERE.
 
Now We're Rolling -- Two Wins in a Row to Close Out August! (8-29-09)
For the second week in a row, the pill draw fell into my favor with a 1/2 field inversion for the Feature race lineup. This put me on the outside front row and after getting the lead into turn one - we never looked back! Read my race blog for details and take a look at this video - shot by my #1 Fan: Becky Hand!
B&T Feature Win Video (8-29-09)
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B&T Breaks Through with a Feature Win! (8-22-09)
It has been a struggle all year, but perseverance finally paid off with a convincing feature win. Once we scrapped our original fuel injection throttlebody configuration two weeks ago, the engine has improved with every fuel map update. Saturday night it all came together in the feature. Read my race blog for details.
Slow Improvement, but we're gaining on it!
(8-8-09)
B&T Racing is having one of those years -- performance is NOT up to expectation, but we have figured a lot of stuff out over the last month. We are now getting a handle on the problems and moving in the right direction. When you experiment, sometimes you win and sometimes you have a year like we are having! Read my race blogs for the details.
2009 Race Car:
CLICK HERE for more Pictures of the new car!
CLICK HERE for my first impression of the car at speed.
The Chassis: The new car uses the basic layout of my previous car with a few changes. The cockpit is wider and longer with a really slick, simple adjustable pedal position. We have incorporated newly designed birdcages and an inboard rear brake. We retain the sidepanel mounted wing design I have used for the last seven years with numerous improvements to prevent wing mount failures that have cost me a few races over those years. We also remain sold on the right side mounted fuel tank. My previous car utilized the last available set of Canaday spindles (the absolute BEST spindle for a micro sprint, EVER) and we just cannot justify the cost to extrude 300 more sets; thus, we have incorporated the Stallard Chassis spindle into our front axle design. This change caused us to design a new brake caliper and rotor mounts to adapt our front brake system to the Stallard Spindles. The result is the best front wheel brake system in micro sprints!
The Engine: The engine is a 2007/2008 Honda CBR600RR with a MoTec Engine Control Unit (ECU). We custom built our airbox incorporating top feed fuel injectors and eliminated the lower throttlebody injectors. The engine performed well on the dyno and has a beautiful, wide, flat power curve, but we are not where we want nor expect to be with top end power. Don't get me wrong, the top end power is good, but it seems we are choking the engine with our "store bought" headers. Honestly, you just cannot buy a real good set of headers that are properly tuned for these new high rpm engines. The manufacturers have to make far too many compromises to fit all the different chassis and keep the cost down; thus, we will be building our own headers this winter with correct tube diameter, proper primary length and a professionally built collector to match the powerband of this high revving engine. Obviously, additional time on the ScorpTec dyno will be required once the headers are built.
Fellow racer Jon Greenberger (#50 in the Winged Stock Class) put an incredible paint job on the skins and to say that I am proud of our new car is an understatement. I love the fact that we are one of the few that still build something different and don't just purchase a "store bought" chassis or fuel injection system. It is a huge risk to build our own car, but it is so cool to put my head together with the likes of the Canaday Brothers, Jerry Whitworth (Mirage Chassis), Gigot Manufacturing LLC / ScorpTec (Mike Gigot) and GP Engineering LLC (Kevin Gigot).
If this thing runs as good as it looks and I can still drive worth a dang - we will be in good shape next year!
I put up a blog on my first practice laps in the car -- Needless to say, I am now extremely excited to take my first RACING laps in our newest creation once the 2009 Sweet Springs season begins.
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