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Jr Race
Number 2 - April 29, 2007
Our
second race of the 2007 season would be much nicer although
very busy. Unlike normal drag racing events Jr Racing is
very fast paced. There is very little time between
rounds and even less time when your trying to run two cars.
In addition, Sacramento Raceway holds two races in one day!
Charlie's car would again be a challenge for his tuner (his
dad) after converting his car to Methanol his car
would go much faster that was anticipated and we would be
unable to slow it down enough. He would go too fast for his
age group (12.90 seconds in the eight mile) for most of the
day. In the first round of the first race he would go
too fast and go out in the first round. Emily would also be
beaten in the first round of the first race.
In
the second race Charlie would still go too fast but his
competitor would red light handing Charlie the win.
Charlie would go on to the second round only to break out
again and end up a spectator. Emily would have her best race
yet, winning three rounds, making it all the way to the
Semi-finals. Giving her her first trophy for drag
racing. Best of all the trophy is purple.
OUR First
JR RACE - April 15, 2007
After several weekends of
test and tune Emily and Charlie had their first race.
This race day consisted of two races back to back. In
the first round of the first race, Emily would win in her
very first attempt. Charlie would have mechanical
difficulties. After the car started it would not start
again and he ended up losing his first race. In the
second round, Emily would leave too soon and
red-light. Although the girl in the other lane would break and
not even move out of the starting lights, Emily would lose
for leaving too soon.
In the Second Race, Emily
would run very consistently running a 13.28 on a 13.24
dial-in (in the 1/8th mile) but would lose to a better
reaction time. Charlie would again have mechanical
difficulties, this time the chain on his motor would break
however; his competitor would red light handing Charlie his
very first win. In the second round Charlie's car
would sputter down the quarter mile, handing the win to his
competitor.
It was a spectacular day of
racing. Our next race is Sunday, April 29th.
See you in the staging
beams!
Meyer Racing's
Two New Drivers
These
drivers have been involved in Drag Racing for more than five
years yet never in this capacity. Usually they cheer and
give their Dad words of encouragement. But as time ticks on,
they’ve grown up and want to participate. So with a strict
policy of being safe and having fun it is my pleasure to
introduce Charlie and Emily Meyer.
 Charlie
Meyer
– A soft spoken witty youngsterwho instantly, at the ripe
age of eight, wants to drive a Junior Dragster. Charlie
almost instinctively knows what it’s going to take to win.
Although his carefree attitude may not lend itself to being
an aggressive driver, when he’s strapped into the cockpit of
his racecar, he is all business.
 Emily
Meyer
– The outgoing friendly girl who is always willing to help.
Although some say she was pressured into climbing into the
cockpit of a Junior Dragster, her smile when driving says it
all. At the prime age of ten, she is more than ready,
willing and able to be competitive, especially if her
brother is in the other lane.
Jr.
Dragsters are half-scale versions of Top Fuel dragsters.
Using a five-horsepower, single-cylinder engine, races are
contested over the course of an eighth-mile. Classes are
designated into age groups. Charlie will be racing in the
8-9 year old Class and Emily in the 10-12 year old Class.
The 8-9 year old Class will reach speeds of approximately 40
MPH and the 10-12 year old Class will reach speeds of
approximately 50 MPH .
The
Junior Drag Racing League at Sacramento Raceway is
longstanding program that focuses on safety and
sportsmanship. In 2006 there were 47 competitors and as many
as 3,000 spectators at each event. As members of Meyer
Racing, additional emphasis is placed on being good stewards
of our environment by using re-refined motor oil in their
motors as well proper disposal of all motor oil at local
collection sites.
2006 - Another fantastic
Season!
The NASA series was wrapped
up by Mr. Greg Schmitt in the 6th race of a 7 race series.
Myself I settled for a Second Place finish and Chris would
end up in fourth. I'd have to say we had another very
good year of racing.
In
the much more competitive PRA Super Comp Series Chris and I
would finish in the number nine and ten spots.
Gettin Ready for another Bug - O
August 27, 2006
For just
about seven years now I've been racing and I never seems to
get old. Although the butterflies don't seem to be as
intense, the excitement seems to be never ending.
Bug-O would not be the same with out putting a Bounty on
someone's head. Last Bug-O the bounty was on
Muffler-Mike. Bob Hemphill took him out in the final
so Bob walked away with the Tequila. This go around,
since he's won the last two races (Bakersfield and Denver),
it's on Pat Downs.
The time
always seems to fly by. Chris Brown and I were going
to test and tune Friday night (8/25/06) but the track was
having problems with the asphalt surface. So we're
just going to have to show up. Not too much of a big
deal since it's our home track.
Testing would have been nice
because Chris and I are both trying to work out some of the
kinks in our new turbo set ups... Oops, did I say
that? Turbo...the cat is sort of out of the bag...
But I figured I follow Chris' lead and get a turbo as well.
Can't beat'em with an NA motor then join them right???
Hope to see you out
there...
Michael Meyer
Memo to self, don’t loan Greg#2 Motor!June
1, 2006
Chris
Brown and I were having lunch after putting the finishing
touches on his new turbo motor. We talked about the up
coming NASA race and Chris said that Greg Schmidt (affectionately
known as Greg #2) would not be in attendance because his new
motor wouldn’t be finished. It occurred to us that the motor
that Chris just pulled out of his car was still alive and
well. This motor is essentially a Frankenstein motor built
from our spare parts (Chris’ heads and carbs and my bottom
end). Chris had put this motor together to run the in the
NASA series while he built his turbo motor. Since this motor
was not going to be in use. We decided to loan it to Greg
#2.
With only
two weeks to go until the
Sacramento Bug-o-Rama, the first race of the
PRA (Pro Racing
Association) Series, Chris and I were both concentrating
on running solid 10.90’s in the quarter mile (10.90 seconds
being the Index for Super Comp).
Early
last year, I put my current motor combination
together, rolled out of the trailer and whipped down the
quarter mile running a 10.86-second pass. Over the past
year, trying to find just a little more power I’ve
essentially gone backwards! The motor combination has not
changed much and although I’ve been making subtle
improvements my quarter mile times have only marginally
improved. As a result and for purposes of better
tuning I decided to reinstall my Innovate Air/Fuel meter and
record data to determine whether I was getting enough fuel
into the motor.
NASA Race #3 – May 6, 2006
Fifteen
racers showed up to compete in the NASA series. Held along
side the Chris Alston Chassis Works Racing Series the track
conditions were very good for this day of racing.
As with
most new motors, working the bugs out comes at a price, and
for Chris it was no different. At the hit of the throttle in
the burn out box, the newly built turbo motor would seize a
main bearing. Later inspection would reveal that it was the
rear main bearing and although the case would measure out
with-in tolerances. Chris is having the case line
bored and rechecking the case. Unfortunately the next attempt will be at the
Bug-o-Rama.
In the second round of
racing who would I line up against? Mr. Greg #2.
Greg would school me on the tree and take the win.
Damn that Greg! No more motor loaning for you!!!
Greg would go on to win
this event and be awarded a case of America's Choice Oil
courtesy of Meyer Racing and Safety-Kleen. Of course
he'd get the prize money as well many other prizes from the
sponsors of the
NASA Championship VW Drag Racing Series.
After downloading the data
from the Innovate Computer,
I would determine that the motor was truly running out of
fuel at the top of third gear and all through fourth gear.
Don't blink, Bug-o-Rama's
up next and I will be reporting on it very soon!
Thanks to
my lovely wife and supporting family. Special thanks to
Michael Root with City of Sacramento, Jeff Lin of the
California Integrated Waste Management Board, Dan at Ocean
Street Video, and John Cutshall with Safety-Kleen
Corporation.
Thanks
and enjoy,
Michael Meyer
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