Steaming in Portland - Round Four of Pacific FF2000 Pro Series (6/7/2004)

(Tempe, Az)

Carl Scott took his newly rebuilt Pinto engine 22 hours north to the cool and damp of Portland International Raceway for round four of the Pacific F2000 series. Sitting in 8th place after the spectacular disintegration and first DNF at Phoenix, the team was optimistic the bran new hybrid Ivey/Brooks engine would give enough fresh power to crack into the top five on the track and in the standings. Also, the top Pinto power position was within easy grasp with Carl and Tom Hope in a virtual tie in the standings.

Portland is an old track built in a city park and operated under a strict set of rules. For example, they have two sound monitoring stations which prompted us to install our muffler and take some sound measurements that were well within spec.

The track includes a drag strip, but the rest is fairly narrow with several technical portions and a street race-like concrete canyon along the back straight. We also discovered that there is a swamp through out the interior but were assured that there were no animals other than birds and fish in it.

Weather is always an issue in the northwest so we had installed a new and expensive ultimate rain light in anticipation of extended use. To our surprise, practice was clear and hot and the only rain came on Sunday with qualifying in the wet. Other than that, the track was dry and weather quite tolerable, especially compared to Phoenix's 102 plus this time of year.

The new engine seemed strong during the first and second practice as we tuned the carburetor to the local air. Carl had taken to the track like he had driven it forever and was fast after the first session, running with and in front of several Zetec cars. The third session gave the first hint of trouble to come. The car was low on water and steam was oozing out from a bolt hole on the intake manifold where the bolt had come out. We replaced it and completed our preparations for Saturday qualifying.

Saturday qualifying started out with the embarrassing radio call on the out lap that the tires were not tight. A lengthy pit stop ensued to tighten all the wheel nuts and another out lap call that the rear was "squirrelly". Quick stop to retighten the left rear and replace the safety clip and finally a couple of laps at speed to get in a time at the back. Unfortunately, the car came in with a lot of steam coming from the radiator overflow. Through checks could find no reason and so the car was topped off and readied for the main.

Meanwhile, Robert was off carrying on a Scottracing June tradition by attending the opening of the new Harry Potter movie. Last year at Road America, he got to stand in the midnight line to buy the latest book.

Saturday main was late in the day and starting from the rear Carl got a tremendous jump and proceeded to thread his way through scattered cars in the tricky Festival chicane. He came around in sixth position solidly in contact with the lead group only o see the pace car and a full course yellow. This was quite a surprise since the chief steward had briefed that accidents in Festival would result in running straight through and bypassing Festival. After a couple of safety car laps, racing resumed with Carl picking off another position, but eventually retiring on lap 10 with no power and no water in the radiator. Thus set up Saturday evening to trouble shoot in the cooling, wet and dark which cost us the opportunity to join local friends of Suez's at an excellent German restaurant. Instead, we pressure tested the cooling system, fixing two leaks. Then we leak tested the engine to verify that the head gasket was sealing and no leaks apparent in the water from the cylinders. With everything now seeming to be normal and the daylight gone, we hoofed it the half mile to the hotel and called it a day.

Sunday dawned cloudy, windy and wet so we spent the morning prepping for a wet qualifying plus continuing to troubleshoot and reassemble the car. Unfortunately, the process took enough time that we were late to the grid and only got one timed lap. Although good enough to make the show, it did not stress the cooling system enough to determine whether the repairs would hold. Then the skies opened up and we left for lunch and a nap at the hotel during the five hour break between sessions.

Sunday main was looking like a very wet proposition and the Pinto drivers were hoping it would stay that way to equalize the horsepower advantage of the Zetec. Unfortunately, at 10 minutes to grid the skies cleared and the teams had a mad scramble to change out the wets for dry setup.

Starting from the back again, Carl almost pulled off a great last to first start, but the flag man held the green long enough that his momentum was broken. Instead, Carl passed 4 people on the first two laps to establish himself solidly in sixth in contact with the lead draft. Considering the narrowness of the track and lack of easy passing points, this run from the back was quite impressive. Unfortunately, there were tell-tale puffs coming from the engine area and the water temperature was climbing until finally it was decided to pit the car rather that hurt it. Another disappointing DNF after some brilliant driving.

In the mean time, a number of relatives had shown up to watch and dinner together was enjoyable before starting the long tow home.

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