Irwindale Adventures Day Three.

Day Three started with us getting to the track at 7:30am to diagnose the engine, and see if we were confident enough to run it as it sat. After a few adjustments, including replacing the injector for the low cylinder, and adjusting the catch tank to not overflow oil, we did a few pulls down the drag strip. The air fuel ratio's looked good. So we went on to make some checks on the rest of the car before the day begins.

Having the car ready, we got in line to do a few practice runs before qualifying. Ian relaxed and got into the zone before a big day of driving.

Good friend Roland Gallager was behind us ready to rock the track as he normally does. Roland and family have always been a great help to our team at every event. Thanks guys.

After a few practice runs, and a few hours, it was time to qualify. We were the second car in the list to run, and run we did. The first run was solid, with a 60.3 score on the board.

Followed by another exciting run to round out his runs. We were happy with the runs, and felt we did our best considering the engine problems.

Ian took the rest of the qualifying rounds to watch his competition and talk with the media guys that are right at the track for info on his runs.

During the excitement, there was a DOUBLE HELICOPTER. OMG, We all started crying. It was almost a triple copter.

After the sun set, we went to the signing area, where all the fans at the qualifying day can get a signature from the drivers. Nikolay Konstantinov was excited to get Ian's signature for his very own...

and tried to find the best of his cards to give to Ian.

The night get better for us, and sad for others. We attended the drivers meeting, where we were told that Ian qualified 26th place, making him able to compete in the top 32 for the first time this season. Go out with a bang was the plan for this event, and we are trying to make that happen. After the meeting Nikolay went back on track in the extra practice that the top 32 are allowed that night, when he had an unfortunate accident.

We stayed for many hours helping, along with other team mechanics who jumped in to help fix his car. This was amazing, seeing so much help from teams that are competing against each other. 

Trent here is making sad faces with JOE from Motormavens.com, as we really could not help Nikolay as much as some others, but we were ready to step up when needed.

The night was long for us, and even longer for the guys that stayed all night. We left the track at 12:30am to get some supper, and sleep for the big event. 

We will see you later today. Be sure to watch the live stream.