Post by Niko L on Jul 24, 2014 8:16:13 GMT
Summer Nationals is the only Finnish Championship Drag Racing event that is driven on an airport. The race takes place at Kalajoki airport and I drove my license there in 2013, so this was the only track where I had last year's experience.
Because it's about eight hours of driving (With the trailer) from Vantaa to Kalajoki, we had to leave early on Friday. So we put the car on trailer already on Thursday, and I'm glad we did because it wasn't too easy! We had new tires for the car. Old Hoosiers were in bad shape, and we decided to try Mickey Thompsons this time. Well, the sidewalls on M/T tires are much more round and wide than Hoosiers, so it was a real pain to get the car on trailer that was a bit too narrow for that car. We managed to get the car on trailer anyway, and on 10 AM on Friday we left to Kalajoki.
Friday:
It was a really nice weather and a hot day on Friday. Our Chevy Van doesn't have an air conditioning so it was really hot in there, even though we were driving the vent windows open. We caught Hassinens at Alavus where we went eating. After that it started raining and actually it rained really hard. It started thundering as well, so it wasn't too hot anymore!
We stopped at Pietarsaari to visit a friend's garage.
When we continued our drive to Kalajoki, the alternator belt from the Van snapped into two pieces and flew away. Luckily we had another one of those with us and on a bus stop we changed it on place.
When we arrived in the pits, I went to the Race Office to get all needed papers and then we unloaded the car from the trailer, which wasn't too easy either. The car was freakin' dirty because of the rain, so we thought that washing and waxing must be done on Saturday morning.
Saturday:
On Saturday morning I washed the car and with the help from Mika I waxed it too. And immediately, it looked a lot better!
It was another very hot day ahead with no clouds on the sky. The car passed the Tech Inspection, so we started waiting for the first Qualifying Round after doing a little warm up. We were called to Line Up and on the first run with Hannu Palasmaa on the other lane. This was the first run with the new tires, and other folks had said that I must do shorter burnouts with these M/T tires, otherwise they'll "melt" and get slippery. However, this time I did a normal burnout to make the tires soft and get rid of the hard surface that a new tire always has. The car went a bit sideways in the Burnout, but luckily I was able to keep it in control. When I was Staged, I probably didn't push enough brakes, because when I pushed the thorttle to get the RPM in 3,000 where the Two Step is set, car crawled forward before the light went green. So -.187 red light for me, and a bad 60 FT time, 1.693. Anyway I went full throttle and ran 12.407 with 170.28 KM/H Top speed.
The second round took place just an hour later and this time it was Yrjö Wallius on the other lane. I did a very short burnout, probably the shortest one I've ever done. Now I hammered the brakes when I was Staged and everything worked. -.052 red light for me, and 1.660 60 FT time. When I shifted to the 2nd gear, wheels spun a little because the car started to turn right a little and I had to steer to keep it straight. I ran 12.329 with 170.76 KM/H top speed, so a pretty good run for me even though the wheels spun a little.
The third round was at 1:29 PM and I was running against Yrjö Wallius again. I did a bit longer burnout than last time, but it was still a very short one. I got a -.063 red light, but when the front tires left the ground, I lost the traction. Luckily the tires found the traction back soon, but a horrible 60 FT time for me anyway, 1.824 and ET was only 12.518. Top speed was 171.00 KM/H, though.
When we were called to Line Up for the fourth time, the sky had turned dark and cloudy. I could see that it was thundering somewhere, because the lightnings striked from time to time. Anyway it wasn't raining at the airport, so we were hoping to run this round anyway. When only one pair of Junior Dragsters was ahead of us, it started raining and we were called back to the pits. I put the lights on when I drove back to the pits, but windshield wipers would have been a good thing... I saw basically nothing through the windshield, especially when the sun was shining a little between the clouds.
It was raining for a while, but when it stopped, it was so late that it was clear there wouldn't be anymore rounds on Saturday. We headed to V8 Burger to eat and after eating that burger and french fries, I was absolutely fully loaded.
We came back to the pits and the sky was still cloudy. I said that I will walk around the pits a little to look at the cars. After a few steps it started raining huge waterdrops. I said to Mika that it might be better to put a cover on the car before it starts raining harder. And it definitely was a good idea! Soon it was raining so hard that the pit area was like a lake. The wind was blowing really hard, too, and a couple of tents and covers were flying. When the rain stopped, I was completely wet and with Mika we decided to go to the Sauna.
When we came out from the Sauna, a long line of American Cars was driving on the street... It was Kalajoki Cruising. I went to the camping area where the cars stopped at. Pictures.
Because it's about eight hours of driving (With the trailer) from Vantaa to Kalajoki, we had to leave early on Friday. So we put the car on trailer already on Thursday, and I'm glad we did because it wasn't too easy! We had new tires for the car. Old Hoosiers were in bad shape, and we decided to try Mickey Thompsons this time. Well, the sidewalls on M/T tires are much more round and wide than Hoosiers, so it was a real pain to get the car on trailer that was a bit too narrow for that car. We managed to get the car on trailer anyway, and on 10 AM on Friday we left to Kalajoki.
Friday:
It was a really nice weather and a hot day on Friday. Our Chevy Van doesn't have an air conditioning so it was really hot in there, even though we were driving the vent windows open. We caught Hassinens at Alavus where we went eating. After that it started raining and actually it rained really hard. It started thundering as well, so it wasn't too hot anymore!
We stopped at Pietarsaari to visit a friend's garage.
When we continued our drive to Kalajoki, the alternator belt from the Van snapped into two pieces and flew away. Luckily we had another one of those with us and on a bus stop we changed it on place.
When we arrived in the pits, I went to the Race Office to get all needed papers and then we unloaded the car from the trailer, which wasn't too easy either. The car was freakin' dirty because of the rain, so we thought that washing and waxing must be done on Saturday morning.
Saturday:
On Saturday morning I washed the car and with the help from Mika I waxed it too. And immediately, it looked a lot better!
It was another very hot day ahead with no clouds on the sky. The car passed the Tech Inspection, so we started waiting for the first Qualifying Round after doing a little warm up. We were called to Line Up and on the first run with Hannu Palasmaa on the other lane. This was the first run with the new tires, and other folks had said that I must do shorter burnouts with these M/T tires, otherwise they'll "melt" and get slippery. However, this time I did a normal burnout to make the tires soft and get rid of the hard surface that a new tire always has. The car went a bit sideways in the Burnout, but luckily I was able to keep it in control. When I was Staged, I probably didn't push enough brakes, because when I pushed the thorttle to get the RPM in 3,000 where the Two Step is set, car crawled forward before the light went green. So -.187 red light for me, and a bad 60 FT time, 1.693. Anyway I went full throttle and ran 12.407 with 170.28 KM/H Top speed.
The second round took place just an hour later and this time it was Yrjö Wallius on the other lane. I did a very short burnout, probably the shortest one I've ever done. Now I hammered the brakes when I was Staged and everything worked. -.052 red light for me, and 1.660 60 FT time. When I shifted to the 2nd gear, wheels spun a little because the car started to turn right a little and I had to steer to keep it straight. I ran 12.329 with 170.76 KM/H top speed, so a pretty good run for me even though the wheels spun a little.
The third round was at 1:29 PM and I was running against Yrjö Wallius again. I did a bit longer burnout than last time, but it was still a very short one. I got a -.063 red light, but when the front tires left the ground, I lost the traction. Luckily the tires found the traction back soon, but a horrible 60 FT time for me anyway, 1.824 and ET was only 12.518. Top speed was 171.00 KM/H, though.
When we were called to Line Up for the fourth time, the sky had turned dark and cloudy. I could see that it was thundering somewhere, because the lightnings striked from time to time. Anyway it wasn't raining at the airport, so we were hoping to run this round anyway. When only one pair of Junior Dragsters was ahead of us, it started raining and we were called back to the pits. I put the lights on when I drove back to the pits, but windshield wipers would have been a good thing... I saw basically nothing through the windshield, especially when the sun was shining a little between the clouds.
It was raining for a while, but when it stopped, it was so late that it was clear there wouldn't be anymore rounds on Saturday. We headed to V8 Burger to eat and after eating that burger and french fries, I was absolutely fully loaded.
We came back to the pits and the sky was still cloudy. I said that I will walk around the pits a little to look at the cars. After a few steps it started raining huge waterdrops. I said to Mika that it might be better to put a cover on the car before it starts raining harder. And it definitely was a good idea! Soon it was raining so hard that the pit area was like a lake. The wind was blowing really hard, too, and a couple of tents and covers were flying. When the rain stopped, I was completely wet and with Mika we decided to go to the Sauna.
When we came out from the Sauna, a long line of American Cars was driving on the street... It was Kalajoki Cruising. I went to the camping area where the cars stopped at. Pictures.
