Autoblog

2:54 PM - Jay is hauling around the track like some cliche I'm too lazy to think up.

3:18 PM - We took a direct hit to the rear by a silver Bimmer. That shoved exhaust system up, shifting the engine and breaking the heater hose in the process. Jay came in spewing water onto the windshield through our strategically placed cutouts in the hood. We cut the hose to length, fitted a the only thing we had -- a T-bracket and some spare heater hose -- capped off the T with a round piece of metal Casey gaffled from a clutch alignment tool and then installed a clamp to hold it in place. Jay's back out.


Jay coming in.


Pilfering parts.


Inelegant solutions for inelegant times.

6:05 PM: We took a hit which bent the tie rod. We're incapacitated at the moment and we're trying to beat the Hell out of it to straighten it. We might have a hook-up for another part. We're on our way out of the pits.

4:31 PM: I'm in Sonol picking up a new tie rod. Just got off the phone from the team and they have the car back on the track.

5:06 PM - Jay and I are back. Dustin is making the rounds and doing both the team and the car justice. Our tie rod situation was apparently remedied with a sledgehammer and brute force.

8:06 PM - We are alive! Sorry for the lack of updates, but, as you can imagine, it's been a hectic time on the Altamont. Just as we got back from our tie rod trip I was shoved in the car and thrown out onto the track. Two words: pure awesome. The RX-7 is handling 10-times better than yesterday, which is making up for our lost time on the track. We're keeping to about one-and-a-half hour stints per driver, and between Jay, Dustin and myself, we've made up a good bit of time, moving from 68th to the 40s in a few hours. Casey just got back and aside from a "jacked-up" knee he's in good spirits. Brad is making the rounds now and we'll keep you abreast of what's going on into the night.

As for the car, it's taken its fair share of abuse, primarily from our brethren on the track. The clutch is beginning to slip, which is bad, but we might be changing it out tonight at the shop. Keep hitting refresh. There's more to come.

8:30 PM - The wonderful and beautiful Melissa snapped off a ton of pics. We've uploaded a gallery for your viewing enjoyment below.



9:03 PM - Brad got smashed into and finally broke the tie rod. He was unceremoniously towed in and we're fixing it now.

9:22 PM - Looks like we're out for the night. We lost a lot of laps while Brad was sitting in the infield, waiting for a tow. The tie rod is toast, so we're going to be heading back to the shop to mend it with the welder and be back tomorrow at 9:00 AM PST for day two of LeMons.