SCPOC Meet 22: Carlsbad Raceway - 09.23.2000

Once again, SCPOC returns to Carlsbad.  This time, there was NO RAIN or CLOUDS!  Good thing because it was a good day to race.

There weren't as many folks that turned out as I would have liked, but those who made it had a good time.  The SD guys meet the LA/OC caravan at the Taco Bell right around the corner from the raceway.   As usual, there was a long line to get in, but we had a good spot in line.

The attendees:

Well, I was late once again, so the LA/OC caravan took off a little later than usual.  We met up with the SD group at the Taco Bell, located just outside the entrance to the drag strip.  Stacey went to grab a bite for her and I (and later wound up giving my food to Lino!  WTF!?).  Dave showed us his newly installed PRD rear strut bar.  Lino and I had already made up our minds to order one in the bulk buy on Probetalk, but we had not seen one up close.  It looks pretty good!  We had to wait in line, which wasn't unusual, but the line was very short when we got there.  It DID get longer, and there were plenty of guys who decided they were too good to wait in line and cut in.  Those of us with radios kept talking about it and we did report it.

Once we got up to the track, after braving the treacherous dirt trail (bumps galore), Lino and I were the first two who lined up.  We were next to a Camaro and a Grand Am GTP.  What surprised me is that Lino went up to the guys in the Camaro and got in their face about cutting in line.  I don't think I had ever seen Lino that upset, as he is the single-most tolerant person I have ever known.  Since I didn't want to get kicked out, I (of all people), was the peacemaker and put an end to the potential problem.

It was at that time that Lino went to the race booth and found out that there were no loaner helmets.  The guy who was responsible for them had forgotten them at home!  D'OH!  That meant that only two people had helmets available: Chris and myself.  Between him and I, Lalo, Stacey, and Sean were able to race.  Lino wanted to race, but he was pretty upset about the ordeal earlier and decided not to run.  That's too bad, because I wanted to see what his car could do with the new springs and the new clutch.

It came down to the moment of truth.  I was up against this Ford F-150.  Why?  I don't know, that's just how it worked out.  I did beat him however and quickly got back in line to race again.  Chris went up against a couple of cars and beat them.  My next run was against a HEAVILY modified AMC Javelin.  Check out the pics, as my ass was handed to me BIG TIME!  Yikes!  My best time was a 16.2, which I know is not good since my car has all the bolt-on mods you can think of.  My only guess is that it must be my clutch, which does need replacement, and my lack of skill racing an FWD car.

Sean went up against a couple of different cars, with the second being an Integra.  Of course, he won both of his races.  His best time was a 15.2, with his newly installed ACT II clutch.  He also showed us his kit for the Honda PhenoSpacers.  Turns out the Honda's need new studs in order to accommodate the added height of the spacers.

Lalo made a couple of runs as well and Stacey made one.  I had to contain my laughter with Stacey because she was definitely talking the talk earlier in the day and when her time came to race, she was definitely left in the other car's wake!  Ha Ha!  Maybe next time baby!  Lalo's runs were pretty good, but he too suffers from a severely slipping clutch as I do, so his best time was only a 15.9.

Lalo's run was the last for us that day, so after he came back to the pit area, we all decided to grab some grub and Shad led us to a nearby Home Town Buffet, where we had to wait about 15-20 minutes for them to get a table together  for our group.  Once seated, we ate, drank, and were definitely being merry.  Afterward, we went outside and took some more pics of our cars together.  Chris gave Shad a ride in his Cobra and we were all trying to find Jason's turbo.  Man is that thing small!

After that, we all headed for the freeway and headed home.  It was a pretty good turnout, but not many cars raced.  I think this happened because of the lack of helmets.  Not surprising.  Hopefully when I buy my new helmet, we can get at least one more person out there racing!

Until the next meet!

write-up by D. Tolentino, pics by D. Tolentino, S. Bertran, and L. Sacman