Today is Tuesday, February 12, and my rig is still parked at Pomona in the same pit spot, the awning is still up, the car is still up on jack stands, and we are still working on our new Wiley X Eyewear Pontiac GXP. The good news is that the weather is sunny, the temperature is probably 84 degrees and I can see the beautiful mountains in the background. We don’t have to worry about crowded conditions as we basically have the pits entirely to ourselves. Other than a couple of other rigs, we are the only ones left at the track.

So, with nothing but time on our hands we are putting all of our efforts and energy into trying to figure out what happened to our new Pontiac GXP this past weekend.

To say we had a disappointing weekend is an understatement but we have learned many years ago that sometimes these racecars have a mind of their own and it just takes a little more effort to figure out what they like and don’t like. One thing is for sure; I know they don’t like not qualifying for a race!

On Saturday afternoon when Jamie asked me, "Dad what in the world is going on here?” one thought quickly came to my mind. I told him that without a doubt we had one of the slickest and fastest racecars at the track. It was built to perfection, designed and painted with great detail, had a top qualifying engine between the frame rails, and then, to put it simply, it caught a cold that was quickly turning into pneumonia. Unfortunately, we acquired an electrical problem that has been intensifying throughout the weekend.

There is nothing more frustrating than chasing an electrical gremlin. You can’t hear it, you can’t see it (except on the computer), and most of the time you can’t pinpoint the problem. So we changed out every electrical part two and three times over the course of the weekend. We changed out engines, rearends, transmissions, carburetors, and anything else that could bolt to the chassis. Still, there was no change.

So on Sunday Jamie stripped every wire out of our GXP and took the car back to basics. Dan Campbell, who wired the car originally at Jerry Haas Racecars, flew out here to the track and is re-wiring the car. We have had Roger Lamb working on the brakes and Jamie has replaced every other part that can be replaced. I know you may laugh when I say this, but I have even de-magnetized the chassis.

Experience tells me that we probably will never know what the problem was, but I am sure that when we test next week at Speedworld in Surprise, Ariz., our GXP will be feeling much better and running much faster. Our repairs should be completed by this Thursday and Toni and I will celebrate our Valentine’s Day by driving the rig to Phoenix. Sounds like a lot of fun, huh? Hopefully we will arrive in time to get parked and perhaps have time for a nice dinner somewhere.

Well, Jamie needs my help getting the new battery installed so I best close my blog and get back outside. Be sure to tell someone you love them on Valentine’s Day; and yes, it can even be your Mom or Dad!

I’m outta here.
Jim