Old Articles
FIRST OFFICAL RACE MEETING WITH THE NEW CHASSIS (JULY 31st) SAW THE CAR DOING 7.6 AND 7.7 SECS WITHOUT MUCH TUNING. BETTER PERFORMANCE IS WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR AND GOT IT.
THE MINTCARS RAIL HAS A NEW LOOK. SAME ENGINE IN A NEW CHASSIS. INITIAL TESTS IN WALLERFIELD WENT AS EXPECTED. NO PROBLEMS. WE EXPECT MORE CONSISTANT TIMES FROM THIS CAR.
MINTCARS WIN 9.0 sec DIAL-UP ON SUNDAY 26th JUNE 2005. WE ALSO WON FASTEST TIME OF THE DAY (8.6 sec).
The open class cars all agreed to run a 9.0sec dial-up race meeting. This was a first for us but we had some experience from Curacao. We had problems getting below 9.0 sec and in fact all our qualifing runs were below. So we just dialed in 9,0 sec. The car was working so good that we had very little to do. It was up to the driver and he did not let down his team and fans.
THE MINTCARS RAIL does 7.64 AT THE INTERNATIONAL DRAG RACING MEETING IN CURACAO.
First of all, the Mintcars and Partytime Racing teams would like to thank all our supporters and sponsors for making this endeavor a success. This trip was a joint effort by the racing teams, their sponsors and well wishers. We were individual racing teams that happen to be from Trinidad. We did not ask for or received any financial help or assistance from any sporting entity. Now that we know what it takes to undertake a project of this size, we will be approaching the powers that be on our future trips for assistance (financial and otherwise), with the hope of being able to represent Trinidad and Tobago.
The teams learned a lot and gained some valuable information on this weekend. The most important lesson we learned was that in this sport anything can happen, even if you think you are well prepared. On Friday night, a special bracket was included for the Dragsters and Altered. However this was dial-up bracket racing with a full tree. On Saturday there were no races for Dragsters but they were allowed to enter the 8.90 to 9.20 sec. dial-up bracket with full tree. On Sunday there was an 8.0 to 11.0 sec. bracket racing on a full tree. There was no heads-up racing for the dragsters. The pit announcements were made in Spanish or the local dialect so there was a problem knowing when we were to get to the holding bay for racing. Some of the announcements were made in English after repeated complaints from us to the control tower. The starter, the race director and the officials at the track had little knowledge on what it takes to run Dragsters and treated the cars like full body cars. They did manage to understand the cars a little better by Sunday. The program is planned by the officials and the Race Director (who is the person in charge for the whole meeting) printed and distributed to all the racers. You have to follow this program (your bracket and the times of the races are listed here). When you miss the call out over the PA and is not in the holding bay at the time the races are to be run off you are considered a no show and lose your round and is knocked out if already in competition.
This team lead by Michael Luke together with the Partytime Racing Team was the most successful on the weekend because there were no breakdowns here. On Friday the car was run with the same set-up as it last ran in Trinidad except for the new Transbrake solenoid (the old one was broken in Trinidad). The car ran 7.64 sec. with NOS, backing off at the end. With some additional tuning we anticipated runs in the low 7 secs, as the track was good and the car was working as expected. We then found out that it was dial up racing so we had to de-tune the car to try and compete as the Altered and dragster from Aruba were slower by about a second. We got eliminated in the semi-final (our lack of experience bracket racing at this level led to our demise). On Saturday the bracket was 8.9 - 9.2 sec. We had to further de-tune the car and run with no Nitrous to try to get the car to fall into 9.0 secs. We were knocked out after the second round (we broke out). On Sunday the bracket was from 8.0 to 11.0 sec. This was a little easier to tune for (without nitrous) we were running around 8.3 sec and used that as our dial-in. However the cards were not with us as in an attempt to stay under his dial-in time the opponent won. This was again in the second round. All in all this car functioned perfectly but the lack of experience with dial up racing and tuning for it, was our downfall. We now have a better handle on racing in Curacao and would not let that happen again. The car was very consistent with the tunings we made. ‘Mint’ and his team would like to thank all those who assisted and supported them here in Trinidad and in Curacao. We were also invited to take part in the international race meeting in August in Aruba. We will make every effort to be there.
AUTODROME SEPTEMBER 2004.After a couple of months lay-off the Mintcars Rail was again on the track ready to rumble with the best. Our last outing was in Grenada, and after a couple months of no Drags, hurricanes and dust collection we were eager to touch the tracks (and/or track-bite) again. The first pass (13.3) with these smaller tyres saw Michael having to back off as the torque was too much at the launch. Some tuning adjustments were quickly made in the holding area and within 10 - 15 minutes we did a second run, this time doing a 7.88sec. The 60 time was bad so some additional adjustments were made to correct this. However we did not have the opportunity to run again as the light faded. Next Meeting we should be rearing to go again so until then it's back to storage.
19th and 20th JUNE 2004 AT THE CARIBBEAN BATTLE OF THE IMPORTS.The cars (both Partytime and Mintcars) were all prepared and functional for the races in Grenada. The cars arri