Deer Trail, CO – Arriving early Friday afternoon, the Buffs setup shop to get both cars running and through tech inspection before the Saturday morning race start. This being the first event bringing both car 303 and 720, the team was under more pressure than usual to get the cars through. Car 303 failed on first attempt but easily passed after resolving its issues while car 720 passed on its first run through the tech inspection line.
After a long Friday of race prep, it was time to race. Both cars got off to a good first couple of laps after the 10AM green flag drop, both passing numerous cars on their way up the grid. Unfortunately, tragedy struck on lap 3 when both cars were towed back to the pits with different issues. Car 303 was quickly sent back on track after determining the issue was nothing more than a loose battery terminal. Unlucky for car 720, its driveshaft was left on track after shearing the bolts going into turn 1. We did not anticipate this problem so did not think to bring our spare drive shafts with us from Boulder. With no other options, two members drove back to Boulder to retrieve our spares and head back to the track. After hours of downtime, car 720 finally got back on track at 2:30 in the afternoon. With two and a half hours left in the day, 720 had a lot of ground to make up.
Sadly, this would not be the only issue that car 720 had over the weekend. With about an hour left in the Saturday session, the clutch disintegrated, meaning another trip on the back of the tow truck to the pits, and a run to Denver for a new clutch. In what was a very long night, the team got the new clutch and flywheel installed and ready to go for Sunday’s 9AM flag drop. With the new clutch installed, the car was driving better than before, and making up the ground lost on Saturday. With few issues throughout the day, car 720 moved from position 43 (of 44) up to 32nd, while car 303 was hovering around 20th position throughout the day. Once again, 720 suffered issues. This time would be fatal. With an hour to go in the event, the distributor cap cracked, causing spark plugs to arc and not fire the cylinders correctly. It was drivable, but at a pace of roughly 10 seconds a lap slower than the previous day. With no chance of a top 20 finish like we hoped for, car 720 was parked for the day.