It was a tough 2009 debut race for the www.IPGParts.com Drag Civic. Racing in the season opening Battle of the Imports Event at the Orlando Speedworld at least gave us a close to home event to make the first couple of passes on a new gearbox. The 4 month layoff as evident as we just couldn't get the car dialed in as quickly as we would of liked but overall it was an enjoyable event and we didn't break any major parts so that always makes us happy at the end of the day.
An ugly 1st round qualifying pass of 10.8 @ 146 mph got the day started. After fixing a nasty bog off the line in the first round John Ferguson literally broke the shift rod in half on the 1-2 shift during the 2nd round qualifying pass. He somehow still managed a 10.8 @ 139 mph pass with a broken shift rod. The thrash ensued as the car was quickly pulled apart by John Ferguson with help from Marc Podkowik and a shadetree mechanic fix was performed with a welder and a bolt. (thanks Pollo Tuning for the welder use) It worked, at least a shift knob could be put back into place for the 1st round of eliminations but our day still ended early with a first round loss. But like I said earlier, at least we didn't break any major parts so the car is sitting in the trailer more or less ready to race again.
Here are some shots of the broken shifter and a little video compilation of the weekend. Footage taken with the GoPro HERO Motorsports Camera that we offer here on the site for sale.
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