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Fortunately the team had 2 weeks off to get everything repaired, reassembled and reloaded before heading to Augusta, Georgia for their 3rd race. Since the team was going to run back to back races the next 2 weeks, Ron would stay in Tennessee to help get ready for High Point, North Carolina. Jeff elected to come along with Ron and help out also.
Ron, Bob, Sue and Jeff headed out around 5:00 pm Wednesday for the 5 ½ hour drive to Augusta, hoping it would be a good time to get through Atlanta without much traffic. They arrived around 10:30 pm. The Augusta committee was there to direct them to their pit area.
After parking the trailer and having the usual “we made it” beer, Ron decided it would be a good time to set up the awning. The night was cool enough and they would avoid putting it up in the humid Augusta sun. About 1:30 in the morning the tent was set up and all 4 of them decided it was time for a nap.
The next morning they were able to complete the pit set up under the shade of the tent. Steve Trew and Roger Way drove in on Thursday to help with the set up. The rest of the crew would arrive Friday morning.
For dinner Thursday night Outback Steakhouse was the preferred choice and to see if the “Melbourne steak” still existed. They were all in luck Augusta’s Outback still had the old menu and guys enjoyed their “Melbourne’s” and thanks to Roger Way’s excellent repour with the manager, the dinner was on the house.
Friday the rest of the crew arrived along with Bob’s son Mark and his family. Randal’s friends from Georgia showed up along with Buddha’s sister Ann. This gave the team extra hands to help out all weekend. The team did not make a pass on Friday since it was only test and tune, but there was plenty of work to keep them busy all day. The team ate supper and turned in early for a good nights sleep ready for 1st round on Saturday.
There was a lot of pressure on the Liquid Quiker team from last year after winning the race and setting the IHBA ET record last year. They knew the Speed Sports Special wanted to regain their hold on that record.
After watching the Spirit of Texas take a barrel roll and sink to the bottom of the river on their first pass, the Liquid Quiker ran 192.03mph in 5.14 seconds. They would need a lot of work to come back with a better run on the next pass.
Only 2 out of 5 boats showed up for the 2nd round of qualifying, Liquid Quiker and Hot Licks. Ron cuts a .231 light and takes the boat through the lights at 240.1 mph in 4.905 seconds gaining the 2nd qualifying position in Top Fuel Hydro. Jarret Silvey on the other hand decided to try out a new set of props which caused the boat to take a nose dive and sink into the Savannah River. Looks like an all-nighter in most of the Top Fuel Hydro pits.
While the crew finished putting the motor back together, Bob cooked ribs for Saturday night’s dinner in between loaning out all the fiber glass repair parts the trailer had to the Spirit of Texas and Hot Licks teams.
Sunday morning 1st round would be against the Spirit of Texas. Scotty and his team had worked all night, along with the Hot Licks team repairing their boats to be able to make 1st round Sunday morning. All the work paid off for Scotty, he cut a .157 light against Ron’s .308, but Liquid Quiker made it to the finish line first in 4.93 seconds at 213.1 mph for the win. Liquid Quiker was going to round 2, and since there was a 5 boat filed, next round would be a bye round which puts Liquid Quiker in the finals
Ron and Bob elected to make the next pass in hopes of improving the boats ET and MPH numbers. 2nd round bye Ron cuts a .103 light, the boat leaves hard and goes through the 1/8 mile timers in 2.84 seconds at 213.01 mph, then the motor goes a way and Liquid Quiker cross the finish line in 5.025 seconds cruising at 190.66 mph. This is not the numbers Ron & Bob had hoped for, so there will definitely be some wrenches turning in the pits to find the route cause and get repaired in time for final round.
The final round will be against John Haas in the Speed Sports Special. John has been running good ET’s all weekend and it will take everything the Liquid Quiker Team can do to pull off the win.
As usual final round for Top Fuel Hydro was the last run of the day and the Liquid Quiker crew needed all the extra time they could get to get ready. The motor is fired up in the pits and is ready to go.
The crew watches from the bank of the Savannah River with great anticipation in hopes of repeating last year’s victory. They have done all they can do, it’s now up to Ron and the boat. The timing light starts the count down and the motors fire, capsule lids close, but Ron leaves too quick and red lights, Speed Sports takes the win in 4.53 seconds crossing the finish line at 256 mph against Liquid Quiker’s 174.74 mph in 5.16 seconds.
Well, it’s after dark when the trailer was finally packed and loaded. The Team had managed to qualify 2nd and take 2nd place in Augusta. Not the ending they had hoped, but definitely still something to be proud of. Now it's time to head for Tennessee and make ready for next weekend.
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