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After returning from Oklahoma, the boat, trailer and truck were cleaned, restocked and loaded. No major parts were broken in Oklahoma City so repacking the trailer went quick. Ron, Bob & Sue left at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon with plenty of time to make the eighteen hour drive and arrive early Thursday morning.
The time on the road was spent going through the list of restaurants in San Angelo trying to find the best steak since Outback had eliminated the Melbourne.
A couple of hours in to the trip the air conditioner in the truck cab decided to quit working. The air conditioner in the camper was still working and keeping the truck cool. The truck had just crossed the border into Louisiana on I-20 when the rear end in the truck gave way. Luckily Ron managed to pull the rig into a near by rest stop. By that time the rear end was so hot, it caught on fire. Ron reached for the fire extinguisher and Bob went to get the water hose to dowse the flames. Well it’s now 10:30pm and no way for Ron & Bob to repair the rear end themselves. So they called around and located a repair shop that had roadside service. By time the repair truck arrived and took out the still very hot assembly it was after midnight. It would be at the earliest mid morning before the repair truck would return; Ron, Bob & Sue decided to drink a beer and have a nap.
It was 5 pm the next day before the repair truck showed up with the part. The day was spent drinking coffee on the picnic table, working on the boat inside the trailer or taking a nap. Finally the rear end was installed and tested. A mere $1900.00 later, the truck was back on the road at 6 pm, with 13 hours more to go to get to the race site.
Ron and Bob traded off driving to let the other one sleep. On Bob’s leg in Texas he was pulled over by the Texas State Trooper for speeding. The officer was obviously confused by the Tennessee driver’s license and the Canadian license plates, so he let Bob off with a warning to slow down. About 2 hours from San Angelo the generator in the truck quit working. Bob and Ron thought it must be out of gas since it had been running non-stop since leaving Tennessee. They pulled over and filled the tank. The generator still failed to fire. Bob and Ron tried to get it going, but no luck, they elected to get to the race track and maybe they could either repair it or locate a repair shop.
38 hours after leaving Tennessee, Ron, Bob & Sue finally arrive at the race site in San Angelo in time to watch the sunrise on Friday Morning. After drinking a beer to mark the end of a long trip, they parked the trailer and started setting up the pits. The rest of crew would be arriving soon to give them a hand with setting up the pits, fixing the air conditioner in the truck and getting the generator started. The end of the day did not come soon enough for the Ron, Bob and Sue. They were ready for a shower, a hot meal and a good night’s sleep. So they had a steak dinner delivered to their rooms. It was not Melbourne but it tasted great after 2 days of cold sandwiches.
Despite the problems getting to the race the entire team was ready to make the first qualifying pass on Saturday morning to see what times the boat would do. The first run proved to be a good pass. Ron cut a .092 light and ran 226.1 mph in 5.03 seconds. That run puts Liquid Quiker in first place out of a six boat field. The day had already started out a whole lot better than Oklahoma City. The crew quickly tore down the motor, cleaned up the boat and re-packed the parachutes to make ready for the second round of qualifying. 2nd round Ron cuts a .666 light and clicks off the timers at 235.6 mph in 5.11 seconds. Good improvement on mph but lost a little on the ET. Liquid Quiker qualifies in 2nd place and will run John White in Problem Child Sunday morning.
The team returns to the pits and starts pulling the motor to get ready for the 1st round on Sunday. Around 7:30 pm the team receives a take out dinner from the local Outback Steak House courtesy of the San Angelo promoter, Jenni Hutcheson. Thank you Jenni!
The first round of elimination has Liquid Quiker at the lights with the number 5 qualifier John White in Problem Child. Ron hammers the throttle with a .086 reaction time taking the win at 239.36 mph in 5.01 seconds against John White’s 219.5 mph in 5.158 seconds. Liquid Quiker goes to the next round to meet John Haas in the Speed Sports Special. The crew gets the boat back to the pits to start dissembling the motor and cleaning the boat. Next round against John will be a tough one. The Speed Sports Special broke in the previous round, but won because his competitor went out side the course. You can bet they will be ready to challenge the Liquid Quiker for a slot in the final round.
As the team was finishing up the motor and starting to pack the parachutes the generator in the trailer decides to quit. Since they were unable to get the truck generator repaired the team was without any power source to run the air conditions in the Texas heat or any of the fans or air tools. Bob tries to reset the generator to get it running but with out success. Another boat team offers the Liquid Quiker team access to their generator to help them make it through the day.
The Liquid Quiker team takes the boat to the ramp for the second round of competition. All are hopeful for a win to the finals. Ronnie starts the motor and mashes the pedal. The boat takes off and starts slowing down about half track. The boat runs through the lights at 95.5mph in 7.112 seconds. It looked like the blower belt came off the motor. The boat makes it back to the pits and the crew notices the mess in the bottom of the boat. Apparently the W-drive let loose, breaking the clutch and putting a nice hole in the side of the block.
Well, the team started packing up trailer trying to get done before dark since there were no working generators. The crew did mange to get the air conditioner in the cab of the truck going but it only lasted to 100 miles outside of Shreveport, LA, then it was a hot ride all the way to Tennessee.
This certainly was on expensive trip for the Liquid Quiker team. Repairs bills as follows:
| Rear end in truck |
$1900.00 |
| Generator in truck |
$1500.00 |
| Air conditioner in truck |
$1131.00 |
| Generator in trailer |
$249.00 |
| Repair W-drive |
$3270.00 |
| Repair clutch |
$1244.00 |
| Repair Starter |
$757.00 |
| New Block |
$2500.00 |
| Rods |
$900.00 |
| Pistons |
$480.00 |
Going Top Fuel Hydro Drag Boat Racing – PRICELESS!
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