So coming off an epic race that left the Kaveman Team earning a first in class we were ready for a repeat performance. The 990 required extensive reconstruction following the season opener that included having to replace the rear torsion bars. This left us with some concerns as the new torsion bars were not pre stressed. We took the car out last weekend to put some miles on her and get the rear end in racing form. After that we felt the car was good to go and prepared for race day.
Friday March 18 I left the IE early and met up with some fellow racers to get our pit set up and make a lap on the course. I looked at the weather report before leaving and was not liking what I saw wind and rain were being called for making for an interesting race weekend. I arrived in Barstow about 8am sat to a surprisingly pleasant morning the wind was very low and the sun was coming out for enjoyable weather. A good omen in my mind. While waiting for Matt to arrive with the car and pit supplies I ended up assisting our pit neighbors with diagnosing an electrical problem with their class 10 car that was eventually run down to a short in a non essential light. Matt arrived and also assisted, unfortunately this left me with no time to pre-run the course with Matt prior to tech.
Tech was moved at the last minute due to new ownership of the tangier outlets so we made the drive to Slash X. Once their we got ourselves signed in and bought our T-shirts sporting the 990!
After tech Matt and I left to meet up with a fellow 9 racer who was unable to make the race but had won the free hotel room and passed that onto us. This was great since the weather was deteriorating quickly as the wind had steadily been increasing since about 1pm and now was steadily blowing about 20 mph 
...once that was complete we made our way back to main pit for a campfire and arrivalof the rest of the team. Once the Bronco was positioned as a wind block we were able to enjoy the fire and let the chit talking commence. Matt was not his normal self coming into the race, coming off the win we wanted and expected everything to run smooth but in the back of our heads we were worrying over things like women. My mom and dad arrived about 930pm and we finished set up and left for the room.Saturday morning we made it back to Main pit about 6am to go race. Matt and I were pleasantly surprised that the wind had abated leaving the morning to be a chilly but pristine one. Gary and Matt left to go to the drivers meeting at 7 while i finished up set up and getting our team checked in. I got a phone call from Randy about 7 telling me he was stuck behind a freeway closure due to a bad accident on the 15 and his bronco was giving him a problem
. Tony arrives in princess just after I talk with Randy. He was able to get off the freeway and take the fun way into Main! The accident on the freeway also prevented the required EMT/ambulance crew form arriving on time and Race start was delayed.So with some fresh coffee brewed we all anxiously waited and got a chance to BS a bit. Over the radio we go the word that the EMTs were arriving and that everyone needed to head up for staging. So Gary and Matt got themselves strapped in and the mighty 990 came to life.
Race start came about 830 and the 990 came by at 842 after the Army of 5/16s that showed up for the shoot out. The radio came to life about 3 miles into the race that they wanted an adjustment on the rear of the car so Tony and I hoped into his bronco with tools in hand to meet the 990 at MM11 for a quick tweak. Unfortunately I made the mistake of forgetting to grab the jack
So after a quick pause the 990 was off again and we would try to make the adjustment out at 26 with some friends working a road crossing. Unfortunately they were missing a 15/16s so the car pulled into the pit on lap 2 for a 2 min stop and off they went. Matt had maintained position and the field was settling into its 2 packs with Matt in 4th place making up ground. The lead car pulled off a 55 min lap with Matt at 59 min. This was also with the lead car not adhering to the speed zones that after a chastising form MORE officials then followed. Matt appeared to have settled into a groove and we waited for the car. The car looked good as it came through starting the third lap but we were not were we wanted to be still in 4th place and about 9 min off the lead. As we prepared for the only scheduled pit stop the call came in on the radio that I needed to get suited up and in the car with my dad. Matt was getting out, the car was not handling well something was wrong in the front and after a big hit Matt's back was not feeling good so the decision was made that Dad would take the wheel.I quickly suited up and Tony took the lead in the pits to get the car in and out. As Matt pulls in and hops out the car is being fueled and looked over Matt checks out the front end closer once out of the car while Gary and I get strapped in. Matt notices that the alignment is out of whack pretty severely no damage though. So with a quick couple of adjustments we were off.
As we make our way around I can tell that the car is all over the place but Gary is making it work. Lap 4 was a bit on the rough side but as we completed it he had settled in was getting smoother and faster. We come through main and start Lap 5 we had quite a bit of faster traffic to contend with as we got into the college hills as well as the dust. This time through the hills Dad was able to find the smoother lines and I knew our time on this lap would be better. I had seen the course now and was able to help him pick the lines and set up. Unfortunately we ended up taking a BIG hit to right front as we hit a jagged rock pile due to a 1 car passing us limiting our movement. The hit was hard enough that I was immediately concerned as I felt a big difference in the car. Dad said things felt ok to him at the wheel though. We went another few miles and things just felt off to me so we decided to make a quick stop at main to take a look. Once we get there the team looks at the front end their is an obvious camber issue, the right side was very negative with the left positive
...Not much we could do so we take off we lost one spot with the 924 passing us. Off we go and Gary is pushing hard on the car to catch the 9 we pass a 5/16 that gary did with great skill. The 924 was not far ahead. About a half mile later as we start into the college hills area and I see his dust. Awesome except that I knew we could not get a clean pass in the hills with the car handling the way it was and dad was working hard. We ended up catching the 924 on top of the hills and could not get into a position to overtake him so we were able to stay with him as we came down and tried like the devil to get past him as we came down. Unfortunately he was able to creep away form us as we came into slash X area and we just couldn't get the lines to get there. The car was handling even worse and to push any harder was going to end in either us wadding the car up or breaking something. The last half of the lap was rather uneventful and Dad did a great job of getting us home for a respectable fifth place finish. From there we all packed up as the weather had further deteriorated. Great race overall just not what we wanted but we finished and in the points run leaves the 990 in the running.
As of right now we dont know if the 990 will be running in May. There is some question (rumor with truth) that the latest insurance requirements may force MORE to close their doors as well as our own financial ability to do it. With that being said I want to extend a huge THANK YOU again to everyone that supports the team regardless of what happens we as a team and a family could not make this happen without you and we are so grateful to be so fortunate.
