How many settings or adjustments are represented in this picture? Four, five, or six? If you were keeping notes, you would know the answer. You would also know where the settings or adjustments were before and after the race and if there were any changes made over the course of the day.
Next, let's talk about the driver. While many feel this is not an important record-keeping data point, we tend to disagree. Just like any other component on the car, the driver can have a large effect on the car. Start with some casual observations. Does he or she look ready to race? What is the racer's general mood?
While these things are sometimes difficult to quantify, you may want to develop a scale for the driver, with 1 being the worst and 10 the best. This type of measurement is called a Likert scale. How can you get this number? Ask the driver how he or she feels and bounce this off of your own observations. While this is a completely subjective measurement, over time you will get very good at gauging the driver's number. How well do you read your spouse or the people you work with every day? It is the same type of thing.
Your driver's attitude and general feeling will have an effect on how the car is driven and how well your adjustments may work. Not all drivers are machines; they're humans, and humans have good and bad days. You need to learn to adjust around the driver. It is not just a mechanical regimen. Why do you think the chemistry between the driver and the crew chief is so critical? Why do you think car owners at the highest levels of professional racing make so many changes in an attempt to make the driver/crew chief relationships work?
The Car
Next, concentrate on the car. Start with the larger systems. Tires are first on my list (See "Tire Watch," pg. 72). If your series runs a spec tire, your job just got a lot easier, and the brand of tire just became a non-issue. Tire pressure is the first thing we need to monitor. This includes tire pressure at the start of practice, heat, or main. Every time the car hits the track you need to record the pressure. It does not hurt to keep a bit more information to go along with the pressure. How the car looked and felt are good things to monitor and document. Ask the driver if the car was pushing or loose. Were they able to get on the power sooner, or was forward grip an issue? You need to document how the car was performing. Did the tire change size post-race? These are more important data points to keep in your notes.
A change to air pressure needs to be documented at each check. Also, record any instance of change. It is very important to track and keep up with this type of information. After the season, this data can be very important for examining trends.
You need to keep track of the number of times the tire was used, as it becomes an issue due to the age and the number of heat cycles the tire has gone through. This is critical data because the tires take longer to get to temperature with each heat cycle and get progressively slower on the clock. This is important to do with tires designed for use on race cars, but it is even more important in classes where street tires are utilized.
Each tire and wheel needs to be tracked and measured on a continual basis. This sounds more complex than it really is. All tires have a manufacturer's number molded into the sidewall. You need to keep track of these numbers, or you can create your own system, but try to keep it simple and easy to use. Unless you get new tires each race day, this is a valuable data point.
Regardless of the class you race in, you need to keep track of your shocks. Even if you are using non-adjustable street car shocks, you need to make sure they are in good working condition, with no leaks or damaged mounting hardware. If you are running racing shocks, you need to be aware of the adjustments that are currently in place. If the shocks are driver adjustable, you need to be aware of the adjustments the driver could have made over the course of the race and add that to your documentation. This is a good place to reference shop notes. The track is the wrong place to determine if your shock mounts are worn or need repair. This should be part of your pre-race maintenance notes.
If you can change or adjust the springs on the car, you need to document the setup each heat and/or race day. The same goes for torsion bars. The bar and the adjustment need to be recorded. Springs are very important to how the car handles. From a note-taking perspective, we need to understand which springs are on the car at any given time.
This lead is mounted low and to the rear of the car. It is important to keep this type of information as part of the document package. If you move it, document it.
Chassis Setup
We could write a book on this topic; in fact, there are already a good number of books about chassis setup out there. The goal here is to define what you have under the car. If you tried a different sway bar or alignment setting, you need to be able to recover that information. If you are involved in a small altercation in a heat race, you want to be able to repeat where you were if the setup was working well. The springs, shocks, and alignment settings are all part of your chassis setup. These seemingly mundane adjustments may not really be adjustments at all.
There is a difference between adjustments and settings. Adjustments are just that-changes to how the car works in a specific condition or changes you make to the car due to a specific set of circumstances, conditions on the track, the weather, or the driver's preference. A setting is something that is repeated over and over, something that you never change but still need to pay close attention to. For example, a spring is an adjustment if you change it to compensate for track conditions, but it becomes a setting if it never changes and is only checked for proper seating in the spring pocket. The springs never change in many Street Stocks and Bomber cars as part of their normal tuning process, so the springs become a setting. This is not to say the spring could not be an adjustment, but if it is never changed, it is a setting. It is just that simple.
Vehicle Weight
You need to track this adjustment closely. The word adjustment is used because you may need to add weight to the car-especially if you race at multiple tracks and there are different scales.
First, from a gross perspective, note just how much the car weighs. If the car weighs in 30 pounds light and you checked the car at home, it just does not matter. The scales at home or even in your pits are not the scales at the track.
If weight is a critical measurement and could be a cause for disqualification, one of the first things you need to do prior to the start of the race is utilize the track scales to weigh the car and then document this number. Scales change, and you can become a victim if you allow yourself to become one. This is another case of the gross vehicle weight being a setting. The location of the weight and the percentages are also data points you need to record as an adjustment. See the difference?
Some nights are better than others. We need to view every occurrence, good or bad, as an opportunity for learning. While crashing is never fun, we need to look at this as an opportunity for improving the car rather than viewing it as a failure.
Now, let's spend time on the engine and drivetrain. If you do your homework, you will not be working on your engine at the track. You may make a jet change or wipe off dirt from your engine, but your day will be longer than you want if you have to tune the engine trackside. From a note-taking perspective, you need to understand the pre-race engine settings (think shop notes). This includes valve settings. Even if you have a hydraulic cam, you should still check the valve settings, as this is a good way to see if something else is wearing. If you always find drifting valve settings on a specific cylinder, then there is something going on that merits more attention before it gets expensive.
Oil filters should be cut open and inspected for any solid particles. If you find metal in the filter, it is coming from somewhere in the engine and you need to do something about it sooner rather than later. The same advice applies to drivetrains. On manual transmissions and rearends, it is common to find some small metal particles in the oil, but excessive large chunks mean trouble. The amount of oil is also a telling sign. If you are putting a known amount of fluid into a transmission or rearend and you are getting out significantly less fluid post-race, you need to dig a bit further. The note-taking process helps keep track of this much better than trying to remember all of these details.
How you structure your notes is not as critical at first. It is more important to get in the habit of taking notes. If you are not doing it now, you need to start. Start out slow. As you develop the process and get used to taking notes, you can expand your scope. The take away is that you need to start, and just like every other racing skill, you will get better as you develop the mindset and the skill set.
In the next article, we will talk more about the structure, what you can do with your notes in the off-season, and what you can learn by developing a rational subgrouping strategy. Paper, pencils, and pens are not the enemy. They are your new best friends.
Keep A Record
Each time you go to the driver's meeting prior to the race, it is important to keep a record of any rule changes that affect your class. Record this type of information so that you do not forget what you were told. Racers have a tendency to hear what they want to hear, and this can cause some problems after they have forgotten what they were told. The officials are just trying to make your life easier. Well, at least that's the goal.