The Scrutinizer

Our first morning in Chihuahua started early, we wanted to get the car off the trailer, and see how it was running at the 6500 ft. altitude. This was also the day for technical inspection or scrutinizing of the car.

The tech inspection is to make sure all the safety features are in and on the car, seat belts that haven't expired, roll cage with correct thickness of tubing, proper fuel cell and you have what they require inside the car like a neck brace and first aid kit, stuff you hope you never use. They make sure you have a helmet and driving suit that has your name and blood type on it and that it's written on the car. They also kick the tires and glance at the motor to make sure your not running a 427 instead of a 327.

The gent who was the scrutinizer, also does the La Carrera, so we got a preview of what we need to fix for the big race. Our main problem was how the window nets were attached, and that we didn't have our names on the car and helmets. We remedied the the name problem with some vinyl letters and the nets will be fixed this summer. With that over, we were issued our "official" Chihuahua Express door and windshield stickers, we would be 'ol number 17, Whoo Hoo!
Next we had to get our Mexican road racing licences. That mainly consisted of peeling $260 usd and signing our lives away. We also needed two pictures of ourselves, so a trip to the local Walmart was in order. At this point, our new pal, Chip Johns was finding out that his navigator/co-pilot wasn't going to show up. Chip had needed some help with his Ford (Fix Or Repair Daily) Falcon and we'd let Logan help him out mechanically. Now it looked like he would be a permanent fixture in his car for the next three days.

With that settled, the rest of the afternoon amounted to figuring that we had the jetting right for the carb, getting our pictures taken, drinking beer and BS'ing with the other drivers and mechanics.

At some point the route books and first days starting order were issued, so that gave this rookie co-pilot something to get ready for. There were a few navigators who had experience running the La Carrera, so I was able to be enlightened on how it all works. Right, no problem, lets see, that's control sections T,Z,A,B,C, and sometimes D,......OK, got it! Wait.... Don't got it! Wiley Carlile who was in the rainbow Studebaker and Steve Warwick in Rachel Larrat's Lotus Elise had a lot of good advice that must have soaked in, because we didn't have any penalties, which was either dumb luck or lax timing. Or maybe.... I got it!

In the evening they had the meetings for the drivers to tell them not to crash on the first day, and another one for the co-pilots, to tell the drivers not to crash on the first day. There was obviously other things talked about, but that point was heavily stressed.

After that, it was time for a night cap and to bed, to dream about what lay ahead on our first day of Mexican road racing.

Next Time: The Road to Maderas
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