Woods Racing

Well…seems like I haven’t blogged here in forever! I guess you could say that is true, but truly, it’s not my fault! There has just been so much going on around here that it’s hard to find the time!
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I got me a few minutes here, so let me catch you up to speed…
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The 2012 Indianapolis 500
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The end of May brought me once again to Indianapolis to witness yet another incredible Indy 500 full of crashes, takeovers and surprises. When they say it’s the Greatest Race in The World…these folks are not lying.
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We started our 1500km trek to Indianapolis right, by loading up our crew truck with all kinds of goodies..(read: Cameras, Cameras and memory cards…and a couple more cameras) and headed off down highway 20. In tow inside was my Dad, my brother and myself. Now this is a feat all on its own what with our schedules matching and all. It’s been a long time since we traveled together and I couldn’t have asked for better company. With my brother claiming shotgun for the first leg by way of a coin toss, I settled in the unnaturally comfortable rear seat and got to work prepping my GoPro and Sony gear.
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Thankfully, the first section to Detroit went unscathed and was fairly easy…seems every year I seem to clip a Tornado somewhere along the route (actually, 5 years in a row) so it was nice to see the clear skies for the first 11 hour drive. The only hang up was a long wait at the Blue Water Bridge which put us right into Detroit rush hour going into our overnight pit-stop in Pontiac Michigan.
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Once we finally stopped the truck, as always we were treated like royalty by our cousins and family there…big steaks, few beers and a whole lotta laughs. And well, I won’t lie…my brother and I did end up visiting the local tavern…ok, taverns which caused somewhat of a rough start to our final 5 hour leg down to Indy. In fact…it was a pretty silent trip rollin’ through the corn fields of Indiana.
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By the time we got to Indy though, a quick shower and a taste of the hair of the dog we we’re set to take on the world once again. We got our credentials out of the way and met up with my sister and some friends down at the BoatHouse and had a nice settling in time…but of course, as always, Bec had tons of stuff lined up for us the next day and the few to follow.
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Day 1 was early…we hit the track in time for a walk around the pits and caught the Indy Lights race. These younger guys sure know how to rock an IL car…great show. We also got to go down pitside and watch the Pit Stop competition…which is super cool..these teams are so good, so fast and so organized it makes any mechanic sit in awe.
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Afterwards, we were set up to have a meet and greet with Charlie Kimball. It’s a really personal connection for us since Charlie is a Diabetic and as is my oldest Niece and Godchild Cassidy. And not to mention he looks almost identical to my Cousin Jason…it’s almost spooky really.
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He took the time and explained to us how he deals with his blood sugar levels, juice/water mixes in the car, how his team monitors every side of the car…and driver through live data and can make decisions accordingly on the go. The advancements that his team has brought to motor racing really is truly unbelievable.
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Now that all the fancy stuff was wrapped up…in great celebration of Carb Day, we joined some friends and soaked in all that was Indy weekend. Lynard Skynard was playing on the stage, there was people everywhere and it was all a great time. But, we did have to get back and get cleaned up for the party at the Dreyer Reinbold race shop who were generous hosts. It was a cool event where we got to meet some great people like fellow Canadian Scott Goodyear who took some time to chat with us Canucks. It’s always impressive to see these shops behind the scenes. Mind you, this one was all done up for the party, but really impressive to see where these big teams work.
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Stay tuned! I’m still updating!

May 25th by Bannon

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So things are gearing up for the race season this year, and with this early spring like weather we’re having, there’s a lot going on. Maybe you can tell for my lack of blogging, but it has been busy…and for this I won’t complain!
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I’ve been spending some time away from my shop and working over at the Technika Industries shop. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m helping them out with their #44 GT Sprint 2008 Mustang. We’ve removed the 3v 4.6 and are in the process of installing a 2012 spec Coyote crate 5.0L motor fresh out of the box from Ford Racing.
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This will give this already dialed in car a needed bump in HP and torque, not saying that the 308HP 3v was bad, but hey, let’s face it, 420 or so naturally aspirated is much better.
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Of course, tackling this project there is a lot of research and guess work…it’s not like the older fox body mustangs where everyone and their brother has swapped in anything you can dream of…there is a lot of slow going decisions to be made. Hydraulic this, electric that, fuel system configuration options and the list goes on. Luckily though, generally everything bolts up and plugs in, but like Fort Knox…you need to find the code first.
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Although merging 2 different year pieces can be trying at times, we are having a great time doing it. Both Louis and I are learning a lot and of course, I’ll be with him at the track so building this car and knowing every piece will have an advantage when it comes to pit work on track days. The more you know the car, the quicker you can fix it.
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Louis and I have a great relationship in and out of the shop, and with our mutual love for Mustangs and of course, racing, it’s pretty natural that I ended up on this project with them. I jumped at the chance as not so many folks have done this and I don’t regret a minute of it. I love working on race cars and this Mustang is a prime example of what I like to work on. Clean, properly built cars is where it’s at…and as the WR way is…we gon’ make it better.
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We’re going to be spending a lot of time up at ICAR in Mirabel with the “twins”. The 44 and 36 car, both ’08 Black Mustang GT’s and it’s gonna make for one heck of a good time. Track days there are fun..it’s almost the other hand of racing as I know it. From it’s hectic stress induced drift, drag or other cup style racing, this sprint racing is lapping, buddy racing, so no slamming fenders, bumping doors and no 20 second pit stops. We go out, learn the track, the car and have a good time. It’s almost a perfect world as far as high performance / endurance racing goes. This is not to say that there is no racing, as the year goes on, there will be Challenge and Cup races which will turn up the steam and test both skills as drivers and mechanics…and what do we say about that?
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There is still much to do to get this car off the lift, onto the dyno and then onto the track, but I’m pretty sure we got it cased now. The fuel system through us through a loop (see what I did thar?) and thanks to Spec Clutch, they helped us solve a couple issues in a timely fashion. Hopefully from here on out, there won’t be any more hiccups and we can get this thing rolling.
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We’re super excited to start and I’m really looking forward to a summer filled with Sprint racing with my buddy. After all…that’s what it is all about…

Apr 12th by Bannon

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