I checked the Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park schedule, and saw they had a "Drift and Drag" event coming up on August 20th. A quick call to Division 7 chassis inspector Ed Brady confirmed that he would indeed be in attendance at that event, so I had a workable plan.

I jumped up early that Saturday morning with the intention of getting the front end aligned, as it was towed out a good deal after the wheel stands in Bakersfield. None of the local shops had time for me however, so that was a bust. I decided to drive the Valiant the 32 mile trek to WHP, and as soon as I got it up to highway speeds, there was a healthy vibration which felt as though it was from the back of the car. The drive took well over an hour as I had to stop five times and cool it down from 230 degrees. Shortly after I arrived at the track a late evening thunderstorm rolled in that threatened to cancel all racing anyway, so I decided not to bother pulling the exhaust off. I cleared tech, and Ed told me to make a few runs, and he would certify the cage once I was done, insinuating that if it failed he didn't want to send me home without getting to run!

With the exception of unloading all my tools and lowering the tire pressure, I entered the lanes exactly as I had drove the car to the track. The F250 in front of me bounced the suspension hard enough to dislodge all the dirt and mud he had collected in the wheel wells for the last month, so after I finished my burnout, I sat and waited for them to sweep the mess up. I was about the 10th set down, and nothing to this point gave me any confidence in the track so I decided to leave on the foot brake at about 1800 rpm. She spun fairly good for the first 30 feet, and when I shifted to second I could feel the return of the vibration that plagued the drive out. Just past the eighth mile the vibration had worsened considerably, and I was convinced one of the Quick Time Pros was out of balance, as I've made enough passes on slicks to recognize the symptoms. Right before the finish line, the passenger side rear mini-quicklatch that we had used to secure the new fiberglass hood on all four corners, let go and the back of the hood on that side lifted about two foot, immediately sending my heart into my throat at the thought of losing yet another hood. I rode the brakes hard, and the hood settled back down. The time booth gal handed me a 10.98-122 slip, and I drove straight to Ed's area to get my cage certed...I couldn't get this night over fast enough.

Pics: Old breather and hood, new breather and hood.