Miss America 2023 - Let's get it done!

[wadeh]

Wow. Lots of news since I checked yesterday afternoon.

The report here explains some of the radio chatter when he came back in after the qualifying attempt. There was some confusion on the active runway, and we were wondering if he was distracted. It looks like that might have been the case. We also noticed that he was trailing a pretty significant amount of something behind the right wing and were wondering if that was expected in the current configuration.

Regarding qualification, I am certain that I saw on reports.airrace.org yesterday that he was qualified in the number 2 position somewhere in the mid 430's (I don't remember the exact number). This morning, it looks like he's not qualified after all.

What happened?

[Bigfoot]

Qualifications end at 1015 Wednesday. Quite frankly, it would be a miracle to get the repairs done and test everything prior to that time. So my gut feeling is that Miss A will have to race their way in staring from the Bronze on Thursday.. It's unfortunate because the plane (and crew) have to race one more day. Miss A should be able to run at reasonably low power settings to win the Bronze on Thursday and a little higher on Friday to bump from the Silver to the Gold. But there's a lot of "what if's". I am also curious why the qualification time was taken off the board. Was there a penalty for high flying? Brent was pretty high at times (higher than Tiger was in Strega when he disqualified a few years ago). Hopefully someone has some insight

[wadeh]

We just got back from the pits.

They were DQ'ed for high flying. The plane will not fly today. They are waiting on a heat exchanger and are expecting to start in the bronze heat.

[Bigfoot]

Thanks. Makes sense.

[Mark K]

We just got back from the pits.

They were DQ'ed for high flying. The plane will not fly today. They are waiting on a heat exchanger and are expecting to start in the bronze heat.

I checked with the NAG earlier this morning. I was told that Pylon Judge 2 and 8 called Brent for high flying. And your also spot on with the situation at hand... heat exchanger from Shafter got delayed, the one from Rick's shop should arrive 1st thing in the morning on Thursday. The crew with then install, test run, then start at the back of the field in Friday's Bronze race.I'll post more details later this evening, along with a few more photos.

[Mark K]

The crew wrapped things up around 4:00PM today after the disappointing news that the heat exchanger from Tiger was delayed. That being the case, Miss America was going to have to wait until Friday to start racing... starting in the Bronze race last position and working her way up to the Gold race on Sunday. Although this was some bad news, it now allows the team the time needed to verify Miss America's repair. With that, the crew began prepping the aircraft for the new heat exchanger replacement.

The Miss America crew was able to make some significant headway in preparing the racer for the new part. The cockpit, canopy, and the remainder of the aircraft were cleaned up, clearances on the merlin fingers checked, and the motor and systems checked for signs of overheating. The crew also started to clean up and inspect the heat exchanger housing to determine the cause of failure. Initially it was thought to be a bad gasket or the like... but inspection after clean-up showed about a 3-inch crack (not visible in the photo) in the body of the casting.

I talked with the crew about what we could expect for tomorrow, and it was simply install the new unit, ramp test the racer then take her for a trip around the pylons to insure she's race ready for Friday. The crew has already done as much as they can to get her ready for the install tomorrow, and they have near total confidence that the oil/temp gauge readings were indeed erroneous, and the repair & testing should go smoothly. However just it was proven yesterday - anything can happen.

In closing, one of my personal favorite moments of all time was when I was sitting in the Miss America pits and this older gentleman approached with a smile on his face and an outstretched arm. So I simply did the "hi, how ya doin?" thing and as I was shaking his hand, he introduced himself.... "Great, I'm Tom Dwelle - pleased to meet you". My jaw dropped - Critical Mass was one of my most favorite racers of all time. Not because she was fastest, it was because she was the most different! A true unlimited class racer! It was almost unreal when one of the crew next to me said "Tom Dwelle?" That's when I got to give my Critical Mass tribute, to which Tom responded to by his grin getting bigger, bigger, and bigger! I stated how devastated I was when the landing gear incident occurred - and Tom relayed to me the full unedited version of that day's events. What a great moment - what a great guy! Eventually he found who he came to meet, and our moment ended. But I'm going to remember that as long as I live... man, what a day!!!!! Pictured below is Doc talking with Tom - two really great individuals who share the same passion towards racing and life.

See you guys & gals tomorrow - it's about to get very interesting!!!!!

[Bigfoot]

So...with all the extensive work done to Miss A the heat exchanger wasn't rebuilt or replaced with a freshly rebuilt one? Known failure part...just not as catastrophic as the one Brent experienced. Typically they just seep and drip giving some warning. I'm sure the crew for Miss A would have been looking at that after engine runs and flights if it wasn't a reman.

[Bigfoot]

Has the heat exchanger arrived from Rick's shop in Texas?

[tim]

Miss A up at 630am

[Mark K]

Has the heat exchanger arrived from Rick's shop in Texas?

Yes... it arrived yesterday at 2:30pm , installed and tested by 6:30pm. Dawn patrol flight this morning showed the fix worked... Rick is going to check the screens in a few minutes but we don't. expect any surprises Miss America is ready to race!!!!

[Mark K]

Just talked with engine builder Rick Shanholtzer, screens were clean, no metal. Now that this hurdle has been overcome, it's time to focus on the event. Let's race!!!

[Mark K]

I'm sure most everyone knows that Brent & Team Miss America took 1st in the bronze event today at a speed of 369.245 MPH. Brent took a commanding lead from the start, and by the end was lapping the last place aircraft (Tom Nightingale flying "Bunny"). Brent's game plan was very simple - pull ahead at the start, then back-off the throttle, and try to win the race without hurting the motor... he was successful in all aspects as at the end of the day I asked engine builder Rick Shanholtzer if h was happy. His response was "So Far" - indicating all went well with the run and the post-race inspection.

So tomorrow ia the Silver race, and Brent is going to run a similar program, but will increase the overall speed to insure a first-place finish, then it's hopefully on to the gold race... the main evet. Doc's plan is just like the old proverb, "“In order to finish first, you first have to finish". It's going to take everything Miss America has to best the Bardahl Special, and Doc wants to save the best for last.

But all of this goes out the window on Sunday.. be there!!!

[Bigfoot]

Okay Wayne-O, let's see if you let this post through

Deleted because of hurt feelings

[Mark K]

Okay Wayne-O, let's see if you let this post through

Everyone is entitled to an opinion... you have made yours clear. However, the topic of this discussion here is Brent's quest to win at Reno - it is NOT about how the Bardahl Special makes those efforts moot, or the tread title would be different. So I don't take exception to what you said, I do take exception to the fact you chose to post it here, in this thread.

I'm just going to take my "love fest" elsewhere.... happy now?

[Kathleen27]

Mark, how about he takes his love fest of Bardahl elsewhere! Some of us love air racing and don't need the mudslinging! I for one am not there and enjoy the threads and what is going on in the pits. Keep it civil folks cause next year this thread may be about gardening and what our favorite tomato variety is