Leinninger.com

As mentioned in the previous post, the new driveway is in place. We tried parking the van and trailer on it 5 days after installation and 2 days after a lot of rain. The right side of the trailer got too close to the edge on the side of the driveway (about 3 feet above the surrounding ground) and the driveway crumbled. The trailer tires were in pretty deep. Glenn came over to share his trailer expertise and help dig out the trailer. With a jack and some boards we got the trailer out and parked next to the shop. There’s a good chance we’ll need to widen the driveway and figure out some sort of reinforcement for the sides.

Recently, we’ve had a lot of big thunderstorms. On Tuesday, our power went out for 12 hours. We’re thinking that some sort of generator is in our plans withing the next few years, since we have a well (needs electricity) and a sump (REALLY needs electricity). In the meantime, we’ve decided to rig up a giant hamster wheel for our pets to run on connected to a couple of magnets. Viola: pet generator.

On the 26-27th I will be racing at Grattan Raceway for the first time. I’ve never been there before, but Glenn is a seasoned pro (wink) and I’ll be looking to him for some pointers. This will be our first “away-from-home” race together, too. Gina will be there cheering us on and keeping us in line.

I’ve been experimenting with Second Life. At first glance, it appears to be a big 3-D chat room. However, there’s a lot more than first meets the eye. There are over 6 million “residents”, with close to 2 million unique users logging in every 2 months. Almost 2 million U.S. Dollars are spent every day! The entire world is user created and the the inventors of the game (or whatever you want to call it) provide all of the tools you need to create your own content and scripts. There are even laws being developed in the U.S. in reaction to Second Life activity. I would gamble that within 2 years, second life will be nearly as commonplace as the world wide web is today.

- Duane

I picked up right where last season ended. I dropped a few tenths off of my best time last year, but I was hoping for even better improvements. There’s a lot that my car needs, but I know there’s a second to be lost by driving better. I’d rather drive better with less horsepower and handling… then add the power rather than learn to rely on it. However, if anyone would like to donate a prepped IT motor, limited slip and new transmission, I would gladly accept it and plaster you name ALL OVER my car.

Last week, Gina contacted Priess Outdoor Supply to give us a quote on an additional driveway by our shop. The price sounded good and they said it could be done this week. On Monday at 8:30 they told us they were on their way. In a few hours, we had a new driveway, extra drainage, and a better landscape grade behind the shop. I’m impressed. It looks a little barren right now, but by mid summer, the ground cover should recover. Never-the-less, it will be a lot easier to get out race trailer in and out of the yard!

- Duane

Last night my recently-retired father-in-law Glenn came over to help get the body panels installed on our race car. The passenger-side fender proved to be the only stubborn bit… and a lack of some fasteners. All that’s left is to adjust the hood latch, bleed the brakes, and shake it down.

The weather at the racetrack promises to be quite nice this weekend. For those that wish to avoid scorching sun and downpours, this is a great opportunity to hit the grandstands with a cold beer (or 2) and see some great action. A lot of drivers will be refreshing their memories as well as a whole new crop of drivers. Excitement for everyone!

- Duane

My first race of 2007 is this weekend at Waterford Hills in Clarkston, MI. The weather promises to be nice. The only complication is that I still have not installed the front end on my racecar. It’s finally painted and ready to go, so it should go on smoothly tonight. After that the car needs a basic shake down and the brakes have to be bled. I’m planning on loading it all up tomorrow night and heading out bright and early on Friday for practice. If you’re curious about road racing or would like to see some door-to-door action, a coupon for general admission is available here.

- Duane

Maybe I’m just getting old, but my WRX is just too loud. I finally took it into the muffler shop to get a resonator put inline as well as fix some of the damaged hangers and flanges on the system. The Tuffy in Northville has done some great work for Brad in the past, so I’m expecting good things.

My Neon has been at SkyTek getting the rollcage modified as well as some safety equipment updated. Once it’s back, all I have left is the paint on the front end and a new bumper and headlights. My first race is May 5-6th at Waterford Hills. I’ll post a full schedule on the homepage soon.

- Duane