Leinninger.com

From the field...

For What It's Worth...

May 6th, 2008:
Race car prep, Glenn’s first race of the season, Chris sets off on his own…

Two weekends ago, I completed the teardown on my Neon’s engine (top end only), but managed to be short a few fasteners, gaskets, and sealers. I ordered most of the parts and should have a running engine again by this weekend. A few things left on the panic list are: get belts re-webbed, get alignment and setup done, and fix van so I can tow the darn thing!

Glenn raced at ORP in Indianapolis last weekend. We worked through some lost horsepower issues as well as some brutal weather (cold and very windy). Glenn did well, but we still have some work to do to find that lost horsepower.

Chris Childs, a good friend of ours, is an amazing mechanic with more master certifications than anyone else I know. He worked for a race shop in the area for a long time, but has recently decided to do his own thing. He set up the 2007 T3 SCCA National Champ’s RX-8 (cutting seconds from his already stellar lap times). Chris races an ITA Neon himself and is supporting a T2 350Z team this summer. If you need any performance setup, repairs or upgrades, go see Chris… while you can… his schedule is booking up quickly! (Contact me for more info on Chris.)

- Duane

April 22nd, 2008:
Have a slice of cake and a free NIN song.

You may have noticed a recent spate of cake pictures in the moblog update. It’s not that Duane and I are really hungry and raiding bakeries with our camera. Rather, I’ve decided to practice my cake making and decorating skills. Duane has kindly been documenting my baking experiments. As a result our coworkers have been getting to eat the results, which I think people are happy about. But soon enough it is going to be a conflict of interest if I keep feeding employees of an obesity research lab a lot of cake. So, if you find yourself needing a cake and don’t mind my non-pro status, I would love to bake one for you. In other delicious news, NIN have released a new free song, and this one has vocals! Visit nin.com to get your brand spanking new NIN. If you prefer your NIN without Trent’s melodious voice, pick up the free tracks from Ghosts or catch the podcasts of This American Life which are also featuring those tracks.

- Gina

April 12th, 2008:
ZOMG – Best STi Commercial Evar!

- Duane

April 6th, 2008:
Tires. Poles. Nails.

As Duane said, spring has sprung and that means racing season is upon us. I need to practice hefting tires and get into crew shape since Duane and my Dad will be hitting the racing circuit soon. Also in terms of racing, congrats to Polish F1 driver Robert Kubica for his great drive this weekend at the Bahrain GP! It’s a great time to be watching F1, peeps! And lastly, for those that are interested, NIN will be in town on August 23 so get ready for the awesome electronic-rock-goth-yness that shall descend.

- Gina

April 3rd, 2008:
Annual Race Season Freak-out

Every year it happens. I go through the entire winter not thinking about the race season. My shop is below zero and I have no desire to be in it. Then, the first real thaw comes and I freak out about race season. There’s so much to do and no time to do it. Sure… I could have pulled the engine, manned-up and got stuff done during the winter, but I didn’t. (Part of the reason is my demanding work/leadership training/school schedule.) Now I have about 6 weeks to do body, engine, and suspension work on my Neon. This year, I’ll be racing in ITA almost exclusively (though my car will fit into the DP class, too) so I’m upgrading to more expensive (Hoosier) tires and upgrading the exhaust (header). Panic has never been so much fun.

- Duane

Devtroit