Reigning Mid-West region champion David Algozine had a great 2007 until he got to the Nationals. Then nothing went right, with the harmonic balancer coming loose and tearing up the front cover of his 331 V-8. Renting a car for the championship race didn't make things any better when the engine in the rent-a-racer blew up. "I had one of those would've, could've, should've years," says David.
For 2008, David is working on his luck by paying attention to maintenance on his ex-Bondurant racer. "I've changed the rear shocks and springs, hubs and things, and some safety items such as a fire system, but nothing major," David reports. "It's still taking a lot of money and time."
The ex-Bondurant car was well-built to begin with, which David credits with getting him out and racing earlier than he otherwise would. However, it's the trackside assistance of Maximum Motorsports that he credits with noticeably stepping up his program two years ago. Until then, he was wandering through the chassis setup, but because Maximum will set up any of its customers' chassis at the Nationals, David was able to benefit from some expert chassis tuning. He says it made all the difference.
This is especially important with the IRS fitted to his Cobra; David thinks there are only three IRS cars in all of American Iron or Extreme, and Maximum just happens to be an IRS booster. Interestingly, David isn't sure if the IRS is an advantage or not. It's the only race car he has owned, but he says he seems to have an advantage in long sweeping turns or on bumpy tracks, and he thinks it's not particularly helpful in getting the power down early on corner exits. The bottom line is that he's had good success with it since it was dialed in-and "maybe I can run with the big dogs at the Nationals." Let's hope.
Having won the AI championship two years running, Jay Andrew is zeroing in on his third in 2008. Put flatly, "The goal is to go for three at the Nationals.
"In the last two years, I've focused on the regional championship and the Nationals. I'm still going to attend a lot of regional races, but I'm focusing more on the Nationals this year. I'm also driving an RX8 with a Koni Challenge Team, which is more of a pro series. I'm learning a lot about car setup and how those types of teams are set up.
"Also, this year, I have a brake business selling Hawk brake pads, so I'm traveling to three regions of NASA to provide brake support and tech classes." That will likely translate to even more track time for Andrew.
He promises no major improvements to his four-eyed Fox or its Paul's Automotive Engineering 331ci engine. "The motor puts out more power than I'd like. We have detuned it, plus I have 120 pounds of lead in the car. The car is well balanced-it's about 51.5 percent on the front and 48.5 percent on the back. I can put the lead where I need it, and I've lightened the front by putting the battery to the back. I also run a full tank of fuel.
"The car was well set up coming off of last year. I'm trying to keep the engine cooler with oil coolers and upgrading the brakes. I'm also looking at a pro Brembo racing system with racing calipers and floating rotors." If the kit works out, Andrews says he'll offer it as a high-end kit to other AI racers who are building more sophisticated cars.
Like many of the front-running Mustangs, Andrew runs Maximum Motorsports' suspension gear. "It's all Maximum stuff all the way. The company has such good products at a reasonable price, and the tech support seems to be really good."
With his proven combination and two wins, Andrew is a good bet to take his third AI championship. Still, the competition has been close every year, so it's far from guaranteed.