6/4/2004 - The #50 SPC / GF Racing ITA SC2 made its way Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Rockton IL for the first race weekend of the season.  Chris Berube, Jon Tapp, and SaturnSpeed member Marc P were the first to arrive and get to work.

Alex, Kyle, a fellow competitor, and Chris.

Friday would be a practice day where we'd get the car ready to race and shake out the cobwebs from a long winter rest. While Chris found that the car's suspension still felt good, the clutch hydraulics were showing their age, which made shifting gears very difficult. Several phone calls later, Kevin K was on his way to the track from St. Louis, with a stop at the SPC Compound to pick up more parts to put on the car before Saturday's first qualifying session.

Tapp and Marc were not able to make the Saturday qualifying and race, so Chris and Kevin headed to the track early Saturday morning to install the spare hydraulics. The car was still still having trouble shifting, so the team sat out Saturday's second qualifying session and waited for Alex P to bring down another spare set of hydraulics from Minneapolis MN. While waiting for Alex, club member Kyle K arrived from Wisconsin. After Alex's arrival and installation of yet another set of clutch hydraulics, the third time proved to be the charm and the car was again shifting like new.

Since the team had sat out Saturday's second qualifying session, Chris found himself fourth in class, and tenth on the grid. Chris drove the car hard, and made some great passes, and ended the eighteen lap race to finish second in class in Saturday's race..

Exiting a turn during the first race.

While rolling across the scales, the team heard an ominous "clunk" that told them that the lower control arm bushing had gone missing. A call to Tapp back at the SPC compound was all that was necessary. While waiting for Tapp to arrive, the crew headed over to the house of SPC member Bob A for some food and a well-needed break. Bob and his wife had cooked a meal of brats, potato salad, coleslaw, and drinks. THANKS AGAIN BOB!!

After enjoying the meal and hospitality, the team headed back to the track to install the bushings that had just arrived. The bugs were swarming around the lights, but the crew thrashed on to get the job done. The car may have been ready to go at this point, but we still had to uphold an important tradition - ice cream!

The team woke up on Sunday morning to the unwelcome sound of rain drops. As the crew double checked their work from Saturday night, the conversation quickly centered around whether to use slicks or rains. As it continued to spit rain in spurts, the team made the decision to run rain tires. Thanks to Alex P for loaning his street tires to the team to use as rain tires!

Alex supplies the rain tires from his car.

As soon as the cars were released from the grid for the first qualifying session, the sun decided to come out. Before the second qualifying session, the team adjusted  the rear sway bar to a stiffer setting, and re-mounted the Hoosier race slicks. Chris came back to the paddock with a big grin, reporting that he would start at the seventh spot on the grid, and second in his class.

The team decided to watch the race from the backside of the track, where we got a great view of Chris at work. By the fourth lap, Chris was challenging Nick Coello for the lead in ITA. When the cars came around on the fifth lap, the #50 SPC / GF Racing SC2 was nowhere to be seen. The team took off running to the pit wall, and found Chris out of the car, and the right front tire not pointing the same direction as the other three. It seems that the other driver in question didn't like being cleanly passed for the lead in the back straight, and chose to display poor sportsmanship and a lack of maturity. He hit the SC2 in the rear as Chris turned into turn seven, then followed him off track to hit him two more times which resulted in the broken steering knuckle.

Broken steering knuckle after the hit.

The team replaced the knuckle, and loaded the car into the trailer for the trip home. A big thanks to Bill H over at Planet 6 Racing (who was also racing a Saturn this weekend) for the axle socket and cordless impact wrench, and to Alex for showing everyone how fast a knuckle can be changed.

The car will need to undergo further repairs, but it will be ready in time for the next race. Be sure to check this website to find out when you can see the #50 ITA SC2 and the SPC / GF racing team in action in the near future!

If you are interested in helping the SPC maintain the GF Racing SC2 or would like to help us as a crew member during this year's racing season, please contact us. We would be happy to get all the help we can!

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