5/6/2005 - Indianapolis IN -- The SPC / GF racing crew (Deebs, Kevin K., Ryan, and Chris B.) arrived at Indianapolis Raceway Park for the first race of their 2005 season.  Friday was practice day, and the morning was spent doing the last few bits of prep work left over from the long winter break.

Driver Chris Berube.

Just before the lunch break, driver Chris Berube took the car out on track for a shakedown.  The car felt good, and the team continued to tweak and adjust the car to make it even faster.  After one practice session, the team noticed that there was a bit of grease coming out of the left drive axle.  A spare axle from the parts bin was installed, and the team made a call to SPC member Tapp who was coming Saturday night and asked him to bring tools and parts to fix the leaking axle.  The team left the track at the end of the day feeling good about how the car and driver were both performing.

Saturday was another early morning at the track with the team giving the car another good once-over before sending Chris out for practice & qualifying. 

After only 3 laps, Chris came into the pits having trouble shifting gears.  The team found that the housing on one of the shifter cables was frayed.  Where do you find a set of Saturn shifter cables on a Saturday afternoon that you can get installed before the race? The team knew the answer to that question - and Kevin's car promptly was put in the air to scavenge the parts.  SPC member Gary H. (acting as a courseworker for the race) narrowly escaped that same fate, as he'd brought his van for the weekend and left the Saturn at home.

Even with the shifter problems, Chris qualified 2nd in class and 3rd on the grid, behind Kevin Ruck's ITA Integra and a Spec Miata.  As the team got the car to the grid, the temperature dropped suddenly, and the clouds began to get thicker.  Kevin ran back to the paddock to roll up the windows on all the vehicles, and on the way back to the pits was greeted by the sight of Deebs running ahead of the car on the way back to the trailer.  Kevin's full depth R-compound tires that he had brought along were quickly installed on the car as the rain began to fall.  The race Stewards wisely decided to pospone the race, since IRP's front straight is also a drag strip - and VHT traction compound + rain = bad. The team retired to the tech shed for pizza & beer, and to contemplate the long day that Sunday would surely be.  Tapp arrived in the afternoon with the new CV joint boot kit and replacement shifter cables.  The team headed back to the paddock to repair the axle, and get as ready as they could for Sunday.

Tapp, Chris, and Deebs working on the axle.

Sunday morning proved to be almost-perfect conditions for fast racing - cool air temps, and a rapidly warming track.  At the start, Chris got past the Spec Miata, and chased Kevin Ruck into turn 1.  He followed Ruck for the first 6 laps, and made a beautiful pass in the carousel on his way to a first place finish! 

In the lead.

And in what is becoming an SPC/ GF Racing habit, Chris also won the corner worker's award and 2 cases of Coke (thanks again Gary!).

The team now had to hurry to get the car ready for practice & qualifying for the next race. The shifter cables were again swapped, and Kevin's were reinstalled. After qualifying, Chris found himself 2nd in class and on the grid behind Mr. Ruck.  For the 1st race, Ruck had been trying out a set of Kuhmo V710 tires, and for the 2nd race, he switched back to Hoosiers.  Mr. Ruck pulled out to a lead of a few seconds, and Chris spent the next 15 laps of the race closing the gap.  Unfortunately, he was not able to catch up to the leader.  The SPC / GF ITA Saturn  finished in second place.

After the race, the team celebrated 2 podium finishes, packed up the car and trailer, and headed back home, looking forward to doing it all again in for the next race in June.