In a Funk

Simply put that is the only way that I can describe my day yesterday.  I simply could not get anything going.  I was in a Funk!!

During time trials the car was running well, however I could not find the tree.  I was all over the place.  I just simply could not figure out what I was doing.  I was lost.  However like I just stated the car was running well.  It was dialed in.  For the 3 time trials it went a 5.286, a 5.253 and a 5.253.  Back to back runs to the thousandth of a second.  We can take that.

First round comes up and I draw Jeff Johnson and his Dodge Dakota that runs 5.60's.  I decide to dial the car a 5.25.  I cut an .015 light to his .024.  I get to the finish line and tap the brakes.  I take the strip by .001 but while doing so break out by .001, this running a 5.249.  Luckily for me, He ran a 5.600 on his 5.61 dial to break out more than me, to give me the round win.

Second round, I draw Mark Smith in his dragster.  This is the same guy that I lost to in the first round last week when I gave him back the stripe.  This time I decided to a 5.24 to Marks 5.38.  Mark leaves with a .003 light to my .015.  So he has me covered on the tree.  I get down to the strip and think that I have him so I tap the brakes as I pass the finish line.  His win light comes on.  Sure enough, I did it again.  Gave him the strip by .006.  There is a pattern developing here.  I ended up running a 5.252 on the brakes, while he went a 5.392 on his 5.38 dial.  So he had a 15 thou package, which would have been hard to beat, but if my run completion numbers is correct, I should have won by .002 if I would not have tapped the brakes.

Luckily for me, KV decided that this weekend they would have first or second round buy backs.  So that meant the even though I lost in the second round I could buy back into the race.

I go back up for the buyback portion of the 3rd round only to pull up beside Jeff Higgins, the same guy that beat me in the finals last weekend.  Jeff is dialed a 6.11 and I dial a 5.24.  Jeff leaves to a red light, which was good for me as he went 6.111 on his 6.11 dial.  I missed the tree a little and have a .022 reaction and run it out the back door to run a 5.228 on my 5.24 dial.  Track got tighter and the 60 ft picked up 1 and it carried it through the entire run.

4th round I draw my good buddy Xavier Lewis.  Xavier is dialed a 6.69, which he has ran all day long.  I decide to dial the 5.22 that I had just ran.  I leave the line with a .025 to his .048.  So I have him covered by a good amount.  I get to the finish line, I know that I have him covered up so I banzai the brakes.  I go around him and his win lights comes on.  My first thought is that I had given up the stripe again.  I get the ticket and X-Man went dead-on 8, while I went a 5.215 on the 5.22 dial, thus breaking out by 5 thou.  I killed 9 mph in the process.  Looking at the ticket, I picked up 2 full numbers in 60 ft.  Run competition shows the car would have ran a high 5.19.  So the car just decided it wanted to fly that pass.  I still took too much stripe but I had thought that I killed enough.  I did not expect the race track to keep tightening up that much.

Not a great weekend, but a few round wins.  I just need to figure out what I am doing.  Still early in the season so I have plenty of time to get things straightened back out.

Season so Far

As we end the month of June, I can honestly say that my racing season has been a little bit of a roller coaster.  Some good driving and some bad.  Some good results and some bad.

So far this season we have only had one dragster running.  My 06 Diamond Dragster with a 408 SBC that runs in the 5.20's has been trucking along all season.  My dads 08 Diamond Dragster has not been out yet.  It has a 458 SBC that runs low 4.70's.

The season for us started in the same place it does almost every year, we made the 5 or so hour tow south to Beech Bend Dragway for the first Tenn-Tuck race of the year.  We decided to just race of Friday and Saturday and use Sunday as a travel day home.  As far as the results for the weekend, I was pathetic.  I entered both races each day, a Big Bucks race that paid $10,000 to win and the Little Bucks race that paid $5000 I believe.  So in two days, I was entered in 4 races, which resulted in exactly 1 round win.  Not the way that I wanted to start the year, but that is about typical for my racing adventures in BG.  I love going there as it is a beautiful facility and a great race track, but I have never had any luck down there.

After Bowling Green, Mother nature took over.  The rain kept getting the best of the drag racing world weekend after weekend.  We did not get back to a race track until March 21, when we made the short hour and a half track to our home race track, Kanawha Valley Motorsports Park.

So after a month without being in the car, I was worried about the lack of seat time.  Anyone who has every drag raced knows that there is no substitute for seat time.  This weekend however, that lack of seat time was not a problem.  During the first two time trials the car ran a 5.34 and a 5.33 and my lights were .009 and .021 respectively.

Eliminations get going and I find my self getting into a groove.  First two rounds I have .007 and .010 reaction times and drive the finish line like a champ and get the W's.  I manage to get by the next few rounds and find my self down to 3 cars.  We get to the staging lanes and I get picked for the bye run.  We watch the other semi final run and my good buddy Mark Anderson got the win so I get to run him in the finals.  I go through on my bye run and have a .008 light and run a 5.24.  So we get to the lanes for the finals and I decide to roll .002 into the box, simply because it is getting darker so I wanted to be safe. I dial the car a 5.24 to his 6.30.  He leaves with a .008, I leave with a .001 (thank goodness for those 2 thou that I rolled in while in the staging lanes.) I get to the line and have plenty of room so I dump and take .030 strip for the win!!!!!  Not bad, 3rd race day of the season and I get the W.

The next weekend Kanawha Valley held two races on one day.  I had a decent day.  During the first race I got down to 6 cars.  I lost in the first round of the second race and decided not to buyback.

We then took the first weekend of June off, and on June 11we decided to head to Clay City, KY and Mountain Parkway Motorplex.  This is my favorite race track in the country!!!  The night was a short one as I got the bye run during the first round and then broke out by .003 during round 2.

That brings us to this past weekend.  We went back to Kanawha Valley for another points race.  It was a very interesting day, as I did some good things and some bad.   The car was a little in consistent during the two time trials running a 5.36 then a 5.25 after some changes.  First round I draw Mark Smith who is driving a dragster dialed 5.29.  So I decide to dial a 5.28, essentially holding a few numbers and being what Luke Bogacki calls "The Driver".  Lights come down and I actually left before him, I had a .014 light to his .041.  I get 500 Feet out and start driving like an idiot and give him back the strip by a mile.

Back to the buy back window for me.  I then getting rolling a little after that initial lose.  At 3 cars I get the bye into the finals.  This time a run long time KV bracket racer Jeff Higgins.  Jeff dials a 6.17 and I dial a 5.24.  Jeff leaves with a .014 light, I have a .001.  I get to the finish line and think that I have the strip and tap the brakes, his win light comes on.  At this point I assume that I broke out.  I get the ticket to see that I actually gave the strip back by .0002 of a second.  How about that for driving???  So I end up finishing second.

Sorry for the long post, the rest of them will not be this long.  This catches everyone up to where my season currently stands.  Tomorrow we are heading to Kanawha Valley for another points race.  I hope you all check back for the full results.

Hello World

First off, My name is Jason Claytor.  This blog is dedicate to the racing exploits of Claytor Racing.

Claytor Racing is a sportsman drag racing operation owned by my father, Chuck Claytor.  We race mostly across the midwest.  Currently our home track is Kanawha Valley Dragway in Southside, WV. We try to race as many big money bracket races as possible.  We will also try to run some IHRA Pro-Am Races.

We currently have two Diamond Dragsters that we race.

Within the next day or so I will update the information for the season so far.