If you have been to a single race you have probably heard the word ‘prep’ thrown around. Most driver interviews have some mention of it, and most social media accounts show some variation of it. But, what exactly is race prep? Is there such a thing as too much or too little prep? It depends on who you talk to and what each drivers goals are.
Race preparations will vary from team to team and from race to race. The main things you have to take in to account is how much money and time you have between each race. Other important factors include knowing your car, knowing your driver, and knowing what type of terrain you have raced on and will be racing on. Some teams have a big enough budget and enough help to be able to take their race cars down to the bare chassis between each race. Because our team is primarily well, us, time is a huge limiting factor. We focus on areas we know our cars experience wear and obviously fix any breaks we are aware of or find. Cleaning panels and removing foreign debris are important to maintain longevity. One of our chassis is not painted so we also clean as much as we can and remove rust as well as add protectant. If time permits we will also will modify something on the cars that may be under performing such as steering, shocks, or engines.
Budget is another factor that we have to pay close attention to. King of The Hammers is our biggest race and our prep for it is our most intense. We budget all year knowing that after Nationals we will be taking the cars down to almost bare chassis. Most years we pull transmissions, transfer cases, and engines. We will take our shocks apart and change fluid. We replace most wear parts including heims and bolts. Of course anything else we come across that looks even slightly used gets checked and replaced. We use this time to check wiring and find any damage to the chassis that may be hidden in hard to reach places. While we can’t afford to buy everything brand new, we try to replace what we can. Networking with other teams can be a great resource. Sometimes a team may only use a part for one race or event, and depending on the part it could have many more races in it. Tires are the most common thing to be disposed of after few uses, ring gears, and axle shafts also become available from time to time. A team may switch partners and need to get rid of branded items, or want to try something new and need to get rid of spare parts before they get new parts. In the very beginning of our race careers this was how we got most of our race tires, and the only way we could afford to upgrade to more substantial axle shafts. Now that we have some great partners it isn’t as often we need to buy used, but we still do from time to time! Working closely with our partners helps us keep costs down and get products that we trust and believe in. Relationships with companies you like to work with are important to maintain year round. It is very important to us to run products that we trust and want to use for many races or seasons. Jumping into a company that is trendy or new can be beneficial but it is a risk. For that reason we try to stick to products that we have personally tested and trust. Cost can take a small team like us out of a race in a heartbeat so you don’t want to be spending money on things that you don’t like or that won’t last!
Honestly, a huge portion of our prep is touching every part of the car. We check all of our bolts, verify everything is tight that is supposed to be, or moves that is supposed to move. A strong preparation will give you a huge advantage over a weak prep plan. It really sucks to pull up to a race an unload after paying all of your fees to have something fail that you could have fixed with a five dollar part at home! Racing is unpredictable so why not help yourself as much as possible? Even if your race prep isn’t going to be stripping your car to bare chassis and sending everything in for fresh powder coat, it is still important to check over your equipment! A few extra days in the shop between races may mean the difference between a finish and a DNF.
See you on course!
Kimberly