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The NASTE Forum → NASTE → NASTE Gravity Racer Program
Bill brought the cars back to HQ this morning, and with all the other things going on in both of our lives, this is where they will sit likely until the day of the event:
Looking forward to the big day though with much anticipation!
Does anyone have one of those easy-up shelters which would be lend-able for the derby day? It'd be nice to have a bit of shade to sit under while we wait between runs.
Thanks in advance! I promise it won't end up white with red stripes (permanently...).
Chris
We have one Chris. I don't remember the exact size.
If it's available, we'd be interested. 10x10-ish would be great but we're not picky.
I have one as well.
One for each car would be awesome!
Dennis Hart is looking for a small sized 12VDC "Boom Box" that will play single CD's REAL LOUD to be installed in the Hawksbill Flyer. It has to be strong enough to drive real speakers. He will take it apart and set it up in the rear section of the car to play appropriate crowd stimulating sounds as the Flyer flies by! Cheap would be good. Free would be better! He has an old Sony that works bitchin, but Char likes it and won't let him dissect it to fit. The crowd would LOVE it!
May the force of gravity be with you.
Dennis
Coming up with a time and date for a team meeting before the race has become quite a challenge. The best I can do is Friday August 18th evening after 6pm. I have determined a location yet, but I will do so after I receive confirmation from those that can attend.
Here's some points to think about before the meeting at which time we will assign some specific duties for our individual teams as well as all the teams collectively.
We need someone to be responsible for taking photos. This will be a duty covering all three teams.
We need someone to be in position at the speed bump located in the return tow route back up to the pit area. The speed bump is roughly 200 yards from the top of the hill or pit area. This person will responsible for unhooking our team cars from the tow vehicle, getting it safely over the speed bump, and then re-attaching it for the remainder of the two to the pit area. This person will not have to be at the speed bump through the entire race, only when one of our team cars is being towed back up.
If you would like to volunteer for either of those duties please let me know.
I would also like to get a contact number for each team member that will be on the hill. If you could email me the cell phone number you will have on you during the race that would be great. I will put together a list so everyone will have all the team member's contact numbers.
I would also like to make a list of all the team members planning to attend the after race party.
If you have any other concerns or questions please let me know.
Lastly, Dennis needs a small sized 12VDC "Boom Box" that will play single CD's REAL LOUD to install in the Flyer. He tried using one of those small round ones that kids plug headphones into and it didn't work. It has to be strong enough to drive real speakers. He will take it apart and set it up in the rear section to play appropriate crowd stimulating sounds as the Flyer flies by! Cheap would be good. Free would be better! He has an old Sony that works bitchin, but Char likes it and won't let him dissect it to fit. The crowd would LOVE it!
Again, the pre-race meeting will be on Friday August 18th at 6:30pm, location yet to be determined. I hope this date and time will work for most everyone.
May the force of gravity be with you.
========Bill
Attention all Scuderia Kouba team members!!
It's race week everyone and it's time to really get organized. Bill and I chatted and he will have more details at the meeting this Fri, but here is what we have closed on so far.
The organizational meeting on Fri will be at Elmer's at Stark and I-205 at 6:30PM. Please plan on attending if you haven't connected with Bill yet.
We need cell numbers for everyone. We will be making sure everyone has access to numbers on the day, so please get yours to Bill as he is the clearing house for it.
We will need to have a few specific "work" assignments for the team. These include pit attendant (x3), speed bump attendant, photographer (multiple would be nice), plus others which will arise. Please be prepared to volunteer for these glamorous responsibilities!
On race day, we (Bill and I and all else who are interested) are going to be meeting at the Denny's on Stark just east of 205. It will be at 5:15AM, so we understand it's not appealing, but we want to have a breakfast and be at the gate to execute our parking and pit drill when the gate opens up. Please join us if you can.
If you want to carpool up to the event from there, we have off-street parking at Bill's daughter's house at 92nd and Taylor if you'd like. You will then be shuttled up to the event in the Scuderia Kouba transport. Return shuttle service will be available later, but the exact support is a bit TBD. Just be flexible and we will too. It's not too far that walking isn't impossible if you really want to get back as well.
In addition, THE T-SHIRTS ARE IN!!! Bill will be bringing them to Al's house on Thurs of this week so please do your best to attend. If you can't make it to Al's, please get yours at the meeting on Fri.
Under the "Special Needs" header, does anyone have any traffic cones? We could use a couple (2-3). If you have even just one, please get it to Bill either Thurs at Al's or Fri at the meeting. Even Sat AM at Denny's would work as well. Thanks in advance!
And to close, thanks again to everyone who has helped us get to where we are with this project. I truly appreciate the support and dedication you guys have pitched in to get us lunatics down the hill in style!
THANKS!!
Chris
well how did it go??????
I hear that Chris won, you weren't there so I don't know who came in second.
Chris did win the whole enchilada. The last race was a thriller with three fast cars and was a close race to the end. I was not able to attend the after party due to reasons beyond my control but both of the other cars were top 10, possibly 4th and 7th. Dennis did experience wheel failure in his last run and was VERY lucky to escape serious injury when the Flyer left the track and headed down a very steep bank. Luckily the nose of the car caught a root or low lying branch and stopped or his day could have been much worse. All in all a long day, but well worth it in the end.
Yeah, WOW, what a day!!
As Rico said, I did win the whole thing. HOLY CRAP!!!!!
At the finish line with my VERY supportive wife:
An earlier heat, from Jeff Burns:
All three cars did do extremely well, with all of them earning spots in the finals. Dennis won his first round final's heat but had his off in the semi's. For my semi-final heat, I was lined up with two others, one of which blew a tire while just sitting on the start line. They then pulled Jenny Burns in the MkII up to replace that entry, so one of the Scuderia cars wasn't going to advance that round, and it was her... I grabbed victory in that round and waited for the final to see who showed up.
MkI & MkII, killing it in the semi's, unfortunately only one of us advanced...:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKHqBQGSvW0;t=2m34s
Setting up in the semi's for the Learning Curve:
It was Louis in that gorgeous canoe car and the third place winner from last year. This was going to be interesting.
With the performance of all three cars, I figured whoever lead into the first corner was going to have a massive advantage, and whoever lead into the Learning Curve was going to take the race. For this, I owe it to my pusher, Michael Davis, who gave me fantastic starts all day. What did he look like in action? Check out an earlier heat from the push cam (didn't capture the final heat):
For the final heat, Michael got me out ahead of the others with a fantastic start.
Michael (who's not visible) getting me out ahead of Louis in the canoe car:
I was first to get to turn one, a mild left hander, but Louis made up a little ground going into the right. I saw his nose move up along side of me, but I stretched it out into the next left hander with a shorter line to the apex. This got me far enough ahead to drift out onto the main straight in front of him and hope that I had built enough of a lead to hold him down the straight.
Exiting the S turns at the top and moving onto the straight, Louis just barely behind me:
Video from Howie shot about halfway down the straight:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM … 9FREd6dE9R
Turns out, it was EXTREMELY close heading into that final turn. Someone else sent me this slow-mo video of our two cars nearing the turn in for the Learning Curve:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM … ZDLVlBZ1Jn
In the first 4 seconds of the video, you can see the nose of the canoe car within ~18" of the tail of the car- about halfway up the pushing tower we added for the start. We were that close(!), BUT I WAS IN THE LEAD. Louis in the canoe car was going to have to drive around me, and would scrub off energy trying to do so... At the line it looked like this:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP … RZREpuXzNR
In the end, it was their closest finish ever, and THE FIRST TIME A ROOKIE EVER WON THE EVENT! Don't me wrong, I wanted to win, and I was aiming to win, and made all my plans to win, but in no way did I ever actually imagine we would pull it off.
To top it off, although she didn't make the finals, Jenny was the fastest in the Formula 8 class and took home the trophy for that.
Jenny heading for Formula 8 glory:
Check out the hardware!!!!:
Jenny with the Formula 8 trophy, me with the Numero Uno and Best Rookie trophies
Both Scuderia entries on track together:
A MASSIVE THANK YOU is due to everyone who helped get me (and Jenny and Jeff) up to the starting line and down to the finish this year. I can't tell you how much fun I had and what a blast it's been. I will also give a specific thanks to "Downhill" Bill Bostic for being the glue that held the team together. I can honestly say that without his time, effort, energy, and enthusiasm, I'm not sure we would have even gotten entered in the event. Next year, you need to RUN in the event!!!
I also want to specifically thank my wife Bethany for supporting the 12 year old within me, and allowing Bill and Dave to come over and play in the shop on Thursdays, and for all the evenings she got to spend without me while we played and tested.
THANK YOU B, BILL, and EVERYONE ELSE!!!!
Chris
More videos found on the internet:
The MkII, I believe with Jenny at the helm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so6oOZBgPIw&t=4m30s
The Hawksbill Flyer, possibly with Rico at the helm (black shirt?):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqP4_HaEDaE&t=1m30s
Someone really liked us! All three NASTE cars in a row, with appearing Dennis first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suN81UDbLXs&t=22s
Then Jenny appears next at 44s as well, then I appear after her at 1m03s.
Dennis, not sure what run:
Me, not sure what run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzVgQX8GcFM&t=1m19s
Then Jenny and I appear at 3:11; then the final heat finish at 4:23
Congratulations Chris, there were a lot long Thursdays and evenings but they appeared to have paid off. And congratulations to all of the NASTE team members, you appear to have taken the event by storm. Next year the bullseye will be on you as the team to beat.
MkI & MkII, killing it in the semi's:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKHqBQGSvW0;t=2m34s
This is where only one of us advanced...
Kelly found this pic on SnapChat. If you look at the left front tire closely it appears the rubber tread is already starting to come off.
HOLLY FREAKIN' COW!!! WE FREAKIN' WON!!!!
This was a TEAM EFFORT all the way, but we could not have made the journey without Dennis Hart's vision, and the skills and hard work of Chris Kouba!!!
Thank you ALL that helped make this happen! We obviously had THE BEST TEAM on the hill!!!
======Bill
Excellent!! congrats to Chris and congrats to everyone involved with the gravity team. I bet a lot of the long time guys there are wondering where team naste came from. sounds like you guys had a great team and made it happen. I think it was all the teamwork,testing ,testing and more testing that did it. you guys were prepared and had the kill switch engaged.
Will there be a Mklll and Mkllll next year?
Yes, congratulations. Amazing result. Is there a pro circuit?
For 2017 Dennis Hart created and administrated the Formula 8 division within the PDX Adult Soap Box Derby.
Here are the official results:
CHAMPIONS
Team : Scuderia Kuba
Driver : Jennie Burns
# 21
80.45 sec.
2nd Place
Driver : Arrow Foster
# 8
81.59 sec.
3rd Place
Team : NASTE
Drivers : Dennis Hart & Rico Locati
# 12
85.61 sec
4th Place
Driver : Crystal Potter
# 36
86.19 sec
AWESOME job Dennis!
And in the overall finals, the results have been posted:
All three cars won their first rounds, securing top a 10 for everyone. Dennis had his off during his semi-final round and as a DNF for that round, would be classified in 9th. Looking at the remaining times, it would appear that Jenny secured 5th place, missing out on 4th by only .21s, with a very impressive 78.80s run. I sense the fight will build in her over the off season... Look out Mt Tabor!!
Excellent work by the whole team and thanks again to all who came out to help!
Chris
Also posted on the Derby's Facebook page:
"Brian Kruse How does 75.04 compare to past times? That #2 looked fast standing still.
2 · August 22 at 4:33pm
Charles Jelsema Under 76 seconds is an elite group that only a hand full of cars have achieved: Rusty Rocket- 71 seconds, Funny car- 74 seconds, Gravity Wave- 75 seconds, Pink pig- I seem to recall a 74 second heat, but it was only for one heat (they averaged ~77+), KISS- ~75 seconds.
A remarkable first time car!"
We're in elite company!!!
I'm thinking you guys have set the bar awfully high for next year.
Here's some great photos from the 2017 PDX Adult Soap Box Derby!
The NASTE Forum → NASTE → NASTE Gravity Racer Program
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