Koger Race Report

Auburndale

by Trish Koger

"Rear brakes are a wonderful thing!" Rick Koger was quoted as saying after the conclusion of the September 13th Legends Cars of Florida feature race at Auburndale Speedway.

If you've been a TK Racing fan for any length of time -- you might be saying to yourself, "Uh, oh... please don't say it's so... not Auburndale!" Because, as any dedicated TK Racing fan would probably know, Auburndale has not been much of an ally to the #90 Florida Online Legends Car. It is definitely our "track too tough to tame." But, despite our luck, the track's appeal has always been in its challenge.

Just for grins, I decided to read back through the other race reports I have written for Auburndale. In doing so, I discovered some rather interesting statistics:

STATISTIC #1)
My challenge at Auburndale always starts early in the program... before I ever even see the track. I have an average number draw of over 30, and I have never started the feature in the top ten. Believe me, those odds stack up against you exponentially the farther back you start!
LESSON LEARNED:
Develop extra-sensory powers to always pull a front row position. Or, having failed that, bribe the number-draw official.

STATISTIC #2)
After three of the races, I was able to drive back to the trailer. After the other three races, I came back on the "hook." In other words, I'm currently averaging only a 50-percent chance of successfully surviving the quarter-mile melee. With that average, I could actually toss a coin before I attempted to hit the track -- heads, I race -- tails, forget it, just load it back up.
LESSON LEARNED:
Find a two-headed coin. Or, having failed that, bribe the coin-toss official.

STATISTIC #3)
Every wreck at Auburndale has always been with a blue car.
LESSON LEARNED:
After bribing the number-draw official and the coin-toss official, what do you have to lose? You must now bribe every driver that has a blue car. Or, having finally run out of money, just strap in and go racing!

All joking aside, this final trip to Auburndale for the 1997 season would be the one to tip the 50-50 scales. A safe return to the pit area, without the assistance of the tow truck, would allow me to walk away with the advantage over the "Monster Arrowhead"... at least for this season, anyway.

In keeping with my challenging statistics, my number draw was a miserable #34. I didn't toss that coin, however, because I was definitely there to race!

The Legends Cars took the track first for the evening's heat races. I lined up behind the #3M car as we took our first parade lap. As we completed the first circle, the flagman motioned for the "one-to-go." I raised my left hand with a #1 signal out the window to make sure the drivers behind me had gotten the word. I started to pick up the throttle to tighten up the field, when suddenly I had to slam on the brakes. Wham! I was into the car in front of me. I was in complete shock! Tony had left a wide gap in front of himself, and was still scrubbing his tires. Nevertheless, I just couldn't believe that I got collected into him. I had hit the brakes with full force, but they just didn't stop me in time.

Well, as they say, the show must go on... and it did as we headed into turn three. Both the green flag and the tire rubber started flying! My car, however, was not handling correctly. I held on to my position, but was fighting the car every step. It wasn't until we were exiting the track that I noticed that the rear brakes were dragging... severely.

I immediately notified Rick when I returned to the pits. We jacked up the car, pulled off the rear brake drums, and began our investigation. We weren't sure how much time we'd have until the feature, and we weren't giving up that easily! After David Chambers had parked his #47 Ford Sedan, he noticed our huddling over the back end of our car... it wasn't the first time he had spotted us there.

"Why are you guys monkeying around with your rear brakes, again? David pried.

Rick looked up, "Well, we've done just about everything we can think of to adjust these brakes, but, lately, we keep running into the same problem. They come off the track holding Trish back!"

"Have your wheel cylinders seized up?" David asked. "Lemme check. Yep. There's your problem. Let's get two new ones and get you back out there for the feature."

Before some of you reach for your Popular Mechanics, let me briefly explain. The wheel cylinders are the small assemblies that make that critical mechanical conversion from the brake fluid pressure (the force asserted when you hit the brake pedal) to the brake shoes (which extend into the brake drums causing the friction to slow you down). Sort of got the picture? Well, the wheel cylinders tend to get dirty, corroded, and worn over time and after running at such extremes. They eventually can "seize" up and not make the proper transfer or any transfer at all of the brake pedal force to the brakes.

In my case, I would either wind up having no rear brakes (which might explain my parade lap mishap) or I would suddenly have full rear brakes (the shoes would extend, but not contract after my foot left off the brake.) And you can't go fast when your running with your brakes on!!

David and Rick completed the repair and got me rolling before the feature. They cautioned me that I may not be used to the way that the car would handle now that I had four, fully-functional brakes. It may make the car a little looser than expected if I hit the brakes as hard as I probably had to lately.

But the results were far different than their cautions. The car handled incredibly well. I was ecstatic! I started on the outside row. The inside row didn't give an inch of leeway for the first four laps, but I was able to keep up with the pace while holding the outside line. That feat had been unheard of for me at Auburndale in the past. If I ever got caught on the outside, I was usually toast!

The race went very well for me, all things considered, until the closing laps. The small group right in front of me all instantly checked up going into turn one. I hit the brakes, but wound up tagging the tail car... that was enough to send me around. I remember thinking to myself, "I can't believe this is happening," as my car slid out from under me. I honestly couldn't recall the last time that I had spun during a race, but I quickly got over it. I ducked down into the infield as the next pack swerved around me. I gathered the car back, waited for the leaders to safely pass, and then I roared back onto the track... into EXACTLY the same spot that I had left... just one lap farther down.

Finishing 20th (but rolling) was an ironic twist to my final 1997 battle at Auburndale. I had not down as well as I had hoped, but I went away from the track feeling like I had a brand new car.

Rick and I are so excited about the #90's new level of performance that we are going to try to get over to practice before Saturday's next event. We are racing at Citrus County Speedway in Inverness, Florida. It's a new track for us... but those that have raced on it have told us that it's very similar to... yes, you guessed it -- Auburndale.

Please keep your fingers crossed for us -- I've never been one to bribe, so I could certainly use the good luck!

Thanks for all your support as we head into the season's homestretch!

Keep on racin'!

--Trish Koger #90

To send a letter to Trish, email to koger@thunval.com

Check out the Distant Thunder archives for other articles by women drivers.