Tigges Talk - Reading Regional May 2023

A Day In The Life

Did you every show up as a ticket holder at an event only to find out your favorite person or team has not shown up? Fans of Team Tigges will experience that this weekend at the NHRA Regional at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading PA. People of my generation would be left wondering what happened. Thanks to the power of the internet, you guys get to know.

Plan A was in place. The car was all put together with a fresh bullet after our season closing broken main cap last year at New England Dragway. We were ready to go to our first race of 2023. On Wednesday I was to drive from Maine down to the plant in Holbrook, meeting Rick, who was to drive up from Rhode Island. From there we would load in and head out to Reading with Mark driving the race rig and Fred & Claire following in the RV. Dave & Keith were planning to show up at the track Thursday, Dave flying in and Keith coming in his RV. Here is the day from my point of view.

Wednesday 04:20
I wake up to an alarm clock, a rare occurrence for me, especially after having just retired in January. Early morning travel through Maine & New Hampshire was uneventful, but the expected morning commute traffic jams in Massachusetts supplied the expected delays. Driving the 19 miles from the top of the I-95 split in South Peabody to the tunnel in Boston took an hour and ten minutes.

Wednesday 08:45
I arrived at the shop in Holbrook right on time as planned. We all worked at a relaxed pace, making sure all the required tools & supplies were loaded in the race trailer before prepping the race car for transport, dropping it off the stands, mounting the body & loading it into the trailer. So far so good, but the seeds of concern were planted. Our current tow rig, a Duramax equipped Chevy had been having strange computer issues. It had been looked over and the computer software had been updated but upon return from picking up supplies at the local NAPA it started to show code warnings about the DEF fluid system needing servicing. We tried resetting the system unsuccessfully, but eventually hooked up the trailer, checked the lights & tires and headed out on the road.

Wednesday 13:30
The entourage heads out of the plant in Holbrook, deciding to take the I-90/I-84/I-87/I-287/I-78 route to Reading, which is a little longer, but bypasses the greater NYC traffic quagmire of I-95. Mark started the countdown that the instrument panel was reporting, warning that the DEF system required service & that by Hartford, Connecticut the truck’s computer would limit speed to 65MPH. After a quick lunch break at the Charlton rest stop & some research of the presenting error codes, the truck did indeed limit speed to 65MPH, now reporting that in 75 miles it would further reduce speed to 55MPH. Continued efforts to reset the system failed, and with the internet telling us the next reduction in speed would be into limp-mode of 4MPH, we pulled the rig into a Chevrolet dealer in Waterbury, Connecticut, 143 miles into the trip.

Wednesday 17:36
Mark consulted with the service manager who confirmed that the warnings from the dashboard had merit & the two service technicians that had experience with this particular problem were gone for the day. Mark signed a work order & the dealership directed us to where we could park while developing plan B. Plan B involved Fred, Claire & myself driving the RV back to Holbrook while Mark & Rick stayed in Waterbury with the stuff. We would grab the old emergency back-up tow rig, our 454 equipped dualie that had taken the Tigges out on the western swing to California back before my days with the team, then return with it to Waterbury to press on through the night to Reading.

Wednesday 18:00
With Fred driving, we head out on the return trip to Holbrook. Twenty minutes or so into the trip there is a loud, sudden ripping noise from the side of the RV, and Claire observes something fly by the side window. A quick glance out of my passenger side mirror shows the side panel in the overbunk area of the RV has torn off and is skating down the adjacent lane. This three by four foot panel had been temporarily repaired last year and the temporary part had run out of lifespan. After negotiating a safe spot to pull off in the traffic, the initial assessment is that the awning support will prevent further damage & we press on.

Wednesday 18:42
Observation of the side panel seam separation slowly growing on the RV, brings us to the side of the highway yet again. Looking at the damage, the concern is that if the wind gets under the elongated gap, the awning rail will fail and put the entire side of the RV at risk. We use some glass reenforced packing tape to stabilize the panel for the balance of the trip. This event initiates plan C. Plan C has only occurred once before in the storied history of Team Tigges, the decision to pull the plug on the race & return home. Dave is contacted with the news and requested to coordinate the update to Keith. We drive on through intermittent misty rain to the plant.

Wednesday 20:02
We arrive in Holbrook, shuffle some cars around in the driveway, park the RV and fire up the old reliable 454. Turn-around is fast, inside of 15 minutes we have located to trailer wiring adapter, gassed up the rig and are back on the road to Waterbury through light drizzle. I drove to give Fred a break and the trip west was filled with the charged hysterical rantings of two old politically incorrect guys discussing the state of the world, rebellious electrons, trap shooting and old TV shows. Back in Waterbury, Mark & Rick were enduring sitting in a truck guarding the stuff for five hours, three of which were pouring rain.

Wednesday 22:51
We successfully swap out the tow rigs with the wiring adapter being more or less a plug & play deal and take our 800 pounds of humanity back out on the fourth trip of the day along the I-84 corridor, with Mark driving the rig as usual, memories of past racing experiences floating from the front seat into the crew cab quarters. Other than a thrilling stint on the side of the Mass Pike to add 10 gallons of gas to complete the trip, the drive back to the plant was successful.

Thursday 01:40
Arrived back in Holbrook. The rig was left out front & being filled with the adrenaline of the day I decided just get on back home. After a quick top off of gas for me and the car, I headed back to Maine, completing the return trip in the blissfully traffic free dead of night & enjoying the lightening eastward sky of the early morning.

Thursday 04:31
Arrive home. All told 586 miles on the road to be right back at square one. The car is going to stay right in the trailer, the RV will get worked on and money will flow to the dealership in Waterbury, requiring yet another trip to fetch the wayward Duramax. Plan A is to show up at Lebanon Valley, NY for the Divisional in two weeks. Let’s see how that works out…

A day in the life of a drag racer.

Chris Saulnier - Team Tigges
Mechanic Falls, Maine