NHRA pre-race: For Short-Handed Hammonds Crew, A Quick Service is Vital
Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care crew uses precise routine to service their Cavalier for competition Crestview, Fla., June 11, 2002 - Soft-spoken Tom Hammonds caused quite a stir in the Pro Stock pit area at the last stop on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing circuit. On the morning of the first day of qualifying in Chicago, Hammonds unexpectedly parted company with his crew chief and assumed the tuning duties for his Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care Cavalier. However, the tightly-knit Hammonds team did not miss a beat, pulling together to match their career-best qualifying performance, slotting in the second position. Sunday's final eliminations saw a continuation of this strong effort, as the Hammonds entry was consistently one of the quickest in the division, reaching the final round for the first time in 2002. Although this performance may have taken some by surprise, as Hammonds prepares to continue turning the wrenches at this weekend's Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, he is quick to point out that he is not only experienced, but has help. "I guess people could tell that it wasn't my first rodeo," stated Hammonds. "Early in my career, I did all the tuning of my street and race cars, and although I'm not an expert, I certainly have the ability to perform the basic maintenance on our engines. I have always maintained a working knowledge of every aspect of our Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care Cavalier in case of any emergency, and that philosophy obviously is serving us well. "However, this is definitely a team effort, and the adjustments I make to the engine have to coincide with how Eric (Luzinski) tunes the clutch and transmission. I rely very heavily on both his and Mike's (Matthews) input, and if it wasn't for those two raising their game even higher, we probably wouldn't have accomplished what we did." A review of the between-rounds service reveals the extent of the short-handed Hammonds crew's efforts. Facing a 75-minute deadline, the work begins the moment the Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care entry leaves the track. The twin parachutes are quickly rolled up and put inside the car while the team's golf cart is hooked up for the tow back. After a required stop at the NHRA scales, they hustle to their pit area, where the first priorities are to remove the one-piece carbon fiber nose and get the car up on the hydraulic jacks. Each crewmember then tackles their own assignment. As quickly as possible, Hammonds will remove the eight spark plugs and two valve covers from the engine, which is concurrently cooled by fans. Once it reaches the proper temperature, he will adjust each valve in a particular order. Next, he will use the same sequence to check the spring pressure on every cylinder. Once this procedure is complete, the spark plugs are inspected to see what they reveal about the powerplant's behavior, after which they are cleaned, reset and reinstalled, with each plug wire checked for wear. At the same time, clutch specialist Eric Luzinski will remove the memory card from the car and download the data from the run onto the computer in the team transporter, where special software will help the team analyze the car's performance. He will then remove the driveshaft and transmission from inside the car to gain access to the clutch, where he will take out the disc, which he will inspect and reface. Upon reassembly, adjustments are made based on the computer readout, adding or removing weight from the clutch. For his part, crewman Mike Matthews will concentrate on the back of the car, removing the massive rear slicks, checking the rear suspension and packing the parachutes, after which he will wipe the car down to remove any dirt or bugs accumulated during the run, as well as assisting his teammates whenever necessary. With the reassembly complete, the car is started while still in the air to check for leaks and/or vibrations. Finally, it is removed from the jacks, where one final test is run with the engine revved to its electronic limiter to verify the line-lock will work. Moments later, driver, car and crew will be back in the staging lanes awaiting their next run. Although this routine leaves little time for Hammonds to relax, he draws on his twelve years of experience in the NBA to ensure he is ready for the task at hand. "Throughout my basketball career, I found that if I spent too much time concentrating on one particular thing, my performance could actually suffer. By working on the car, I'm able to keep my mind occupied, and get ready for the next run once we get to the staging lanes. "Not to use it as an excuse, but Chicago was the first time I had worked our Winnebago/GM Vehicle Care Cavalier in several years, and by the time we got to the final, I was pretty exhausted. I prefer to see that as our mini-training camp, and we'll be in game shape and ready to rock and roll in Columbus." Hammonds Highlights: Tom will be participating in the NHRA Driver Fanfest, which will be held on Wednesday, June 12 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Dave Gill Pontiac-GMC, at the corner of Hamilton and Broad Streets, Columbus… Tom scored the first elimination round win of his career at National Trail Raceway in 1998, when he qualified 14th and upset No. 3 qualifier Mark Osborne in the first round … Tom is currently 11th in the NHRA POWERade Points standings, and is only 48 points (approximately 2 ½ rounds of competition) out of 9th. Fast Facts WHAT: 38th annual Pontiac Excitement Nationals presented by Summit, the eleventh race on the 23-race 2002 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Schedule. WHEN: June 13 - 16, 2002 WHERE: National Trail Raceway, Kirkersville, Ohio SCHEDULE: Professional qualifying begins with two sessions on Friday, June 14 at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., and concludes with two more sessions on Saturday, June 15 at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Final eliminations will start at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 16. TV: ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights from 8:00-10:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 15. Final eliminations coverage can also be seen on ESPN2, with two and a half hours scheduled on Sunday, June 16 from 8:30 - 11:00 p.m. The NHRA's weekly magazine show, NHRA2Day will on Sunday, June 16 from 11:00-11:30 a.m. (Times given are Eastern. As always, please check your local listings.)