Winter 1, Ambition 0

I really wanted to work in the garage this week, I promise. But it is cold in Wisconsin right now. No, it isn't as cold as it will be soon, but it has once again dropped from "unseasonably warm" to "unseasonably cold" in record time. As in, last week was 50s with 10mph breezes; last night was 10 with 50mph winds. I'm just not ready for it.

I stayed inside and did paperwork instead. Thrilling, isn't it. But I'm very proud of my recordkeeping paperwork and organization. So proud, in fact, that I have to brag. Prepare to be bored.

For the past few seasons, I have kept a 3-ring binder of information about the car and the season. The binder is separated into sections for the Engine, Gearbox, Chassis / Suspension, Race Results, and Checklists. Each section has sheets of reference information, such as gear charts in the Gearbox section, and torque specs in the Engine section. Any new information is added to the appropriate section.

Each section also has a maintenance record sheet for each area. For example, there is a maintenance log for each engine; one for the gearbox, clutch, and drive axles; and one for the chassis and brakes. Any major maintenance or repair gets logged: date, what was done, and why.

Yes, you're right, that's crazy. But it makes it very easy to see when the oil was last changed, whether the CV joints are due for a rebuild, and how many races are on the rod end that just failed. And yes, I have had to know each of those things during the course of a season. But keeping these records will also help me learn the "service life" of each part. I should be better able to prevent failures without replacing healthy parts. And if nothing else, I'll be able to say without fear of contradiction, "That hub failed after only three races!" Yikes.

I've spent the last few evenings making a new binder for the 2006 season, consolidating and translating notes from the 2004 and 2005 binders, and making a new "Permanent Records" binder. This binder will keep a copy of all reference information (part numbers, chassis history, gear charts) as well as the consolidated setup notes, maintenance logs, and race results from past seasons.

A friend who also races made a new binder for me last year. He prefers to keep his records sorted by track. In his book, each track has its own section with track maps, local hotel information (very handy), car setup records, and driver notes. I do like the idea of being able to visit a track and see at a glance if I'm faster or slower than the last time I visited, how my time compares to the track record, and if I'm close to my best-ever time there. On the other hand, I don't change the setup from track to track, so organizing the car information this way didn't seem to make sense for me.

So I have kept the binder, but I've modified it a bit. Now each section has a track map, driver's notes, hotel information, and directions to the track, but the setup information has been replaced with a single sheet for track records and personal best times. Any changes to the setup are noted on the sheet next to the lap time they produced.

If you're still having trouble sleeping next week, I'll describe my famous racing checklists.