The sun was setting to the south of the Wasatch mountains on Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.  This was my first entry in a national championship race.  It took months of preparation, considerable expense and a two day drive from San Diego to tow my 944 Spec Porsche to the national championship race.  Now the sun was also setting on my chances of being in that championship race.

On the last lap of the second qualifying race, my engine threw a rod through the side of the block.  Instead of a 12th place finish, I finished 34th on the tow truck.  This was not exactly how I envisioned finishing.  The tower did not even wave the checkered flag as the tow truck crossed the finish line.

I was ready to put the car on the trailer when Tim, our 944 SoCal regional director, tells me that Chuck, the 944 National & Rocky Mountain regional director, has a spare engine.  Tim says that we can change engines in time for the championship race the next day.  My first thought is “No way”.  Jeff from Arizona and Chris from SoCal both say that they will help.  I start to think that this might be doable.  Tim and Chuck decide on a fair price for the engine and I agree to buy it.

We push the car into Chuck’s garage and start pulling the engine around 4:30 pm.  The first conflict arises when SoCal and Arizona regions want to pull the engine out the bottom and Rocky Mountain region wants to pull it out the top.  “Out the top!  No, out the bottom!”  It is just like a Miller Lite commercial with Bob Uecker yelling “Great taste! and someone else yelling “Less filling”.  I have pulled several engines out the bottom and it is a PITA.  We go with out the top to see if it is any less of a PITA.  It isn’t.

Stan from NoCal and Chris from Rocky Mountain lend a hand.  Chris from SoCal is learning 944 wrenching the hard way, pulling an engine.  With all the help, we have the engine out in time for the big NASA dinner party at 7 pm..  Jeff tells me that if we do not continue working after dinner we will never get the engine in.  We round up the 944 crew (ever try to herd cats?) and head back to the garage with free beer left over from the party.

Back in the garage, David D. from Rocky Mountain joins the fray.  This is now tag team mechanics, as one person leaves, another 944 guy jumps in.  Chuck from RM, Joe from Arizona and Papa Joe offer technical advice.  Opinions on how to do the different tasks abound.  

Tim and I are under the car with David D., Jeff, Chris and Stan working on the top.  Jeff hands the two of us tools as if we are surgeons.  By the time we have everything under the car assembled, Tim and I have more time on our backs than a lady of the evening.

Since the front suspension is detached, I decide to change springs because the car is still pushing.  We pull the 350 lb springs and replace them with 300 pounders.  Jeff looks at me as if I have lost my mind.  I figure why not roll the dice and change the springs right before the big race. 

After several hours and a few beers, we have the engine installed in the car but not completely hooked up.  As the clock strikes 12, we do not turn into pumpkins but the race adrenalin has worn off and we are fading fast.  We throw in the towel and call it a night.