Mid-Ohio 6/12...what happened to Gary?

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Speedsport
Posts: 170
Joined: October 20th, 2006, 7:45 pm

Mid-Ohio 6/12...what happened to Gary?

Post by Speedsport »

Does anyone know what happened to Gary Blanarik on Sundays race at Mid-Ohio? He had a great race on Saturday and was part of an fantastic battle for the win, but on Sunday he dropped out on the first or second lap. He was already gone before I came back from impound, so I didn't get a chance to ask. Just curious what happened.

Michael Varacins
Gdog
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Joined: June 24th, 2006, 3:55 pm

Re: Mid-Ohio 6/12...what happened to Gary?

Post by Gdog »

On the first lap going into the Keyhole I felt a vibration and heard a noise , it felt OK until the next lap going into the Keyhole , the car went a little wide as the brake drum cracked farther and it finally broke completely at the end of the back straight . I was able to pull to the inside of Madness and checked my mirror to see a wobbly left rear wheel .

This is the second broken left rear drum in four races . The broken drum at Grattan was FF induced but this one was new last week and had no contact . What brand of rear drums should I be using ?

Saturdays race was as exciting as it gets inside a Vee , very fun . I was really hoping to have another battle like that on Sunday , that's racing !

Gary

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FVartist
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Joined: June 25th, 2006, 11:59 am

Re: Mid-Ohio 6/12...what happened to Gary?

Post by FVartist »

It looks like you just installed the new drum without relieving the hole where the crack originated.
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tiagosantos
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Re: Mid-Ohio 6/12...what happened to Gary?

Post by tiagosantos »

Relieving the hole? How does one do that?
Dietmar
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Re: Mid-Ohio 6/12...what happened to Gary?

Post by Dietmar »

Gary:

This was a common sight years ago when one used the Brazilian rear drum. The crack would originate at the hole and spread exactly the way yours did. Many were not as fortunate as you
as they watched the wheel pass them by.
Not sure what "brand" you have (had) but I do not recommend any drums to my customers other than German , or the ones from Lybarger

Dietmar
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Speedsport
Posts: 170
Joined: October 20th, 2006, 7:45 pm

Re: Mid-Ohio 6/12...what happened to Gary?

Post by Speedsport »

Well that explains why you didn't finish. That's too bad. Regardless of the brand, it's a good idea to always inspect the area around the hole for cracks. I caught one at the runoffs in 2009 right before the race, decided to change it just in case.
cendiv37
Posts: 386
Joined: June 25th, 2006, 7:29 pm

Re: Mid-Ohio 6/12...what happened to Gary?

Post by cendiv37 »

The Lybarger drums solve this problem by not having the hole at all. They work well, are a bit pricy, but to worth it to me. I haven't priced either a good German drum or Lybarger drum in a couple years.

As Bruce stated above, you can (theoretically at least) reduce the likelihood of crack initiation at the hole by "relieving" the hole. What he means is to eliminate any thin edges and/or "notches" left at the hole ID by the casting process. Either of these could initiate a crack at the hole. What I have done when using these drums is to clean up the hole with the smallest drill (9/16" ???) that will cut the full ID and leaving just a bit of a flat on the hole ID. This is probably best done in a drill press with the drum propped up a bit to cut "straight" through the hole and to make sure the bit doesn't "bite" putting stress raisers into the drum rather than removing them... Once the hole ID is cleaned up, smooth and blend it a bit with a small drum sander on a Dremel. Obviously, if there is any kind of significant casting flaw in the drum, especially at the hole, you should not use the drum at all.

Whether relieving the hole actually does anything I can't be sure. But it won't hurt as long as you don't functionally enlarge the hole.
Bruce
cendiv37
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