The following is an open letter from Gateway International Raceway Vice President and General Manager Lenny Batycki concerning the recent timing system malfunctions on the GIR drag strip.

To the Racers, Sponsors and Fans of GIR:

This week and in weeks past we have had to cancel Test-n-Tune events in order to complete repairs to our drag strip equipment. We wanted to share with you how this situation came in to being and how things stand currently.

The beginning of this matter was determined by Compulink to be a lightning strike to our timing system between the NHRA Nationals and the WSC. At that time Compulink believed the problem was simple enough that we would be able to fix it. With the guidance of Compulink, we were able to make due through the WSC with what we had on hand and thought the problem was fixed. The May 20th Test-n-Tune ran fine, but then we found the next day the problem reappeared and we were forced to cancel that night's event. After working until midnight on Wednesday trying to correct the issue, we sent our main timing computer back to Compulink for analysis and repairs. They then worked on it on Friday and ran multiple simulated runs without error in their test shop.
The following is an open letter from Gateway International Raceway Vice President and General Manager Lenny Batycki concerning the recent timing system malfunctions on the GIR drag strip.

To the Racers, Sponsors and Fans of GIR:

This week and in weeks past we have had to cancel Test-n-Tune events in order to complete repairs to our drag strip equipment. We wanted to share with you how this situation came in to being and how things stand currently.

The beginning of this matter was determined by Compulink to be a lightning strike to our timing system between the NHRA Nationals and the WSC. At that time Compulink believed the problem was simple enough that we would be able to fix it. With the guidance of Compulink, we were able to make due through the WSC with what we had on hand and thought the problem was fixed. The May 20th Test-n-Tune ran fine, but then we found the next day the problem reappeared and we were forced to cancel that night's event. After working until midnight on Wednesday trying to correct the issue, we sent our main timing computer back to Compulink for analysis and repairs. They then worked on it on Friday and ran multiple simulated runs without error in their test shop.

Compulink believed they had found the problem parts, replaced them, and would send our computer back for Tuesday's (May 27th) Test-n-Tune.

Tuesday morning when we set up the newly-repaired Compulink computer, the problem reappeared. Compulink and GIR worked back and forth via phone to correct the wounded system but it was determined that only a Compulink technician, on the ground here at GIR, would be able to correct whatever was plaguing the system. Please remember this is now Tuesday afternoon of Topeka's NHRA National event and that Compulink is under contract with NHRA to have a technician there on stand-by before and during each National event.

Compulink then did a very extraordinary thing on our behalf. Compulink said they would pull their technician away from the Topeka's National event set-up on Thursday to fly him into GIR to go over our system. Knowing that the Compulink technician would not be here until Thursday meant we had to cancel the Tuesday and Wednesday (May 27th & 28th) Test-n-Tunes.

On Thursday, the Compulink technician worked on everything in the timing system from top to bottom. At the end of the day after replacing, repairing, diagnosing, simulating and every other step that could be done, the Compulink technician determined that the 25 pair line from the tower to the starting line was damaged by the lightning strike between the NHRA National and the WSC and was the ultimate cause of the problem and would have to be replaced. With only a small amount of time remaining before he would have to leave GIR and fly back to Topeka, he routed a temporary line, between the tower and the starting line to by pass the damage. This temporary line worked to make it through the Nostalgia event.

The system still needed to have the new 25 pair run from the tower to the starting line to complete the repair process. The temporary bypass was not supposed to be a permanent fix and we needed to complete the repair process before any further issues could come up while trying to use a temporary bypass. Rather than continue to use the temporary bypass, we took the opportunity to complete the system repairs. To do these final repairs we needed cancel this week's Test-n-Tunes. This meant, on Monday, we purchased the specific, new 25 pair line, had the new line pulled through on Tuesday, and had the Compulink technician here on Wednesday to disassemble, reassemble and completely retest the system.

Wednesday afternoon, Compulink determined that GIR's timing system was back in correct order and that the primary computer was functioning correctly.

We regret having to cancel any events due to this lightning damage to our system, however, all our racers will appreciate that we spent so much time, effort and money to work directly with the National event Compulink staff on every step of this process to bring our system back to their national event standards.

We appreciate the extraordinary service Compulink gave GIR and our racers. Compulink not only provides state of the art timing systems, they also back their system with exceptional service. Also, we appreciate the racers, sponsors and fans understanding how much we want to have things work right and how much effort everyone has put into this system repair.

We look forward to all of us enjoying the rest of the summer with the Compulink system up and running at maximum output.