East Los Angeles, CA—Action Clutch racer Brandon Rosado (@Wanted_Bee) made a dramatic, emotional trip to the winner’s circle at HDay Spring 2023 at Maryland International raceway on April 15th, 2023. After discovering a head gasket issue during qualifying, Rosado had to decide whether to pack up the trailer or get creative and see if his bullet would hold together for elimination rounds. Here’s how it went down!
“It’s kind of hard to believe right now, honestly,” stated Rosado. “A few weeks ago, we went testing and I trashed the turbo. The motor was good, but the head gasket was bad and we didn’t know it. The logs looked good. The new turbo wasn’t going to make it on time so we put the old one in, and it doesn’t make a lot of power. We said ‘eff-it, let’s go racing.’ There’s a lot of faster cars in the class but let’s just race…go out there and play the tree game.”
Rosado continued, “On Saturday we discovered that the motor was hurt. We saw water in the spark plugs and thought something may be cracked. We put in new plugs and it was OK. Our first pass wasn’t clean and I when I get my slip, a 7.98 @ 169 MPH that put us 3rd place in qualifying, they tell me I left water on the track. The car is starting and driving fine, but leaking whenever it gets into boost. And we have two hours to change the motor if we decide to.”
“The other problem was my crew wasn’t there, just my son and a friend to help out with some small stuff, not mechanical stuff. So, we ran the motor with low water and hoped we didn’t get DQ’d from dropping water on the track!”
Brandon sat out Q3 and lined up against J Perez in round 1 of eliminations, where he was able to let off in 3rd and get the win. In the second round he faced @boostybuilt and got the W with an 8.23 @ 168 MPH, short shifting the 3-4.
“We made it to the semis!,” exclaimed Rosado. “At this point, we were just adding fuel and checking oil. Things were really intense because the motor is ‘hurt’ but still going. We couldn’t believe it. We line up against @perezdrag who red lights, so I let off to try and save what’s left of the motor for the finals.”
“In the finals we line up against @hellboy_4wd who I never underestimate – he gets down!”, Brandon commented. “And anything can happen. The car felt good so I stayed in it, clicking off a 7.91 @ 179 MPH, taking the W!! I was trying to be smart with it, like lifting when my competition red lit or broke. I didn’t add any water, so there wasn’t anything in there for the final pass! To me, this weekend was what racing is all about. We had to work with the situation we were dealt, and make good decisions.”
Rosado summed it up; “I can’t explain my emotions, not just making it through the weekend but doing it with a hurt motor was intense. There’s no way it happens without @abe_ratedr always keeping the car in check and always keeping me on my toes, @negrobuild @gordo_gutierrez01 @gutz_garage – you guys are awesome. Thank you for pushing me in the right direction when I was losing it. And of course, I have to shout out to my partners @actionclutch @alpha_injection_clinic @racehead_performance and @fcsrace. Thank you guys for your support. Finally, thank you to my biggest supporters, who are my son, and my wife, who always has my back and holds down the fort!”
Special shout out to the others from Team Action Clutch representing us at Hday @frustrateeg_mia and @humbleperformance who both gave everyone a challenge!
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Action Clutch has over 50 years of experience delivering big power to thousands of drivelines, and we are pretty great at what we do. We combine USA-manufactured parts with premium friction materials, and deliver our products with the very best customer service.
We are honored that thousands of hard core and new performance enthusiasts from around the world trust Action Clutch to get their engine’s horsepower to the wheels. Stay Gripping!
Action Clutch
3912 Whittier Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90023
(323) 269-6051
Photo Credit: @Pataconaso