Here's a old school trick.Ignore the water box,drive around it.Before you enter the stage area,whack the gas pedal hard,for a sec.Preloads the converter,then stage.Try it,it works.
hmm, i'll have to try that converter thing. I've always avoided the water box. Generally i just give the tires a quick spin to kick off any gravel since the pit area has a lot of loose asphault that will stick to tires after a run.