jons355

Race Report:

Due to arrival of our newborn I have only done three SCCA races this season in the Spec Racer Ford. Until this last race none were very good races worth posting here but this weekends was one of those race weekends where you think about packing it in and going home early only to find it was your best race weekend.

This past weekends was the season ending MARRS Regional race.

Didn't start well at all. I got violently ill Friday morning with food position and missed the entire practice day. It got worse.

On the way to the track two deer (rodents with antlers as I like to call them) jumped in front of my truck (heavy fog). I veer into a ditch, take out a mailbox, and put a nice big scrath that runs the lenght of the truck and looks as though it can't be buffed out. Those West Virginia folks don't buy those cute little plastic mailboxes at Home Depot....NOPE it's practically a damn telephone poll sticking out of the ground with some cast iron box that would withstand a nuclear attack.

Got into the SRF on Saturday and because like a big bonehead I didn't register early and got placed dead last on the grid for first qualifying. First lap in some twit who had rented the car before I did must have cranked the brake bias two full clicks to the front so naturally I nearly put the car into the cement wall coming down the shoot in turn 4. Took three laps to get the brake balance right and another four laps trying to get by all the slow people.

Got two clean laps in at the end and was hand timed by my crew with a dismal 1.27 which I was sure would put me somewhere outside the top ten. Was hoping to at least be in the first half of the grid. Eagerly got the time sheet and scanned the positions......let's see 13, 14, 15....20, 21, .......What the *&^*& NO TIME!!!!!! Checked the transponder it was on and working. Ok will need to go up to timing and scoring to sort out the mess. Get there and they tell me their data disk is old and for some reason my car registered as #02 rather than #2. I say great let's go to the backup time (handheld timers).

It gets worse....they tell me they are short staffed and there were no hand held times taken. Just wonderful it took me an entire session to get clean lap and get by the moving chicane group and now they are telling me I have to start Q2 at the back of the grid as well. I bitch and moan and mumble leaving in disgust.

Get up to the grid late since I am going to be last anyway and get yelled at by the track marshal who scolds me for being so late and threatens to put me dead last. I laugh and say so what.......I am dead last anyway, what are you gonna do make me start from the paddock area? She shows me the timing sheet and viola I am 13th on the grid out of 30+ cars. Looking much better now. Figure I can draft some of the faster guys and improve my time.

I had what I thought was a record breaking session, even kept up with my teammate for the entire session (who by the way is usually a half second quicker). Get back in and the team had me clocked at a 1.26.32 which should move me into the top 5 or 6.

Again eagerly get my time sheet. Scanning down the top 5 or 6 no mention of my time. What the #$^#* I am stuck at 13th place with the same time as Q1. In other words they didn't get a faster time for me. I go back to timing and scoring to bitch at them and they tell me that the system worked and that I didn't run a faster lap than in Q1. I tell them no way I hung with my teammate who clocked a 1:26 flat and my team had me down for a 1:26.32. I get nowhere with them. 13 th on the grid it is.

Sunday and we are group 4. Heavy fog means all the racing is delayed by one hour. I am watching the end of group 2's race and run over to the corner workers in turn 10 with my team mate to inquire if we are going out before or after lunch. AFTER we are told so we stick around to watch the Championship battle in group 3 between two fast ITS BMW's. About half way through the race my teammate freaks out when he sees SRF's pulling into the grid.

We jump in the truck and head back to the trailer where the crew has already left for the pit wall. I have to go to the bathroom real bad. Not one of those I can wait until afterwards. It's one of those you know is going to be painful be thrown around in the car with a full bladder ready to burst. Having the five point harness with crotch strap pulled snug against your crotch isn't gonna help. I sprint into the woods to find some kids playing there and say to heck with it I am going to have worry about it later. Jump in the car and barely make it to the grid. Once there the race ends but two cars have to be pulled out. I sprint to the restroom and back and get strapped in as the 1-minute whistle blows.

Lap 1. Pole sitters spins in turn 1 and takes out three cars. Massive pile up and I am make it through on the inside barely getting hit twice while most other cars have to go outside of turn 1. Some cars make it through ahead of me but they have lost all momentum I didn't have to brake hard or lift so I pass two of them easily.

I suddenly realize there are no cars around me and only two cars in front. Actually there were three cars in front but the other first row racer is now a good ways ahead having not been involved in the incident. I suddenly realize I have moved from 13th to 4th place. Yikes!!!!!!!

Lap 2. Next lap the two cars in front of me take each other out....I AM NOW UP TO 2nd place. Never ever been here before what do I do now. Suddenly realize that one of my teammates is glued to my rear bumper, as is another car. It's the tree of us fighting for 2nd.

Lap 3-5. Able to hold off two attempted passes down the main straight from the third place car.

Lap 6-9. My teammate finally gets a run on my and gets by. The next few laps we all three trade spots and at one point I accidentally hit my team mate and wiggle him just enough in turn 5 that he lifts and the two of us behind him get by. But we are all three running bumper to bumper and no one behind us.

Lap 10-15. My tires are complete toast. Car is loose everywhere and even worse in the critical turn 10 that leads onto the main straight the car is not only loose on turn in but then pushes on exit. I am a sitting duck and one by one both the other cars get by me. I am now in 4th place and starting to fall a bit behind. Using some good judgment I see that the 5th place car is well behind with three laps to go. No sense risking a boneheaded move so I just back of and bring it home in 4th place.

First place winner wins by 9 seconds while the 2nd and 3rd place guys cross the finish line side by side separated by 2/1000's of a second.

I was very happy with 4th place and ran my fastest race lap ever.

A very bad weekend turned into a very good race.

Racing is done for 03 and I am unsure what car or what class I will be racing next season. May stick it out one more year in SRF but am also looking at Grand Am Cup possibly.

Regards,

Jon
88 M5
95 F355 C
98 SRF

Silver Streakin'

At some point, I'd like to take some serious driving schools and move up from lapping/time trails to racing.

....must....get....track....car....

KJinDC

I was there w/PCA enjoying a beautiful day and small run groups. Man that SRF looks like it'd be a fun car! Congrats on surviving the weekend and your race.

-KJ

NASA racer

That first time you see an empty or virtually empty track ahead and realize everyone in the race is behind you is where you decide if you are a winner or not hehehehe.

It's very mental and sounds like you kept it together very well considering all the pressure and troubles of the weekend.

I bet you are still on a high from that race!

jons355

KJ,

I rent my car from Hagerman Racing so it was not me picking up the car. Hagerman runs about 7 or 8 cars and loads them into a big 18 wheel rig.

The cars are immense fun. They weigh only 1670 pounds and make about 100 hp. Doesn't sound like much but they are faster than most anything with a roof bar maybe some 400-500 hp cars.

They only hit about 115-120 down the straight but from turn 1 to turn 9 at Summit they are quicker than my Challenge car.

Are you going to the Audi event next Monday and Tuesday? Stop by and say hello. Will have run the 355 on Monday.

Regards,

Jon

jons355

First thing I realized was I was alone and nearly wet my pants (even after the bathroom sprint).

First thought was.....what now, how fast until the front runners catch up AND I'll be dead meat then!!!!

It's really been a case of not getting enough time on the track with the front runners. Bad qualifying always puts me too far back (usually somewhere around 9-12). The few times I ran at the front with the fast guys I kept setting my fastest laps.

Once the other two guys hooked up with me I was forced to overdrive the car and say to hell with it if they can do it I can too.

Even more to my surprise I traded postions with both of them and was able to race them for 3/4's of the race.

Set my fastest lap ever and was down only .40 something on the leaders fast lap.

Hopefully I can start to get further up the grid in qualifying, because being anywhere outside the top 5 or 6 (assuming no big wipeout on the first lap) you are never going to catch the leaders or be in contention in this class.

In fact the fear of being left behind has caused 6 wrecks in turn 1 on the first lap in the past 10 races. All of them were quite bad and we seem to be the only group that has this problem.

The Spec Miata fields (usually 30 + cars) seem to get through turn 1 every race but we don't.

Once you start racing there is no going back. I'll probaboly axe all my track events next year and just concentrate on racing.

Regards,

Jon

KJinDC

Looking forward to meeting you, finally.

-KJ

jons355

Will be there only on Monday !!!

NASA racer

drafting is such an inportant component of going fast that you'd be unlikely to ever set your fastest laps "in the clear" and it's certainly reasonable that you get your good laps "hooking up" in a fast train...as the fast guys probably do too so I wouldn't feel too bad about not running as fast when you are alone. And the mental component of doing laps by yourself is tough anyway...nearly everyone is faster with a little company to push them on.

The trick would be to try and position yourself somewhere in or near the train during the sessions.