Ah New Jersey. Black flies and all.

Great weekend but stupid hot. Really really really fukn hot. Great racing though! Congrats to Jay for the epic domination!

I did not get the results I was hoping for but three 3rds and 4th isn't too shabby in a field of 30+. I put myself in a pretty deep hole with a bad tire choice for qualifying resulting in an 8th place time.

Sprint 1 was all about getting back to the pointier end which I did finishing 3rd.

Some really great battles with Phil and Hoyt all weekend. NJMP is one of those tracks where a pass is pretty hard to make. Thank you Robbie Provost for a bit of line tweaking. I’ve been doing it wrong for years.

And thank you John Houston for lending me your lumbar support! I will be looking to get one or adding pad under the seat cover before the next race.

As always thank you Steve Wilson for the track support and Robbie, epic lap record, very hard to paddock with him after that but well deserved. And thank everyone that checked on me after the enduro. This is the second time Will Waldron had to make sure I was OK. I have got to get the gym. 60 minutes on that track in 99 degree heat was more than I could handle.

Note to PCA, if you are going to call people to the scales in 100 degree weather in back to back races on the same day the very least, and I mean the very least, you can do while we are sitting in cars with no air flow that are probably approaching 130 degrees inside waiting on the scales is PROVIDE SOME DAMNED WATER!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God for Trevor Dawe! Brought me water and Gator Aid.

Otherwise what a well run event. It truly was. Our group only saw a few brief local yellows and the groups got on and off track efficiently. Kudos to the local and national volunteers for a fun weekend! The stewardship at this event was outstanding.

Great to see FredC back at the track as well as the whole Provost, Brandywine, Rudner, Dawes and EPS yahoos!

Sprint 1 video. More to come!

https://vimeo.com/355086026

 

I always used the stock pressure plate and clutch - it was easier on the trans. We rebuilt a couple of them over the years but it was always cheaper to buy a used one.

 

I went out for the enduro in a borrowed SPB. The cool shirt wasn't working and I absolutely COOKED in that heat. Core body temp got very high and I took it easy. I was so hot when I came in that ice on my head melted in seconds. Not a fun time at all.

 

Is there anything being discussed to address the "sound issue" facing SPB? Quite literally worst sounding car on track! *flame suit on*

Great racing all! Was fun watching and thank you for sharing the videos.

 

My theory is that they convert fuel to noise.

 

Oooooh that's good.

I know a skinny loud occasionally angry girl who eats a lot. Maybe there's a generally applicable theory.

 

Miatas have us beat, but not by much

 

SPB = Porsche Miata

 

Actually, it's $$ => noise

 

While SPB are easier on the eyes than a SM, I think they actually have the SM beat for sounding bad. They are certainly louder so it is harder to escape the sound! Oddly enough, times at T-bolt seem to be about the same if I recall lap times from a SM running in NASA. My buddy who has one has it on dollies pushed up against the back wall with a cover on it. He seemed very offended when I implied that his SM was ugly though

The transmission reliability issue seems to be getting out of hand though. I'm currently on the sidelines focusing on personal driver development and if SPB has all these issues, SM may still be a good option.

 

Not suggesting that availability won't eventually become an issue, but $1k for a trans every few seasons shouldn't deter you from entering the class

 

I thought the problem was more prevalent than once a few seasons? There were comments about quite a few cars being out of commission at the race at LS a few weeks ago. Similar comments about this weekend. The $1k cost for the transmission isn't the real cost anyways... it's all the lost time/costs in prep, travel, entry fees, hotels, etc. that makes it much more significant if you lose track time over an issue like that (not saying it cannot happen to any car.. I had my exhaust fail on the very last session of the day, which would have been a lot worse at the start of the wknd).

Also SM require a *ton* of silly maintenance, even if the parts themselves are cheap. Time and money.. time and money...

 

But we get more noise / $ and I think more fun / $ then anything else out there.

 

My first one went out after 6 year, 72 races a similar number of practice sessions and quite a few track days.. The current one has 20 on it.

 

I've run my car for 3 years with no transmission issues (knocking on wood). Personally, I think it's the nut behind the wheel causing the issues, not the trans. JMO.