The Good, the Bad, the Ugly & The Golden Horseshoe (Or how I kept my place in HWFMR)
06-14-2004, 10:56 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly & The Golden Horseshoe (Or how I kept my place in HWFMR)
(This is an unbelievably long post, so you’d better fill up your cup of coffee, shake another martini or make sure the boss isn’t around while you read this.)
My first club race at Watkins Glen was absolutely incredible! It was a complete rush to drag race someone to a corner, hold the position and outbrake him (or her). It really was everything I thought it would be and filled with great camaraderie, speed, fun and friendly competition. Finally, after all of these years, I was racing and doing it in a 911!
Before I get into all of the details, I want to thank the following people who were very helpful in this new experience:
-Jerome Welte (Jerome951) for the great CD of the Glen he mailed to me.
-Kevin O’Neal, an instructor who took me out on my first session and showed me the line. He patiently guided my oafish early efforts at this track I had never seen before.
-Bill Martin, a really cool guy I met at the DE who ran radios for me during the sprint race. Next year, I expect to see him in D stock in his sweet 964 Cup Car, kicking my *** to the curb.
-John Colasante (JC in NY). It was great to finally meet you. Thanks for your warm welcome and advice. Congrats on your first in class!
-Rich Glickel. I had a garage space twenty feet from him and had no idea that he was from Rennlist. A pleasure.
-Bill Walczak. Very encouraging on Rennlist and off. I hope I can do your old Supercups justice. I’m sorry your Fikses aren’t legal for my class.
-Steve Patti. He gave me some great advice the first day of the DE. Too bad I still had trouble figuring out which turn was which, so most of it went in one ear and out the other. Nice to meet you anyway. I hope I didn’t hold you up too much.
-Steve Weiner at Rennsport Systems. Steve bailed me out of some difficult suspension situations and gave me some solid directions on how to tune the car.
-Gennady Soykher (and Igor and Arunas) at GT Performance, my mechanic here in Maryland. Need I say more?
-Eric Allen. Thanks for fueling me!
-Tim and Kim Costa. Kept me informed during the race and helped keep my head screwed on straight.
-Pete Tremper. Thanks for your words, Pete, and for doing a tremendous job in putting together a successful event.
-Manny Alban(y)
, my club racing mentor. Thanks for your support and humor, Manny!
-Skip Boykin (swftiii). Thanks for encouraging me. I'll see you in competition next year, right?
-Bill Harper at Rooftop Communications (rooftopcommunications.com). Rooftop is the hottest ad agency in Baltimore and has been kind enough to split some costs and provide design services for me. Bill is one of the best creative directors I've ever worked with; his ideas are simply amazing, and he has been incredibly supportive of my racing efforts.
Thanks also to Rennlisters Jamie (jford), Mike Cap and Andy (vuugti) for cheering me on and chatting with me at the end. Sorry I couldn’t stick around guys, as I had a plane to catch.
To step foot at hallowed Watkins Glen was a total treat for me, and equal to driving at Sebring this past February, the Glen having so much sports car and Formula One history. When I first started getting into Grand Prix racing in the mid-70’s, the Glen, one of the tracks Lauda, Hunt and Reutemann had dominated, was fascinating to me since the exotic allure of F1 racing was virtually in my backyard.
The Good
Let me stick with cinematic order and get the first part of the title out of the way. Somehow, some way, I managed to win the Rookie Racer Award, perhaps a distinction that should be better named the We-Feel-So-Sorry-For-Your-Slow-***-That-Even-Losers-Should-Get-Something Award. I was extremely surprised to receive this mention and, without wanting to appear overly modest, I felt that there were at least three other rookie racers out of the 27 present who were doing a phenomenally better job than me in their first race, namely 964 Cup driver Brett Overacker (5th in class for the sprint! Nice job!) and 993 racers Don Ehinger (Rennlist nom de plume 993944S2) and Doug Hedley, 10th and 12th in class, respectively, all three of whom were in D. I even asked Manny who he paid off for this award but he disavowed any knowledge.
Later, PCA official Lisa Musante came up to me and told me that the national stewards gave me the award despite my crappy qualifying time and because of my relatively improved performance during the sprint race. Thanks, Lisa.
As was mentioned in another thread, yes, I did win the Metro NY DE door prize. Very strange weekend.
The Bad
Did I mention how sucky I am at Watkins Glen? No? Okay, I suck at Watkins Glen. My stock 993 is no match for the 964 Cup Cars, but I was turtle slow even when compared to other 993 drivers.
I will say I found the miles of blue armco and microscopic run-off room to be pretty damn intimidating, the breathtakingly fast Esses not contributing to my confidence at the track. If you’ve never been to the Glen, the Esses are a series of bad-*** turns that need to be taken flat-out in an uphill right hander in 3rd or 4th gear, depending on your car and your nerve, climbing to a left hander, turning and rising at maybe 110 or so, with another fast right hander to rock your world. All of this leads to a straight, the fastest part of the track, and ends with the bus stop, a flat chicane that is a great place to pass.
I did the Metro NY two day DE just before the race but ended up only doing five sessions, having missed one due to new tires being mounted and two sessions that I opted out of since it was raining. I found the Glen to be a very hard track for me to learn, much harder than Sebring which I felt comfortable after twelve laps. The unforgiving armco, the relatively more forgiving styrofoam (more on that later) and the fact that rookies were being closely watched by the scrutineers all weekend conspired to keep my driving conservative. During my last session in the DE, I was doing a very turtle-like 2’ 34”.
The next day at practice, I managed to drop my times to 2’ 31” but I was still waaaaaay off the pace, with the best D car drivers (964 cup cars) doing 2’ 10” and the next 993 turning 2’ 17” or so. I had a lot of time to make up but wasn’t discouraged since I was still learning the track and was having a great time anyway.
At the orientation meeting, we were told that practice is all about practicing racing and not just taking the fastest line. Obvious words but good to be reminded of, nonetheless. When I did my first practice session, I was thrilled to be able to finally pass people in the corners! Manny, Pete, John, Bill and others all told me just to drive my line and not be intimidated. They were right: the faster cars found a way around me. My hairiest time in practice came when six cars strafed me like a group of angry 2700 lb F-18 Hornets, three cars driving around me, three cars diving under me. I felt like I was in a single-engined Cessna compared to these combat planes. I drove my line and managed to not hit anyone or anything.
The practice starts, practice races and fun race were a blast but, really, not as crazy as I thought they would be. I drove with my head, looked for openings where they presented themselves and kept a vigilant watch on my mirrors. Yes, I remembered to shift at the starts. I got out of the car thinking, “Okay, doing this is not going to be a problem. Now, I just need to keep on learning the track.” I think thirteen years of having a very high pressured job where immediate performance is expected (advertising photographer) had trained me well to develop a level of calm in stressful situations. Too bad I’m leaving photography and have gotten into real estate.
(Funny story that contradicts this alleged calm: when I pitted during the enduro, Eric Allen and Manny Alban were fueling my car and doing fireman duties. I kept on bugging them to put in enough fuel since I was worried about making minimal weight. Manny, tiring of my nagging, said, “Go get a drink of water. We got it. Go relax.” I got a chuckle that he thought I was being a pain.)
Speaking of weight, out of curiosity, I put my car on the scales after lunch the first day. With 1/8 of a tank of gas, my car weighed 3004 lbs, 60 lbs under weight. What I thought was no big deal became a minor one when, as I was sitting on the grid for qualifying, who should visit me but Lance Weeks, the national scrutineer. He asked me to bring my car into the tech area after qualifying. Being dumb and naive, I asked him if my car is underweight, would my times be DQ’d? Survey says: YES! I then proceeded to head back to the paddock to fill up my tank, forcing me to start when everyone else had left. When I finished qualifying, I had 3/4 of a tank left and just barely made minimum weight. Clearly, I had to add weight and did so by bolting in two spare rotors into the passenger compartment. I knew it was unlikely I would be weighed because of my commanding finish but I also knew that PCA did random spot checks. It was my goal to avoid being disqualified, no matter how horribly I finished. My best qualifying time was 2’ 23”, if memory serves me.
For the sprint race, I started very far back in the pack, having qualified terribly. Other than the race being my first, it was pretty damn uneventful. I passed a few people, got passed by the leaders, and had a great time trying to keep Mary Tietjen in her 944 Turbo at bay. For several laps, I was sandwiched between her and another car, looking for my exit plan, while making sure she didn't sneak by. I held my own and managed to get by the car in front of me. Sweet! It was a nice, clean race that I ended up finishing 40th out of 56 overall, 14th out of 18 in my class. My fastest time for the race was a 2’ 21”, which was an improvement over qualifying. Cool. I was shaving off a few seconds.
The Ugly
For Sunday’s enduro practice, I began to push the car more. I dropped another second by starting to take hairy, scary Turn 2 (starts the Esses) in fourth gear since I was redlining in third for much longer than I should have while I was transitioning to the uphill left hander. I still wasn’t taking Turn 2 completely flat out, but at least I wasn’t taking the engine beyond the usable power and torque bands. I also used more throttle into the Chute and finally got the very bright idea of using second instead of bog slow third gear for the uphill Turn 7 or the sole of the boot. Turn 8 is a fast right hander that I began to hit harder and earlier; this leads to the off camber Turn 9, a place I never felt like I put it all together. Turn 10, however, is called the Fast Left and is a crazy, quick corner that has more grip and more track out room than I thought. I gained more time there by breathing off the gas, not braking and taking the corner full throttle. With more practice, I can use fourth instead of third, with the better drivers, I'm guessing, taking this one in fourth without any lifting. I started to take the fast left hander flat out and tried to marry that speed with Turn 11, but, alas, it was a shotgun ceremony and I never felt like I got on the power as early as I should have for 11, the all-important turn that leads onto the main straight.
My aggression and pace started to pick up as I became more comfortable with the track. I really tried to follow my plan of pushing slowly and methodically so I wouldn't have a body shop moment at this unforgiving track. VIR this is not.
I had a frightening moment when a 944 Turbo dropped a huge stream of oil on the track at Turn 3 of the Esses. Just as I was starting to get more speed in this area, I see a corner worker waving the debris flag, look on the track and see a dark area right in the middle and exactly where I was driving. Suddenly, the back end of the car starts to yaw right, then left, then right again. I thought for sure I was going to go pinwheeling down the guardrail, scattering parts on the track. Fortunately, lots of luck and a bit of skill kept me off the metal. Our session was, thankfully, blackflagged. I was flying up the Esses.
Using my fastest times from the previous days third practice session, I gridded up at the back of the pack and started my first enduro. I felt like a rocket ship, passing about seven cars and itching for more. The dicing was fairly easy and a total blast! All of the other drivers drove very cleanly and as we entered a corner together, we truly co-existed in the turn and made room for one another. Fantastic!! I was in a tremendous groove, patiently waiting for the person in front to make a mistake, trying to jockey my car into the inside line for whichever corner, be it the next or two corners away, that I thought I had a chance of passing him in. This was the best part of the weekend for me, for this was true racing and tactics and restraint, attempting to reel in the car in front; being behind and wanting to get ahead has been my favorite part of track driving. I was very much in heaven and felt myself immerse into a clean flow state.
When I took a look at my Hot Lap, I saw that I had pulled out a 2’ 18”! Finally, the Glen was starting to come together for me, my confidence in the car, the track and myself gelling into a semblance of a gooey mass that at least had the consistency to hold up a plastic fork, as opposed to having it sink to the bottom like a torpedoed submarine. Next year, I'm going to think "Spam" instead of "Jello".
Within twenty minutes of the enduro, a double yellow was thrown. Manny was in the pits, doing a fuel up and driver change with Pete Tremper, but it was pretty early for me to come in, especially in light of my minimum weight issue. My plan was to start out with a full tank, run as long as I could, fill the tank up and have plenty of weight should I be called in to tech.
When the course went green, I passed a few more cars but encountered another double yellow. I headed into the pits, chugged down a bottle of water and waited for the guys to finish refueling me. Our pit stops went like clockwork and were organized and calm, save for my fuel micromanaging. By the time I went back out, the track went green but I was only about twenty seconds down.
I proceeded to pass a couple of other cars and was chasing down a 911 when my plan went awry. I entered the bus stop pretty hot, got on the power too quickly in the left hander before the right hander exit and managed to loop the car! So very HWFM. I put both feet in and felt my car rest against the styrofoam wall. It was not a hard hit but I knew I had to head back to the pits anyway. Aaaargh! A 13/13 in my second race!!
Once in, Tim Costa told me that there was no damage and that there was only white styrofoam dust on my car. As I was pulling out of the pits, I was waved back in by an official who wanted to take a closer look at the car. After an inspection, he deemed there to be no damage and let me go. I visualized the golden horseshoe that was lodged up my keister and was grateful for its presence. I was told that the styrofoam wall was designed to protect the armco from cars, not to protect the cars. Whatever. I spun, touched a wall at Watkins Glen and did not walk away crying or worse. Rather eventful weekend.
Despite almost getting nailed with a 13/13, I was pretty disappointed to have hit anything at all, however minor. My plan for the weekend was to lie low, run conservatively and get through my first two races. Steve Patti was right; this is the plan you tell yourself but you somehow start grabbing the horse by the reins and spurring it on. Up until my HWFM attempt at finding an apex, I was very much fulfilling my minimum expectations of keeping my nose clean and emerging untainted.
In the end, despite the spin and the time in the pits, I finished 22nd out of 51 overall, and managed a top ten in class for the enduro, 9th out of 17. Not too bad. Maybe next year I can lose another two seconds and get down to 2’ 16”.
What a hell of a weekend and first race it was! Everyone is right: DE’s will never be the same. I loved the driving tactics, the pit organization and strategy, the concept of positioning your car defensively, anticipating the next corners so that a seemingly early disadvantage can be made into an eventual advantage,. It is just an absolute thrill to take a turn with another car and run tight and close, watching every move, hoping you can drive better and that he will make a mistake and give you the lead.
The enduro was much easier than I thought it would be. Having rigged up a Camelbak water system helped immensely. Throughout the race, my concentration level stayed extremely high, having had few reductions in focus. At least at Watkins Glen where I’m still learning the speed secrets, the enduro was the ultimate lapping session and allowed me to get into a rhythm and push the car harder and harder and harder. Too bad I went over the my limit that one time. After the checker fell, I felt like I could have easily driven for another 30 minutes.
I wasn’t done. I wanted more.
Thanks again, everyone! I’ll be doing Summit and VIR.
I’ll try to post pics of my car.
My first club race at Watkins Glen was absolutely incredible! It was a complete rush to drag race someone to a corner, hold the position and outbrake him (or her). It really was everything I thought it would be and filled with great camaraderie, speed, fun and friendly competition. Finally, after all of these years, I was racing and doing it in a 911!
Before I get into all of the details, I want to thank the following people who were very helpful in this new experience:
-Jerome Welte (Jerome951) for the great CD of the Glen he mailed to me.
-Kevin O’Neal, an instructor who took me out on my first session and showed me the line. He patiently guided my oafish early efforts at this track I had never seen before.
-Bill Martin, a really cool guy I met at the DE who ran radios for me during the sprint race. Next year, I expect to see him in D stock in his sweet 964 Cup Car, kicking my *** to the curb.
-John Colasante (JC in NY). It was great to finally meet you. Thanks for your warm welcome and advice. Congrats on your first in class!
-Rich Glickel. I had a garage space twenty feet from him and had no idea that he was from Rennlist. A pleasure.
-Bill Walczak. Very encouraging on Rennlist and off. I hope I can do your old Supercups justice. I’m sorry your Fikses aren’t legal for my class.
-Steve Patti. He gave me some great advice the first day of the DE. Too bad I still had trouble figuring out which turn was which, so most of it went in one ear and out the other. Nice to meet you anyway. I hope I didn’t hold you up too much.
-Steve Weiner at Rennsport Systems. Steve bailed me out of some difficult suspension situations and gave me some solid directions on how to tune the car.
-Gennady Soykher (and Igor and Arunas) at GT Performance, my mechanic here in Maryland. Need I say more?
-Eric Allen. Thanks for fueling me!
-Tim and Kim Costa. Kept me informed during the race and helped keep my head screwed on straight.
-Pete Tremper. Thanks for your words, Pete, and for doing a tremendous job in putting together a successful event.
-Manny Alban(y)
, my club racing mentor. Thanks for your support and humor, Manny!-Skip Boykin (swftiii). Thanks for encouraging me. I'll see you in competition next year, right?
-Bill Harper at Rooftop Communications (rooftopcommunications.com). Rooftop is the hottest ad agency in Baltimore and has been kind enough to split some costs and provide design services for me. Bill is one of the best creative directors I've ever worked with; his ideas are simply amazing, and he has been incredibly supportive of my racing efforts.
Thanks also to Rennlisters Jamie (jford), Mike Cap and Andy (vuugti) for cheering me on and chatting with me at the end. Sorry I couldn’t stick around guys, as I had a plane to catch.
To step foot at hallowed Watkins Glen was a total treat for me, and equal to driving at Sebring this past February, the Glen having so much sports car and Formula One history. When I first started getting into Grand Prix racing in the mid-70’s, the Glen, one of the tracks Lauda, Hunt and Reutemann had dominated, was fascinating to me since the exotic allure of F1 racing was virtually in my backyard.
The Good
Let me stick with cinematic order and get the first part of the title out of the way. Somehow, some way, I managed to win the Rookie Racer Award, perhaps a distinction that should be better named the We-Feel-So-Sorry-For-Your-Slow-***-That-Even-Losers-Should-Get-Something Award. I was extremely surprised to receive this mention and, without wanting to appear overly modest, I felt that there were at least three other rookie racers out of the 27 present who were doing a phenomenally better job than me in their first race, namely 964 Cup driver Brett Overacker (5th in class for the sprint! Nice job!) and 993 racers Don Ehinger (Rennlist nom de plume 993944S2) and Doug Hedley, 10th and 12th in class, respectively, all three of whom were in D. I even asked Manny who he paid off for this award but he disavowed any knowledge.
Later, PCA official Lisa Musante came up to me and told me that the national stewards gave me the award despite my crappy qualifying time and because of my relatively improved performance during the sprint race. Thanks, Lisa.
As was mentioned in another thread, yes, I did win the Metro NY DE door prize. Very strange weekend.
The Bad
Did I mention how sucky I am at Watkins Glen? No? Okay, I suck at Watkins Glen. My stock 993 is no match for the 964 Cup Cars, but I was turtle slow even when compared to other 993 drivers.
I will say I found the miles of blue armco and microscopic run-off room to be pretty damn intimidating, the breathtakingly fast Esses not contributing to my confidence at the track. If you’ve never been to the Glen, the Esses are a series of bad-*** turns that need to be taken flat-out in an uphill right hander in 3rd or 4th gear, depending on your car and your nerve, climbing to a left hander, turning and rising at maybe 110 or so, with another fast right hander to rock your world. All of this leads to a straight, the fastest part of the track, and ends with the bus stop, a flat chicane that is a great place to pass.
I did the Metro NY two day DE just before the race but ended up only doing five sessions, having missed one due to new tires being mounted and two sessions that I opted out of since it was raining. I found the Glen to be a very hard track for me to learn, much harder than Sebring which I felt comfortable after twelve laps. The unforgiving armco, the relatively more forgiving styrofoam (more on that later) and the fact that rookies were being closely watched by the scrutineers all weekend conspired to keep my driving conservative. During my last session in the DE, I was doing a very turtle-like 2’ 34”.
The next day at practice, I managed to drop my times to 2’ 31” but I was still waaaaaay off the pace, with the best D car drivers (964 cup cars) doing 2’ 10” and the next 993 turning 2’ 17” or so. I had a lot of time to make up but wasn’t discouraged since I was still learning the track and was having a great time anyway.
At the orientation meeting, we were told that practice is all about practicing racing and not just taking the fastest line. Obvious words but good to be reminded of, nonetheless. When I did my first practice session, I was thrilled to be able to finally pass people in the corners! Manny, Pete, John, Bill and others all told me just to drive my line and not be intimidated. They were right: the faster cars found a way around me. My hairiest time in practice came when six cars strafed me like a group of angry 2700 lb F-18 Hornets, three cars driving around me, three cars diving under me. I felt like I was in a single-engined Cessna compared to these combat planes. I drove my line and managed to not hit anyone or anything.
The practice starts, practice races and fun race were a blast but, really, not as crazy as I thought they would be. I drove with my head, looked for openings where they presented themselves and kept a vigilant watch on my mirrors. Yes, I remembered to shift at the starts. I got out of the car thinking, “Okay, doing this is not going to be a problem. Now, I just need to keep on learning the track.” I think thirteen years of having a very high pressured job where immediate performance is expected (advertising photographer) had trained me well to develop a level of calm in stressful situations. Too bad I’m leaving photography and have gotten into real estate.
(Funny story that contradicts this alleged calm: when I pitted during the enduro, Eric Allen and Manny Alban were fueling my car and doing fireman duties. I kept on bugging them to put in enough fuel since I was worried about making minimal weight. Manny, tiring of my nagging, said, “Go get a drink of water. We got it. Go relax.” I got a chuckle that he thought I was being a pain.)
Speaking of weight, out of curiosity, I put my car on the scales after lunch the first day. With 1/8 of a tank of gas, my car weighed 3004 lbs, 60 lbs under weight. What I thought was no big deal became a minor one when, as I was sitting on the grid for qualifying, who should visit me but Lance Weeks, the national scrutineer. He asked me to bring my car into the tech area after qualifying. Being dumb and naive, I asked him if my car is underweight, would my times be DQ’d? Survey says: YES! I then proceeded to head back to the paddock to fill up my tank, forcing me to start when everyone else had left. When I finished qualifying, I had 3/4 of a tank left and just barely made minimum weight. Clearly, I had to add weight and did so by bolting in two spare rotors into the passenger compartment. I knew it was unlikely I would be weighed because of my commanding finish but I also knew that PCA did random spot checks. It was my goal to avoid being disqualified, no matter how horribly I finished. My best qualifying time was 2’ 23”, if memory serves me.
For the sprint race, I started very far back in the pack, having qualified terribly. Other than the race being my first, it was pretty damn uneventful. I passed a few people, got passed by the leaders, and had a great time trying to keep Mary Tietjen in her 944 Turbo at bay. For several laps, I was sandwiched between her and another car, looking for my exit plan, while making sure she didn't sneak by. I held my own and managed to get by the car in front of me. Sweet! It was a nice, clean race that I ended up finishing 40th out of 56 overall, 14th out of 18 in my class. My fastest time for the race was a 2’ 21”, which was an improvement over qualifying. Cool. I was shaving off a few seconds.
The Ugly
For Sunday’s enduro practice, I began to push the car more. I dropped another second by starting to take hairy, scary Turn 2 (starts the Esses) in fourth gear since I was redlining in third for much longer than I should have while I was transitioning to the uphill left hander. I still wasn’t taking Turn 2 completely flat out, but at least I wasn’t taking the engine beyond the usable power and torque bands. I also used more throttle into the Chute and finally got the very bright idea of using second instead of bog slow third gear for the uphill Turn 7 or the sole of the boot. Turn 8 is a fast right hander that I began to hit harder and earlier; this leads to the off camber Turn 9, a place I never felt like I put it all together. Turn 10, however, is called the Fast Left and is a crazy, quick corner that has more grip and more track out room than I thought. I gained more time there by breathing off the gas, not braking and taking the corner full throttle. With more practice, I can use fourth instead of third, with the better drivers, I'm guessing, taking this one in fourth without any lifting. I started to take the fast left hander flat out and tried to marry that speed with Turn 11, but, alas, it was a shotgun ceremony and I never felt like I got on the power as early as I should have for 11, the all-important turn that leads onto the main straight.
My aggression and pace started to pick up as I became more comfortable with the track. I really tried to follow my plan of pushing slowly and methodically so I wouldn't have a body shop moment at this unforgiving track. VIR this is not.
I had a frightening moment when a 944 Turbo dropped a huge stream of oil on the track at Turn 3 of the Esses. Just as I was starting to get more speed in this area, I see a corner worker waving the debris flag, look on the track and see a dark area right in the middle and exactly where I was driving. Suddenly, the back end of the car starts to yaw right, then left, then right again. I thought for sure I was going to go pinwheeling down the guardrail, scattering parts on the track. Fortunately, lots of luck and a bit of skill kept me off the metal. Our session was, thankfully, blackflagged. I was flying up the Esses.
Using my fastest times from the previous days third practice session, I gridded up at the back of the pack and started my first enduro. I felt like a rocket ship, passing about seven cars and itching for more. The dicing was fairly easy and a total blast! All of the other drivers drove very cleanly and as we entered a corner together, we truly co-existed in the turn and made room for one another. Fantastic!! I was in a tremendous groove, patiently waiting for the person in front to make a mistake, trying to jockey my car into the inside line for whichever corner, be it the next or two corners away, that I thought I had a chance of passing him in. This was the best part of the weekend for me, for this was true racing and tactics and restraint, attempting to reel in the car in front; being behind and wanting to get ahead has been my favorite part of track driving. I was very much in heaven and felt myself immerse into a clean flow state.
When I took a look at my Hot Lap, I saw that I had pulled out a 2’ 18”! Finally, the Glen was starting to come together for me, my confidence in the car, the track and myself gelling into a semblance of a gooey mass that at least had the consistency to hold up a plastic fork, as opposed to having it sink to the bottom like a torpedoed submarine. Next year, I'm going to think "Spam" instead of "Jello".
Within twenty minutes of the enduro, a double yellow was thrown. Manny was in the pits, doing a fuel up and driver change with Pete Tremper, but it was pretty early for me to come in, especially in light of my minimum weight issue. My plan was to start out with a full tank, run as long as I could, fill the tank up and have plenty of weight should I be called in to tech.
When the course went green, I passed a few more cars but encountered another double yellow. I headed into the pits, chugged down a bottle of water and waited for the guys to finish refueling me. Our pit stops went like clockwork and were organized and calm, save for my fuel micromanaging. By the time I went back out, the track went green but I was only about twenty seconds down.
I proceeded to pass a couple of other cars and was chasing down a 911 when my plan went awry. I entered the bus stop pretty hot, got on the power too quickly in the left hander before the right hander exit and managed to loop the car! So very HWFM. I put both feet in and felt my car rest against the styrofoam wall. It was not a hard hit but I knew I had to head back to the pits anyway. Aaaargh! A 13/13 in my second race!!
Once in, Tim Costa told me that there was no damage and that there was only white styrofoam dust on my car. As I was pulling out of the pits, I was waved back in by an official who wanted to take a closer look at the car. After an inspection, he deemed there to be no damage and let me go. I visualized the golden horseshoe that was lodged up my keister and was grateful for its presence. I was told that the styrofoam wall was designed to protect the armco from cars, not to protect the cars. Whatever. I spun, touched a wall at Watkins Glen and did not walk away crying or worse. Rather eventful weekend.
Despite almost getting nailed with a 13/13, I was pretty disappointed to have hit anything at all, however minor. My plan for the weekend was to lie low, run conservatively and get through my first two races. Steve Patti was right; this is the plan you tell yourself but you somehow start grabbing the horse by the reins and spurring it on. Up until my HWFM attempt at finding an apex, I was very much fulfilling my minimum expectations of keeping my nose clean and emerging untainted.
In the end, despite the spin and the time in the pits, I finished 22nd out of 51 overall, and managed a top ten in class for the enduro, 9th out of 17. Not too bad. Maybe next year I can lose another two seconds and get down to 2’ 16”.
What a hell of a weekend and first race it was! Everyone is right: DE’s will never be the same. I loved the driving tactics, the pit organization and strategy, the concept of positioning your car defensively, anticipating the next corners so that a seemingly early disadvantage can be made into an eventual advantage,. It is just an absolute thrill to take a turn with another car and run tight and close, watching every move, hoping you can drive better and that he will make a mistake and give you the lead.
The enduro was much easier than I thought it would be. Having rigged up a Camelbak water system helped immensely. Throughout the race, my concentration level stayed extremely high, having had few reductions in focus. At least at Watkins Glen where I’m still learning the speed secrets, the enduro was the ultimate lapping session and allowed me to get into a rhythm and push the car harder and harder and harder. Too bad I went over the my limit that one time. After the checker fell, I felt like I could have easily driven for another 30 minutes.
I wasn’t done. I wanted more.
Thanks again, everyone! I’ll be doing Summit and VIR.
I’ll try to post pics of my car.
Last edited by Mark in Baltimore; 06-15-2004 at 09:51 PM.
06-14-2004, 11:45 PM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Mark,
Great post! Sounds like you had a great weekend. Steve Patti's a great guy! I run with him (or should I say try to) down here in Big D. He can definitely get that RSCS around the track.
Speaking of weight, at TWS I forgot to fuel before qualifying & realized it when I was sitting on grid & it was too late. Naturally, with my lack of a "golden horseshoe", they call all the D cars in to tech after the run. Get this, I was 2 Lbs. under weight! Great weigh (pun intended) to learn a lesson
Great post! Sounds like you had a great weekend. Steve Patti's a great guy! I run with him (or should I say try to) down here in Big D. He can definitely get that RSCS around the track.
Speaking of weight, at TWS I forgot to fuel before qualifying & realized it when I was sitting on grid & it was too late. Naturally, with my lack of a "golden horseshoe", they call all the D cars in to tech after the run. Get this, I was 2 Lbs. under weight! Great weigh (pun intended) to learn a lesson
06-14-2004, 11:50 PM
#3
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Mark,
It only took me 4 trips up and down the stairs with the new Baby to get through your post. As expected it was a great story, but what about those pics you have been promising since last week.
WIth regard to the 'kiss'. Doesn't this sound a little like Sebring? Didn't something similar happen down south? Hmmmmmmm Maybe a recurring theme for new tracks - a 'kiss' to keep them happy....
Congrats on having 2 of your 4 rookie races under your belt successfully. See you at Summit, if not earlier.
-Skip
It only took me 4 trips up and down the stairs with the new Baby to get through your post. As expected it was a great story, but what about those pics you have been promising since last week.
WIth regard to the 'kiss'. Doesn't this sound a little like Sebring? Didn't something similar happen down south? Hmmmmmmm Maybe a recurring theme for new tracks - a 'kiss' to keep them happy....
Congrats on having 2 of your 4 rookie races under your belt successfully. See you at Summit, if not earlier.
-Skip
06-14-2004, 11:53 PM
#4
From virgin to ***** in one short weekend - terrific!
Great post Mark. Having Manny and Pete around would have provided enough 'fuggedaboudit' to quell the nerves of any first race novice. Sound like you did exceptionally well AND managed to uphold the finest HWFM standards with a dentless loop out of the bus stop.
See you at SP, if not before.
Great post Mark. Having Manny and Pete around would have provided enough 'fuggedaboudit' to quell the nerves of any first race novice. Sound like you did exceptionally well AND managed to uphold the finest HWFM standards with a dentless loop out of the bus stop.
See you at SP, if not before.
06-15-2004, 12:20 AM
#5
Great post Mark. Sounds like you had a great time with the gang, wish I could have been there.
Sounds like you got the suspension problems worked out. I hope you have some in car video.
Keep that lucky horse shoe in a safe place
Todd
Sounds like you got the suspension problems worked out. I hope you have some in car video.
Keep that lucky horse shoe in a safe place
Todd
06-15-2004, 01:10 AM
#6
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Enjoyed your write up immensely, Mark.
Congrats on your first two races.
But no DFL, what kind of first outing is that?
Automatic double secret probation for you my boy!
Congrats on your first two races.
But no DFL, what kind of first outing is that?
Automatic double secret probation for you my boy!
06-15-2004, 01:38 AM
#7
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
JW - You can borrow my horseshoe as long as you clean it up. I opted to pull out of my grid position since I was going to be DQ'd for being too light anyway. I thought if I got lucky, I could get a clear shot at some nice, fast laps and not have to deal with any cars that were battling it out in front of me.
Skip - I'd like to avoid the wall smooching for new tracks. I'll post the photos as soon as I can.
Tony - You know how those two operate. I'm glad I didn't do this race by myself.
Todd - We missed you at the Glen. What a beautiful drive through New York.
Mike - But I spun! Can I get a spanking by the bikinied (sp?) Mother Superior instead of probation?
Skip - I'd like to avoid the wall smooching for new tracks. I'll post the photos as soon as I can.
Tony - You know how those two operate. I'm glad I didn't do this race by myself.
Todd - We missed you at the Glen. What a beautiful drive through New York.
Mike - But I spun! Can I get a spanking by the bikinied (sp?) Mother Superior instead of probation?
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06-15-2004, 02:01 AM
#8
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Mark,
Great to hear the weekend was successful, ie. you made it home with your car intact and finished both races.
Sorry I couldn't be there for the support. Sonds like you're getting the hang of things already. Just a little more seat time and you'll be ready for Grand Am.
Sam and I just got back from Montreal and were wondering all weekend how you were doing. If the race falls on the same weekend as the Canadian GP next year, we'll know not to ask you to go to Montreal. We'll know where you're going.
Chris
Great to hear the weekend was successful, ie. you made it home with your car intact and finished both races.
Sorry I couldn't be there for the support. Sonds like you're getting the hang of things already. Just a little more seat time and you'll be ready for Grand Am.
Sam and I just got back from Montreal and were wondering all weekend how you were doing. If the race falls on the same weekend as the Canadian GP next year, we'll know not to ask you to go to Montreal. We'll know where you're going.
Chris
06-15-2004, 03:14 AM
#9
Rennlist Member
Mark -
Great job with your 1st Porsche race! I'm envious. I thoroughly enjoyed your write up.
Rich
Great job with your 1st Porsche race! I'm envious. I thoroughly enjoyed your write up.
Rich
06-15-2004, 10:07 AM
#11
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Thread Starter
Chris - You'll have to tell me how Montreal was. Did anyone sleep outside the room?
Rich - Thanks! I'm even more of a true track rat now, if that were even possible.
Mark - Thank you. It was a fantastic experience.
Rich - Thanks! I'm even more of a true track rat now, if that were even possible.
Mark - Thank you. It was a fantastic experience.
06-15-2004, 10:07 AM
#12
Rennlist Member
Great post! and great job! Your post reminds me of the fact that the one thing I didn't count on when becoming a track junkie (DE only so far) is meeting all the great people. I can't believe how helpful everyone is....and cool,..... except that Z06 that wouldn't give me a point by at that last FATT after three laps, but another story.
Hope to see you soon! I plan on visiting the SP race.
Jim
Hope to see you soon! I plan on visiting the SP race.
Jim
06-15-2004, 10:35 AM
#13
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Mark, I feel bad, I was the guy you passed and then spun in front of me. You were looking good out there too!! I think that enduro was the worst one I've been in for accidents. I find those double yellows really screw up the pack. Hopefully your next enduro will have less. The Glen is a very Manly track. I commend all those first time rookies who started their Club Racing career there.
Cheers, James
Cheers, James
06-15-2004, 10:40 AM
#14
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Jim - Thanks! I'm guessing you're not too far away form the CR route.
James - I thought it was an E car but had no idea who it was. I had a great time chasing you. I pushed it harder through the bus stop but I didn't think it was unreasonably harder. Unfortunately, physics and my limited talent don't care what I think.
James - I thought it was an E car but had no idea who it was. I had a great time chasing you. I pushed it harder through the bus stop but I didn't think it was unreasonably harder. Unfortunately, physics and my limited talent don't care what I think.
06-15-2004, 11:30 AM
#15
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Mark was my first mentoree that won the race Rookie award...maybe I should start doing this for a living Actually, he was the perfect rookie candidate...always arriving to the grid early, making sure he car was properly prepared during his off times, taping a map of the track to his steering wheel in case he got lost, sticking 10lbs of stickers on his car for extra ballast (and before you make fun of my car, those red stripes are pretty much holding all that bondo together ), not falling asleep at the orientation meeting (unlike my 9 year old son who fell asleep during the parade laps on the track...yup, nothing like boosting your ego to have your first born so bored with your driving that he dozes off even though the car has straight exhaust).
Good job Mark, only three more races this year to get that nifty Safe Racer patch (remember, VIR is two races).
Actually, he was the perfect rookie candidate...always arriving to the grid early, making sure he car was properly prepared during his off times, taping a map of the track to his steering wheel in case he got lost, sticking 10lbs of stickers on his car for extra ballast (and before you make fun of my car, those red stripes are pretty much holding all that bondo together ), not falling asleep at the orientation meeting (unlike my 9 year old son who fell asleep during the parade laps on the track...yup, nothing like boosting your ego to have your first born so bored with your driving that he dozes off even though the car has straight exhaust).Good job Mark, only three more races this year to get that nifty Safe Racer patch (remember, VIR is two races).