i did 2 sprint races with NASA at Road ATL a few weeks ago and they went incredibly well, especially for being my first races - no issues that were not of my own making. HOWEVER, AT THE PCA RACE at Road ATL last week i could not believe the blocking i was the recipient of (on a side not also some of the drivers that seemed to be a little dangerous... i guess i just need to start a mental note of who they are). i mean im in a small class (b - there were supposed to be 5, but only 4 were there) so maybe the spot is more competitive - but it almost caused me to wreck twice while going for the lead - once coming through 5 i had a big run on him over the rumbles and at the last possible second he jerked the wheel to get in front of me, totally off his line. then going down the back straight i went to go by him right at the kink and he gave me a little fake with the slight jerk of the wheel and the next lap while drafting him i got the tap of the brake. then there was more "normal" blocking. then group 2 hit total mayhem and i never had another chance with losing 5 laps or so ... although next time ill do better and keep my spot in front at the start!

so my questions is - is this the norm? i did not complain or anything, if thats just what racing is then im cool with it (and i thought maybe the corner workers would say something?), but it made me feel more like we were racing for a sizeable chunk of change. i had 2 people who at one time or another were around us on the track who came up to me told me it was bs what he was doing, but they also made it clear they didn't like the guy. so personal feelings aside i thought i would get a nice honest answer here.

thanks - just trying to learn

 

Are you talking about the yellow GT3? Were you in the black GT3?
I watched turn one for a while and he was blocking in a big way, IMO. Doesn't sound like the guy is playing "fair". You can take any line you want but you should not alter it based on what the guy behind you is doing.

Brake checking on the back straight is ridiculous, are you certain he wasn't just building up pressure in his brakes?

 

The camcorder is your friend. Not because it answers the two basic primal needs of the racer ('instant gratification' and 'vanity'), but because it documents what all those other asshats are doing, in a fairly unambiguous way.

Share the vid with other drivers, and ask for opinions. Share it with Stewards, and ask opinions. If someone is being THAT much of an idiot, somebody needs to take him to task. As you're a noob, you probably don't have 'standing' on your own, but a tape in the hands of a Steward is a pretty potent bomb.

 

Derek,

I've only been at this for a few years but I've not seen a lot of blocking in E...it's quite competitive but I've actually seen a lot of very fair but aggressive racing which is what I think it should be. I also think that in general most of the guys I've raced with have a pretty good balance of driver ability & car capability. I have a number of friends running in the higher classes who have said that they often see a significant imbalance of driver ability & car capability in their classes.

Good to meet you - hope you had fun down there.

Rick

 

yes i was in the black gt3 and i am referring to the yellow one.

i will take the tape with me to the next pca race, or maybe send a copy to a steward. that way i guess i get their opinion and since they are running it...

i want to give him the benefit of the doubt on the brake check... but after the other things that happened??? im also thinking maybe he is not knowledgeable enough to realize what he is doing? although i hear he has been racing for quite a while.

 

Post the video here if you can. He may play dumb if confronted but I guarantee you he knew what he was doing.
If he was racing in a different venue he would have been given the "chrome horn".

 

This kind of behavior is not in the spirit of club racing and should not be tolerated. Please persue this with the stewards before this knucklehead causes an accident.

 

Derek:
One move is considered defending your position, two or more moves is blocking. Personally, I can't stand blcoking and don't do it. Fortunately, most PCA racers do not drive like that, at least the ones I have raced with. There is always one guy who feels that is part of racing.

If you dog these guys enough, they will usually make a mistake and you can get by. Post the video if you can, we'd all like to see it.

 

First, I'd guess the level of competition in PCA is alot higher that NASA... at least in the front.

That said, sounds like the guy was blocking egregiously. In my experience, (G Stock) the racing in PCA is generally aggressive but clean. The first couple turns after the start there is alot of "maneuvering", but that is to be expected. After that, you may see some "defensive" driving, or guys who are not going to give up a turn without making you earn it, but only one or two individuals that will block and usually they are not the top guys (who are so fast they couldn't block if they wanted to...)

Sounds like you got a single individual who is over his head. In the upper run groups you have guys with VERY fast cars, and no more racing experience than anybody else...so the issues can get magnified by HP.

 

That would be a poor guess. Not sure what experience you are basing this on, nor what you mean by the 'level of competition', but the suggestion is clearly that PCA CR is a higher level of skill and prep. This is not accurate, somewhat arrogant, and entirely uncalled for.

Having raced in both, and coming from a solidly PCA background, it seems to me that both PCA and NASA racing is similar in more ways than it is different. There are great racers, newbie racers, and everything in between in both fields.

I'm not looking for an argument here, but could not let that comment pass without making this point.

 

Please post the video here as well. I am a fellow newbie, and it always helps to see what other people experience, and to hear comments about appropriate vs. inappropriate behaviour. There was a fair bit of chaos during my first two races (one of which was in a blizzard ), and I found that there is just so much that happens on the track that is not covered in the rules or in the licensing schools or anywhere else. For this reason, I really enjoy seeing people's reaction to incidents on the track.

 

Good point. No disrespect intended at all. I am planning to do some NASA races this year, and did a quick check of the fields and qualifying times, but that does't tell the whole story. This year at the Glen, I was racing against 50 G and F cars... that seemed pretty darn competitive to me, but that probably isn't a fair comparison.
i

 

Good point. No disrespect intended at all. I am planning to do some NASA races this year, and did a quick check of the fields and qualifying times, but that does't tell the whole story. This year at the Glen, I was racing against 50 G and F cars... that seemed pretty darn competitive to me, but that probably isn't a fair comparison.

 

Opps...douple post

 

It would sure be nice if the stewards helped settle this type of 'style', before the competitors decide to settle it "SCCA style" i.e. the chrome horn... aka: 'Punt'

left unaddressed, this type of mentality is hard to fix... and tends to encourage similar behavior

(could this be an SCCA racer?... or maybe NASCAR? lol..)