bobt993

Sorry for video quality, still working on transfer rate for hd DV widescreen to web. On DVD looks fantastic. Nov Club Race, rain in the 40's. 6 cars on rain tires, the rest of us on slicks. Amazing how well Hoosier rains work as you see the cup cars go flying by.

http://bobt993.neptune.com?selectedalbum=bobt993291722

MJR911

Bob, you should write about the race in Der Gasser. You'll have tons of followers.

Happy New Year.

smankow

Bob, do you have any dry runs from SP for comparisons of the driving lines?

Good, safe driving in very "iffy" conditions.


Steve

bobt993

Steve, there was no line in the rain on slicks. Just look for grip. Over 120mph on the front straight the car would hydroplance immediately, I was pushing 125 and the car would start sliding off the track one inch at a time. There were rivers across T1, T6,T7,T8, and a huge puddle at the braking zone into T10. The traffic helped push the water off, but again alot of sliding and catching the car. Best description would be driving on performance tires on ice at 60mph and trying to stay on the road every second. fun.

Veloce Raptor

Hoosier rains are INCREDIBLE.

forklift

Hey Bob,

Thanks for posting, that looks like a handfull on slickers.

I (really) had a dream last night that I went to Summit and they were repaving it. Hopefully that dream will come true.

bobt993

Exactly, if you watch the guys on Hoosier rains go by, they were running 10 secs a lap faster than dries. It was however bad enough that instead of running 1:18's (dry), fastest lap was around 1:40. Conditions were that bad. When I would see them coming, I would make a slow predictable move to the outside to avoid contact from a potential spin and let them take a clean line on the inside.

}{arlequin

that's about how i remember it. don't feel bad, ra1's didn't fare any better.

Manny Alban

Great video Bob. I was driving the polka dotted car. All I remember from that race was how hard it was to differentiate between grip and sliding. I didn't feel safe going over 90 on the front straight. The amount of standing water was incredible.

Funny, but I wasn't going to run in that race. About 10 minutes before the race, my buddy told me that I could use his wheels with Hoosier rains. I thought about it and took him up on it. Having never run on Hoosier rains, I figured what the heck. However, he left as soon as he told me and I was left trying to figure out what direction the tread went (between the rain and rushing to change tires, we couldn't find any arrows on the sidewalls) or what pressures to start with. So off I went. They seemed great in the corners, but I felt the car hydroplaning on the front straight when I would creep above 90, so I played it safe and just cruised to T1. I gotta say, I really liked my V700 Kuhmos with full tread better when I raced at Summit in the rain a few years back. Don't know if the track has just gotten worst in the past few years when it comes to rain and grip or if it was me. Needless to say, survival and short shifting were the order of the day for me

bobt993

Manny, I remember running with you and you did have more grip in the turns. Above 90mph, it was hell . I would short shift to 5th, keep my foot to the floor and stay busy with the wheel to 125, then breath the throttle to settle the front for what was full ABS braking into T1. Your right about grip and slidding, unpredictable at times except in T3, top of T4 T8, T9 where you could anticipate a big slip and correct a little early with the wheel. My car was lousy in the dry, at least a second slower than last year on an older/stiffer suspension (Motons coming now). In the wet, it was alot easier to drive and I guess it was dumb luck as I didn't even loosen the sway bars to run the wet race. Must get a set of Hoosier rains this year.

Musche

Those of you that had slicks on have big cahones my friend. I worked the grid for those races and remember thinking as the rain came down harder just as we were releasing the cars, " Maybe we should be passing out scarves with the Rising Sun and yelling Tora, Tora, Tora, because these guys aren't coming back!" Can't imagine the mix of adrenaline and fear in those conditions. Nice, smart driving on your part.