Ramblings from Clash at the Glen
#47
Best Race Ever
I had the best weekend of racing....even after getting rear ended by an idiot on a full course yellow in the Enduro, go figure that one out!!!
Finished 1st in both Sprints (F Class) and Workers Choice Award in F Class. Ran with the "H" boys all day and had all but one beat in the first Sprint until it went full course yellow....on the restart they surrounded me on both sides. My F just dosen't have the horses they do to start as strong as them. Still finished 5th overall with just 4 "H"s in front of me. Second sprint was about the same with another full course yellow and same thing at the retart but still got 4th overall and almost caught another one at the start finish line, got beat by a fender.
For all you guys who have ever totalled a car in PCA racing, it took me 4 years to finally get totally back in the saddle and drive like I'm capable. I had a ball racing with everybody except a couple (when you get rearended on a full course yellow you have to wonder what the guy is doing racing with us).
All in all can't wait to get back at the track. Thanks to Dan Jacobs and his great crew at "Hairy Dog Garage" for all the support and fun he provides me with setting up my car.
Finished 1st in both Sprints (F Class) and Workers Choice Award in F Class. Ran with the "H" boys all day and had all but one beat in the first Sprint until it went full course yellow....on the restart they surrounded me on both sides. My F just dosen't have the horses they do to start as strong as them. Still finished 5th overall with just 4 "H"s in front of me. Second sprint was about the same with another full course yellow and same thing at the retart but still got 4th overall and almost caught another one at the start finish line, got beat by a fender.
For all you guys who have ever totalled a car in PCA racing, it took me 4 years to finally get totally back in the saddle and drive like I'm capable. I had a ball racing with everybody except a couple (when you get rearended on a full course yellow you have to wonder what the guy is doing racing with us).
All in all can't wait to get back at the track. Thanks to Dan Jacobs and his great crew at "Hairy Dog Garage" for all the support and fun he provides me with setting up my car.
#48
Congrats Wayne! You ran very strong all weekend and got the prizes you deserve. Youdaman!
I had the best weekend of racing....even after getting rear ended by an idiot on a full course yellow in the Enduro, go figure that one out!!!
Finished 1st in both Sprints (F Class) and Workers Choice Award in F Class. Ran with the "H" boys all day and had all but one beat in the first Sprint until it went full course yellow....on the restart they surrounded me on both sides. My F just dosen't have the horses they do to start as strong as them. Still finished 5th overall with just 4 "H"s in front of me. Second sprint was about the same with another full course yellow and same thing at the retart but still got 4th overall and almost caught another one at the start finish line, got beat by a fender.
For all you guys who have ever totalled a car in PCA racing, it took me 4 years to finally get totally back in the saddle and drive like I'm capable. I had a ball racing with everybody except a couple (when you get rearended on a full course yellow you have to wonder what the guy is doing racing with us).
All in all can't wait to get back at the track. Thanks to Dan Jacobs and his great crew at "Hairy Dog Garage" for all the support and fun he provides me with setting up my car.
Finished 1st in both Sprints (F Class) and Workers Choice Award in F Class. Ran with the "H" boys all day and had all but one beat in the first Sprint until it went full course yellow....on the restart they surrounded me on both sides. My F just dosen't have the horses they do to start as strong as them. Still finished 5th overall with just 4 "H"s in front of me. Second sprint was about the same with another full course yellow and same thing at the retart but still got 4th overall and almost caught another one at the start finish line, got beat by a fender.
For all you guys who have ever totalled a car in PCA racing, it took me 4 years to finally get totally back in the saddle and drive like I'm capable. I had a ball racing with everybody except a couple (when you get rearended on a full course yellow you have to wonder what the guy is doing racing with us).
All in all can't wait to get back at the track. Thanks to Dan Jacobs and his great crew at "Hairy Dog Garage" for all the support and fun he provides me with setting up my car.
#50
Nice to meet VR and catch up with all the rest, Sean, Gary, Dan, Boston, Vito. Met FredC, Ferrell, Pedronole, NJcroc and many more.
HUGE THANKS to Sean and Gary and Vito for helping me get my high temp issue under control. See you at Summit, bring your tools
My X is gone too That may not be a good thing. I think it may have made a few of you think twice about dive bombing me. Don't want to freak out the rookie :lol:
Though GH beat me legitimately in two races I'm pretty astonished at how much we both improved. With one dry practice session we each got much quicker over the course of the weekend. Just trying to hang with the guy in front of you really makes a difference. It seems that each race weekend I set a personal best lap time so look out!
My finishes got a little better each race. Not much but a little. That enduro was fantastic. There were about two laps where I wasn't racing for position with someone. Just a rush! Really made up for Saturday.
Highlights coming soon.
HUGE THANKS to Sean and Gary and Vito for helping me get my high temp issue under control. See you at Summit, bring your tools
My X is gone too That may not be a good thing. I think it may have made a few of you think twice about dive bombing me. Don't want to freak out the rookie :lol:
Though GH beat me legitimately in two races I'm pretty astonished at how much we both improved. With one dry practice session we each got much quicker over the course of the weekend. Just trying to hang with the guy in front of you really makes a difference. It seems that each race weekend I set a personal best lap time so look out!
My finishes got a little better each race. Not much but a little. That enduro was fantastic. There were about two laps where I wasn't racing for position with someone. Just a rush! Really made up for Saturday.
Highlights coming soon.
#51
There was another real idiot out there. Red 944 #505 running in GT5. This numb-nuts BACKED into me in the STAGING LINE for the Saturday morning warm-up when we were all lined up single file!!! Why he thought he could back up without hitting somebody is a mystery. Made no effort to come over afterwards and apologize either.
Last edited by dave morris; 06-01-2009 at 02:02 PM.
#52
Hey Fred, nice racing with you at the beginning of the enduro. I wish they would not have split D and E as I think we could have had some fun in the sprints.
My motor was shifted over after my "brake fluid" incident on Friday and I missed my shift going down into the boot when you were on my tail in the enduro. Talk about a roller coaster weekend - wrecked car on Friday, two wins in class on Saturday and then zing the motor on Sunday.
BTW, Bill Petty who was air-lifted to PA after hitting the wall appears to be doing well. He came back to the track around 11 a.m. Sunday and we had lunch in town and he hit the road back to Colorado.
My motor was shifted over after my "brake fluid" incident on Friday and I missed my shift going down into the boot when you were on my tail in the enduro. Talk about a roller coaster weekend - wrecked car on Friday, two wins in class on Saturday and then zing the motor on Sunday.
BTW, Bill Petty who was air-lifted to PA after hitting the wall appears to be doing well. He came back to the track around 11 a.m. Sunday and we had lunch in town and he hit the road back to Colorado.
#53
Awesome Gary... We don't share the Brit part, but certainly, the passion (sometimes refer to alongside as "dumb racers")! I have been looking as well... tight budget permitting, if not for NJMP, perhaps for the next race... Hope you are not too terribly sore...
But now to the important stuff: Congrats on the Track record!!!!!! Not a better place to have one! Talk about a weekend for ya......
Wow... from reading the other comments, it sounds like there was some first class racing all around.
But now to the important stuff: Congrats on the Track record!!!!!! Not a better place to have one! Talk about a weekend for ya......
Wow... from reading the other comments, it sounds like there was some first class racing all around.
#54
I spoke today to the guy following as well as the corner workers, they all said the same thing that the video showed. The car started drifting away when the tyres went on me. The corner worker thought at 1st that I had caught it but as it drifted accross onto the rumble strips my efforts became void as the balance of the car was now gone and it spun big time. She (the corner worker) said my car was repelled more than 6ft into the air after hitting the tyre wall. The video shows the grass on the other side of the wall while its rotating in the air. She said it then landed on the drivers side of the roof and then rolled. My helmet has several cracks in it and a dent from the roof impact. HJC SI 12 is truely a fantastic safe helmet.
Here's a few pic's of a great car which deserved a better cage!!!
Now you know why my neck and chest hurts to much and why my head was pushed forward and was trapped untill the rescue team arrived, who by the way were absolutely brilliant, special thanks to those guy's!!!
Here's a few pic's of a great car which deserved a better cage!!!
Now you know why my neck and chest hurts to much and why my head was pushed forward and was trapped untill the rescue team arrived, who by the way were absolutely brilliant, special thanks to those guy's!!!
Gary,
So glad to hear your OK. Sorry to hear but it looks like you could have ended up in a lot worse shape. I will miss the tell tale signs of your car on the track. It was always one I could see off in the distance hopefully getting larger but usually getting smaller.
#55
Wow, mass carnage this weekend. There are always wrecks at the Glen, but not usually that bad. In the green group a 944 got nudged into the wall coming out of the toe. The flaggers were on it and they went full course yellow. A 911 then hit the stationary 944!
#56
I had the best weekend of racing....even after getting rear ended by an idiot on a full course yellow in the Enduro, go figure that one out!!!
Finished 1st in both Sprints (F Class) and Workers Choice Award in F Class. Ran with the "H" boys all day and had all but one beat in the first Sprint until it went full course yellow....on the restart they surrounded me on both sides. My F just dosen't have the horses they do to start as strong as them. Still finished 5th overall with just 4 "H"s in front of me. Second sprint was about the same with another full course yellow and same thing at the retart but still got 4th overall and almost caught another one at the start finish line, got beat by a fender.
For all you guys who have ever totalled a car in PCA racing, it took me 4 years to finally get totally back in the saddle and drive like I'm capable. I had a ball racing with everybody except a couple (when you get rearended on a full course yellow you have to wonder what the guy is doing racing with us).
All in all can't wait to get back at the track. Thanks to Dan Jacobs and his great crew at "Hairy Dog Garage" for all the support and fun he provides me with setting up my car.
Finished 1st in both Sprints (F Class) and Workers Choice Award in F Class. Ran with the "H" boys all day and had all but one beat in the first Sprint until it went full course yellow....on the restart they surrounded me on both sides. My F just dosen't have the horses they do to start as strong as them. Still finished 5th overall with just 4 "H"s in front of me. Second sprint was about the same with another full course yellow and same thing at the retart but still got 4th overall and almost caught another one at the start finish line, got beat by a fender.
For all you guys who have ever totalled a car in PCA racing, it took me 4 years to finally get totally back in the saddle and drive like I'm capable. I had a ball racing with everybody except a couple (when you get rearended on a full course yellow you have to wonder what the guy is doing racing with us).
All in all can't wait to get back at the track. Thanks to Dan Jacobs and his great crew at "Hairy Dog Garage" for all the support and fun he provides me with setting up my car.
#57
Glad that Bill is OK. Hope his car can be saved (It did not look that bad).
Man you were flying at the beginning of the enduro. I was really impressed. You were on that white GT5R 914's tail. I heard/saw you miss that shift I immediately thought you were done, but then you kept racing down to the toe and I thought you were going to be fine. Too bad you had to drop out, we would have diced it for 90 minutes (although i ran the last 5 laps in the high 2:19s low 2:20s in order to conserve fuel... i was running on fumes towards the end).
Man you were flying at the beginning of the enduro. I was really impressed. You were on that white GT5R 914's tail. I heard/saw you miss that shift I immediately thought you were done, but then you kept racing down to the toe and I thought you were going to be fine. Too bad you had to drop out, we would have diced it for 90 minutes (although i ran the last 5 laps in the high 2:19s low 2:20s in order to conserve fuel... i was running on fumes towards the end).
Hey Fred, nice racing with you at the beginning of the enduro. I wish they would not have split D and E as I think we could have had some fun in the sprints.
My motor was shifted over after my "brake fluid" incident on Friday and I missed my shift going down into the boot when you were on my tail in the enduro. Talk about a roller coaster weekend - wrecked car on Friday, two wins in class on Saturday and then zing the motor on Sunday.
BTW, Bill Petty who was air-lifted to PA after hitting the wall appears to be doing well. He came back to the track around 11 a.m. Sunday and we had lunch in town and he hit the road back to Colorado.
My motor was shifted over after my "brake fluid" incident on Friday and I missed my shift going down into the boot when you were on my tail in the enduro. Talk about a roller coaster weekend - wrecked car on Friday, two wins in class on Saturday and then zing the motor on Sunday.
BTW, Bill Petty who was air-lifted to PA after hitting the wall appears to be doing well. He came back to the track around 11 a.m. Sunday and we had lunch in town and he hit the road back to Colorado.
#58
His standard bolt in cage did not fit the rules, nor himself. The diagonal went
from the driver's side upper main hoop to the right rear wheelhousing, and the
supplied belt bar location was wrong. He had a proper diagonal welded in
within the current rules, and then a belt bar at the right height for his setup. He
further had a knee knocker installed.
In the following pic, you can clearly see that the roof deformed significantly
except at the point of the main hoop.
#1; The main hoop did its job well. Without a cage this roof would have
pancaked flat on the driver's side. #2; the welded diagonal worked very well
to support the main hoop laterally, as is its job. If you understand the dynamics
of a roll (which this was not), you can see how a diagonal is supposed to
function. The original bolted diagonal to the rear wheelwell would not have
done this as well, alone.
The only significant tube deformation I noted was at the dash level (above),
where the side hoop simply increased in bend radius. I find it interesting that
the tube did not buckle or flatten, it simply bent further. Given the long
unsupported length of tubing that this area represents in most cages, this is
the result you can expect, and this cage did the job that it was capable of
doing. There are ways of making cages far more capable than this, but you
do not get them in any cage that comes in a box.
I strongly urge my customers to get a real containment seat with a head halo,
and then to add a side hoop diagonal support, and this impact shows you very
clearly why I like them. The above pics show my cage, and me driving it at
Calabogie. You should be able to clearly see why these items would have
helped Gary immensely.
#60
I was right next to him, we came around the toe, flags were obvious, I stayed tight, he went wide and planted it right in.