http://www.sfrscca.org/Results/20030406/
Well I
don't know whether to give you the good news or the bad or just to dive in to
the "standard" chronological report, hmm ...
Okay I'll
do the chrono thing. We, Chris (son) and I,
put the camber plates in which was all that was left from last year.
Loaded up the wagon and hooked up the trailer. Chris, Jeff (son), and I
headed off Saturday morning. we made as far as
We got back
with the truck and picked up the trailer and headed up to the track. We were
going to miss the practice sessions but probably not the qualifying session. We
arrived with about 2 hours to go before qualifying. Gary my crew had found a
spot and the ITA group that I run with helped make some space too. We unloaded
and were able to get through tech and get ready for the qualifying session.
I started
just about last in the qualifying group. There were 72 cars qualifying, a
number that will become important later in this email. We rolled out and try to
find a hole or to get a decent time. I was really just trying to get a decent
position and not try to break records. In fact my mirror had fallen off and I
was running with only the to side mirrors. The other thing on my mind was that
we had never really pushed this new car to it's
limits. So a decent position was all I was looking for.
Now for the good news. I qualified 2nd in ITA and 5th overall! I had my best time
ever at
Sunday
started to early because of daylights savings time. We
got up and started to get ready for the day. I had to find some coffee and for
some reason the stupid track cafe didn't open until
There was a
line and unfortunately they weren't very efficient. Jeff and I got some
breakfast and as we sat down I realized that the group before mine was rolling
in to impound. I wrapped up our food and started jogging to the car realizing I
had pushed the limits on getting ready. We got to the car and with some help was in and at grid before the 5 minute marker went, which I
didn't know.
Here's
where some bad news enters the story again. I was gridded
in my number 5 position but then the Chief came up and said that there were
already 72 cars on grid and it was closed so I would have to wait until the
field thinned. Without my crew our a better
understanding of the rules or the situation I followed their directions. The
cars rolled out and I was stuck waiting for someone to drop off the track in
the hot pits.
Well about
3 laps in to the race I was waved on course. I wasn't going to make up 3 laps
but I was going to make a showing. I managed to work through a significant part
of the traffic and managed a fast time of 1:58.729, 1:58.771, and a 1:59.794. I
finished dead last in 13th place in ITA with 4 points and 70th overall. I might
have gotten 22 or 20 additional points. After the race the officials
admitted making a mistake but there's not much I can do. I'll call the RE
tomorrow to give my impression of the weekend but I don't expect anything to
change, certainly not the points standing.
There were
two races this weekend so here is some more good news. The second race was in
the afternoon and I got there with more than enough time to be assured my grid
position. The start was good I was along side Bob but gave way in to turn 2. An
ITS, David Allen, spun in turn 2 which got my attention! I had to back off and
lose a position or 2. With the number of cars on the track and with us being
mixed up with the ITS cars it mad it difficult to get back up to Bob. In fact
it became impossible. With the ITS traffic Steve Borlik
was able to catch me and get by. Tachi was behind me
but not a threat yet. Steve and I were stuck behind some ITS cars but finally
got by. He and I fought for a while but they came back and caused some more
aggravation as did back the marks by this time. This allowed Tachi (Peter Tachi) to catch me
all though I don't think he passed me, if he did I got it back right away. He
almost had me out of turn 11 when a nagging bogging or power loss hit me. He
missed a shift so was not able to take advantage of the situation. I held on to
third and finished in this position. My times were not as good as the morning.
I had 3
I'm not
sure what else to add to this long winded report. So I'll stop now. If you want
more detail or think I've missed something drop me a line. Hope you enjoyed the
report. :-)