JDavenport

iTrader: (33)

I'm still trying to grasp WTF they were thinking lumping PTA in with SM for a run group. In SE, PTA and ST2 always run with the Thunder group, AI, AIX etc.

Bnjmn

Why no nationals?

drivinhard

They used to run PTA in lightning, in March '10 when a bunch of 1:32.xx Road Atlanta corvette's were showing up on the lightning sheet, they changed it in a hurry.

Top PTA cars are only just a few secs off top ST2 cars, and top PTA cars faster than MANY mid/rear pack ST2 cars, even in the nats race - I think Scott Perkins would have finished 8th in ST2, and we started at the 3rd split a half a mile behind the ST guys and limped around in the rain. An EVO would have been a lap ahead.

pretty stupid

drivinhard

everybody knows you are unbeatable. 1 car in TTA

I dunno who will be protesting more, the other corvette's or the all the other makes

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Pretty much. The last 2 events they've combined Thunder and Lightning too with WELL prepped ST1 cars closing at 2x st2 speeds, and we've got less then half your car counts likely. They go on and on about safety and "bringing it home in one piece." I argued that that closing off Scott McKay (crazy *** nat champ) on the inside was safer then trying to pass a speckled bee.

boomn29

iTrader: (47)

The top 2 in PTA were banging out 1:35's.
The top Spec Miata's were running 1:45's. <-- The top ones.
The worst cars were running > 1:55's. There was at least 1 Honda Challenge car I passed 3 times.

What makes those SM's difficult to work with, is the fact they corner nearly as fast as us. But they also run 2-3 wide soo much you can't get around them.

Bueller

iTrader: (1)

Sharing the track with slower cars, and traffic in general, can be a major pain but it can also be a blessing. Youre going to get held up, and sometimes its going to be absolutely ridiculous, but sometimes it will also work in your favor. Youre also going to get held up by faster cars that are being driven slow. Ive experienced all of these. A friend of mine just posted a video of his T1 SCCA race where hes being held by a faster car, and i understand his frustration, but stuff like that is inevitable. So its not always the slower cars that will hold you up and make it feel dangerous. As far as SM, having done a few SM races myself, i now think its a privilege to share the track with them. Most of the SM drivers who have been around are probably the best club racers in the nation. And you wont understand that until you go out and race in SM for at least the majority of 1 season.

My friends T1 race:

boomn29

iTrader: (47)

Mid Ohio - 7.1.2012

After qualifying on the pole with a decent 1:34.2, we had another long break until the race; 3+ hours I think. I took the time to drop in the Hawk DTC70 front pads I had just picked up as I wanted to see if they would hold the brake system hold up better throughout the race. They are a touch high torque than the DTC60's I've been running mainly for the past 3 years.

Besides setting the ballast & fuel load, there was really nothing else the car needed. I started to pack up what I could as I'd be heading the 7+ hrs home right after the race and the day was heating up; already well into the 90's.

At the noon driver's meeting I got to stay behind as I was 1 of the 3 pole-sitters for the 3 waves we'd be having. A first! Being on the pole, I was told to maintain the speed of the pacecar after it pulls off all the way to the green flag - which would be 35mph. This is a very difficult thing to do with all the anticipation around you too! The plan after Sat was to be more aggressive with passing and lap traffic - although there were already some close calls during the warmup & qual sessions!

The Race
Coming out of the keyhole after the pacecar pulled off we were in the 35-40mph range as expected. I had just downshifted to 2nd but was pretty high in the rpms, and as expected our speeds started to creep up just a little. I didn't want to touch the brakes and 'brake-check' anyone (maybe I should have) so I was trying to decide if I should shift into 3rd or not - right about the same time the green dropped and I was NOT ready. So I got a horrible jump; and would be chasing once again!
Just like the previous day, I was right on the tail of the leader and got a good run out of T1 (1:30 in the vid) only this time he blocked the inside line so I couldn't get in there to pass. I jumped outside instead to try and preserve all the momentum I could, but was definitely out-braked and gained nothing.
I'm not sure what the difference was, but for the first several laps I would be fighting some 4-wheel skidding; mostly started from understeer and backing out of the throttle. I'm not sure what caused this, the only difference was I had a bit less ballast in the rear since I came in 50lbs over my min after the Sat race. This definitely didn't help my chasing cause and led directly to an off in T11 that lost me a good bit of time.

Around the 6th lap my pedal started getting long. I pushed really deep into T1 at one point before it caught and caused ABS to kick in I think. I then did some quick pumping on the next straight to bring it back - same on the backstraight. On the next lap or so - #8 I think - I was weaving through traffic and around a cone going into T2 (aka The Keyhole) and not sure if I braked a bit later than normal since I was offline and couldn't directly see my brake point or what, but the pedal just wasn't there. If you brake too late into this corner, you miss the uphill section and then it transitions to downhill through the corner - and I couldn't slow down enough to make the turn. This is about where I ended the video as the next part wasn't good... Offtrack, through the sand to the right a bit and the rearend caught the tirewall. DNF. With damage to the driver's side of the car, most predominant in the rear quarterpanel. Sucks.

It also turned out the lead PTA car in front of me - that was ran off between T1 & T2 (9:30 in my vid; on the far left) had cooling issues from that off and had to nurse it around to the finish, so I would have gotten around him quite easily. Sucks too; Traffic!

For an idea on closing speeds into some of the corners, check out the 6:25 mark and tell me WHEN you seen that car!

honda-guy

iTrader: (55)

^ sucks to hear about the car. sounds like it could have been a lot worse. i'm always cautious when if brakes get soft. but i don't race w2w, so i just bring the car in.

Kidloco51

iTrader: (32)

You drive the hell out of the old girl... Those closing speeds are intense. Sucks about smacking the wall but you walked aways unscathed so thats most important.

boomn29

iTrader: (47)

Yeah, I probably should have talked about the aftermath of everything but I was trying to get the video posted before I left for the weekend.

The car is fine, just not as 'pretty'; lol. I was able to slowly get it to the infield to wait out the rest of the race - so I wouldn't cause a massive caution since I was in T2. After the race was over, I followed everyone in on the cooldown lap and back to the pits. The engine is fine, nothings leaking, etc.

The water temps pegged while I was sitting there waiting for the race to end - but that's to be expected since I didn't have any cool-down time and there was no air movement there.

I'm debating what to do with the damage of the car. It's minor, and I could literally be driving it on the track with just a new front bumper. But I feel that with everything else that has gone on in my life over the past few months, this is a good time to officially step away from the car.
So it's 100% officially for sale and I have no plans to track it again this year. If anyone is interested in a purchase (at a lower price) hit me up asap. More details/plans to follow.

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Sounds like a widebody kit is in order. ;-)

You came away unhurt and that's whats really important.

Dave

Bueller

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to hear you had an incident Nathan. Glad its nothing major. Since youre planning to sell, what are your plans? And post up your FS link when its up so we can help spread the word.

jerdeitzel

iTrader: (9)

You have done a great service for the EVO community over the years. It will be sad to not have you representing anymore.

Good luck with everything and if you ever want to co-drive at an event I'm sure we can work something out.

Ps. If anyone want's to get into an EVO racecar, now is the time! With the cars for sale and the amount of money you will save. You would be crazy to not consider this car!

boomn29

iTrader: (47)

If/when I find time, I'd still like to rent for a few races and do some longer Enduro's. Splitting a 3hr Enduro in a rented car seems like more fun than a 35min sprint race to me and leaves a bit more room for error - not to mention the benefit of all the extra seattime. We'll see.