Al, Han, Steve, Chris…How was the racing at summit this past weekend? Please give us an update. Regards, Robert Patton
Race Results From Summit?
victorhall
#2
Hey all,
I spectated on Saturday and had a blast watching some good close racing! I heard Sunday was also tons of fun. I’ll leave the race recaps to the guys who ran, but as a spoiler, Chris Cobetto swept both days, and set the new track record - Congrats Chris!!
My pics from Saturday are up here:
http://www.pbase.com/victorhall/2006shen
-Vic
SO #325
leggwork
#3
that’s quite a air dam on Han’s car. It looks like it is scraping in picture 1074. Does it appear to provide an aerodynamic benefit?
That concrete banked section of the track looks like fun.
cheers,
bruce
Post edited by: leggwork, at: 2006/04/03 11:50
victorhall
#4
Yeah … Han’s airdam is a reall piece of …uuummm… work. I don’t think it comes with a Home Depot warranty.
It was "self-trimming" during the course of the weekend. I don’t think added any aerodynamic advantage, but it sure looked really cool.
The concrete section of the track is the Karussel - modelled after the famous turn at the Nurburing. It is a blast to drive, but can be a real scare if you exit it early. I did this right in front of Carter in last year’s race, and came about 2 feet from the wall. Gets my heart pumping just thinking about it!
-Vic
SO #325
victorhall wrote:
[quote]Yeah … Han’s airdam is a reall piece of …uuummm… work. I don’t think it comes with a Home Depot warranty.
It was "self-trimming" during the course of the weekend. I don’t think added any aerodynamic advantage, but it sure looked really cool.
The concrete section of the track is the Karussel - modelled after the famous turn at the Nurburing. It is a blast to drive, but can be a real scare if you exit it early. I did this right in front of Carter in last year’s race, and came about 2 feet from the wall. Gets my heart pumping just thinking about it!
-Vic
SO #325[/quote]
I heard someone else say this and I agree…" it gives me a temporary headache" but it is fun
sharkd
#7
With that air dam, you could hear Han coming before you saw him in your mirrors. 
Sunday’s results:
Chris Cobetto
Steve Kapuschansky
Steve Stubbs
Alex May (who started dead last, behind us comp evals)
Al Taylor
(Dubovsky)
(Smith)
Han Ah-Sue
Somehow, my car gained 90 lbs since my last weigh-in… (I gained 10lbs, but I know how that happened)…
stevekappy
#8
Carter wrote:
[quote]Steve:
Great race on Sunday!
Congrats on your strong finish.
Carter[/quote]
Thanks Carter.
It was a very fun weekend. With the exception of the Carousel, I think the track has mellowed out from last year. It really was a fun track to race. It is still a little too tight for a lot of passing (ask Steve Stubbs 
), but overall I think those racers who did not show up because they disliked it last year should give it one more try before completely writing it off.
I will give a more lengthly recap of the race this evening when I have time. One funny note, though…
Dan Smith mentioned that he had 1.5 gallons of fuel left, so I decided to use it before the race. Since it was the first time on the podium, I forgot that I had to weigh in, but realized it after I missed the first turn to the scales. I took the next longer route to the scales. Well… fuel management was perfect… I weighed in at 2750 even. The guy at the scales said I must have picked up just enough rocks on the longer route to make weight.
-Steve
P.S. Thanks Dan for the fuel!
sharkd
#9
stevekappy wrote:[quote]
P.S. Thanks Dan for the fuel![/quote]
No problem… 1789, Morton’s or l’Auberge Chez Francois – your call… (J/K) :laugh:
Post edited by: sharkd, at: 2006/04/04 12:34
Han
#10
As usual, I had a blast this weekend.
Congrats to Kap for his 2nd place finish, and to Dan Smith and Stephen Dubovksy for getting their race licenses.
It was my first time on Shenandoah, so I had a lot to learn in two days. Saturday, I qualified third, but got bumped on the first lap and fell to last place. I spent the rest of the race stuck behind a legends car, but eventually caught up to the rest of the crowd and finished… 6th I think.
Sunday, I qualified 4th, behind Cobetto, Stubbs and Kappy. Again, I lost it on the first lap at pistol grip and fell 10-15 car lengths behind the front runners. I followed Al Taylor for a few laps, and passed him on the front straight. I then had 4-5 laps of open track and caught up to Stubbs and Kappy. But my brakes and tires had started to go. The car became really hard to control, and then I BROKE MY GAS PEDAL. yeah. I pulled in one lap before the end of the race. Good thing too, because when I was changing my wheels, I found that my right front brake pad had worn down to the metal.
My blessing in disguise for the weekend was oversleeping on Sunday and missing the practice session. If I had run practice and qualifying, I’m sure my brakes would have failed during the race. And they probably would have failed at the entry to the Carousel. My car would have pulled a Dukes of Hazard style move into the tire wall.
My biggest beef with Shenandoah is the size. I think if this track were just a little bit bigger, some of the turns wouldn’t be so tight, and it would flow a little better. That last right hander coming onto the front straight is such a dog. The best thing about the track are the hidden grippy sections. Turn 1 and Pistol grip are banked on the inside. You can brake REALLY late going into Pistol grip and the Carousel. In fact, if you don’t mind getting a little air, you can brake extremely late in the Carousel. Al Taylor mentioned after the race that I was getting all four wheels off the ground! But that was definitely saved me the most time. I finished with a fast lap of 1:45.220.
Oh and the air dam is a work in progress!
Before Saturday’s practive session, it was less than 1 inch off the ground. By the end of the day, the right side had ground off 2-3 inches and the left side about 1-2. So I took a saw to it and trimmed of another inch. On Sunday, it would only scrape a little in the Carousel. I don’t think it helped the aero at Shenandoah, probably much better suited for VIR or Summit Main.
Han.
system
#12
Where to begin with this weekend’s events…
The race on Saturday was pretty exciting. I started fourth and went around the outside to get around Han after the first turn due to traffic. Once around him, I was trying to chase down Steve Stubbs. On my pursuit of Steve, Alex and Al chased me down. Alex got by me after two laps, but I was able to hold off Al fourth place. Once Alex passed me, Al and I were no more than a few car lengths apart for the remainder of the race. It was very exciting to be fighting for positions and Al races extremely hard.
Sunday was even more exciting. It really started during qualifying when I caught up to Steve Stubbs. Qualifying was really a preview for the race, because I was following Steve for the last four laps with very little car lengths separating us. I tried to get around Steve on turn one by going inside, but fear of missing the turn and Steve’s later braking preventing me from taking the spot. Steve finished the qualifying session in front.
The race was even more exciting. I started in third. Given that I was unable to pass Steve during qualifying, I knew I really only had one opportunity to pass Steve. So, during the rolling start, I stuck like glue to Chris Cobetto’s bumper and followed him all the way through turn one. Steve was forced to slow around turn one and pulled in behind me for third. The rest of the race Steve and I were no more that 4-5 car lengths. It would have been closer, but it seems that I had more power on the straights where I could slowly pull away. Steve did an excellent job at pressing me the entire race. I really wanted the race to end 3 laps earlier, because I really did not want to make a mistake to let Steve by. Steve tried 4 or five times to get around, I think we even went through turn one at one point almost side by side. In the end, Alex caught the two of us, and lucky for us the race was over!
All in all, I had a tough time sleeping Sunday night because of the rush from the weekend. This is exactly why we race! Thanks Spec E30 for a great weekend.
-Steve
FARTBREF
#13
Shenandoah is a tough track…you really have to lay it out there to get a quick lap. I got stuck with some legends cars during the practise and qualifying on Saturday so I didnt learn much. I was able to stick with Steve K in the race only because I found one spot where I could gain on him. I am 2 for 2 on near misses (VIR lap 1, turn 5, Carter) and this weekend Han turn 4?5?..could not have been more than a couple of mils. My Sunday qualifying was slower than Saturday and the only redeeming thing is I got into the 47’s in the race. My fuel starvation problem showed up again and the pump was making some strange noises, I think I am going to replace the tank and pump before VIR next weekend. Anyone else going??
Al
nasaregistrar
#19
FemmeFatale wrote:
Not in Spec E30…but there are at least 2 Women who race with us regularly and several instructors.