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Now that I have to live vicariously through you guys…
How was it at VIR?
I had a pretty damn good weekend in a suite at the Greenbrier (spending race car money…)…but was still thinking of you guys!
I need a report!!!
Ric
Post edited by: 30SPece30, at: 2006/02/14 04:07
So much for me actually being able to use a calendar!!!
Now I at least get to wish you all good luck and great racing!!
Ric
30SpecE30 wrote:
And here, I’d figured that you’d returned to our time from a distant, post-apocalyptic future where all racing was done on big, elongated left-hand circles - solely to serve as automotive gladiatorial combat for brand supremacy between Coke and Pepsi products. 
Post edited by: sharkd, at: 2006/02/14 20:52
Well, I was up at VIR this past weekend, rained like cats and dogs of course…then the event was called off (it was just a driving school and time trials) when the forecast came that it was going to start snowing and icing over at VIR. We got one run group in, luckily they gave us the option of getting a refund or having it transferred to another event.
I hope it rains this weekend!
Whoo Hoo!
haha
~Forrest
And now the VIR weekend has past. So, how was the racing and other track activities? Post the results as this is more interesting than that Daytona thing that they had this weekend. Robert (taxi driver) Patton
It was awsome, I posted my in car video on google. I’m just awaiting confirmation. The comp school was very informative and hairy at times, and the sprint race was a blast. It was my first time driving at speed in the rain so the footage tells the story, but it was fun. On the last two laps me and scotty had some quick times and that was pretty fun. Everyone did great and there were no major incidents so I think the race was a success. Someone clue me in on how the enduro went!
Ric,
The art car survived and did awsome. We are really pleased with the car and we look forward to driving it in more and more events.
Post edited by: MikeD, at: 2006/02/20 12:44
Post edited by: MikeD, at: 2006/02/20 12:44
Mike, sounds like your first race? Rain racing is a great equalizer and those with lots of car control get a chance to show their skills. How big was the field of racers? Regards, Robert Patton
There was one incident, that I know of, in the comp school – I had a lapse in judgement during the final session of the day, took the slowest turn on the course about 2-3 MPH too fast and had contact with a Miata, which caused her spin out. (She then struck a composite-bodied spec-racer, but I don’t know the exact circumstances).
No one was hurt. I (still) feel awful about it. And, understandably, I was denied a license. 
Any more details and, in my mind, it’ll sound like I’m making excuses. I’ll try again, once I feel confident that I can reign in my concerns and remain unfazedly cool, calm, collected and consistent on-track (it may be Shenandoah, it may be VIR in July). :unsure:
–
Other than that, Michael, Scott and I all learned that an E30 really chugs gas during a 40 minute session at 9-10/10ths. And Michael and I learned, the hard way, that the early E30 fuel tank pickups and senders suck when they’re below 1/3 of a tank.
That and the (Oak Tree + traffic) + the 3.73 gearing makes the rev limiter work more often than I’d like. 
Post edited by: sharkd, at: 2006/02/20 16:07
yes the fuel gage seems to everything but helpful. We just started filling the take after two sessions.
30SpecE30 wrote:
[quote]Now that I have to live vicariously through you guys…
How was it at VIR?
I had a pretty damn good weekend in a suite at the Greenbrier (spending race car money…)…but was still thinking of you guys!
I need a report!!!
Ric<br><br>Post edited by: 30SPece30, at: 2006/02/14 04:07[/quote]
Ric and all:
I’ll give a report from my perspective and I hope others will give us their experiences.
Early Saturday morning, a very-personable David Wallens of Grassroots Motorsports magazine asked Dave Pallister, Brain, Carlton, and me to arrange our cars on the skip pad for a photo shoot. After David took many pictures of the cars…and of us clowning around, we drove back to the paddock to prepare for the morning warm-up session. Just before the session, big and heavy snowflakes started falling but the track was just heavy-damp at this point. I left the dries on the car, thinking that I was only going out for a few laps anyway.
After getting a feel for the track and seeing several cars spin-off, I came in, thinking that 6/10ths was good enough to clear out the winter cobwebs. However, I soon learned that the qualifying session was cancelled because of the weather and that the practice times would determine the starting order for the race.
We were split-gridded so all Spec E30 cars were together. I was 9th of the 11 to take the green. Now on rains, I tested the braking grip during the pace lap.
At the start, I followed Carlton down the front straight and was able to get by a couple of cars by turn one. By turn three I was 4th in Spec E30. Approaching turn 5, I saw veteran driver (but new to Spec E30) Al Taylor spin clockwise in the right-hander. I chose to go right and across his nose. Just as I got to his car, he had stopped and was back in the throttle. Thankfully, he kept the clutch in until I was past, and I moved up to third.
On lap two, Forrest went off and I was able to catch up, and eventually get past. Chris’ lap times were not any quicker than many others in Spec E30 but his traffic management got him out and away so I didn’t think I would be able to catch him.
After another lap, I noticed that Han and Forrest were right on my rear bumper and that I could not get away. I also noticed that my car was getting increasingly difficult to drive. Breathing on the throttle in any turn would send the rear-end out. I decided to slow down a little and keep it on the track. The very next lap, I turned into 4, a 90 degree left hander and even under neutral throttle, the rear end slid wide. I caught it, but drove off track to the right. I regained control and entered the track behind Forrest, Han, and Brain, back in 5th place. Then, Brain was motoring down the bridge straight and his car snapped one way. He caught it, held the counter steer a little too long, and it snapped back across. I thought that he was gone for sure and hoped the tire wall hit wouldn’t be too severe but Brain caught it and got back under control. That was, without a doubt, the best “catch� I have ever seen.
The next lap we got the white flag. I followed Forrest, Brain, and Han to Oak Tree turn and Han looped it to the inside right. I got by and took the checker in forth. Carlton was closing fast so I was happy that the race was over.
Overall, it was a fun race. With Chris, Han, Forrest, Brain, and Carlton driving so well, and my car turning evil, I felt fortunate to have placed forth.
In the Sunday 3.5-hour enduro, the grid was a mess (some Spec E30 cars were classified in E2 and some in E3) but we got the cars basically lined up and ready to go. Carlton started his car, I was scheduled for the middle stint, and Carlton was going to finish the race. We had planned our race strategy down to the pound, to make minimum weight, and knew there were several strong Spec E30 teams as well as a few other E2 cars.
After several traffic-jam laps, Carlton settled into a good pace with, World Challenge driver and all-around funny guy Matt Richmond, Vic Hall, and Chuck Reyes in the Cobetto car. These four stayed together, lap after lap.
On lap 35, Carlton came in for the pit stop. We knew that some of the others had slow pit stops so we counted on this to help our effort. With a quick stop and driver change, I left the pit lane.
Carlton’s and my cars are similar but the driving position is very different. After a couple of laps of getting used to this, I turned up the pace. The field had opened-up by this point but I was able to catch and pass a few Spec E30 cars. I got past a Spec Miata but had a tough time getting away. Later, I found out that Charles Espenlaub had been behind the wheel, so I felt better about it.
After about 35 laps of good racing with several different cars, my stint was over. After the pit board countdown reached “in� I entered the pit and stopped in our pit stall. During the driver change and refueling (we had it calculated down to the gallon), a miscommunication occurred and we spilled some fuel on the asphalt. We finished the driver change and Carlton was waved into the Penalty Box at the end of pit lane. Five agonizing minutes later, he entered the track and drove well to the checker.
We finished 5th in E2 and the second Spec E30 car, behind Vic and James Clay (who turned a 2:19:0). My best lap time was a 2:20:4 (my best ever at VIR) so I had a way to go to get down to James’ times.
The results are not official because Brain’s “Fly Navy� car and Carlton’s “Green Machine� were the only cars to make weight; Brain’s right on the minimum and our car 11 pounds over. After the results are made official, we’ll make sure they are posted here.
I want to applaud the NASA Mid Atlantic folks for providing such a great weekend of fun for so many people, especially considering the winter weather conditions.
I also look forward to seeing everyone at the track for the next Spec E30 race weekend.
Carter
Ok I must say the weekend was a ton of fun, and the enduro was simply a blast. I will try to add some color to Carter’s remarks.
Things started off on the grid in a cluster XXXX, but luckily we got it straight after much yelling at officials. Brain had the E30 pole, followed by Cobeto, myself, than Mathew <bimmerworld driver in Alex’s car> and Vic, I forget the rest of the order.
We got out on the warm up lap and there was a crazy amount of cars on the track. Besides all the enduro cars there was a 944 sprint race mixed in, it seemed like 100 cars screaming down the front straight towards turn 1. It was nuts! So much for my thoughts that everyone would go 9/10ths as this was an 3 hours + race. Not a chance everyone was fighting for position, it was like a sprint race with twice as many cars! Getting through the traffic was challenging and the traffic never stopped. Lap after lap we battled each other and tried to put slower cars between us. After about 8 laps it was still hectic, finally the checker flag flew to end the sprint race and we could get down to some serious racing. By lap 10 Brain still had the lead, with Matt <Alex’s car>, Cobetto, Vic and I racing neck and neck, maybe only 8 car lenghths seperated 2 through 5, with Brain another 10 car lengths in the lead. Than Brain went too hot into Hog Pen and ran out of track coming onto the straight. He kept the car under control and decided to see how fast he could race on the grass. He was looking for a safe place to re-enter the track while doing about 80/90 mph on the grass. I almost didn’t think I would get past. Off we raced with Vic, myslef, Matt and Cobetto racing nose to tail. Finally, by lap 20 or so, we lost Cobetto in some traffic and Vic had the lead with Matt and I right behind. As we turned lap 26 we were still fighting it out as I turned my best lap of the day and personal best of 2:20.5. Lap 34 still no change, a few tenths seperated the three of us. Alex pitted first followed by Vic. I stayed out an extra two laps so I could lead the race at least a lap or two and it played into our fuel strategy.
Our pit stop went well and Carter now took over. After the pits things really settled out, the cars were now evenly spread out and everyone could get down to driving fast. James Clay < in Vic’s car> led, followed by Alex and Carter. After about 8 laps Carter got by Alex but could not close the 25 second gap on James in the lead within E30’s and second in our Enduro class, but James really could not extend the lead either. So I recalculated a few things in terms of gas and weight. Since we had pitted last I was pretty sure we could get enough laps out of the gas tank to come in at the 25 minutes to go mark, and only fill 10 gallons vs 15 and still make weight. We were limited to 5 gallon tanks so the extra 5 gallons would take the other teams at least an extra 75 seconds in the pit. Sure enough when James Clay pitted they added 15 gallons and by the time he got back out Carter was in the lead among the E30 group by 3 1/2 minutes and in second place in our enduro class not far behind the leader. So I was pretty sure that our pit would take no more than 2 or 2 1/2 minutes for final stop and driver change. Sure enough we were out of the pits in just over two minutes, but as carter pointed out, some gas was spilled when the air valve in the bottom of carters 5 gallon fill tank was not closed and a pint of gas spilled out. I was pulled into the penalty box at the end of the pit for 5 minutes. Ouch!!! that is racing. With only 20 minutes left in the race, there was little more to do than enjoy the last few laps and see where we finished.
It was a ton of fun and I want to express many thanks to all the drivers and pit crew who helped make the day so enjoyable. I think we finished 2nd in the E30 cars and 5th overall.
A number of us decided to go to the Outback for dinner and I was fortunate enough to lose in credit card roulette and I had the pleasure of paying for dinner!
Carlton
Just to clear one thing up…the classing bugaboo was caused by the driver’s classing themselves incorrectly when they made the initial registration online. When you register , you choose the class for enduro just like when you choose Spec E30-SO for a sprint. E3 was chosen by the driver. We do not verify car class as that is up to the driver to class themselves and up to other drivers to protest if they believe a competitor is classed incorrectly. This kind of thing is exactly why we post a drivers list online so everyone can verify their entry details.
Great write-ups guys!
I came up for the day with my fiance. It was her first ever trip to the track. I got there just as everyone was gridding up for the race, so I didn’t get to introduce myself to anyone or check out the cars.
We watched from the turn 4 area and it was great.
Sean… ok this is fare enough, but I did send an email to you saying at the time of registration I was not sure which enduro class was correct. I did recieve an email back from you guys that I was registered correctly. That said I will in the future check the driver list on the website. I assumed our email confirmation had things straight.
But I must say you all did a great job in getting it ajusted last minute, so we will share the blame but you guys get credit for fixing it last minute and getting off a great enduro race!!!
Carlton
Carlton,
If I didn’t understand what you asked me I am sorry. I do get literally hundreds of emails about this event. I try to keep on top of them all but since I am human …and I have a real job too…I do make a few mistakes. It is about how the mistakes are handled that speak well for our region. Matt, the chief of grid, does a great job and I am glad it all worked out.
A note to everyone:
Please actually read the confirmation email that I send, please go to the links that are included and read the instructions for each event. Please verify your drivers information on the drivers list. all the extra eyes help us catch mistakes prior to the event weekend and it is much better to fix them in advance.
Also, please log in to www.nasaproracing.com and verify all of the information in your profile as correct. Particularly your EMAIL ADDRESS. also, verify your membership expiration date and renew on time and for this coming season…remember that ALL competition licenses will EXPIRE on 12/31.2006 and will need to be renewed.
Yo, Vic, what is the story??? With Clay at 2.19 the engine has obviously found more grunt. Were you close to James in overall lap times like you were last year? And how about the Alex/ Matt Richmond story. Just thinking how much fun it would have been to have been there. But, I have an excuse, my ringer guy, Seth Thomas,was in Hawaii or something like that. Regards, Robert