VIR March Madness 22-24th

#9

I’ll be there Thurs with lots of beer

#10

Damn it, we need you at more races. I’d bring a few mason jars, but that kind of thing doesn’t exist up here sooo I’ll leave that up to you…

#11

giorlfriends??

#12

This is looking good guys. lets get up to 30 cars!!!

Carter Hunt
stephen harper
Sandro Espinosa
John Clark
Dan Kroll
Mark Issa
Gregory Smith
Ted Worrell
jared stoops
Julian Cates
Robert Gagliardo
Robert Grace
Paul Patrick
Charlie Diradour
Virgil R.(Rick) Mariani
Richard Cofer
Joseph McGrath
Andrew Zimmermann
Ed Davidson
Michael Davidson

#13

30 cars= two kegs

#14

Damn it, we need you at more races. I’d bring a few mason jars, but that kind of thing doesn’t exist up here sooo I’ll leave that up to you…[/quote]

“I plan on drinking as much of everyone’s beer as possible and giving Grace’s sister the creepy uncle stank eye.” I fixed it for you.

#15

And here’s what the race looked like from my perspective - http://youtu.be/8zMeKCjeItY

A few minutes into the race, my sunglasses fall and get lodged under the pedals. You’ll see me kicking around to try to free them a few times. Then, I guess all the rumble strips took a toll on my gauge cluster because that falls down and blocks the shifter for a little bit.

#16

And here’s the view from the mid-pack:

https://vimeo.com/62526454

Was one of the most fun races I’ve had yet. This was my 3rd time at VIR and I picked up a critical 4-5 seconds in lap time that actually put me in the middle of some good close racing.

#17

Sunday was not a good day for #609.

http://youtu.be/TqxJ6pp0Zcs

#18

[quote=“Rob in VA” post=71601]Sunday was not a good day for #609.

http://youtu.be/TqxJ6pp0Zcs[/quote]

Sorry to see that Rob :frowning:

-Martin

#19

The hydroplaning was really bad on Sunday’s race. Every time I passed #609 on the back straight was just a reminder how quick S*#&t can go bad. Hope to see you back on track soon.

#20

From mylaps it looks like 5/8 of the field did not start the race on Sunday?

Congratulations to Grace for the wins.
Rob, sorry to see the damage to your car. How bad is it?

RP

#21

[quote=“Patton” post=71618]From mylaps it looks like 5/8 of the field did not start the race on Sunday?

Congratulations to Grace for the wins.
Rob, sorry to see the damage to your car. How bad is it?

RP[/quote]

You decide -

#22

[quote=“Rob in VA” post=71624][quote=“Patton” post=71618]From mylaps it looks like 5/8 of the field did not start the race on Sunday?

Congratulations to Grace for the wins.
Rob, sorry to see the damage to your car. How bad is it?

RP[/quote]

You decide -

[/quote]

Good thing you are alright man- looked like a hard hit.

#23

Rob, from the number of wrecks that I’ve seen, your’s is totalled.

Find a new shell, weld in a new cage, swap over the good parts and pieces and one month and $2500-$3500 later you’ll be back on track.

Sorry, stuff happens. Sometimes it is expensive. Hey, the driver is okay!

RP

#24

Yeah, everyone knows that car was all motor anyway. :woohoo:

Seriously though, I’m glad you are OK. That was a great heads-up move to take your hands off the wheel once you were in the grass (a/k/a “The Danica”).

Obviously that was a big hit to bend that strut brace like that.

#25

Certainly an eventful weekend. Glad you’re alright, Rob - that was a heck of a hit.

Standing around the campfire Friday night we somehow started talking about bad front wheel bearings…obviously I couldn’t go to sleep with that on my mind so I jacked up the front end and confirmed both front wheel bearing where good…unfortunately it wasn’t until practice Sautrday morning that I confirmed my left rear wheel bearing was toast.
Before the car had even cooled down Mike Davidson and I were under it unbolting the trailing arm - took it over to James P’s shop and he got the bearing replaced pretty quickly. I got back to the track 20 minutes before the start of qualifying, luckily the session was delayed due to track clean up and somehow someway Mike, Ed, my dad and I got the car put back together and I was able to get on track for one qualifying lap. Coming out of hogpen on that one lap I felt a “pop” in the right front - something was obviously broken. I knew it was my only lap and I really did NOT want to start 22nd so I kept my foot down and the steering wheel straight until I crossed the line. I then limped it into the paddock to find that the control arm bushing was gone. Replaced it and was ready to go racing.
Started P3 behind Mike D. and Gagliardo. We all had a great battle for a few laps, Mike D and I touched wheels going into T3 which tweaked my alignment (over a half inch toe in) but it was still drivable. A few laps later the three of us were wicked close going into T3 and I got a little love tap in the left rear sending my into the dirt. I was able to keep my foot down and bring it back on track at T4 - still leading. Dave Herrington was in P2 when the dust settled. All in all it was a wicked fun race with Mike D, Gags, and Herrington!

Sunday on the other hand…Sunday was cold and rainy/snowy. We had less than half the cars we had on Saturday as a result of the poor schedule and terrible weather. The conditions were probably the worst I’ve raced in, there was tons of standing water everywhere and streams running across the track. The front straight was so bad there was zippy chance you could go flat, the back straight on the other hand was right on the edge of being possible to go flat - making it way more dangerous because it was tempting to try. I was hearing the revs spike and making steering corrections all the way up the hills.

Again, thanks to the Davidson for the help, and Rick Mariani and Matt Herd for the parts. I really appreciate it!

Saturday Video: http://youtu.be/plvXQxW_ljs

Sunday Video: Coming Soon.

#26

Rob sorry about the damage. If you need a hand making repairs/swapping parts, I will be happy to help.

#27

Thanks Dan. I really appreciate it.

#28

Video from Sunday’s rain race. Not exactly exciting but it shows how terrible the conditions were, the rain picked up throughout the race. You can really hear the revs spiking all the way up the back straight: http://youtu.be/4H9w6UTin5k