Thread: Sebring Weekend
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Old 02-18-2007
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Slowhands Slowhands is offline
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Smile Re: Sebring Weekend

ok, it's 3 am Saturday night in Sebring, and although I finally got to sleep by midnight, I'm now wide awake. Like that Disneyworld commercial, "I'm too excited to sleep." I won my first race ever today!!!!!! (This Bud's for you, Rob! Thanks for getting me on the right course last year. It took a while, but here it is)

It was a really good day all around. I'm doing a double in Sportsman, and in the first race I started P6 and finished P2 for my first podium, having led my first race lap. then for race 2, I won my first pole, led every lap but one after Nick Spencer kindly provided some unintentional blocking for me by going really sideways through Turn One (I have found Nick to be an extremely generous guy-- having won his first race in December here, I think he just wanted to share the wealth...but he fought back to a fine P3 with a great mad-as-hell and taking- no-prisoners drive). I'm sure everyone remembers their very first victory lap-- mine was soaking wet in bright sunshine, the world in soft focus and glow from the sunlight glinting off all the water on my visor, with all the corner workers waving their multicolored flags in a festive nautical semaphore. It felt like when the fireboats welcome an incoming ocean liner to harbor with their spray! No matter what happens tomorrow, I'll never forget this.

I want to thank all the Team Juicy members who responded to my thread on "Getting to the Gas." I immediately started practicing your recommendations and you have no idea how much they have helped my exits from these great Sebring corners. I dropped 2 sec from my lap time despite slower top speeds due to the Hanford devices. And Grant Ryley's brake release article really cleaned up my brake work, making my car more stable on turn in. Thank you again, everyone.

As far as the Hanford devices go, I have to concur that they have made the racing a lot of fun this weekend. You can pick up the tow from as far as 7 car lengths and it is not unusual to have 4 car trains on the back straight and heaven help the poor soul who pops alone out of the draft! You have never seen an open wheel car go backwards so quickly. If you do pop, you need help from someone drafting behind. Coming into 17 with 4 cars two-abreast and flat-out at something like 7 mph faster than usual, it feels like restrictor-plate racing without the banking! Yee haw and don't forget to brake early! Really great practice in planning for and working the draft, and thinking strategically.

I'm having a great time hanging out with Pat, Chris, Nick, Leland, Daniel Graeffe, Mur, Michele, Brent and wish more were here! Well, I'm going to try to get at least a couple of hours of sleep before my alarm goes off....the best part is....more racing tomorrow!!!!!!!! (oh I've got it bad, soooo bad.......)
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