Mont Tremblant is history amidst a lot of sun , clouds , showers , and vehicular carnage (and some really fine driving by some folks ). The second trip to Road America occurs in three weeks. Who will be there? I am arriving on Wednesday for the Thursday lapping day, Friday practice, and weekend races.
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The Boss: "Wally, what are your goals for the coming year?"
Wally: "My goal is to replace my soul with coffee and become immortal."
I will not be there... So take lots of pictures and write about it here. :-)
Pat
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You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
We missed you at Tremblant JP Had a picture perfect weather day Saturday and a torrential monsoon on Sunday. Lots of learnin' going on. Hope we get to see you at Lime Rock in October!
Pat
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Pace
I cannot be there but know everyone will enjoy a wonderful outing at a fantastic circuit. Have FUN!!! Miss seeing you there. JP
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You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
I don't know if anyone has checked their Skippy mail, but this is going to be one heck of a week of racing at Road America. SIX, count 'em SIX groups -- 3 F2000 of 18 drivers each, 2 MX5 of 13 and 14, and one National of 15. According to Todd there are going to be extra instructors to facilitate actual "instant launches" between groups to get it all in. I think it will be a lot of fun with so many drivers and cars around, coming and going, a huge mess of activity, def the biggest weekend I've been a part of, don't know about the early days...but I sure hope we can get actual feedback! I also hope there are a LOT of extra mechanics. I hope we drivers do our part and take care of each other and our cars, cause there aren't gonna be many extras. And heaven help us all if it rains...
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Testing Mid-Corner Speed / Advanced Member (500+ Posts)
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: LA, CA
Age: 53
Posts: 563
Re: Road America (August) -- Who Is Going?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slowhands
I don't know if anyone has checked their Skippy mail, but this is going to be one heck of a week of racing at Road America. SIX, count 'em SIX groups -- 3 F2000 of 18 drivers each, 2 MX5 of 13 and 14, and one National of 15. According to Todd there are going to be extra instructors to facilitate actual "instant launches" between groups to get it all in. I think it will be a lot of fun with so many drivers and cars around, coming and going, a huge mess of activity, def the biggest weekend I've been a part of, don't know about the early days...but I sure hope we can get actual feedback! I also hope there are a LOT of extra mechanics. I hope we drivers do our part and take care of each other and our cars, cause there aren't gonna be many extras. And heaven help us all if it rains...
I cant believe Im always in the 'stacked' group!!
Actually I love it
Im psyched to see some of my old west coast instructors are going to be there.
I gotta get another 'run' today. Gotta shed a few more lbs.
I am also psyched to root for Skinner, Carter and Edwards!!
The biggest problem will be gravel trap infractions that back the day and weekend up for everyone as they are the most repeated and egregious time killers. So... You need an appropriate penalty for anyone who gets caught in a gravel trap. Say $100 bucks for the first infraction... $200 for the second and so on... And the fine doubles if you cause someone to join you in the beach. All the money goes to the mechanics fund... Speaking of which... Is Sid going? If not we need a designated hitter for the mechanics fund. Al... You up for it? It could be entertaining to make a big deal out of the beach infractions and announce all the offenders at the Sunday drivers meeting.
God bless and God help the mechanics this weekend. Everyone will have to be on their toes to pull this one off. Drivers, instructors and mechanics will be stretched to make things run like a military invasion.
Should be an awesome weekend... Good luck all!
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You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
The biggest problem will be gravel trap infractions that back the day and weekend up for everyone as they are the most repeated and egregious time killers. So... You need an appropriate penalty for anyone who gets caught in a gravel trap. Say $100 bucks for the first infraction... $200 for the second and so on... And the fine doubles if you cause someone to join you in the beach. All the money goes to the mechanics fund... Speaking of which... Is Sid going? If not we need a designated hitter for the mechanics fund. Al... You up for it? It could be entertaining to make a big deal out of the beach infractions and announce all the offenders at the Sunday drivers meeting.
God bless and God help the mechanics this weekend. Everyone will have to be on their toes to pull this one off. Drivers, instructors and mechanics will be stretched to make things run like a military invasion.
Should be an awesome weekend... Good luck all!
Fortunately Carson and the RA recovery crews are the best and amazingly fast at cleaning up crashed cars, gonna need them.
LOL gravel trap fines, don't know if that will fly but good idea
Speaking of gravel traps, Paul GT Subject (aka Big Paulie ) will be there so he can be the muscle for the Mechanic's Fund, always does a great job
I worked with Steve Welk and his print shop partner to create a new T-shirt for the fund. With so many drivers there we'll hopefully sell a lot of them - get out your wallet$ fella$! The mechanics will surely be worked hard, help them out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by arig
Guys, have a great time racing and don't make early flights on Sunday.
Good point on flights Ari, will be a loooong weekend. Watts will be packing heat to answer all requests for group changes
Wish I could make this, weekend will be a great video opportunity
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"Think very carefully, because if you ever start, you will never be able to leave it alone" Sir Donald Campbell, CBE
My bad... For some reason thought Paul wasn't going. No worries if Paul does mechanics fund for sure. Still think trap penalties of some kind are in order... even if just public humiliation.
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You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
...Still think trap penalties of some kind are in order... even if just public humiliation.
LOL - maybe new drivers should be excluded, they are going to have their hands full as it is
Forgot to say the Masters National podium will be easy to make, all they have to do is finish....ahem
National race will be amazing to watch, as always..."Here they come! Six wide into Turn One!!!!"
Can anyone record race chatter? Even if not set up with an audio recording device there is a way to do it that is kinda lame but I have used in the past in a pinch. Set scanner on your street car dash, or ideally in race control (highest point, best recep.), take your video camera, point mic at scanner and record audio that way. Send me tapes (or digital files) and I can process for www. If anyone tries this, set record speed to long play, audio quality wont suffer. Or some cameras have an audio input for dubbing and you can use a mini plug cable to go from scanner phones out to camera audio in.
Forgot to say the Masters National podium will be easy to make, all they have to do is finish....ahem
For just that reason and because there have been several events without a single Master, there will be NO separate Master's podium or trophies. They are going to be classed with everyone else. As, IMO, it always should be anyway.
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Today was a glorious day for being a racing driver. High 70's, low humidity, brilliant sunshine, crystal clear visibility for miles, blue sky with high cirrus. Absolutely perfect. The only thing was that the track was green since it had rained since the pro weekend, so the times were a bit on the slow side. Spencer did a 2:35- something, and I managed only a 2:36.9. But I had a ton of fun. Jim Booth and I went out together for the last session and sliced and diced for 20 minutes until I finally gapped him. We started out respecting the lapping day rules with the person being passed backing off in the brake zone to allow the other to slot in on the line, but after about 10 minutes of that our natural competitiveness got the better of us and neither of us were willing to yield. As Jim would later explain, "When you have the momentum, it's seems a waste to give it up." We were running hard but clean, giving room, so what harm was it that a few passes didn't get completed till the apex? Nary a locked tire between us. But noooooooo, that is not good enough for goody two shoes instructors like Phil "Do as I say, not as I do" Lombardi who had us both black sticked after one too many outbraking moves into 5. But the fun was had by that point ("Better to ask forgiveness than permission") and a perfect end to a perfect day. Jim looked at me with the wide grin of a 10-year-old as we climbed out, and said, "Ready to get your ass chewed?" Hell, yes. It was worth it. And besides, I paid for it.
From an equipment standpoint, we were in excellent shape with no incidents whatsoever until the very last lap of the day, when someone got out of shape at the apex of the Kink and hooked into the inside wall. That car was, to quote NickNick, "put directly into the dumpster." Luckily, the driver was uninjured. Tomorrow the hordes descend, as will rain, it seems. Who is the patron saint of race cars? We all need to say some prayers.
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
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You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
Rain. Not quite the monsoon we experienced at Tremblant, but a good steady rain to start off the day. Great! Wet track practice. The sessions went surprisingly well, everything ran like clockwork. We had real instant launches (notice I did not use quotation marks, because these were actual instant launches, as soon as one group came in, the next group was already gridded and went out even before the last car of the previous group was parked). RA extraction crew were on their game as usual, beached cars were hauled out of the gravel before that lap was complete, but only a couple of cars went into the beach per session. I never went by a beached car twice. Local yellows only, no "black all stations". I have never seen a Skippy day run better.
First session was full rain practice, rim shots, rooster tails and visor fog remedies mandatory. Of course, very challenging conditions, and lots of car control practice. I had a blast, and just decided to have as much fun as possible. The highlight of the session for me was my pass of 3 cars on the way into Canada, with the last part of the pass in the grass next to the brake markers on the left after Bruce drifted over into me while thinking I was on the other side so he was moving over to give me room (while I was saying "No! No! No! I'm over here, can't you see me? Please let me by--PLEASE!!!"), beginning my braking in the grass and then slotting back in onto the asphalt by about the 1 marker just in time to turn in and motor on up the hill with no one left in front of me to impede my progress. Try that at home. I still don't know how I pulled it off. Probably because deep down under that serious exterior, I am nuts. Thanks to the rain, the instructor at Canada never saw what happened, and the only witnesses were 2 of the victims, Keith Watts and Bruce Robson doing a Lead-Follow. I continue to maintain that 1/16 of my right sidewall remained in contact with the pavement, although Keith might disagree, but that is only because he did not have the angle to make the call. I keep telling him that. I wish I had had a camera for that move. I cannot believe that I actually considered it as a viable option and went through with it. And that I actually didn't hit anything. Wow.
Second session the sun came out and the track was drying. Yet another challenging condition as the track started out full wet, but improved throughout the session until it was almost dry by the end. Lots of practice taking small chances, experimenting with things, and trying to move the line down to the dry line in tiny increments. These conditions have always been where I drove the worst, usually spinning out as I encountered wet track on the dry line somewhere. but this time I stayed on and actually did a decent job.
We went out to the Paddock Club for dinner and had a table of 16 Skippy friends. It was one of the best dinners in a long time. Keith had us in rolling on the floor with his stories, the food was delicious, the friendship and camaraderie were wonderful, and we had the best waitress I have ever seen. She took care of our table completely by herself with incredible efficiency, no waiting, always on top of everything. Besides she was an unbelievably cute blonde and she took down GT-Canadian's lame attempts at flirtation with extreme prejudice, emptying both barrels of magnum load into him without a thought for his feelings. He then got to see how a real man operates, as I swept her off her feet in my classy style, and she willingly basked in my attention. The evening was completed with a round of Jager for the table in observation of Midwest racing spiritual custom (Speed, girls, and Jager). A toast to Lord Jager, the God of Midwest racing, was offered. Unfortunately we had our share of wusses at the table (3 to be precise) and I had to drink their shots to keep them from going to waste and offending Lord Jager, since his beneficence is needed for this weekend.
Then of course we had to walk over to Siebkins for one last toast and meet up with even more of our Skippy brethren.
This weekend so far has had a great vibe. Michael Culver has been at the helm of the company for only a few weeks, but you can already see a huge change in how things are done and in everyone's attitude. This is the guy who has been needed and I am now hopeful about the future for Skip for the first time. The company finally has someone in the top job who gets it.
This is a veritable festival of speed. There are cars and drivers everywhere, the track is always hot, it is racing like it was meant to be. Rock and roll. (cue led Zeppelin "The Ocean")
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
and I had to drink their shots to keep them from going to waste and offending Lord Jager, since his beneficence is needed for this weekend.
Then of course we had to walk over to Siebkins for one last toast and meet up with even more of our Skippy brethren.
Road America, Day 3: Preliminary report:
The cottony feeling in my head reminds me that reverence for Lord Jager notwithstanding, pounding those shots was probably not the wisest of decisions. Since I had begun the evening with a Spotted Cow. And had a glass of wine with dinner. This sounds familiar. And the Paddock Club shots were not Siebkins size shots. To quote Al Carter: "These are REAL shots." Hmmm. But I did impress the gorgeous waitress. Who gave me a high-five and a hug when she saw the empty glasses in front of me.... Nope, no contest, DEFINITELY worth it.
Let's go drive.
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Re: Road America (August) -- Top Ten Things Harsha said to BPCW
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slowhands
Road America, Day 3: Preliminary report:.. I did impress the gorgeous waitress..... Nope, no contest, DEFINITELY worth it.
Top Ten Things Harsha said to impress BPCW (help me out here guys...)
"...yes, but you can call me DOCTOR Senn..."
"...Let me look DEEPLY into your eyes..."
"...but HE"S Canadian, and you KNOW how THAT bunch is..."
"..I'm only interested in your FEELINGS..."
"...You have eyes like crystal pools..."
"...do you believe in Karma...?"
"..I'll show you my trophy if you show me yours..."
"...you remind me of a certain Bharat Maha Rani, except you are MORE beautiful..."
Re: Road America (August) -- Top Ten Things Harsha said to BPCW
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosso
Top Ten Things Harsha said to impress BPCW (help me out here guys...)
Very impressive, Mike, but don't you even listen?? This is Elkhart Lake. All I had to say was, "I just did 4 double Jager shots!" and she was eating out of my hand.
Short report tonight because I am running up a sleep debt that I have to address or else I will be nodding off on the grid. All I have to say is that New Skippy is running like a well-oiled machine. We got through 12 sessions today by 5:30 with only 2 stoppages of the clock for cleanup, despite the entire morning being in rain conditions. As soon as one group of cars came off the track, the next was sent right away. They rotated 2 groups of instructors at the corners, so that feedback was not rushed and as much time as needed could be spent. RA crew were essential in this mix, as they did their usual fantastic job extracting folks from the gravel traps in minimum time, covering the incident under a local yellow and keeping the session going. Without their superb and efficient work, it could not have happened, although I will have to say many fewer people went into the traps than I thought would. Race control was adamant about protecting the track workers, as the Nationals found out when their session was terminated early because drivers were not slowing as they went by the extraction crews.
And tomorrow, we hope the promise of clear skies holds up. Should be another great day of racing.
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Harsha, That victory at RA certainly has done wonders for your posts. The self confidence is shining through and your great stories are keeping us VERY informed and entertained! Keep up the good work.
I am wondering if your wooing of the blond waitress is really being described accuratly by the Jager or by your natural competitiiveness. This Canadian battle has taken on a new dimension. Remember, Canada is really the 51st State.... We just haven't told them yet! Be Very careful!
Keep up the Good Work and keep those updates coming!
Suffering from the lower gastrointestinal side effects of too much beer last night. Since this is a classy, intellectual, high-end forum, I will leave it you each of you to conceptualize the situation. Suffice it to say that it might actually improve my lap time...
Time for breakfast. Last day of driving, got to make it good, got to enjoy it to the max. Good things come to an end so quickly. Clear blue sky outside, let's hope the racing gods smile and inspire my driving.
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
I apologize deeply to all of my valued friends for the crassness and banality of my previous post. I had not yet had my morning meditation. I am now one with my higher levels of consciousness and deeply regretful of lowering the level of discussion of this august forum. I ask for your forgiveness and to not judge harshly my less spiritual side. I believe it results from too much time around teenage speed junkies, twenty-something blonde goddesses, fun-loving Canadians, and Skippy instructors. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Om shanti shanti
Shanti shakti satyam
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
...too much time around...twenty-something blonde goddesses, fun-loving Canadians, and Skippy instructors. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Om shanti shanti
Shanti shakti satyam
And boom-shakalaka boom-shakalaka back at ya! Just what type of Nepalese meditative process leads you to the misguided conclusion that you have spent "too much time around...twenty-something blonde goddesses..."??? Why? Why? Well the rest of us are hoping for photos of said TSBG. (Was she there in July? Is that why my wife said "Here, take this seat, you can look out the window." Such seating she knows well is generally the kiss of death for meaningful interspousal dinner conversation.. "Look Honey Bunny, these goes bla bla bla...")
Road America, Day 2: Keith had us in rolling on the floor with his stories, the food was delicious, the friendship and camaraderie were wonderful, and we had the best waitress I have ever seen. She took care of our table completely by herself with incredible efficiency, no waiting, always on top of everything. Besides she was an unbelievably cute blonde and she took down GT-Canadian's lame attempts at flirtation with extreme prejudice, emptying both barrels of magnum load into him without a thought for his feelings. He then got to see how a real man operates, as I swept her off her feet in my classy style, and she willingly basked in my attention.
As ever the gentleman I am, I acquiesce to the superior charms of my brown eyed friend - here is a picture of the happy couple (remember this account is from my learned friends Jaeger soaked cranium)
ahh the Cannon powershot SD750 provides evidence of the brown eyed handsome man exhibiting his charms on 2009-08-20 at 22:03.16. Beware the IExif data encoded in the pictures... but back to the Brown-eyed Handsome Man
Waylon jennings version
ahh the Cannon powershot SD750 provides evidence of the brown eyed handsome man exhibiting his charms on 2009-08-20 at 22:03.16. Beware the IExif data encoded in the pictures... but back to the Brown-eyed Handsome Man.....
yes, all kinds of hidden info in this shot
Quote:
Originally Posted by GT-Subject
...(remember this account is from my learned friends Jaeger soaked cranium)
funny stuff, I think the camera was dropped in Jager also
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"Think very carefully, because if you ever start, you will never be able to leave it alone" Sir Donald Campbell, CBE
Sharp eye, Stevie. (Or should I say "Low Eyes???") One of the situations where low eyes are forgivable, no? And nothing depraved about that comely wench-- just good ol' All-American heartland girl next door. My type exactly.
Doug-- ya WISH your initials were on that T-shirt....
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
With photoshop... Doug's initials are pretty much anywhere he wants 'em to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slowhands
Doug-- ya WISH your initials were on that T-shirt....
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
As ever the gentleman I am, I acquiesce to the superior charms of my brown eyed friend - here is a picture of the happy couple (remember this account is from my learned friends Jaeger soaked cranium)
Yes, Paul, you are a true-blue gentleman, and we could all learn a thing or two about sportsmanship from you. That plus positive attitude and enthusiasm for life. I am grateful that we have become good friends.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdh
Speaking of gravel traps, Paul GT Subject (aka Big Paulie ) will be there so he can be the muscle for the Mechanic's Fund, always does a great job I worked with Steve Welk and his print shop partner to create a new T-shirt for the fund. With so many drivers there we'll hopefully sell a lot of them - get out your wallet$ fella$! The mechanics will surely be worked hard, help them out.
Before we leave Road America in the mists of memory, it is appropriate to acknowledge several people's efforts on behalf of the SB mechanics, since those poor guys will likely be working on the damage from our poor decision-making for the next couple of weeks, if not longer. ("The mechanics will surely be worked hard," that was the understatement of the year.) What many may not have realized is that we made their Sunday evening miserable, because they had to prepare the destroyed fleet for a fully subscribed 3-day school beginning the very next day.
Doug designed a brilliant logo for the back of the shirt, Steve Welk's T-shirt printing company did the job for cost, Paul Subject pitched the shirt at the driver meetings and took charge of the cash, and I know Badgersid has got his hands (and cash) in there somewhere behind the scenes. Sid, I hate to tell you, but you may never get your spot in the limelight back. Paul is highly effective at getting folks to contribute without being in fear of life or limb or property. Somehow, that can actually be done. I think SB management also prefers that everyone's rentals remain in one piece.
Thank you everyone (and everyone who contributed), Paul would have to give you the final figures, but we sold more than 50 of the shirts at $40 apiece and collected additional money on top of that.
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Doug designed a brilliant logo for the back of the shirt, Steve Welk's T-shirt printing company did the job for cost, Paul Subject pitched the shirt at the driver meetings and took charge of the cash, and I know Badgersid has got his hands (and cash) in there somewhere behind the scenes. Sid, I hate to tell you, but you may never get your spot in the limelight back. Paul is highly effective at getting folks to contribute without being in fear of life or limb or property. Somehow, that can actually be done. I think SB management also prefers that everyone's rentals remain in one piece.
Thank you everyone (and everyone who contributed), Paul would have to give you the final figures, but we sold more than 50 of the shirts at $40 apiece and collected additional money on top of that.
Thank you Harsha for remembering all who contributed to this past weekend's Mechanics Fund raising efforts. Thanks to all involved, we raised over $4500 for the Fund. That being said Harsha, I must take you to task my brown-eyed friend, you missed two very important contributors, our good friend - the amazing West Coast import, the man in the yellow driving suit... Franz Fleischli and my good friend Harsha Sen, fabulous driver and all around ladies man . Without your collective help we never would have been able to generate the excitment and raise the level of funds (and fun!!) that we did. My thanks to you all!!!!
and I thought I was being very kind given WHAT I COULD HAVE DONE with the pic.....
Didn't I mention that? Absolutely, you are too TOO kind, my good man, very kind, kindness is your middle name... when I look up kindness in the dictionary, there's is a picture of your kindhearted and compassionate mug Did I mention how incredibly talented and KIND you are? Especially to me, you have always been the best when it came to me. You are without peer my friend, my pal, my best bub, with exceptional gifts of visual imagination, tongue-in-cheek rapier wit, and such skill with manipulation of still and video images and an embodiment of smoothness and class on the track. Have I mentioned your rain-driving prowess? Those who were not present at the old Lime Rock a couple of years ago (before resurfacing, when it was the most evil and diabolical wet track in creation) missed a demonstration of car control worthy of Senna, I was there and in total AWE of the speed you were able to carry despite the conditions you are the light of us all and, and, and....
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Etymology: French or Late Latin; French sarcasme, from Late Latin sarcasmos, from Greek sarkasmos, from sarkazein to tear flesh, bite the lips in rage, sneer, from sark-, sarx flesh; probably akin to Avestan thwarəs- to cut
Date: 1550
1: a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain 2 a: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual
_ b: the use or language of sarcasm