I envy you all! I was planning on making my circuit racing debut at LRP in October, but the job that pays for all these shennanigans intervened (more like I was told exactly what I could do with the racing if I wanted to keep said job ). Anyway, good luck to all, and try to get over the general lack of... What's it called? Oh, right... Runoff areas. See, we never had those in rallying... Probably why I loved LRP so much and all the club racers were whining and moaning the entire time during my 2 day. And yes... You just got engaged in preemptive smack talk by someone who hasn't even raced in a Skippy car yet! I blame every single person on this board for setting a bad example for us youngins. See you all next eastern season.
__________________
You wanna beat this guy so bad to prove yourself... Two individuals in two different lanes trying to win... Its the guy that gets there first... Thats the reason I breathe, and without it I'm just another guy. But out there in that moment, put your mind in the zone and let it be what it will be. We call it destiny. I need that win for my team, my family, my sponsors, and for myself. I'm gonna get it. -14 time NHRA Funnycar Champion John Force
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
Jane & I will both be there for the LRP October weekend, starting on Tuesday. She is scheduled to make her Skippy racing debut and I will be in my cheerleader outfit (I realize that is an open invitation for a horrifying CDH Photoshop response ).
__________________ "If you feel like it's all under control, you're not going fast enough." -- Mario Andretti
Actually the mental image you've left me with is quite sufficient.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moxie
I will be in my cheerleader outfit (I realize that is an open invitation for a horrifying CDH Photoshop response ).
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
YAHOO!! Sounds like a party. I loved the photos but I was at LRP a while ago for an SCCA weekend and it looked eerily the same. At that time the cars looked the same as in the photos; a little bent and a little peeling about the edges. But I was there in real life....or was that reel life?
I'll be there. I'm not racing but I'm instructing, and I will be doing the memorial race if one takes place.
__________________
"I felt as though I were driving through a tunnel. The whole circuit became a tunnel...I had reached such a high level of concentration that it was if the car and I had become one. Together we were at the maximum. I was giving the car everything and vise versa." -- Ayrton Senna
I'll be there, also not racing, but instructing. It's something I just love to do, which is a good thing, as God knows no one has offered to pay me for it. And I don't do it for the thanks, which is also a good thing, as the reaction I often get is not exactly gratitude.
It's just a passion for racing, I guess, that keeps me going. I just can't help sidling up to a group of people discussing the last race, asking someone what car they were in, putting my arm around them, and explaining to them in detail exactly where their line was a little off, where by braking a foot or two earlier they might have carried a tiny bit more speed through the bend, and on and on and on that way. And my instructing isn't just a cold technical lecture either; I keep it really personal by sharing how well I placed last time I drove the track, and how I outbraked this person, divebombed that person, pulled out of tankslappers in a way that astounded the instructors, and on and on and on with what I like to think of as the personal element to race instruction.
Even as I'm driving home, late in the morning, or whenever it is that someone from the Skip Barber staff has asked me to leave the track, I still have that warm feeling inside that you can only get from the knowing that you've just shared so much of your racecraft expertise with some lucky driver. In my book, that kind of comraderie is what racing's all about!
In any case, I really look forward to seeing all my former "students" again, and to those of you I haven't yet met, hey, if you have any questions, don't be shy!
...and WBS did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
I envy you all! I was planning on making my circuit racing debut at LRP in October, but the job that pays for all these shennanigans intervened (more like I was told exactly what I could do with the racing if I wanted to keep said job ). Anyway, good luck to all, and try to get over the general lack of... What's it called? Oh, right... Runoff areas. See, we never had those in rallying... Probably why I loved LRP so much and all the club racers were whining and moaning the entire time during my 2 day. And yes... You just got engaged in preemptive smack talk by someone who hasn't even raced in a Skippy car yet! I blame every single person on this board for setting a bad example for us youngins. See you all next eastern season.
Robby,
I want to commend you on talking smack before showing what you can do. That is the purest form of smack. Where WILL you be making yor debut? I want to be there. To console you when you have to sign your first crash damage report.
Seriously, don't wait too long. As a rally racer you will love Road Atlanta and Laguna Seca, but IMO Sebring is just the best. LOVE those bumps!
See you out there soon.
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
I filled out my first crash damage form at my 3-day... Yes, yes, I know. In my defense, however, three other people did the same thing I did and got away with nothing! So what did I do? Well it may have involved dropping the left rear off on turn in rotation in the downhill at LRP. Spun across over the apex curbing and nailed one of the sidepods and the bottom of the radiator. Ask Bruce if you want to know what my expression was though. It felt like, "Oh come on! A grand for that little love tap!?!" I also feel compelled to say that I went through my 2 day with nary a spin to be found, which may assuage my ego though not my wallet.
As for my debut, I just had to dump a bunch of change replacing my car, so I'm thinking either vegas, sebring, or VIR. Assuming they keep next year's eastern looking similar to this year with VIR near the beginning, that is. As for the car, got rid of a BMW 740 with 99,000 miles in favor of a brand spankin' new VW GTI with the DSG gearbox... This thing is a pocket rocket! In another day or so I'll have gotten out of the break in period so I can really crank on it.
__________________
You wanna beat this guy so bad to prove yourself... Two individuals in two different lanes trying to win... Its the guy that gets there first... Thats the reason I breathe, and without it I'm just another guy. But out there in that moment, put your mind in the zone and let it be what it will be. We call it destiny. I need that win for my team, my family, my sponsors, and for myself. I'm gonna get it. -14 time NHRA Funnycar Champion John Force
It does, although I made a point of asking the dealer about it while I was picking up the car. Aparrently it is supposed to be standard on all 2008 cars, though some ship from the factory without it. If you have a 2008, your dealer should certainly be able to install/enable it. 2007 models I'm not so sure about. Your manual also has some info on launch control, either in the tips and suggestions section or listed with the DSG info.
__________________
You wanna beat this guy so bad to prove yourself... Two individuals in two different lanes trying to win... Its the guy that gets there first... Thats the reason I breathe, and without it I'm just another guy. But out there in that moment, put your mind in the zone and let it be what it will be. We call it destiny. I need that win for my team, my family, my sponsors, and for myself. I'm gonna get it. -14 time NHRA Funnycar Champion John Force
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
would I be correct in assuming a total absence of grip anywhere? and let's see...rain line = the rim, meaning I can have the flagger at the top of the uphill hand me shots on my way by? and drop off my empties at the bridge?
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Yes, rim shots are preferred with salt adding both flavor and traction.
The old uphill Armco was so low with dirt behind it that they could line 'em up on the top edge and you could snag and drop off at mirror level. Now you have to loosen the arm restraints and reach way up like a Dunkin Donuts drive-thru... And they call this progress?
The nice thing about the rain is that it slows you down enough to grab a shot, some pretzels and a beer chaser without spilling any. (Don't try this at home kids... Objects are closer than they appear...)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slowhands
would I be correct in assuming a total absence of grip anywhere? and let's see...rain line = the rim, meaning I can have the flagger at the top of the uphill hand me shots on my way by? and drop off my empties at the bridge?
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
Mid-Corner Speed Master / Advanced Member (1,000+ Posts)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chatham, NY
Posts: 1,268
Re: Lime Rock in October
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slowhands
would I be correct in assuming a total absence of grip anywhere? ...
There's LOTS of grip in the rain at LR. You just have to go where no man has gone before. Before it rained, anyway.
__________________
QUALIFICATIONS 1987: Davidson: "Sammy Swindell's car runs a normally aspirated stock-block engine with Pontiac heads. It was developed by John Buttera." Palmer: "Wow, yeah, he used to play the sax with Louis Prima." Davidson: "That was Sam Butera." Palmer: "Oh, yeah."
Lime Rock in the rain is unconventional because the dry line is so polished it feels like it's been surfaced by a Zamboni machine.
It takes a while to learn and trust the unusual places you must go to find the surprising amounts of grip available.
I'll have Italian actor Giancarlo Gianinni sum it up in fractured English...
"Sheeza sleeeepereee in alla da right places and sheeza griiiiipeeee in alla da wrong places.... but I love her juuust da same... No wait!... I looooove her even mooooore!!!"
His hands are so expressive as the eyes bulge out of his head.
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
HI Guys,
I just started this year - looking forward to LRP this week. Just trying to figure out how to get my umbrella attached to my helmut!!!
Hi GrandpaBill--
Welcome to Juicy! I look forward to meeting you this week! Coming to join the crazy shenanigans at LRP? Don't forget your trashbag poncho (less aero drag than an umbrella--but then again, less downforce as well!)
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Mid-Corner Speed Master / Advanced Member (1,000+ Posts)
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chatham, NY
Posts: 1,268
Re: Lime Rock in October
Quote:
Originally Posted by dalyduo
I'll have Italian actor Giancarlo Gianinni sum it up in fractured English...
"Sheeza sleeeepereee in alla da right places and sheeza griiiiipeeee in alla da wrong places.... but I love her juuust da same... No wait!... I looooove her even mooooore!!!"
Giancarol whazzhizname my foot. That was the best Jerry Colonna imitation I've heard in years!
Bob: Colonna, how did you get out of the nuthouse?
Jerry: Don't you remember? I stood on your shoulders!
__________________
QUALIFICATIONS 1987: Davidson: "Sammy Swindell's car runs a normally aspirated stock-block engine with Pontiac heads. It was developed by John Buttera." Palmer: "Wow, yeah, he used to play the sax with Louis Prima." Davidson: "That was Sam Butera." Palmer: "Oh, yeah."
I'll be there, but I'm not racing - I've raced Lime Rock in the rain and now I never have to do it again ! Hell, my hand still hurts from the shunt I took in the uphill LAST year, but I wouldn't miss Jane Englebardt racing debut for the world. Oh, and another good reason to show up ? I have most of the mechanics fund money
__________________
"It's a long season and ya gotta trust it."
Rainy Eastern Finales seem more and more common. Some pics from 2005 in this thread (go ahead LRR, let me have it...again).
Adrian Dixon took excellent photos that weekend like the ones below...full albums here , nice work.
What ever happened to Adrian? I think he got married.
The last pic is from 2005 also, the only photochops are the boat and sky, there really was that much water outside the Left Hander, dang! The best pic from that weekend is Lee Moxie Englebardt's car up to the sidepods in water (which I can't locate). A shame no one snapped a shot of his swan dive off the sidepod
__________________
.
"Think very carefully, because if you ever start, you will never be able to leave it alone" Sir Donald Campbell, CBE
Harrison, great pics ! Thank you so much for posting them. 2005 was a nightmare - while most of the rest of Connecticut was evacuating from the rising waters in what was a CNN headline making marathon downpour, we were racing LRP. Madness ! (but pretty cool) Every once in a while I'll be leaving the house to run errands when it's raining and Mur'll tell me to be careful - all I can think is LIME ROCK !
BTW, Doug, we were just at VIR for the kiddy and Masters Nationals and your video was wonderful - we were falling off the chairs laughing at the vignettes and the song lyric to photo footage editing was spot on. I'm gonna need a copy (and one of the Midwest season - which I hear is also genius) please.
__________________
"It's a long season and ya gotta trust it."
Yeah, Adrian (or should I say yo, Adrian) has a great eye for pics....Moxie, we still need your car in the pond photo posted.
Very happy you enjoyed the vid at VIR Michele, sounds like a good banquet. I am putting together a post on some 'enhanced' DVD purchase options we may offer to help the Fund, stay tuned....
__________________
.
"Think very carefully, because if you ever start, you will never be able to leave it alone" Sir Donald Campbell, CBE
We had a lot of fun in the rain at LRP today but not nearly as much as Lee did in '05
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
You know, Lime Rock was ahead of the curve trying out the water trap idea in runoff areas-- look how it minimized the damage from what would otherwise been a big hit. Fire quenching, driver cooling, no holes in radiators from stray gravel-- and Lee looks positively refreshed! Like those old York Peppermint Pattie commercials!
Should have had my camera with me Tuesday-- we had some rooster tails from 4-offers shortcutting the Left Hander! But much less diabolical today now that all the oils have been washed off.
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V
Testing Mid-Corner Speed / Advanced Member (500+ Posts)
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Age: 85
Posts: 608
Re: Lime Rock in October
All kidding aside, Michael Auriemma has rubber booties for sale at a very friendly price that have been wet weather tested and proven at LRP. Also a "thumbelemma" talisman he'll throw in at no additional charge.
email Michael Auriemma [Michael.Auriemma@acg.net].
All kidding aside, Michael Auriemma has rubber booties for sale at a very friendly price that have been wet weather tested and proven at LRP. Also a "thumbelemma" talisman he'll throw in at no additional charge.
As Amok says in his post on the subject, he threw the booties directly into the garbage can at West Bend that morning
__________________
.
"Think very carefully, because if you ever start, you will never be able to leave it alone" Sir Donald Campbell, CBE
You've still got your edge qualifying in the rain at LRP! How 'bout sharing your qualifying sheet with us.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cdh
Hi John,
My reply was intended to be humorous, perhaps I am losing my edge.......
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
Thanks DD, that was one of my Finale weekend highlights (framing this one, I knew them when...), love LRP when it's really wet. Had a slow motion spin in Left Hander so to the back I went but had lots of fun none the less.
Pat had a memorable weekend. Early this season we all discussed at length moving from Sportsman to Champ Group and how it's goodbye podium. NOT SO! Pat had an amazing Champ race Friday and fought his way to a P2!!! Very tough group, excellent drive buddy, very impressive.
That was one of the big moments this weekend, another can be seen in this video clip 2:45 (sorry for poor quality, lights were low at the banquet). Well done DD, very deserved.
OK, your turn
From the Blind Squirrel Racing dept.....
__________________
.
"Think very carefully, because if you ever start, you will never be able to leave it alone" Sir Donald Campbell, CBE
Yes, setting second fastest qualifying lap in the rain doesn't do justice to your overall performance this season.
Third place in Master points
First place as the Grand Master Champion!
Well done CDH... You matched your usual stellar performance producing banquet videos with a steady stream of driving performances that led the pack... Bravo and well done!
The videos were outstanding and just keep getting better. Here's the Grand Master clip
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
Want to say congratulations to Chris Brassard who won second place in the Masters Championship, you drove a very solid season Chris, it was a lot of fun racing with you, well done!
Tom Capizzi took the Masters top honors and deservedly so, you worked hard this year, put in a lot of effort and the results showed it, congratulations Tom!
Thanks Michele Marden for handling the Mechanics Fund duties, I believe over 25 K was raised in the Eastern series this season, great job and thanks.
Jordan and Gabby fought it out right to the last race, very exciting Championship run but it was Jordan who won in the end, wtg to 2 great kids, thanks for entertaining us so much this year
Thanks to everyone who sent me photos for use in the video, Chris, Leland, Tom, Don, Julia Daly and of course Rick Roso, Kelly, Todd, etc etc etc. The pics were great and really helped.
__________________
.
"Think very carefully, because if you ever start, you will never be able to leave it alone" Sir Donald Campbell, CBE
Well done CDH... You matched your usual stellar performance producing banquet videos with a steady stream of driving performances that led the pack... Bravo and well done!
Ditto on that! Doug, will the video be available for purchase? (With some proceeds going to the Mechanics Fund?)
Back at my parents' in NC for a few days to spend some time with family and just relax. Today I was filled with a multitude of thoughts about what was for me a supremely eventful year.
In February after several months of solid coaching in the fundamentals by JP in Lead-Follow came the euphoria of my first race win at Sebring. Some fabulous racing with Chris Brassard, Luca Orlandi, Rick Balsley, Nick Spencer (where are you Nick?) and the first signs of Pat Daly's drive to greatness this year-- in spite of mechanical difficulties that would have made a lesser being come apart in frustration, he clearly outclassed the Sportsman field in speed and smoothness. This weekend at Lime Rock, he put a punctuation mark on his year with incredibly fast, smooth, and consistent driving. Well done Pat!!
In April at VIR, great fun racing Zach Ply to the stripe twice, culminating with my second win. Thanks to Rob Slonaker and MHP for preparing me well that weekend.
In May at the Glen, my first weekend in Champ group was confidence-inspiring, and topped off by my introduction to Jager at the bar of the Seneca lodge by the guys of SFE Racing (Kasey K, Rick B, M Fee) presided over by our kindred spirit Stevie D. Took the boys that weekend but that woke Mr. K up and he dusted me the rest of the season. Mark on the other hand decided to take a page from my book by passing me early, then going off later. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
The next week a fantastic experience in the Masters National Invitational at the Glen, being taught to evaluate car handling by Bobo, and a P6 finish in race 2, just barely nipping GrandmasterFlash CDH who had driven up from 13th! Meanwhile JP took us on a tour of the old road course, which showed me just how tough those guys were. Brake lightly uphill, downshift, crest the hill while turning blind downhill offcamber left at the narrow intersection, flat downhill offcamber esses and straights through the trees, brake hard for the single-lane stone bridge, then 90-degree first gear righthander. Yeah, sure.
Very inconsistent after that but had a wonderful time at Tremblant swimming and boating with the Dalys but generally struggling on the track. First Masters' National podium at RA when everyone else crashed out, but hey-- that's racing, right? Sampling Stevie D's finely handcrafted ISMs at the Pavilion at MidOhio, but then learning an object lesson in hubris at the hands of a sequence of libations that would have impressed Keith Richards. "Don't-ask-don't-tell" shot from Ron the Pusher helped me get in the racecar but no great deeds were forthcoming in that shape. Professor Don Van made sure I learned the entire history of "hubris" from the ancient Greeks to LongTerm Capital. Fantastic weekend at RA where Marc Abernethy made it clear he was in Champ group to stay (and finally passed me on the track ) and where I learned that yes, I could go through the Carousel and the Kink with my foot to the floor, culminating with the best and most consistent race of my life: the Masters Race where John Greist, Kasey K, and I took the checker nose-to-tail. I learned a massive amount about racecraft and the draft in that one, and it was a privilege to be a part of a tight, aggressive, hard-but-cleanly fought race, to be led around the track by racers with the talent and competitive spirit of John and Kasey. Thanks guys for a memory that will stay with me forever. The weekend was topped off by a great finale banquet and video, and goodbye toasts to the season at Siebkens.
After that I was stoked to come to grips with Lime Rock, but alas, it was not to be. Although I seemed to do well in my Lead-Follow session with Phil Lombardi, just couldn't put it together after that. Watched CDH put in an absolutely scorching wet lap that totally humbled any pretensions I had about my wet driving skills, and everyone else flew by me on the way to 58s and 59s in the dry (not to mention Peter Ludwig's sick 57). An old injury came home to roost as my lower back seized up 5 laps into the race on Sunday on a perfect day for speed-- cold, dry, sunny, beautiful-- and after struggling with it for 10 laps I parked it. The bullring (BullRock?) just beat me up and I had nothing for it. Again, a great weekend for friends, though, hanging out with "Flying" Lee and Jane "Hamster Crusher" Englebardt, Jimmy Craige, Rob and Renee Slonaker (that Rob is a quiet kid but he grills a MEAN cedar-smoked salmon ), Abhi Ghatak (thanks for coming in for the banquet Abhi--great to see you again), Sid, NickNick, Watts, Ted Jewell (need to hang around longer next time Ted-- I would've given you a note for school!), and getting the chance to finally meet our Grand Poobah Sy and to have a great dice on the track on Saturday with would-be fellow Locust Ari G, who can talk smack with the best of 'em. (Hey Ari, did you thank Nick yet??)
I think I'm going to dial it back some over the winter, do a few events to keep skills from rusting but spend more time in the rest of my life. Give what I've learned this year some time to process. Thanks everyone for incredible experiences and memories, for being so honest and free with your tips on how to become a better driver, and for your genuine friendship.
A few pictures:
__________________ "All things are ready if our minds be so." -- Henry V