Nationals 2011

So how was Nationals? 

Well the partying was good ...

Team Comat showing how the Canadians drink beer

The results were good.

I placed 2nd in the Region Championships

The Spoiled Boys Racing Team (Joe and Case Crowell) came up from North Carolina and dominated the field, breaking the stranglehold the Canadian's had on the 944 Cup championship the last several years. And when I say dominated, on Friday on the test day, at a track they never had seen before, they were putting in 1:36 laps. Now I've done 1:36's before there, but this time, we were using the turn 3 chicane, which adds another 2+ seconds at least. I'd hate to see their times when they actually get some experience at this track!

But getting to the end of the weekend was a challenge for me and many others.

Friday

Friday started out well. Most of all the 44 guys were here for the test & tune day. Skies were clear and sunny, temps in the upper 50's,lower 60's. Just a nice day to be at the track. There were reports that a wicked snow storm was coming - several inches of snow was predicted - but that was hard to believe with the perfect weather we were having. Plus it's October. Snow? Really?

Dyno testing of cars was done throughout the weekend by John Behe

We ran the course with the turn 3 chicane in, this is the first time I have done that configuration. I like the course much better without it. It hurts our momentum too much. First session was just a get acquainted with the chicane laps. 2nd test session after 3 laps I started to hear a clunking noise out back. I started to come into the pits and on the entry the rear started to lock up. I coasted to a stop and took a look under the car. Nothing obvious, axles still looked good. I tried to move forward under power and get about 3 feet and then  hear this nasty clunk and the rear would lock. I had to be towed back to my spot with the rear lifted off the ground. Diagnosis: Broken Transmission. Welcome to my Nationals weekend.

Looking down the garage bays - mostly 944 cup racers

The left side of the garages were mostly 944's also. Here is Rob Provost's SP1 car in the foreground.

However, I did have some luck. I don't have a backup tranny, as all the parts cars I've bought over the years have been automatics. That has been something on my shopping list. Now it was time to go shopping. Big Joe Boschulte had a spare 89 tranny with factory LSD in his trailer and was willing to part with it for some cold hard cash. I had also sprung this weekend for a garage which I usually don't, so we had a nice dry workspace. Gerald Sweetwine from John Behe's shop, and Bernie, Steve Randolph's mechanic gave me a hand throughout the day and we swapped the trannys in and out.

Working tranny going in, dead tranny on right. DD supervising

I missed all the rest of the track sessions for the day, but a spin around the paddock showed that at least I had 6 gears, 5 forward and 1 reverse. I was back in business.

Alan (red/white suit) Cohen's #144 going on the dyno. 

My garage mate, John Torgensen from South Carolina

Next door garage neighbors: some of the fast guys from Canada: Gary Loudsbury, chief mechanic for driver Randy Smith (#78)

Saturday

On Saturday we woke up to the sound of rain. Unbelievably the Weather channel was predicting 4 inches of snow in Baltimore and Washington, and 12-18 inches in New York. It's still freaking October! The day was the perfect definition of miserable conditions. The track was wet with poor drainage, streams and puddles everywhere. Which is the norm for Thunderbolt. Lightning, the companion circuit, drains pretty well, and racing in the rain there isn't too bad. Not the case for Thunderbolt. And it was cold, upper 30's and lower 40's. Grip was a theoretical concept at best.

Today was qualifying, and the qualifying race which would set the grid for the Nationals race on Sunday. It also counted as the final regional race for the chapters. For me, this was the focus of my weekend. Finishing well meant clinching 2nd in the North chapter. Regional championships are a season long affair unlike National which is a one shot deal. With the miserable conditions my goal was to stay out of trouble and cruise home to take 2nd. I qualified mid pack and took the green in light rain. By the 1st corner, the rain had intensified and coming sideways. Visibility and grip were horrible. I thought I saw some snow flurries mixed in with the rain. This was going to be a long day.

Surprisingly the race was clean with cars spinning off the track every now and then (including me) but no metal to metal contact. I brought the car home in 18th overall, 15th in class and took 2nd in the region. Mission accomplished.

Maggie, my official photographer, spent her time in the garage or the cab of the truck and declined to take any pics, not that I blamed her. With the racing done, I retired to the hotel room for a long hot shower and then to the Cup Annual banquet and awards dinner.

Congrats to Steve Randolph who took 1st in the North Region.

Steve wins a Million Cup Dollars. 

The Crowell brothers display the latest in tasteful raceware.

Sunday

Sunday brought us clear skies and a drying track. It was still cold, but a 180 degrees turnaround from the conditions the day before.

For the rain racing, the chicane was taken out. But for today, the chicane was back on the table. A short practice session gave me some more time to work on my line though it and then it was time to go racing.

Heading to grid for the main race

The track was still cold, but at least it was dry. There was still a river running across the track through the braking and turn in zone for the chicane, and other wet spots around the track. And you definitely don't want to go off, as where it wasn't mud it was sodden grass.

I finished 18th overall in the qualifying race on Saturday, so that's where I started, in mid pack.

Green Flag!

Well, the start was wild and woolly for sure! 3 or 4 wide into turn one, offs, contacts and more. Here's the start from John Torgensen who was towards the back of the field.

And Yan Tremblay's view. You can see me tap Chris Lubinski (red car) going into the chicane.

And here's mine, but my video is pretty crappy.

Going into turn 1, a whole bunch of us were showered with mud. My windshield became totally opaque. I tried my wipers just before going into the chicane and that just made matters worse.

My video died when Chris L and I hit. I continued on but could barely see out the front. This seems to be my season for driving blind. From turn 2 on, through the entry into the Jersey Devil, the sun was shining directly in front, making the mud impossible to see through. I needed another car to follow to make the turn in to the chicane. Once I passed a car and had nobody to follow I would miss the turn in and go careening over the curbs and grass. Despite driving by braile, my lap times were competitive and I was able to hunt down and pass some folks. I started 18th overall and ended up 8th overall, 7th in class. However, I paid for my misdeeds, receiving a 13 for contact with Chris.


Tyler Comat, who had to start at the back due to a Team mistake, came up on me later in the race. I held him off for several laps until I blew the entry (and probably the exit) of the chicane and got by me. Tyler went on to take 3rd. But way at the front were the two Crowell brothers, Joe and Case. It was like watching Seb Vettel. Those two just checked out at the front and nobody could touch them. The were 3 seconds a lap faster than the rest of the field. Joeboy went on to take the win, beating his brother to the checker.

2011 Nationals Cup podium (photo 44Cup.com)

And so ends the 2011 Season. Considering all the challenges, 2nd place in the standings wasn't too bad. I had some bad luck and some good luck. Almost every race was a podium finish and  I had several poles plus the track record for the Lightning course. And while it took a lot of work for that result, most importantly, it was a lot of fun. But it could be even better of course. So it's now officially the "off season" which means time to start working on the car for next season. My partially built motor in the garage is calling my name....