Summit Point PCA Race
Now this weekend is why I go racing. Close, intense, mentally challenging, what a great time was had at the track last weekend. This was round 6 in the 944 Cup championship. While I'm not in contention for the championship this year, that will probably go to Al Cohen or Steve Randolph, the important bits, the actual racing was hugely fun.
Even though it was Thursday evening, I got caught up in major traffic around Baltimore, and the normal 2 1/2 hour trip took close to 4 hours. About a mile from the track, the rain started again and I had to set up camp in the dark and rain. Sleeping in the trailer, I heard rain sporadically throughout the night, but by morning it was clear and mild, with a fine sunrise welcoming the racers.
Friday was a practice day. The first session I just bedded in fresh pads and let them rest. The rest of the sessions I became reacquainted with Summit Point. Where once it was my home track, the PCA race last year was the first time I've been there in years, and didn't go back until this weekend. I like the track. It's very technical and has a good flow and there's plenty of places to pass. The downside is it's pretty unsafe if you go off compared to a lot of other tracks. Lots of trees and berms not too far from the racing circuit. And the main straight seems to be a major wildlife corridor. A deer being eviscerated at 120 mph isn't an unknown event.
The day ended with the practice starts and the short fun races. Since I'm still on 13/13 probation for the LimeRock curb assault, there's no upside for me to participate, but plenty of bad things could happen. So I sat them out.
Saturday was qualifying and two sprint races. My data system died in the beginning of the qualifying session, so I was running blind with my lap times. Even so I was surprised when I got the results of the session. Only 9th in class. That was a shock. I've had plenty of poles here in 44Cup, being that far down meant I sucked big time. Part of it I put on getting old and slow. Just takes me longer to get up to speed. But another part is my intermittent motor issues are back. I thought we stamped them out for good at VIR with the new AFM box, but remember last race at NJMP? Where I went out for race 1 and the car just sputtered and wouldn't run? And then 5 mins later was fine? It's back!
I could hear and feel a flutter on track, and it's feels a little down on power. That could explain some of it, but I'm sure it's mostly me these days.
So its soon 10:30 and time for Race 1. The sun is out, temps are nice and the track is warming up. Heading out onto the track for the outlap before the start, the motor starts bogging. Not this again! Arghh! Shit! After about a 1/2 lap it seems to clear up and I breath again. We have a split start with the rest of the run group of 911's and Boxsters taking the green before us. We get a 2nd green flag for just the 944 Cup cars. Onto the front straight we come, and ... Green Flag!
A couple of cars get a jump on me, but by turn 1 I'm going down the inside and getting those plus more back. Three wide we all go through turns 1 and 2 and then two wide through Wagon Bend (turn 3). The speeds are picking up as we flash down through the downhill "Chute" and into a huge stackup at the bottom in turn 5. I follow the train through while Van, who started 3rd, spins out at the bottom and into the dirt and grass. After that the race settled down a bit. But when I say settled, that doesn't mean it became a sedentary activity, instead of the volume being at 11, it was maxing out at 10. Matt Marks and Steve Randolph checked out at the front, but there was a big group of us going nose to tail, lap after lap. For the rest of the race it was more a matter of how you got screwed by traffic and how many times you were screwed. I was in the middle of the scrum and had my good moments and bad moments. Even though I was making it to the front of our group, by the end I got shuffled toward the back, ending up right where I started, in 9th. Not a great points result, but just awesomely fun racing anyway. No regrets.
Here's Van Swenson's video of the race with some great captions. Van does much better video than me, so I'm going to steal it. In the video he says I got sloppy at 10. The truth is I was hung out to dry by a 911 making a late pass and I had to check up to avoid collecting him, killing my momentum in the most important corner on the track, gifting Van with an easy pass. Enjoy.
More to come.
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| Summit Point at dawn |
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| Racecars at rest in the morning |
Friday was a practice day. The first session I just bedded in fresh pads and let them rest. The rest of the sessions I became reacquainted with Summit Point. Where once it was my home track, the PCA race last year was the first time I've been there in years, and didn't go back until this weekend. I like the track. It's very technical and has a good flow and there's plenty of places to pass. The downside is it's pretty unsafe if you go off compared to a lot of other tracks. Lots of trees and berms not too far from the racing circuit. And the main straight seems to be a major wildlife corridor. A deer being eviscerated at 120 mph isn't an unknown event.
The day ended with the practice starts and the short fun races. Since I'm still on 13/13 probation for the LimeRock curb assault, there's no upside for me to participate, but plenty of bad things could happen. So I sat them out.
 |
| That car cover probably doubled the value of that 944! .... Just kidding... |
Saturday was qualifying and two sprint races. My data system died in the beginning of the qualifying session, so I was running blind with my lap times. Even so I was surprised when I got the results of the session. Only 9th in class. That was a shock. I've had plenty of poles here in 44Cup, being that far down meant I sucked big time. Part of it I put on getting old and slow. Just takes me longer to get up to speed. But another part is my intermittent motor issues are back. I thought we stamped them out for good at VIR with the new AFM box, but remember last race at NJMP? Where I went out for race 1 and the car just sputtered and wouldn't run? And then 5 mins later was fine? It's back!
I could hear and feel a flutter on track, and it's feels a little down on power. That could explain some of it, but I'm sure it's mostly me these days.
 |
| Turn 10 leading onto the front straight |
So its soon 10:30 and time for Race 1. The sun is out, temps are nice and the track is warming up. Heading out onto the track for the outlap before the start, the motor starts bogging. Not this again! Arghh! Shit! After about a 1/2 lap it seems to clear up and I breath again. We have a split start with the rest of the run group of 911's and Boxsters taking the green before us. We get a 2nd green flag for just the 944 Cup cars. Onto the front straight we come, and ... Green Flag!
A couple of cars get a jump on me, but by turn 1 I'm going down the inside and getting those plus more back. Three wide we all go through turns 1 and 2 and then two wide through Wagon Bend (turn 3). The speeds are picking up as we flash down through the downhill "Chute" and into a huge stackup at the bottom in turn 5. I follow the train through while Van, who started 3rd, spins out at the bottom and into the dirt and grass. After that the race settled down a bit. But when I say settled, that doesn't mean it became a sedentary activity, instead of the volume being at 11, it was maxing out at 10. Matt Marks and Steve Randolph checked out at the front, but there was a big group of us going nose to tail, lap after lap. For the rest of the race it was more a matter of how you got screwed by traffic and how many times you were screwed. I was in the middle of the scrum and had my good moments and bad moments. Even though I was making it to the front of our group, by the end I got shuffled toward the back, ending up right where I started, in 9th. Not a great points result, but just awesomely fun racing anyway. No regrets.
Here's Van Swenson's video of the race with some great captions. Van does much better video than me, so I'm going to steal it. In the video he says I got sloppy at 10. The truth is I was hung out to dry by a 911 making a late pass and I had to check up to avoid collecting him, killing my momentum in the most important corner on the track, gifting Van with an easy pass. Enjoy.
More to come.
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