Pocono Revisited

The first race weekend of 2013 for me was at the newly refurbished road course at Pocono Raceway, deep in the heart of the Poconos. The main track is a NASCAR "tri-oval", 3 banked corners linked by straightaways. For road racers, there's several infield sections that come off the main track and back on. In racer parlance, this is known as a "Roval" course, or Road Racing + Oval.

I've been to Pocono a total of twice in the past 15 or so years. The first time was my first year doing Driver's Education back in 1997 in my 86 944 turbo. An uninspiring track and facilities, mixed with a fine disdain for out-of-region noobies from the hosting PCA region, seasoned with a disintegrating clutch on the 2nd day was a recipe for mutual disinterest. I avoided the track until about 2 or 3 years ago when there was 944 Cup race on the North Circuit. I won both races but even that wasn't enough for me to want to return again. I was of the opinion that a visit once a decade was probably the right frequency.

A partial section of the (long) main straight

Until last weekend. After having a fine time with SCCA for our Nationals last year, we were invited to come play on the newly reinvigorated Pocono track with them for a 944 Cup race. The track is under new management and unlike years before, actively want road racers to come visit. What a concept!

Our course was the Yellow outlined pavement, going clockwise.

In theory, the track is less than 2 1/2 hours away from me. But on a Friday afternoon, the Philadelphia metro area proved Einstein's theorem about the relativity of time. Despite leaving by 3pm, I didn't roll into the paddock until around 7:30 that night. Robbie from Provost Motosports, our new 944 North region director, was already in place, having done the test & tune day earlier. Jim Rothenberg and Bob Page were camped by the old Derecola Porsche trailer (bought by Robbie). Marty Okun and James Beirne had snagged garage spots. It seemed that I was the only paddock camper in the 944 group. By 9pm everybody had split and I settled back in the trailer as the rain rolled in and continued all night.

Saturday morning it was still raining. 1st session on the new to me track was Qualifying. This was scheduled for some time in the morning. One of my pet peeves (his name is Harvey by the way) is SCCA's scheduling method. Unlike PCA where there is a  time assigned for your slot so you have general idea of when your run group goes out, SCCA is a bit more free form. The schedule reads something like this:  9am-Noon Groups 1-6. It's up to you to figure it out when you are supposed to be somewhere. They do announce staging over the PA, but that's only audible in the garages, not out in the paddock where we were. Before the weekend was over, I did find a solution: RaceMonitor, a cool little phone app. They were streaming the Timing & Scoring data over the net. By taking a look at the app, I could tell what group was currently on track and suss out when we should be ready.

Soggy Saturday conditions at the 944 Paddock

We get gridded up for Qualifying and head out entering into the huge pit lane. The hot pits stretched the whole length of the straightaway and was very wide. You could hold an autocross just in the pits. Once we get onto the hot part of the track my first impression was "Wow, this is big. The track is crazy wide." My second impression was "Where the hell do I turn in?" Turn one was a dive off the straight into a entrance that looked as wide as the Mississippi. Gray skies, low light and rain and spray coming off the cars ahead didn't help matters much. I have my rear rain light blinking for all it's worth. We're doing about 2 minute laps, and after 9 or 10, the session is over. James Rothenberg grabs pole, with Bob 2nd, me 3rd. The cool thing is all the 944 racers are covered by only a 1.5 second spread. Should be a good race this afternoon.

Bob Page in the squishy paddock

Garages are refurbed and pretty nice

Not just 944's and tin tops, lot's of open wheel cars too

After a steady rain all morning, by 2pm there were patches of clearing. Our race was scheduled for around 4 pm. Looking at the radar, it seem that most of the storm system had cleared us and was headed for New Jersey. Time for dry tires!

Race 1 was pretty interesting. I started 3rd and by the end of the lap I was up to 1st. Lots of cars off on the first lap and we had a full course yellow. I blew the yellow flag coming on to the front straight, just flat out missed it. In my defense, this was probably only my 10th lap on a new track, and the 1st lap where it wasn't dark and raining. But I still didn't see it, it was my mistake. But the race gods, aka the officials took pity on me and didn't call it.

Marty Okun and his 924

After a few laps I see Bob Page on my tail. We go side by side for a while and eventually he gets past me. So I'm tucked behind Bob's bumper and as we go past start/finish I see the 1 lap to go sign. This is it! Turn 5 is a sharp right hander from the North infield onto the back straight. I've been consistently fast off the corner before this. Bob liked to swing wide left to maximize his run onto the long back straight leaving the whole inside unprotected. This time I got a great run off the corner and went down the inside. While it might compromise my speed down the straight I figured if I get in front of Bob, I should be able to keep him behind me to the checker. Unfortunately Bob came down on me and we touched. Bob started a tank slapper on the back straight, while I whoa'd up to see which way he would go. Meanwhile Marty Okun who had been a bit behind me comes flying up. Not being involved in our battle, he's able to take a clean line onto the straightaway, leaving Bob and me in his wake. Both of us scrambled after him, but Marty beat us all to the checker, with Bob taking 2nd and myself 3rd.

Robbie Provosts wide 924

While Robbie was strong at the beginning of the race, he soon faded and was gone. Something broke in his car. He soon loaded up and was gone back to his shop, hoping to fix and return. It didn't happen and that was the last we saw of him. Jim Rothenberg went off on the first lap and beached in the mud. Pulled out and washed up, he was ready to go on Sunday. Jim Beirne closed out the field in his 924.

Sunday dawned bright and breezy. Race 2 went off about 10:30. SCCA was nice to give us a "split-start" with the rest of the field, allowing all of us to race together. 944 Cup brought up the back of the field. Ahead of us was the rest of the cars, ITA, ITR, ITS and Spec Miata. We hung back about 100 yards from the field, and when they got the green, so did we. The straight is so long that by the time we were turning into Turn 1, we were already moving through the back of the group ahead. With a 45 foot wide racing surface, we were 3 wide through all the infield. By turn 2 I was up to 2nd, passing Marty. Bob had gotten a great start and was up ahead. I was chasing after, focused on the blue 21 car. I had passed a spec miata on my right and was in the middle of the track. I turned in to turn 4, a right hander, putting the power down at the apex, when WHAM! and I was spinning off the track. That little Spec Miata punted me off and kept going. I had to wait for the rest of the field to pass by and made it back on track. I worked my way up to 3rd before the race finished, but wasn't close enough to get to the 2nd place car of Marty. Bob took the win.

At the time, I had no idea who punted me. After the race we were all impounded for 20 minutes but no driver came forward. This is another one of my pet peeves (this one is called Sam). If you hit somebody or even don't hit them , but do something stupid to another driver, go find them and talk to them. To not do so is just wrong. I filed a protest with SCCA for the incident, forking over my $25.

The Punter

The Puntee - me! Poor quarter-panel, it gets no respect.

Luckily I run video, and it actually was working. Considering it was the 1st race weekend of the year, that's pretty amazing. My afternoon was spent filling out paperwork, talking in the hearing and showing my video. As I was being called to the grid for the last race the ruling came down, my protest was upheld unanimously  the other driver was totally at fault and received some sanctions, and I got my $25 back. My prize was I got to repair my car. While I was fiddling with the paperwork and such, Jim and the rest of the 944 gang help pull my fender back out and off my tire with a sissors jack, so I could race later. Thanks guys!

Race 3 was good. While I still had no idea on where to turn in for turn 1, I would occasionally get it just right. Just not with any consistency. Bob started on pole and got a great jump on the field. I got into 2nd quickly, but kept getting tangled in  slower traffic with some IT cars. They were slow through the infield, but faster than me once we got onto the straights. Meanwhile Bob got into clear air and drove away. Toward the end of the race my oil pressure was started to drop, so I backed off since I wasn't going to catch Bob. I backed off enough to tease Marty behind me, but not enough to let him catch me ... We ended the day with Bob getting another win, me in 2nd, and Marty in 3rd.

So, will I wait another 10 years before coming back? I don't think so. While the track doesn't compare to Watkins Glen or VIR, they have made light years of changes since the last time I've been there. And all for the better. The course was wide, affording 3 wide racing. The asphalt was grippy and the course was fun to run. The run-off grounds no longer looks like a car destroying moonscape. Is it perfect? Far from it, it's still a work in progress, but I've changed my opinion from once every 10 years, to Yeah, I'd be happy to come back.

But before that happens, the Glen is in a couple of weeks. With 70+ 944's taking the green, that should be an awesome weekend. So you know where I'll be until then, coated with bondo dust in the Alpine Garage.

Ahh, the smell of bondo in the morning ... cough, cough, respirator please ...

New Beginnings

In some ways, now is the best part of the racing season. The first race is the coming weekend, so hard cold reality hasn't made its presence yet. The car is prepped and soon to be loaded for the trip to Pocono Raceway. The off-season is over, ahead lies only future victories and glories. And I'm not the only one who thinks that. Racers, as viewed by outside observers, aren't rational people. We spend huge amounts of time, money and human capital to drive vehicles burning ancient dinosaurs on an insane journey, only to end up in the same place 1 or 2 minutes later. And we keep doing it, for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 90 minutes at a shot. So we Racers are dreamers, full of hope, looking for that next podium and $5 cheap plastic trophy. But now, before everything starts, ahead lies only possibilities. The night before I leave for the track, I'm going to pause, have a beer, and savor the moment.

So enough philosophy, I'll leave that for Harry Hall. Lets see what's been done since my last update. We'll start with the 944.

#88 ready to rumble

So, in the last couple of months the 44 has gotten a turbo front end, replaced a tie rod, front engine reseal, strut hats replaced with camber plates, balance shaft seals replaced, pilot bearing and rear main seal replaced, corner balanced and aligned, most of the paint has been refreshed with new decals, new hood pins rewelded, new front pads, new rear rotors, rear banana control arm bearing replaced, new windshield (with 2 layer tearoffs - hope to reduce the yearly replacement due to track rocks) and I'm sure I'm missing stuff.

Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything important. I'll be rolling it into the trailer shortly.

Next to receive some off-season love, is my tow vehicle, a 2002 Ford F250. It has about 75K on it (mostly track towing miles), but being a diesel, it's only being broken in. It got a nice fresh oil change and then I installed a couple of electronic gadgets to make the tow more enjoyable.

First I installed a license plate camera so I can see the trailer when I'm backing up and trying to connect. After many years I'm pretty good, but there are times when I'm hopping in and out of the cab, moving 6 inches to the left, to only be 3inches off to the right. Rinse and repeat... And it has infra-red leds, so I can see in the dark. And what's even cooler, is I bought a 2 camera system. The 2nd camera will go on the back of the trailer. This will allow me to see what's behind me, like when I'm backing up into a blind area, or even more useful, to see if any civilian idiots or highway patrolmen are parked 5 feet behind me when I'm at speed. I got a cool little trailer wiggle trick I can do to see back there using my mirrors, but sometimes that's just not appropriate.

Here's the dash with all the gizmos in place.

Not quite an airliner cockpit, but getting there.
not seen are the Electronic Counter Measures aka V-1

On the left is the 4 inch LCD monitor for the rear cameras. On the right is the Pressure Pro Tire Pressure Monitor for the Trailer (not new, but which I love, highly recommended). And in the middle, a new head unit.

My truck is a 2002 Ford F250 which came out just about the same time the iPod was born. It has a nice sound system and holds 5 CDs. But time, and technology, moves on. Now all my tunes and audio books are all digital and stored on an iPod. For many years, my solution was an HK Drive+Play which connected my iPod and broadcast it over a FM channel. While not great, it worked okay. But now, 10 years later it was time for something better. Better turned out to be a Kenwood KIV-701 media receiver. Integrated iPod connectivity, able to display my playlists on the nice screen, easy to control while driving, just a nice unit. I had one in my WRX for the last several months - 2002 WRX, same year, same old CD player, etc - and loved it enough to buy one for the truck. I'm ready for those long tows now. Me happy.

So enough of whats in front of me while driving, how about what's behind me?

While I'm not done yet, it's functional and ready for hauling.

View from the rear

chairs, sleeping cot, table, jack, helmet and suit holder and electric cords
tire rack to the rear

Nitrogen bottle and hose, tie down racks

Important Driver Aid: Coffee Pot in corner
misc bins for just stuff

So the interior is 95% done, still a little tweaks to go, but that will work out over the season. Have more outside work to go: replace damaged trim, a busted fender skirt, power wash the roof and install that rear view camera on the back.

But the pressure is off, the off-season tasks are done, right now, as the song goes, "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades". Here's to a successful 2013 season.

More progress

Another week and weekend is in the books. It was a weird weather week, 85 degrees! earlier in the week, but back to a more seasonal 55-60 by the weekend. With the sun setting later and more reasonable temps, it easier to stay focused on the trailer/racecar/etc tasks rather than blowing them off and heading for the TiVo and a beer. Though I did manage to sandwich in the F1 sessions in between bouts of work.

But enough piddle, this is the internet, and this is nothing without pics.

The front of the trailer is pretty close to being done. Got my workshelf mounted and the shelving done. The shelving had to be "downsized" to fit in the available space. This meant hacking it apart with a cut-off tool and re-welding it back together again.

Got my flat-screen mount fixed to the frame of the trailer. An important race accessory. Needed for session data analysis, and driver relaxation (Netflix streaming).

A microwave was mounted and a new electrical outlet to support it was installed. I won't be hosting wine and cheese parties, but it will be appreciated to heat up coffee and sandwiches.

Misc bins to stuff all that extraneous crap were remounted.

More storage bins and my combo helmet shelf and race suit hanger PitPal piece installed.

The finished result. Racks and bins in place, toolbox mounted

Not in the pics, but the remainder of the interior trim was cut, installed and all painted.

944 Race car work also continues. I welded my hood pins which were removed when going to the turbo nose. The header panel and headlight covers were attached and welded together as one unit as I don't have any headlights anymore - gone many years ago.

The front now. If I get ambitious and run out of things to do, maybe I'll bondo up the seams around the headlight covers and make it all seamless.

Last week I also replaced a bent tie rod, which other than being the first time I have done one, went pretty smooth. Coming up this week I'll be taking a look at the rear banana arm bearing. Later!

Weekend report

Another weekend, another stretch in the Trailer Rehab Mines.  By Sunday night I was beat and my knees didn't want to bend anymore, but made good (visible) progress.

Lets start with the good. Here's a pic at the end. Looking pretty good eh?

The floor came out great, looking good. The paint flakes and the silicia I added gives it good traction so I won't fall on my ass when the car pees a little bit of oil.

I added ATP (aluminum tread plate) for the wheel tracks, and all new tie down hardware. So it can now actually be used to haul cars if needed.

Most of the panel trim has been installed and painted, still have a little bit to finish up.

Started work on my shelving for the front nose area. I bought some industrial shelving bits from Lowes. To make it fit in my available space, I need to cut it apart and re-weld some of the pieces. The first piece, the main rail, came out pretty good. I actually had the first welds that I wouldn't be ashamed of showing someone, nice little overlapping circles just like its supposed to be in the books. Picking up the gas kit for my welding rig was a good idea.

And the job isn't finished until it's signed off by the site inspector...

Trailer update

It's raining outside now, the end of a 3 day weekend, but at least it isn't 35 degrees anymore. Starting on Friday we got up into the mid to upper 50's for the first time in months, and it was just in time too. It wasn't a play weekend for me, too much work to do to get ready for race season. Its only 6 weeks away and the clock's ticking.

But here Sunday evening, I think I've finally come out the other side, at least for the trailer rehab. Since the last post, I've been painfully removing all the floor tiles. That wasn't so bad, the bad was once pried up, they left behind a gooey mess.

You can see the tile glue left behind on the plywood

Since then I've mounted all the plywood walls. painted them, cut the trim from a sheet of thin plywood, mounted and painted most of the trim, painted the wheel boxes, and spent hours upon hours scraping up the tile adhesive.

About 2/3 done. The foreground floor is milky looking. That all
leftover glue.

The only thing to do with this is pour on some thick adhesive remover, let it sit for an hour or two, and laboriously scrape the vile mixture off. This was sheer torture for my knees and back and I could only do 2 hour stints at night during the work week. It didn't help that it was 29 degrees outside. Even with my space heater going in the trailer, the cold minimized the effectiveness of the remover.

 The pleasant arrival of warmer weather this weekend helped matters. By Saturday evening, I had all the glue up and the floor washed and cleaned.

Sunday afternoon saw the application of the epoxy flooring well underway. This is a 2 part epoxy from Lowes, used mainly for garage floors but can also be used on wood. I picked a nice dark gray.

Application in progress

The process was to mix the 2 parts in a bucket, stirring with an electric drill for 3 minutes and then the clock was ticking. It had to be applied in the next 3-5 minutes otherwise it would start to harden in the bucket. Luckily the weather was cloudy today and cooler than yesterday which extended the application period.

Once mixed, you pour a line of material and take a squeegee on a pole and squeegee it across the floor to get a nice even thickness. Next take the roller and roll the floor 90 degrees from the squeequee application. Let it setup for 10 minutes and then re-roller. Now you can broadcast the paint flakes into the air. I also added silica as an anti-slip material.

Front done

Close-up of the flake pattern. I used red, white and blue.

View of the finished floor. Those aren't defects in the middle, but
the holes for in-floor tie-downs.

Done. Much nicer than those chewed up checkered tiles. Also did the tailgate.

And about 5 minutes after I finished the last bits, it started raining. Perfect timing. I closed the trailer up and backed it into it's normal spot where it will sit for the next day or two curing.

Still plenty on my to-do list for the trailer. Lots of hours still ahead, but getting the floor done was the biggest item on the list. But for now, I need to drink some beer* and finish up Season 2 of the Game of Thrones. The rest can wait a bit.

* Evolution Rise Up Stout

Red Sided Motel Renovation

I haven't been posting much lately. That's not because I'm slacking off - ok, maybe a little - but because I'm engaged in some very tedious work.  So a little update.

So work is continuing on the racecar for the upcoming season. The car came back from Bodymotion with a nice frame for the turbo nose conversion, but there's still a fair bit of work ahead for me.

A boo-boo loading the car into the trailer - man that's spoiler is low! - lead to some unplanned fiberglass work. It's all better now. Since then I've cut out the radiator vent and mounted a mesh grill. I also sourced a tow strap from the UK, bolted it to where my bumper struts used to be mounted, and cut the hole for it in the spoiler.

Mesh grill keeps the rubber track debris from the radiator

Flexible loop means no more barking my shin when walking past the car.

The trick Mantisport strut hats for my front suspension had to go. The coils were not just binding but stuck inside. That effectively reduced my suspension travel by several inches. Took an hour to free both sides. I replaced them with my old Ground Control camber plates.

As part of the turbo nose project, I plan to relocate my oil cooler so it's fed by air from the slot above the radiator slot. While pulling the cooler and hose bits as part of this I think I finally found my last oil leak. The oil seal ring on the sandwich plate between the engine and oil filter was chewed up. That's most likely the source. But I've been wrong before. A new seal is on order.

But what has really been capturing my time is the full renovation of my home away from home, the Red Sided Motel aka my enclosed trailer.

It's hard to believe, but I've had the trailer for over 10 years now, being bought back in 2002.

Back at it's original home in Dallas Texas in 2002

As bought, bare inside other than the checkboard floor tiles

 Since then it as evolved with layers upon layers of crap, useful crap to be sure, but not the pure minimalist shell it once was. A partial list of upgrades: 110v electric throughout, A/C unit, insulated roof, front shelf and bin rack, tire rack, N2 bottle and holder, misc holders, cabinets, racks, tiedowns, yada yada... It's seen a lot of use, trailering up and down I-95 to Sebring, all the way up to Mosport in Canada, and out to Mid Ohio and more. So just like the Comfort Inn does a periodic renovation, it was time for mine.


The first item of business was some more insulation, the walls in particular. The roof was insulated several years ago and it helped immensely with the summer heat. The top of the trailer is just a sheet of aluminum and  with Summit Point or VIR summer heat beating down on it, it turned into a convection oven. It would be 95 degrees outside and inside with the A/C going full blast, it still would be 80-85 degrees. Insulating the roof fixed that. But those nights at the Glen in early May, or at NJMP in late October it would be a bit chilly inside. There's nothing but some thin plywood and an aluminum sheet between me and the elements. So off to Home Depot for some foam insulation sheets. Lightweight and easy to handle, they should help. But to install ... everything needs to come apart. All the upgrades, anything screwed or bolted to the wall. Think of it as a to-the-frame restoration. This will also give me a chance to fix, repair, clean, touch up all the stuff that's normally neglected.

Yes, everything needs to come out. Going to the bare frame.

One panel done, all the rest to follow.

The foam panels are cut and glued with Liquid Nails to the back of the thin plywood interior walls.

GFI Electrical outlets replaced, and resealed as needed.

Made it to the front part of the trailer.

A look back at the debris from the all the front racks, shelves, etc.

Inside nose

I took advantage of the bared frame to wire brush the ribs that were showing surface rust and paint them with Rustoleum. I also strategically applied expanding foam to various air gaps like in the corner.

Another major time sink/project is the replacement of the tiled floor. The checked flag pattern was cool looking, but it just didn't hold up to the sustained use. Oil leaks, broken cars and hot tires have taken their toll. These were peel and stick tiles which often didn't want to stick. The pattern was discontinued and required a fair amount of maintenance. They were heavy to boot. Getting rid of them will get me back 75 lbs. The plan is to use an epoxy based floor paint, like a garage floor paint. It should wear well and be easy to keep clean. But first, the old tiles must come up. Nothing for it, but some good old fashion manual labor here. Just me, my creaky knees, a heat gun and a scraper and hours of fun. Once the tiles are up I'll still have to remove the left behind adhesive. Being an ice climber has made me fairly pain tolerant, that's coming in handy here.

De-tiling in process

So that's as it stands so far at the beginning of March. Most of the walls are insulated and re-hung. About 80% of the tiles are up. Next tasks are to finish removing the tiles and prep the floor. Paint the walls, redo the trim and paint. Epoxy the floor. Rebuild the front storage area with a rack system and then start adding the misc little holders, helmet rack, shelves, etc.

Here's my helper husky Ziva. She looks peeved because I think her butt's stuck to the leftover tile adhesive.