varkwso

The rule of 7Ps was imprinted on my brain a long, long time ago by a grumpy hard *** old Master Sargent (he was probably all of 35-38 years old at the time) during ITB (Instructor Training Branch) at Fairchild AFB in 1979. He drilled in to my head, and other parts, that "Proper Prior Planning Prevents **** Poor Performance" and the lesson has mostly stood the test of time. The 7Ps were firmly in mind getting ready for Road Atlanta for the final event of the season, and one we needed to run to win the NASA-SE season championship, involved putting in a new Spec clutch/flywheel and fresh brakes. The car was prepped for the race weekend with new rotors all around and the best sets of slightly used Hawk brake pads in the trailer (it was the end of season you know). Marc Younts mounted up four fresh from the mold sticker 315/17 A6s (I love the smell of fresh rubber in the morning!) and the trailer was loaded. The forecast included rain so we made sure the rain tires were loaded in the trailer along with spare used A6s.

Deployment, enroute, arrival, registration and beddown in the paddock went cleanly and quickly. The 8 hour enduro was on track so there was lots of action in the pits and track. It was great to see the RAFT crowd there in force but by midday James' engine decided 25000+ track miles was enough and took a siesta. Jason, Mark, Val, Scott and others were thrashing on vehicles in the paddock and at Marks shop till the wee hours of the morning.

Saturday started off dry and cold with an overcast. I was able to get some easy break in miles on the clutch during TT practice, Thunder qualifying and a TT session. Breaking it in off track is difficult with an untagged, stickered, and straight exhaust race car. As a result it only had about 5 miles or so around the house. Thunder qualifying was particularly frustrating for a good time but great for breaking in the clutch. About lunch time it started to get overcast and the consensus was it would blow through. This is where my attention to the 7Ps broke down. There was no check of the weather radar, there was no ops check on the rain tires, there was no staging of tools or even anything constructive - other then eating BBQ and deep fried corn. At about 15 minutes to grid time Tim and I decided rain tires made a lot of sense. I ran to the trailer and started digging them out. As two out of four hit the ground it was obvious they were flat. I started looking for tools, air, jacks and bodies. Tim had wisely recruited most of the mafia already to help him and I was out of time and options. Josh told me to man up and drive the car with the A6s on it. So I did and realized I had failed miserably in the 7Ps. The grid was small and only seven SU/ST cars took the green flag. The track was wet and it was only misting at the start. It was a clean start and the car felt good. I managed to miss a 944 when it spun at T3 on lap one and tied on to the back of a black ST1 C6. The car felt good and on lap two the track was actually drier and I was feeling pretty good about the A6s. I had the ST2 cars in sight and was closing on the ST1 car nicely. On lap three I was planning a pass between T5 and T6 on the ST1 car. It was a good plan that went terribly awry just past apex on T5. The track had running water/puddles by then and the car went from balanced to spinning. With a Hans, 6 pt harness, window net, cage and race seat you can, in fact, look over your left shoulder and steer a car when properly motivated. I missed the inside wall by a fraction of an inch. Luckily for me almost everyone I know saw that spin. I went back on track without breaking momentum or loosing a position. By the next lap I was feeling pretty good and was closing the gap again with a pretty steady rain. Going through T7 the rear kicked out and I checked out the grass. The grass was in need of cutting but otherwise OK so I resumed the race still in the same position. On the next lap I snapped sideways at T9 and realized I could barely see out the windshield due to the fog inside (the view down the track through the driver side net was amazingly clear though). Danny sagely noticed I started driving with my ballerina suit on about then. As I struggled to keep it on track and wipe the windshield while buckled in (impossible feat by the way) I started getting lapped. When I realized I could not see the cars as they went past I pulled off track with the car intact and my ego bruised. Tim drove a magnificent race as shown in his video http://www.vimeo.com/17524871. The Team objective was met since we scored more then enough points to win the season championship and the car survived to run another day. Team Werner Law also finished third in TTS.

Sunday was another cold and clear day and started out pretty good in the first TT session. Most everyone took the grid for the first session. On the second TT session I was behind Brent with Khoi two cars back. On the first lap I took T10a in second gear to check grip and hammered toward the bridge in 3rd. As I went under the bridge on the painted lines the car kicked right and I had to pedal the throttle to regain control. Needless to say my heart went pitter patter and Brent gained a few car lengths on me. I was back in the throttle and shifting to fourth before the apex of T12. I was flat on the throttle before start finish and braked for a late apex for T1. That was really the last time I had a whole lot of fun on Sunday. This video shows my morning excitement http://vimeo.com/17505640. Khoi did a great job avoiding any contact and controlling his car. It also happens he took excellent footage of my exciting morning.

Thanks to James Forbis and Danny Popp for providing a used spindle, tools, expertise and expert labor in getting the car repaired. In about 40 minutes the car was mobile again. The rest of the paddock pitched in with Loctite and other needed items. The impact took out the right front fender, inner fender, tie rod, caliper and spindle. It also bent a wheel, broke loose the computer mounts and knocked the alignment out a little bit. The left side of the car picked up some tire wall rash. If we had to we could have raced that afternoon thanks to my friends.

Thanks to Tim and Khoi for the videos. Now it is all prep for Valentine Weekend 2011 at CMP.

63Corvette

Thanks for a great race report.

ErnieN85

it's nice to have a good writer here

gmccreary

The 7 Ps. That's what my USMC drill instructor instilled in my head in 1987.

WBHighwind

Good read!

Do you have a little person hanging out in the back running your camera? You might want to strap him down cuz he sure does bob around a lot.

SouthernSon

I think you are taking very well considering the way that guy collected you on his out of control dive bomb and tank slapping attempt at counter steer. Good write up.

Loco Vette

Great writeup, sorry for the ultimate result

KY-Traveler

Great write up. Maybe there is an eigth P - Look out for the Porche

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jcb1i66FA0

varkwso

Wish mine ended that way!

drivinhard

Ed made a mistake no doubt, in this case the chips fell where there was a bad end to it involving 2 cars. What annoys me is the 1/2 dozen other (more stupid) things I witnessed from other guys that (thankfully) didn't result in more carnage. From a driver standpoint, that was not one of our better TT showings for 2011. I know of a lot of it is because there are so many cars for Dec.

Ed and Varkwso's meeting could be the point of a whole nuther thread involving TT passing rules and final outcome results from car to car contact. Not to beat up Ed, but to educate everybody (I was even wrong as to which CCR the TT passing rules apply to).

Z06cool

And that's about it being the most popular event of the year....around 60 cars on grid, a few first timers to RA, a good portion of non-SE "regular" drivers that you know and recognize their driving styles, just adds to the nerves and the unpredictability. I was not comfortable all weekend but mine was moreso the cold and grip among other issues.

Even HPDE was really odd like that guy that missed pit-out so he parked it at the bottom of T12 and u-turned back in (then another car followed him...)

Not sure how to handle it except express the predictability and saftey factors more at the begining of the weekend TT events.

Jaymz

Jeff... Anytime you guys (or any of the other NASA-SE Corvette Mafia) need help let me/us know. I am sure you will return the favor someday.

It was a downer to get all the way down there and have the motor blow on Friday. I did get 2 years more than I originally thought I would on that motor. It would of been better if it had done it putting the car in the trailer on Sunday though. We have some things in the works for a new bullit for that car that were going to be done in the spring anyway.

sperkins

I thought for sure Sunday would have been better since Jeff touched on those things fairly sternly in the morning meeting, but obviously some guys didn't understand or just didn't care. The whole weekend was just nuts.

varkwso

I brief in every TT meeting "do not block, do not dive bomb and be predictable". It is like dealing with Boy Scouts - they hear, they just do not listen

In case anyone wonder these are the rules that matter in TT.

8 On-Course Conduct

NASA TT competition will take place during advanced level, open-passing combined NASA HPDE/TT sessions or in a separate NASA TT run group at the discretion of the Event Director.

All regulations applicable to NASA HPDE as set out in the NASA CCR will apply to NASA TT competitors. All NASA TT competitors are expected to drive in a safe and controlled manner in compliance with the NASA CCR’s, namely Sections 6 and 7. Any NASA TT competitor that places four wheels off course or spins in a session (without an undisputed mechanical failure or track debris without a debris flag waving as the obvious cause of the incident) will lose any
timed result for that session. NASA TT drivers are held to a high standard in regard to track etiquette, driver cooperation, and sportsmanship (my edit - this is where BLOCKING comes in). Any driver found by NASA TT administration to be “blocking” another car in order to slow the following driver’s lap time will be subject to harsh penalties, which may include expulsion from further TT competition. Drivers are cautioned not to deliberately draft with another vehicle, except prior to making a pass.

Prolonged drafting or “team” drafting may result in penalties for both drivers. In-car video is encouraged by NASA for a variety of reasons, and would be helpful to determine if a car is purposefully blocking or drafting. Any driver displaying unsportsmanlike conduct either on or off the track, driving in an over-aggressive manner, or failing to cooperate with other drivers on the track will be subject to harsh penalties, which may include expulsion from further TT competition.




TT passing rules from CCR

6.3 Passing Rules

1. No passing in “No Passing Areas” as defined by the Passing Rules (available at the meeting or Registration). [Ref: (25.4.1)]

2. No passing under any yellow flag situation until the driver is past the incident, or past the next manned flag station that does not display a yellow flag [Ref: (7.2 - 7.4)].

3. If an Instructor waves a car by, that does not count as a pass. (Instructors will have an “X” on their cars.) Drivers may not pass under yellow, even if they perceive a “wave by” from their instructor.

4. If a car is having mechanical trouble and is pulling off the track, a pass is allowed regardless of the passing rules.

5. A driver may not pass another driver in a no passing zone or situation, even if the other driver waves him/her by.

6. The driver attempting to make a pass is solely responsible for safe outcome of that pass. Drivers making a pass should be certain that the driver ahead of them can see them before attempting to pass. All drivers are reminded that this is not a competition and risky passes are prohibited.





Here are the NASA racing passing rules - DO NOT APPLY to TT by the way.

25.4.1 Passing General

The responsibility for the decision to pass another car, and to do it safely, rests with the overtaking driver. The overtaken driver should be aware that he/she is being passed and must not impede the pass by blocking. A driver who does not watch his/her mirrors or who appears to be blocking another car seeking a pass may be black-flagged and/or penalized. The act of passing is initiated when the trailing car’s (Car A) front bumper overlaps with the lead car’s (Car B) rear bumper. The act of passing is complete when Car A’s rear bumper is ahead of Car B’s front bumper. “NO PASSING” means a pass cannot even be initiated. Any overlap in a NO PASSING area is considered illegal.


25.4.2 Punting.

The term “punting” is defined as nose to tail (or side-of-the-nose to side-of-the-tail) contact, where the leading car is significantly knocked off of the racing line. Once the trailing car has its front wheel next to the driver of the other vehicle, it is considered that the trailing car has a right to be there. And, that the leading driver must leave the trailing driver enough “racing room.” In most cases, “racing room” is defined as “at least three quarters of one car width.” If adequate racing room is left for the trailing car, and there is incidental contact made between the cars, the contact will be considered “side-to-side.”

In most cases, incidental side-to-side contact is considered to be “just a racing incident.”

If, in the case of side-to-side contact, one of the two cars leaves the racing surface (involuntarily) then it may still be considered “a racing incident.”

25.4.3 Right to the Line

The driver in front has the right to choose any line, so long as not to be considered blocking. The driver attempting to make a pass shall have the right to the line when their front wheel is next to the driver of the other vehicle. Note: This rule may be superseded.....

Brent Dalton

Nice write up. It was a crazy weekend. After fighting my way through the pack on Saturday with minimal incident, I was very fortunate to be surrounded by the indigenous population... Scott and Mark to my front, Jeff and Khoi behind me. Brian was in front of me a session and behind me another. Really hated to see what happened to Jeff. Also hated to see James blow his engine. Would of been nice to see him and Wally battling it out. Hoping I can make March and see all you guys then.

Z06cool

Same here. Besides blocking , I have some ideas to keep you behind me.. Speed costs money, right?

drivinhard

did you make sure to pass Khoi on the inside of 12?

Brent Dalton

I left the turn 12 stuff to you and Scott "splitting the difference". I had a similar incident with the same car, just not as bad as you guys did. Also had a mustang spin in 7 when I was about a foot off their bumper. It was nice having you guys in front of me knowing I wouldn't be anywhere close to you guys... thus giving me clean track, which we all struggled to find.

Khoi, my car is getting some mods this winter as well as fully functional brakes Unfortunately, they don't have any driver modifications I can buy

drivinhard

I've been eyeing two 16 lb'ers

http://www.indiamart.com/ballman-inds/products.html

SouthernSon

Personally, I am sporting Gorilla Nuts.....