2013 Trans Am Mid-Year Report
07-31-2013, 10:28 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
2013 Trans Am Mid-Year Report
Well, the first half of my rookie season in the Trans Am Series is over.
My performance has been up and down. At Sebring, I struggled getting comfortable with, and in, the car. The seat was all wrong for me, with it having hunched over and not being able to see too well. Plus the rollcage bar that runs right across the driver knees was too low, so it kept me from moving my legs much at all. We later changed the seat and rerouted this bar and my comfort level increased dramatically. It's remarkable how much that affects driver performance.
So, at Sebring I qualified 10th out of 17 cars. Not great, but we struggled with set up, ride hiegth, and a high-RPM loss of power, so I knew there was "more" in the car performance-wise. But I never got the chance to find out; on Lap 1, entering Turn 3, the car stopped moving forward. Post-race diagnosis told us that I broke a rear axle.
Round Two had us at Mosport/Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I've never been there, and heard lots of good things about the track. I also heard it was fast and somewhat dangerous. Oh great, two characteristics that don't work well when you are learning a new and very fast car. Oh well, time to "Cowboy" up. I qualified 8th, which was disappointing, as I was consistently in the top 5 during practice. But I was Black Flagged for allegedly leaking oil (I wasn't) so my qualifying laps were cut short. Ultimately I finished the race in 4th place, so I left Canada feeling pretty good about our progress.
Round 3 was at Lime Rock Park...in the rain. Qualifying was cancelled due to wet stuff falling, so the field was set by season points. I started 5th, and by Lap 2 I was running second (yes, I like the rain). I ultimately finished 4th after losing third to Simon Gregg (2012 champion) on the second-to-last lap. But two 4th place finishes in a row had us feeling pretty good.
Round 4 was at Watkins Glen. My first pole in Trans Am! What a feeling! I have to admit I didn't sleep much Saturday night, and I thought I was going to throw up an hour before the race. But once in the car, my heart beat settled down and I was able to focus on driving the car. I led the first four laps until the transmission let go and caused me to have a second DNF of the season.
Round 5 was at Road America. I love this track. But thing weren't quite "right" with the car. We took a car that qualified on the pole two weeks earlier, didn't make one single change, and I couldn't buy a good lap if I wanted to. "Welcome to Trans Am," was the comment Bob Ruman said to me. I started 6th because qualifying was rained out again, and got up to fourth early in the race. But with three laps to go I ran out of talent and parked the car in the gravel outside Turn 3. No damage to the car, but a tenth place finish was a disappointment.
So after 5 races I sit 6th in the season points. I am leading for Rookie of the Year, and while I am somewhat happy, I am certainly not satisfied. On August 16-17 we race at Mid Ohio to start off the second half of the season, and I'm looking for my first Trans Am podium.
So how do I like the series and driving the car?
The Trans Am Series is fantastic! I wish I made this decision three years ago. They treat us like gold and the racers are all like family, except when the green flag drops, then it's "game on."
The car is a joy to drive. The sounds, the feel, the speed, the handling; it's everything us car-guys dream about. 830+ HP in a 2780 lb car with big slicks? It really goes!
Maintenance has been just about what we planned for. The rear axle was a fluke, and the transmission breakage was from a bolt inside failing (Chinese parts maybe?). Otherwise the car has been bullet-proof.
We did find a broken plugwire this past weekend, so I am thinking that may have caused me to struggle at Road America. The motor sounded funny to me since Lime Rock, but not knowing what is "right" on the car has kept me in the dark on a few things. I'm hoping this makes a big difference. The car felt much, much stronger after replacing the wire; in fact the car scared the heck out of me the first few laps. I've not had that sensation since Day One. We will see.
After Mid Ohio we head to Brainard, although I may sit that race out due to a wedding my wife and I are attending. VIR is after the Run Offs in September. October we are off and the we go to Road Atlanta and Daytona in November.
Come out and see us. The cars are way cool and the racing is great.
My performance has been up and down. At Sebring, I struggled getting comfortable with, and in, the car. The seat was all wrong for me, with it having hunched over and not being able to see too well. Plus the rollcage bar that runs right across the driver knees was too low, so it kept me from moving my legs much at all. We later changed the seat and rerouted this bar and my comfort level increased dramatically. It's remarkable how much that affects driver performance.
So, at Sebring I qualified 10th out of 17 cars. Not great, but we struggled with set up, ride hiegth, and a high-RPM loss of power, so I knew there was "more" in the car performance-wise. But I never got the chance to find out; on Lap 1, entering Turn 3, the car stopped moving forward. Post-race diagnosis told us that I broke a rear axle.
Round Two had us at Mosport/Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I've never been there, and heard lots of good things about the track. I also heard it was fast and somewhat dangerous. Oh great, two characteristics that don't work well when you are learning a new and very fast car. Oh well, time to "Cowboy" up. I qualified 8th, which was disappointing, as I was consistently in the top 5 during practice. But I was Black Flagged for allegedly leaking oil (I wasn't) so my qualifying laps were cut short. Ultimately I finished the race in 4th place, so I left Canada feeling pretty good about our progress.
Round 3 was at Lime Rock Park...in the rain. Qualifying was cancelled due to wet stuff falling, so the field was set by season points. I started 5th, and by Lap 2 I was running second (yes, I like the rain). I ultimately finished 4th after losing third to Simon Gregg (2012 champion) on the second-to-last lap. But two 4th place finishes in a row had us feeling pretty good.
Round 4 was at Watkins Glen. My first pole in Trans Am! What a feeling! I have to admit I didn't sleep much Saturday night, and I thought I was going to throw up an hour before the race. But once in the car, my heart beat settled down and I was able to focus on driving the car. I led the first four laps until the transmission let go and caused me to have a second DNF of the season.
Round 5 was at Road America. I love this track. But thing weren't quite "right" with the car. We took a car that qualified on the pole two weeks earlier, didn't make one single change, and I couldn't buy a good lap if I wanted to. "Welcome to Trans Am," was the comment Bob Ruman said to me. I started 6th because qualifying was rained out again, and got up to fourth early in the race. But with three laps to go I ran out of talent and parked the car in the gravel outside Turn 3. No damage to the car, but a tenth place finish was a disappointment.
So after 5 races I sit 6th in the season points. I am leading for Rookie of the Year, and while I am somewhat happy, I am certainly not satisfied. On August 16-17 we race at Mid Ohio to start off the second half of the season, and I'm looking for my first Trans Am podium.
So how do I like the series and driving the car?
The Trans Am Series is fantastic! I wish I made this decision three years ago. They treat us like gold and the racers are all like family, except when the green flag drops, then it's "game on."
The car is a joy to drive. The sounds, the feel, the speed, the handling; it's everything us car-guys dream about. 830+ HP in a 2780 lb car with big slicks? It really goes!
Maintenance has been just about what we planned for. The rear axle was a fluke, and the transmission breakage was from a bolt inside failing (Chinese parts maybe?). Otherwise the car has been bullet-proof.
We did find a broken plugwire this past weekend, so I am thinking that may have caused me to struggle at Road America. The motor sounded funny to me since Lime Rock, but not knowing what is "right" on the car has kept me in the dark on a few things. I'm hoping this makes a big difference. The car felt much, much stronger after replacing the wire; in fact the car scared the heck out of me the first few laps. I've not had that sensation since Day One. We will see.
After Mid Ohio we head to Brainard, although I may sit that race out due to a wedding my wife and I are attending. VIR is after the Run Offs in September. October we are off and the we go to Road Atlanta and Daytona in November.
Come out and see us. The cars are way cool and the racing is great.
07-31-2013, 10:50 PM
#3
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Some pictures...
Lime Rock in the wet:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
From Road America:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
This was used by Trans Am in the press release when I won the pole at Watkins Glen:
[IMG]
[/IMG]
I like this one a lot. It shows us in the pits after the checkered flag flew for the qualifying session. Seeing my #57 in the top spot on the scoreboard was a thrill.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Lime Rock in the wet:
[IMG]
[/IMG]From Road America:
[IMG]
[/IMG]This was used by Trans Am in the press release when I won the pole at Watkins Glen:
[IMG]
[/IMG]I like this one a lot. It shows us in the pits after the checkered flag flew for the qualifying session. Seeing my #57 in the top spot on the scoreboard was a thrill.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Still enjoying your updates.
