Trans Am 2016 @ New Jersey Motorsports Park
06-15-2016, 11:15 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Trans Am 2016 @ New Jersey Motorsports Park
Round 4 of the 2016 Trans Am season was held June 11 & 12 at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
I entered the race 3rd in the season points after a bad finish at Sebring (14th after getting clocked from behind in the first lap), 5th at Road Atlanta, and a 17th-to-3rd place finish at Watkins Glen.
Friday is a test day for us, and we use it to sort thing sort on the car, and if we are at a new-to-us track, learn which way it goes. I've been here before, so my first session was a quick "up to speed" one, and one that turned out to be the fastest of the day, despite being on really old tires. It turned out my motor was going flat of me, but it was hard to detect until later in the weekend.
Saturday is the first official practice session followed by qualifying. The motor started to feel less and less "racy" as the day progressed, but we didn't have time in between sessions to do anything, so we may due with what we had. I entered up qualifying 7th (of 14), so I knew I had work to do in the race. I did screw up my qualifying effort as I got behind a slower car during the first 3-4 laps and was unable to "motor" past him despite getting better runs out of turn, all because I was down on power.
The crew swapped motors Saturday night, finishing at 11:55 PM when we fired the new power plant. Going to the hotel that night we were tired, but pretty excited about the next day.
Sunday dawned hot (92 degrees) but the wind was kicking up, which kept the humidity down. Unfortunately it also swept dust and dirt from the motocross circuit onto our racing surface. This race was going to be a tire management deal...
I started 7th, and by the fourth turn I was in 5th place. I quickly settled into a decent pace to preserve my tires and let the lead pack go fight amongst themselves. It turned out John Baucom got caught up with a lapped car, so I eventually inherited fourth place.
Toward the end of the race, say the last 15 laps, I had the pole winner, Cliff Eben, in my sights vying for the last podium spot. I was catching him by about seven tenths of a second per lap, but because of lapped traffic slowing me down, I was unable to close the deal this time. Ugh.
Final results are:
1. Paul Fix C5 Corvette 1:19.952
2. Amy Ruman C6 Corvette 1:20.142
3. Cliff Eben Mustang 1:20.056
4. David Pintaric C7 Corvette 1:21.023
5. Jim McAleese C5 Corvette 1:20.983
6. Simon Gregg C7 Corvette 1:21.484
7. Charles Wicht C7 Corvette 1:22.545
8. Claudio Burtin C7 Corvette 1:22.452
9. Joe Freda C6 Corvette 1:23.879
10. Tim Rubright Mustang 1:24.041
Leaving NJMP I am now second in the session points. It's a long way to go, and I need to continue keep my car clean but need to step up the speed at but. We found out some things set up-wise that look very promising, so I am a bit optimistic about things going forward.
I have learned that I am not apt to lay down a really killer qualifying lap, but toward the end of the race I am right "there" with the fastest on the track. Plus I am consistent. Looking at my lap times on Racemonitor.com I was impressed how little variation there was from lap to lap, especially towards the end of the race.
Below is laps one and two:
And here are a few laps looking backwards from my car seeing Simon Gregg (#59) and Jim McAleese (#03):
Enjoy!
Next race is a Brainerd International. I hope to see you there.
I entered the race 3rd in the season points after a bad finish at Sebring (14th after getting clocked from behind in the first lap), 5th at Road Atlanta, and a 17th-to-3rd place finish at Watkins Glen.
Friday is a test day for us, and we use it to sort thing sort on the car, and if we are at a new-to-us track, learn which way it goes. I've been here before, so my first session was a quick "up to speed" one, and one that turned out to be the fastest of the day, despite being on really old tires. It turned out my motor was going flat of me, but it was hard to detect until later in the weekend.
Saturday is the first official practice session followed by qualifying. The motor started to feel less and less "racy" as the day progressed, but we didn't have time in between sessions to do anything, so we may due with what we had. I entered up qualifying 7th (of 14), so I knew I had work to do in the race. I did screw up my qualifying effort as I got behind a slower car during the first 3-4 laps and was unable to "motor" past him despite getting better runs out of turn, all because I was down on power.
The crew swapped motors Saturday night, finishing at 11:55 PM when we fired the new power plant. Going to the hotel that night we were tired, but pretty excited about the next day.
Sunday dawned hot (92 degrees) but the wind was kicking up, which kept the humidity down. Unfortunately it also swept dust and dirt from the motocross circuit onto our racing surface. This race was going to be a tire management deal...
I started 7th, and by the fourth turn I was in 5th place. I quickly settled into a decent pace to preserve my tires and let the lead pack go fight amongst themselves. It turned out John Baucom got caught up with a lapped car, so I eventually inherited fourth place.
Toward the end of the race, say the last 15 laps, I had the pole winner, Cliff Eben, in my sights vying for the last podium spot. I was catching him by about seven tenths of a second per lap, but because of lapped traffic slowing me down, I was unable to close the deal this time. Ugh.
Final results are:
1. Paul Fix C5 Corvette 1:19.952
2. Amy Ruman C6 Corvette 1:20.142
3. Cliff Eben Mustang 1:20.056
4. David Pintaric C7 Corvette 1:21.023
5. Jim McAleese C5 Corvette 1:20.983
6. Simon Gregg C7 Corvette 1:21.484
7. Charles Wicht C7 Corvette 1:22.545
8. Claudio Burtin C7 Corvette 1:22.452
9. Joe Freda C6 Corvette 1:23.879
10. Tim Rubright Mustang 1:24.041
Leaving NJMP I am now second in the session points. It's a long way to go, and I need to continue keep my car clean but need to step up the speed at but. We found out some things set up-wise that look very promising, so I am a bit optimistic about things going forward.
I have learned that I am not apt to lay down a really killer qualifying lap, but toward the end of the race I am right "there" with the fastest on the track. Plus I am consistent. Looking at my lap times on Racemonitor.com I was impressed how little variation there was from lap to lap, especially towards the end of the race.
Below is laps one and two:
And here are a few laps looking backwards from my car seeing Simon Gregg (#59) and Jim McAleese (#03):
Enjoy!
Next race is a Brainerd International. I hope to see you there.
Last edited by BuckeyeZ06; 06-15-2016 at 11:17 PM.
The following 3 users liked this post by BuckeyeZ06:
06-16-2016, 02:06 PM
#3
Melting Slicks
If you could film from a spot on the cage that shows your hands and feet while driving, as well as a view out of the front windshield, that would be great. I enjoy watching a good driver manage the car at the limit.
Still, very good stuff. Good luck.
Still, very good stuff. Good luck.
06-16-2016, 02:50 PM
#4
Good video. I'd love to drive a car of that caliber. Were you leaving anything on the table while cornering?
06-16-2016, 04:37 PM
#5
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
I did video me in the 2014 Sebring race:
06-16-2016, 09:22 PM
#7
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Oh yes. I think I left a good second a lap during mid race. I always expect a full coarse yellow that bunches the field up, so I figure on saving the tires and brakes for the last quarter of the race.
06-17-2016, 12:13 AM
#9
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Ha, so would allot of people. A few of the TA2 drivers have asked. Last Friday I let Lawrence Loshak drive it for a few laps. He asked at Daytona last year so I had to figure out a way to make it happen.
When he was done. Shane Lewis gave me a hard time, jokingly saying, "I thought we were buddies!" I'll get him in it sometime soon.
These are really cool cars. Everything car guys love. The power, the speed, the cool noises. I like that there aren't any electronic aides...it's all driver ( and hence my struggles). These cars are really a blast to drive.
But it's physical. It's 155 degrees in the cockpit, and at tracks like NJMP you don't really get a chance to rest. I was exhausted at the end of the race. At least this year my Cool Suit worked. Last year it malfunctioned and I got hot. I had to go to the track's medical center and they pimple two liters of fluids in me to revive me. Those lost few laps I was delirious. This year I was good to go.
When he was done. Shane Lewis gave me a hard time, jokingly saying, "I thought we were buddies!" I'll get him in it sometime soon.
These are really cool cars. Everything car guys love. The power, the speed, the cool noises. I like that there aren't any electronic aides...it's all driver ( and hence my struggles). These cars are really a blast to drive.
But it's physical. It's 155 degrees in the cockpit, and at tracks like NJMP you don't really get a chance to rest. I was exhausted at the end of the race. At least this year my Cool Suit worked. Last year it malfunctioned and I got hot. I had to go to the track's medical center and they pimple two liters of fluids in me to revive me. Those lost few laps I was delirious. This year I was good to go.
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Captain Buddha (06-21-2016)
06-18-2016, 05:11 PM
#10
Ha, so would allot of people. A few of the TA2 drivers have asked. Last Friday I let Lawrence Loshak drive it for a few laps. He asked at Daytona last year so I had to figure out a way to make it happen.
When he was done. Shane Lewis gave me a hard time, jokingly saying, "I thought we were buddies!" I'll get him in it sometime soon.
These are really cool cars. Everything car guys love. The power, the speed, the cool noises. I like that there aren't any electronic aides...it's all driver ( and hence my struggles). These cars are really a blast to drive.
But it's physical. It's 155 degrees in the cockpit, and at tracks like NJMP you don't really get a chance to rest. I was exhausted at the end of the race. At least this year my Cool Suit worked. Last year it malfunctioned and I got hot. I had to go to the track's medical center and they pimple two liters of fluids in me to revive me. Those lost few laps I was delirious. This year I was good to go.
When he was done. Shane Lewis gave me a hard time, jokingly saying, "I thought we were buddies!" I'll get him in it sometime soon.
These are really cool cars. Everything car guys love. The power, the speed, the cool noises. I like that there aren't any electronic aides...it's all driver ( and hence my struggles). These cars are really a blast to drive.
But it's physical. It's 155 degrees in the cockpit, and at tracks like NJMP you don't really get a chance to rest. I was exhausted at the end of the race. At least this year my Cool Suit worked. Last year it malfunctioned and I got hot. I had to go to the track's medical center and they pimple two liters of fluids in me to revive me. Those lost few laps I was delirious. This year I was good to go.
I think race car drivers are mental and physical athletes. No question about it.