I had not planned on going to this event, but I made a lot more progress on my "honey-do" list than originally anticipated, so as a reward, I got domestic dispensation to do another race weekend. This was the last SCCA major race weekend in California this year. The next events are in Washington and Oregon, and I have no plans to travel that far. So, I had been kind of eyeing this weekend, but never really considered that I could attend.
Since I hadn't signed up in advance (registration was closed by the time I got "approval"), I sent off a note to see if I could register at the track. Yes. I knew I would not be able to make the 8AM warmup for Spec Miata, but figured if I got up early enough, I could make the 10:40 warmup for STL. So, at 5:45 AM on Friday, I headed for Buttonwillow. This was important because the configuration they were running was #25CCW, and I had only run #13CW. So, essentially, it was going to be a brand new track for me. I would have to learn it, and get my lap times down to the point where I would be allowed to enter the race. For a major race, you have to qualify within 15% of the course record for that class, or you can't race. For Spec Miata, the course record was 2:05.616, which meant I had to be 2:24.5 or faster. For STL, the fastest time was 2:03.861, so I had to post a 2:22.4 or better.
I arrived at the track about 9:15, so I had plenty of time to register, and get the car ready. Warmup was predictable, in that I started out slower, and had a few near "oops"s, but all went well. On my last lap, I was down to 2:20, so I figured I'd be OK for qual. Next up was qual for SM. My first lap out, I did a 2:18.50, so I knew I had passed SM, and if I could do that for STL, I was in good shape.
STL qual was more interesting. I had been unhapy with my entery to "off ramp", a fish-hook turn at the "bottom" of the East side (track map). So, I tried a little earlier and faster. That didn't go well (video). And, a couple of laps later, I had a super aggressive pass in Cotton Corners by an Accura Integra (video). I guess I'm not surprised at his style, given that he was the fastest qualifier in that session, with a 2:00.237. Still, I really thought he was going to hit me as he passed the front corner of my car. (It doesn't look as bad on the video, because it's in wide-angle so things look farther away.) But, all ends well and my best lap time is 2:17.01.
So, back to the paddock to get the car prepped for Saturday. Change tires, check/fill oil, fill fuel. After filling fuel, I turned on the ignition switch to let the guage come up and show the level. I wasn't sure if I'd need more or not.
One change that I made for this event was that I decided to stay at the track. I have a comfortable reclining lounger, and I decided that the addition of a sleeping bag could save anywhere from $50-$200/night in hotel fees. That has a way of doubling the cost of a track weekend and means you are running back and forth to the hotel at the beginning and end of each day. Many other people stay at the track for race weekends, some in luxurious motor homes, and some just crawl in the back of their pickup truck under a camper shell. A nice lounger in an enclosed trailer seems like a middle ground. I have electricity (which means I have heat if it gets cold), and a fridge, microwave and coffee maker. The only thing I don't have is running water, which means that I have to find the location of the showers. It doesn't take long. I find them
Seriously? No... this is a joke, right? I check out the other building at the other end of the paddock, and it's a mirror image, but no better. And, I didn't bring anything that would pass for a swimsuit. This is EPIC FAIL! I never even considered that there wouldn't be a shower with a door you could close. All the other tracks I run at have them. So, I start mulling over what I'm going to do. Turns out, behind me (taking the picture) there is nothing. No parking, no reason to walk there, really. Just nothing. So, in a way, it's kind of private, if no one comes by. Should I put up a sign on the approach path? Recruit someone to stand guard? Shower at midnight, when everyone is asleep? Fortunately, as I continue my paddock exploration, I find the only bathroom with an enclosed shower.
Whew! I don't need more than one. Even if there is a long line, I can wait. (But, for my first shower, it was empty, and about a 2 minute wiat for my second one. Quite tolerable. But, I learned a lesson - call ahead and ask!)
After my shower, a relaxing evening. BBQ a steak on my new portable BBQ, and relax in the paddock until time for bed.
Saturday morning is a lot less hectic than normal. Staying at the track means you don't have the commute from the hotel back to the track. You get up, and you're there. While this sounds obvious, the decrease in stress level is significant.
But somehow, there must be "stress Karma" - better in one way, worse in another. The second SM qualifying session is at 8AM. Everything is ready in plenty of time. But, when I go to start the car to warm it up - nothing. CRAP! I had left the ignition switch on when I was checking the fuel level. So, I got out my jumper box. It said it was fully charged. (Whew!) But, it didn't have enough juice to start the car. DAMN! Since I don't have jumper cables (why would you need them with a jumper box?) my only choice is to hook up the generator and charge the battery and hope that it charges enough to start before STL qual at 10:15. I thought about trying to scramble and borrow jumper cables (somebody in the paddock MUST have a set!) but by that point, my group was already going out onto the track. So, generator it is. And, if that doesn't work, I can find jumper cables before I need to start it for STL qual.
But, that means that I don't do the morning qualifying session for SM. That's not really a problem since they take your best time from either qual session to determine starting position for the race. Since I already had a decent qual time (for me, at least), the morning session would have only given me an opportunity to improve on that. <sigh!>
After about an hour on the generator/charger, the car started. Whew! Looked like everything would be OK. 20 minute qual with the STL group, and then the qualifying race for SM. I started at the back (tortoise, remember), and after seeing the melee in the first turn, I gave everyone a little space until the field got spread apart and multiple car pile-ups were less likely. All went well until just after I got passed by the front runner. I came into Cotton Corners a little too fast over the top, and in the right turn got a little loose. It would have been a guearnteed spin to try to keep it on the pavement, but it's flat so I decided to just cut the corner. Not sure what happened (wheel caught the edge of the pavement wrong maybe?), but I ended up spinning on the exit. At Buttonwilow, this creates a huge amount of dust. Only problem with that is that it reduces visibility. A lot. Suddenly, I see the cars in positions 2-5 emerge from the dust. Fortunately, I had not spun to the part of the track where they were headed (called the track out zone), but I still got off the track pretty quickly until it was safe (front video - rear video). Another couple of laps and we got the checkered flag. But, I ended up setting my best time of the weekend - 2:16.06.
The qualifying race for STL was less eventful. Sine there was a bigger difference in the performance of the cars in the group (STL is combined with other classes, since there aren't enough in any class to warrant a whole group) we spread out more quickly, which makes the margin for safety better. No real issues, other than a few dicey passes (others passing me). The longer I race, the more I appreciate the skill of the folks the run the SU class in NASA. (As one of them put it after I had expressed appreciation for all of his clean passes, "Well, when you're driving a car that costs a quarter of a million dollars, you don't want to wreck it just because you were impatient to pass." Well said.)
Late in the race, I notice a bit of a tire shudder as I come thru "off-ramp" - one of the tight "fish-hook" turns. After I come off the track, I notice that I have worn one of my Hoosier tires down to the steel cords.
Crap. Can't run with that, and 1) I don't have any more Hoosiers, and 2) Hoosiers are required for SM in SCCA. What am I going to do for tomorrow's major race in SM?
I decide to put on my set of Toyo RRs, and risk getting caught. I might as well run the race and take the chance. Unfortunately, the Hoosiers have a distinctive checkerboard pattern on their sidewall, which makes them fairly easy to spot - meaning that someone just walking by could notice and then I would likely be disqualified. So, after thinking about it all night, I decide to put the three Hoosiers back on (RF, RR & LF) and put the Toyo RR on the LR - reason being, if you aren't in the top five, they put you on the left side of the tech paddock, which means all the inspectors are walking around on the right side of the car. After giving it some thought, I decide that two mismatched tires on the rear might cause the car to lose grip in a turn in a different way and that could be bad. So, I move the Toyo to the LF, figuring that it would just affect the amount of push (understeer) the car has. And, I go out for warmup session to test out what I've done.
And, I set my best lap time of the weekend - 2:16.00. Well, clearly it dind't screw up the handling (at least not relative to my own driving skill).
Of course, I start the (SM) race in last position, because eveyone else had lower qualifying times than I did. (I'm the tortoise, remember?) That's OK. I'm in it. That's all that matters. When the race starts, it's a giant Cluster F***. (video) Cars going off, cars going in the dirt to pass, etc, so remembering Al's words of wisdom about winners and champions, I hold back just a little to let the melee sort itself out. After a while, I noticed my lap times were coming down, and lap after lap I was setting new low lap times. My best lap during the race was 2:13.49 - so much for my worry about the tires. Now, if I can just pass tech.
After the race ends, and I pull into tech/impound, I luck out and am routed to the far left part of the paddock (YES!). The top 5 cars are inspected in detail, but the rest of us get no notice. So, as we are released, I say a quiet "Thank you".
While waiting in impound, one of the event administrators comes up and asks if this lady can sit in my car and get her picture taken in it. Apparently, she loves the color and #28 is her favorite number. So, I say yes. She is thrilled. (Go figure.) After she climbs out, we get to talking and I find out that she and another friend have been cheering me on every time I come by their location. And, (talk about wierd coincidences) she's from Gilroy and this is the first time she has ever been to a race track. Well, glad I could make her day.
The STL race started at 2:10 and, being a mixed race group, gave me the opportunity to play a little with a couple of cars. Here's the last one (video). I watched how he took the Star Mazda turn and noticed that he would brake more than I needed to. So, I decided to go deep on him (a trick that E46s do to me all the time) and pass. Unfortunately, he has just slightly more horsepower than I do, so on the next straight, he passes me back. For the rest of the race, I watch for another opportunity. I see several places he doesn't take corners well, and plan to take him in one of them on the last lap, which gives him less time to be able to recover and pass me again. Unfortunately, the people in the Start/Finish stand don't display the white flag (signifying "last lap of the race"). As I come past Start/Finish thinking I would see the white flag, we get the checkered flag indicating the race is over. Oh well. it was lots of fun anyway.
Then, on the cool down lap, it hits me. I've switched from "survival mode" to strudying my opponents, looking for weaknesses, and trying to take advantage of their mistakes. In other words, now I'm thinking like a racer.
And, with that, 2 more Majors are completed.
With the tortoise packed and loaded, and the storm approaching...
it's time to get the hell out of Dodge!!