When I am wrong I like to correct the mistake. In the story I wrote recently about my experience racing with the ICSCC (Conference) I made an error in the use of the word muu muu. I spelled it moo-moo.
I sincerely apologize to anyone (native Hawaiian speakers?) that was offended by this heinous mistake.
Also, there is some confusion regarding the meaning and origin of the word so I have included it below.
Racing has rules and that’s good. In my view the primary focus of rules should be safety and after that fun and fairness. Fun and fairness are very closely related as you really won’t have much of one without the other. But sometimes, you just need to use your head – That’s why it’s called Racing instead of Ruling.
Except for the 12 Hours of the Cascades Enduro, the last time I entered a International Conference of Sports Car Clubs race (Conference) was 1987. The reason is that they’re kind of goofy – not the people so much, I really enjoy most of them, but the club / event dynamics are just different from anything I’m used to. It often starts well, and then one of them comes along and sucks all the fun right out of it, like a chaperon at an all night party – don’t you guys have something better to do?
The beginning: When Kirk Knestis and I showed up for my first Conference race in late summer of 1984 they needed to classify our current IMSA Renault Cup car. So, we brought all of the required documentation and based upon the weight and listed horsepower it would be placed in I Production (the slowest of the slow, but it would have qualified for J Production, had it existed – it was that slow). The Tech Steward, of course, declared that a 55 horsepower 1984 Renault Alliance would be H Production (one class faster) because it was a “Pro” car. Seriously? They hadn’t even invented crack yet back then… The conversation that followed nearly got me banned for life – in hindsight, that would have been okay.
Now I know that I’m a bit tightly wound and that I’m not particularly shy about sharing my views – this can be problematic when you have a rigorously vigilant “ruling” class. But, if I’m at a Conference race it’s because I’m simply trying to have a good time. There is no pressure at one of these deals – sometimes the racing is fun and the people are mostly awesome. But, “up one class because of the IMSA sticker?”
Despite the initial experience, for a few years we would occasionally show up at a Conference race. They raced at Westwood, for example, and that was a spectacular place to be. Its fun to be able to say that we raced there, Westwood is racing history and it’s one of the neat things that have happened to me that might not have happened without Conference.
But, something weird would always happen. I’ll never forget the guy that stormed into my pit to admonish me for causing him to shunt himself at the end of the front straight at Westwood. I was driving a borrowed old formula ford and one of the self proclaimed Conference heroes misjudged his braking trying to follow me through turn one. We discussed the fact that I was indeed on the racing line and that no I hadn’t blocked him, the issue was… well, I’m not so sure what it was exactly. The advantage of learning to race in cars with tired old motors is that you get used to not using the brakes so much (in Renault Cup the middle pedal meant a quick and certain relegation to the back of the pack) – this is sometimes confusing to the other guys and they crash. So, Kirk and I patiently listened to his story about how I had caused his crash and then proceeded to laugh so hard that we nearly pissed ourselves. I am certain that one of the 135 pages of the Conference rule book addresses that, too. Chapter 8, Section D, Paragraph 2 “You have dribbled down your leg – START AT THE BACK!!!”
One night at Portland, while sleeping in our tent next to the cars (the tent met the constraints of our lodging budget), we were awakened by a noise. There was a drunk either sleeping in or trying to steel our race car – we never worked out which, for sure… I’ve been blatantly “brake checked” twice – yeah, Conference license holders… Now, I know that stuff like this happens at other places, it’s just that it usually happens to me at Conference races.
I have a lot of very good friends that race now or have a history in Conference – they are all a bit easier going than I am, but I like hanging out and racing with them anyway. One of my old racing friends, Hal Hilton, was the Chief Steward or Grand Poo-Bah (whatever they call them) recently, and Hal is an extremely smart and fair guy – maybe things have changed there, I hoped.
Because of the approaching endurance racing season and the availability of a car for me to drive, this past weekend was the best opportunity for some seat time and fun in preparation. This was a chance to pit and hang out with my friend Ted Rees, his father Phil and their families. They have a great laid back approach and fun attitude that would be nice for a change. The Miatacage.com enduro car just needed a shake down to make sure all of the systems and a few new parts were working properly. They’re not.
The car started showing signs of a possible switching / starting problem at Rose Cup – it wouldn’t start hot. We thought it was a bad connection somewhere and checked and cleaned the usual culprits. We would chase the worsening problem for the rest of the weekend and eventually get to learn about some special Conference racing rules – here we go again…
For example, while leaving the track after ITA qualifying on Saturday a Tech Steward approached the car and in a rather nasty tone asked “where are your gloves?” I showed him that I owned some as he barked back at me about leaving them on until I was back inside the paddock.
Understand, the track was in a red flag condition (closed) and I was traveling at about 5 mph. If I had stopped the car in the hot pits during the session and got out, I surely would not have put a helmet or gloves on to move it back to the paddock after the checkered flag. Isn’t there really something better to be spending our energy on? “Captain Rule Book” then rode away on his motorcycle (sans helmet) his shirt flapping around his over the shoulder walkie-talkie holster like a moo-moo worn by a Hawaiian grandmother on a breezy Maui evening. I wonder if Adolf knows that Portland is a city park and is therefore not exempt from the Oregon motorcycle helmet law..? This guy is serious Mall Cop material.
Ted, Phil, Roger (Phil’s pit lackey) and pit guru Garth “Crusher” Levin all had to listen to me go on about how it had started all over again with these “Conference guys”. I mean, it’s like they want you to fail – I imagine them in their trailers at night working out ways to “trick” the new guys. “Let’s give the 5 minute warning at 8 minutes to go – we can put it at the bottom of the supps and maybe some of them will miss it…”
Ted and I had a great time in practice and qualifying on Saturday. We drove around playing race car dodge ball with the rest of the kids. Most of the drivers are pretty attentive, but there are a handful that either don’t have mirrors on their cars or just haven’t worked out the details of how to best utilize them. Qualifying went well for me. Ted and I were first and second in ITA and I managed to out-qualify my Miatacage.com team mate / rivals Will Schrader and Gary Bockman for the provisional pole in Spec Miata.
Qualifying on Sunday was uneventful as Garth, Ken Sutherland and I spent most of the morning chasing the electrical problem. I didn’t improve my times but kept the ITA pole and was bumped to the outside of the front row for SM by Will Schrader. I was really looking forward to the race with Gary and Will, those guys are gladiators – it would be one hell of a show…
We had come up with a solution to the electrical problem. The battery was taking a charge and the car was starting afterward. We would simply keep the car on the charger until it was time to roll up and then we would go to grid, start and race. This worked well for ITA – the car started and the race was a yawner. I started on the 3rd row behind several cars in faster classes – I survived the chicane and drove away from everyone behind me – no drama. Conference allows a crew member to ride in the car on the victory lap – Garth rode with me. I suppose it’s safer to have somebody besides the driver hold the checkered flag one receives to commemorate a victory. Garth wasn’t wearing gloves (or helmet, suit, ass in seat, seat belts)… Safety first, Colonel Klink – “ATTENTION SECURITY – THERE IS A SKATEBOARDER NEAR THE ELEVATORS BY VICTORIA’S SECRET…”
Anyhow, we tried to start the car to go to grid for SM and it refused. So our impromptu plan was to roll up before the five minute warning and let the car run. There are a couple of options in SCCA to deal with a problematic starter – neither work in Conference. If you are not on grid by the 5 minute warning (8 minutes before the start of the race, as it turns out) you start at the back. AND, you cannot bump start the car on the grid – especially after the one minute warning, and double especially if you were in the process of negotiating with the officials regarding the first offense. “YOU WILL START AT THE BACK!!!” TIMES TWO!!!
I was in violation of a rule – I get that. Okay, two rules. Here’s the thing, Conference makes the outsiders run 3 digit numbers that begin with a 7. I don’t know or care why, but I do know that this makes it possible for them to easily and immediately identify non-Conference drivers. They have a rule that they very well know is in conflict with what anybody with a 700 series number on their car is used to. It’s a simple procedural violation and a matter of a steward’s discretion. If I were in charge (God forbid), I Would make a point of helping these easily identified ”customers” understand the differences in the rules rather than berate them with snarky remarks, regarding gloves for example, and race ruining penalties – but that’s just me. The amateur anthropologist in me has come up with a solution to this “Conference Problem” – try something a little bit more predictable, like vodka.
Mike Blaszczak, the steward in question regarding the grid issues, knows how I feel about this. We discussed it twice and my parting remark was essentially – I’m not coming back (it was a little bit stronger than that the second time, and I apologize if he was offended by my language). I’ll probably back off on that eventually, but not very soon unless somebody else is paying the bills.
My pit-mate for the weekend, Ted, had an interesting Sunday, as well. He had to work his way from the back of the field in the ITA race after a first lap spin and was then taken out along with Chris Heinrich (the CSM points leader) by another dive bombing Miata on the second lap of the race. Mike, the aforementioned Steward, had declared that event to be a “racing incident” as it was due to brake failure. I queried him as to whether Conference had any rules about maintaining incidental equipment (like brakes) – he said that those things are ”up to the driver”. Oki-doki.
These stiff car-prep requirements also shed light on the 5 laps it took to black flag the car with the bar-b-que in its trunk during the ITA race. The stewards were looking at the car carefully (I could see them as I motioned that maybe something might be wrong…”SHE’S ON FIRE, FRED!!!). It turns out they were working out whether it was chicken or ribs. It must have been ribs – the chicken would have taken at least 8 laps. I have no idea how these guys keep their 5’s and 8’s sorted out…
In the final analysis, I had some fun. It was great to talk to and meet a lot of the Spec Miata drivers I hadn’t seen for a while. Importantly, the car came back without a single new mark on it, I’ve got some fun video to share and I confirmed that neither Conference nor I have changed – I’ll take that deal 5,000 (8,000) times.
The thing that finally turned the weekend around for the better is when a group of workers drove by (as we were debriefing with some frosty cold beverages), to say how much they had enjoyed the DFL to 3rd drive (it was a bit more colorful than that). Those guys get drenched, frozen, sun burnt and risk their lives because they love the sport. I’ll start from the rear every time if it makes them want to come back. Other than the time John Bradshaw told me he had just watched me win the best race he’d seen in over 10 years, that’s about the best compliment a guy like me can receive.
Joey Atterbury - still cooler than all the fixie pilots
I had a conversation with my friend Joey, (a very fast, young, hipster, VW Jetta Cup driver) at the race track Saturday, about bicycles – he was sitting on his retro beach cruiser / pit bike while giving me the business about riding a real bike. Whatever.
He wants a fixie – while he is cooler than roughly 100 percent of the guys I’ve met that do ride them, I told him that I still hadn’t seen the guy that is genuinely cool enough to do so…
The thing is (using simple observation as our guide) that it’s just too tough to ride a fixie without looking like a complete tool. Not only do you need just the right amount of “hip” you need the right kind. Here’s an analogy – Wayne Newton. Wayne Newton is the only guy that doesn’t look like an idiot when singing Danke Shoene – fixies are the Danke Shoene of bicycles.
This video pretty well encapsulates that discussion…
First, thanks to Sean Hedrick at Miatacage.com for providing me with a really good car to drive and some excellent frosty cold beverages, last week. I would not be racing without his support.
The race – I had qualified well (5th) for race 2, and I had a very simple plan – maintain contact. The easiest way to botch up a simple plan is to make a simple mistake – this is where I come in…
I was driving conservatively and pretty well, I thought. The single most common problem I’ve ever had with the Spec Miata is making a clean 2nd to 3rd gear shift in anger. So, as part of my preparation for the race, I went through the 2-3 shift in my head a dozen times – there is a way to do it and get it right every time.
What often happens is that a driver will grasp the shift nob and force it to where they think 3rd gear should be. Invariably 3rd gear isn’t there causing the dreaded 2-5 shift and ensuing feeling that the car has a sea anchor chained to the rear bumper. I didn’t do that… I quickly pushed the gear lever to where nothing is. The good news is that I got it right on the second try. WTF!?!?!?!!!!!
Too late, however, as my “brilliant” qualifying effort had been erased by those behind me that successfully found 3rd gear – everybody, in fact. All of the sudden I found myself in need of a new plan. Maybe I should try to make it through the chicane first, though..?
I’m pretty sure I thought it was cool that David deRegt, who had started just behind me in seventh, had a good start and was in front of me going into turn one. David is a relatively new guy that I haven’t had a chance to race with yet and he seems to be going pretty fast. I’d had a similar experience with Eli Cuevas the day before in the Miatajaula.com car.
Eli Cuevas - "south of the border" Miatacage.com car
Eli was a student at the Driver’s School in March and was visible in my mirrors for the entire race – it’s the same kind of feeling I imagine a proud mother goose having…
But, I haven’t raced with David, and I don’t know if his qualifying was a fluke (probably not) or where and when he is reliably quick. This isn’t really the ideal time to panic, but contact with the leaders is nearly lost for good – I must attack him, NOW!!!
I had a better turn 7 than he did (entering the back straight) but still couldn’t draw up on him very quickly. The car did suck up a little bit and finally, as we entered the breaking markers, I was able to pull out. I was willing to go side by side through there with David from the inside of turn 10 – it would be a low risk move for me, and I slowed a little bit extra to make sure I could leave him some extra room at 11 if he decided to come along.
He didn’t and we were both slower through the 10-11-12 complex than necessary, but not too bad for me.
I was freight trained at the start of lap 2 by a blue car running one of the early Sunbelt Spec Miata motors and Toyo RA-1’s. The same RA-1’s that the front runners had agreed not to use this year (even though they are still technically legal). Frankly, I don’t really consider that car a Spec Miata – I am certain that it runs significantly afoul of both the spirit and the technical rules of the class.
Sean Hedrick - the Roger Penske of Northwest Spec Miata Racing
Enough sour grapes – looking at this objectively, overall I finished 5th on points for the two races, ended up about .5 of a second off the leaders pace and was very consistent. I can live with that (especially after 6 months out of the car), as it is a great confidence boost for the enduros the team plans to run in the fall.
I owe big thanks to Ken Sutherland who helped me get the car dialed in very quickly – and who traded wins and runner up positions with Will Schrader in both races. And, I do truly think that my time on the bicycle has helped to retain “the edge” needed to compete at this level.
Speaking of bicycles, it’s time to focus again. I’ll be riding the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend with my brother-in-law and his Simple Green team mates at the end of July. It’s 4 stages in a mixed Cat 3-4 field, and it could be kind of hard… Yikes.
I could quit car racing whenever I want – but, I could also come back…
After 3 days of a 4 day race weekend everything is still proceeding as normal for me. The race yesterday morning was typical Spec Miata and my plan was to attempt to maintain contact without being so close as to be the guy that made the small mistake that took somebody else out.
That mistake was made, of course, and I would have video if I had set the camera up properly (these things usually involve a bit of trial and error – error being the key, in this case). As the 26 car field was sorting itself out during the first couple of laps two of the cars directly in front of me went side by side through turn one, and they didn’t quite get clear of each other before getting back into line for turn 2.
So, there was a tap, and a half spin, and some moderately heavy contact. Bruce Wilson’s car was damaged beyond repair (more on that in a moment) and Geoff Cochran’s car had a corner pretty well torn up.
This all left me 5th (after qualifying 7th) and quite alone. The Miatacage.com Spec Miata might be the best handling Spec Miata I’ve ever driven – I really like the new Toyo R888’s despite the complaints I’ve heard about them (this might be due to the data my team mate Ken Sutherland has collected, and the fact I can go straight to the proper tire pressures).
We do still have a horsepower deficit. The car seems to roll quite well, so I think it’s something we’ve attached to what we believe is a reasonably strong motor. There are things you can do at the race track to correct this type of issue, and most of them we’ve done – new proper exhaust system, check and re-check the timing, AFM calibration. The car needs some time on the dyno and I’ve decided to continue enjoying the opportunity to drive a good race car again.
My strategy for the second round of qualifying (for race 2, Sunday) was to stay close enough to the faster cars to gain some benefit from the draft. This, more or less, worked out and I have qualified 5th after having run my 5 fastest laps of the weekend in the same session (including my fastest by .4 of a second).
The funny thing about my drafting partner
The paddock "frame rack and body shop "doing magic
is that it was Bruce Wilson, in the what I believed 4 hours earlier, was a junk yard bound car. It still is probably, but a bunch of guys rigged up a frame rack in the pits and pulled the thing kind of straighter (in a twisted midnight body shop kind of way).
Anyhow, that car is still kind of quick and it suited my purposes
"show room new", Yuri!!!
well, as it still pushes just as big a hole through the air as it always did.
One more race today and then back into “retirement” for me. I feel kind of like the smoker that keeps quiting and could quit again whenever he wants to…..
We took the “new” number 11 Miatacage.com Spec Miata to Portland International Raceway yesterday for the pre-Rose Cup test. So far, so good.
This is, by the way, the first time back at PIR since I decided the Tuesday night bicycle racing there was getting a little bit sketchy, and the first time in a race car there since the Cascade 12 Hour victory last October. I have had a day teaching at the Pro-Drive school recently, but that doesn’t really count as I am usually just riding around in other peoples cars trying not to get motion sick…
The plan was simply
The 87 car driven this weekend by Cindi Lux
for team mates Ken Sutherland, Chuck Hall and I along with Miatacage.com owner, Sean Hedrick, to shakedown numerous cars, including the newly rebuilt 11 and the 87 (ex- #1) cars. I wouldn’t have been there if it hadn’t been for Jonny Davies lending me the tow rig and trailer of his A Sedan Mustang, which was still at the shop having an alignment before arriving at the track Thursday night (just after I returned the stuff) – thanks, Jonny.
I had one small situation at the very end of the day (there’s a hole inside of
On the scales for a set-up check
the apex curbing in turn 7 – duuuh…) which then necessitated a set-up check and some extra work – thanks Ken.
It appears that I’m somewhere around one second off the pace, but the car feels really good. I’m a bit suspicious of the horsepower, but there is no reason it shouldn’t
The Jon Davies A-Sedan Mustang that belongs to the tow rig I borrowed
have plenty, so we’ll try a little bit of tweaking today.
I must say that I had expected this would happen – LeMons is just a great idea and way too much fun. The reason LeMons works is that there is a Benevolent Dictator that makes the rules – one of the most important rules is “Don’t be a Dick” (I’m paraphrasing).
This is fun racing – it’s the way you imagined it would be when you were young and naive and your wallet hadn’t been emptied by your relentless efforts to drive your buddies (arch nemesiseseses) into the ground.
But, while it was one thing when the big car magazines were fielding teams, it’s gone to a whole new level when Edmunds does a road test.
The validation I am feeling right now brings a tear to my eye…
I’m lucky to have many “hobbies” of the type that just one would make me happy. For the past 5 years, or so, there has been an ebb and flow between my bike hobby and my car hobby.
Mt View Team
I wouldn’t be able to do the car racing without help from friends and sponsors, and because of the relationships I’ve developed over time in the sport, I have an opportunity to race at the Rose Cup Races at Portland again this June.
The problem is balancing the time required to prepare for bicycle races such as the Mount Hood Cycling Classic June 4-7 and Rose Cup which begins with testing on the 11th. The car I am to drive for Rose Cup is the same car Chuck Hall, Will Schrader, Jonny Davies and I won the 12 Hours of the Cascades with last November and that Jonny and I drove with Ken Sutherland and Bruce Wilson at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill (leading until all of the oil fell out through 4 big holes in the block). Until last week, it was largely in the same state that it rolled (was towed) off the track in December.
12 Hours of the Cascades Winner
The balancing process is hard (in a good way). Yesterday, I rode my bicycle for a couple of hours before going to the race car shop to work on putting the car back together (new engine, transmission, differential, shocks, brakes, repair light body damage, etc). Sean Hedrick of Miatacage.com has made the task possible by providing the big components in a mostly complete state.
Enduro / Rose Cup Spec Miata
This morning I will go to Silverton (near Salem) for a bicycle race with my Mt View Cycling team mates. I’ll work for a couple of days (sneaking some cycling miles in) and collecting more of the parts needed for the enduro / Rose Cup car, with the goal of installing the drive train late next week.
The 2009 Oregon Region SCCA Driver School is now history. This was my second year as lead instructor – this time I shared the responsibility with one of my 25 Hours of Thunderhill team mates, Bruce Wilson.
Lot’s of people make the school possible. All of the turn workers, officials and instructors that show up a day early, the Stewards that make sure the paperwork stays in order, Todd the Road Race Director, who does all of the liaison work, and Karen in the Region office that personally walks everybody through the registration paperwork. Karen describes the process as like herding cats – whatever that is…
There were quite a few high points for me. There was really good progress made by everybody – most of the students had previous experience and completed the requirements necessary to compete in a Regional race. A handful of students were pretty quick and mostly needed guidance regarding their responsibilities (in addition to driving the car) while on course. There were no reported collisions this time – last year we had a couple, and most everybody always had a big smile on their face.
One student showed up in a mid-eighties vintage Renault Cup car (photo). I raced against this exact car at the beginning of my racing career. I had no idea that any of these things still ran. August, the driver, was fast, clean and consistent. In the one mostly damp session we had he was one of the fastest cars on course – that was awesome!!!
One of the Spec Miata’s that showed up was driven by a young guy that has just returned from a 15 month deployment in Iraq with a Stryker Brigade (photo). Eli is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and was quick enough to catch the attention of the Spec Miata brain trust that was working the school. It’s only right that we fastrack him toward making up an extra 15 months worth of racing experience – Eli will get lots of help on his way to becoming a front runner.
The first Regional race happens later today and many of the students will be seeing a green flag for real for the first time. Here they go again…
