The ITB experience...

RSTPerformance

New member
Lets all post results and stories in a class specific manner, that way we can folllow each story/discussion more organized? Good Idea?

Anyway here is my ARRC story from the view of an ITB car, with the ugly details
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We went down with the expectations of getting both Audi’s into the top 6. Last year Stephen finished third but we took that with a little bit of beginners luck. Anyway we didn’t meet that goal, but I am certainly proud of our achievements.

I left Tuesday night, arrived in DC around 3:00am to pick up Amanda. We continued on and I drove for about 30 minutes before I said, Ok I can not do this, it is your turn. Amada jumped behind the wheel and drove the rig like a champ.

We arrived at Road Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, meeting up with the rest of the New England crowd (well Jake, Dave, Dick, Ray, and Kim). Parking was a pleasant experience this year (Thank you Fletcher for your hard work). Me and Amanda unloaded the basics and left and headed over to the hotel (Holiday Inn Express at Chateau Élan, cheep and very nice, strongly suggested). We went over to the Chateau Élan and enjoyed the beer (and Jack) at Paddy’s and by 9:00 we had called it a night (we might have slurred the words). The crew and Stephen arrived at 12:00 after flying in to Atlanta. They lucked out at the Rental place as Enterprise had no cars left and only 1 15 passenger van. Enterprise felt bad giving it to them and the crew pouted like upset people till they pulled out of the airport with a discount and free gas!!!

Thursday morning we woke to what seemed like an entire day of rain. We didn’t get to the track till around 11:00 as we felt running in the rain on test day was probably a waste of money and to much of a risk. The sun came out around 12:00 and we were ready for the afternoon testing!!! On test day I was into the 49’s which overly surprised me and I new we had a good chance at a top 5 if we could hold things together!!! Stephen like he had mentioned had electrical issues, which we hoped we had fixed each time. On Thursday night first we went to Register… what a failure. I hope for everyone down south they work on that process and learned a lot from the first night, as that was a major failure in speeding up the process. After that we hit up the Braselton Grill for dinner. Great food, good prices another suggestion for those in the area (it is on 211 on the way to the hotel).

On Friday it was qualifying… things went very very well for us as I qualified a second ahead of the rest of the ITB field in the first session. WOW was I amazed. My lap times were consistent low 1:49.1’s with the best being a 1:48.91. In the second session Stephen was able to turn out a couple low 1:49’s and a 1:48.93. I ran again al low 1:49’s. Derek was also running in the 1:49’s. When the final grid was posted I was very happy to see that I out qualified my brother by .02 of a second for the pole. This enough was a huge accomplishment and we were very very happy. Friday night celebrations were at hand as we met up with the IT.com crowd at Paddy’s. Some of the crew (and the drivers) drank a bit too much but we had an excellent time winning 75% of the giveaways from the promoters of some new cheep vodka!!! (those darn free shots I think are what gave a few of the crew members a morning headache
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)

Saturday morning came quick, but we were ready. In morning warm-ups we again were in the 1:49’s and feeling good.

The ITB Race:

I started the field slow (I am not sure why as my car always sucks when you put the hammer down in second gear  ). Stephen took off and I slipped back as Sam, Derek, and Chris Whikle and I crossed the start finish line 4 wide. Going into turn 1 all three had passed me and were 3 wide. I searched for the one who would be first coming out of the turn and just as I went to the inside to follow Chris, he checked up (to let the others go?). I barely bumped the rear bumper of his car and he got squirly. He made the biggest mistake possible and didn’t put the hammer down to pull out of the slide. He over corrected the slide, sligshoted back across the track and collected Sam Moore. I went left to avoid the incident and all three of us ended up off track to drivers left. Sam Moore and I continued on but Chris in his VW did not. I found myself in last place well behind the rest of the field. Sam apparently had a fender rubbing on his tire and retired after two laps. I continued a strong charge to the front turning 1:48’s as I was on a mission to catch back up for a top 5 finish. Stephen encountered yet more wiring issues and was passed as the car was cutting out. He retired 1 lap later. Derek and Chris Albin then battled it out for first and I could see ahead of me both Derek and Chris go off on turn 10a and 11. Apparently Chris cut a tire on his off and he was forced to retire 1 lap later. That left Derek with a handsome lead, but I didn’t want to hand it to him as I drove as fast as my big car would turning a 1:48.6 and consistent high 1:48’s and low 1:49’s without any draft help. I was up to 4.5 seconds back from first) when the car started handling very funny. I couldn’t keep it on the track and went off on several turns as the car would literally turn left in the middle of a right hand turn. Little did I know I was about to loose a tire. I backed way out of it hoping maybe I could finish in the top 3 behind both the Canadian’s. Coming onto the long straight however I found myself dragging the left front corner until the car came to a stop. I watched the last 3 laps from the side (after making a pit stop in the woods). Congrats to Derek and Colin for a great run. You guys have built very solid consistent and reliable cars, and it shows. You deserved this one without a doubt!!!

The first turn debacle:

I am an honest guy, so I have no problems posting what happened post race along with my opinions. I did bump Chris Winkle in the VW as my car can’t possibly slow as fast as a VW (I way several hundred pounds more and I have smaller brakes). It amazed me that Chris checked up so much as we were on the first lap (a start) on the first turn. The next part that amazed me was Chris’s overcorrection that shot him back across the track. Most if not all the people I have raced with in the Northeast could have driven out of the small slide he was in without overcorrecting and taking out other cars. I was protested by Sam Moore (everyone’s down south favorite) and Chris. Sam protested me for hitting him, and making an unsafe pass however I never was in a position to pass him and I never hit him so he lost that protest (I wonder if he got his $20.00 back?). Chris on the other hand I lost that protest. I was given a probation for three races that starts today. I have no problem with that as I did bump Chris (oh did I mention no scratches on my bumper, and my plastic trim is still on the bumper that’s how light it was), however I still disappointed as I don’t want anything to be on my record. I have been involved in many more serious bumps at the fault of myself or others and no protests have ever been filed. I do not condone bumping in anyway, it is completely unacceptable, but I have no problem running up close rubbing mirrors and bumpers sometimes. Accidents do happen, but all of us racing should have the ability to correct small bumps such as this one. This accident that took us all out could have easily been avoided after my initial mistake.

Three things I learned:

1. Expect the unexpected when racing with unfamiliar drivers. Don’t expect them to drive as well or as bad as others that your normally race with.

2. Some stewards even though they agree with you will instead play it safe as the politics get involved they need to set an unarguable example rather than realize this is racing and accidents do happen even to the favorites. I feel strongly that my penalty is a result of Sam Moore being taken out by someone else, and the end results of the accident were viewed more heavily than the actual contact I was protested for.

3. Chris apparently broke his thumb, and was able to submit a protest well after the deadline. From my observations he watched the entire race from the side of the track then went to medical, and was held their past the protest time and was unable to submit his protest in a timely manner, however because the circumstances were beyond his control he was still able to submit the protest.

Chris-

If you read this I am sorry your race ended early and I would ask that you e-mail me so we can discuss the incident off line. I do have a few words for you, but they would not have gotten us anywhere at the track, and they need not be scene by others here, also I do plan on racing with you again and I would like to not be entering a race next year with any sort of “hostility” that will get us both into trouble. I herd interesting comments by the stewards but contact was made so they had to do something. Let’s discuss and make peace. (FYI when I get my in-car video back I would be glad to share it with you, I think from my view you will see that this was the slightest unintentional bump).

Sam-

If you read this I am also sorry that your race ended early. I was looking forward to racing with you. You said you were giving it your all in Qualifying but I am sure that you wouldn’t have let me or my brother walk away with an easy race had we all continued. Please let it be known that I WAS NOT the person who took you out of this race. I try to race clean and close. Amazing as it may sound I have been racing for 6 full seasons now and I have only replaced each fender once and each door once. I have replaced the entire front clip (frame) but that was from a rallying accident where a piece of pipe went through the frame in the front and pushed the engine, tranny, and subframe into the drivers compartment, no major body damage as all panels were reused. Any “racing marks” on my car are from 2 years of racing full seasons, without ever doing bodywork other than some re-lettering, cleaning off rubber marks, and painting the faded bumpers with more bumper black from Wal-Mart. Please feel free to email me as well if you have any feelings that you would like to share with me. (FYI, same with you Sam, when I get my in-car video back I would be happy to share it with you, and I think you will be surprised as to what actually happened. The video clearly shows the entire incident).

Ok now that is done, it is onto Sundays adventure!!!

Stephen went out for qualifying and was supposed to take it easy. He ran a 1:49 and put us 1st for ITB. I yelled at him over the radio and told him to be nice to my car and he kicked it back a few notches. In the Enduro as Stephen mentioned we he ran slow and safe rather than out to win in the first hour. He ran consistent 1:51’s (2-3 seconds off our normal pace), and stayed about 15 seconds back from the leaders. I took over after 1.5 hours and Stephen warned me about the fading brakes. After about 15 minutes I couldn’t slow enough (with the peddle on the floor) going into 10a and was forced to go over the inside curb rather than to hit an slow moving RX-7. This bent the left front suspension and gave us about 2 inches of toe out on the left front. I ran for about another 20 minutes or so then came in for the second pit stop where Amanda had put on Stephens very smelly suite as the rest of the team had already left to catch the plane. Amanda and I fueled the car and the nice grid person noted that over half of my RF tire was cords so I had to change the tire before continuing. This was not easy as the spacers were practically welded to the overheating tire. All in all our pitstop was about 12 minutes for 10 gallons of gas and changing the tire. Not bad for armatures
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. We went back out on track and I saw that Derek’s car had hit hard in the esses. I wasn’t sure how far ahead or behind I was so I continued with very fading brakes. With ½ hour left the peddle went completely to the floor going into turn 1 and the car didn’t slow at all. I had expected this as in the last braking zone I had to pump the brake once to get it to work. Generally with these cars one pump and you are done. I thought quickly and figured that I could make the rest of the race if I used 3rd gear on all the turns expect coming onto the big straight (8?) and at the end of the straight (10a). I ran the entire last half hour without ever touching the brakes and with the RF towed out 2 inches. Needless to say I wanted to see how long this tank would last. It made it across the line and I coasted to a stop on the back straight when the car came to a rest. 45 minutes later my car was finally towed in (I could drive in as I wouldn’t be able stop in put lane 
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. I was towed to impound to be weighed as I finished in third place!!! Enduros are all about who can finish sometimes 

Thanks for a great weekend, I am in DC now, and I need to hit the road so I can get home at a reasonable am hour .

Thanks again to the crew, Amanda, Randy, Theresa, and Steph.
Also thank you to Flat-out Motorsports for the radios and to Steve Mcnary for the trailer!!!

Raymond" Started pole at the ARRC!!!" Blethen
RST Performance Racing


Edited the more "nasty comments" that were uncalled for.

[This message has been edited by RSTPerformance (edited November 09, 2004).]
 
Raymond...I was truly impressed by the storming Audi's....hate that you encountered problems in the sprint race. It was slated to be the best race of the weekend.

Oh yeah...the Audi's sounded like small block v8's in that sea of 4 bangers so we knew when you were coming before we could see you.

Hope to see you down south again soon.
 
Chris reported that he was having 'some' problems turning right as early as the 2nd lap; he believes that he picked up debris on the second lap coming up out of turn 1. By the 6th lap, he was fighting it, and by the time he retired (after the off), it was because the tire was coming apart and beating up the fender of the new car. But as many of us know, he does not know when to stop, and wasn't going to until he had no choice.

I keep saying that I am going to video tape the start of these races from trackside; maybe one day I'll actually do it. It would have made for some interesting discussion.

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Lesley Albin
Over The Limit Racing
Blazen Golden Retrievers
 
Originally posted by RSTPerformance:

Going into turn 1 all three had passed me and were 3 wide. I searched for the one who would be first coming out of the turn and just as I went to the inside to follow Chris, he checked up (to let the others go?). I barely bumped the rear bumper of his car and he got squirly. He made the biggest mistake possible and didn’t put the hammer down to pull out of the slide. He over corrected the slide, sligshoted back across the track and collected Sam Moore. The first turn debacle:

I am an honest guy, so I have no problems posting what happened post race along with my opinions. I did bump Chris Winkle in the VW as my car can’t possibly slow as fast as a VW (I way several hundred pounds more and I have smaller brakes). I expected this race to have drivers that are of the caliper of the front running ITB cars. It amazed me that Chris checked up so much as we were on the first lap (a start) on the first turn. The next part that amazed me is Chris’s lack of ability to drive once put into a sticky situation. Most if not all the people I have raced with in the Northeast could have driven out of the small slide he was in without overcorrecting and taking out other cars. I was protested by Sam Moore (everyone’s down south favorite) and Chris.

Raymond" Started pole at the ARRC!!!" Blethen
RST Performance Racing

It's a little severe to critisize a fellow drivers ability after you tag him from the rear, ending his weekend don't you think?

I know there are 2 sides to every story, but this seems a bit strong to me.

Just my $0.02 worth...



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Colin Harmer
ITB 2-Red Golf
Halifax, NS
www.gomuchfaster.com
[email protected]
 
As part of your sponsorship group, we would like to tell you that you gave it your best and made us proud. With regards to the sprint races, you were there, you did it, you gave it your best and "stuff" happens. And from the sounds of it, it was quite a learning experience. Any track time is good track time -- always a learning experience.
As for the enduro, the old saying goes "In order to finish first, first you must finish"-- in your case "in order to finish 3rd, first you had to finish." Good job with using your head and driving both mechanically and artistically after your bro left you brakeless. And Amanda deserves many kudos for having the savvy to be your only crew when everyone left. Sounds like she did a great job. Again, our apologies for not being there to help. And thank you for making us all proud.
 
Chris did in fact stay with me at 2 for the remainder of the race. By the time he got his glove off the thumb was already swelling, once things settled down in the race I notified control he would have to goto medical to get it checked out.

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Lance Snyder
Atlanta Region F&C

No more the small one, the weak one, the frightened one.
Running from beatings, deflating.
I'm becoming more than a man. More than you ever were.
Driven and burning to rise beyond Jesus.
 
Raymond didn't leave his e-mail and since he is somewhere between DC and home I will post it for him. [email protected]

For the record I think most of these conversations should be held privatly over e-mail and not on a board for everyone to see, get mad about, publicly insult others, and to do all the above for months and months as they will never go away.

In my view and (yes I have seen the video) it was a racing accident as some checked up unexpectedly. I am 100% positive it was unintentional and certainly a mistake. What happened after the bump is irrelevant... a driver needs to make several decisions and once one is made they need to stick with it. It's unfair to say someone is a bad driver if they cannot get out of a sticky situation. The severity of the penalty is up for question and if Sam got his money back that to is up for question.
I hope you all talk about it. I will not post further since this doesn't involve me.

Stephen

I can't wait to try again... without the wiring gremlin
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Originally posted by RSTPerformance:
For the record I think most of these conversations should be held privatly over e-mail and not on a board for everyone to see, get mad about, publicly insult others, and to do all the above for months and months as they will never go away.

Regardless, Raymond posted it here to start with. Every driver (or spectator, for that matter) comes away with his or her own opinion of what REALLY happened. It's sometimes (most times) judicious to keep your opinion to yourself about the actions of others, unless you want to be taken to task on a public bulletin board.

As far as that goes, some derogatory things have been said (also on this board) about a good friend of ours; I don't appreciate them, but you know what? He's a big boy and can take care of it himself.



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Lesley Albin
Over The Limit Racing
Blazen Golden Retrievers
 
Lesley and others-

I did post some harsh comments, but he did protest me and spread his side of the story across the paddock that I "took out him and Sam Moore." What was more discouraging was that a lot of the people that read these posts looked the other way when I went to talk to them after the race. Many of you jumped to conclusions after hearing one side of the story. It was very discouraging, and more humiliating than a post here on this forum. I only posted not because of Chris but because I felt I had to defend myself to many of you. I guess I am not defending, but I said my side so that those that didn't here it (or didn't listen at the track) could, as I would like those that only herd his opinion to here mine as well. I have no problem with him posting his view as well for others to read. I am sure that this is a situation that had bad results, from a series of mistakes. I think personally if anyone viewed my in car video that we both can take some blame for the end results.

Chris should have come talked to me (but maybe it is best he didn't?). I didn't go talk to him since he protested me as I figured it would not have resulted in a good conversation (I was not mad at him, but I don’t think he would have accepted my apology, and I wasn't in the mood to get into an argument).

I encountered other situations this weekend where I was surprised at the lack of braking my car had vs. other cars (mostly VW's) and thus I was actually cautious going into the first turn (This was my race to loose, as the pace I had all weekend was more than enough to win), I guess I was not cautious enough, needless to say I learned a lot. I have not driven at speed at this track before (this was my first time) and it is very very different (at speed) from places I have been before. Sorry again for the mistake, all that I ask is for Chris to contact me so I can personally apologize offline and for all of you to realize that I wasn't the only person who made a mistake in this race or this past weekend.

Raymond “Thank you for listening, and I look forward to racing with all of you again next year” Blethen

PS: Chris I don't think you are a bad driver, omit that conclusion. My "I expected this race to have drivers that are of the caliper of the front running ITB cars" comment should have been deleted on my re-read. If you notice it doesn't fit in the sentence. It actually was part of a much larger paragraph. That was my first draft edit mistake, when I was upset about the rumors. We all make mistakes and we all learn. This experience I hope was a learning experience for more than just me, which will hopefully result in even a better race to watch next year.
 
oh another comment-

Grayracer:

Thanks for the comments!!!

Lance-

Make him go to Medical sooner!!! He was on the infield, no-one would pick him up? He had a broken thumb... I can't imagine he wasn't in pain, but I am sure he wanted to watch the race
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Raymond
 
Unfortunately, after reading your posts, my opinion of you has dropped profusely...

In regards to your own comment, "I guess I was not cautious enough"...maybe you should have thought of that not only with your driving actions but with your INTERNET RANTS as well...
 
nascarvw-

e-mail me your e-mail. I have a question for you... or would like some advice offline.

I am trying not to have an internet rant, I told a long long story, and the turn 1 incident was only a small portion of the weekend and my initial story. However it is important to me as it was the worst part of me weekend and possibly my entire 20 years of racing experiences in SCCA. I have tried to show respect and appologize to someone I have never met, and have no contact info for (If I knew them, or had contact info I would have and will send them an e-mail appologizing). If it came out the wrong way then I am sorry, and if you have less respect for me then I am sorry as well. I put in as much of my spare time into helping others at the track and/or away from the track. I am also making it clear that I will not personally take full responsability for the accident in turn 1, you may draw your own conclusion. I hope that I am able to work it out with chris and Sam so we can race together, but maybe not quite as close.
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The above story was all part of my story, thats why I included it... next time I will try to omit my story and I will post a less informative "good" story. I think I said enough bad things about myself to make sure to cover a well rounded view/story.

If you don't like me because I made a mistake on the track, well I hope you are better than any pro racing today, cause everyone makes mistakes. And if you don't like me because of my story, well, put yourself in my driving shoes. I will say it again, I CAN NOT WAIT TO RACE WITH EVERYONE AGAIN INCLUDING CHRIS AND SAM.

Raymond "I am not ranting, I am just telling my story and asking that those involved e-mail me since I have no contact info for them" Blethen


[This message has been edited by RSTPerformance (edited November 09, 2004).]
 
Yes it was an interesting weekend and alot of cars came home bent...mine included...these things happen in racing. The racing was great most of the incidents i saw from turn one seemed like racing and wish i paid more attention to this website to meet the faces at the track. I was the white ITA 07 integra (was a street car 3 weeks earlier) pitted with Gary Rebstock. These boys really knew how to have a good time!!! (the gumbo and jambalaya were the best) The ITC race was one of the best all weekend. Gary had his hands full thru the whole race and had to work for that well deserved 4th ARRC victory. my weekend went not quite as good but was fun nevertheless with the best weather i ever raced in. my integra was not turning and would uselessly spin the inside tire out of all the turns...oh well...started 14th and finished 14th. an unexciting race for me. I tried a pass on 13th but missed the gear in 10 and they dissapeared. 15th went backwards as the best i could muster was a 1:46:8. It was like a track day on saturday. Sunday went alot better at first. I played with th suspension and sent my codriver out in his first time at road atlanta. he came in and i went out and put 2 of my best down in an attempt to get a half decent qualifier. we ended up 21st overall and 3rd in class. the race started brutal and i was able to stay out for 1hour and 10 min and maintain my spot. my best time was a 1:45:7. i was happy with that until my codriver (i dont reccomend going to the ARRC to try road atlanta for the first time!!) tried to figure the track out. from what i gather it all went bad in turn 5 and the car was parked...oh well more to do before next year...if anyone runs florida races feel free to come up and chat at the races...just thought id share a little ARRC story!!
 
I have received a couple of calls and emails telling me I needed to read the IT site and post a reply because I was being slandered for proclaimed poor driving ability during the ITB race at ARRC last weekend. This was not unexpected based on the proclivity of the originator of this thread to post on this site, and the issues that I had with him this past weekend. Based on the posts above I am now certain I was correct in taking my case to the SOM instead of directly to Raymond as obviously it would not have resulted in a constructive conversation.

Yes I did check up slightly more than Derek heading into turn 1. Being on the extreme right side of this track in a three wide battle heading into that corner in my opinion is not the best position to be in. The track drops off more severely on the right side heading into turn 1. I know how my car reacts on cold tires falling into the dip and turning right. From my view Derek had a nose slightly ahead of me heading into the corner and was also on a much better line so it was his corner. It’s the first corner of a 20 lap race and we are all trying to sort ourselves out. Being mindful of my competitor’s right to their part of the road and deciding not to use them as guard rails to keep from sliding off the track I felt was a better option than chasing the rear of my car and making contact with them.

As far as your contact goes, you need to realize it’s not just the force of the contact but many other variables that determine the severity and the outcome. It also depends on when and where you make the contact. Your proclaimed “light” contact was made as my car was decelerating, the track dropping away and beginning to turn right. You made contact with my left rear and lifted it. All these variables combined caused the rear of my car to snap clockwise. As far as differences in braking between our cars, braking into turn one at the start didn’t require maximum braking so I can not accept braking differences between our cars as an excuse for the contact.

You needed to have a little more patience. You had a bad start and were behind a 3 wide battle heading into the first turn. Where were you going? Were you looking to make it four wide up the hill? You had more HP than any of the three in front of you and 20 laps with a very long back straight to go. I don’t know if your botched start played a role in your actions or not, but you cannot expect to recover or make up for it in the first corner.

As for your defamatory remarks of my driving skills and what you believe as my mistakes in recovering from “sticky situations”, I’m going to leave that alone. You were not in my car to know what my reactions or the cars reactions were. And quite frankly, I don’t care what you think.

As far as I’m concerned this issue is over.

Chris Wikle
 
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