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BobsAuto
08-15-2006, 05:43 PM
OK, so I'm jumping the gun. But I figured that we could get a low down on the favorites for the weekend and have the thread started for the updates. So, my bets are on Raymond for ITB. Who's got ITA, S, and C? Let's get the betting rolling folks. :happy204:

Andy Bettencourt
08-15-2006, 06:32 PM
Kip VanSteenburg in ITS

Greg Amy in ITA



(Of course these are like saying Tiger Woods will win the next PGA event...)

:)



Raymond Red in ITB

Parham in ITC

Sanborn in ITE

benspeed
08-16-2006, 08:47 AM
I want to see if Camandella can give VanSteenberg a run in S - both have equally prepared cars and both are patient and fast.

King and Harding will be the other fast Mazdas in S, duking it out with the notorious AutoTechnic dudes. Brown has also been fast in his choked down E36. Can't wait to watch. Maynard needs to catch a brake - quit messing with that car and run your best known setup!

In A I think Andy is selling himself short or getting sissy on us - he should be able to torment Greg a fair bit for the win and I think Ray and Rick will have a chance to finish on the podium too.

B stands for Blethen. I'm cheering for the one with the fewer wins - sorta like Rolf Schumacker - what color Audi is that?

C - Parham.

Can I run my 500 hp stock car in ITE? If so - ME! (I'll be in SPO - the NASCAR class)

My best pick for the spoiler - Eric King in S - he's due and has his car ready!

:cavallo:

RSTPerformance
08-16-2006, 10:18 AM
ITA: My money is on Greg Amy, But Andy got that Miata to cary some speed around Lime Rock... :birra:

ITB: I would love to have another under my belt, but I would put my money on Michael Reece, he is due at Lime Rock. :wacko:

ITC: Eric Parham has dominated every race, wy would we suspect anyone else B)

ITS: Kip Vansteenburg, I love that car!!! :035:



Raymond "My votes are in" Blethen

PS: Stephen isn't running this weekend as we have no junk yard motors left :bash_1_:

JLawton
08-16-2006, 11:39 AM
My votes are:

ITS - Any of the Porsche's!! Sentimental favorite.......... It's nice to see them make a come back in NE
ITA -Richie Hunter - He OWNS lime Rock!! :P
ITB - I saw Paul Curran yesterday at the test day. He had the new red car running STRONG!! I think Tim Mullen is due also!!

Ben,
I think you need to get a job with Speed. Nicely done!!

Mark Gregory
08-16-2006, 01:28 PM
I have my car back together after the wreck at NHIS. It took about 50 hours or work. A new front subframe, complete right front suspension, front nose, bumper, fenders and spoiler. The steering rack was broke of the sub frame! I aligned the car last night and all looks good. I need a little bit of good luck, if the stars align I think we can have a good result at Lime Rock. The Flatout guys did a great job tuning the engine and the car is fast! The last two limerock races were bad for me, a flat tire on the first lap of the first race then a faulty t.p.s. sensor in the second race made the car difficult to drive. I need just a little luck and will give Vansteenberg a run for his money. The championship is not over yet! Now thats big talk from a little guy!

RSTPerformance
08-16-2006, 01:41 PM
My votes are:

ITS - Any of the Porsche's!! Sentimental favorite.......... It's nice to see them make a come back in NE
ITA -Richie Hunter - He OWNS lime Rock!! :P
ITB - I saw Paul Curran yesterday at the test day. He had the new red car running STRONG!! I think Tim Mullen is due also!!

Ben,
I think you need to get a job with Speed. Nicely done!!
[/b]


It would be nice if Paul got the red car running better... I have had a ton of great battles with him!!! I do miss the Blue car though :(

Last night we finished up my car, aligning it tonight and loading it up. We are very excited to see how the new Bilstien struts stack up to the Koni's we have run for years. Should be either super fast, or super slow...

Mark- I am praying for sun (for the first time ever) so that you and the rest of the ITS cars can get out infront and away from all of us!!! Good luck, you are due for a victory!!!

Raymond

benspeed
08-16-2006, 02:51 PM
Whoa! If THE Mark Greggory is back on track I say he's a major threat for podium. He is always up front at LRP and must be royally pissed about his season (shit, so am I) and he's gotta be looking for track position with a vengeance.

Jeff - is that Saturn all together??? You battling for the top 5?

jcmotorsports
08-16-2006, 03:47 PM
Well I was all set to make a top secret appearance with the red and white rocket, but I oficially sold the car!!!!!!!!! :035: So watch out next year for the new hotshoe who bought it! ( he will run in the northeast.)

dominojd
08-16-2006, 03:55 PM
Well I was all set to make a top secret appearance with the red and white rocket, but I oficially sold the car!!!!!!!!! :035: So watch out next year for the new hotshoe who bought it! ( he will run in the northeast.)
[/b]

Just tell him to leave the steering wheel attached. :D

jcmotorsports
08-16-2006, 04:02 PM
Steering wheel and front end!!!!!!!!!! :D

gran racing
08-16-2006, 05:56 PM
Hmmm. Jeff Lawton. I'm wondering when he'll bust out of his shell and start going for some wins (or podiums). The talent is there, but is he ready mentally to accept that he could win it? :unsure:

ITB will be interesting and depends on who shows. One of the favorites won't be there (I'll say it's Steven :) ). I'm not sure if Rick is registered for the ITB race, but won't be surprised if he's the man. But then again there's Ray (if you'd use the dolly, you'd be a shoe-in), and the legendary McMahon. Oh, that big ole Yellow Volvo. And has Paul been watching his son's videos of LRP? Sounds like ITB is the "A" race to watch!

Mark, since when are you a little guy? I always expect you to be in the top 5.

Dave, who is sick of watching and is getting really, really hungry! I also found my new baby down in Baltimore MD. And did someone say Kessler Eng. will be taking a look at my engine for next year?

tcpip
08-16-2006, 07:30 PM
Dave, who is sick of watching and is getting really, really hungry!
[/b]

Dave, don't get any ideas about driving my GTI. :018: I'd like to track it at least once before it ends up in the guardrails. :lol:

Can't wait to watch the race this weekend.

lateapex911
08-16-2006, 10:44 PM
Dave, don't get any ideas about driving my GTI. :018: I'd like to track it at least once before it ends up in the guardrails. :lol:


[/b]


Ouch!!!!!!!!

Be careful! That kind of talk can come back and bite you, LOL....

So you have a car Jon? Congrats!!!

Daves getting Kessler power?? Hmmm...seems to be working for Amy.... (hmmm...thinks hard about Kesslers Porsche experience..hmmm..;) )

RSTPerformance
08-17-2006, 02:02 AM
Still looking for 2 crew spots... let me know if you have any!!!

Raymond

JLawton
08-17-2006, 05:48 AM
Dave, don't get any ideas about driving my GTI. :018: I'd like to track it at least once before it ends up in the guardrails. :lol:

Can't wait to watch the race this weekend.
[/b]

Hey Jon, you got yourself a track car!!! Way to go!! Did Dave's book inspire you?? :lol: Can't wait to see you on track. What's the plan??


My guess is there will be some switching of run groups??
http://www.nescca.com/registration/current...asp?ID=38604379 (http://www.nescca.com/registration/currentcount.asp?ID=38604379)

Group 2 has 40 cars!! Nothing I enjoy more than battling it out with a bunch of Prod cars. :wacko:

gran racing
08-17-2006, 07:11 AM
Hey Jon, you got yourself a track car!!![/b]

And it's at my house, with the SCCA log book. Jon, maybe Jeff should take you off his list and I'll add you to my crew list. Anyone know if they'll be doing the lunch time parade laps? I have someone I need to get out on the track once - and quickly. :P

Andy Bettencourt
08-17-2006, 09:40 AM
Good size fields:

ITS: 17

ITA: 21

ITB: 14

ITC: 4

ITE: 10

66 cars of 250...26% of the entires out of only 10% of the classes...



Problem run-groups over:

Group 2 40 cars - ITA, GTL, EP, FP, GP, HP, T3, SRX-7



Problem run-groups under:

Group 6 17 cars - FV, F500

Group 7 14 cars - SSM, ITC

Tkczecheredflag
08-17-2006, 11:26 AM
Good size fields:

ITS: 17

ITA: 21

ITB: 14

ITC: 4

ITE: 10

66 cars of 250...26% of the entires out of only 10% of the classes...



Problem run-groups over:

Group 2 40 cars - ITA, GTL, EP, FP, GP, HP, T3, SRX-7



Problem run-groups under:

Group 6 17 cars - FV, F500

Group 7 14 cars - SSM, ITC
[/b]
Sorry to say the Red ITA (and now white) Integra #11 will be a DNS for LRP and NHIS - RAL. Sorry to miss these - family calls.

dazzlesa
08-17-2006, 11:53 AM
my civic with its new faster paint job will not make the trip,but the teg will be there

RSTPerformance
08-17-2006, 03:15 PM
my civic with its new faster paint job will not make the trip,but the teg will be there
[/b]

Rick-

The civic is fast enough without the fast paint job.... dam it now this winter I might have to get a fast paint job also... its been about 3 years and it needs it!!! lol

Raymond

dazzlesa
08-17-2006, 08:06 PM
:D

BobsAuto
08-17-2006, 11:36 PM
Ok, Raymond promised to call me with updates to post as soon as possible tomorrow and Sat. I'm still bumming bad that I can't go, but will be there in my heart.....(boy, I needed to get away for a couple of days), So, I'll post what I can as fast as I can.
And Raymond, I still plan on finding a place to do your car.....can we start right after the ARRC?

BobsAuto
08-18-2006, 07:00 PM
:024: :024: :eclipsee_steering:

Ok, So, here is my latest update. Raymond called me as soon as he got the official grid for ITS/ITB.
Pole for the race is Rick Henderson in ITS. The first 5 or 6 ITS cars are within .5 sec. of each other. Then comes the ITB runners....
1st- Eric Pederson with 105.57
2nd- Tim Mullen with 105.64
3rd- Mike Reece with 105.66
4th- Raymond Blethen with 105.68
5th- Eric Pederson with 105.70

The start to this race ought to be INCREDIBLE!!!! I guess this morning's session was also a qualifying and this afternoon's session was a qualifying. Raymond's 4th place time was from this AM and had him in 3rd at that point. He could not seem to push the car to go any faster, but remember, he had the new Bilstein shock setup and was trying to figure that out as well. So, NOT TOO SHABBY!!!! :cavallo:

With the times of the first 11 or so cars being SO close, I am sure the start of that race will be the race start of all time.....Raymond mentioned he wished Stephen was running cause he is the better starter of the two and he could just tuck in behind him and they could part the sea of cars....(so to speak, I am definately paraphrasing in my own words)(editorial justice, here, or is it just parental prejudice) :rolleyes:

From the sounds of it, the gang was getting ready to :birra: :birra: :035: :035: and set up the movie theater at RST Cinema (aka the rolling garage and hotel).

I will get a call as soon as they can get me the finals after the race. Stay tuned....
\
The RST Mom who's holding her breath tomorrow....

Andy Bettencourt
08-18-2006, 09:02 PM
ITS:
Henderson
Camadella
Driscoll
King
Harding

ITA:
Bettencourt
Benazic
Chee
Case
Lawton
Amy

ITB:
Curran
Mullen
Reese
Blethen
Pederson

ITC:
Parham
Horton
Haynes
Perotti

Tkczecheredflag
08-19-2006, 06:19 AM
ITS:
Henderson
Camadella
Driscoll
King
Harding

ITA:
Bettencourt
Benazic
Chee
Case
Lawton
Amy

ITB:
Curran
Mullen
Reese
Blethen
Pederson

ITC:
Parham
Horton
Haynes
Perotti
[/b]
Nice job to all the pole sitters. Andy - you go boy - WOW!!!!. Keep us posted - I 'm watching from the peanut gallery. Looks like Greg is sandbagging??? - Maybe Greg wants to post more exciting first lap video. I'm excited to see this weeks results in IT. Wishing I was there.

Greg Amy
08-19-2006, 02:51 PM
ITA final results

1 - Andy Bettencourt, 1:02.195, 13.9s margin of victory!
2 - Rick Benazic, 1:02.798
3 - Mr LRP, Ray Lee Chee, 1:02.908 (first race back since the ARRC!)
4 - Doug Case, 1:03.234
5 - Jeff Lawton, 1:03.750
6 - Greg Amy, 1:03.280
7 - Joe DiMinno, 1:03.666
8 - Ed Rodier, 1:03.992
9 - Louis Schlemmer, 1:03.969
10 - Roger Daskam, 1:04.463

Andy Bettencourt was not going to be denied today. He was hooked up and rarin' to go. His best race lap was listed in the final results as a new LRP race lap record.

On the start I got bottled up behind Doug Case; I gave him the gift of love and an additional 25hp at the start (for which I got my hand slapped by the stewards...) Joe Diminno came rocketing up between Doug and Jeff Lawton and almost got the position; I slotted in behind the three of them. Within the group, Jeff led those first 7 laps or so, doing a FANTASTIC job keeping Doug behind him, with a drooling Crazy Joe waiting for an opening. I stayed behind the three of them keeping them close at hand, knowing full well there was NO damn way I was getting by. Doug made a VERY good pass on Jeff going into Big Bend, but Jeff continued to hound and Doug didn't go softly into that good night...

For my part, it just wasn't my day; as "in the zone" as I was at the Glen, I was completely the opposite at LRP. We were fighting handling and brake system problems both days, and I was just way off my game. As the race progressed I was able to reel in the Tres Amigos (it wasn't easy) but each time I got close to Joe I blew the braking into Big Bend; twice I ended up almost taking the escape road as the tires locked up. Third time's not quite the charm as I made a run down the hill, got inside Joe, and blew the braking big time, all four wheels sliding way past him and into the grass (and ripping off my nice nifty new airdam...) By that time The Boys were well on their way and I settled into protecting 7th for the last two or so laps. However, second to last lap Joe got pinched off the road by slow traffic and lost momentum, so I was able to grab 6th on the final lap and finished with Joe something like .015 second back.

Super kudos go to, of course, Andy Bettencourt. He drove a superb race and deserved many pats on the back. I can't describe to you what a great job Rick and Ray did, as I never saw 'em after the start! Secondary, but certainly not lesser, kudos go to Jeff Lawton; that boy drove the race of his "career" and showed that the Saturn SC2 is a force to be reckoned with. Joe should be given hearty congrats for getting that pig of a car into the one-oh-threes! I watched Doug, Jeff, and Joe battle that entire race, and I'm looking forward to having some very good in-car videos for folks to see (cutting out, of course, all my stupid mistakes.)

The only really bad thing to happen is that Chip VanSlyke ended up against the pit berm wall after the Downhill. Damage looks terminal, the car is pretty beaten up. I've got no details as to what happened, but I am glad to hear second-hand that he is OK.

Beautiful day, GREAT race, another weekend to remember.

Greg

lateapex911
08-19-2006, 05:29 PM
Andy checked out....he did a great job every lap. Bob Dowie, who was running the GTL car, was right behind him and said he made a very aggressive up the middle pass on lapped traffic, with a healthy lead, on the penultimate lap...he left little on the table. A solid win for the new Miata.

Chips car looks pretty toasted, lots of bends at all the wrong places, like the roof above the B pillar. Fixable? Probably. Worth it? Probably time to swap the components into a new shell. Richie is famous for that. Speaking of Richie, he was a no show. Something about misunderstanding the start time. Thought group 2 went off a little after 1PM... (maybe Pacific time they did.)

The upside to Chips incident was that he was reported to set a record for getting out of a car. So we understand he's OK. Bummer to see a car wrecked like that, glad he's OK though!

ITS and ITB was a strange affair. Kip Van Steenberg pulled off on lap one, the apparent victim of a mysterious electrical short. Too bad, it would have been fun to watch the Miata go. Something happened on lap three that involved 3 cars. Ray Blethen, who had a "Parting of the seas start" was leading B, but then rejoined mid pack, and seemed troubled from there on. Micheal Reese took the point until the inevitable. He blew up in a most F1 manner, smoking everyone and oiling the track through Big Bend, which caought the leaders by surprise, resulting in Chris Camedella spinning and losing his handle on the leading Autotechnic cars, which he never regained.

Long day, but ended early, with 9 groups, including Historic. And no rain.

BobsAuto
08-19-2006, 06:16 PM
Actually, Raymond had a huge lead in ITB when he checked up for a slower ITS car in the downhill and crashed fairly heavily. :( :mad1: He was able to rejoin the group, however, the engine was turned sideways enough from the hit that he lost the linkage to the tranny and couldn't shift. His end result was 12th.

ITB results.....Paul Curran first, Richard Gleason, 2nd, Matt Wentworth, 3rd, Eric Pederson, 4th, and Dave Zaslow rounding out the top five.

Raymond will post the gorry details as soon as he can.

Greg Amy
08-19-2006, 09:13 PM
Hello, hello...is this mic on...?

No one's got any "attaboys" for Bettencourt kicking everyone's butt? He's worked his ASS off to get there!! C'mon, kids, at least give him a virtual pat on the back!

Holy Batman!

dominojd
08-19-2006, 09:29 PM
. Joe should be given hearty congrats for getting that pig of a car into the one-oh-threes!
[/b]

Thanks for the kind words :D

All I have to say about the race was holy crap that is the hardest I ever worked for a 7th place finish.

lateapex911
08-19-2006, 09:30 PM
Andy checked out....he did a great job every lap.
Long day, but ended early, with 9 groups, including Historic. And no rain.
[/b]

Hmmm. I thought I did....and I certainly did for real there. Congrats Andy, you looked consistant and fast. Maybe Anthony will buy back his old car and come hunting for a new record!

dominojd
08-19-2006, 09:33 PM
Hello, hello...is this mic on...?

No one's got any "attaboys" for Bettencourt kicking everyone's butt? He's worked his ASS off to get there!! C'mon, kids, at least give him a virtual pat on the back!

Holy Batman!
[/b]

Come on now Andy's head is big enough :D

But I must add Andy kicked some serious ass with the mosquito. Congrats there Mr. Bettencourt :birra:

Oh virtual PAT PAT.

R RACER
08-19-2006, 09:43 PM
Hmmm. I thought I did....and I certainly did for real there. Congrats Andy, you looked consistant and fast. Maybe Anthony will buy back his old car and come hunting for a new record!
[/b]

Jake , Andy said I could drive his car at NARRC runoff's, he looked good, but I still have the record @ 1:01.6,
so keep hunting Andy, a 2.1 is real good time for that low horsepower blue bug! It was nice to se alot of you guys this weekend. I guess I have to dust off Lorenzo's car and come out and play soon.

lateapex911
08-19-2006, 10:44 PM
Jake , Andy said I could drive his car at NARRC runoff's, he looked good, but I still have the record @ 1:01.6,
so keep hunting Andy, a 2.1 is real good time for that low horsepower blue bug! It was nice to se alot of you guys this weekend. I guess I have to dust off Lorenzo's car and come out and play soon.
[/b]

Good to see you're paying attention, LOL...I thought you set the record at the NARRC runoffs, but they think it's now Andy's....

Andy Bettencourt
08-20-2006, 07:59 AM
It was indeed a good weekend for the Flatout Motorsports ITA Miata. As suspected, Lime Rock will be a very strong track for the car.

I want to thank Bob Dowie for running very quickly without getting involved in a very hard-fought EP battle in front of me and giving me plenty of room to keep my momentum up. He could have easily fought through those guys and been a factor in the outcome - classy.

Congrats go out to Joe, Doug and Jeff for setting personal bests this weekend - steps in the right direction for a killer ITA race at the Runoffs.

As for the track record - I think it's a mistake. Even Greg's website makes mention of the 1:01.6 from the 2004 NARRC Runoffs. Besides - it ain't about track records anyway...checkered flags are cool!

Greg Amy
08-20-2006, 08:35 AM
Even Greg's website makes mention of the 1:01.6 from the 2004 NARRC Runoffs.[/b]

Ah, thanks for the reminder. I downloaded and kept the HTM file from NYR's web site, which allowed me to use the old "Internet Wayback Machine" (a very cool site) to find this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20050206022704/...rrc_results.htm (http://web.archive.org/web/20050206022704/www.nyr-scca.com/narrc_results.htm)

It shows a "1:02.0" as Anthony's best time, but note that ALL times are round to the nearest whole second. I do recall Anthony running a 1:01.6 and this would jive with these results. And, as Andy pointed out, I did author that back then so I'm sure it's accurate.

Doesn't matter. He kicked.

Funny thing, a couple of guys and I were musing how 1:03s would have put you on the pointy end of the field not too long ago. Look at those results above: just two years ago that kind of time was easily podium potential. Hell, 1 low 1:03 was good enough for me to get top-10 in ITS! Yesterday, however, our little group was doing lowish 1:03s and we were fighting for fourth - at best.

What's it gonna be in two more...? - GA

BobsAuto
08-20-2006, 09:16 AM
Andy, :OLA: :OLA: :smilie_pokal: ......what more can I say????

I'm still really bumming about Raymond's news and wondering if I have to start working on spare body panels that were reserved for the winter makeover this week or not. He sounded in good spirits and said Paul Curran is now his threat for the championship and is not going to Cheap Date, so hopefully Raymond can have a good weekend then and create a huge buffer before the runoffs. I'd really like to see him get the NARRC this year as he hasn't achieved that goal and his gram so dearly wanted him to have it. (Oh, there I go getting all sentimental....Mom's perogative...) .....
Well, stay tuned and when he's back online today or tomorrow, he'll certainly give you the gorry details.

By the way, I liked the metaphor of his having a Parting of the Seas start. I guess that surprised the hell out of him.

Tkczecheredflag
08-20-2006, 09:25 AM
ITA final results

1 - Andy Bettencourt, 1:02.195, 13.9s margin of victory!
2 - Rick Benazic, 1:02.798
3 - Mr LRP, Ray Lee Chee, 1:02.908 (first race back since the ARRC!)
4 - Doug Case, 1:03.234
5 - Jeff Lawton, 1:03.750
6 - Greg Amy, 1:03.280
7 - Joe DiMinno, 1:03.666
8 - Ed Rodier, 1:03.992
9 - Louis Schlemmer, 1:03.969
10 - Roger Daskam, 1:04.463

Greg
[/b]
Andy - CONGRATS!!!!!! :happy204: :happy204: . Nice to see you drape another Checkered Flag on the Zoom Zoom - you go man you deserve it! Great to see the times were tight and the racing was spectacular. Sorry I missed all the fun. Tough choice though - "all access" back stage with Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at SPAC (absolutely incredible 3 plus hour show) or the LRP show - I had to pack up the family and relive a little Woodstockand more.

Sorry to hear about Chip. Ray Lee - the new home agrees with you. Great job to the rest of the "A" boys.

I think Cheap Date is my next stop. Andy - You the MAN!!!!

BobsAuto
08-20-2006, 11:57 AM
BTW, are there any pics from yesteray that will be posted? Hoping to see some as well as in-car video. Raymond, got any video to share? Would love to see your start.

JLawton
08-20-2006, 12:28 PM
Yup, Andy was the man in ITA yesterday, no doubt!! Nice job!!
I hope nobody believes Andy's crying about LRP being the only track he can do well at. He has that carr hooked up and between his momentum from yesterday and Greg wanting to redeem himself, the next Sept race at NHIS should be GREAT!! I just hope I get to see some of it before they pull off into the sunset!!

I also want to thank Matt Kessler. Without his help it would have taken me a whole season to get where I am. 1:02's here I come!! :cavallo: :lol:

A month ago I didn't think the Saturn was capable of 1:02s. But now, hmmmmmmmmmm..................


Oh, and I want to thank Joe for not hitting me!! Although it was very close...................

zracre
08-20-2006, 12:56 PM
and andy doesn't think the car is ready for the ARRC....c'mon bring it down! Congrats on the win it seemed like it was hard fought! :birra:

Andy Bettencourt
08-20-2006, 01:20 PM
The car may be close but the driver has no plans to go this year. Still trying to convince Nick to take it down there.

Greg Amy
08-20-2006, 07:53 PM
On an unrelated tangent:

Someone (other than Greg Meindl) had mentioned to me this weekend that they knew of a Nissan NX2000 sitting around, probably for sale. I cannot for the life of me remember who that was! Whoever you are, would you please contact me offline (grega -at- pobox -dot- com)?

Thanks!

dominojd
08-20-2006, 08:16 PM
Oh, and I want to thank Joe for not hitting me!! Although it was very close...................
[/b]

You are welcome Mr.Lawton but, like you said to Doug if the postion was for a 3 dollar plastic trophy it would have been a different story. :P

philstireservice
08-20-2006, 08:34 PM
Hey all you ITA guys great racing...............I heard it first hand from Joe D today at Pocono. It's much better when he tells it with all his animation...thanks Joe....... :happy204:



Now for my two endurance teammates ....way to go Greg and Jeff.!!!.........now Kirk and I have two big heads to deal with come the 13hr at VIR...............sheesh !!!!

Andy Bettencourt
08-20-2006, 09:42 PM
Couple other items of interest to me:

I hope the 240SX of Max Lingenheld is not broken too badly. He got 7 laps in before a mechanical forced him to park it on the inside of Big Bend...still my favorite car Max!!!

Also, nice to see a couple new ITA Neons. Both showed very promising straight away speed - hope the development continues strong!

RSTPerformance
08-20-2006, 11:48 PM
wow, wow mom, relax!!! I will post, trust me!!! Also give out better information.. IE: pay a bit more attention when I talk!!! Yo made it sound like I had problems with the ITS cars, that was not the case for once!!!

Paul Curran qualified first in ITB, not Eric in 1st and 5th... lol had to. :dead_horse:

Huge cudo's go to Paul Curran for running a great weekend all together. I was very glad to see that new Volvo running strong!!!

As for my race, I did great finding the holes in turn 1 and through the S's. I would not say my start was strong but my first lap sure was!!! On the first lap I didn't pass any cars until we hit the braking zone for big bend, but thats when I passed about 5 or 6 cars!!! I ran quick for the first couple laps, was out in front with some VERY fast ITS cars, both great drivers. My car was handling great with the new Bilstiens (more to come on that later tomorrow sometime). I had to check up a couple times for an ITS car, and I only mention this cause I thought it was awsome that I was even playing with these cars/drivers as they generally would kick my butt anyday. I bumped him once in west bend (sorry, I owe ya a :birra: ) cause I couldn't slow anymore than I had, but it didn't upset either car, and I don't think it left a mark on either one as well. Anyway... on the 3rd or 4rth lap with a decent lead over Paul and Mike (who knows if I could have maintained it) I was feeling very comfortable and the car was gripping well considering the slippery conditions. I was braking for the downhill settling the car and driving through it (the track was slippery due to some drizzles). It seemed to work well however after reviewing the tape you can see the brakes come on (I have a brake light on my dash for the camera, can't get away with anything!!!). The car was fine, however the moment I release the brakes is when the rear end snapped around going down the hill. the car was instantly facing backwards and I was off to the wall... I had NEVER experienced this and what a wierd feeling it was. It took forever to hit the wall and the entire time I was wondering.. Ok how do I brace myself for a rear end hit... head down head back... hummm... well we eventually hit rear corner first and the front then whipped around and smacked the left front sideways. The hit cosmetically only messed up the rear bumper and the left front fender, however it was hard enough that it sheered off every motor mount in the car and wedged itself (the motor) cockied within the unibody. As a result the linkage and clutch was all &^%'ed up. I couldn't get reverse but drove the car forwards against the wall and back out onto the track. The car at first shifted ok, but as things got jossled around I found only 3rd gear... at one point I had no gears and went to park it with Mike in big bend and hang out with him, then realized that wasn't the safest place!!! Luckaly found 3rd again and went on to finish the long race keeping it in 3rd gear!!!

Well thats my story, I went from hero to zero in about 1 second or maybe less... I wanted a win to secure the championship, but that didn't happen... Now the season comes closer to an end and we have a 3 way battle for the points championship;

Raymond Blethen 83 Points - 5 Races with points (All remaining races count towards the total 8)
Stephen Blethen 77 Points - 6 races with points (worst finish w/points 4th, 2 more races and a better finish count)
Tim Mullen 75 Points - 6 races with points (worst finish w/points 4th, 2 more races and a better finish count)
Paul Curran 60 Points - 6 races with points (2 of those being 9th place finishes @ 1 point each, 2 more races and a better finish count)

As my girlfriend says... oh well, things just got interesting!!! we shall see. I don't think that Tim or Paul can make all of cheepdate, so it might be an outright battle between my bro and I... I can certainly tell you nether one wants to loose to the other!!! stay tuned...

Raymond

oh and PS:

Great way to win by Eric Purham in ITC... we were cheering like crazy from the hill.
Andy... you kick @$$ THAT WAS AWSOME!!!
Jeff Lawton, way to go :happy204: I am very impressed!!!
Ray Lee Man great to see you guys back at the track wondering around....
and to all the ITB guys, what a blast with interesting twists and turns yet again!!! :035:

dominojd
08-21-2006, 05:34 AM
Hey all you ITA guys great racing...............I heard it first hand from Joe D today at Pocono. It's much better when he tells it with all his animation...thanks Joe....... :happy204:
[/b]

Me ? I would never talk like that (flailing arms and typing at the same time is diffcult. ) Couldn't be me. Sorry I can't help it the italian side takes over some times. :D

gran racing
08-21-2006, 06:41 AM
************NEW UPDATE***********

Rumor has it that Richie just made it to the track. :lol:



(As Richie said, he's never gonna hear the end of this one.)

RSTPerformance
08-21-2006, 07:44 AM
************NEW UPDATE***********

Rumor has it that Richie just made it to the track. :lol:
(As Richie said, he's never gonna hear the end of this one.)
[/b]


lol I think everyone knows about that!!! :happy204: :wacko:

ulfelder
08-21-2006, 07:59 AM
I had to check up a couple times for an ITS car, and I only mention this cause I thought it was awsome that I was even playing with these cars/drivers as they generally would kick my butt anyday. I bumped him once in west bend (sorry, I owe ya a :birra: ) cause I couldn't slow anymore than I had, but it didn't upset either car, and I don't think it left a mark on either one as well.

[/b]

No harm no foul - sorry I held you up, I was tentative in those first few damp laps. As you say, the bump didn't upset either car.

Steve

Chipper1
08-21-2006, 12:19 PM
The only really bad thing to happen is that Chip VanSlyke ended up against the pit berm wall after the Downhill. Damage looks terminal, the car is pretty beaten up. I've got no details as to what happened, but I am glad to hear second-hand that he is OK.
[/b]

I went off drivers left in the downhill and slid across track and hit the inside tire wall. Single car incident -driver error. Still not sure why.

I was uninjured. Not even neck or head pain (as in previous hits) for which I have to give credit to the HANS.

The car is heavily damaged. Probably not worth fixing. Damage to the frame in the front and left rear. LR shock tower is pushed in 1.25 inches. Oh well, it wasn't that good of a car to begin with.

Good race everyone else. Looks like there were no other serious incidents and it was a clean race.

Chip VanSlyke

'93 ITA Integra #94

benspeed
08-21-2006, 01:02 PM
Highlights from LRP - being able to watch the ITS and downer, not being in the ITS race! Big bore was an awesome race and the stocker is starting to feel natural, but all the lines are a little different in that monster.

Other blood pressure moments - coming out of the trailer after a deep sleep and thinking my atv was stolen until crazy joe drove up with a wild look in his eye - as my son said, "he got you good, dad." B)

Robbed - Tim Mullen was robbed by the oil laid down in big bend. He must have spun big at least twice costing him a great finish.

Robbed - Eric King who spun in diff or trans fluid that got laid down by Jeff Hardings Mazda - huge props to Eric for not hitting the wall and running from 9th back the 4th. Jeff was also robbed of a nice finish by the driveline failure - had to park it, bummer.

Props - great race to watch was Jeff Lawton really kicking some ass out there in ITA with Crazy Joe looking for a bumper to tap loose. Watching Greg I thought he was sandbagging but after talking to him I learned it just wasn't a day where all the dots connected.

Props to Mark Greggory - a true gentleman who checked up for Mr. Ulfelder. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until he relayed that he thought he had passed under yellow and conceded the spot back.

BIG Props to the Autotechnic guys for getting those E46 cars running so well. 1st and 2nd - way to go! Well deserved after all that hard work and significant development dollars. Those things still handle at 3000 lbs and it was cool to watch them scream into big bend, tires smoking and realing in cars fast coming into the short chute before the left hander. Camandella drove a great race for third - this is a guy to watch - smooth and patient - faster than he looks cause the car is just flat on the track.

Biggest Props - Bettencourt - can you believe the margin of victory??? Made all who know him proud. A great competitor and advocate for the sport. He's been looking for that checker and I believe that was the first win in ITA??? 1:02 - damn. You are EMBARASSING the ITS guys!!!!

Great weekend. I blew my clutch - nary a smell before it failed. But my wife and kids came out for the whole weekend and now understands more why we love this sport so much. Other than the clutch, blowing sound at a 107, getting harassed by the officials for sound, the BigSpeed NASCAR machine ran great and I now feel ready to earn back my moniker BANZAI BEN.

dominojd
08-21-2006, 05:41 PM
Here's a first lap teaser from the ITA start

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...eoid=1074042168 (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1074042168)

Greg Amy
08-21-2006, 06:48 PM
Here's a first lap teaser from the ITA start[/b]

Maybe I'm being dense, but I can't get any of your videos to play. All I get are photo snapshots...

BobsAuto
08-21-2006, 07:11 PM
Ok, Ok, I "Tried" to understand all. You were talking so fast, yet so soft at times.....so, I'm old, and my hearing leaves a lot to be desired. At least I got most of it right. And sorry about the typo. I was so intent on spelling Eric's name right, I typed it twice when I did the edit. (shame on me!)
Wow, sounds like it felt like slow motion there for a minute. Anyone behind you muxt have done some great driving to miss, yes?

dazzlesa
08-21-2006, 07:27 PM
i was away but congrats to andy.he was on it. at the start of the race i slotted in behind him. coming to the down hill a had a run. a defensive move by andy did not deter me from going inside into bigbend.a couple of wiggles and some blue paint and i have the lead.i lead for a short bit, but that is the end of the fun. i never cranked up the run like a maniac knob enough to keep the pace.i think the almost wrecking the car at the glen that cooled me off a bit. the car was awesome but the driver was so so. the miata is fast at lrp. i am glad to see that chip is allright. during the race it was up against the tire wall mangled and i am thinking i do not want to repeat. just wondering, are we losing too many A cars to wrecks this year? rick

Andy Bettencourt
08-21-2006, 08:36 PM
Results:

http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=158886

dominojd
08-22-2006, 03:08 AM
Maybe I'm being dense, but I can't get any of your videos to play. All I get are photo snapshots...
[/b]

That's weird. I have to burn the video to disk I'll give you a copy.

That's Ok I can't open the zip file you sent me either. :)

Tkczecheredflag
08-22-2006, 06:13 AM
Biggest Props - Bettencourt - can you believe the margin of victory??? Made all who know him proud. A great competitor and advocate for the sport. He's been looking for that checker and I believe that was the first win in ITA??? 1:02 - damn. You are EMBARASSING the ITS guys!!!!
[/b]
Andy did drape a checkered flag on the hood of his Miata at NHIS - Pig Roast on Sunday, after recovering from a blown headgasket repair from saturday qualifyng - making this his second victory of '06. Just another Bettencourt cheerleader keeping the record straight. Congrats again Andy!

Andy Bettencourt
08-22-2006, 06:46 AM
Thanks Tim! As we know, Greg wasn't at that NHIS weekend so we all need to bring out the guns for Cheap date. I am hoping that we can get a nice race going there is the BB Boys get their 240SX's up and running well, you show, Richie, Jeff, etc...all trying to kill the Giant!
(Edit to add Lawton!!!!)

Mark Gregory
08-22-2006, 11:36 AM
The ITS race this weekend for me was one of the best races this year. Both the BMW drivers were great at finding the grip in the first few laps when the track was very slippery and unpredictable. I dont know how you did it but great job! The star of the race for me was Eric King. He did a wounderfull job, first of all saving the car after the spin on the down hill, then gaining back all that lost time to catch Steve and I . The race that then followed between the three of us was intence but ultimatley Eric wone out with some brave driving and a good read on the slower traffic giving him a cushion of a lead over me at the end. It was great racing with two drivers who have the experience to race hard and be safe also. Can't wait to do it again at NHIS.

lateapex911
08-22-2006, 11:40 AM
Played fine for me...(Mozilla Firefox)...looked like a start I'd live with!!!!!!!!

dominojd
08-22-2006, 12:16 PM
(Edit to add Lawton!!!!)
[/b]

That's AWSOMWE LAWTON to you kind sir. :D

67ITB
08-23-2006, 01:04 PM
OK OK…. that’s enough of the Bettencourt bandwagon!!!!!!! If I recall correctly he WON the first ITS race that he ever entered!!!! :happy204: So I guess we should really be asking him what the hell took so long with this car. :023: :D

See you this weekend

Matt Bal

ulfelder
08-24-2006, 06:37 AM
The star of the race for me was Eric King. He did a wounderfull job, first of all saving the car after the spin on the down hill, then gaining back all that lost time to catch Steve and I . The race that then followed between the three of us was intence but ultimatley Eric wone out with some brave driving and a good read on the slower traffic giving him a cushion of a lead over me at the end. It was great racing with two drivers who have the experience to race hard and be safe also. Can't wait to do it again at NHIS.
[/b]

Eric drove a fine race indeed (Derek Daly voice: "Ooh, King makes a very brave move in West Bend!" :D ), and I'm looking forward to Cheap Date at NHIS ...

... especially as I am counting down the remainder of the season because I'm selling the green 05. Look for an ad in Classifieds soon.

I will be driving in ... in ... Spec Miata next year. <Duck flying tomatoes.> But wait, it&#39;s not as evil as it seems. My plan is to do SM for a season while ITR shakes out, then build a killer ITR ride for 2008.

As I say, the ad will be out soon listing all the goodies on the 05. In the meantime, if you know anybody looking for a seriously fast ITS Mazda, send &#39;em my way!

Steve U
[email protected]

JLawton
08-24-2006, 09:21 AM
I will be driving in ... in ... Spec Miata next year. <Duck flying tomatoes.> [email protected]
[/b]

Nooooooooooooooooooooo. He&#39;s gone to the dark side!!!

As long as you&#39;re not taking the Miata to ITA. We already have one PIA Miata!!

Andy Bettencourt
08-24-2006, 09:28 AM
I vote we convert all of our rental SM&#39;s to ITA. REAL ITA.

:023:

There should be 20 Miata&#39;s for every Saturn and NX2000.

:D

AB

Greg Amy
08-24-2006, 10:01 AM
You&#39;d need &#39;em, in order to rack up enough total wins to look good...even rabbits end up generating enough success for survival of the species despite being constantly eaten by coyotes...

"Flatout Motorsports wins races in &#39;07!"

;)

dazzlesa
08-24-2006, 11:34 AM
looking at andy&#39;s times, i think he could have won the ITS race. i lost count of how many 102&#39;s he ran.

Andy Bettencourt
08-24-2006, 02:12 PM
looking at andy&#39;s times, i think he could have won the ITS race. i lost count of how many 102&#39;s he ran. [/b]

12 :D

And Greg is right...I will just sit back and chase... :cavallo: