The NARRC Runoffs

[BobsAuto]

<span style="font-family:Comic Sans Ms--sizeo4--span stylefont-size14ptline-height100--sizeo--">Since I&#39;ll be at LRP and don&#39;t have access to a computer, I thought I&#39;d get the thread going for anyone who will be able to post. For those of you who are going and registering Friday AM and Saturday AM, I&#39;ll be working my 2nd ever registration. I hope to get to meet many of you that I don&#39;t have faces to go with the names. Also, I&#39;d like to spread the cheer of the season. It is my understanding that registration will be decorated for Halloween. I&#39;m bringing something down to decorate at Raymond and Stephen&#39;s rig. It would be fun to see others have the same holiday spirit. Maybe we could have an impromptu decorating spree among the IT group to entertain the spectators even more. See you all there. </span> :happy204: :happy204: :happy204:

[JLawton]

ITA grid:

Bettencourt by about 1/2 second
Chandler
DiMinno
Milton
Lawton
Benazic
Hunter
Lingenheld
Latulippe
Klavana
Iannaccone
Bogart
Vigliotta
Breault
Sjolund
Daskam
Fisher
Moncrief
Rodier
Huthinson

Rain the first session, down pours the second session. Nice river running across the track in the braking zone to the Up Hill. Saw a lot of guys using the "Klvana" line in the Up Hill.

Should be an interesting race!!

[dazzlesa]

ITA race
Andy 101.4 :wacko:
Rick 22 seconds back
Rich ( i believe Dq&#39;d for weight) 34 seconds back
joe
Jeff

[16v]

this guy was pretty stoked

http://www.the16v.com/SCCA/06/narrc/images/DSC_4821.jpg

[dickita15]

ITA race
Andy 101.4 :wacko:
Rick 22 seconds back
Rich ( i believe Dq&#39;d for weight) 34 seconds back
joe
Jeff
[/b]

And Andy lapped every other ITA car.

[Greg Amy]

Both Andy and Richie were not going to be denied. Their performances were quite impressive.

Rick gave Andy fits for the first few laps of the ITA race, and they swapped first place at least twice. However, &#39;bout 3-4 laps in, once Andy got those Goodyears hotted up he just checked out. I got chills watching him come down off the hill onto the front straight; if I&#39;d tried that "shizzle" in my egg I&#39;d be looking at the world upside down...IMPRESSIVE. Andy, I want that .RUN file so I can see it&#39;s REALLY done!

Richie just flat checked out from the get-go of the ITB race. Got out front, stayed out front, and worked the lapped traffic well. We watched the Blethens give it a hell of a good run, but it wasn&#39;t enough. Then we noticed the right front wheel/strut of the blue car moving around in the wheel well. I&#39;m guessing control arm or ball joint failure? Scary thing is, he kept on going, and was even catching his brother! I cannot imagine how you drove that car... Inevitably, he failed to come around and I never heard the final reasons.

Unfortunetely, Tim started way back and got caught up in his own local battles, and was never a factor for the lead. So, since the ITB points was so close, and the Blethen Red finished first out of the three, does that mean that Red won the NARRC Championship?

Beautiful day, great racing. Perfect way to end the year. - GA

On edit: so after seeing Dave&#39;s report (nice run, Dave!) it appears BOTH Audis finished after Tim? That means that Tim won the NARRC?

[Jeremy Billiel]

Congrats to Andy and Richie who drove the wheels off of their cars. Crazy Joe had a hell of a start, but just couldn&#39;t make it stick in turn one. After Richie&#39;s DQ in ITA, Joe was third and Jeff also had a great run starting 5th, getting punted in the second lap, saving it, falling back to around 14th place and fighting his way back up for a 4th place finish. :D

Oh and lets not forget that Andy now owns the LRP ITA track record! :happy204: :smilie_pokal:

I am already looking forward to next year. Hopefully the ITS car counts will increase and not continue to decrease.

[Dave Zaslow]

Brief report.

Friday weather truly sucked. Rain, wind, deluge, gale, rain, cold. Hockey rink.
Saturday sunny and cool.
38 cars took the green; 15 ITS; 23 ITB (!) Crowded out there.

In ITB:

01 Rich Hunter in a VW A3 built by Tommy Kelley, 1.04.065 fast lap !!!!!
02 Dave Zaslow, VW A3, 1.05.240
03 Nat Wentworth, Volvo, 1.05.612
04 Greg Subtelny, Volvo, 1.05.537
05 Paul Curran, Volvo, 1.05.686 (Spun out of downhill when tire went down)
06 James Carlsson, Volvo, 1.06.739
07 Tim Mullen, VW A3, 1.06.411
08 Charles Gerundo, VW A2, 1.06.408
09 Erik Langelius, Honda Civic, 1.06.219
10 Kenneth Hubbard, BMW 2002, 1.07.192
11 Richard Gleason, VW A1, 1;06.291
12 Robert Albino, ????, 1.07.203
13 Phil Cardozo, Honda Civic, 1.06.485
14 Robert Daskam. Honda Prelude, 1.07.224
15 Marios Tinis, VW A2, 1.08.468
16 Raymond Blethen IV, Audi Coupe, 1.09.361 (engine issues)
17 Stephen Blethen, Audi Coupe, 1.05.874 (wheel left car)
18 John Rigby, BMW 2002, 1.08.574
19 Mark Wagner, MGB, 1.14.358
20 Richard Ford, Mercury Capri, 1.13.218
21 Canio Taraglia, BMW 318, 1.17.298
22 Rory Marks, Honda Civic, 1.07.467
23 Thor Schroeder, VW A2, 1.10.140 (blew up oiling the front straight&#39;s left side)


Dave Z
Delighted to have another plastic trophy!

[dominojd]

Crazy Joe had a hell of a start, but just couldn&#39;t make it stick in turn one. After Richie&#39;s DQ in ITA, Joe was third and Jeff also had a great run starting 5th, getting punted in the second lap, saving it, falling back to around 14th place and fighting his way back up for a 4th place finish. :D

Oh and lets not forget that Andy now owns the LRP ITA track record! :happy204: :smilie_pokal:

[/b]

Hey I couldn&#39;t make it easy for Him. :P My race was pretty boring Andy and Rick ran away, had a little fun trying to hold Richie of for a lap or 2 and then just put it in grandma mode watching the rear view making sure no one was catching up. Lawton would have been a threat if he hadn&#39;t been spun out on the first lap.

Congrats to Andy on the new track record I guess the Serra era is over. We still love ya Anthony come back and play. :D

It really sucked that Richie got DQ&#39;ed for weight, me and Lawton decided he must have Missed breakfast. I&#39;m sure he ate lunch before the ITB race. :D

Hey Dave Z nice run 2nd place kicks ass.

It was a great year of racing. It had it&#39;s ups and down like anything else but, such is life. Can&#39;t wait till next year it should be even more fun. Once they add like 200lbs to the Miata :happy204:

Everybody have a great winter see ya next spring unless your going to the ARRC see ya there.

[Greg Amy]

Stephen Blethen...(axle broke, wheel left car)[/b]

If that&#39;s the blue one, then it&#39;s the other way around: the axle broke BECAUSE the wheel left the car. I&#39;m telling you, guys, that right-front suspension was ALL OVER THE PLACE for about 2-3 laps before he didn&#39;t re-appear. As he was going through Big Bend and moving the throttle, that tire was bouncing between hitting the front *and* aft edge of the wheel opening. Matt and I could not believe that car was still driveable... - GA

[Andy Bettencourt]

Biggest thanks: To the workers...enduring the rain to race is one thing, enduring it so WE can race is another...thanks so much.

Biggest bummer: Couple big crashes, one in ITS (RX-7) and an incident that took out two ITC cars (Rabbit and Civic).

Biggest class act: Thor Schroeder, who actively sought out and apologized to anyone whose car was damaged as a result of the oil his car put on the track during G7.

Best class: ITB. ITA had more pre-registered but ITB had more starters...AWESOME!

Best luck: A beautiful fall day at LRP following one of the worst days ever at LRP.

[Ed Funk]

I was the Civic (10) part of the ITC incident at the uphill, John VanDenburgh was in the 05 Rabbit. Not too surprising but an SSM car was the cause (or maybe it was two SSM cars)!!

I had qualified well thanks to Hoosier rains, use of the Tim K line, and coaching from Stephanie, in my opinion the best rain driver in NER club racing (and I don&#39;t get anything speacial for saying that!!) I knew that the start had the potential to be a problem for me due to the inverted nature of the grid with a lowly itc car starting 4th, so I had made the decision to let the more aggresive SSM drivers through without a fight. By the end of the first lap I had lost at least 6 positions and had a rear window full of Brian M and John V, another reason for this bad news was my tires, 225/45 Hoosiers, they work really well in warm weather especially late in the race when the 185/60 option get too hot and go away. My tires didn&#39;t warm up enough to race on for about 3 laps, by that time Brian and John had both gotten by. I spent a couple laps catching up to those guys and getting back by them. Shortly after, Eric P came by ( he had started near the back due to not having rain tires). I decided to just try to hang on to him, try to fill his mirrors and take advantage of any problems he might have. As it turned out the problems settled on me! Eric caught SSM 76 in the short chute and got by in the left hander and proceeded to drive away. Shelby&#39;s car handle really well on the straights but is very slow in the corners. On the nest lap (and what was to be my last lap) I tried the same move on the SSM 76 in the left hander, but since I was in a different class, she felt the need to chop me to the point that I was over the apex curb of the left hander and then had to stand on the brakes to keep from hitting her before the right hander (after all, she&#39;s a "girl"). This slowed my momentum significantly, allowing SSM 01 and John V to close on me. Up No Name I felt that the Mazda couldn&#39;t make it work but thought that it looked like he was going to try anyway, so gave him my usual "car width plus an inch" at the apex. He locked up all 4, slid into my R rear wheel and spun me, he then proceeded to continue sliding into the wall, just kissing it with his left front. While I was a couple elbos behind in my driving John V hit my left rear fairly hard with his (I think) right front, tried to climb into the traditional Rabbit breeding Civic position but fell off ont

[Ed Funk]

Got cut off, apparently I type too slow. John fell off onto his roof and slid up the hill coming to a stop with his hatch resting on my left front fender where I had slid to a stop at the crest of the hill, on the line, nose into the wall. John V and I were treated to a visit to medical where the staff were very professional, but didn&#39;t seem too amused by my comment that my BP was lower than earlier in the week when it was taken right before the MD pulled on THE GLOVE!

Driver of SSM 76 didn&#39;t stop by the paddock, she has no clue to her part in the mess. Driver of SSM 01, did stop by to shake hands. I probably shouldn&#39;t have questioned his IQ, his parentage, his driving ability, and his judgement, but I did. This morning, I wish I hadn&#39;t said some of those things, but I still think he should think about another sport!

Then, I got to call Steph, she was at work and it is her car! She was great! I am unbelievably lucky to be married to her!!

I feel really bad for John V, this was his first race back after destroying his car at the NARRC Offs last year. His car , if not destroyed, is in need of major repair. I suggested a trip to Disney world next October, another bit of my humor that didn&#39;t go over too well! Sorry John!

That&#39;s my story, and I&#39;m sticking to it until I&#39;m proven wrong!!

[Eric Parham]

ITA (I watched from the Downhill): Andy and Rick had a good battle for a while, and then Andy simply put it away. Beautiful run.

ITB (I watched from No Name, and got to try out my new scanner): Richie had a great race, with Stephen trying to keep him in sight (until he literally lost his LF hub and wheel - both apparently brand new - is it true that Raymond torqed it??). Raymond was clearly having trouble, and smoking a bit too. Dave had a very consistent and strong run. Great to watch! Paul apparently had a new three-piece wheel break some sandwich bolts and let his RR tire go down. He had quite an exciting off in the downhill, but completed the race on the flat! Note that the Golf 3&#39;s did very well (fast AND reliable).

ITC (I watched from my driver&#39;s seat): I started near the back, but it was due to my own mistakes rather than from lack of rain tires. On Saturday morning, I gambled that we might get a dry lap or two. So, I went out on what I assumed were decent intermediate tires. Both the dry gamble and the intermediate assumption were wrong, so it was all I could do to keep it on the track until the buzzer. I wasn&#39;t messing around by the afternoon, and actually had my Dirt Stockers on track for the first time. I was taking the first few laps slow while I got used to the tires, when John V. decided he needed to pass me on the inside of the Left. Not wanting any contact, I left him plenty of room but found to my horror that the outside edge had some oil and soggy "speedy-dry" - not good! I went for a swim in the moat, and almost drove out the other side before getting hung up on some debris. The warm-up laps were still 0.5 seconds faster than my best morning lap, but here&#39;s thinking about what could have been... So much for that session, but I did get to watch everyone in my run group drive through the Left many times (including good ole 76 SSM).

The Miatas that we ITC drivers have to contend with are fast in the straights but slow in the corners. The front runners are fast in the straights and comparable in the corners, but we never see them unless they&#39;re lapping us. Recognizing this, an ITC driver must never hesitate to pass an SSM at the first opportunity that comes up after a main straight. I worked my way through the field and caught up to John and Ed, thanks in part to their intense battle. John opened the door by trying Ed on the inside of the Uphill and then having to fall back in place at reduced speed. I had guessed it and never lifted. He was mine before West Bend. I got by Ed shortly after that, although I can&#39;t remember exactly where at the moment. He was filling my mirrors pretty well and it looked like 76 SSM was going to keep me from making a run for it. So, I took her into the Left without a second thought. I put the pedal down out of the Esses and didn&#39;t lift until ... Well, that SSM really wanted her position back and made up some major time down the front straight. I put off my braking until she couldn&#39;t cut in (past the "1"), and then I almost fell off the outside trying to get around Big Bend. I guess it must have been a fast-enough line, because I had put several car lengths on her coming out of turn 2. I think I got one completely clean lap after that. I didn&#39;t see the crash in the uphill, although I might have if I&#39;d been watching my mirror. The 01 Miata left a skid mark from the apex to the tire wall, but at almost 90 degrees to the proper line. Too bad Ed was in his way or he would have crashed much harder into the wall (can you say "Dive Bomb"?). Although I wouldn&#39;t have said it, I certainly don&#39;t think that Ed&#39;s comments to him were misplaced at all. John apparently had nowhere to go, clobbered Ed and flipped end-to-end. The car is done (worse than mine ever was) as far as SCCA racing, although I might have talked him into doing some ice racing with the remains (see www.icerace.com ).

Someone asked me before the race if racing with the Miatas was a problem. I told them that it used to be (I&#39;ve been broad-sided by several), but that they seemed to be much-improved this year. I guess some people get crazy at the NARRC runoffs, so I won&#39;t go so far as to blame all Miatas. Yes, it was a nice plastic trophy, and the Champaign was a nice touch, but is that any reason to throw away any pre-existing common sense? If we could only fill the grid like ITA did, then we could have the track all to ourselves :) Way too wishful thinking, I know... Anyone want to buy a competitive ITC car (not completely kidding)?

[JLawton]

Yup, interesting weekend!! Friday flat out sucked. Took me until 8:00pm and a 1/2 hour hot shower to warm up. But then paddocking with Joe is always entertaining so it could have been worse!!

I was impressed with the ITB count. That&#39;s great!! Nice job Dave Z for your second place!! Glad you finally got it running good!! Congrats Tim!!

I feel for you guys in ITC. You guys are all great drivers and competitors, it&#39;s too bad it ended that way.

Qualified 5th in the rain. It took a long time to work up the confidence in the rain tires. I must say, I was very impressed with Milton in the green and yellow Miata. Drove like a bat out of hell in the rain!! :023:

Got a pretty crappy start. Couldn&#39;t see the flag then hit the rev limiter. Got by two, but got passed by Tim K and Rick. Then got punted between the left hander and the right hander (hard enough to do some structural damage, all the way up to the inner wheel well) came back on waaaaay back in the pack (sorry if I cut any one off, sliding through the grass I didn&#39;t have a "lot" of control.....). I kind of gave up and thinking the race was over....... But as I started to reel guys in I began to take it a "little" more serious. With about 4 laps to go, I could see Joe and realized I was gaining on him quick, but ran out of laps. Ended up 5th, but with Richie missing breakfast, got fourth. I am happy I made it from that far back..........But what if............ I&#39;m sure I could have made things a little more interesting up front!! Can&#39;t wait until next year. Had a lot of fun this first year in ITA. That Saturn is a blast to drive now that I am close to getting it dialed in!! And I won&#39;t even rub it in and tell you guys how much I paid for it!!

And Andy <insert little "bowing to the gods" smilie> He was a stud, no doubt about it!! Very impressive weekend and season. Not bad for the car&#39;s rookie year!! :smilie_pokal: Great job!!


On to ARRC!!

[Rabbit05]

Well , It was a good race while it lasted. I think I will take Ed&#39;s advice and go to Disney World next year. I did find that funny Ed ! :D In fact I felt like i was there already!! I sure got my bell rung ,and luckily I had friends there to tow the Rabbit carcass home. As Ed said the , and I completely agree, the SSM driver did somthing stupid and took out 2 cars that werent even in his class. But that is the pain when we can out handle them in the corners and the Miata&#39;s pull by us down the straights.
But like I said it was a good race till then, I was suprised to be in the lead at one point ! But you know what, thats part of racing. I had 5 very good years in that car. At one point we had 2 track records ,well we still have one, (LRP) , I couldn&#39;t ask more out of it. Now we have to figure out what to do from here.


John VanDenburgh
VanDenburgh Motorsports

???????

[gran racing]

23 ITB cars - very cool! Richie was absolutely flying. Low 1:04s? :bash_1_: Nice 2nd place Dave; congratualtions.

Ray and Stephen - don&#39;t bring that trailer to the track again, I think I may have jinxed it. :unsure: Hope you guys can get the car back together and make it down to Atlanta.

[RR]

Are the results posted anywhere???

[Andy Bettencourt]

What a weekend. Nick and Forrest had the prep on the #09 Miata done early in the week so we got to the track around 5:00pm Thursday. Set up the compound in our favorite spot and started checking the weather. Went to register and found out that the Prod guys were moved to G1A...our own ITA race!!! Thanks to the Region for avoiding a oversubscribed situation.

As predicted, the rains came. We unhooked the sway bars, softened up the shocks and bolted on the rain tires. The track conditions were some of the worst I have ever driven on - maybe it was the cold but boy, every corner was an adventure. 1st session saw us remarkably on pole. Actually, 2 RWD cars on the first row...what was going on? 2nd session came and we gridded up as the rains were very semingly letting up...while in grid the sky opened up again and I just drove down pit lane and to the paddock knowing there was no chance to go faster - hoping nobody else would...

We nabbed the #1 spot follwed by newcomer Christian Chandler in a 318is (Autotechnic team), Joe DiMinno and Brian Reilly (T3 RX-8). I knew Joe was going to pull me hard at the start so I told him what I was going to do...pull to the inside and make him drive around me in Big Bend to see if it could stick. He almost pulled it off but all of our tires were so cold that he locked up the RF just enough to let me get through clean. Rick Benazic was quicker than me in a few corners while my tires came up to temp - all the while Reilly was swapping the lead with both of us. His RX-8 had me down the straight and under braking into T1 but I had him out onto No Name and in the uphill. As soon as my tires came in, I radioed in and told my guys I was ready to make a move. I was fortunate to get into a grove and put down some good laps along the way. I had a couple clean laps and one of them happened to be the 1:01.453.

The Miata is unreal in the corners. The power we are making is enough to keep us in front - when we get there - this track suits it perfectly. Not so much at Pocono or NHIS...we will keep working on it!

A nice &#39;hat trick&#39; to end up the year, a pole, a win and a track record. Special thanks go out to many:

Nick, Steve and Forrest at FOM HQ
Kelly at Heads Up Motorsports
Bob at Race Engineering
Todd at Competition Tire East (Goodyear)
Su at Precision Graphics
Tom at Precision Motorsports
Tom at Rim-Pro

And to all our friends who were happy about the win. ITA is my favorite class so far...can&#39;t wait for 2007.

[Eric Parham]

Are the results posted anywhere???
[/b]

NYR results page is blank. Nothing in MyLaps.com either.

[Jeremy Billiel]

Andy - You had a fantastic weekend! The only thing better would be a great finish at the ARRC!

:happy204:

[lateapex911]

Yea, Andy, get that car down to Atlanta! Nick...you know you want to go to georgia in November...right?? Surely you guys can get something worked out! The winter is pretty long, why not shorten it a month??

[Eric Parham]

If that&#39;s the blue one, then it&#39;s the other way around: the axle broke BECAUSE the wheel left the car. I&#39;m telling you, guys, that right-front suspension was ALL OVER THE PLACE for about 2-3 laps before he didn&#39;t re-appear. As he was going through Big Bend and moving the throttle, that tire was bouncing between hitting the front *and* aft edge of the wheel opening. Matt and I could not believe that car was still driveable... - GA
[/b]

Just an observation that Greg was apparently talking about the right-front passenger-side wheel, but it was the left-front driver-side wheel & hub that broke free from Stephen&#39;s Audi. Don&#39;t know if the observed symptom was related to the failure, or an entirely different problem that would call for a separate resolution (especially before a long tow to the ARRC, if that&#39;s in the cards).

[StephenB]

Just an observation that Greg was apparently talking about the right-front passenger-side wheel, but it was the left-front driver-side wheel & hub that broke free from Stephen&#39;s Audi. Don&#39;t know if the observed symptom was related to the failure, or an entirely different problem that would call for a separate resolution (especially before a long tow to the ARRC, if that&#39;s in the cards).
[/b]


Greg,

If you don&#39;t mind could you PM me on your observations from the sidelines. I definetly had issues with my car form the start of the race. It just didn&#39;t seem right from the get go. I had terrible brakes and had to brake between the 5/4 marker. normally I am braking around the 2 marker. I could see people taking awya gobs of car lengths under braking!


AS far as the failure... The LEFT front wheel decided it wanted to go 6&#39; higher than the fence on noname and into the swamp! I spent 2 HRs out there after the races with my freind in water/muck higher than my waist! And I still left for home without it! ( Brand new brakes, 1 season old caliper, spacer, studs, wheel nuts, brand new 23 laps on a new hoosier, and a wheel that is no longer available... all gone in the marsh! :dead_horse:

I Think that the failure has something to do with the possibility that the axle nut was not tight. Why I don&#39;t now but the Wheel beering failed around lap 21 in the downhill. Big puff of white smoke and a nasty burning smell. I slowed down watching my gauges and saw no issues. the car didn&#39;t change in handling charecteristics and I had just caught a 2002 that was smoking. So I proceeded at a conservative pace. after all in 3 laps I was going to be the NARRC 2006 champ! Well 1 lap later the car started to vibrate terribly and I was thinking wow I got a flat! that&#39;s what that smoke was! (In reality I think the bearing was completly gone at this point and the axle was now holding on the entire wheel assembley) I decided to slow way down and nurse it back. Then going into the right hander to head down no-name straight I eased back into the throttle and snap! the RPM&#39;s went up as the Axle broke! Now I knew I had an even bigger issue! At the exit of the turn I straightened the wheel and the hub could no longer deal with the pressure and broke... that is when the entire corner decided it was time to jump the fence and leave forever! I scraped along down no-name all the way to the entrance to the uphill where I rested and watched the remaining lap.

Several people in tech made assumptions saying the parts were old/ rusty and fatigued. And one person even said I needed to put greese in the beering. Well just to resolve all of that... The bearings are sealed and pre-greased, the bearings, hubs and axle were all brand new! the brakes, calipers, and carriers were brand new this year. No money or parts were spared in the entire preperation on my car (THE BLUE ONE). Everything is new this year from suspension, to the engine. I do appreciate everyone helping to try and figure out what happened but some people annoyed me as they said I need to buy new parts. Scott Carlson I think may be correct as he stated the axle nut probably wasn&#39;t tight resulting in the tire to be wabbly from the start. This created the brakes to heat up and perform poorly. Finally the bearing let go as it couldn&#39;t handle the pressure resulting in all the pressure being on the axle, finally that broke puting pressure on the hub which then broke next.


Iw was an expensive year to say the least as maintance on an Audi is expensive let alone a racecar! Not sure exactly what the future holds as my plans and ideas will change weekly :)

CONGRATS TO TIM you had an awesome year and deserve to be crowned the champion!!!

Stephen

[RSTPerformance]

Ok, as the NARRC Runoffs closes our years goals… here is “the rest of the Blethen story” (and then some…)

Saturday/Sunday:

Got the cars just about fully rebuilt with LOTS of new parts. Special thanks to Brian’s Garage for repairing/building a new transmission for the red/silver Audi.

Monday Night:

Time to finish up the “little stuff” and check the cars one last time. While tightening the Axle bolt on the RF axle of the red/silver car (replaced axle as preventative maintenance) the nut stripped and wouldn’t tighten down. That then turned into a 2 hour repair as we had to chisel off the old Axle nut, take out the new axle and put in the old one. Finally repairs were done and the truck was loaded and ready by 12:30am for the trip on Tuesday to Lime Rock.

Tuesday Testing:

We came down for the test day and Stephen was able to turn 1:19’s and 1:20’s consistently on the cold open wet track, so we new that he would do well in the rain. I had a slipping clutch due to what we thought was a bad rear main seal (I tried fixing oil leaks and apparently got more). I was still able to turn consistent 1:22’s without using 4th gear at all, so we also new that with a fixed car I should be able to get into the 1:19’s along with Stephen. During testing we also tested several setups and found out some interesting stuff… New Hoosier rains were about 1 second a lap faster than Dirt Stockers with better grip under braking and acceleration, however the Dirt Stockers were more comfortable with better grip in the actual turns. Also changing camber settings really had no effect on how the car handled or felt nor did it change what we were able to get for tire temperatures/pressures.

After testing was done we went down to “B” paddock and parked the rig and secured it for the week so we would not have to make the tow home with it. We borrowed Brian Megliolas open trailer (HUGE THANK YOU TO BRIAN) to take my car and a few parts home to try and fix it. The next couple days we were going to attempt to get a new clutch, and replace the rear main seal or whatever else was leaking. This isn’t an easy job as we all have full time jobs and to do this you need to pull out the entire tranny, 2-3 hour job for us each way with at least 3 people.

Tuesday Night:

We got home around 10:30 from Lime Rock and my friend Justin met up with me. We took the car to my friend Tims house whom garage and tools we borrowed. By 12:30pm Justin and I had most of the work done to drop the transmission.

Wednesday Night:

My friend Tim and My dad helped me finish pulling out the transmission and we were able to confirm that the rear main seal was leaking. Now it was time to wait for the Clutch replace the rear main seal and put everything back together.

Thursday:

I waited all day at Force 5 Automotive helping run errands waiting for the clutch that was overnighted, but never made in. We found out that it was in Tennessee, not feasible to drive and get it so we decided to go out to the scrap pile at my dad’s old house and look through. We found an engine/tranny still bolted together and decided that since they are still bolted, their must be a clutch plate in their!!! We took it out and it looked rough but still had some meat on it and it was a better option than the oil soaked one that was sitting next to the car. After getting that we headed up to Tims house and started to put everything back together. Special thanks to Tim, Randy, Justin, and my dad for helping me get it all back together and the car loaded by 11:00pm. We were then off to Lime Rock with high hopes that all would be fixed.

Friday:

We got to the track at 3:30am and finally got some sleep. We woke to a super day of rain racing!!! We were all prepared and excited for the rain. (Despite how bad our dancing is, it worked).

In the first qualifying session Stephen put the car on off-pole and everything looked good for him. For me it was a bit more fustrating. The linkage broke on I think the second lap and I went down the escape road. I was able to force it into some gears and continued but was unable to shift. While driving it was apparent that the clutch was still slipping despite all our hard work. To make matters worse the car also had a skip and was running like crap. I did however manage to find myself 2nd in ITB and 4th overall with my 1st lap, lap time. Certainly encouraging!!!

When I pulled in we determined that the skip was the “exspensive plug wires” arcing with all the water. When looking at the car after the session things didn’t look so good. Oil was apparent on the flywheel, and the linkage actual broke the casting off of the transmission. The plug wires were a somewhat easy fix. We found that guy who drives around offering welding services but he didn’t seem interested in sitting in the water under the car welding Aluminum, and said that it could not be done without damaging the gaskets in the transmission. We decided to make a “one of a kind” custom linkage that could attach to a different point on the transmission. With some welding help once again from Bob Smart (Smarty) of Northeast Racing we had a new linkage that worked!!! For the Oil on the clutch we tried a few different things, and hoped it may help solve the issue. As the wind storms hit the clouds opened up and sunlight came through, and I got a bit sad, but then the rain came back!!!

The second qualifying was amazingly slippery. The track seemed to have a glaze of ice/oil on it. Anyone in the group would argue that it was the slipperiest it has ever been at Lime Rock. I ran around the track passing 5-6 people a lap having an absolute blast. Because the track was very slippery I figured the lap times would suck, but hey the clutch is still slipping so this will probably be the most fun I will have all weekend. Well at the end of the session everyone said I must be lying, there is no way you can be over 2 seconds faster than everyone else on the track with a slipping clutch… I was in shock and asked again what my lap times were… A 1:19… holly $!++. When the final results came out with combined times I was on poll over 2 seconds ahead of the second place car of Wilson Wright (ITS RX-7) and third place car (my brother). After that excitement it was off to an excellent dinner and beer with the workers. It was a bit to cold to get a good buzz, so we piled 10 people into the trailer, turned on the space heater, drank hot coco and watched a movie on the projection screen…

Saturday:

In the morning it was sunny but biter cold. It was time for morning warm-ups. As we went out onto the track my car refused to start in grid. The fuel pump wasn’t turning on. Quickly we pushed the car back to the pits and went to work. Stephen had an uneventful warm-up session as he scrubbed in his 4 new Hoosier tires that he hoped would win him the championship. We were able to get the car running for the next warm-up session, only to have the car sputter and break up all the way around. End result was actually a lack of fuel… errrrrrrr. After being pushed in by the Lime Rock truck we once again went to work as the session did confirm that the clutch was slipping. More things were tried and we once again got our hopes up that the clutch would be fixed.

The Race:

I held a quick pace knowing that the clutch was slipping and hoping that it would help keep me up front for at least the first turn. I was a bit concerned of the mayhem that was about to happen in turn 1 with all the faster ITS cars coming through in the dry conditions. Someone jumped the already fast start and we got a waive off. The second start was a bit better and once again I prepped for something to happen in turn 1. I missed my shift from 2nd to 3rd and found myself completely surrounded by cars!!! Yikes, turn 1 here we come. I have no idea how many wide we were but I saw a hole at the apex and just scooted in. Nothing happened (from what I know of) and the entire field was through the first lap without incident!!! As the laps ticked away though my car got slower and slower as the clutch got warmer and warmer. Some major packs of cars with good battles worked their way past… then Tim Mullen was in my mirrors with at least 9 laps still to go. I knew it was over and my only hope now was to look for my brother to come up lapping me. With about 3 laps to go he did just that, but it seemed to take forever for him to pass me. He was going at an alarmingly slow pace. When he passed I stayed with him and noticed the left front wheel was smoking and wobbling all over the place. With 1.5 laps to go I watched and wished he would pull over because I knew it was going to break, just where was my question. While envisioning him going down the downhill and loosing the wheel, it fell off. Thankfully we were going onto no-name straight. When I came around and saw the 1 lap to go sign I was sooooo angry that that it fell off. I knew all he needed was that one last lap and he would have won the NARRC Championship, our team goal. After looking at what happened it is the same as the past. The wheel bearing/hub failed and the LF corner ripped off taking with it the brakes. The real kicker is all the parts that failed were new parts that we replaced as preventive maintenance measure. When the race was all said and done, I had beaten my brother by one position (gained my lap back!!!) We placed so far back that neither of us got points and tied for 2nd in the season end championship. Because I have more wins, I ended up beating him in the tie breaker.

We searched in the swamps for 2 hours looking for the wheel/tire/brakes/studs, etc. and came up empty handed. Dave Gran returned Stephens open trailer to him (despite the fact we forgot his dolly), which actually worked out well as the flat toe was able to drop off the car right onto the trailer.

We left Lime Rock at about 7:30 pm, and headed off to Great Barrington to get some dinner and a few drinks with friends/family and celebrate an exciting year of racing that brought several wins for the team, including my first ever wins, which were all hard fought great races with this seasons new rival, Tim Mullen. Looking back we spent a lot of time and money trying to do things right. The first half of the season was great but Dave you might be right, maybe that trailer is cursed; ever since we got that trailer we have not had a single good finish.

Sunday:

Unfortunately the expenses and time it will take to actually fix both cars right (new motor/tranny in my car, and a new LF corner on Stephens car) hinder us from going to the ARRC. It is possible to make one car out of the two, but the towing expense for one car just doesn’t make sense for us right now. With that VERY HARD decision made late Saturday night and on Sunday morning over breakfast we decided to spend the day winterizing the trailer and putting it in its final resting place till April/May 07. Yes the cars are still in it, and we will be taking a break from them for the winter. We started discussions on what to do next year and in the spring you may see a new car in a new class to be shared by the Blethen brothers, and no it probably wont be any foreign (to Germany) cars, but it could be something totally different.

As a team we all would like to congratulate Tim on his first wins, as well as his first Championship wins in both the NERRC and NARRC championship battle in 2006. I think that everyone here who knows Tim or has raced with Tim would agree that he is the guy we all would root for to win (if not rooting for ourselves) as he is probably one of the most honest, cleanest, and most respectful drivers in the Northeast. Congrats again Tim to a well deserved championship!!!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us in the 2006 season;

Raymond & Stephen Blethen
RST Performance Racing
www.rstperformance.com

[BobsAuto]

I want to say a few things about the NARRC runoffs. First of all, congrats to Tim Mullen for his winning the Championship. You are a great competitor and surely gave the boys a run for it. And your sportsmanship on and off the track is remarkable.
To the NARRC registration people, many of whom I know follow this forum, a heartfelt thank you for your teaching, your guidance and the fun I had at registration. I really enjoyed working with all of you.
And to the many competitors from this forum that I was finally able to meet....it was great to finally put faces to the names. You all made me feel welcome and being back in SCCA has been a wonderful experience.
Finally, to the crew and drivers of RST. THANK YOU!!! Your encouragement to get involved again in racing has been wonderful. I am truly enjoying being part of a team (be it behind the scenes) and working with you all. I only wish I could be more of a help, but then again, I&#39;m OLD!!! But, just being around the people and the racing has really given me something to look forward to. So, simply said, thanks.

May all of the wonderful people I have met this summer have a wonderful, safe winter and I promise, I WILL see you all again in the spring!

[RSTPerformance]

I would also like to add my congradulations to Tim Mullen for a great, competitive, & classy season!

Also thanks & congradulations to Raymond & Steven for a great season. :happy204:
You guys (& us crew :rolleyes: ) all gave their best. OK we came up a little short, but that is racing.
I was pleased to see your happiness for Tim exceed your disappointment.
Let&#39;s do it again next year!! :dead_horse:
Tom Gray
crew cheif