All hail Nat Wentworth!!!!
Saturday, 1st Place with a last lap pass (on me). New track record at a 1:57.8.
Sunday, 1st Place (from turn 5 on) and resets the record down to a 1:57.4.
Now we know how he really spent his winter.
Congrats.
DZ
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All hail Nat Wentworth!!!!
Saturday, 1st Place with a last lap pass (on me). New track record at a 1:57.8.
Sunday, 1st Place (from turn 5 on) and resets the record down to a 1:57.4.
Now we know how he really spent his winter.
Congrats.
DZ
WHAT???? No other discussion threads of the Regional races...?? Sheesh...
Well, I don't have any results sheets handy, but the Regional races this weekend were pretty damned good. My first thought is we were AMAZED at the number of people that ran the Pro-IT race but didn't partake of the Regional. Very odd.
I can't recall exactly what happened Saturday - it's all a blur and I had Yeungling since then - but Jeff Lawton and Joe DiMinno were toe-to-toe for the whole ITA race. Each time they came around the last turn leading onto the front straight it was a crap shoot as to who would be in front. Jeff finally took the point around the second-to-last lap and helf off a charging-and-drafting DiMinno across the line (with Joe making little-girl "go, go, go!" noises trying to shreek his car past Jeff before the checkered. Didn't work).
And, even better, those two never even touched each other.
The Sunday ITA race was even better. We spent some time looking at data before the race, and comparing it to prior years' ITA data there. We noticed that the fastest lap of the team in years past was in the 1:52.x range, and Joe and Jeff were driving 53s. I told Jeff he could do 52s, but he just rolled his eyes; I said all he needed was a little motivation.
Well, he got that in spades on Sunday. The field started off with two pace car laps on Sunday, so that they could get a good look at the cones cardoning off the broken-up pavement/patch repair at the apex of Devil's Elbow. As they went by the corner workers were standing there pointing at the area :shrug:. When the hounds were released Robert Thiele in the solo ITR car took off like a shot, with the top-three ITS cars led by Jeff Harding in pursuit. Crazy Joe quickly took the lead in ITA with Jeff and Marc Cefalo in pursuit; Marc slipped by Jeff in the infield. Around Lap Two or Three Jeff was caught by John G in his ITS RX-7; John tried to slip under Jeff in Turn Three and unfortunately caught him in the rear quarter and spun him around.
Jeff quickly recovered but was now quite a bit behind the lead two of Jeff and Marc. Marc constantly dogged Joe, killing him under braking and the infield but losing track on the oval. It was quite the treat seeing Marc sideways through Turn Two each lap! Roughly halfway through the race while tucked up under joe's tail, Marc tagged a couple of those cones at the exit of Devil's Elbow; as the field streamed by the corner workers put them back but Marc tagged them again. This apparently earned Marc a Black Flag; however Marc did not come in, instead continuing to dog Joe.
Through all this, Jeff had put his head down and was driving like a mad man, catching the lead two battle. Lap after lap he shaved away at the distance between them, sometimes whole seconds per lap. It soon became a battle of lap remaining versus determination, and Jeff was doing a HELL of a job. With only a handful of laps left Jeff caught and passed Marc, and two laps later he caught Joe. With only two laps to go they disappeared from view on the oval, with Jeff right on Joe's butt; they re-emerged in Turn Two with Jeff in the lead! As they came under the checkered flag Jeff was in front, with a well-earned double victory!
As Joe said to me later, "The man was on a mission!" And, remember that "motivation" we talked about? Jeff did manage to get into the 52s, with a 1:52.875 (from memory), only fractions of a second off the seemingly redoubtable ITA track lap record.
Motivation, indeed.
The IT field was book-ended by a couple of solo-effort wins of Robert Thiele in the ITR BMW, and the lone ITC car. ITS was another hellacious battle, as Jeff Harding fell out early with a mechanical problem, leaving Jay Detrick and Brian Bagnall to fight for ITS honors. It seemed that Brain was destined to play bridesmaid, as Jay was doing a good job holding him off, but unfortunately Jay managed to select the kill switch instead of the gear lever on the last lap, handing Brian another win. ITB was the typical barn-burner, with Nat Wentworth and Dave Zsalow remaining clear in front of an entertaining rubbin'-is-racin' close ITB battle behind.
Good day of racin' all around!!!
GA
P.S. If anyone found a really nice pair of Serengeti Vendi sunglasses in the most unlikeliest of places near the East Course (you'll know what I mean) could you please send me a PM...?
Great racing - I taped the ITS/R/A/B race on Saturday. If folks would like I can post that - same kind of footage as the Pro IT race. Not sure if my video skills are good or painful to watch at this point.
Nice job to everybody!
No other chatter? Where is everyone?
No other chatter? Where is everyone?
Pocono was our first outing of the year! Entered the Pro-it and the double regional. Qualified well in the pro-it field and regional. We were moving up through the Pro-it race in good fashion and at about the 30 minute mark the Transmssion Grenaded (Blew up sh t the bed crapped out ) 4th gear only. I understand we were not the only ones. Seems like this becoming more of a "Weak link" since the open ECU rule. Not an engineer but I would almost bet when designed for street us there is not much "extra Strength" built into these transmissions and now we are throwing more HP and Torque and as a result things are coming apart.
weather was great a bit windy and cool Sunday but no rain. The pro-it numbers were up but suspect the regional numbers were down we had garage 23 and there was a lot of open space avaiable
Well its on to NJMP for next event! T Weaver :eclipsee_steering:
I think Cefelo hit every cone out there............ and even a few in the paddock!!
But, that boy can drive the freakin' wheels off that car!!! Very entertaining to watch!!
People complain all the time about how boring Pocono is. But it's the one track in the Northeast where you need a totally different skill set. The draft is SO important there and it's not as easy as it looks!!
It may not be until the weekend until I can get video posted. Anyone know a good place to put it now that video.google is gone?
I hope I didn't screw up the ITB race when I sprayed dirt on the track. Sorry Dave and Nat!!
Jeff, congrats on the wins! You weren't joking about the drafting at POC. A lot of the TT guys have success with http://www.vimeo.com/ - I am looking forward to seeing your training video ;)
yea i pretty much hit every possible cone. unfortunately the stewards were far from impressed with the sheer accuracy i had in....well, adjusting their location.:018:
after ignoring the black flag (REAL BAD move on my part) i was dq'd and rightfully so. rules are in place for a reason.
next stop... NJMP
i wonder if they'll have cones?:rolleyes:
So Greg-
Where's the link to that video of my rather retarded spin in front of you so I can have something to laugh at myself for this week ? :D
Great to meet a bunch more of you this weekend. Let's get some more participation for the next events... ! ITA was way too small and Joe's mouth is way too big!!:026:
Regarding people running the TEAMDI PROIT Series and not entering the regional may be a problem for the future. WE ARE ONLY SHOOTING OURSELVES IN THE FOOT. Last year we had about 160 cars for the regional and this year 120. Last year we had 28 cars for ProIt and this year 35. One of the reasons why ProIT was born is to supplement money for the regions and give people a reason to run a second event. Now it seems people are only the ProIT series and no regionals. This will hurt the regions and I am sure we will see increased entry fees for ProIt in the future. The other thing we may see is that we only run with Nationals and not regionals and then we will see decreased events for 2009. I do not make the rules, the regions do but I forsee a problem down the road. I would hope you would do your best in the future to run both the regional and PROIT event or we may lose a good thing????
Thank you to those who are able to support both.
Sincerely,
Bob Zecca
I bet a major issue was Mothers day. Getting back home in time for Mothers Day, scored lots of guys major points, I'd bet. The Pro race gave them the capability to do that.
Enclosed is my video of the ITA race from Turn 3 on Sunday
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buPjsV5r3Zk&feature=channel_page[/ame]
After the race was the first time EVER that I heard Joe......... be silent!!! :eek:
And for those of you who know Joe, that's BIG!!!
The Joe DeLuca and Linda Gronlund Freedom Races was the debut event for the #87 ITA Nissan 240sx with it's new team. Fellow racer Justin Curry and I now have the pleasure of caring for and piloting this beast!
Overall the weekend far exceeded our expectations and the car held up very well. To our credit, we did prep the hell out of the thing to the best of our ability with the time allowed. Only one mechanical issue popped up in between sessions and with a small part generously supplied by Tim Klvana of CPM Motorsports we were able to quickly solve the issue. :happy204:
The car is a bit of a handful with old suspension and old tires but once we both settled our selves down a bit we were able to find lots of time and I was able to learn a new track. On Sunday, Justin chiseled his way down to mid 1:58's while clawing his way through traffic in the IT race and with a clear track in STU I was able to get down to low 1:57's smoothly. This was despite my determination to use third gear and not second in devil's elbow... :shrug:
Most importantly, we both kept the car off the wall and off of other cars and had an absolute blast!! I am looking forward to the rest of the season and actually running in ITA.
Special thanks go to Jeff Lawton, Joe DiMinno, Greg Amy and Jeremy Billel of Kakashi Racing and Tim Klvana of CPM Motorsports. Without thier assistance our weekend could not have been what it was...
This weekend also could not have happened with out Matt Kessler of Kessler engineering. With the unique capabilities of the Dynapak dyno and Matt's amazing expertise,we were able to shake the car down with out ever taking the car to a track and ensure that the engine made reasonable power, was running a safe tune and would stay cool etc. Matt's setup pad was also put to work setting the car up to great success. The old suspension and tires would have made things a mess with out a good setup! One last note: On Matt's dyno we found that the thermostat was sticking. Had this reared its ugly head at the track it would have ruined the weekend if not the car! Thanks again Matt!!!
Also, thanks are due to Alex Gifford of Branchville Motors in Ridgefield, CT. He has let me take over his shop to prep the racecar and given me time off I need to break it :) Branchville Motors is New England's premier Moto Guzzi Motorcycle dealership, has become well known for it's support of the Triumph Motorcycle line and is home to Vespa Ridgefield, which was one of the first ten Vespa and Piaggio dealers(botiques) in the country.
Lastly, thanks to Justin Curry for envolving me in this effort!
This effort has a ton of potential, I can't wait to see how the season unfolds...
Also, thanks to anyone that has actually read to the bottom of this! :D
OK - here's the Saturday race from turn three. Now I was drinking cold beverages at this point so I start goofing on the drivers a little more so apologies to anybody I've offended. I think I goof on Saturns and Suzukis the worst...
If I do tape again I will bring a real camera and tripod.
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5053531/13428036
Jeremy - your camera seems to be much better than my little $100 digital.
Hey, Howard Cosell-wannabe ;), wasn't me driving ITB in the regional race...but, had you been so kind as to notice that there were more than two classes in the Pro-IT race, *THEN* you woulda caught some nice 'Zook action... :happy204:
Better get the Porsche tuned up good, bud; I think there's a Suzuki Swift with your name on the front bumper...:smilie_pokal:
;)
Yup, Ben has got me driving the wounded warrior. Just pulled the engine apart and the block is cracked and pistons melted. Who knows when it will drive again if at all...
(I figured I'd cut out the middle part and all :rolleyes: .
Chris is a great guy and I'm glad to have got him on board. I couldn't do all this without him either... so it's a good pairing -- we make a great team (that has no finances) but a whole bunch of potential...
Further, I second his thanks to all the folks that helped us along. I want to get to know all you guys better... and I always am willing to lend a helping hand!
Anyway, here's to a good season! :eclipsee_steering:
Bob,
Part of the prblem as I see it is with the expansion of the Pro-IT series it begins to stand on its' own as a viable series and an alternative to the NARRC (or NERRC). I am all in favor of the series and have supported it and the regional races heavily, but for other guys the series growing to 8 races makes it a "real season". Throw in some sponsors and a little cash back and it really becomes attractive to some. I think the general decrease in participation seen in the regional racing counts may be a sign of the times. I think the decrease in counts on a weekend with Pro-IT may be a result of Pro-IT.
R
The problem with that stance, Rob, is that (from my perspective) the Pro-IT series was never intended to be a standalone series, and it cannot survive as a standalone series.
Pro-IT was born a way to attract competitor entries at events where normal participation is low. Further, as I understand it the regions that are hosting the Pro-IT races are doing so with anticipation of increased entries in the other groups, and thus voluntarily surrender half of the entry fees from each Pro-IT entry to go back to the competitors (this is how the series can pay out). As you can easily see, no region can afford to keep subsidizing the Pro-IT entries unless they get additional revenue some other way; e.g., increased entries in other groups.
If competitors start to think of the Pro-IT "series" as a series-in-itself and enter these races in lieu of the regular co-existing Regional/National races, then the regions will surely discontinue support the Pro-IT series (I certainly would). This will cause the Pro-IT series to either be forced to raise their entry fees significantly (probably double, if you're still looking to get money back), or compete with the Regions for track time to host their own standalone events (can you imagine the costs of 30-35 guysd paying for the track?) or die off entirely.
The bottom line is that the Pro-IT series cannot stand on its own merits, it must be done in conjunction with other races, and these other races must be supported by the Pro-IT competitors for the regions to continue to support Pro-IT. If we competitors view the Pro-IT series as standalone series and thus do not participate in the hosting Regional/National race weekends, then Pro-IT will either get so expensive to enter that no one chooses to, or all this effort is lost when it dies off as surely as I write this.
There are no other choices here, folks.
Greg
I might have a bunch of dents pummeled into my car after that race commentary :D
I watched the video again and laughed for like 5 minutes when I saw the look on Eric's face at the end when I mentioned his "adult entertainment" company sponsored - he looked like he just smelled something bad. :blink: Sorta like hmmmmm....WTF????
Jeremy - that is a shame on the Suzuki crapping out that bad. I say drop an LS1 into it now and run ITE. :026:
Here's the "spin and win" video from Sunday's race.....
http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5072947/13476376
One really entertaining part is when I finally catch Cefelo on the back straight and as I roll up on him you can see him signalling me to bump draft him. At that point I didn't need him and drove right around him........... But he paid me back with a little tap (I'm SURE it was an accident LOL) in the chicane that results in an interesting line coming out.............. And back up on the banking I give him the "#1 salute"..........
Nice drive, JEFF! Good to finally see some in-car video of the event.
Hell of a drive in that lunchbox Jeff. Can't imagine the look on Crazy Joe's face..... :)
Jeff,
great video very entertaining, I love spins and salutes! I was curious on how you got spun? did the car break loose or did you get bumped from behind. I always try and learn from any video that I watch and was just curious.
Thanks, and congrats on the win!
Stephen Blethen
EVERBODY PLEASE READ WHAT GREG AMY SAYS ABOVE ABOUT PROIT SERIES. He hit it on the head. I hope you understand our original intentions and that we can not stand alone without the support of the regions. We will speak about this at our next drivers meeting.
Thanks
Bob Zecca
John G in an ITS RX7 locked them up (you can hear it in the video. The screeching tires aren't mine) and bumped me. Totally unintentional and he came right up after to apologize.
You can see further in the video when I catch him he pulls WAAAAY to the side and points me by. I had to laugh at that!!
Mark and Joe raced me VERY hard all weekend long and it was very clean. They did a great job!!
Also, hats off to Kessler for giving me the killer set-up!!!
Oh ya... Massive HP. :)
Remember ...I look at things from the little rotary engine perspective. No big deal compared the Crazy Joe, or Gregs old car, but to me, yea...bye bye.