Summit Race reports?

[Bill Miller]

edited due to a correction of the referenced post

[JamesB]

Lastly, I dont care what people think and I would not even have made this post except for the irony that I just saw that Greg was the one who hit me!

Jay Blake
[/b]

Bill and Andy, it IS signed. please reread original post.

[.RJ]

Third, as far as what happened in the pits with stewards and other pit crew I am sure you can understand how pissed off we were [/b]

it is supposed to be a gentlemens sport. [/b]

There's plenty of wives, girlfriends, and children around the pits and paddock - If its supposed to be a gentleman's sport, then act like one in the paddock as well as on the track.

Your outburst after getting out of the car made you and your whole team look entirely unprofessional.

[Screw IT]

.RJ, I agree and I apologize to any of whom was offended. However, we were completely fed up with the actions on the track and after being punted on lap 8 of a 450 lap race I was extremely frustrated. After we had time to cool off I went and talked with the cheif steward and much was discussed. He understood how disgusted we felt. No protest was filed against the other miata driver and I was repimanded for driving back to the pits without my belts. ( most of the way on the grass, but still wrong )

I still say there should be some penalty for metal to metal contact. That would make us all think alot more.

Jay Blake

[Andy Bettencourt]

Bill and Andy, it IS signed. please reread original post.
[/b]

Only because he edited it. Thanks.

[JoelG]

The FCY for the car off drivers left for station 9 was a car fire and they wanted everyone slowed down for the amount of equipment that was going out there to handle the situation. I think it was a proper call given that the corner workers extinquisher was not enough to put it out and the fire truck was on the way.
[/b]

IIRC there was a wreck between station 8 and 9 after it got dark that there was no FCY for. IMO many drivers were overdriving the situation there. I was PUY at least twice there. How anyone could miss the caution is beyond me, what with the yellow light at 8 and all the flashing lights at the incident itself

[jjjanos]

The FCY for the car off drivers left for station 9 was a car fire and they wanted everyone slowed down for the amount of equipment that was going out there to handle the situation. I think it was a proper call given that the corner workers extinquisher was not enough to put it out and the fire truck was on the way.
[/b]

Different incident. This one was a rope tow, but nobody lifted while the car was there alone or while the tow vehicle was at the scene. They handled it under a local yellow. We had 3 flaggers sitting in the stand and all 3 thought the drivers weren't showing proper deference to the situation.

IIRC there was a wreck between station 8 and 9 after it got dark that there was no FCY for. IMO many drivers were overdriving the situation there. I was PUY at least twice there. [/b]

In prior years (and probably this one too), the cornerworkers have a difficult or impossible time spotting numbers on cars that do a PUY once it goes full night. The reflective number balls help in some places, but in other places you just don't get to see numbers. Many drivers take advantage of this.

[Conover]

Ya'll should have some of those big ass deer spotter spotlights! just beam them. OK, now you can really tell where I'm from huh?

[Catch22]

I think we expect too much of our fellow man.
Long enduros require thinking, strategy, practice and teamwork. How many of those teams out there actually did all of that instead of just "show up and go" ?????
I'm betting the answer is "not very many."

I can attest to the organization of Kirk's team as I have driven with them (and won BTW) in a VIR 13 hour. We won not because we were the fastest car (actually we were one of the slowest) but because we had a plan, we practiced and planned our pit stops, and all drivers and crew worked together as a team and stuck to that plan. As other cars crashed and fell out of the race due to mechanicals... We kept turtling on carrying a predetermined pace and scheduled stops. We won by multiple laps.
BUT...
That didn't keep some jackass from slamming into my door in turn 1 on LAP NUMBER 2!!!
I actually could tell by his "body language" that he was going to do it, so I left the inside wide open for him. He hit me anyway. He then went on to crash another car and then himself out of the race within the next two laps. We were at maybe the 7 minute mark of a 13 hour race.
BRILLIANT!!!

I also got punted off track on LAP TWO of the ARRC 3 hour enduro 2 years ago. It really wasn't the punter's fault though, it was the 3 SMs in front of me trying to go 3 wide in turn 5 that caused everyone to go into "oh shit" mode. I got the worst of it and got sort of stuck in the gravel trap. I was DFL (from pole in class) when I got out.
Just to make sure you got that... 3 WIDE on lap 2 of a 3 hour race.

Some people just have no clue how to race and survive in a long race, and its a real pisser when those who DO know what they are doing get innocently tangled up in someone elses stupidity.

I hate it, but it doesn't surprise me anymore. Unfortunately it meets my expectations.

[gprodracer]

Greg,
Ooops! Greg, this was a response to your post from yesterday..didn't read the next page.. It still applies tho!
Tell us how you really feel, and this time don't hold back, OK? I have to echo your sentiments, but remember, all SM's are just driving in that class until their F1 rides open up... My family ran the ITC car @ Summit two years ago (long ass haul from Palm Bay, FL) with pretty much the same scenario.. dive bombing in hordes in the 1st hour like it was the 12th, and for position overall.... I had to laugh when I read that you got the "all Miatas must die!!!" attitude... I had to have my brother (it was his car!) talk me down, I started because I was the "calm one who has the most enduro experience, and can get us some good track position until things settled down". Its's sad really, as there are about 7 or 8 down here that are really good drivers... it's the other 60 or so that ruin it for the rest!
Congrats on your teams finish! Reading your review gets me fired up, and I'm calling my brother tonight to see if he is up for attempting another podium @ next years 12 hour.
On that note, congrats to all on surviving another one. It is a blast that everyone should experience once

Mark P Larson
CFR #164010

[Knestis]

Different incident. This one was a rope tow, but nobody lifted while the car was there alone or while the tow vehicle was at the scene. ...[/b]

Not true. You would have heard the Golf going "bap, bap, bap" off-throttle from before the apex of of the right onto the uphill, then even throttle past the accident. I didnt' get PUY'd but I sure got CUY'd - caught under yellow.

K

[Thorshammer]

My first post to this site. Normally, I am over on the Prod site, but here goes.


I was a co-driver with Mike Levin, and Ramsey Potts in the only Porsche entry. During my stint we suffered a rod bearing failure and packed it in, about hour 5. Many thanks to Neil, Jim and the crew in their efforts to field this car. The chassis was good, but we needed a little bit more motor, maybe at the VIR 13, We'll see.

Regarding Brian Mushnick, glad he was alright, and a great roll cage did it's job.

Spec Miatas: I did'nt have a single problem with a single Miata at any time. I was balked by a couple guys that could'nt figure out when to let others by. I also did some unintentional balking of my own. I think the single biggest thing we all need to think about is this: In sprint racing, the cream will rise to the top. You will rarely win the sprint race in the first couple laps, in endurance racing, you don't win in the first 8-10. You can either turn the lap times, or you can't. Certainly fuel mileage, proper stops, luck and some great decision making will get you to the front and keep you there. It also helps to have a great car.

Hope to be racing at the 13 hour.

Erik Madsen

[Bill Miller]

Erik,

Were you in the ITE 911 or the ITS 944?

[16v]

944

[JLawton]

My first post to this site. Normally, I am over on the Prod site, but here goes.
I was a co-driver with Mike Levin, and Ramsey Potts in the only Porsche entry. During my stint we suffered a rod bearing failure and packed it in, about hour 5. Many thanks to Neil, Jim and the crew in their efforts to field this car. The chassis was good, but we needed a little bit more motor, maybe at the VIR 13, We'll see.

Regarding Brian Mushnick, glad he was alright, and a great roll cage did it's job.

Spec Miatas: I did'nt have a single problem with a single Miata at any time. I was balked by a couple guys that could'nt figure out when to let others by. I also did some unintentional balking of my own. I think the single biggest thing we all need to think about is this: In sprint racing, the cream will rise to the top. You will rarely win the sprint race in the first couple laps, in endurance racing, you don't win in the first 8-10. You can either turn the lap times, or you can't. Certainly fuel mileage, proper stops, luck and some great decision making will get you to the front and keep you there. It also helps to have a great car.

Hope to be racing at the 13 hour.

Erik Madsen
[/b]

I know I screwed you guys up on the re-start of a full course yellow. I was right behind you coming out of nine when I go the call the green was thrown. It was obvious I heard it before your car because I had the decision of either lifting (and letting a zillion Miatas fly by) or try to get around you (yeah, right ). I made the wrong decision in trying to go around and ended up going two wide through ten....Killed both our momentum.......Sorry about that!

You guys were one of the smart, faster cars. Being patient and waiting until the next straight....... We appreciated that!!

[Greg Amy]

The things that Mushnick will do to get worldwide press coverage...

http://www.gazzetta.it/Rubriche/Foto_Giorn...incidente.shtml

[JeffYoung]

Kirk, sorry to hear Pablo Dos got hurt. I assume it is fixable? That is a GREAT looking car by the way.

Greg, I met a young guy here in Raleigh who has a shell SE-R (1st Gen) and SR20DE. He is building an auto-x car, and wants to eventually run IT.

Would you mind me sending him your e-mail? He had some questions about the car and setup. I told him you guys were the worldwide leading authority on racing SE-Rs and NX200s, and which I said about 10% jokingly and 90% serious. If so, could you PM me your e-mail addy?

Thanks a bunch.

[Knestis]

Getting on the AP wire will do that for you.

I put up a website back in 2000, documenting stories of the monster that is reputed to live in Flathead Lake, MT. The local stringer put it on the wire and it got picked up by (among others) morning radio shows across the US.

K

PS to Jeff - yup, fixable. We acutually got very lucky in terms of where we took the hit. Greg skillfully missed the important stuff under the fender by about a centimeter.

[Greg Amy]

...could you PM me your e-mail addy?
[/b]

No problem: grega03 at pobox (your momma) com

...Greg skillfully missed the important stuff under the fender by about a centimeter. [/b]

If he had been TRULY skillfull, he would have missed it by another foot...

[Conover]

The things that Mushnick will do to get worldwide press coverage...

http://www.gazzetta.it/Rubriche/Foto_Giorn...incidente.shtml
[/b]

You could tell he was gunning for air from the get-go. His splitter was set for LIFT!
:P

Glad that you came out of it without harm! That is the important part! Any plans for the next IT car??