Daytona

[flaboy]

Well I am saving my money to race at sebring in oct. and nov. and they needed help since they didm't have enough workers...so i said what the hell i'll make the most of it..and i really enjoyed it,i'll probly dod it again somewhre.

Marc your car looks great...

I feel bad for the over all leader in the EP mazda...last laps caught slower cars in the chicane spun and hit nose first into the tire wall.that had to suck!!

[titanium]

Haa haa, thanks Jeff. After finally getting back on the track after 2 years and seeing for myself the small changes, I might say 1-2 sec drop. The times were insane. I'll let you see them for yourself when they are put on MyLaps but they may depress you.



Russell, don't quote me but I think the region is keeping Regional records for the Regional series. SARRC, ECR and National are Divisional/National series. Just a theory.

You did great man. Put a brake bias on that thing. They really make a difference.

Marc,
I think you are right about the track record.
They said I set the track record in BP on Sunday with a 2:10.36, but MyLaps has Al Wicht ran a 2:09 in August.
I'm sorry I didnt get a chance to socialize with you, but I had my hands full with the car.
Tammy was asking about you and your son. She asked me if you had your son with you. I told her, 'kind of'. Then told her about the picture on the car.
She thought that was neat.

Russell,
Great job, again. You really have that little car flying!

[Mazmarc63]

No worries Rod. All good. My friend Andy really liked your car. Wait until you see what he is building.

I just love that pic of Dylan so I put it on the car. Barry at Visual Signs can hook you up.

[SATURNRACER]

Dana,
Your car looks awsome! and fast too! it almost looks like your kid is hanging on for dear life....lol
I did get to watch you guys the last race...It's kinda kool to watch our group from the stands...I felt my luck was being pushed far enough with the oil leak and where parts of my spark plug went? lol especially on my birthday.

Russell awsome run! You have that thing hooked and running thanks for all your help.
Now it's time for a tear down and I will see you guys at Sebring in January.

O.B.

[Rob May]

Wood, post a pic dude!

[Darryl Pritchett]

It was a great weekend with little of no carnige.. Finally getting the Neon close to some of the front guys. Ran my personal best 2:23 flat, finished 5th all three races.

[Duc]

It was a great weekend with little of no carnige.. Finally getting the Neon close to some of the front guys. Ran my personal best 2:23 flat, finished 5th all three races.

And thanks for missing me on the bus stop.

[Darryl Pritchett]

And thanks for missing me on the bus stop.


That was one of the pucker up moments and hope you don't get plowed from behind. :eek:

That Toyota has some unbelievable straight away speed....

[Duc]

Here is about half of the race. Any and all comments are welcome since it was my first time out.

YouTube Video

Derek

[paul59]

Nice video... even better save in the Bus Stop!!!!

[RacerBowie]

Here is about half of the race. Any and all comments are welcome since it was my first time out.

Derek

Constructive criticism: If a moment like the one in the bus-stop ever happens again leading that much traffic, go straight and try to stay off! I could tell you knew you were screwed very early in the turn-in process; when there was still time to bail and go right. Everyone in that situation was VERY lucky not to have contact.

You seemed to be playing pretty well with the out of class Miatas. As you get more comfortable with your car's cornering abilities you won't have to deal with them as much.

[its66]

Yeah, Worst case in the bus stop, you can always go straight. Yes, you have to stop, but nobody gets hurts. I've seen some UGLY stuff happen in the bus stop. That could have been real bad for several people.

[Xian]

Yep, you can always straightline the bus-stop. Don't risk wadding up your car and others trying to make the turn BTW, what happened there? Did you lose the brakes? Brain-fade? Front tires toast? Seems like the car go really, really, really pushy part way into the race...

Out of curiosity, did you buy your Celica from Jeremy Randolph?

Christian

[quadzjr]

IT was funny to see richie locking them up in front. on lap was it 3? I bet the guy in teh white and orange miata had a little pucker factor.

[SATURNRACER]

Hey Duc nice car.
I followed you for a brief while in practice...it looked like you were over driving the car a little..What I can tell is that your car is silly fast!!!! and you will be a podium finisher real soon....be patient...

When you are a rookie try to get behind someone and learn their line again be patient.. I did the same thing you did when I started all I could hear was squeeling tires and smelly brakes..lol and grumbling in the garage.

When other class cars are racing for position going into the corners or the bus stop back off or blow by them in the straights for now...

The best thing I ever did was watch Evan Darling, John Dean, and Paul Ronie on you tube....not the porno ones but at Sebring and Daytona they are fast smooth and clean.

Get to some track days have fun and dont get frustrated...it will come
Great job!
O.B.

[Chris Wire]

Sometimes the most obvious things can be the hardest to see (or do). Starting where you were in the field put you in the middle of a bunch of cars with less straightaway speed than you have. Use it. Several times it looked like you were lifting and coasting up behind the Miatas. A crafty old racer once told me,"You're a race car driver, you're either on the gas or on the brakes! No in between!". Take that for what its worth, but when you're in a group of slower cars, you need to dispense with them as quickly as possible if you hope to catch the competition ahead.

Another simple practice - if you're going to turn into a corner early, you need to slow down your hands (this practice works quite well I've found in the Bus Stop where you had trouble). The opposite of that is knowing that if you are going to turn in later, you are going to have to twist the wheel faster. This can upset the car if done in the wrong corner. Some times both approaches will yield results in the same lap (Sebring applies here). Of course you'll need to adjust your braking approach to compliment which style of entry you're using to maximize chassis balance and stability.

Overall (the Bus Stop incident notwithstanding) your driver courtesy and awareness were good. This will serve you well as you move forward in the run group, as its always more fun to spend money on racing rather than fixing damage from contact with others! I did notice a few different lines on subsequent laps for whatever reason. You'll want to tighten up your lines for more consistency and the lap time drops will follow. Nice job though for a first timer, keep it up!

And like the others said above, if you find yourself in a similar situation at the Bus Stop again, BAIL RIGHT! It's safer, easier, and doesn't cost you or anyone else any $$$.

[mattbatson4570]

It was also my first time at Daytona...just moved down here from NC. Absolutely loved the track. The banking was a little boring in my ITB car, but the bus stop was a crap load of fun. High speed and as fast as you dare.
I actually never noticed that you could just straighten out and go off track if you lost it there...this is good info.
Guess I was always too focused on the exit and where I needed to be.
Cant wait till next year...

[Duc]

First thanks for all of the comments. I will always be learning.

Yep, you can always straightline the bus-stop. Don't risk wadding up your car and others trying to make the turn BTW, what happened there? Did you lose the brakes? Brain-fade? Front tires toast? Seems like the car go really, really, really pushy part way into the race...

I was a little hot coming into there, missed my braking, and had too much adrenaline flowing??? I am also running on really old RA1's which did not help.

I usually try to find the safe runoff locations, and I found that in qualifying for turn one.

YouTube Video

As for the patience with the Miata's, did not see any need to push it. This was the first time for the car in it's current state at. As it stands I lost my clutch at the end of the race (YouTube limits to 10 minutes). The best part was that I lost it coming into turn one, used the run off, and then limped it in. The next day we got it 95% working, but I had chewed up the third gear syncro (weak link, and a TSB for that same problem).

One other question, my understanding was that you could not run below the yellow on the banks? When I was limping it in there was a Miata running on the low side.

Out of curiosity, did you buy your Celica from Jeremy Randolph?

Christian

Yes I bought the car from Jeremy. Been slowly making some improvements/ repairs as can be. I am going to got to the Turkey Trot, and would love to do the new Moroso, but two in a month is a bit much. I am going to address the rear sway (stock) to get some oversteer, oil cooling, and repair the transmission. I am looking to pick up some tires, but I am really going to be pushing the budget for that. Plus I need more track time than getting the car setup.

Thanks for the support.

[Mazmarc63]

One other question, my understanding was that you could not run below the yellow on the banks? When I was limping it in there was a Miata running on the low side.


Thanks for the support.

Thats just for the start, Derek. We used to jump down on the flat and pass cars there before T1. Trouble occasionally occured. Stewards decided no more.

[mattbatson4570]

First thanks for all of the comments. I will always be learning.




I was a little hot coming into there, missed my braking, and had too much adrenaline flowing??? I am also running on really old RA1's which did not help.

I usually try to find the safe runoff locations, and I found that in qualifying for turn one.

YouTube Video

As for the patience with the Miata's, did not see any need to push it. This was the first time for the car in it's current state at. As it stands I lost my clutch at the end of the race (YouTube limits to 10 minutes). The best part was that I lost it coming into turn one, used the run off, and then limped it in. The next day we got it 95% working, but I had chewed up the third gear syncro (weak link, and a TSB for that same problem).

One other question, my understanding was that you could not run below the yellow on the banks? When I was limping it in there was a Miata running on the low side.




Yes I bought the car from Jeremy. Been slowly making some improvements/ repairs as can be. I am going to got to the Turkey Trot, and would love to do the new Moroso, but two in a month is a bit much. I am going to address the rear sway (stock) to get some oversteer, oil cooling, and repair the transmission. I am looking to pick up some tires, but I am really going to be pushing the budget for that. Plus I need more track time than getting the car setup.

Thanks for the support.

I think what happened to you was a pretty common rookie mistake...you passed the miatas just before the bustop and then you "felt" them breathing down your backside. I think you were just a little distracted so you missed your turn in.

I've felt this same thing before, and am assuming it is what happened to you. Being too preoccupied with what is going on behind you and losing concentration.

No one is fast first time out, or even with a new track to learn. I know I left 2 or 3 seconds at least out there on my best lap time.