NHMS Triple June 5,6

[Greg Amy]

...I got to thinking about the last double dip and how freakin tired my aging body was come Monday am...

See...?

[lawtonglenn]

"told ya so" received and accepted Greg

[ner88]

.

Jerry if many others request the group change great, but please don't do it just
for me....I got to thinking about the last double dip and how freakin tired my
aging body was come Monday am

the thought of doing 4 race groups on Saturday...and then AGAIN on
Sunday has me thinking that double dipping a TRIPLE weekend is for people
younger than I ... so I will be content with just the ITS race.

sorry for stirring the hornets nest

.

No hornets nest, it's a great suggestion, I'm working on it.

[lateapex911]

Glenn, Glenn, Glenn...it's only 4 sessions! Better hit the gym/pool/roads/trails!

[Jeremy Billiel]

Miricles do happen every once and a while. I am signed up for STU at a minimum.

[biovic]

At the May 10th race the tech guys and NER officials (Kathy Barnes and Scott Dowd) were very accommodating after qualifying to allow us to skip out of impound from STU (race group 1) to get to Race group 3 (ITA). They put an orange dot on our windshields to let tech know that we had to go back to get tech checked. Not sure how this would work with podium finishers after a race. I know this is a a group in between compared to the June weekend, but just thinking they may accommodate if they can.

Victor
03 ITA Integra

[rhygin]

yup... can get tight with any impound and no extra set of hands for refueling on anything. i guess that I did not get clued to the "sticker" program, but there was no problem at all as everyone was super-cool and accomodating.

[ner88]

Just a remnder, registration is still open, new run group order:
1. SRF,SPU,LC
2. ITB,ITR,ITS
3. FV,F5
4. ITA,IT7,ITC,SSB,SSC,T3
5. FA,FB,FC,FE,FF,FM,CF,CFC,CSR,DSR,NCF,S2,ASR,FST,FS
6. SSM,EP,FP,HP,GTL,STU
7. GT1,GT2,GT3,AS,ITE,T1,T2,SPO,ST,STO
8.SM

[JLawton]

Just a remnder, registration is still open, new run group order:
1. SRF,SPU,LC
2. ITB,ITR,ITS
3. FV,F5
4. ITA,IT7,ITC,SSB,SSC,T3
5. FA,FB,FC,FE,FF,FM,CF,CFC,CSR,DSR,NCF,S2,ASR,FST,FS
6. SSM,EP,FP,HP,GTL,STU
7. GT1,GT2,GT3,AS,ITE,T1,T2,SPO,ST,STO
8.SM

Jerry,
I know it's a thankless job at times but between this and the June LRP race you've done an awesome job at being flexible and providing maximum track time. I can't remember a time where NER was willing to change things up so close to the actual races! Thanks!!

[Andy Bettencourt]

Results?

[Greg Amy]

No driver posts? Slackers.

The key event of the weekend was weather: Sunday afternoon's show was canceled due to torrential downpours. Rain threatened all morning; in fact the first few sessions were actually wet. But after lunch, while the first group (SRF) was on the grid the heavens opened up. By Lap 1 the rain was so hard that visibility was damn near zero and the race was checkered on Lap 3. The rain continued in such torrents that the track was quickly inundated with water. The asphalt in front of Tech had a good 4-6 inches of water on it and my impound board floated away!

It soon became apparent that the afternoon's program was doomed: not only did we have to wait for the track to drain (which it did reasonably well, unlike prior to the rework) but there were areas of the track that needed attention where water had washed out sand, dirt, and gravel across the track. It probably would have been no sooner than 3:30-4:00 before the track would have been ready to go, and there were 7 groups to run. Canceling was the right decision.

On the plus side, people that needed finishes toward licenses go them, due to the morning's "qualifier" being an actual race.

Other than that bit of news, the weekend went well. There was a lot of good racing, and only a couple tosses in Tech due to weight. Good weekend overall... - GA

[Jeremy Billiel]

A weekend full of ups and downs for me, but overall a good time. Glad I went and looking forward to racing again.

A couple of lessons I learned the hard way over the weekend.

1. Put the oil cap on the engine unless you want to make a giant mess - Crew member with the oil cap is still missing...

2. I need to wire in the alternator light into the Dash2 since I could not see that the idiot light was on, the car had no power and it had broken a belt.

3. NEVER put on new pads and rotors for a race! Realized after Qual the pads were about done and did not have anything bedded in so I had no chioce and cost me any chance of having a race on Saturday as the pedal was AWFUL!!!!

4. SSM drivers are nicer and better than SM drivers. As seen up above my times were all over the place and as a result I was driving through and around SSM cars quite a bit. No incidents and we were all nice to each other out there!

5. Came through the field on Sunday morning to qual 3rd for the afternoon race. Did the rain dance to have a chance to compete for the win, but I guess my dance was too good as I was ready to go, the car was on rain tires, setup all complete and it POURED!!!!

[MMiskoe]

Rain details - puddle at the entrance to grid was 8+ inches deep. Due to a fogged windshield I drove through it. Even at 5mph it ripped the airdam loose. Those of us dumb enough to go to grid had to exit via the track back to the pit lane as the lake at the entrance didn't receed.

Interesting that the tunnels were still flooded and therefore closed due to this rain even after all the many million spent last summer to install an exstensive drain system. Stuff did drain better than in the past. I hope those guys don't get a rain like that on a NASCAR day.

ITR/S/B Sunday Morning: In light rain, pole setter Ann Hammite (sp?) spun in turn 2, field went around w/o incident as best as I know. Tyler _____ who was absent on Saturday came from last, screaming up through the field in his ITR BMW to win it. I raced w/ Cy _____ in his SM car, we went back & forth several times with him ultimately pulling off a pass into 3 that stuck and he came across the line in 3rd, me in 4th while Glen Lawton was in front of us, slowly getting reeled in. What happened behind me, I couldn't tell.

Small detail on some levels but huge for me - during Sunday morning race I set fastest lap of the race for ITR/ITS/ITB.

ITS had a lot of SM cars that pulled their restrictors and ballast out to come run. Very glad they did, as the ITS/ITR fields were very thin. I saw a lot of ITA cars that looked like SM cars too. I didn't see how much this was true for STU, but allowing cars to run in multiple classes was certainly a benefit to the club this past weekend.

Matt

[Eric Maynard]

I had a great weekend. The old Sherman Tank (aka Plymouth Laser) was finally somewhat competitive, at least with the mid pack. Had a great time with Dick Patullo, and a few Miata's buzzing around (like being in a hornets nest!).
Sunday was a bummer...Next time, I will bring my Kayak instead of my rain tires!
Eric

[dickita15]

I had to take last year off due to finances so this was my first weekend in the car since 9/08. I had a ball. Did three sessions on the test day to shake some rust off and was just a little off pace. Saturday morning qualified 13 overall 3rd in class out of 4. Felt a cracked brake rotor on the pace lap and almost pulled off but decided I would take it easy and see what happened. Got a great start and was second in class even being easy ion the brakes but Norm Latulipe reeled me in and put me back in 3rd. rotor held together so I dodged a bullet. Could not believe I did not have a spare rotor but went scrounging and borrowed a used one from Norm. Sunday morning wet qualifying race again a great start went by Norm in three and then he had an issue with one of those piston Mazdas and lost quite a but of time. It was pretty nut for the first couple of laps passing cars as they were doing offs and tank slappers. As the track dried out I backed off and let some A cars thru and I guess Norm was gaining on me by a couple of seconds a lap but was too far back. Beat by his own spare parts. I was really looking forward to another wet race but the gods had other ideas. Congrats to Dan Sheppard for 2 wins, his first in five years.

[lateapex911]

Beat by his own spare parts.

Something that's not entirely unknown to you, glad it went full circle!

Congrats to Dan Sheppard for his first completed races in five years.

Since he's a mechanic by trade it must be......
rotary reliability.

[Dano77]

The RX7 is obviously a lot less damge prone than the GT1/SPO car. Great to be back in the 77 car again. Sorted the exhaust and trans issues from May and went about running nice non-aggressive laps for most of the time.

My Beautiful and Ultra Supportive Wife,Jaime made the call to purchase rain tires from Smartty sunday am. Proved to be another great decision on her part. When was the last time an RX7 was in the overall lead for 2 laps. Killer start and some agressive driving got to the frt. Then reality set in and I let the ITA cars thru. No sense in fighting it.

Dan-o

[lateapex911]

. When was the last time an RX7 was in the overall lead for 2 laps.
Dan-o

Ummm, well, I actually know..it was August of 05, but, it wasn't for two laps...

[gran racing]

I was just waiting to see how long it would be for the Ark race event to come up in this thread. LMAO

[almracing]

Wow… not much driver chatter. The weekend for me was a mix. Qualifying on Saturday was ok, but slower than I had hoped. Ended up qualifying 2nd to Alley in his Miata. Needless to say, I took some s^%$# from the RX7 paddock.

The Saturday race taught me something I knew but never actually experienced. NEVER go out for a race on new brake pads that were not bedded. I came into turn 3 on the first lap, hit the brakes and had nothing! Thankfully I was up front and side by side and was able to slide by without messing anyone up. Then going into turn 9… full locked brakes with only touching the brake pedal.

The race was the hardest I have ever worked for the slowest lap times. Yiannis in his Miata was able to pull away and left me battling with two Miatas. The brake situation and old tires (yes… I am blaming equipment failure) made for very interesting driving. Knowing where the CRX is vulnerable to the Miatas was helpful, so I made my car very wide in the corners. Branscombe started last and came thru the field to finish 2nd, leaving me on the podium for 3rd.

The Sunday morning grid was based on lap times from Sat afternoon. I started 6th with rain tires and moved up to 3rd quickly. Dan Sheppard came flying thru the oval at the start and lead the field for a bit… then gave Yiannis and I a point by. I was on the Miata’s tail for quite a few laps, but a slide in 11/12 dropped me back a few car lengths and while the track was drying I was not able to close the gap, finishing 2nd.

I was looking forward to a rematch rain race in the afternoon, but rightfully so, the sessions were canceled.