CannonBlog Run

The Finish

2011-05-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

At long last, this year's One-Lap of America came to a close. After ~4000 miles, 17 States, dozens of tanks of gas, two smelly feet (okay, maybe four), and plenty of memories, we wrap up inside the Tire Rack's cavernous warehouse of tires, wheels and other car goodies for the award banquet.

Reg and I scraped out a third in class and 35th overall. Not bad, not great, but acceptable. We had some competition in class, and Reg should probably have recruited someone faster than your faithful Capt. Slow, but he seemed okay with our position.

Fay, Dave, and Wayne managed a fourth in class and 30th overall. Given the competition in their class (Evos, STis, etc.) they did remarkably well.

Bill and Dwight, in Schmützi, scored a first in class and a remarkable 8th overall. Not too shabby for a VW amongst supercars (many with pro drivers). Seriously...well done gents.

Fay, for finishing her 25th consecutive One Lap, was recognized and received a standing ovation. Way to go Fay!

We wound down the afternoon, packed up the injured cars and headed out. The misery of the One Lap already receding deep into that protected part of the brain that allows us to forget pain, hardship, and funky feet. From that dark part of the brain creeps out a thought, "what is the plan for next year?"

Dry Skid Pad

2011-05-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday - 5/7 - South Bend, IN
Leg Mileage: 105
Cumulative Mileage: 3651

The trek back to South Bend was made more painful by the "shortcuts" we took through stoplight studded b-roads. In our attempt to avoid the interstate traffic, I think we managed to navigate our way through repeated rush-hours.

In one town, we were stopped while at least 50 school buses drove by. In a small town of fewer than 10,000, why in the world did they need a flash-mob of the autos?

The final event was a repeat of the first, a skid pad. This time it was supposed to be in the dry. The joke amongst the veterans is that the weather rarely cooperates and, more often than not, the "dry" skid pad is anything but.

This year it was chilly, but surprisingly dry. There was hope yet.

We had locked up third in class and were vying for overall position with the team in the R32 who we were off and on chasing through the week.

Reg posted a really good skid pad of 0.97G; the VW R32 team, 0.91. We had a chance of catching them. Our teammates in the GTI put down an impressive 0.994G, missing the mythical 1G barrier by a hair. Dwight had, in the counter-clockwise lap, managed over 1G, but because he couldn't see over the high-mounted AIM dash, his clockwise time suffered slightly.

Catesby, in his Nissan GTR, broke the current record with an astounding 1.12G.

When all the competitors were done, the annual drift/smoky burnout/all around destroy your tires event started. Leh Keen, the pro-driver who won this and the previous year put on an impressive show in his GTR. A driver in a BMW, however, had an amazingly graceful constant radius tire-smoking drift that was something to behold.

Erich Heuschele, not to be outdone, put on an impressive display of tire (and turf) abuse in his Dodge 392 Challenger.

His tires were, quite literally, toast afterward.

After the event, we packed our gear and relaxed. I tried to take advantage of the 25% discount on tires that the competitors get, but was rebuffed when they found out that I was buying them for my Lotus and not the Cayman. Oh well...had to ask.

Autobahn Country Club

2011-05-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

Friday - 5/6 - Joliet, IL
Leg Mileage: 691
Cumulative Mileage: 3546

Autobahn is a well maintained automotive country club. The grounds are great, though pale in comparison to the über fastidiousness of Barber. The rain from the night before has cleared and we're welcomed to a relatively dry track.

We are scheduled to do both tracks today: the North course in the morning; the South, the afternoon. Reg and I decide to split the tracks, with me up first.

My performance was pretty poor, as I wasn't prepared for the low-grip of the track and almost spun on my first lap. That bad corner, and the confidence hit that resulted, placed me low in the rankings. Reg had a tough time in the afternoon on the opposite side of the facility. We weren't overly concerned, however, as we pretty much had third in class locked up by the end of today.

Our friends in the Viper had managed to not only find a shop that happened to have the parts they needed to get their car pieced together. They had managed to complete the repairs and get through the long transit in time to participate for today's competition. Their team name, Press on Regardless, was definitely earned last night.

Lauren, one of the Viper team's drivers named our teammates white VW today, "Schmützi."

Long slog to Autobahn

2011-05-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the longest drive of the event...700 miles to Autobahn. The weather that we've managed to avoid catches up with us during this leg and we worry that tomorrow's event would be a wet one.

Barber Motorsports Park

2011-05-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

Thursday - 5/5 - Birmingham, AL
Leg Mileage: 429
Cumulative Mileage: 2855

Barber Motorsports Park is a famous track in Alabama, hosting a number of big race series. Driving into this track, one is immediately struck by the attention to detail and level of maintenance evident at this track. Some compare it to a country club, but taken to another level.

Not many race tracks have manicured flowering bushes in the run-off; sculptures, in the infield.

We had been warned that the price of this level of care is high, and an errant misstep of a driver could result in big bills. Brock had avoided this track for fear of the extensive damage agreement. Fluid leaks in the pits, re-sodding run-offs from wheels dropped, and crash barrier replacement all are on the "menu" of possible damages. They even require a pad under jack-stands used in the paddock. We joked about whether cashmere or fur might be better suited to pamper the protected asphalt.

I have to admit, however, the peculiar fussiness of the owner results in one of the most beautiful race-tracks I've ever seen. During our track walk in the morning, one competitor felt guilty of a few drops of coffee spilled from his Styrofoam.

I think this was my favorite track of the week...it was beautiful, challenging, and had elevation changes that created gut-check full-throttle blind crests. Because it was designed to be a motorcycle track, many of the corners had confidence-inspiring on-camber corners.

To be honest, I left a lot of time on the track, never quite really pushing as hard as the car could handle, but it was a blast to drive.

One of our friends had a fairly bad off and put his viper into the guardrail. His car had to be flat-bedded off to a shop in the area to attempt repairs. We have our collective fingers crossed that he'll get it fixed and back on the road.

Drive to Alabama

2011-05-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

Our next event is at Barber Motorsports park in Alabama. This night was to be our respite between two arduous transit days. A short 470 miles separated us from our next location and we might be able to get there in time for an almost complete night’s sleep…a luxury we’ve not seen since we began this crazy event.

I, again, did the majority share of the transit driving and we made relatively good time to our destination…well…our original destination that is.

For anyone who’s not seen the news recently, this area had just been hit by some of the worst tornado damage in its recorded history. It’s a horrible story and many people were affected. Our original hotel room reservations had been given to shelter people affected by the storms, though they had moved us to another location.

Dwight and Bill again had a head start and had sent me a message telling us the new hotel address. We changed our destination in our handy GPS unit and made our way to the hotel.

When we got there, Dwight called me, saying we’d meet in the lobby—which was odd, since he and I both claimed to be in the lobby. This lobby, mind you is not big enough for us both to be out of eyesight of one another.

Ugh, they had been here and we were re-re-reserved at yet another hotel. The ladies at the desk were very helpful, and through their southern accent, suggested we use our geeeee peeeeee ayus system to help route us to the most recent hotel.

The GPS worked, but sent us to a location where the hotel wasn’t. We floundered around in the dark for a bit trying to discern the directions from our teammates. Eventually we realized where the GPS had steered us wrong and made it to the hotel.

So much for an early night…

No Problem Raceway

2011-05-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday - 5/4 - Gainseville, FL
Leg Mileage: 607 (starting at 8:30 PM...ouch!)
Cumulative Mileage: 2426

We made it to the hotel and got a couple hours rest and a shower. We planned to show up late to the next event and to skip the morning track-walk. As long as we got there in time for our run group, we could line up and run the session without penalty.

The locals were saying that this was the coldest it had been on this day in history—a fact we were fine with since it was a nice sunny 70 degrees with low humidity. Except for gusty winds, it was downright great weather.

We unpacked the car for the zillionth time and Reg lined up in the pack of cars waiting to go on track. I was exhausted from the previous night drive and continued sleep deprivation. I walked around and half-heartedly snapped some pictures. When Reg returned from his session, I sat in the car and napped.

They did low-speed “fun-runs” at lunch. Reg suggested I take advantage of them. We weren’t, so far doing fun runs to save the wear on the Porsche. With a dash full of warnings and errors, I risked the extra mileage with a few low-speed runs.

Reg’s morning time was a bit disappointing. Reg dug deep and in the afternoon, managed to turn some better times and clawed back ten positions. Good points for our team...

David McMahon, a previous one-lapper, drove from Texas to the track to cheer us on. It was good to catch up…will see him at another event in the future, I’m sure.

Night drive to Louisiana

2011-05-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

Dwight and Bill had the luxurious misfortune to have been eliminated in the first round of the bracket drags. They were allowed to get an early start for the evening’s overnight trek.

We drove on into the night for what seemed an eternity. Somewhere along the way, maybe in Alabama, we decided to stop for a few hours of sleep, planning to start early and drive the remaining distance. After trying several hotels, none with a vacancy, we continued onward.

Reg has raced at No Problem Raceway before, so he would run these events. I let him sleep and drove the eight and a half hours in silence…

…well silence might be a little bit of a stretch…there was plenty of snoring.

My favorite moment of this transit was, once Reg woke and realized he was snoring and wanted to apologize. “Sorry, was my snoring keeping you up?” he asks me while I’m behind the wheel of his race car.

Gainesville Raceway

2011-05-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday - 5/3 - Gainseville, FL
Leg Mileage: 116
Cumulative Mileage: 1819

It’s hot here…really really hot…and our A/C still hasn’t decided to fix itself and the funk in the car is only getting stronger. We arrive at the NHRA drag strip and unload the car again. Reg, in previous One-Laps, had been the one doing the drag races, so he will do this event.

At the driver meeting, we’re schooled by a southern gentleman so perfect for the role I couldn’t imagine him doing anything else. He drawls through the rules of drag racing and the safety measures with a bemused mischievous cadence.

The Porsche Turbo, the GTRs, and a couple others ran the quarter-mile in under the magical 11.5-second barrier. Any car running faster that this time must have NHRA approved safety gear (roll-cage, fire system, etc.). These competitors will need to “peddle” their cars during the bracket-drags to prevent getting kicked out.

For the low-et times, several cars broke into the fabled 10-second range and got their “warning” to not do it again or be asked to leave.

Reg pulled a 13.6 second quarter mile in the low-ET drag and managed to get us into round three of the brackets before we got eliminated in the knock-down forced induction all-Canadian death match. Being both from Canada, it was actually much cordial than that…eeh?

Though disappointed to be eliminate prior to the finals, it meant we could get on the road for an ugly over-night slog…600+ miles to Lousiana and we’re just getting going at 8:00PM. It’s going to be a long night.

Did I mention no A/C?

Daytona International Raceway

2011-05-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday - 5/3 - Daytona, FL
Leg Mileage: 479
Cumulative Mileage: 1703

Got in late (too late to stop in their famous “Wing House”). After about three hours of sleep we arose and set off to the famous super speedway. We had a little time, so we stopped at a Waffle house for breakfast. I ran next door to get some supplies for our group (Sunscreen and Gas-X).

To say Daytona is intimidating is a bit of an understatement. We emerge from the in-field tunnel, modern gladiators welcomed to the asphalt arena. The banking here, at 31˚, is so steep one could develop shin-splints during a track walk.

Reg has never driven this track, so he’s going to run the first session. I walk to the intimidating turn-one, to try and divine where I should start my braking zone. This is the fastest any of us will be going for the entire event, and braking into this turn can be harrowing. Most of the amateur drivers’ nerve will run out far earlier than we really need to brake.

It was a little odd, being one of the “experienced” drivers amongst the arrayed anxious faces. My experience, mind you, consists of a whopping three laps at speed, two years ago at a previous One-Lap. Still, I did my best to share what little I learned.

Here, fear is your enemy as much as anything else. I found that the “I’m going fast at Daytona and going to crash in a fiery ball of wrecked metal and they are going to have to squeegee me up off the safer barriers” factor to be one of the more limiting factors in getting a faster time. Fortunately, I had that experience under my belt and could relax (if only a little). Actually, and quite surprisingly, I’ve yet to have any really bad nervous reaction to any of my drives this event. Maybe I’m getting better and have more confidence; more likely, it’s sleep deprivation.

Reg talked a good game about getting the Cayman up to 170 MPH around the banking. I was a bit doubtful, as the really fast cars were hitting that two years ago. Ours is quick, but at a track like this, the Nissan GTRs, Vettes, Vipers, etc. have a lot more room to stretch their ample legs.

I did as much of a brain dump as I could for Reg. He went out and from where I watched, looked like he was doing well. As is the norm, he was braking earlier than needed for turn one, but most of the field could be painted with that brush. When he came in from his hot-laps, he looked visibly shaken. He seemed to enjoy it but said it was a little uncomfortable in the high-speed banking. The Cayman tended to float a bit during the banking transitions and the vagueness disconcerted him.

He flipped the keys to me and said that the second session was all mine. He then took a few minutes to lie down and to stretch out his sore back.

He had left our GPS unit to see our top speed. When checked, it read 140 MPH…a few under the 170 he had hoped for. He never got it out of fifth gear in the banking and that, ultimately limited the top-speed potential.

I went out after lunch with the goal of topping the 140 MPH mark. During my recon lap, going into the bus-stop, I watched the speedo tick upward (don’t do this at home folks). Once I had seen it over 140, I didn’t look at the speedo again and focused on the rapidly approaching braking zone.

For those who haven’t experienced braking, on banking, from 140+ MPH speeds, it can be a little harrowing if not done carefully. I learned this abruptly the last time I entered this corner and braked too hard. I very nearly put my VW in the wall at Daytona two years ago at super-century speed. This time I rolled into the brake, braking hard, but not abruptly. The car squirmed a very modest amount as the rear tires lost a little of their grip. I released the brakes and dove into the bus-stop turn. I had heard that the course had been changed and the exit was sharper…it was indeed. I was cooking through and needed to do an abrupt lift to rotate the car to make the revised corner.

After the bus-stop, I accelerated flat-out back onto the banking and essentially kept the pedal to the floor until I entered turn one. Making the transition from the high-banking to the relatively less banking tended to unsettle the car. This was also exactly the place where I needed to up-shift and grab sixth gear…the lift of the throttle also slightly adding to the car’s skittishness. Where Reg had hesitated, I mustered the courage to take top gear.

Turn one is difficult to do correctly. To brake late from triple digit speeds, trying to not stare at the wall at which you are hurtling requires at once a little detachment and a lot of…ahem…attachments. I had decided upon some arbitrary, but conservative braking markers and lap after lap, tested braking deeper yet. I think, for my final lap, I might have gotten close to the correct mark.

I was sloppy in the bus-stop and sloppier in the infield, but posted a halfway decent mid-pack of field time. Given another session, I’m confident I could continue to shave off time, but three laps just isn’t enough to learn the car/track/driver combination. After I got out of the car, Reg grabbed the GPS unit from the car to see if I had beaten his speed…149 MPH. Still a far cry from the car’s top speed (and my own land-speed record), but respectable.

After the track session, I was chatting with another driver who bragged about hitting 165 MPH in the banking….odd, since my total time was significantly faster than his with a GPS proved lower speed—Maybe he's a racer in his own mind.

Daytona exerted its wrath on a few of our cars and the attrition rate climbed. A driver in his beautiful 911 GT3 RS grabbed the wrong gear in the banking and mechanically over revved the motor. This car has a sacrificial clutch, designed to destroy itself to save the motor. As his gentleman-racer Porsche was loaded onto a flatbed, we all crossed our fingers that it would be an inexpensive repair (Two days later he was back in the competition, but unfortunately found out after having the clutch replaced, the motor was, in-fact, damaged). Both Vipers had their front splitters ripped from their cars at speed. Fortunately, the drivers were calm enough to not overreact and make a bad situation into a dangerous one by overreacting.

On to the drag races…

Porsche is not happy

2011-05-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

We've steadily been collecting warnings on the dash of our car through the week.

Brake system - because the pads don't have wear sensors
Airbag - because it's been disabled and the racing seat is in place of the stock seat
Seatbelt - see above

Today we picked up a couple new ones...

Engine - dunno, but not happy
Oil - we think the g-loading at Daytona kicked of a low-oil warning (in addition to the oil that we're burning leaking)

Reg is unmoved and we continue to flog the poor machine around the country.

Just hard to stare at this when you're checking your gauges at Daytona:

Road to Florida

2011-05-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

Reg has some ripe feet.

He took off his shoes while driving and we needed to keep the windows open to make it even tolerable.

Reg took the first stint and I got the rest of the way to Florida. We met a nice young woman at one of the fuel stops who chatted with us about the race...we got in super late and headed to bed for a few hours of rest.

BMW Performance Center

2011-05-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday - 5/2 - Spartanberg, SC
Leg Mileage: 154
Cumulative Mileage: 1224

BMW Performance Center

After a relatively quick transit (two hours is nothing these days), we arrive at the BMW training center. One may, for a somewhat less than modest fee, take driving lessons from the instructors here. BMW is one of the sponsors of the one-lap and has loaned a number of vehicles for the organizers to use. They even have an entry this year—a turbo diesel driven my Mike “Schnell” Renner.

We’re using their purpose built test course for this event. It’s a medium speed course with a varied mix of turns. Reg is going to run this session as well, since he’s run the course a couple times.

We scarf down some substandard food, unpack, and wait in the heat. Since the track at CMP was closed for so many broken cars, the events were delayed. Nobody was looking forward to tonight’s long trek to Florida…any delay was piling insult on injury.

Reg did okay, but at this point it’s starting to look like a third in class will be our maximum.

On to Daytona.

CMP

2011-05-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Monday - 5/2 - Kershaw, SC
Leg Mileage: 438
Cumulative Mileage: 1070

[Aside]First let me apologize for the last couple of days. It’s been quite a blur of driving, racing, car tweaking, and to a much lesser extent sleeping. Given the choice at a wee hour of the night betwixt writing blog posts and getting an extra minute of sleep, you may guess which activity won out.

The lack of internet, or at times mere willpower, has likely lessened the allure of this blog. I’m currently “navigating” in the co-pilot seat in New Orleans traffic and thought I’d take the rare moment to catch up.

I'm going to pre-date the posts to the dates they had occurred.

[/Aside]

Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP) is a purpose built road-course/automotive country club in Kershaw, South Carolina. It’s famous for being a test track for many of the local NASCAR teams. It’s pretty straightforward except for the infamous “kink” in the back straight. Only the truly brave and talented driver dare attempt to take it flat-out without lifting or even braking. The trash-talk of the paddock centers around who might be brave enough to attempt it (answer, very few, but many will claim to have).

Dwight and Bill are splitting the two sessions, while Reg will be driving both for our team. Reg had, a few weeks prior, rented this track for a test day for the team. Unfortunately, I had a business trip to Bentonville that prevented me from joining them.

Bill and Dwight did well, placing very high overall and first in class. Reg, feeling comfortable, was able to chase down others in his run groups. In the morning session, a 944 spun on the exit of turn one. We suspect he was spending too much time watching Reg in his mirror. Reg narrowly avoided the collision as he came upon the spin.

Today we saw some of the worst attrition rates I’ve seen in a One-Lap. Many of these cars are very highly modified and stressed significantly beyond what the manufacturers intended. Consequently, they have a tendency to break—often in spectacular fashion.

Today we lost several cars. An Evo coming down the main straight had something break, smoking and flaming down the main straight. The driver only realized when he was braking for turn one. We all were yelling “FIRE” and the fire crew had already mounted up and was heading onto the track. The driver got out and opened the hood (a bad safety move), spraying his fire extinguisher into the engine bay. The marshals shut down the track as the fire crew raced to him. Within seconds they were on scene and battling the fire. In the end, thankfully, the driver was okay and they saved the car from being a total wreck. The motor, and everything in the engine bay, however, was toast.

There was a Mazda 2, a 996 turbo, a BMW 3 series, and another couple that all broke down today at CMP. One didn’t even make it to the start at CMP… last night a driver who will remain unnamed, left the parking brake off. The car rolled downhill, took out a Harley, an industrial A/C unit, and the wall of a building. In the process, the BMW was damaged and also dropped out.

Since I wasn't driving, I participated in a few of the charity karting races. The first one I entered, I managed to pass the other karters (even lapped one). The cart manager/designer came out after that session and properly schooled me. Still was a blast.

On to BMW...I'm on transit duty.

Brakes on Fire

2011-05-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

One of the teams this year have fielded a car with woefully small front brakes. A number of us have warned them that they might pose a problem, only to be met with disdain. Well, I guess they must know better, but it made for an interesting sight at CMP's turn one.

Capt. Slow & Summit

2011-05-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday - 5/1 - Summit Point, WV
Leg Mileage: 550
Cumulative Mileage: 632

Last night was rough. Got in late, had at best 3.5 hours...in reality about 1 hour of sleep. Oddly enough, it wasn't the expected nerves before a track day. Though I knew my co-driver snored, I think he was attempting a record decibel volume. I had taken the precaution of using earplugs, but the snores were of such power that I felt more than heard them. I remember seeing 3:30, then 5:45, ugh.

I was on deck for today's two events at Summit Point. Dwight had trained me in previous One-Laps to do my homework and read track descriptions, watch in-car videos, and take notes. Because of this prep, I was reasonably familiar with the track layout prior to the morning track-walk.

We pack-up our gear and ate a quick mashup of biscuits and spackle-paste and set off to the track. We unpacked (again) and set off for the track walk. The track here is really nice and has a few interesting corners with elevation changes that make them look more daunting then they actually are.

I gridded up with a group of Corvettes, about middle of the pack. We chatted for a few minutes about who should be in which order...many trying to get the back of the group so they won't have to check their mirrors. Passing in this format slows both cars...since we're racing the clock.

During my "recon" lap, I pushed it a little bit to try and gauge the grip and braking of the car. This is my first time driving this car...first time driving this track. I have no allusions of setting a great time. My goal, third in class.

After the recon lap, we stop at the start finish. One by one, we get the green flag, run three laps at speed, and have a cool down lap. The goal, a good time for the three laps.

I launch pretty hard and rocket toward turn one. I brake too early (a problem I incrementally corrected...but not enough) and blow a lot of speed in the turn. Through the first session, I'm feeling grip, getting the lines, and seeing how the car handles. Each lap, I'm faster, but not super fast.

They increased the number of cars per session in my group. Unfortunately, they timed it so that the leader was almost around the track by the time they released me. He was in a Z06 Corvette, and significantly faster. I saw him in my mirrors in my second lap and had to point him by...I lifted to speed the pass, but my time suffered. I tried to hang with him onto the main straight, and did keep close, but he was much quicker down the long straight. Halfway down the straight, something in his motor let go in a puff of blue-white smoke. I had to then pass him and again hurt my elapsed time.

Each lap I got faster as I learned the car and track, but I need a lot more seat time in this car to be quick. I ended up 4th in class (missing my goal) and 58th overall (out of ~70). Yuck.

For the second session, I continued to push harder and got faster, shaving about 3-seconds a lap (even though it started to rain). It wasn't enough to really make much headway, and I stayed 4th in class and 52nd overall.

If we're getting a podium, we have some work to do.

On to the next track...

WTF?

2011-04-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

This is one of the cars that's "competing" with the rest of the crazy cars...

Autocross at Grissom

2011-04-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday - 4/30 - Grissom Air Base, IN
Leg Mileage: 82
Cumulative Mileage: 82

After a relatively short jaunt over to Grissom Air Force Base, we unpacked the car and went to walk the “track.” Autocrosses are temporary courses, typically slower (but not always) than regular tracks. Essentially, a car-club rents a parking lot or, in this case, an airport runway and maps out a course with orange cones.

Competitors are invited (if you got here in time) to walk the track, but the first time you drive it will be when you’re racing. No practice for these…so gotta get it right the first time.

Reg and I walk the course after gridding up the car (I had to regrid because I blindly followed the number 33 car into the wrong line…a mistake, had I not corrected, would have had a 10-second penalty added to our time). The course is run by the local branch of the SCCA and is pretty straightforward and relatively quick.

Dwight and Bill fuss over the setup of the GTI, setting damper rebound, tire pressures and such. I torqued the lugs on the Cayman, and Reg asked for a couple more “clicks” of rebound in the rear.

Since one gets three chances to make a good time, most autocrossers will “bank” a lap at a quick, but conservative speed. This allows them to get more aggressive with subsequent laps, and if they DNF (do not finish), at least they will get some points from the “safe” lap.

Reg posts an okay but not great time for his first lap. When he gets back to the grid, we chat about setup, but he’s okay with the current setup. I wandered around the grid and snapped a few photos. He improved a bit on his second, dropping three seconds from the time. His last lap was a little better yet, shaving about half a second off. Unfortunately, our time placed us 49^th overall and 4^th in class and we slipped again in the overall rankings.

Dwight did a bit better, placing 25^th. During the first session, he confirmed the stereotype of a racing driver. If you give them the option, they will always take more power. On the GTI one can choose different programs, each tailored to a different engine setup. Bill told Dwight to choose program three, but program four offered a more aggressive engine mapping (more power). Dwight ended up spinning the wheels even in a straight line…sometimes too much is really too much.

We packed up the cars and left for our 550 mile commute…oh joy!

Round and round we go...

2011-04-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday - 4/30 - South Bend, IN
Leg Mileage: 0
Cumulative Mileage: 0

The first event is the perennial test of wet grip. It's measured in units of G (or gravitational unit). One G represents the amount of force gravity exerts on an object at sea level.

Lateral G is how much force is exerted sideways on an object. The goal of this test is maximize the amount of lateral G-force a car can take before losing grip (spinning out).

To accomplish this we will run wide circles on the Tire-Rack's special test track.

Driving in circles sounds easier than it looks. To do it slowly is actually as easy as it looks. To do it quickly, however, takes finesse. Finding the knife edge of friction without going over makes the difference between a good time and great.

One may ask a tire to turn, one may ask a tire to accelerate or to brake. Often one asks the tire to do a combination of these. On some occasions one might ask too much. This is where slowness comes from…and skids, slides, and the whole sport of drifting.

The teams today were dealt a double disadvantage. The Tire Rack test track had just been repaved and for today we were added the challenge of the course being wetted by the sprinkler system.

The faster cars are typically granted the earlier positions in the One-Lap. The calculated g-force ratings this year were surprisingly lower than expected. Car after car posted numbers lower than much lesser machines had the year before. Everyone said the track was slick. Oil from the new pavement had seeped up from the asphalt. Tire rubber from countless laps of testing had not yet been laid down. Between the two, the times were disappointing for many.

As the morning wore on, the “slower” cars were, in-fact faster. The track had given up its newness and was warming up. Unfortunately, Reg had already posted his time and we ended up a disappointing mid-pack 36^th, second in class.

Dwight posted a 12^th overall and first in class in the GTI. Time to pack the car for our transit to Grissom.

Cars

2011-04-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

The H2 Mafia, as we've been affectionately dubbed (named after H2Sport-a Canadian car tuning shop) consists of three cars this year. The Audi A4 Avant (wagon to us Americans), the über GTI, and the Porsche Cayman S (with a turbo kit).

The Audi is piloted by Dave & Fay Teal and their son Wayne. The GTI will be driven by Dwight and Bill. The Porsche will be my mobile home for the next week with my co-driver Reg Noble.

I'm still struggling with the funky driving position, but I figure if I can track the Lotus, how much worse could this be.

Like many race cars, we've already started to collect dash warning lights to ignore. Not to worry, there's a reasonable explanation for each.

Route

2011-04-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here's the route this year. Believe it or not, it's actually short compared to some previous events.

View Larger Map

Race Schedule

2011-04-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

The race schedule may be found on the One-Lap official page.

http://onelapofamerica.com/currentEvent/Schedule.do?eventId=30

Spectators are welcomed at many of the events. In fact, I hear that a car will be raffled off during the Autobahn events.

You can track results on their site too, though try not to look at how I'm doing, I don't need the extra pressure...

Finally...a shower!

2011-04-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

After three flights and two long layovers, I made it to South Bend, Indiana. My teammates picked me up from the airport and we went straight to work. As I dropped my bag (and fortunately my helmet, head/neck device, and racing suit had been delivered by FedEx), I fantasized briefly about showering and changing clothes before beginning today. Alas.

We went straight to the cars. The car I'm driving this year is a 2006 Cayman S with a custom-engineered turbo kit. I will be piloting the car with Reg, the team owner.

They threw me the keys and I hopped into the car, for the first time. Uh oh. Fixed mounting on the racing seat. Double-uh oh, fixed in a position for a somewhat shorter driver than yours truly. I'm going to have to learn to race this thing while eating the dash.

I drove the car to registration, where we stickered it up and got the tech inspection done. From there we ran a few errands to pick up some last minute supplies.

The kickoff meeting with Brock and the sponsors followed. Brock doled out his usual combination of encouragement and admonition. I dropped off my co-driver at the semi-official watering hole and went back to the hotel for that long overdue shower...one must grab the little niceties when one can during this event.

Is it that time of year again?

2011-04-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

They say that the human mind blocks out severe pain; a fact frequently proved by the abundance of second siblings. The closest I've come to what I would imagine that to be would be the time I had a kidney stone (but that's another story for another time...or better yet, a story not for another time).

The second closest? Perhaps the One-Lap?

It takes a certain kind of crazy to, after successfully finishing a One-Lap of America, willingly sign on for another; much less, a third.

Let me see:

Sleep deprivation to the likes that would make even Donald Rumsfeld reread the Geneva Convention? Check.

‘Tween track transits through back-country roads so back-country one questions if I do, in fact, have a purdy mouth? Check.

Developing a Pavlovian need at every gas-stop to relieve oneself, score some beef jerky and pound enough caffeine to boot-strap the brain until the tank again reads “E?" (DING!) Check.

Fostering a love/hate/hate/hate/hate/okay...you’re not that bad/no…actually hate/grudging respect/love-you-man relationship with your co-driver. Check.

Breaking some critical part at the worst possible time, at the worst possible place (see check-mark #2). Check.

Finishing (with a little luck) with the best case chance of getting a trophy (if you're really lucky and really good), or maybe a little plate (if you're a little less lucky or less good), but most likely nothing to show for it except maybe a souvenir t-shirt and ginormous gas-bill. Check...What's that? You don't take Checks? Amex?

Yet here I am, your humble Capt. Slow, about to depart for South Bend to start this year’s race.

For the almost two readers of my humble blog (Hi Mom!), I’ll offer my advanced apologies for how badly I blog. Hope this year I won’t suffer a shortage of Internet, sleep, or willpower, and I can keep you at least mildly amused.

Cheers!

Worst blogger ever

2010-05-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

I'm the first to admit...I'm not so great at blogging,

I've written a lot, but rarely have internet & the drive to post when we get into whichever town we've gotten to that night.

Apologies to the five or so that might actually read this blog, but we'll try to get posts tomorrow.

...............................................
spoiler
----------------------------------

We, after numerous events, are poised to take 3rd place in class. This, frankly, is the best we had hoped to do. Our competition this year had a bit more potent cars and we figured, at best, a 3rd place finish.

It's not 100% locked in until tomorrow's dry (if it stays dry) skid pad.

2010-05-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hallett Raceway, OK
Saturday, May 1, 12:00PM
Leg Mileage: 482
Overall Mileage: 1300
We get to Hallett early to do a track walk. We’re not sure how competitive we’ll be so I prepare to run the track as well. It’s a very technical track with almost constant elevation changes (think roller-coaster).
Whoever designed it was a bit of a sadist, because they built in odd details like curbing that would eat suspensions and lakes that would…well...kind of swallow you up like a water hazard on a golf course.

Dwight is on first duty, so I walk around to photograph. There is a corner here called “The Bitch” where people often get a bit sideways, so I set up near the bottom. Sure enough the infamous corner caught several people out.

We slip a spot in both sessions and get fourth twice. We will have to make up some ground.

Jon had a little bit of a moment in one of the tricky corners and managed to get the Cayman turned around. That and a strange mechanical gremlin put his car a bit far back in the running.

Is it morning already?

2010-05-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

Ugh. Next time…no pool…just get rest. I managed a meager 4 hours last night and am regretting taking time to shoot a few games.

Morning ritual of showers/news/packing car/studying track maps and videos. It’s too early for me to be showing signs of sleep deprivation.

Half awake, I reach to open the door and recoil from the semi-moist, semi-solid, semi-cold blob that is all of a sudden in my hand. Somehow a egg got wedged in my door handle. Grr…the practical jokes have already started

hallet ok

2010-05-03T01:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry...I have tons of photos and updates...but it's again late in the evening and I need to get some rest. I'll hopefully update the last 1.5 days event's shortly...but first...sleep.

We got a some points back today with a good showing by Dwight, though a couple cars in our class are proving very difficult to catch.

Hope to catch up the posts and photos tomorrow...sorry folks...

Pool & Steaks

2010-05-03T01:00:00.000-07:00

When checking into the hotel, we ran into Hugh, one of the sponsors and competitors. He’s going next door to a pool hall & grill, Sandite, and suggested we join him there when we get settled.

Dwight and I joined him at the bar and decided to have dinner. Mentally preparing for the usual greasy bar food, we were very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the steaks we ordered. The owner/cook/server Cindy and her waitress really made us feel at home.

As one who cannot pass up a game of pool, I asked Dwight if he’d shoot a game or two. This would turn out to perhaps be a poor choice as it was a missed opportunity to get a full night’s sleep…something we’d not see for days to come.

We did finally corner our sponsors to discern their expectations of our effort. They enjoy building giant killers (a GTI that takes down Porsches, Vipers, and Vettes) and we want to not disappoint. We decide to go for points where we can and should we find we’re out-gunned, we use the “B-driver,” AKA, yours truly.

Transits with Truckers

2010-05-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

From Mid America, we drive almost 500 miles to Oklahoma for tomorrow’s race at Hallett. It’s a transit that takes us through innumerable back-country roads. We take a slightly alternate route from the official route book and manage to shave off 45 minutes. Though driving at not overly aggressive speeds, we made good use of the radar detectors.

Several times, however, truckers seemed to intentionally box off cars and even once almost side-swipe one of the One-Lappers off the road.

Mid America Motorplex

2010-05-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Mid America Motorplex, Iowa
Saturday, May 1, 12:00PM
Leg Mileage: 583
Overall Mileage: 818

Mid America is a pretty flat track in where any water is bad, because it doesn’t drain well. One might think that a track without elevation is desirable, because it minimizes variables. While this is true, it also minimizes sightlines of corners. Though the track is pretty easy to figure out, it’s more difficult than one might imagine to see the upcoming corners.

The winners from last year, the Nissan GTR of Renkins and Taylor, unfortunately had an issue with their motor and dropped out of the competition, making the top spot essentially a two car race: The Porsche RSR driven by a hired gun and another Nissan GTR, driven by Catesby Jones.

We post a 17th and an 18th in the two sessions, both third in class. Good points, but not going to be able to touch the leaders in class unless they make a mistake or break.

Our team mates in the other cars also do well, though a spin eats up some of Sean's lap time and allows a Honda to catch him.

The Mini-van is in a run-group with some very quick cars and is a little comical being gridded next to more conventional race machines.

Nebraska - late

2010-05-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

Long slog of 500 plus miles to hotel. I started working on photos and more posts, but it's too late. Will update more tomorrow.

Dwight clawed back some points in the afternoon, finishing 3rd in class. More importantly, he managed to avoid any drama with a spun-out Camaro in front of him.

Dwight downloaded the Traqmate data and has some good pointers for me...but it also had some wacky data. Evidently we had left the data logger on while we drove around the in-field paddock...made for an interesting track diagram.

Suburn

2010-05-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

Maybe it was because last year’s One-lap was so frequently rainy or maybe I just am used to spending too much time indoors, but I completely neglected to use any sunscreen. I’m looking like a lobster with raccoon eyes. That’s going to hurt tomorrow.

Road America #2

2010-05-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Road America, WI
Saturday, May 1, 12:00PM
Leg Mileage: 0
Overall Mileage: 235

Since this is the session where our running order will be set, Dwight will be on duty. It’s important to have a good starting position so we can get early starts on the tracks (and more importantly, early departures for the transits). We’ll be running the short course for this section (cuts off the main straight and the second “straight).

Dwight manages to post us a decent time securing us 22nd place.

We record the track data for analysis and find he’s 10MPH faster in the straights than I…I have to work on my exit speeds.

While shooting photographs, I meet an advertising exec for the Mazda team who asked if he could have the photos of their entry. I’m happy to help and we exchange information. This minivan is, incidentally, built by a professional race crew and is…ahem…often in the top 10. It’s not your ordinary grocery getter.

Bad off

2010-05-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

In the first session at Road America, we had a pretty bad accident. One of the competitors lost his brakes in Canada Corner (a VERY quick entry...we estimate he was likely 120-140MPH into it).

He managed to get his Cadillac CTS-V all the way across the gravel trap, into the tire wall, bounce up and over the tire wall, and through the catch fence. His car finally stopped, upside down, next to a tree on the wrong side of the fence. We think it might have been the CTS-V's traction control attempting to intervene so frequently that it cooked the brakes in a single lap.

Thankfully, he escaped with only minor bumps and bruises. The car, unfortunately, was totaled.

Hats off to the team at Road America, who were on scene immediately. They took care of the driver and immediately set off to cleaning & rebuilding the race track. The track was closed for a bit, while they worked on both driver and track.

The driver, in true One-Lap style, once the shock and adrenaline wore off, went to a local dealer and bought a Chrysler Crossfire to continue in. Evidently these unpopular cars have become a common "replacement vehicle" for folks that break or crash. He peeled off the stickers from the Caddy, applied them to his new car, and continued to the next event.

After an appropriate amount of deference (a few hours with this crew), we started joking with the driver that you should never get a car number that looks the same upside-down as right-side up. His number? 69.

Capt. Slow at work @ Elkhart Lake

2010-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Road America, WI
8:00AM
Leg Mileage: ~15(ish) Overall Mileage: 235

Road America is one of the more famous tracks in the US and definitely one of (if not THE) longest. At a little over 4 miles, it's a bit daunting. The main straight is over 3000' and the speed into the braking for a fast turn one can be a bit of a pucker moment.

We decided that I would do the morning session, though I must admit I was a bit hesitant (never driven this car in anger, never driven this track...at all). I'm pretty confident that I'm not going to be setting a great time in the short time I'm on it. The format is one recon lap, followed by three timed laps...not much to figure out everything I need to be quick. Mastering braking distances, turn-in/out, etc in such a short time is pretty much impossible for your faithful Captn' Slow.

We're in an early run-group, with some heavy hitters around us...I looked a bit nervously at the Vettes and Vipers in my session. I asked to be put at the back, so I wouldn't have to watch my mirrors on the incredibly long straight. Passing slows everyone down in this format...and I had enough on my mind.

Before I knew it, I was waved out for my recon. I didn't intend to push it much, but still managed to hang the rear-end out on turn one when I used a little more rumble strip than maybe I should have. The AWD Audi is a bit more tail-happy than I expected...but you just have to trust it and it will *(usually) pull you out of trouble.

I whipped around the recon lap at a moderate pace to at least get the lines down...braking...we'll see. I figured if slow-in, fast-out was the mantra, I might try slower-in and see what happened.

The big Audi was fairly quick, but seemed a bit heavy and seemed slower than I expected (probably the driver). Even with it's bulk, I found I was over braking in every corner. The massive RS4 Brakes seemed up to the task, though the tires complained on more than one corner as I asked a little more than they wanted to give.

The long straight wasn't as intimidating as I had thought, though there is a blind crest before start-finish that you just ignore and keep the foot down. On my last lap, in one corner a debris flag was being shown, though I didn't see anything. I slowed, but didn't know until later that a Corvette ahead of me lost his power-steering pump. I found him on the side of the track a few corners later in Canada Corner. Odd there was no yellow on that corner, so I powered through.

My performance was BAD. I left time in just about every corner. The straights and kinks were pretty much flat out, but I over babied the braking zones and never got 14 (the turn onto the main straight) right. I ended about where I expected...6th in class (out of 10). Ugh...lost us some ground on that one.

I also found out that when I attempted to turn ON the water-meth injection system, I had turned it off because someone else turned it on. Lost a bit of power there too...oops.

Dwight is downloading my Traqmate data so we can look at where I need to work. He's going to run the short track next to hopefully make up some points.

Bed time...almost

2010-04-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

Grafton WI, 12:30AM
Leg Mileage: 210 Overall Mileage: 210

Got some time driving the Audi today on our transit to Wisconsin. We stopped within striking distance of Road America, but will have to leave the hotel in about five hours or so to get there in time to unload and setup. Not sure I'll be able to do a track-walk because of the size of the track.

Road America is a long, and very fast track...and new to me. I'm going to do the morning session and not going to lie...a bit nervous. I'm going to watch some videos before I sleep and hope some of it sticks for tomorrow.

Dwight will do the second session on the short-course as it's going to determine our run-group for the rest of the week. He's raced here before and should have an advantage over many of the competition.

Hope the rain stays away...

Day one

2010-04-30T20:54:00.000-07:00

South Bend, IN
Day Mileage: 0 Overall Mileage: 0

Today we had the driver meeting. Brock & co. gave the usual warnings about sensible driving cars "cleverly disguised as race cars" on public roads. When polled during the driver meeting, about a third of the competitors were lap-puppies (rookies). Dwight and I had managed to graduate to being "lap-dogs" after surviving last year's race.

The H2Sport teams all wore our team shirts and looked almost official. They came in handy when trying to track each other down in the crowded pit area.

We stickered-up our cars this morning with the sponsor and official decals. If nothing else, it's important for the cars to look quick.

Today was a fairly easy day. The first event is a wet-skid pad challenge...the car with the best lateral g-force rating wins. I did this event last year, so we decided that Dwight would get a shot this year. You do laps around a 200' circle that has a sprinkler system wetting it.

The winning team from last year posted an impressive first run, with 0.97G (in the WET!) in their exquisite Nissan GTR. Not only was this a new one-lap wet record, but it went unbeaten by the rest of the field.

Our teammates both had strong showings, placing 16 (GTI) and 17 (Cayman). Dwight wasn't able to push the Audi as hard as he'd expected, with the rear-end stepping out a little more easily than expected and posted a .776 G rating...placing us about mid-pack overall and tied for 4th in class. Not bad considering the Subis and Evos in the class with active yaw control and other computerized handling assists.
We packed up and headed out...right before the rain came. Off to Wisconsin to race on Road America tomorrow.

The cars

2010-04-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

South Bend, IN
Day Mileage: 0 Overall Mileage: 0

I got to sit in the car last night for the first time. Good news is I fit...which, when you're 6'5" is not always a given. We're driving the H2Sport Audi A4 Avant. It's no longer a grocery getter though. Reg, Bill, and the H2S crew have outfitted it with some serious go-fast toys. Turbo, chip, suspension, water-methanol, etc...oh...and BRAKES! After last year, we're a little sensitive to discussions of brake issues. We think, this year, these 14.5" monsters might be up to even Dwight's abuse.

Reg and Bill are running their über GTI and have added even more craziness to their already insane ride.

Sean and Jon are running a turbo upgraded Cayman S that's putting down well over 400 whp.

The competition includes everything from a Mazda minivan (but it's so much more than that after the Mazda sport folks got their hands on it) driven by Jason Saini (as in Speed challenge racer...etc) to modified corvettes to vintage BMWs and everything in between.

South Bend

2010-04-29T13:54:00.001-07:00

Erik and I arrived in South Bend today without any drama, got registered and drank a couple of beers. Now awaiting the arrive of our car which is in transit from Canada. Poor Erik has never seen it much less drive it. Tomorrow is the first event, a skid pad oval at Tire Rack's headquarters then it's a 220 mile transit to Road America -- one of the great tracks in America.

Traqmate

2010-04-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

Once again, Traqmate has loaned us a Traqmate complete data acquisition system. We will be collecting data from each of the tracks we visit along with video. Traqmate has a great video system called Traqcam that combined collected data with video. Here's an example:

Traqmate New Gauges from Glenn Stephens on Vimeo.

Eve before I leave

2010-04-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

It's late and I still have a mountain of work to do to get ready. I'm prepping lectures and midterm exams for the coming week's (mis)adventures. I've pared down my gear to that which I can carry on the plane...worrying about lost luggage (my carry-on will have my helmet, fire-suit, a few pairs of undies, and a toothbrush—you know, the essentials). I wonder what they'll say at the security check-point.

I think my excitement is tempered by a heady mix of nerves and last minute contingency planning.

Deep breath...okay...on to writing mid-term #2.

2010 travel map

2010-04-22T07:06:00.001-07:00

This year we will visit Road America, Mid America, Hallett, Tulsa Raceway, Gateway International, Mid Ohio, New Jersey Motorsports Park and Nelson Ledges.

Here's a map of the locations for the 2010 One Lap of America. It 3,407 miles, 2 days 9 hours of flat out driving!

View Larger Map

2010 One Lap

2010-04-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

The 2010 One Lap of America is only 2 weeks away and somehow someway Erik and I have been able to put together a deal to drive an incredible Audi A4 Avant 2.0T built H2Sport by Reg Noble and Bill Unwin. Our charity this year will be the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

We meet these Canadians during last year's event and got along great. They are returning with a strong, leaner, faster VW GTI with about 400HP, a big rear wing and humongous brakes off of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

The Avant has some serious horsepower and brakes. It also weighs a lot. During a test day at CMP, we were able to get fast laps times out of the car even though we were on stock tires.

We are classified as a "mid-priced luxury sedan". Our competition is mainly from several well-prepared and driven Suburu STI and WRXs. One of which finished 3rd overall last year.

2010 will be another year of learning. We don't expect to win our class. Just want to finish without any major issues and turn in some competitive times.

Just booked the rooms and computed the routes. Cannonball, here we come!

The big finish

2009-05-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Because of lack of sleep and internet, I've again been a bit incommunicado. I hope to post the final two event photos and results soon.

For those of you that have followed us on the main One Lap site or Motor Trend blog, you know that the race is over. Not a shocker, but we weren't in contention for the overall or class wins.

I managed to get home safely, but took a couple days this time for the transit.

Thanks for following us and cheering us on. We will likely do this next year (but bring a machine with a few more toys to compete).

I need to get my photo-stream uploaded as well...more to come.

On my long slog home, I took this picture from the driver's seat as I literally drove into the sunset...the original Cannonball logo, in nature.

Carolina bound

2009-05-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Erik and I left Daytona heading towards South Carolina where we had three events, 2 on road course at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw and an autocross at the BMW Performance Center in Greer. The transit from Daytona included the "Braille Battery MPG Challenge." Each contestant had to fill up at a Shell station right outside of the Daytona track. The gas filler cap was sealed with 'voiding' tape. We then had to drive to Riceboro Georgia where we would fill up again and the amount of gas used would be logged by officials. I've never tried to 'hyper-mile' - a technique where fuel mileage is maximized by drafting, coasting, not using A/C, etc. Anyway, Erik decided we'd try to win a trophy for our class (SSGT2SB).

We filled up and headed north on I-95. Immediately we encountered stop-n-go traffic. Lots of trucks and minivans in the left lane. Erik was very zen. No hard acceleration, minimal braking, some drafting. It was hot and muggy. We kept the windows rolled up and the A/C off. We got testy.

The route book provided by One Lap said to get off at Exit 67, the updated sheet said Riceboro Shell and the actual exit said South Newport. I had plugged in Riceboro in to Garmin GPS and found the 1st exit off I-95. As we approached that exit we had to decide whether to get off or not. Confused by the exit being for South Newport, we made the call to go to the next exit. Wrong! Right after passing the exit we saw a Shell station with several One Lap cars getting gas. Dang! There was a police car at the first possible turn around so we had to drive an additional 15 miles to get back to the exit. That mistake, coupled with a minor detour earlier, caused us to lose the contest. All that suffering for nothing! The winning car was the Braille Altima hybrid with 70+ MPG. They were ineligible so the trophy went to the Honda Civic Si. We later found that they they drafted trucks and turned off the ignition to coast. Sounds dangerous.

CMP is a fairly tight road course designed by Alan Wilson. We would run the new configuration in the morning and then the old one. The track was wet and there were several dramatic slides and offs in the first group. I've raced here so I drove both events placing 1st and 3rd.

We quickly packed and headed off to Greer SC where BMW has manufacturing and driver training facilities. Upon arrival, we parked, unpacked and grabbed a spot in line. BMW provided free lunches for participants and there was a large crowd of spectators. The autocross track was a combination of fast and slow sections. There was some concern about safety so the entire course was lined with orange cones. Hit one and it would be a 2-second penalty. A very tight chicane slowed cars coming onto the front straight. One corner was very exciting, a right-left-right combination with a steep blind drop-off. Mess up there and you could mash the car against the guardrail.

The Noble/Unwin GTI broke during their run after a cam-driven high pressure fuel pump failed. The part was designed by APR to help the VW 2.0T engine make more than 400HP and costs over $1000. Unfortunately this failure caused them to miss the 2 events at BeaveRun while they limped to South Bend finale.

SSGTSB class was very tight with all 4 remaining cars finishing 21 to 25th overall. We ended up with a 3rd place finish in class.

Everyone was not looking forward to the transit to BeaveRun. The GPS said we would get to the hotel around 3:30AM and we had to be at the track at 8AM. Ugh

Awards ceremony

2009-05-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

Tire Rack
South Bend, IN
5/9/2009 13:00

(Leg Mileage 239, Overall Mileage 3265)

We did another skid-pad in the morning. Most of us, including myself, were nursing a hangover and not relishing high-speed circles this morning. I did much better than in the wet, scoring 0.928 Gs, good enough for 19th overall.

After that, we packed up and waited for the awards ceremony.

Alas, we didn't place high enough to earn a trophy, but it was good to sit in the massive Tire Rack warehouse and swap stories and lies with the other competitors.

The overall winners were the 42 Motorsports team driving a beautiful Nissan GTR. They were pretty cool guys, not the aloof self-important types you sometime see at the top.

Although we didn't manage a trophy, Dwight got the honorary "oh-!@#" award for the best on-track drama. The award? A pack of toilet paper.

missing posts

2009-05-09T04:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry all, I've been keeping a log, but not had time nor internet to get the posts on the site. I plan to make up for this after today's event.

(spoiler alert)

We are within striking distance of 3rd place (but unlikely as they would need to DNF) in class. I'll post the past few days excitement when we have more than a brief moment.

Cheers!

Beaverun

2009-05-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

BeaveRun
Wampum, PA
8:00 5/8/2009

(Leg Mileage 562, Overall Mileage 3006)

After a whopping 2 hours of sleep (money well spent on that hotel), we headed to BeaveRun for the next to final event. The lack of sleep and long transit finally had worn me down and I was a bit grumpy.

Dwight walked the track as I unpacked. He suggested that I should walk the track too, as I would be doing the second session. At this point, I just wanted to get it unpacked. I pulled the wheels off and again, for the millionth time now, we bled the brakes. They still were a bit softer than we'd like. We looked at the pads to check their condition...they were worn to about one fourth of the pad's original width. They had already started sending cars out on track, so I suggested we run the first session and change pads in between.

Grudgingly, I acquiesced to the brake change, but we were running against the clock now. Should we miss the first run group, it would be another DNS/DNF. As soon as we started, people gathered around asking questions. I wasn't in a mood to entertain.

Once we got the pads off, they almost disintegrated in our hands. I guess it was time to do it. We managed to get the new pads on and the wheels on just in time for Dwight to line up in the last run group of the session. I told him to not be a hero, as the brakes were brand new, hastily installed, and at a minimum, not bedded in yet. "Just peddle around, get our 80 points, and don't hurt yourself."

That advice lasted about a lap, evidently. Dwight, on a track he'd never driven, on new brakes, placed 26th overall. I took a nap.

After the second run, they opened the track for fun runs. I was originally planning to get back in the car and get on the road, but the younger Canadian team convinced me to do a few laps. Dwight drove me around a couple laps to show me how he drove the track. We swapped seats and I drove quite a few laps. After Dwight got out of the car, I ran solo and made a point to catch and pass the few other cars on track. I'm glad that we took advantage of the open track time as we had it almost to ourselves.

As I pulled off track, Dwight motioned me over to where he was watching with some of the other competitors. He took one of them for a couple laps to show her the line...evidently she was impressed...or scared...probably both. She wasn't quite prepared that Dwight only needed to brake in three corners of the circuit. He was pretty much flat through the rest.

We packed up our gear (yet again) and made our way back to South Bend for the final event.

BMW Perfornance Center

2009-05-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

BMW Performance Center
Spartanburg, SC
16:00 5/7/2009

(Leg Mileage 154, Overall Mileage 2464)

A quick (154 miles now seems like nothing) jaunt up to the purpose-built BMW testing/training facility. It was a bight tight getting there on time because of a few competitors somehow negotiating better starting positions and pushing our second session at CMP back.

Since we were in full point mode by now (3rd place was in sight), Dwight did the run. Almost an autocross format, there was no chance to mess up and cones were everywhere. Our rivals in the white GTI (not that we could reach them at this point) had broken something in their fuel delivery system and couldn't finish the event.

Dwight came back from the run almost giddy...as it was a technical run that gave him a few opportunities to really toss our little GTI around. Unfortunately, the Stealth beat him by a few seconds, but it's still good points.

560 miles to our next destination...and we are only starting the trip at around 6pm...tonight is going to hurt.

Carolina Motorsports Park

2009-05-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Carolina Motorsports Park
Kershaw, SC
08:00 5/7/2009

(Leg Mileage 439, Overall Mileage 2310)

First I must thank the Canadians. They had suggested we reserve a covered spot at Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP) the previous day. For a measly $25, we secured the final covered spot. Thanks guys!

CMP is a tricky track...especially in the wet. Since we could make up some ground, Dwight was again on duty. They announced that we could do "charity fun-runs" at lunch so I had no problem letting Dwight, again, do the timed laps.

I decdied to change the oil since we've put a fair amount of not-so-nice mileage on the car. I really wished I had a lift for this...as jackstands can only get the car so high. We also bled the brakes (again!) while the car was up.

CMP (or Kershaw to some) reinforced it's reputation as a challenge as several cars apun in the high-speed "kink." The Canadian GTI was one of the unfortunate victims...which gave us a glimmer of hope in making an improvement in our standing. The BMW M3 also suffered a spin in the final turn...we could make up some ground today.

In the first session, Dwight managed a first in class and 16th overall...very impressive work by my co-driver. He beat the Dodge Stealth entry by a single second over three laps! We made up some serious points.

During the "fun-run" lunch session, I took the turn at the wheel. Unfortunately, since there were spectators on track, the speeds were limited to a crawl. A few wannabe racers made attempts to give a run, but the traffic on track prevented any serious speed. When a few tried to get a little too quick, I pulled off to give myself a gap (though Brock told me to keep it under 55...ugh).

Dwight did a good job in the second session, though the Canadian team didn't spin and the Stealth made up some ground. We ended third in class.

Brock Yates is an evil SOB...or, the "Braille Battery MPG Challenge"

2009-05-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

After Daytona, we needed to head north to South Carolina for the next event. Braille Battery sponsored a fuel economy challenge for this leg of our transit. They make some really cool batteries, including a low-weight carbon-fiber racing battery.

We left the track to fill up our gas tanks at the Shell station across the street. The gas tanks were then sealed with security tape (which will never come completely off, we find out later) and sent on a 190 mile leg to another station. The car that uses the least amount of fuel for the transit wins.

At first, I was thinking of skipping this challenge as I did not look forward to the hyper-mile driving style and there were no points for the challenge. There was a trophy, however, and I had become a bit competitive at this point...so...we took it seriously.

Windows up, A/C off, moderate speed, and no aggressive driving (ugh). Florida muggy heat (double-ugh). After about two hours of sweating in the car, Dwight and I both questioned the sanity of this event and, indeed, ourselves for participating. At this point, however, we were committed.

We got close to the point where we expected the exit to be, but the town names didn't match up. A dilemma to be sure: risk stopping at the wrong station or risk missing the fill up. Since the town names were different from our route guide, we pressed on...but noticed a few competitors at the station as we drove past. Uh oh!

Next exit...10 miles...Crap!

We attempted to use an emergency turn around, but found the next one already occupied by an emergency vehicle. I babied the car, using the cruise control to accelerate, but we were burning gas.

We made it back, finally...but the detour probably cost us a competitive position. 3 hours of sweaty discomfort...for nothing

[we probably would have won a trophy for class had it not been for the extra mileage...the award went to the Canadians in the über-GTI)

Traqmate data

2009-05-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

A big thank you to the folks at Traqmate for the loan of a data acquisition system for our Cannonball effort. It's a pretty slick little setup that uses accelerometers and GPS data to track your performance around a track. All you have to do is velcro mount the unit and GPS sensor and plug it into the 12-volt power on the car. Traqmate was even smart enough to figure out when the laps started (no pressing lap buttons at speed...very nice).

Unfortunately, we had to use Windows to download the data, but it's a really nice tool for someone like me to figure out why Dwight is 10 seconds per lap faster around Daytona. It's too bad we didn't have an in-car video setup for this run because we could overlay data on the video and really show how slow I am compared to my co-driver.

Thanks Traqmate!

Daytona

2009-05-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

Daytona International Speedway
Daytona, FL
08:00 5/5/2009

(Leg Mileage 128, Overall Mileage 1871)

The trip from the drag race to Daytona was a breeze in comparison to most of our transit legs. We checked into the hotel and while Dwight did some laundry, I grabbed a beer at the bar next door.

The next morning we arrived at the famous track early and unpacked our gear in a nice pit area. The pits were covered and powered...a luxury for us to date. Since I had gotten into points mode (and since I was a little intimidated by the track) I was going to let Dwight run both sessions.

One does not get a good appreciation for the banking here until attempting to walk up the impressive inclines. My shin and calves were working overtime to keep me upright on the 31 degree slope. That's like a two-story house height from infield to wall.

Oh...the wall...yeah. I examined the "safer barrier" collapsible outer wall. Note to self...don't find out how "safer" it is.

Dwight went out for the first session and did well, considering we ran out of power quickly. We placed last in our class because the very high-speed section of the track exposed our comparatively lower horsepower. Since even our hot-shoe could do no better than 5th in class, I decided to do the second session.

At the lunch break, surprisingly, we were allowed to do "low speed" parade laps of the full Nascar circuit (we were racing on the road course, which uses 3/4 of the circuit and an infield). After confirming that I was allowed to go, Dwight and I hopped in the car. While making the loop, he could point out braking markers, turn in points, etc...at least for the parts we were "parading" on.

Driving on the banking is an odd feeling at low speeds. At highway speeds, it literally feels like you are about to slide off the track to the inside. As the speeds increase, the car is pushed into the track more and the sensation goes away. At triple digit speeds, it's barely noticeable.

Going around the steeply banked corners limits vision front and rear...all you can see is asphalt in both directions. Even though the oval is over 2 miles, it can feel almost claustrophobic.

The limit was supposed to be around 85 MPH for this demo run. A few competitors, however, held back near the "bus-stop" on the back straight to get a run on Nascar turns 3 and 4. The Corvette in front of me accelerated to over 100 MPH during these stretches. I, of course, followed suit. After a few laps of this, Dwight and I wondered aloud about the safety of this. Nobody was wearing helmets for the "parade lap."

For my session, I would be on the road course and had studied in-car video and the track map. What I didn't know yet was the speeds and braking points. On my recon lap, I cooked into the bus-stop kink at well over 100 MPH and braked early but hard. I was about 2 feet from the wall and the rear end of the car started dancing...a butt-pucker moment to be sure.

I managed a decent speed, for my flying laps, but the car was significantly underpowered for such a high-speed track. I topped out a little above 130 in the start-finish straight before getting on the brakes again.

Daytona is an easy track to learn and a difficult one to master. I braked too early into turn one and never really managed to get the bus-stop right. Dwight averaged about 10 seconds a lap faster than me...but it didn't matter, we were going to be in 5th for both events. I was faster, however, than some poorly driven but much more powerful cars.

Still Daytona was a blast to drive.

Traction Control is a Drag

2009-05-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

Gainesville Raceway
Gainesville, FL
18:00 5/5/2009
Drag race

(Leg Mileage 202, Overall Mileage 1743)

For the late runners at Sebring, getting to Gainesville on time was going to be a bit tight. Fortunately, our run group was done a bit earlier and we could make the transit without much drama. We pulled into the raceway parking lot and (again) unpacked the car.

We decided that I'd do the drag race, even though I've never before been on a professional drag strip. After the cars were inspected for safety, the drivers met at the beginning of the strip for a quick tutorial on drag racing. The race steward in a not so subtle drawl explained the staging area, timing lights, the "tree," and the run-off procedures. He had the friendly mischievous squint of someone who's seen it and done it.

The track is "prepared" with a coating of a friction enhancing substance (glue) to maximize grip. An errant step on the prepped asphalt is not too dissimilar to the gummy floor of a too infrequently cleaned movie theater. It's so sticky, in fact, that he warned the Porsche drivers not to "drop the clutch" or they would likely drop their transmission on the track.

When done with the quick run-through of procedures, we lined up for our "low-ET" run. The goal was to run as fast as we could through the quarter mile–the lower time, the better. In our little GTI, we had no hope of posting a great low ET score, but needed the information to help predict our times in the upcoming bracket races.

I got in line next to the Cayman S, driven by the son of our class rivals in the GTI. As we lined up, we gave each other the mock-disrespect, American Graffiti style (Canadian Graffiti in his case?). After the staging lights were lit, the tree flashed down...yellow, yellow, yellow, green...and we were off.

Well sort of off...

One hopes to learn from their mistakes, but I, in this case, did not. I had forgotten to turn the traction control off! The engine almost died as it was starved for fuel, the electronic nanny assuming I was losing control of my car. I cursed at myself, "!@#$" as I reached to turn it off and motor forward....16.198.

Not only did I lose time on the one-chance-only low-ET run, I now had no idea what to estimate my "dial-in" time would be for the bracket racing. I was in trouble. I estimated I lost at least a full second turning off the traction control, but had no way to confirm. I asked a track official who questioned the estimate, "A whole second is a lotta time, son...you sure?" At his recommendation, I dialed in at 15.50.

Bracket racing is a handicap system where two different speed cars can race each other at the same time. My side of the tree will light at a different time than the car next to me, calculated so that we (in a perfect run) would both arrive at the finish simultaneously. Win or loss would be based on how accurately we dialed in, reaction time, and shifting through the quarter mile.

The goal is to get as close to your dial in time, beating your opponent, without going faster than your dial in.

My first run was against a built up Corvette. I have to admit it was a bit funny seing an anemic GTI matched against a classic drag racing machine. Since he was much faster, I got a significant head start...the win would be based on how well we performed during the race.

Yellow, yellow, yellow, GREEN (actually one starts accelerating on the third yellow). I had, this time, remembered to disable launch control and had slipped the clutch pedal out at around three grand. The wheels spun quite a bit and I had to feather the throttle a bit to get grip. I launched down the blacktop, nailing my up-shifts near red-line. Behind me somewhere, a monster Corvette was being unleashed to hunt me down.

I saw him approaching in my mirrors, but at a few hundred feet to the finish, I realized I was going to win by several car lengths. To avoid breaking-out (going faster than my dial-in), I actually hit the brakes before the finish line. It’s a good thing I remembered to do it, as my time surely would have been too quick.

A GTI out dragged a built Corvette? Surely it can’t be so…

I managed to also take down my second adversary, the 944 Turbo in our class in the next drag race (I lowered my dial in time to ensure I had room to spare). I again had to lift at the end, but it was much closer than the first race. My third race, I lost to a M5 because I spun my wheels too much at the start.

As I rolled back from my last drag-race, I realized that I had won my class. Unfortunately the traction control mistake cost me in the overall low-ET race. At least we were able to stop the Canadian über GTI’s clean sweep of the events.

On to Daytona…

Sebring

2009-05-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

Sebring International Raceway
Sebring, FL
08:00 5/5/2009

(Leg Mileage 616, Overall Mileage 1541)

It's 8AM and it's already getting muggy and hot. Today is going to be uncomfortable. We get to the track early and unload. Dwight and I are still fighting with setup on the GTI, trying to reduce the annoying understeer. Sebring and Daytona are going to be the weakest tracks for us because no matter how well we drive, we need more power to be competitive.

Sebring is a race course built on old airport runways and is famous for being hard on automobiles. The bumpy, inconsistent surface has been known to inflict serious damage to race cars. It's said that 12 hours at Sebring are worse than 24 hours at Le Mans. Teams often use the crucible of this track to stress test their components.

Gulp.

Dwight has raced here many times; most recently in his Radical DSR. Again, he's on point on this course. Unfortunately, there are several long straights here that will really emphasize our lack of power.

In the first session, Dwight again scored us some good points even though the other cars in our class were 30+ miles per hour faster in the long straight. Dwight came prepared with detailed track maps and notes, which we have shared with other racers (even our direct competition).

His third place finish helped pull us up in points. Unfortunately, during the second session, the Dodge Stealth team managed to just edge us out of 3rd. More points, but not enough to pull us out of 5th.

The Supercharged Mustang team has been plagued with several electrical and mechanical woes, having an electrical fire in their wiring harness that robbed them of ABS and other aids. A Subaru managed to overboost and blow their head-gasket in a smoky mess...unfortunately they had to trailer their car home and dropped out.

Now to pack up and head to the drag races.

Damn it's hot here.

Long drive to Sebring

2009-05-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

616 Miles of transit to next stop...and my backside is not happy with it. Fortunately the hotel was kind enough to keep the bar open for us a bit late.

The Baron was holding court in the bar as I and several other drivers use my laptop to watch Sebring laps repeatedly. Dwight has experience here and will again try to do his best to get us some points in the un-balanced field.

Outside, another racer was trying to at once put at ease and frighten a rookie to Sebring.

I met a fairly angry gentleman in the elevator who turned out to be the technician for the Braille team's Altima hybrid car. He was flown in at the last minute to tweak the car and was heading out for an all-nighter on the car.

2009-05-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

Talladega Grand Prix
Talladega, AL
08:00 5/4/2009
GP Circuit

(Leg Mileage 269, Overall Mileage 925)

Rain...
Uh-oh...

We arrived early to a very damp track. We had debated splitting the two sessions or having a single driver for both…the rain decided it for me. Dwight is on point. The Talladega track is primarily a motorcycle racetrack, and a bit narrow for auto-racing.

Unpacking our car in the swamp wasn’t terribly fun. We shared space with a father/son team from Florida and combined their tent and our tarps to make a small shelter for our gear.

I walked the track, but was more successful in soaking my lower extremities than memorizing the racing line. I wasn’t too worried, however, as the layout was fairly simple and I was likely going to let Dwight run both sessions…we need the points at this stage (and I’m not nearly as fast).

The wet conditions wreaked havoc with the point and squirt, high-horsepower racers. The guys in Corvettes, Camaros, Vipers, etc. weren’t happy to have their combination of big-tires and rear-drive in the rain. An advantage for our front-drive low horsepower car.

The slippery conditions precipitated a few offs, a more spectacular one from the Mitsubishi Gallant team. They were closing on a competitor and almost had room to pass, but had to abort the attempt and get harder on the brakes than the conditions allowed. They almost saved it, but hit a marshy puddle and in a rally style slap-splash, stopped.

Dwight’s run group was an odd mix of machines…each one bigger than the next (and all bigger than our little GTI). Dwight had a fire-breathing Dinan M5 chasing him down for the 3 timed laps in the first session. A stock, unmodified M5, mind you starts with over 500 horsepower. In 3 laps, Dwight managed to hold off the other driver and posted a good time for our under-built entry. A time that would secure us second in class for the run (behind the über GTI build by the Canadians).

Shortly after pulling into the pits, the skies really opened up and the track became even more ugly than before. As drivers are required to race with windows open, the damp conditions are external and internal.

Fortunately the rain lessened a bit for our second run; during which Dwight managed to secure another second place finish. This wrangled us a bit more points for our class competition.

Don't smoke crack and drive

2009-05-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Talladega – 21:20

On our way back from dinner, we walked by a running car at the side of the road with a woman slumped in the driver’s seat. The car looked banged up from a recent accident; odd noises clanked from under the hood.

When we couldn’t wake her, Dwight went to call 911 and I stayed with the woman. She looked like a drug addict and was unconscious. All of a sudden, she lifted her head, disoriented. I asked her to shut off the car and tried to get information from her. She was totally out of it and I tried asking if she had someone who could come pick her up. At her request, I managed to call her daughter, and left a voice mail.

By now, an ambulance had arrived and we left her in the care of professionals.

We're in Talladega, but where's everyone else?

2009-05-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Talladega, AL – 17:30 5/3/2009

We checked into a hotel near tomorrow’s event, securing the final room with two double beds. Twenty-one competitors were staying here tonight in addition to us, the desk clerk informed us. Odd, that we were one of the last to leave the autocross, but the first here.

Since we had a bit of daylight, we decided to rotate tires, bleed the brakes and see if we could minimize the under-steer (or as they say in Talladega, “poosh”). The East-Indian owners came out to see what these crazy guys in their sticker’d-up car were doing.

We wrapped up as the sun went down and wondered where the rest of the competition was. I double-checked the schedule and we were in the correct city for tomorrow’s race. Panic filled us as we wondered if the oval race actually was held and we didn’t wait long enough to find out.

On our way to dinner, around 8:30, we finally saw another competitor. After some hurried calculations, we assumed that they could not have done the race and still made it here by then. Only the next day did we find out that most of the field waited nearby the oval to hear confirmation of whether the event was cancelled. They actually did a recon lap of the oval and planned to hold the competition until a drizzle restarted. We would have had another DNS/DNF, but lucked out.

The oval that almost was

2009-05-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Highland Park
Greenbriar TN
18:00 5/3/2009
Oval track racing

(Leg Mileage 246, Overall Mileage 656)

Anyone who has watched the national news recently knows that the weather in this part of the country is pretty wet. Because of this, we were told, there was a good possibility that the oval race would be canceled for safety concerns.

At the autocross in the morning, Brock had said that we should all head to the oval and would be told if we were competing. “If nobody’s there, continue to the next track.” As we approached the track, we saw a series of other competitors heading back the other direction, and early indication that it was rained out.

We arrived to a closed, rainy track, with nobody around to give us directions. This, coupled with the others leaving, led us to believe that we were not going to race here today. The only question was, we had arrived a few hours prior to the proposed start of the race.

We drove on to Alabama.

Autocross in Kentucky

2009-05-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

Turfway Park
Florence, Kentucky
08:00 5/3/2009
Autocross

(Leg Mileage 304, Overall Mileage 410)

Getting up today was difficult…those damn Hilton beds are nice. Gotta get to Turfway Park for an Autocross. These events involve driving around a series of tight turns marked by cones in a parking lot. It’s a bit challenging as one has to memorize the track from a walk through and only has 3 chances to post a quick time. The Cincinnati Sports Car Club of America folks hosted the event for us and I have to say put on a very organized contest.

We arrived to the cheers of competitors who were sure we weren’t going to get the car fixed in time (and who got more that 2 hours of sleep). We’re back baby!

Our DNF (did not finish) at Autobahn pretty much guaranteed us a bad grid position, but Dwight prevailed upon Brock that his lap times warranted a higher starting position and we were slotted 20th out of 66 cars.

The Autocross event was mine to run, and I’ve done a few before so I kind of know what I’m in for. I walked the track a couple times and somewhat memorized the best line through the corners. I positioned my car in the proper grid position and waited for my start.

My first lap was pretty quick, one of the better ones in my class, but I was called out for missing a corner and got a DNF because of it. I asked for clarification and a map so as not to repeat my mistake (indeed I challenge that I did miss the corner they called as it was pretty obvious). They didn’t have any more information and told me to go away. Strike one.

As I waited for my second run, I watched the other cars to attempt to find my mistake. I couldn’t see where I had made it, and returned to my car. Usually one posts a safe time in the first run, to allow a real push in runs two and three…I now had to get a time on the board.

I started my second lap and focused on the cones, ensuring I would not miss a turn—looking further to predict the upcoming route. Again a good time was called over the intercom, again a DNF because I missed a turn. Turn two was called as my error…almost impossible to miss. Indeed I could find nobody who watched me that agreed with the assessment. Strike two.

I chatted with the Canadian GTI team who gave me grief about the DNFs and did little to assuage my growing concern about my final attempt.

I’m kicking myself now…we had a DNF yesterday…can’t afford another today. Dwight tries to cheer me up and suggests that I take it really slowly…even if I have a lousy time, we still will get some points.

I line up for my last attempt, the starter reminding the audience that I now have two DNFs…thanks. I have to make this stick. Left, right, left, right, left, left…tires squealing…and through the gate. The announcer read my time and I waited for the inevitable “DNF” announcement. Silence…I made it stick! A 46.882 lap...last in class and 42nd overall. Not my best effort, but at least we got some points on the board.

After everyone had done their three laps, we got a few “fun laps” that were not scored. Dwight, on his first attempt (and without the walkthrough), dropped 2 second from my lap time…ouch.

On to Highland Park Oval

Arrived...very very late in KY

2009-05-03T03:00:00.000-07:00

Kentucky – 3:00 AM

I love sleep. I love Hilton comfy beds. I am not looking forward to waking up tomorrow-in 2.5 hours.

Another competitor in the 944 Turbo (also in our class) had a half-shaft come loose after the event and were also delayed. When they passed us on the highway, we gave each other the commiseration wave...sharing in the mechanical pains of the Cannonball.

Brakes broke

2009-05-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

(IF MY FAMILY IS READING THIS. SKIP TO NEXT POST. NOTHING HAPPENED. HONEST.)

Autobahn Country Club
Joliet, Il
14:00 Saturday 5/2/2009

(Leg Mileage 106, Overall Mileage 106)

Autobahn is a well manicured motorsports country club outside of Chicago. Today we're doing the south course...a 2 mile mix of medium to high speed turns.

This is the course where our run-order for the rest of the week is determined, so a good showing is important. In other words, it's a track for my co-driver, Dwight to handle. In the group he ran with, there were a few Porsches, an Evo, and a Stealth...all significantly modified.

For this track we get one recon lap, followed by three timed laps. Whomever has the best cumulative time, wins. Dwight was out last in the run group, with a 997 twin turbo driven by "the Baron" closing on him. He managed to stay ahead of the car, even though the closing speed in the straights was frightening.

Dwight, off the line, forgot to turn off the stability control, so up to 4th gear had virtually no traction. He crawled up to speed until he realized the problem and switched the electronic nanny off.

Every time they disappeared around the back corners, we expected the outclassed GTI to be passed by the Porsche...and every time Dwight was first back to the main straight...a testament to his driving skill.

On Dwight's next to last lap, he drifted a bit through the final turn and looked a bit off the optimal line. Down the start finish straight, he was a little slower than the last couple passes and into the braking zone, he suddenly swerved off track, sliding through the grass, back onto the track (sideways) and off again. The Baron had closed from this off-course excursion and it looked like we might have a collision.

Fortunately, there wasn't a crash, but we all were wondering what had happened. Dwight limped the car back to the pits where he said the brakes were gone. We figured a boil-over or brake line failure...we started looking at fluids and popping off the wheels. A bunch of competitors came over to offer assistance. Fluid was fine, lines were fine, etc. so I checked the brake pads and rotors. I couldn't believe what I found. Both front rotors were literally sheared off of their hubs (after 2-laps).

We're in trouble now...I have spare pads, fluid, etc, but not rotors. One of the folks that were around was a previous One-Lap runner and started making calls on our behalf, looking for an auto parts store that had the part. He even posted our plight on a few VW and Audi websites, asking for help.

After about a dozen calls, we still had not found the parts we needed…seemed that we could find regular GTI rotors, but not the special Audi TT rotors that the 20th anniversary edition used.

We were making contingency plans to rent a U-haul and tow our car to the next race location and find parts when we got there. Enrique found a local VW dealership (D'Arcy VW in Joliet) that was going to try to find the parts, so we hopped in his truck and started that direction. When we were nearly at the door of the dealership, we got the bad news that they didn’t have them in stock. The owner gave me some local Audi shops to call to try to find one that was open and might have the parts.

It was almost 6PM on a Saturday; our chances of finding an open shop were almost nill. I managed to find a sales manager at Continental Audi in Illinois, Mitch, who said he’d try to find them, but couldn’t make any promises. After a few more calls around, and no word from Mitch, we were looking like the U-haul was our only option. A moment later, Mitch called me back. Even though the parts manager was gone and their office was closed, he had managed to find the needed parts. We were saved. He didn’t even know what they cost, so we agreed on a price and would refund later the balance.

Nick, the VW dealership owner’s son, volunteered to meet the Audi folks halfway and bring our rotors to us at Autobahn. Though it was 10:30 by the time we got everything back together and were on the road, we owe it all to the folks that conspired to get our Cannonball effort back on track. Thanks everyone! Now...on to Kentucky.

PS, Thanks to the folks that called in from the forums...there are lots of great people out there.

Circles in the wet

2009-05-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry a bit late with an update (more to come on that later).

Yesterday we officially started with the wet skid pad test at the Tire Rack in South Bend. Driving circles in the wet seems pretty simple and boring, but it requires quite a bit of finesse with the throttle and steering wheel. The best technique is to pretty much set a steering angle and control the car with your right foot.

Our tires were just installed a few hours before the event, so were an unknown. I chose some fairly aggressive street tires (Bridgestone Potenza RE-11) so was a bit concerned with wet traction. Turns out, my fears weren't really warranted, as they are actually pretty good in the wet...the weak link, unfortunately, was me.

We get no practice time before events (some tracks get a single recon lap), so I babied the first event...perhaps too much...and ended 5th in class (out of 5). 48th out of 60. My result, 0.715Gs in the wet...I'm sure the tires had more in them.

On to Autobahn in Chicago...Time for Dwight to make up for my poor showing...

These cars are nuts

2009-05-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

There are some cars in the competition that are seriously scary. Folks bring some heavy equipment to this event. We knew going in that this was going to be a scouting year for us and that we would likely not have competitive equipment, but to compete with the cars here, our budget's going to need a bit of inflation.

The pep talk

2009-05-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Brock's giving us the rules for the road.

Stickers

2009-05-01T17:04:00.001-07:00

The cars are all sticker'd up. "Cleverly disguised as race cars..."

Eve of the race

2009-05-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

Today we had the orientation and tech inspection. I had my tires installed (after they arrived...having been mistakenly shipped to California). The competition has been filing in all day...there are some serious machines and characters.

Our "competition" in class will come from the Canadian GTI. In spite of their wink-wink promises of stock parts, we've gleaned that their modest car has brakes from a Tourag SUV, a monster turbo, limited slip diff, complete suspension tuning, and much improved engine internals. I got a quick peek in the engine bay to see their "windsheild wiper fluid" bottle. The plumbing gave it away...methanol injection.

Uh oh.

Other cars range from barely street legal race cars to (no kidding) a family who's running in a rented sedan. Hope they got the extra insurance.

There's a Swiss chocolatier who's entered five trucks, driven by a crew with some serious racing chops. There's an Austrian in a new Porsche 997 turbo (towing a speed-rated trailer, mind you), who's supposedly the direct descendant of Baron Von Richtoven...we just call him "The Baron." Brock Yates Sr. & Jr. are both here and running in a BMW performance school car.

It's a moteley crew with monster machines.

The cannonball before the cannonball

2009-05-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

The start of the race is South Bend Indiana—some 2300 miles from home. I had planned to do the transit drive over three days, unfortunately fate intervened and forced my hand.

The team at Extreme Motor Works helped me dial in the GTI suspension and, frankly, fix some of the poorly installed parts from the previous tech. Unfortunately, as we were finishing up the car we managed to crack the windshield during a wiper blade replacement...at 1AM. I had planned on leaving early the next day but now needed to find a replacement windshield.

After a fruitless search of San Luis (would take another day to ship in), I decided to leave for South Bend and figure out the install on the way. The guys at Extreme found an installer for me, but now I was behind schedule.

Nothing quite underscores the vastness of the country like a fixed-back racing seat. It didn't take long for me to improvise a seat-padding upgrade by sacrificing a memory foam mat...this mat, quite literally, saved my ass over the next 32hours 27 minutes.

I left San Luis after lunch and headed east, the intent was to drive until I was tired, stop at a cheap motel for a few z's, rest and repeat. Driving late into the night, worrying about finding a windshield somewhere ahead, I decided to press on. Alas, as in the blackness of night, I missed some spectacular scenery in Utah and Colorado. Dawn broke as I hurtled down a mountain pass in the Rockies.

I drove on into the morning, crossing Colorado and Nebraska, wishing I had done the monotonous strech at night instead: field, cows, field cows, etc for hours on end. The passing of miles was punctuated only by the occasional cattle yard, preceeded inevitably by the smell.

I kept driving, stopping only for fuel and caffeinated beverages. I told myself that I'd get withing a one-day drive and stop. When I got to Chicago, I changed the plan and decided to one-stint the entire trip. Cannonball Baker would be proud.

So before our 8-day endurance 3200 mile (on road and more on track), i drove 2221.7 miles non-stop, solo, in 32 hours and change. I think my backside now resembles Spongebob Sqarepants.

Time for a beer.

The mods

2009-04-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

I asked my co-driver, Dwight, what he would like to see done to the car to prepare for the race. His list was fairly modest, considering he's usually racing much higher-dollar value toys.

Dwight suggested:

Roll Bar / Cage
Racing Seat(s)
Racing Harness
Coilovers
Upgraded Brakes/Pads/Fluid/Lines

Armed with this short shopping list, I naively went shopping for sponsors to help defray the costs or, better yet, donate parts entirely to the effort. Silly me, even the mystique associated with the Cannonball did little to impress or influence potential sponsorship.

I visited a local German auto repair shop to inquire about having them source and install the modifications. As luck would have it, the owner had build race cars for Porsche and currently employed a technician who was a crew-chief on a Volkswagen racing team. My not-so-subtle hints of sponsorship again didn't make much headway, but I pressed on undeterred with my requests. Their technician, extremely familiar with building a VW race car, prepared a two-page list of potential modifications...with a parts bill well into five digits.

After I regained consciousness, I looked again at the long list of proposed modifications and pictured my bank account balance. One of these things is most definitely not like the other. I again sought out freebies or semi-sponsored parts, with very little success.

A few days later I got a call back from the owner of Performance Cafe who expressed an interest in helping me out with my shopping list. Unfortunately, they also couldn't sponsor my effort, but at least were supportive. A few phone calls and emails later, we finalized the build items

The mods:

It wasn't a small bill, and I still had to get it installed. There went my budget (and then some).

The car

2009-04-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

So you've decided to race in the Cannonball, what will you drive?

In 1933, Erwin Baker set a cross-country record of 53.5 hours in an automobile (yes kiddies, cars were around back then). In just over two-days, he made it from New York to California in an age well before today's interstate super-highways. The original Cannonball Run races were (more) modern day reenactments of the cross country race; the competitors paying tribute to Mr. Baker's attempt while simultaneously thumbing the their noses at the increasingly draconian transportation regulations of the time.

The current format of the Cannonball (officially the One-Lap of America), embodies the spirit of the original, but is a mixture of public and private roads. Races on tracks are immediately followed by transits to the next track event...most of the time hundreds of miles away. If lucky, competitors might get to sleep in a bed a few night during the 8-day endurance trek; if unlucky, passenger seats or track-side sleeping bags are make-shift substitutes.

During the event, the driving environment will include activities on road courses, oval tracks, drag strips, and skid pads (not to mention 3200 miles of on-road transit driving). In an optimal situation, one would choose and setup a vehicle most suited to a single application. The Cannonball, in this sense, is far from optimal. Added this complex equation is that we can only use a single set of tires for the entire event. Tire Rack is sponsoring the event and will ensure that competitors stick to the rules.

With this set of challenges, what car is right for the Cannonball? After unsuccessfully trying to find used Porsche Twin Turbo's in my price range, I settled for the next best option, my daily driver. We're going to compete in a 2003 Volkswagen GTI.

Note to the VW purists out there, might not want to read on as we are going to hack a bit on the limited production 20th Anniversary Edition in a moment.

With the car selection completed, it's time to prep it for it's upcoming challenge...

Cannonball huh?

2009-04-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, the idea of actually competing in the Cannonball race seems a bit cartoonish. Almost each day (perhaps induced by the loss of sensation in my backside after a few hours in a racing bucket), I ask myself, "why?" Why spend the money? Why risk body and machine? The thought of a bunch of automotive enthusiasts driving like madmen on and off tracks for more than a week should drive most reasoned minds to think twice.

Perhaps this is my Everest; more likely, my mid-life crisis (could be worse...could just grow a baldy-tail and buy a convertible). Previous attempts have been thrice thwarted by co-drivers' changes of heart, budgetary constraints, or immovable obligations of my employers. This year, I've somehow managed to con my esteemed (and much more experienced) co-driver into joining my ill-advised adventure. Minimizing my work conflicts was a bit easier—I simply quit my product management position at [a large software publisher in Redmond]. I found that I am not, in fact, a PC. As far as budget... let's say I'm doing my part to help us out of our recession (and perhaps myself into the poor-house). [insert shameless sponsorship requests here]

So, to honor the great Erwin "Cannonball" Baker's (still impresive by today's standards) record and perhaps to dishonor the reputation of Mr. Yates' infamous event, we plan to test ourselves and our machine in the crucible of an improbably arduous endeavor.

Should I have energy and internet, I plan to keep the blog posted with our adventures.

Cheers,

-Erik