Chapter 146 - Summer 2009

AN ALIEN MAKES FIRST CONTACT!!!

NASA TX Round 6 - TWS

 

Round 5

Back ‘home’ at TWS (CW) for this round.  Nick pre-registered but couldn’t make the race.  That explains the rain we encountered on the Friday trip up.

Arrived at the track and began to finish wiring up new cool suit I had purchased the previous week.  Very nice addition.  Once that was wrapped up, we headed to our cozy home for the night; once again the Casa de Wade’s (thanks!)

Saturday morning practice with Group 7 again.  Out just making laps and getting familiar with braking points once again.  At the end of the front straight, I watched one of the NASCAR cars plow into the back of a S2000.  Not a pretty sight.  Qualifying puts CMC infront of CMC2 once again.

R1 – Get a mediocre start and begin to run down DF.  Trying to find a place to pass DF, at the same time trying to hold off Gary Hood, I come out of the carousel a little loose.  Back tires catch the rumble strip and spun me all the way around infront of a hard braking #20 car.  Whew.  Did a complete 360 and get back on my way.  Pretty much just a lapping session after that.  6th of 9.

R2 – Invert, get good start.  On the second lap, DF attempts a pass under braking into 6.  Axle hops and loops it.  I take to the grass to avoid, but he backs across grass right infront of me.  Contact.  Damn.  After the hit, I back up and see a big hole in his door. I envisioned my front bumper dragging and the radiator being all tore up. Limped it back to the paddock keeping an eye on the temp gauge. I was actually relieved when I saw the damage. The brake duct naca duct was somewhere off T6, the steel bumper on the passenger side was pushed back maybe 1", bumper cover had a few more marks, corner of the hood/fender has a small 1/2" bend. Biggest thing was my fabbed radiator box was bent to hell. My brother and I redrilled the fender brace to ensure clearance to turn the wheel and Gary Hood and I banged out the rad box and he re-pop riveted it in place. Good enough to race again on Sunday.  For my first real contact, I guess it could have been much worse.  I keep thinking of how tore up Glenn’s car and Rob’s car were after they got caught up in someone else’s spin during their comp school.

http://www.vimeo.com/6172687 (Not from my car)

Sam C., another TAMSCC member, gets his comp license to start his first race on Sunday.  The AIX cars elect to start at the way back.  CMC2 is faster than CMC this morning and grids behind AI.

R3 – Start near the back and play with some of the AIX cars.  Sam gets around me (not much of a fight really, that whole out-of-class racing thing).  Since he’s got many many laps around here, I decide I’m going to try follow his lines.  Proceed to watch Sam drive straight off 6.  Decide then that Sam’s lines aren’t the greatest. :) A few laps later I avoid a spinning AIX car in 10.  Those AIX cars provide some excitement!  Finish 5th of 8.

R4 – On the inverted start, I get a horrible start and immediately get passed and left behind.  Coming around 3, there is a HUGE smoke display.  Frank (AI) has blown a motor.  The field comes to a near stop as everyone picks their way thru the smoke.  Good heads up by all.  I’m able to hunt down Chuck Penny bit by bit and eventually pass him coming out of 7.  I could pull away 9-3, he gains 13-10.  It’s a good battle.  A few laps later, I once again avoid a spinning AIX car (same one!) in 10.  Another fun race in the books.   Finish 6th of 8.

Not quite an exciting weekend as usual.  Lap times are down from last years times.  Even with the crappier R888’s (were on RA1’s last year), each event til this one I was able to improve my times.  Maybe it’s just the tires are dead.  The RA1’s were nice in that they were good til the cord.  The consensus seems to be the R888’s are dead before the tread is worn off.  This was my 5th race weekend on the R888’s and I’ll try to get one more out of em since I’m cheap :)  Yay for CMC going back to the RA1’s next year!