158 replies to this topic

[dstevens]

Pat sorry to hear about all the argie-bargie up front.

That's how SM seems to be these days. We have posts like Daniels' where lappers are mentioned but the real issue is head in ass syndrome from the lead pack. We see it time and time again. It's not the slow guys you have to worry about making low percentage moves, it's the guys in the top ten. Coming from karting and circle track, that sort of aggression is normal. If it's an important race and you're up front, there is going to be some beating and banging. That's just how it is. At least the good slow guys get out of your way.

[Ron Alan]

Can I assume Tom Long was driving a Race Engineering car/motor?

[suck fumes]

Probably a roush/Yates motor like in the continental tire car lol. Wish I had one of those!!

[MPR22]

That's how SM seems to be these days. We have posts like Daniels' where lappers are mentioned but the real issue is head in ass syndrome from the lead pack. We see it time and time again. It's not the slow guys you have to worry about making low percentage moves, it's the guys in the top ten. Coming from karting and circle track, that sort of aggression is normal. If it's an important race and you're up front, there is going to be some beating and banging. That's just how it is. At least the good slow guys get out of your way.

Little confused about the quote, could you elaborate?
In my limited experience running with some of the fast guys, argie bargie is not tolerated. Rubs and bumps are par for the course but punts are higly frowned upon. I have had several races this year when a lapper has pissed himself and spun unassisted looking in his mirrors. Slow guys don't usually get caught by the front runners, inconsistent erratic drivers get caught by the front runners.

[MPR22]

How many tried shaved stickers? A report on the effectiveness would be appreciated.

[Jim Drago]

Sitting in airport... finished second in STL today. I almost had it There was a full course caution and that meant traffic. I was able to move swiftly through traffic ( SM style ) I was leading on last turn of last lap only to get blown away by an RX7 before the finish line.
BTW..no one is blaming the car we were about to lap for the incident. Just a bad series of unfortunate events. He/she did nothing "wrong", wrong place, wrong time.

[Jim Drago]

Also for what is worth.. last night at dinner with Berry, Buras and Sandlin.. We all each believed that we would have won had the incident in the kink not happened. Typical racers. I guess we will find out in September

[DrDomm]

That was Terrible luck Craig you ran a great race!!! And dr.doom there is a spec tire but not a spec condition of the tire heat cycle ect.. Use your brain!!!

It's Domm. Use your eyes and sense of humor!!!

[screaming monkey]

Thanks Danny for saying what we were all thinking at the drivers meeting. Good Honest communication resulted in a better race. Not a lot of BD penalties though

[tburas56]

Tom Long crossed the stripe first, he won. Avoidable contact moved him to third.

Thanks to OPM Motorsports and East Street, they worked tirelessly on my setup of the car. Tim and the boys were awesome. Tom Fowler made one big swing at the car before the race and it worked. 1 for 1 at the sprints.

Tracy can cook boys; Lunch at OPM next time you are at the track!!!!

East Street Racing: Jim, Pat and Craig, the best teammates a guy could want. Class of the field, never seen anyone work as hard as they do on everything. Not one detail left unturned before a race

Pat and Craig, you drove like a man on a mission, really bad luck. I need a radio.

Danny on the track in the first practice kept me off suicide watch. Thank you.

Traqmate, SafeCraft, thank you for your support.

Road America is not a 1.6 track. Period.. at best I would have been able to get 2^nd if all the cards and stars lined up. Too many hills and once in traffic the momentum is gone. By yourself in a 1.6 (awesome) you can roll through the corners but in traffic…Screwed…
I guess that is why we race; nothing is set in stone.

Voytec, sorry…. you would have made things very interesting

All the people pulling for the little 1.6 that could “it’s appreciated”, especially Jim at East Street….

[Danny Steyn]

Great post Todd. Yup I think we all felt for Voytek and Wheeler. Their game is so good this year it was a pity that they were not there in the mix.

Two more things

• throughout the weekend they did random impounds to test fuel - do not know of any cars failing, certainly did not smell anything
• unaware of any tire shaving, but lots of debate about how old a tire to use, how many heat cycles, how much pressure, how much toe in and out, blah blah blah

[Danny Steyn]

JD - glad to see you cleaned up your 2nd post - either it was auto-correct killing your spelling or you were imitating KW imitating AC!!!

[Caveman-kwebb99]

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[LarryKing]

Road America is not a 1.6 track. Period.

Does that settle the argument?

[Bench Racer]

As I stated in an earlier post the 2012 June Sprints race was a fantastic race by the front five. I watched from T5 bleechers also viewing T14 & up the hills. Never knew who would be what position at either track location or how long the position would be held.

Video please from a front 5.

Mr. Buras, you as a non practice day driver at Road America showed me that a 1.6 can do the job. Up the hill from T5 & T14 was something I've never viewed from a 1.6.

Congratulations on your WIN in a one point six.

[pat slattery]

Todd great job and thanks for stating that RA is not a 1.6 track. We are not up to your cars level of prep, but we experienced the same thing, , By itself the 1.6 is good but traffic kills your momentum and it take a while to wind that little 1.6 back up.

Again, awesome job

Pat Slattery

[Jim Drago]

JD - glad to see you cleaned up your 2nd post - either it was auto-correct killing your spelling or you were imitating KW imitating AC!!!

Was edited on the plane and I think my phone went hay wire.. It is set in some mode where it adds what it thinks is the next "best" word? Strange. Then buttons flaked out and edited when I got home.

[davew]

Congrats to Todd, Jim, Pat etc. You guys drove a great race. Many lead changes on the front straight made watching from pit lane enjoyable.

In Q2 Voytek had a lower ball joint break in turn 3. He managed to save the car and coasted to a stop just past the Sargento bridge. We fixed the car but apparently there was further damage that we did not detect. Fast all weekend, front row start and nothing to show for it. But as someone above said, that is why we race.

Tom Brown and Bruce Andersen (the son) drive smart consistent races and came home 7th and 8th. Danny Bender had a cam sensor go bad in qualifying resulting in ~28th starting position. He drove smart, consistent and mistake free to finish 11th.

Whenever the Advanced team goes south, Tom, Tracy and the guys at OPM always save us parking spaces and treat us like guests. At Road America we return the favor. The Chicago Region reserved us 4 parking spaces for the combined 23 cars in our shared paddock. So you end up with almost all the fast cars/drivers, Advanced, East street and OPM all sharing parts, advise, gossip and good natured jabs. All within a 1000 square foot area. This is what Spec Miata racing is all about. Dewhurst vs. Drago was forgotten. Gary and Earnie Sr where not around. In short, we had fun and enjoyed the off track time almost as much as the on track time.

Remember, Racing is Supposed to be FUN. Spec Miata is the most Fun

Dave

[Jim Drago]

Does that settle the argument?

No, but a track record, a win and a car solidly in the lead pack all weekend and all race does. If that doesn't, this certainly DOES! I have to Thank Mr Dewhurst, I wasn't sure this would ever come, but he is a man of his word and I appreciate that!

As I stated in an earlier post the 2012 June Sprints race was a fantastic race by the front five. I watched from T5 bleechers also viewing T14 & up the hills. Never knew who would be what position at either track location or how long the position would be held.

Video please from a front 5.

Mr. Buras, you as a non practice day driver at Road America showed me that a 1.6 can do the job. Up the hill from T5 & T14 was something I've never viewed from a 1.6.

Congratulations on your WIN in a one point six.

[Jim Drago]

The Chicago Region reserved us 4 parking spaces for the combined 23 cars in our shared paddock. So you end up with almost all the fast cars/drivers, Advanced, East street and OPM all sharing parts, advise, gossip and good natured jabs. All within a 1000 square foot area. This is what Spec Miata racing is all about. Dewhurst vs. Drago was forgotten. Gary and Earnie Sr where not around. In short, we had fun and enjoyed the off track time almost as much as the on track time.

Remember, Racing is Supposed to be FUN. Spec Miata is the most Fun

Dave

Very True Dave.. Lots of laughs.. I think there were at least 10 different people picking on Danny for most of the weekend, each one had a worst South African accent impersonation than the next. At one point on Saturday I believe, I had to laugh.. Danny literally was sitting there minding his own business watching video and studying data. Independent of each other, each of us came into the trailer and busted his chops about something ,for not particularly good reason, just seemed like he thing do at the time. He was a good sport all weekend!