48 replies to this topic

[Todd Tagget]

I"m confused Kyle,, was that shot at the track or the bar afterwards?? and which one is Ernie Sr ?

[Caveman-kwebb99]

Big Ern is off the reservation, thats Rob dominating califorai SM.

[Caveman-kwebb99]

• Top bananna!!!!

[JRHille]

If you get to the point where you can drive top 5 in a strong regional field and you notice you're getting pulled by the cars in front, it's time for a motor. Don't even think about more power until you get to the point where it's frustrating that you get pulled by the guys in front when you're clearly doing everything right.

[davew]

If you get to the point where you can drive top 5 in a strong regional field and you notice you're getting pulled by the cars in front, it's time for a motor. Don't even think about more power until you get to the point where it's frustrating that you get pulled by the guys in front when you're clearly doing everything right.

I agree with the exception of when you are significantly down on power. If you make 102hp and your regional competitors are making 115 and the national guys are 123, you will never out drive that defecit. So you at least need a baseline dyno to have accurate data on where you should stand

Dave

[Todd Lamb]

So many good answers here - and most of them don't involve making the car faster.

I echo Drago's sentiment - experience, aka seat time.
I echo Danny's sentiments (the whole list).

...and my personal favorite (disclaimer: I do coaching) - get some professional coaching so you learn how to work with the data, how to properly approach a race weekend mentally, and how to get up so speed safely.

[Lin]

As a rookie myself, I would say the biggest difference between my first season and this season is professional level coaching and team support where my data is overlaid on front runners' data. This is an invaluable tool. Video is required for defending yourself when someone hits you (thank you ITB car at HMS) or the chief steward says you made a major infraction. Video is helpful as you work on race craft (passing situations, race line, etc).

Attend the practice days to work on learning the tracks and car set ups. It is tough to learn the track when you are qualifying/racing. It's good to get the car on the dyno periodically to make sure it is making maximum power. Ideally before every race weekend. Getting aligned with an honest shop who can do trackside support to help you learn would be good if you can get this in the budget.

I agree with the guys, you have to get used to being uncomfortable. It's hot (or sometimes very cold) in the car and you have to work very hard as a rookie to even make it to the mid-pack. Physical fitness is very helpful. Lots of cardio so you can manage your heart rate.

Set a reasonable goal for yourself each weekend. Figure out how to make the goal achievable so you don't get frustrated. Chip away at it and learn from your mistakes. The cars in this class are incredibly well prepared and the front runners are very experienced (sometimes professionals). I work on personal bests and not focusing on the other cars/drivers. Expect to spin a lot as you are finding the limits.

Get lots of seat time and the special Florida lube/aerodynamics. Most of all, HAVE FUN!

[screaming monkey]

More red! I switched from blue to red shoes and went 1.5 sec quicker. I used red tape to hold in my earphones and went 2.5 sec quicker. Still 4 sec off the front runners at RA so I'm considering spray painting my suit and getting my fingernails painted red too. Kidding aside(although that really happened), getting caught or passed in the big brake zones opened my eyes to a big part of my problem and the early braking led to early turn in, resulting in more lost speed. I just wish I'd have figured this out before the race which leads me to my advice. Seat time. I need it and anybody that wants to really understand the car and what will make it faster has to become one with it.

[granracing]

I've been giving this more thought to this discussion especially since my budget simply won't allow me to get a lot of seat time. If I'm able to get 6 to 10 races a year, I'm pretty damn happy. The thought of 20 races in a year with coaching? I wish. This struggle isn't something new I or many others have faced. In my first race last year, multiple "fast guys" and I spoke on grid about how things were going. Several talked about how the event was progressing and this was going to be their 18th plus race this year; it was going to be my first. All I kept thinking about was what I was lacking, not what I had. Fortunately when I get out on track everything else seems to disappear and I manage to do just fine. In fact, I take all of that as motivation and push past it.

What I'm getting at here is for those of you reading this with limited resources, take advantage of what you have available to you. Talk to others who are successful, and if you approach them in the right way they'll most likely want to help you. It keeps growing from there and opportunites will present themselves.

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