This thread has gone on and on and in many different tangents. Many guys, both new and old have have posted in every direction. Many members seeing some of this “drama†for the first time are surprised. This is nothing new and very little surprises me anymore, it even has it's own name “MAN DRAMAâ€. For those that came out my defense, Thank you, but there really is no need. As a competitor, the best way to handle the accusations and insinuations is to just ignore them which is what I have done until his point. They will always irritate you a little, none of us so callous that it doesn’t bother them a little bit. That being said, it isn't anything new to me at this point, I have dealt with it a long time. Had I won this in 2007 or so, all the negative banter and accusations would have me home in bed with the covers pulled over my head thinking the world was about to end.
FF to 2012, I can for the most part just laugh it off at this point as just part of it. Which is a VERY sad commentary for the state of our class. The VERY short story is the only one that matters and all that goes in the books. We came prepared, we ran a hell of a race, we won, the race is over, tech is over, we were compliant, event over and in the books! As a competitor, that is the ONLY VERSION THAT I OWE ANYONE. Unfortunately for me, I volunteer on the CRB and am involved in all the rules changes in every class, not just SM. With that involvement , the owner of this site and one of the leaders of the class, I feel I need to comment against my better judgement. I do this knowing full well that it will change very few opinions one way or the other. People who believed you were working outside the rules, using the CRB to my benefit will continue to believe so, those who respected you and believe you are working with in the rules will continue to believe what they have always believed. I write this with years of experience and knowing full well that this will likely make things worse, not better! In any event I feel that I put my self in this position and it is my responsibility, so I should explain some of the things that have come up. Some people who I respect have even asked a few questions privately, so I will respond to some here publicly and continue some dialogue privately.
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Tech:During the week, for the most part all the top ten cars were pulled in, really don't know if any randoms were brought in, if not they should have. Only two cars had invasive tech pre race, Mine and Sandlins ( also one of my cars) my CRB exemption hard at work
On my car, both right side shocks were removed and dynoed and both cams out of Sandlins car. All others were sealed, but nothing removed or checked. As a competitor and CRB member, I strongly disagree with both of these pre race inspections. I spent all week setting up my car and before the race, got the pole and then was rewarded with screwing my set up all up and starting over and hope it was back where I had it. On Sandlins car, we install cams with a degree wheel to get the can timing as close to perfect as we can within the rules. There is slop in belts etc, Nothing ILLEGAL OR EVEN GRAY, just doing it better than throwing a belt on. Well at the track, we just through the belt back on. IMO both of these inspections put at us at least in a potential DISADVANTAGE position. I see no reason why this stuff couldn't be checked after the race, regardless of finishing position, but that is another story for another day.
Post race:
Here is a list off Berry's windshield. Mine was identical.
http--,,--//i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn285/eaststreetap/IMG_6143.jpg [/url]]
And a picture of my car during tech.
http--,,--//i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn285/eaststreetap/IMG_0034.jpg[/url]]
The picture is of the cut that was in question on both cylinder heads, mine and Berrys. ( for the record this is a 1.6 head, not a 99)
http--,,--//i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn285/eaststreetap/exhaustvalvereliefcuts.jpg[/url]]
Again only one cut of 16 in each head. Much has been said of the tool, the slop etc. For the most part all has been said one way or another. You can formulate your own opinion. The tool inserts into the valve guide and the flag should not fall in that hole. The stem on the tool is smaller than 6 MM( valves are 6mm), the guides themselves are bigger than 6 mm new. , I think someone quoted the Mazda spec is .0008? I didn't look it up. But my guides were fine, not worn out, not intentionally sloppy. There is no benefit to sloppy guides other than a valve that doesn't hit the seat squarely and therefore does not seal as well.. I have since measured every single thing on that head as you can imagine. Every relief cut was compliant, all were close as I would expect, they were .0025
under the spec. That was confirmed by techs measuring the diameter of the cuts with a caliper and by inserting a valve ( fits correctly in the valve guide) measuring to the edge of the hole and and adding half the diameter of valve to come up with a radius. When measured this way, they came up with .003 UNDER the spec. The heads are, and always were 100% complaint, not close, not a pass given etc. I have to laugh at the thought I was given a pass as a CRB member. I had one hole measured off by .001 with the tool, if ever there was a reason to let someone slide for anything, this was it. No luck, even as a CRB member! An RFA written against me and Craig Berry. What was said to Craig in tech†We can't even appear in any way to show favoritism to Jim since he is on the CRB†I didn't and don't want favoritism.
I am going to try to simplify the tech process as much as I can.. Take a look at the SM engine rules.. If you plan on going to the Runoffs with any intention of ever getting on the podium there are several things you better know are correct. ANYTHING that has a weight or a measurement will be checked., PERIOD, no exceptions. In Short, if you are wrong on bore, stroke, compression, cams, valve size, relief cuts, throat cuts, depth of plunge cuts, piston weights etc you are screwed, there is NO INTERPRETATION of those rules and no tolerances given. No one in their right mind would go to the Runoffs with a chance to podium and chance something like this intentionally, no way. I said the same last year when the car was disqualified.
After this inspection, I am reassembling the head and engine and reinstalling in the car and heading to the ARRC. I am hoping it comes back off in tech. If it does, I will leave it off post race and anyone interested in seeing it, measuring it etc is welcome to do so. Furthermore, if we don't come apart, I am still willing to pull it off and do the same for anyone who competed in either race that wants to see it and measure. I don't know how else to prove you were “legal†Answering questions here is like having your hands tied behind your back while being stoned by the villagers
More of the the concerns seem to come from the many hats I wear in the SM community.. Competitive driver, Car builder and CRB member. While many see this as a conflict of interest, I don't, never have. I certainly can understand why some feel that way. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the rules for SM and parity of the cars is better now than ever before and has continued to get better since I have been on the CRB. I certainly can understand how and why people feel that is a conflict, I hate that people think I use that position for personal gain, but I get that too. I will do my best to answer some questions asked to me below. Honestly, some were so off base and by people I respect that others must have similar opinions, so I feel I need to address some publicly on this forum. I drive a 99 car as does 75% of the drivers in Nationals and the Runoffs. I can see people making this claim driving a NA car, but for the life of me I can't understand how I could help my car but not other NB cars. The engine rules and class rules have remained virtually untouched since 2009, since we put all these engine specs in, which were absolutely needed.
First and foremost this tool:I did not design this tool, I did not see this tool or use this tool until in tech watching them inspect my head after informing me that my head had an issue. If I had this tool, I would have never shown up with a relief cut that you could insert the tool into. We were sure we were under the spec, so I never felt we needed a tool as we measured it already several times.
Mike Collins was my entrant and was working in tech, a conflict of interest:Mike was neither my entrant or working tech for that event. He is a guy that knows the system, I asked him to stay close and help me write the protest should I need to do so. Nothing more, nothing less.
I exploited the the fact that the tool had play in it and that you could use your influence to get out of a problem should it come up.First if I had this tool, why would it even be close? I would have made sure I passed before leaving Memphis. If it were on the intake side, I could concede your point because there is a potential advantage to unshrouding the valve head. But this was the exhaust side and only one valve relief cut of eight. Not sure why I would leave that to chance as there was no gain whatsoever. Check with people who know, don't take my word.
I didn't know about the wiggle room in the tool, but once I saw how it was tested and they let me test as well. I could make the tool "go" and I could make it "no go" easily. How can that be right? In my opinion and what I said exactly" this is a no go tool, here it is not going, we are compliant." they said "well that is not how we use it" They explained I was moving it in the guide(which I was)and they were holding it straight. Really? straight within .003 of an inch? That is pretty tall task. I recognized a problem in how it was measured as the tool is too short and too thin for the hole it was inserted into. When you insert a valve, you don't get all that movement. Again, anyone who has a real interest in this can call Ryan Miles, he is who measured my head and has my permission to speak candidly about it. Those who don't believe my story, won't believe me here any more than they did before.
- Tech found both of your heads illegal and didn't formally DQ you. How did that happen? Why did we Andrew and Tisseront have to start pulling the cars apart if your were not dq'ed.None of this was finished until late Sat night, really don't remember the time but I think it was about 7:00PM., a DQ is final.. There are steps before you are officially a DQ.. An RFA ( request for Action) is written first. There
was an RFA written against both Berry and myself. We had 30 minutes to inform them that we planned on protesting, which we did. It was too late to hear our case that night, they were to hear our protest the next morning. That night, we started on witness statements etc that we would need in the AM. We were challenging the method of measuring and the tool. I asked Sam Henry to write a witness statement as well as he is a friend, and engineer who makes robotic tooling every day. We were there at 7:00 am and Sam looked at the tool and in a matter of minutes, using techs own dimensions and measurements put the tool into auto cad. He made a 3D model on screen , rotated it inserted it etc ,all on screen. While doing so all the measurements and possibilities were clear. It was determined that the tool could be inaccurate well outside the dimensions they were trying to measure depending on the depth inserted and slop of tool, let alone the slop that may or not be in the guides themselves. That is when tech decided they better measure another way as well. They used the straight caliper method, then inserted the valve and measured off the side and as I pointed out above and it passed both ways. Sam asked, do I need to fill out a witness statement and both John and Ryan said "No, I don't think we need one anymore" They realized their measurement with the tool, more importantly the tool itself was flawed. This was a tool designed with zero input from me, the CRB or the SMAC. I wasn't given a pass, it wasn't too close to call, it wasn't pushed into an area they couldn't measure, it was COMPLIANT, PERIOD!.
This transpired while we ( Craig and I) were in the waiting room at courts, I wasn't even in tech. We were getting ready to plead our case. The Chief steward came in and said that "The RFA has been withdrawn", I was surprised as anyone. I asked why? what happened? I was told that " tech measured your head with two alternate methods and it was compliant both ways and they are concerned with the accuracy of their tool" I wasn't going to try and change their minds at that point. This all after a night where Craig and I slept a combined total of about 30 minutes. And probably cost me a shot at second title in STL as I was wore out, tired and completely stressed.
- The tool had no such variance in Andrew's or Elivan's head yet BOTH of yours failed the first test, if it was down to use of the tool and tolerance why did both of your heads fail?As I pointed out above.. My head was measured by tech with two different methods to be compliant and the holes were .003 under the dimension. Well, even that is incorrect as you can imagine that head has been checked about 15 times and as many different ways since then. My head and Berrys head are not .003 under, they are .0025 under. In all honesty, VERY STUPID to push that close, but that is where we were. After last year, Stewart makes all his >.005 under as does Ademir. I can't speak for them or their heads, but I suspect that somewhere between these two numbers ( .0025-.005) you can have a problem and we did on one cut each. All the other cuts in both mine and Berry's heads passed with flying colors as well.
You're involved with the rule making process and thus, you know where the loopholes are. If you knew that the tool was terrible, why didn't you push for a better one? Because you wanted to win before the tool was improved.If you made all of these relief cuts .025 bigger on all 16 valves ( remember I was in question for one valve relief cut and it was for .001) You would not see 1 hp gain. Don't take my word, ask your engine builders whomever they may be. Again, I did not have, not did I see or touch the tool until that day. I never anticipated any issues, those are not places I would ever push intentionally. I have instructed my guys to also go .005 under from here forward as well.
Preferential treatment as a CRB Member in techLet me again state, if ever tech was going to use preferential treatment, this was their opportunity.. One hole was in question for half the thickness of a sheet of paper. Personally I would have never even thought about writing anyone up with .005 or so.. Well, you see what happened, they wrote my ass up just like anyone else and it was .001. They did their job and I am fine with that, they did as they should. Also in pre race tech... the only cars to come apart were both mine. If I am getting preferential treatment, I clearly don't understand the meaning of " preferential."
You know what they're going to check before you get to the track.I admit, this one is true, I know it just like everyone else does. Is there really any surprise at this point? If you come in on the podium, your car is coming in BOXES, down to the crank and some misc stuff is checked as well. In 09 it was not crank, but trans and rears came out. I have no idea exactly is being teched, NO way I would ever get that list before hand. That is 100% up to John and Ryan and they would never share with me or anyone else) you can believe what you like there.
The saddest part of all this is very few commented on the race itself. more interested in the drama... I am never one to brag about my abilities in a race car, there are many in the class that are as good or better, often even downplay my abilities. I will say this, which is about as far I can go in that direction. Please take a look at that race, forget all the tech BS, CRB BS and just watch the race. Please tell me who drove a better race than I did. That was the best thirteen laps I have put in at that track. It is very sad commentary on our class and this forum, it has become so negative that very few have even acknowledged that fact. There is one certainty in this class! If you win a National Championship in SM, you will be by called a cheater by someone. And don't kid yourself, it has been SAID ABOUT EVERY SINGLE NATIONAL CHAMPION SINCE 2006. I guess that is the human nature and a natural result of putting 1000 Type A personalities together in one very competitive class. We have no shortage of extremely talented drivers, many better than “prosâ€
At this point, I am going to evaluate my position as a driver and volunteer and see if I need to put one of the two down or change paths. It is certainly not worth the flack I get, I can assure you. Even as a former CRB member, I am sure the same people will imply the same preferential treatment as well. It may come as a surprise to many, but driving the car , racing etc really isn't what motivates me, I really don't even care for the in car stuff that much. It is fun and like it OK, but it certainly doesn't "drive" me. It is “funâ€, well, it has become less and less fun every year for me. The BS and the accusations, the costs etc far outweigh the fun at this point. One of my primary reasons for racing is I enjoy the camaraderie in the class and the club. When you stop driving, regardless of accomplishments, you are not looked at the same way and don't have the same “credibility†It is weird, I can't really explain it, but your just not one of the guys anymore, your an outsider. Even with that being said, I think it may be time to step back and do less racing, maybe STL next year. My son will be sixteen in December, may try and see if he has any desire, I know of a pretty good car
I have accomplished more than I ever thought possible in racing, a National Championship in this class is about as good as it gets in Amateur racing. Well, either that or push like hell and come back even stronger in 2013, we will have to do one or the other
My sincere congratulations to Craig Berry and Andrew Charbonneau for jobs well done and sharing the podium with me on my best day in Amatuer racing!
I'll answer legitimate questions, but not much else.
Thanks
Jim
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