231 replies to this topic

[Todd Lamb]

You don't seem to have many of the facts straight.

It sound like the games have turned ugly. Gorriaran getting his rental car tire slashed in the paddock and personal mail package photographed and posted on line?
Todd, now that you've opened a can of worms, would you like to expand on your insinuations? Someone out there is lucky that criminal charges were not filled.

Congratulations to Jim for a well deserved win.

[Sphinx]

Todd you can't just roll the hand grenade into this peanut gallery and not explain your comment.  What are the facts?  I've got my popcorn....

 

Next, on the Real Housewives of Spec Miata....

 

You don't seem to have many of the facts straight.

 

[Caveman-kwebb99]

Todd, I am very disgusted that you are out taking pictures of mens packages! thats just gross.  Maybe you should hire me for some coaching, as men it is expected that we take pictures of womens packages  

 

On a more serious note, is taking a picture of a ups label a federal offense???  Then i guess as Judge Judy woudl say CASE CLOSED...

[Danny Steyn]

Great video, Danny! I'm a huge fan, would love to be under the same tent some day. 

Like the idea of using the bumper cam for the audio, sounds great!

Justin, would welcome you under our tent anyday, and yes, I used the audio track from the bumper cam. Camera is set in the number plate recess and so has no wind noise at all. Much nicer sound than the camera in the car getting blasted by the wind.

[suck fumes]

Did you use the adhesive mount for the camera on the bumper? I was thinking of using one of the adhesive mounts for something but was afraid it wouldn't hold?

[Jim Drago]

Winning two in a row was bittersweet.

 
To win the Runoffs you must be mentally ready and the car needs to be ready long before you
arrive.  In short, you need talent, a very good car ( power and set up)and some racing luck.

 
The good...

We rolled off the trailer and all four of us were fast as hell, made some very small
changes in the cars and very few of those. For the most part the cars were
really good all week. I started on pole for the third year in a row.


Many said they didn't get their lap on Tuesday, had traffic etc. If you look at who
did get their lap, it was the normal players who come prepared. Short of a
mechanical, anyone who thought they had a shot at winning needed to be in the
top 10-12 Tuesday IMO. You needed to find a hole and get a lap, regardless of traffic etc.  I was most proud that we
were able to pull off 1-2-3-6 in the most talented field of SM drivers ever
assembled. We got some laps in the beginning, some in the middle and then all
pulled in when Craig was 40^th, he went from 40 to 1 in one lap.  I was bounced back from first to 7^th
and pulled my lap out on the last lap with a little push down the mid straight
after I missed three a bit. The lap that I turned(41.8) will be the fastest lap run
in a SM in a long time. I didn't think it was possible before that day.
The fast times were 99% conditions. The 43.8 I thought was actually a better
lap, just bad conditions.



The bad..

 
You all saw it.. No explanation, no excuse and
no real answer. I am not sure what happened, my video quit during the yellow,
so I only have two laps of video.   My luck this year came in race and it
was at the expense of others. For whatever reason, I got crossed up in five
under braking, was pointing to the right and contacted Erik. The contact not
only saved my ass, it ruined Erik's shot at the win or podium. There is nothing
to say, there is nothing anyone can say to make me feel any worse.  So my
"luck" this year was in that Erik's car saved my ass and that it was
Erik that I contacted.  Anyone else short of a Craig or Pat would have protested and I would have lost. I can't apologize
enough, but the apology was never needed as Erik and I go way back, my wife and
I are the god parents of his children. I am apologizing one last time here. A
testament to Erik and his character, by the time I saw him after the race, it
was long gone and we never even had a conversation, he was more concerned about
me than what happened on track. We are and always will be fine. Friendship goes way deeper than racing.



Not too far behind in the "bad" department. I can't tell you how sick I felt
hearing Craig on the radio when he called in the car popping, it started on lap two.  While this may
come off as arrogance, it is the truth. Had Craig's car not misfired, he would
have won that race,  100% certainity.  While I don't see anything we could have done
differently, I hate that the car we prepped for him let him down and cost him
the Runoffs win.  Most don't know how hard it is to put yourself in the
position, Craig does. Unfortunately Craig knows like I did after 2011, you may
not get as good of a chance. We will do all we can to put him in that position again.
Just a helpless feeling watching the car slow out of the carousel.

 
So my “luck” was misfortune of Erik and Craig. No one wants to advance at the misfortune of
others, especially their friends.  



The race, not one of my best, missed a shift at the mid straight lap one that put
me back to 7th. That should have been the end of my race, no idea how the engine
held together. The engine had to come apart after this race regardless, glad it
was in tech.  The car was perfect, I think it was too good as the gap I could make on most from 5-8 and 12-14 only
put them in a perfect spot to draft past me, and they did.  After the contact
with Erik, I knew I had to win and to be honest, I just refused to lose.



In a side note, Steve and I agreed to bury the hatchet ( not in each other's head)
and move on. He raced all of us very clean and we did the same. He also ran a
hell of a race with the car misfiring as well. More luck for me as that was another competitive car
that I didn’t have to pass at speed.



I would like to congratulate Voytek and Danny on the podium finishes as well. Both
are real representatives of how talented the driver pool is in SM. Some may not
know Voytek, but outside the normal list of who will be fast, I had Voytek
right at the top of my list, long before we left for the runoffs. The guy is
extremely talented and has race craft in spades. He raced carts in Europe for
years. Danny is always going to be a threat.  Also great drives by Elivan, Matt Reynolds,
Nick Leverone and Joey Jordan.

 
 

 
Post race, I was protested for passing under the yellow and the contact with Erik by Dave Wheeler, Voyteks
entrant.  After reviewing the corner worker report, I was never called in for passing under the yellow as many
thought, it was actually called in that I was passed twice under the yellow. Both protests were disallowed.  I had no
issue with Dave protesting. Just the way the system works.   





Lots of thanks...

First
My wife and kids, being gone that long is not easy on them. It is even harder when your
wife has knee surgery while you are gone.  She had knee surgery on Tuesday and couldn't
make it this year.



My team mates and basically what amounts to my best friends at this
point in my life. Pat Sandlin, Craig Berry and Erik Stearns. We have far more
fun off the track than on! Less those guys, I would likely just retire.



My crew, Robert,York and Ricky.  The entire
Berry family and our buddy Jerry.

 


Mazda, Hoosier and Saferacer.



Ademir at Savings Auto Center. A few years back we developed a friendship, trust and
mutual respect not often seen in racing. We bounce ideas off each other and
since this alliance started we are three for three at the runoffs and have two presidents’ cups to show for it. A
better guy in racing you will not find.



Sam Henry at Springfield dyno… Sam is a secret weapon, a smarter guy in racing does
not exist and he helps whenever we ask. He is one of the best guys you will
ever meet.

 
Jim Daniels for getting my into this crazy mess we call SM and guiding me through, especially the early
years..



My many racing friends, most have helped me in some capacity along the way.  The Todd's, Lamb and Buras, Blake, Matt
Reynolds, Jeff Labounty and many others. You know who you are. 

 
 

 
IMO that race was the best of the best. I was fortunate to come out on top, I wish some things would have
turned out differently, but I could not be more proud of a win than that one!

 
Congrats to all, my apologies to anyone who left with a wrecked car, I know that is not fun, I have been in that position before too many times. 

 
 

 
Jim

[DrDomm]

Does anyone have info on where the sectors and trap speeds were set up?

 

I think S/F and turn 5.

[Johnny D]

How'd everyone like the local yellows and safety trucks instead of FCC ?

J~

[MPR22]

How'd everyone like the local yellows and safety trucks instead of FCC ?

J~

My opinion of them was they were unexpected and dangerous to everyone.  A drivers meeting to explain how accidents would be handled could have gone a long way in this case.  I have raced many times with safety vehicles pulling cars off track in other organizations but never with SCCA and it appeared from those racing around me and from the Speedcast broadcast, drivers were treating them like yellow lights at intersections (go faster).  Hell, sometimes it appeared they were using them as picks.  The local yellow at 1/2 for the number 5 was way too dangerous regardless and should have drawn a full course yellow,  IMHO.

[DrDomm]

How'd everyone like the local yellows and safety trucks instead of FCC ?

J~

 

It was great that we had 2 extra laps of racing, but I don't know if it was very wise.

 

BTW, can someone explain the yellow lights at Road America to me?  I assumed it was for FCC, but clearly not.  I lifted and waved, only to get passed.  Weird.

[davew]

As Jim mentioned above, I did file a protest. I would like to take a moment to explain the whats and wherefores.

 

Part of my normal race procedure is to monitor the corner workers and race control. Everything said by the workers is written down into a logbook in the control tower. I thought I heard the corner workers say that car #2 passed another car under yellow. I do not remember who.

 

Following the race I saw 2 people who have great knowledge of the GCR and protest procedures. I was told that if I wanted to insure the events where addressed by the Race Stewards, I had to file a protest. Or I could take my chances on IF they where investigated. My only intention was to have the issues investigated and a final decision made.

 

After filing the paperwork, the first person I saw was Jim Drago. We talked outside the stewards trailer and I told him what I had done and why. Jim had no problems with my protest and we shook hands and parted ways. What seemed like a longer than needed wait, the Stewards of the Meet (SoM) came to the impound area and told me of their findings. I was given an appeal form in case I decided to appeal their ruling. I went directly to Jim, congratulated him, and tore up the appeal form. By the way, they kept my $100.

 

I was very happy to hear that Jim was found not to have violated any rules. My goal, as I stated to anyone who asked, was to make sure the incidents where investigated. They were and it $100 well spent.

 

This was my first protest. I was treated well by all the Stewards involved. And at the Runoffs, it was a lot of Stewards!!! If you ever feel you have been wronged or if an incedent occured that you feel was unfair/unsafe, don't be afraid to talk to the officials and file a protest. It is better than all the scwabling we do on this website.

 

Jim, you had the car, the prep, the luck and the talent to do what no one has done before. Win a second SCCA National Championship in Spec Miata.

 

Congratulations

Dave

[Craig Berry]

It was great that we had 2 extra laps of racing, but I don't know if it was very wise.
 
BTW, can someone explain the yellow lights at Road America to me?  I assumed it was for FCC, but clearly not.  I lifted and waved, only to get passed.  Weird.

Domm, did the same thing, saw a guy sitting on the back of a truck down the mid strait, started waiving, moved as far away as I could (no race is worth hurting someone) and got passed twice. Second guy did point me back by, but I will admit it was Very confusing with the trucks on the track.

[davew]

One thing that should be noted about the Road America safety crew is that they are professionals. They are not the typical weekend warrior tow truck drivers. They work all track events and train for these types of situations. If they think they can do a job with a local yellow, they will. When you rent the track, they are included.

 

The yellow lights where installed for NASCAR. In theory they duplicate the yellow flags. Solid for stationary and blinking for waving. I have heard they are not 100% operational yet. And us road racers are not accutom to looking for them. I can see why drivers would be confused.

 

Dave

[Sphinx]

One thing that should be noted about the Road America safety crew is that they are professionals. They are not the typical weekend warrior tow truck drivers. They work all track events and train for these types of situations. If they think they can do a job with a local yellow, they will. When you rent the track, they are included.

 

The yellow lights where installed for NASCAR. In theory they duplicate the yellow flags. Solid for stationary and blinking for waving. I have heard they are not 100% operational yet. And us road racers are not accutom to looking for them. I can see why drivers would be confused.

 

Dave

 

 

We have those lights here at Atlanta Motorsports Park.  They allow race control to issue flags from the tower where workers might not be immediately present.  Supposedly, they are adopted from F1.  They seem to work pretty well.  I don't know how the FCY v. LY works as that's not usually an issue at this place.

[DrDomm]

The yellow lights where installed for NASCAR. In theory they duplicate the yellow flags. Solid for stationary and blinking for waving. I have heard they are not 100% operational yet. And us road racers are not accutom to looking for them. I can see why drivers would be confused.

 

Dave

 

Well, then I wanna file a theoretical protest!

 

Actually, I think they are misused then. I saw solid lights before the kink, and at Canada corner, but the flaggers weren't holding yellows. Very confusing. Not a big deal for me, but could have been big for someone else.

[Pat Ross]

One comment. I think one of our fellow SM drivers got "hosed" in EP. No way that Matt Reynolds should have been penalized 3 places on Sunday. Matt barely touched the 260Z in turn 8. The guy in the 260Z was blocking like mad because he knew there was no way he would be able to keep Matt behind him. Then his comment about SM drivers during the interview was asinine.

Pat

[DrDomm]

One comment. I think one of our fellow SM drivers got "hosed" in EP. No way that Matt Reynolds should have been penalized 3 places on Sunday. Matt barely touched the 260Z in turn 8. The guy in the 260Z was blocking like mad because he knew there was no way he would be able to keep Matt behind him. Then his comment about SM drivers during the interview was asinine.

Pat

 

There's another thread for this. 

[Todd Green]

Matt barely touched the 260Z in turn 8.

He had a big hole in his front bumper and other fiberglass damage that was pointed out in the post race interviews. That combined with him getting into the RX3 earlier in the race probably didn't help his case. That being said, it was still the drive of the runoffs to come back after the spin and run down the leader (honorable mention to Danny for his drive, but that was helped by the leaders fighting and yellows)

[Bench Racer]

As long as were promoting our buds, how about the guy that started DFL on the 20 car field and won a National Championship and the Triple crown. He left me at the alter intending to use a past champions entry racing my Spec Miata. He was almost a Spec Miata racer. Oh, by the way in another class he won a second National Championship and the Triple crown on the same day.

 

Triple Crown is a Chicago region award for winning a divison championship, the June Sprints and the Runoffs.  

[suck fumes]

How many cars usually run in his class?