Jeremy Billiel
New member
As the title says... Any Updates?
Any Pocono Updates?
- Thread starter Jeremy Billiel
- Start date
Andy Bettencourt
Super Moderator
Group 5: Dry Qual and Wet but drying race - 5 seconds off qual times. Good fields - over 15 cars each.
ITS, ITA and ITC
ITS:
K. VanSteenburg 944S
R. Driscoll 323i
J. Harding RX-7
ITA:
G. Amy NX2000
J. Dimino SE-R
A. Bettencourt Miata
Greg and Kip both won going away and waxed everyone in qualifying. Great drives.
ITS, ITA and ITC
ITS:
K. VanSteenburg 944S
R. Driscoll 323i
J. Harding RX-7
ITA:
G. Amy NX2000
J. Dimino SE-R
A. Bettencourt Miata
Greg and Kip both won going away and waxed everyone in qualifying. Great drives.
Jeremy Billiel
New member
Damn I hate being home! Congrats Greg!
RSTPerformance
New member
Results-
ITB-
Qualifying :
1st and Pole - Stephen Blethen 1:58.80
2nd in class - Rick Belziack 1:58.86
1st time out with this car (Newly Classified Honda Civic) in an SCCA event... could it be the new car to beat?
3rd in class - Nat Wentworth 2:01.98
4th in class - Charles Gerundo 2:02.80
5th in class - Tim Mullen 2:03.39
Race :
1st in class - Rick Belziack 1:59.68, better than existing track record - yup this is a great car for the class!!! Great run Rick!!!
2nd in class - Raymond Blethen 1:59.64, New Track Record - Started the race last after failing to qualify.
3rd in class - Stephen Blethen, Car troubles
4th in class - Tim Mulle
5th in class - Marios Tinis ?
It was a blast running with all the SMM cars as well as the SS cars... everyone seemed to be aware of each different cars strengths/weaknesses... Tomorrow should be fun!!!
Raymond
ITB-
Qualifying :
1st and Pole - Stephen Blethen 1:58.80
2nd in class - Rick Belziack 1:58.86
1st time out with this car (Newly Classified Honda Civic) in an SCCA event... could it be the new car to beat?
3rd in class - Nat Wentworth 2:01.98
4th in class - Charles Gerundo 2:02.80
5th in class - Tim Mullen 2:03.39
Race :
1st in class - Rick Belziack 1:59.68, better than existing track record - yup this is a great car for the class!!! Great run Rick!!!
2nd in class - Raymond Blethen 1:59.64, New Track Record - Started the race last after failing to qualify.
3rd in class - Stephen Blethen, Car troubles
4th in class - Tim Mulle
5th in class - Marios Tinis ?
It was a blast running with all the SMM cars as well as the SS cars... everyone seemed to be aware of each different cars strengths/weaknesses... Tomorrow should be fun!!!
Raymond
Raymond!!!!Congrats on the new track record!!!!! As of now, you are NARRC leader in points and Stephen is 2nd in points, I believe. AWESOME!!!!!! Will this be Raymond's year to win the championship??????
Looking forward to today's update. So far, my Mother's Day present is panning out to be a really nice one.
Thank you!
Looking forward to today's update. So far, my Mother's Day present is panning out to be a really nice one.
Thank you!
driscols bmw looked like it should be going to a fancey dinner not racing.gregs car was fast in qualifying! too bad it was wet but the ITA/ITS race was a good one to watch. andy, windell and tim were coming.on the last lap joe,andy,windell and tim were together entering the chicane.
the ITB/sm race was a blast. too bad that the audi's had there issues.the miata's were fun. i can pull them out of the chicane but they had top end and boy can they draft. i recall one lap that i was leading down the front stretch and 3 or 4 of them way on the inside drafting buy me.ok you can have turn one!
I hope sunday was as fun. rick
the ITB/sm race was a blast. too bad that the audi's had there issues.the miata's were fun. i can pull them out of the chicane but they had top end and boy can they draft. i recall one lap that i was leading down the front stretch and 3 or 4 of them way on the inside drafting buy me.ok you can have turn one!
I hope sunday was as fun. rick
Tkczecheredflag
New member
I spoke to Greg today and I thought he said it was Greg, Windell and Joe in "A" today. Rick great run in the "B" car on Saturday - A great race to watch. Raymond, way to peddle. Congrats to Greg (smokin'), Joe, Andy and Windell.Same finishing order as saturday. WOW where did those Nissans come from.
I have to give props to Ben awsome drive. He started 28 after a bad valve stem in sat. race came back to finish 4th today. He was a man on a mission.
[/b]
Jeremy Billiel
New member
Tim - Where you there? How is the new car shaking out?
Andy Bettencourt
Super Moderator
Today's race was much different than Saturdays. End result the same but...
Greg drove off as on Sat but developed a push and was not able to continue his get away. Windell and Joe had a great 7-8 lap battle that went to the checker with me in tow. I never really had a shot at them as they drafted each other lap after lap leaving me in the dust and keeping Greg in their sites.
Windell got DQ'd as he crossed the scales at 2005 weight instead of 2006...it was a great race to watch from about 15 feet behind when on the infield and about 100 feet behind when out on the big end.
Hat's off to Greg and Joe. Hopefully it won't be as easy at LRP.
AB
Tkczecheredflag
New member
Jeremy - Really enjoyed the car - It is starting to feel familiar to me. Was able to get a decent start on Saturday and moved up to P3 from P6. Andy smoked me in the infield on lap two ro three. Thought that I would hold 4th - then Windell and I got racey -swapped 4th a couple of times and I finished in 5th. My biggest chllenge now is learning how deep I can take the car into the breaking zone. That being said I still think the Nissans are make great power not to mention ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM.
Congrats again to all the fellas.
Any update on the ENDURO???
ITB race -- reports from Raymond and Stephen while they were travelling home.....
Stephen took first and Raymond took 2nd which still leaves Raymond in first placde in the NARRC points. Way to go guys!
In the Enduro, Stephen and his dad, Ray, co-drove in Stephen's car. They finished two laps ahead of the competition with a new track record of 1:58:10!!!!!
Outstanding!
Now they are back to the flood ravaged areas of NE. Ray can't get to either of his houses, Stephen faired ok and Raymond is back to work to try to keep the bus terminal from going under when the Merrimack reaches its crest tomorrow at 10 feet above flood stage. This is the worst flooding since the floods of 1936!!!!
Again, thanks guys for the wonderful Mother's Day present!
Stephen took first and Raymond took 2nd which still leaves Raymond in first placde in the NARRC points. Way to go guys!
In the Enduro, Stephen and his dad, Ray, co-drove in Stephen's car. They finished two laps ahead of the competition with a new track record of 1:58:10!!!!!
Outstanding!
Now they are back to the flood ravaged areas of NE. Ray can't get to either of his houses, Stephen faired ok and Raymond is back to work to try to keep the bus terminal from going under when the Merrimack reaches its crest tomorrow at 10 feet above flood stage. This is the worst flooding since the floods of 1936!!!!
Again, thanks guys for the wonderful Mother's Day present!
Jeremy Billiel
New member
Jeremy - Really enjoyed the car - It is starting to feel familiar to me. Was able to get a decent start on Saturday and moved up to P3 from P6. Andy smoked me in the infield on lap two ro three. Thought that I would hold 4th - then Windell and I got racey -swapped 4th a couple of times and I finished in 5th. My biggest chllenge now is learning how deep I can take the car into the breaking zone. That being said I still think the Nissans are make great power not to mention ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM.
Congrats again to all the fellas.
Any update on the ENDURO???
[/b]
Tim - I found in my car that it is better to brake earlier and be on the gas earlier. Having no torque hurts when you drive deep and can't pull through the corner.
Andy Bettencourt
Super Moderator
ITA - more detail
Saturday: Wet start but drying. Not dry by end of race - all on dry tires.
Name Car Fast Lap
Greg Amy NX2000 1:58.960
Joe DiMinno SE-R 2:01.363
Andy Bettencourt Miata 2:01.054
Windell Holmes Integra 2:00.254
Tim Klvana Integra 2:01.251
Sunday: Dry but cool. Last lap started to rain, one more lap and cars would have started flying off the track. Track record is a 1:53.227 I believe set in 2005 by Windell Holmes on May 14th. I think ITB, SSM and SM all set track records Sunday.
Name Car Fast Lap
Greg Amy NX2000 1:53.269
Joe DiMinno SE-R 1:53.429
Andy Bettencourt Miata 1:54.189
Victor Gangi Integra 1:55.500
Ed Rodier Integra 1:55.443
Saturday: Wet start but drying. Not dry by end of race - all on dry tires.
Name Car Fast Lap
Greg Amy NX2000 1:58.960
Joe DiMinno SE-R 2:01.363
Andy Bettencourt Miata 2:01.054
Windell Holmes Integra 2:00.254
Tim Klvana Integra 2:01.251
Sunday: Dry but cool. Last lap started to rain, one more lap and cars would have started flying off the track. Track record is a 1:53.227 I believe set in 2005 by Windell Holmes on May 14th. I think ITB, SSM and SM all set track records Sunday.
Name Car Fast Lap
Greg Amy NX2000 1:53.269
Joe DiMinno SE-R 1:53.429
Andy Bettencourt Miata 1:54.189
Victor Gangi Integra 1:55.500
Ed Rodier Integra 1:55.443
jcmotorsports
New member
Raymond
I had a blast running with you on Saturday. we made a heck of a run from the back. I ran faster than I ever have in the Honda and I think you set a new record??
I had a blast running with you on Saturday. we made a heck of a run from the back. I ran faster than I ever have in the Honda and I think you set a new record??
This was a very good weekend for Kakashi Racing.
The weekend started out right, and continued that way throughout; I was telling Joe that we musta had the racing angels watching over us. From being the very first two cars in line for registration on Friday to not having *any* major mechanical problems, it was just one of those once-in-a-while Good Weekends.
Joe and I are both real surprised at the results. It's not that we didn't expect to do well; we most certainly did, given our cars' strength is engine, not handling. Still, we are a bit surprised and flattered that this course favored our cars so much. You should have seen Joe after the qualifying session results were posted; the guy didn't come off Cloud 9 all day!
The qualifying session was a good clean one. The track is large and wide open enough such that you have the flexibility of either running solo or with others, at your convenience. The long straights allow drivers to sufficiently separate the diverse horsepower and handling advantages/disadvantages, and folks tend to stay out of each other's way. Since I'd never run this course (I hadn't raced at Pocono since the Double National in 1992, and it was a different track config) I followed out "Mr. This Is My Home Track" DiMinno. He was right: there's not really a lot to this track. Go fast, apex late, push on the loud pedal on the straights. Joe and I hooked up in the draft and pulled off some quick laps for 1-2 qualifying - 7th and 10th overall of 30 cars - with Andy Bettoncourt and Ed Rodier knocking on Joe's rear deck lid.
Then the skies started to overdevelop and thunderstorms were forming. Two sessions prior to our race the skies opened up and dumped serious rain. Get this NER folks: it actually SLEETED again (is this a new tradition?) It was not one of these New England all-day-low-clouds pisser kinds of rains, it was a Midwest thunderstorms-pounding-your-head-and-then-sunshine kinda rains. Everyone stood in the garages, under canopies, and inside trailers watching the skies trying to figure out what to do, and we had two race groups to figure it out. Up to ten minutes before our race it was still pissing rain, but it seemed to be draining well enough. With five-to-the-five most folks tempted the Fates and proceeded to the grid with dry tires.
Race #1 was a wildcard, depending on where you were in the field. The rain had stopped and the track drained, but the surface was still wet. Polesitter Kip VanSteenburg paced the field at a very fast clip and Joe made a KEE-ILLER start, passing me going under the green flag. We were surrounded by ITS cars jockeying for position so I tucked in behind Crazy Joe, fully expecting him to take out a few of 'em for me <grin>. Things settled in within a lap (folks spread out quick there) and I stuck my nose on Joe's, uh, derriere and watched the mirrors to see who's working their way up. Then I see it, my arch-nemesis: Andy Bettoncourt in the blue mosquito. Damn Miata! And he's rolling his way forward, catching Joe and me.
Flash back 15 years: I was racing my NX in SSB at the '92 Runoffs. Mark Youngquist (in another NX2000) and I broke away from the field and charged forward, with me in arrears. I was faster, but I called in on the radio to Matt Kessler (yep, same guy!) and asked him to find Youngquist's crew and tell him to stop blocking me, that we'd work together to draft away and work it out between ourselves late in the race. Mark continued to run defensively, Matt couldn't find Youngquist's crew, and a train of cars was rolling up on us. Matt was yelling, "F*** him; pass him and let HIM deal with them!!" but I was determined to work together. Long story short, the train caught us, I got knocked off the track by - and tangled with - an eventual multi-time national champion, and Mark went on to win the gold medal uncontested.
I was DETERMINED to not let this happen again, I wanted that first ITA win. So, I drafted my poor buddy Joe into the chicane, passed him, and dove into the lead. Not to be outdone, Joe gave me a nice tap on the quarter on turn-in to let me know how much he loved me. Bastard <grin>.
From that point forward it was a matter of managing traffic and keeping Joe at a safe distance. I worked my tail off to get past slower traffic and get some buffer between me and Joe, extended the lead as Joe got caught in traffic, and on top of that Joe was getting his butt knawed on by the mosquito. As the track dried and a dry line developed, everyone got faster, but a cople of laps from the end the sky got REAL dark it started to sprinkle! That "1" board couldn't come fast enough, but except for the rain scare it made for an anti-climactic finish - for me, anyway.
The weather on Sunday was a bit more stable, with low clouds, close temp/dewpoint spreads, and mist but no rain forecast. We started in the order of finish from Saturday, which put me in 4th overall, Joe in 6th, and Andy and Windell Holmes right behind. I was on my guard at the start and led Joe into T1, passing a couple of ITS RX-7s. Jeff Harding in an ITS RX-7 caught and passed, then Ben Phillips in his ITS car made a demon pass to slot in behind Jeff. I tried to hang with these guys to build a buffer to my buddy Joe, but they were just too fast on the straights. Joe did get caught behind some cars so I did have some room to breathe, but right about that time I started to develop a monster push in the infield. To make matters worse, Windell had caught and passed Joe and they began working together to catch me. I was running solo with no drafting partner, the push was getting worse, so I just put my head down and drove as clean as I could to maintain the distance. Right about the time I calculated they'd catch me in two laps, the "1" board came out at start/finish; I knew that unless I did something stupid it was in the bag. I didn't, and crossed the checkered flag with a comfortable margin, 5th overall, with Windell, Joe, and Andy 2nd through 4th. Unfortunately, Mr. Holmes neglected to read his Fastracks and was DQ'd for being underweight, so the official finish copied Saturday's.
Overall, as you can imagine I'm quite pleased. These are the first (of many, I hope) wins for the car in ITA livery, and a satisfactory result of five years of determined work, engineering, and fabrication. I can't say enough for the efforts of Matt and myself in finally garnering the results we've been so earnestly seeking. However, this race foreshadows the potential of not only Joe DiMinno in his rocket Nissan but Andy Bettencourt in that demon Miata; somehow I suspect I won't be close enough to swat that mosquito at LRP...
It was fun, wish your were all there. See you at NHIS. - GA
The weekend started out right, and continued that way throughout; I was telling Joe that we musta had the racing angels watching over us. From being the very first two cars in line for registration on Friday to not having *any* major mechanical problems, it was just one of those once-in-a-while Good Weekends.
Joe and I are both real surprised at the results. It's not that we didn't expect to do well; we most certainly did, given our cars' strength is engine, not handling. Still, we are a bit surprised and flattered that this course favored our cars so much. You should have seen Joe after the qualifying session results were posted; the guy didn't come off Cloud 9 all day!
The qualifying session was a good clean one. The track is large and wide open enough such that you have the flexibility of either running solo or with others, at your convenience. The long straights allow drivers to sufficiently separate the diverse horsepower and handling advantages/disadvantages, and folks tend to stay out of each other's way. Since I'd never run this course (I hadn't raced at Pocono since the Double National in 1992, and it was a different track config) I followed out "Mr. This Is My Home Track" DiMinno. He was right: there's not really a lot to this track. Go fast, apex late, push on the loud pedal on the straights. Joe and I hooked up in the draft and pulled off some quick laps for 1-2 qualifying - 7th and 10th overall of 30 cars - with Andy Bettoncourt and Ed Rodier knocking on Joe's rear deck lid.
Then the skies started to overdevelop and thunderstorms were forming. Two sessions prior to our race the skies opened up and dumped serious rain. Get this NER folks: it actually SLEETED again (is this a new tradition?) It was not one of these New England all-day-low-clouds pisser kinds of rains, it was a Midwest thunderstorms-pounding-your-head-and-then-sunshine kinda rains. Everyone stood in the garages, under canopies, and inside trailers watching the skies trying to figure out what to do, and we had two race groups to figure it out. Up to ten minutes before our race it was still pissing rain, but it seemed to be draining well enough. With five-to-the-five most folks tempted the Fates and proceeded to the grid with dry tires.
Race #1 was a wildcard, depending on where you were in the field. The rain had stopped and the track drained, but the surface was still wet. Polesitter Kip VanSteenburg paced the field at a very fast clip and Joe made a KEE-ILLER start, passing me going under the green flag. We were surrounded by ITS cars jockeying for position so I tucked in behind Crazy Joe, fully expecting him to take out a few of 'em for me <grin>. Things settled in within a lap (folks spread out quick there) and I stuck my nose on Joe's, uh, derriere and watched the mirrors to see who's working their way up. Then I see it, my arch-nemesis: Andy Bettoncourt in the blue mosquito. Damn Miata! And he's rolling his way forward, catching Joe and me.
Flash back 15 years: I was racing my NX in SSB at the '92 Runoffs. Mark Youngquist (in another NX2000) and I broke away from the field and charged forward, with me in arrears. I was faster, but I called in on the radio to Matt Kessler (yep, same guy!) and asked him to find Youngquist's crew and tell him to stop blocking me, that we'd work together to draft away and work it out between ourselves late in the race. Mark continued to run defensively, Matt couldn't find Youngquist's crew, and a train of cars was rolling up on us. Matt was yelling, "F*** him; pass him and let HIM deal with them!!" but I was determined to work together. Long story short, the train caught us, I got knocked off the track by - and tangled with - an eventual multi-time national champion, and Mark went on to win the gold medal uncontested.
I was DETERMINED to not let this happen again, I wanted that first ITA win. So, I drafted my poor buddy Joe into the chicane, passed him, and dove into the lead. Not to be outdone, Joe gave me a nice tap on the quarter on turn-in to let me know how much he loved me. Bastard <grin>.
From that point forward it was a matter of managing traffic and keeping Joe at a safe distance. I worked my tail off to get past slower traffic and get some buffer between me and Joe, extended the lead as Joe got caught in traffic, and on top of that Joe was getting his butt knawed on by the mosquito. As the track dried and a dry line developed, everyone got faster, but a cople of laps from the end the sky got REAL dark it started to sprinkle! That "1" board couldn't come fast enough, but except for the rain scare it made for an anti-climactic finish - for me, anyway.
The weather on Sunday was a bit more stable, with low clouds, close temp/dewpoint spreads, and mist but no rain forecast. We started in the order of finish from Saturday, which put me in 4th overall, Joe in 6th, and Andy and Windell Holmes right behind. I was on my guard at the start and led Joe into T1, passing a couple of ITS RX-7s. Jeff Harding in an ITS RX-7 caught and passed, then Ben Phillips in his ITS car made a demon pass to slot in behind Jeff. I tried to hang with these guys to build a buffer to my buddy Joe, but they were just too fast on the straights. Joe did get caught behind some cars so I did have some room to breathe, but right about that time I started to develop a monster push in the infield. To make matters worse, Windell had caught and passed Joe and they began working together to catch me. I was running solo with no drafting partner, the push was getting worse, so I just put my head down and drove as clean as I could to maintain the distance. Right about the time I calculated they'd catch me in two laps, the "1" board came out at start/finish; I knew that unless I did something stupid it was in the bag. I didn't, and crossed the checkered flag with a comfortable margin, 5th overall, with Windell, Joe, and Andy 2nd through 4th. Unfortunately, Mr. Holmes neglected to read his Fastracks and was DQ'd for being underweight, so the official finish copied Saturday's.
Overall, as you can imagine I'm quite pleased. These are the first (of many, I hope) wins for the car in ITA livery, and a satisfactory result of five years of determined work, engineering, and fabrication. I can't say enough for the efforts of Matt and myself in finally garnering the results we've been so earnestly seeking. However, this race foreshadows the potential of not only Joe DiMinno in his rocket Nissan but Andy Bettencourt in that demon Miata; somehow I suspect I won't be close enough to swat that mosquito at LRP...
It was fun, wish your were all there. See you at NHIS. - GA
Andy Bettencourt
Super Moderator
Yes you will!
StephF
New member
To the Blethen crew, AKA RSTPerformance...
THANK YOU!!!!! for all the help you gave me at Pocono! (and for Stephen calling me a 'chick' )
These guys were the best this weekend. It would have been a lot harder trying to get the car fixed and all the running around for the enduro without these guys.
I enjoyed the weekend, and would gladly pit with you guys anytime. Hope that you both had a safe trip home, and that your homes are OK with this flooding.
We'll see you at NHIS when we all go up for the Memorial Day speedboat races....
Steph
THANK YOU!!!!! for all the help you gave me at Pocono! (and for Stephen calling me a 'chick'
)These guys were the best this weekend. It would have been a lot harder trying to get the car fixed and all the running around for the enduro without these guys.
I enjoyed the weekend, and would gladly pit with you guys anytime. Hope that you both had a safe trip home, and that your homes are OK with this flooding.
We'll see you at NHIS when we all go up for the Memorial Day speedboat races....
Steph