Any Pocono Updates?

Anyone get a photo/video of the wheel coming off my car at the beginning of the enduro?
Lug bolts on the front left fatiged and snapped, turning my bmw into a trike.
I heard I gave the folks in the pits a small spark show!!java script:emoticon(':wacko:',%20'smid_26')
The 320i (aka The Pretzel) is now officially retired. Out comes the sawz-all.java script:emoticon(':o',%20'smid_22')

Congrats to the Blethens in a VERY successful weekend for RST Performance.
Congrats to White Rock Racing as well - I told you enduros are fun !!


Dave
 
Same finishing order as saturday. WOW where did those Nissans come from. :P
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.
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Thanks Crazy Joe! That was one of the best races all time. Jeff Harding and I put on a show during that race that defines quality bump drafting up until the starter started point the black flag at us in a very agresive "cut that crap out" gesture. Only problem was Jeff beat me to the line by less than half a car. Flatout Power - no pun intended! Nick oughta be proud a new "quick shoe" bought the 04. Jeff will have some serious smack down for the rest of ITS.

This will likely be my last ITS race for the season at least. I pick up the completed SPO car tomorrow and will test it at LRP on 6/6. Glad I wasn't racing it at Pocono with the freaky weather.

Like I told a bunch of friends - leaving ITS is like breaking up with a really hot girl and then wanting her back!

And PS - Crazy Joe drove the race of his life - you got friggin fast - that Nissan will have some smack down for the rest of ITA. Hoist that podium trophy, Joe! :smilie_pokal:

Cheers,
 
Thanks mom for the posts… what am I to post now that you already did???

Ok I can think of something…

Sunday went well, but not perfect.

Sprint Races:

Wish that Rick was around; I think that Stephen would have had a great race with him. Unfortunately I blew up a RF strut insert on the 2nd lap. (When I mean blew up, I mean blew up… When you jack up the car the wheel/Suspension stays on the ground as the insides of the strut stay with the car.) The car would not turn left as the tire was flopping around (the tire was turning any which way as nothing was supporting the alignment with the strut blown apart). This made it impossible for me to compete with my brother. All I could do was hope that he would not beat my track record and I would have that for bragging rights still!!! I struggled with the blown strut and flopping wheel for the entire race… some say I am crazy as they would have stopped but I figured WTF I already missed one session Saturday, might as well go for it!!! I drove the car as hard but as gentle as I could and was able to hold off the very fast Tim Mullen in his ITB VW Golf. Every time we went through the infield I got worried as he closed the gap. Stephen drove away to an easy win, but lucky for me he turned a 1:59.66 not good enough to beat my track record of a 1:59.64 that I set on Saturday!!! The ITB field needs to start worrying as Tim Mullen has picked up the pace and turned a 1:59.8 in the Golf III with no brakes.

Endurance Race:

After the sprint race was over it was time to prep for the endurance race. My brother and my father were running that. Within a few laps dad was turning 2:00 lap times and both me and my brother were a bit worried he might beat both of us!!! Dad was in first place in ITB by the first turn and he never turned back as he drove great, despite ignoring a few meatball flags that he received due to the hood pin that came off. Stephen got in the car and was still a bit upset about that track record, and apparently he decided it wasn’t going to last. With a full tank of gas he went out and ripped of 1:58 lap times over and over, putting all of us to shame. His best time and new track record was a 1:58.1… I hate to say it, but beating the record by nearly 2 seconds deserves some props!!! Thanks to all the other ITB cars for a fun race, hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did, see you at another enduro soon!!!

A little more fun for us in the pits was crewing for Steph Funk in the ITC car… What a race they had!!! Before the race started we decided that we would need to fuel 2 times for the endurance race because of the small fuel cell. We decided to do the first stop at 45 minutes and the second one at 1 hour and 30-45 minutes or so. When we made the first pit stop we saw that the tank was still half full, and it wouldn’t have been necessary for us to make the 2 stops. We were a bit bummed as we new that the second pit stop would probably loose us the race with both ITC cars so close to each other. We decided to gamble and leave her out instead of pulling her in for a second pit stop. Then the full course yellow came out and we decided to bring her in… Unfortunately the track went green as she came in so we sent her right back out to try and catch the other ITC car. Unfortunately on that lap she ran out of gas and stumbled into the pits. We splashed her with gas and she drove off to catch the checkered 3 laps later. It was a great race that kept all of us pacing in pit lane.

My Special Thanks:

I have to give props and a special thanks to BB Racing for transporting the Red/Silver Audi. I haven’t talk to them so I am guessing the car made it home safely (Well to their racing “fortress” or “Stable”). If anyone is looking for a professional transport crew that will take care of everything be sure to give them a call.

Rumors that I herd… what do other think?:

The Endurance Race being from 7:00pm – 10:00pm Saturday night?

Pocono registration being fixed for 2007? While the people that helped me this year in registration were wonderful, the entire process was the worst I have ever seen since I started racing. It took well over 45 minutes to register and I was in the front of the line.

Hope all is well…

Raymond
 
Well, I just got their excitement peaked for your wonderful blow by blow description of the weekend. This is the first Mother's Day I wish I was in Pocono (it always rained there when I went) rather than in NH, floating away to MA.
 
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. :birra:

AB
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Andy,
It didn't occur to me during impound but you weren't required to show up at impound. Since Windell was DQ'd you automatically moved up to third. If your car was found to be underweight you would have been DQ'd as well. Just a note for the future.

Windell's unfortunate DQ points out the importance of reading the fastrack each month. No tech worker that I know enjoys doing that type of paperwork.

I'll see some of you at the Summit 12-hour (crewing hopefully) and during one or more of the regionals at Limerock.

Bill Etherington
NNJR
 
Andy,
It didn't occur to me during impound but you weren't required to show up at impound. Since Windell was DQ'd you automatically moved up to third. If your car was found to be underweight you would have been DQ'd as well. Just a note for the future.

Bill Etherington
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Bill,

I am not sure what you are saying. When you finish 4th, it is a smart idea to get in line at impound (when only the top 3 are required) - and I did. I was the last car in line and was weighed on Sunday (just as I was on Saturday when I finished 3rd). 19lbs overweight @ 2399.
 
Andy,
It didn't occur to me during impound but you weren't required to show up at impound. Since Windell was DQ'd you automatically moved up to third. If your car was found to be underweight you would have been DQ'd as well. Just a note for the future.

Windell's unfortunate DQ points out the importance of reading the fastrack each month. No tech worker that I know enjoys doing that type of paperwork.

I'll see some of you at the Summit 12-hour (crewing hopefully) and during one or more of the regionals at Limerock.

Bill Etherington
NNJR
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Bill - For those of us who finished behind Windell on Saturday (he got past my heavier legal car on the last lap to take P-4), will he be DQ'd and the race results amended for Saturday too? Our team CPM Motorsports spent time on the scales Saturday and made sure we were hitting our numbers - We read and referrenced FastTrack on Saturday, supplied to us by tech. Sorry Windell, but I have to ask. It is not unprecedented to strip points for admitting a mistake - Ask Dan Sheppard - Right Dan?

I made this inquiry yesterday and I am interested in the response Bill.
 
Bill,

I am not sure what you are saying. When you finish 4th, it is a smart idea to get in line at impound (when only the top 3 are required) - and I did. I was the last car in line and was weighed on Sunday (just as I was on Saturday when I finished 3rd). 19lbs overweight @ 2399.
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Andy,
It is always your option to get in the impound line if you know you are 4th but you do risk the chance of a DQ if you are underweight or non-compliant in another area. On the other hand, if you are not sure whether you finished in 3rd or 4th I would suggest getting in the impound line.

I am not discouraging you from going to impound, it is always your choice. What I was saying is that you didn't have to be weighed since you knew you finished in 4th. We only asked for the top three in each class to report to impound. If any of the top three are disqualified due to being underweight or another tech issue, the 4th place car is bumped up to 3rd. In that case the 4th place car does not have to be weighed or be in the impound line. The same thing happened to a car on Saturday. If the race calls for impounding the top 4, the same would hold for the 5th place car. This is what I was taught. Fortunately you did made the weight.

Races like the Runoffs may be a little different, they might have to do compliance checks on the top 4 or 5 cars to find three compliant ones. They would also pull in the top 5 or 6 cars in a class to impound. I am not sure what the procedure is during the ARRC Championships.

Bill E.
 
Bill,

I am not sure what you are saying. When you finish 4th, it is a smart idea to get in line at impound (when only the top 3 are required) - and I did. I was the last car in line and was weighed on Sunday (just as I was on Saturday when I finished 3rd). 19lbs overweight @ 2399.
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Andy did weight his car on sunday.
The only thing is I though I saw a crew guy climbing in the trunk. :D
 
Hey Joe, nice job!!!

Did I see you signed up for NHIS?? Gonna make the long trip to kick some more butt?? We have a garage space for you if you need it!!
 
Andy, Bill's 100% correct, and I was thinking the same thing when I saw you in Tech (meant to mention it to you). There was no requirement for you to appear at impound, no matter what happened in front of you. In fact, it's a BAD idea to appear in impound unless you have any doubt as to your on-track position. If anyone ahead of you was DQ'd and someone in Tech suggested you are required to go across the scales after reporting to your garage, you could have protested them.

The reason that you hear about "report to impound if you have any doubt" is so that if you actually are supposed to appear (in this case, you were top three) and you aren't sure, you do appear and Tech tells you to go away. That old saw was NOT so you could get inspected when you're not supposed to. Witness Dave at the ARRC versus you last Sunday.

Another example of that was Windell on Saturday: had one of us been DQ'd for weight (or something the Tech guy saw in impound), Windell would never have been required to go across the scales. He would have retained his position regardless. Windell, in all technicalities and realities of the rules, was 100% totally legal on Saturday as far as Tech is concerned.

Tim: the results of Saturday are final and not protestable. As described above, once Tech loses control of a car there is no way to verify its integrity. We know that the reason he was underweight Sunday was due to not reading the Fastracks, so it's entirely reasonable to assume he was underweight Saturday, too. However, assuming Windell had kept mum, who's to know if the car was of legal weight on Saturday and underweight Sunday? Once Tech lost control of the car, it's a done deal.

Another example: 1991 Runoffs the top 6 were impounded in SSA. IIRC, the winner was DQ'd for a technicality and there was question as to the legality of the rest of us, and the teardown began for on-track 2nd through fourth (I was fifth, as I recall). Tech wanted to weigh the 7th place car (their goal being to have the top 6 cars weighed). The driver of the 7th place car (Bill Burleigh?) did it right: he parked his car on his trailer, locked up his motorhome, and walked away (or left the track?). There were numerous announcements for him to bring his car to impound and he simply ignored them. Whether he was legal to the rules or not was a moot point: Tech had lost control of the car and its integrity could not be verified; he was completely within the rules to tell them to go pound sand. He kept his 6th place finish (the rest of the cars passed).

GA
 
Another thing, Andy: technically, you should have been IMMEDIATELY DQ'd when you drove from the scales to your garage stall on Saturday. It's irrelevant that your garage is a couple of stalls over from Tech, well within eyesight of them. The moment Tech lost control of your car when it was required to sit in Impound for 30 minutes, you were toast. It was only through the graces of the guys working there - and no doubt the integrity of your reputation - that it was allowed to slide.

I almost did the same thing Saturday. Not being familiar with the track, I looked around after going across the scales and saw no one else. I figured we were done but I made a distinct point of looking over at the Tech guy and specifically asking, "Are we released?" He replied "NO! Go over there with the others." That's when I looked over and saw Kip and Driscoll under that shed.

Always ask, never assume. - GA
 
Bill,

I now understand what you are saying. There was no danger of me being underweight as I had crossed the scales the previous day and knew how they 'read'.

Thanks!

AB

Another thing, Andy: technically, you should have been IMMEDIATELY DQ'd when you drove from the scales to your garage stall on Saturday. It's irrelevant that your garage is a couple of stalls over from Tech, well within eyesight of them. The moment Tech lost control of your car when it was required to sit in Impound for 30 minutes, you were toast. It was only through the graces of the guys working there - and no doubt the integrity of your reputation - that it was allowed to slide.

I almost did the same thing Saturday. Not being familiar with the track, I looked around after going across the scales and saw no one else. I figured we were done but I made a distinct point of looking over at the Tech guy and specifically asking, "Are we released?" He replied "NO! Go over there with the others." That's when I looked over and saw Kip and Driscoll under that shed.

Always ask, never assume. - GA
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I agree with you there Greg. I think the reason nothing happened was that nobody from impound saw me drive the 20 feet to my pit. There really should have been someone waving people to the correct spot as it was very easy to look out and see nothing.

Live and learn! I know where impound is at LRP!!! :)
 
Tim: the results of Saturday are final and not protestable. As described above, once Tech loses control of a car there is no way to verify its integrity. We know that the reason he was underweight Sunday was due to not reading the Fastracks, so it's entirely reasonable to assume he was underweight Saturday, too. However, assuming Windell had kept mum, who's to know if the car was of legal weight on Saturday and underweight Sunday? Once Tech loss control of the car, it's a done deal.



GA
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Greg - I am in agreement with you, (and the rules) regarding tech loosing control of a car during impound. Frankly, I would be pissed if I was in Windell's shoes and was DQ'd for Saturday race based on an infraction discovered on Sunday. The basis for asking the question stemmed from Dan Sheppard's stripping of points for an entire season concerning an intake issue on his ZOOM ZOOM a few years back. Seems odd that his (Dan's) admitted infraction (unknown to him as well), allowed officials to go back and take action on his previous races already "official", then but not now. Either I have this situation all wrong or there is some inconsistency reagrding impound and techical control. Straighten me out if I am wrong about Dan's situation with his Mazda.
 
...if I was in Windell's shoes and was DQ'd for Saturday race based on an infraction discovered on Sunday...[/b]
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He would not have been. If he had, he could have appealed and he would have won the appeal.

Dan Sheppard's stripping of points for an entire season concerning an intake issue...[/b]
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I am not familiar with Dan's case, so I cannot speak to it specifically. However, GCR 14.11 allows stripping of accrued points based on severity of the infraction. Note that it's highly unlikely that his finishing positions in those races were reversed; I'm confident he was found illegal, admitted he had been running it all this time, and the officials decided to strip his points.

Of course, as I noted, I am not familiar with that specific incident, but there is no allowance in the GCR for reversing results of prior races once they are official. - GA
 
Tim-

The stewards could make the decision to strip some or all of his accrued points for the season. Even if they had I do not think that it would have any affect on anyone else’s points, IE: They would not go back and re-distribute points from past races.

Raymond
 
Greg is right. dan kept his previous finishes. by the way it was an exhaust manifold thay had been welded and the weld ground down, not intake. remember this was SM. He told them he had fixed the manifold at the begining of the season so they DQed him from that race and took his points fron the season.
 
Sounds like you guys had some fun...

We spent the week installing the new motor and tuning and programming on 2 different dynos .... after that (Friday night) I had run out of time and energy to do a final prep so I towed home from the dyno I was working on in CT and drove right by the track. Yup, drove right by the Long Pond exit! I think I was asleep too! :015:

Anyway... hope to see you NARRC guys at Watkins Glen! And I plan to make a trip to Lime Rock with the Corrado, once I get the 300hp all smoothed out :D Testing at Nelson Friday.

Some pix of the alchemy ....

Corrado.jpg


Corrado9.jpg


DataAq07.jpg
 
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