ARRC updates....

[JLawton]

I then got stuck on the outside behind all the other people that had let up. Once things sorted out I wound up behind the two GMC cars in the race - the fiero and spirit.
David
[/b]

Hey, hey hey!!! There were three GM products there!! <_<

I probably would have won first place of the American made cars if I didn't try 4 wheelin' through the gravel!!!

 

[jmark]

Start of the ITS race.

 

[dj10]

Start of the ITS race. [/b]

WHAT'S THIS? A CLEAN START?????? Hey Rob, how come you aren't banging up against the Z Car like Whittel did to you last year in which no called (they just let him do it)!!? Sounds like this year was a better class of drivers. Congrats all.

 

[greendot]

Due to the beating that I took in turn 2 at the start of the PRO-IT race I had the opportunity to take video of the ITS/TCC action at 10a-b. Some awesome racing. I'll figure out how to post it up for your enjoyment.

Will also give the blow by blow of the PRO race start later.

Bruce Wentzel

ITS #36, now permanently retired

 

[gran racing]

While I realize that Greg partially thinks I'm just teasing him for having some difficulty getting out of the car (and posting that video, and talking about him falling off the Gyro ) it was so great to see him and Matt achieve this accomplishment and how excited they and so many of us were. I'm still smiling about your win. Oh, your revenge threat in similar circumstances sounds great to me!


Hey, when is Road Atlanta going to start allowing mail deliveries again?
(Sorry Kevin, but how could I resist?)

 

[CaptainWho]

... do IT-7 cars get something that "IT" cars don't thus making it appear as though an RX-7 is still competitive in ITA when it really isn't?
[/b]

Not under the SEDiv rules ... an IT7 car is simply an ITA RX-7 with an IT7 sticker instead of an ITA sticker ... and some regions/series impose a spec tire on IT7 that isn't imposed on ITA. AFAIK, those are the only differences allowed under the rules. There is no doubt that there are some fast IT7 cars in the southeast, and especially at Road Atlanta (lots from Atl Region but a number from "neighbor" regions, too).

No one was DQ'd in ITS-A-B-C that I am aware of; I heard rumors an IT-7 was tossed for ride height or air dam infraction? Jake could speak to that.
[/b]

I can verify that. Freddy Klopper got DQed for having an airdam that extended below the bottom of the rim.

 

[dominojd]

Not under the SEDiv rules ... an IT7 car is simply an ITA RX-7 with an IT7 sticker instead of an ITA sticker ... and some regions/series impose a spec tire on IT7 that isn't imposed on ITA. AFAIK, those are the only differences allowed under the rules. There is no doubt that there are some fast IT7 cars in the southeast, and especially at Road Atlanta (lots from Atl Region but a number from "neighbor" regions, too).

[/b]

I was wondering the same thing about the IT7 cars. It seemed a little odd that I pulled every other ITA and IT7 car on the back straight except for a few of the IT7 leaders

 

[mlytle]

WHAT'S THIS? A CLEAN START?????? Hey Rob, how come you aren't banging up against the Z Car like Whittel did to you last year in which no called (they just let him do it)!!? Sounds like this year was a better class of drivers. Congrats all.
[/b]

hey dj...how come your name wasn't in the results anywhere???

marshall

 

[RickyBobby]

Andy,

I hadn't noticed that... thanks for pointing it out! Too bad the BMW guys couldn't see fit to show up and put their complaints to the test... Perhaps they were afraid that they'd provide some proof that the 27mm restrictor was the right call after all...
[/b]

Great attitude for the chairman of the ITAC. No agenda or bias here.

Great to see such a good mix of cars... Hopefully that provides incentive for may others out there to give it a go... IT Looks like it's heading strongly into the future! [/b]

Except for ITS. After the BMW debacle of this year nobody in there right mind would sink the kind of money into a car that we have seen in previous years. That's what IT social engineering brings, unintended consequences...

Funny, nobody is concerned that two different Mazda models walked away from the ITS field. Things are finally right in the ITS universe...

Great work guys and congrats to those who participated...
[/b]

Congratulations to all of the winners and participants!

Woo Hoo... Ricky!

 

[Edwin Ho]

ITC... the results show some close times... where are the stories???[/b]

I was definately feeling withdrawal. Wished I could have been out there, but I sold the C car. Looks like Fruth got run off the track at turn 1 and contact between Rebstock and Perry left Rebstock off the back. Silegren and Reynolds pulled a big gap and after battling for several laps, Silegren ended up with a big lead. Fruth worked all the way up to battle with Reynolds, but spun between 10a and 10b to end up P3. Props to Devin Box for finishing P4 on his first visit to RA. He's a long time competitor of mine at Waterford Hills and was my student in his driver's school.

it looks like they are the only ones that did not get laped by the TCC corvetes
[/b]

Actually, the TCC leader lapped all the ITS cars TWICE except for Huffmaster and VanSteenburg. I understand why the Vettes got moved, but they really played havoc with the ITS leaders. I think there were two problems. First, I heard over the scanner that the second pace car was directed to follow 100 yds behind the TCC field. That allowed Huffmaster to catch the Vettes almost immediately. Had they given a bigger gap, it would have taken much longer for that to happen. The Vettes would have caught the tail end of the ITS field sooner, but with their straight line speed, it wouldn't have been much of a factor. Second, the backmarker TCC cars looked like they decided to "race" the ITS cars. One driver even said he didn't let Huffmaster go because he was racing for position. I'm not sure how you race for position when the competitor in front and behind you aren't even visible on the track.

As for registration, I was done in less then 15 minutes. Fantastic! It does sound like many had long wait and were frustrated with looking at empty windows while doing so, but so far it appears that it went better then years past. Hopefully, it will improve every year.

The ARRC has proven to be a great event once again. Thanks to all the workers/organizers!

Ed.

 

[R2 Racing]

Hey, when is Road Atlanta going to start allowing mail deliveries again?
(Sorry Kevin, but how could I resist?)
[/b]

**coughfastestracelapcough** Damn, I think I might be getting a cold. (Hey, nice mention on the book in this months Grassroots, btw!)

Except for ITS. After the BMW debacle of this year nobody in there right mind would sink the kind of money into a car that we have seen in previous years. That's what IT social engineering brings, unintended consequences...

Funny, nobody is concerned that two different Mazda models walked away from the ITS field. Things are finally right in the ITS universe... [/b]

I'm not sure if you're joking or not, but I think not. Did you even look at the results before you started crying? ITS featured six different cars in the top eight and ITA featured seven different cars in the top nine! Hell, even a small class like ITC saw three different cars on the podium! It seems like the ITAC is doing one hell of a fine job to me.

Also, nevermind that those two guys who took first and second this year in ITS are absofreakinglutely stellar drivers with insanely prepared cars and each have one hell of a racing resume to boot. Don't take anything away from them and get the hell off of your soapbox.

 

[IPRESS]

Evan blew one of his brand new ground control advance design struts in the ITA sprint race, but said he managed to pass Bob before it completely went and put him out. I don't know what happened in the enduro. He didn't have a very good weekend as his truck is leaking diesel fuel as well and hopefully he makes it back home sometime today. Thanks to Chris and Francis for the hospitality and yummy cajun food.

The start of the ITA race was a mess behind the first few rows. A yellow miata went off in one, dirt tracked around the outside, and shot back onto the track. I had visions of a t-bone with a massive pile up and eased off to attempt to avoid any contact. He somehow saved it without hitting anyone or being hit, which meant I promptly got passed by 5 or 6 cars. I then got stuck on the outside behind all the other people that had let up. Once things sorted out I wound up behind the two GMC cars in the race - the fiero and spirit. I was much better than they were from 1-6 and was right behind them in 7, but they pulled 2-3 car lengths on me down the back straight. The fiero got slowed coming out of 10 while being lapped and I managed to get by. I had an IT7 guy behind me for a while, but pulled away from him and had a boring race the rest of the way. I managed to knock 2 seconds off my personal best lap time, but I'm still pretty damn slow. I had lots of fun, though.

David
[/b]

David,
I thought it was sort of a mess myself since I was the guy in the "yeller miata". I was in the middle of the track at the flag stand when I became "the meat in a three car sandwich" somehow the car on the left disengaged and I was knocked sideways into the grass and in the process of missing the wall I spun back onto the track where I was sure I would get pounded. Due to the excellent skills of my fellow ITA drivers I escaped without a scratch. (Well not exactly, as it didn't show up until the enduro.) The rest of the race was challenge and working back up through the pack made it fun. It is always a big deal for me to come race against the best Regional racers at the ARRC. Also to set the record straight... I told Stretch before the Miata Madness race that I would run as his blocker to keep all the rest of the ITA miatas off of him as a reward for his tough Runoffs weekend and we could split winnings. (That was after seeing we were the only two ITA entries.) Who says Bob doesn't enjoy a good joke!
It was nice to meet and put a face on posters here on the board. ITA seems to be strong as ever, (SEDIV always makes it seem that way) now if I can get Bob to go Pro racing next season it could be real fun down here.
BIG THANKS to all in Atlanta Region. From Fletcher all the way through to the Stewards never been treated better.
One suggestion- Butch, instead of the subtle way you got everyones attention at the drivers meeting, next year lets have some umbrella girls (like the F1 races) ask for quiet! I 'll show up a few days early if you need help finding them!!!!

 

[roberthuff24]

"Reports were that the Miata had the RXs number in the twisty section and off turn 7, but Huffmaster was very wide in the first part of the straight, and Kip was just not strong enough at the end to make anything stick."


Actually, when i wasnt held up by corvettes in 3 i could pull about five car lengths on kip from there till 7, out of 7 we were dead even all the way till fifth gear and then via draft/5th gear in the miata he would actually close up to my bumber which made for some interesting 10a braking zones. All around we were very close in the mid laps of the race.

I have to thank kip, he was great to race with, very clean, i am sure he could have bumped me a couple of times coming out of 10a but he ran a clean race and i thank him for that. The start was good this year, kip and spillman were both great guys to meet and to race against and i hope to race against them more in the coming years.

The weekend was awesome, got to hang out with fellow waterford hills racers and had a great time saturday night in the infield. All around it was a great weekend and i look foward to coming back next year.

Good Job CenDiv 1, 3 in ITS 2, 3 in ITA 3 in ITC with the fastest laps in all three


Rob

 

[Banzai240]

Great attitude for the chairman of the ITAC. No agenda or bias here. [/b]

Last time I checked... I am not the chairman of the ITAC... I'm allowed to have any agenda I want now... And the fact that track records are still being set with restricted BMWs favors my opinion... Namely that once these guys figured out (WITH an EXTENSIVE amount of ITAC help, I will add...) how to install these things properely, they'll work just fine... and they do... It's the same opinion I've had, and supported, from the beginning, ITAC Chair or not... It's what happens when you can take an objective look at the topic...

Except for ITS. After the BMW debacle of this year nobody in there right mind would sink the kind of money into a car that we have seen in previous years. That's what IT social engineering brings, unintended consequences...[/b]

You're right... heaven forbid cars have to race on a level playing field or actually have to put money into BUILDING a race motor...

Have fun!

 

[Bildon]

>> the fact that track records are still being set with restricted BMWs

I hope this doesn't degrade to one of those 'BMW vs the World' threads but I'd like to say that a WELL DRIVEN , well sorted SIR BMW is STILL competitive in ITS. DJ10 here can kick my butt when he's on his game. At Watkins Glen this year I had a CV joint break but until that point I could NOT catch him. And the Corrado is a fast car. Dan went on to win at Mid-Ohio, Nelson....

Some guys need to learn to prep, learn to drive and stop whining.

I would be actually be interested in racing a 325is next year to see how 'horribly slow' they are. <_<

 

[lateapex911]

Great attitude for the chairman of the ITAC. No agenda or bias here.
Except for ITS. After the BMW debacle of this year nobody in there right mind would sink the kind of money into a car that we have seen in previous years. That's what IT social engineering brings, unintended consequences...

Funny, nobody is concerned that two different Mazda models walked away from the ITS field. Things are finally right in the ITS universe...
Congratulations to all of the winners and participants!

Woo Hoo... Ricky!
[/b]

Not going to take the bait....

.....except to say that right from the start of your post your facts show how well infomed and attentive you are. Or aren't.

 

[charrbq]

Wish I could've gotten in earlier on this thread before it turned into people taking aim at BMW's, the ITAC, and one another...whatever.

First, hope everyone enjoyed the jambalya and gumbo at our party. The weather was just about perfect for the gumbo. Our cook enjoys his job and loves to share it with people. Unfortunately, this will probably be his last trip. An unfortunate motor scooter accident on Saturday night left him wounded and hobbling. If you think the food at night was good, you should be in on the crew lunches. Things like fried tilapia smothered with crawfish etofee...but I digress. Hope everyone enjoyed it.

Now...magnum congratulations to Trevor for his ITB triumph! Seldom have I seen the pit row erupt in such cheers by so many people. You're my hero, Dude! Anyone who wonders what it means to win an event of this magnitude should've been near victory lane or within earshot of the PA when Trevor spoke afterward. Joy, tears and thanks were shared by all. As many of us know, the proudest person wasn't there, but he saw that glorious moment.

That's what it's all about.

 

[kthomas]

"nevermind that those two guys who took first and second this year in ITS are absofreakinglutely stellar drivers with insanely prepared cars and each have one hell of a racing resume to boot"

I believe that's usually the case, as it should be....

 

[seckerich]

"Reports were that the Miata had the RXs number in the twisty section and off turn 7, but Huffmaster was very wide in the first part of the straight, and Kip was just not strong enough at the end to make anything stick."
Actually, when i wasnt held up by corvettes in 3 i could pull about five car lengths on kip from there till 7, out of 7 we were dead even all the way till fifth gear and then via draft/5th gear in the miata he would actually close up to my bumber which made for some interesting 10a braking zones. All around we were very close in the mid laps of the race.

I have to thank kip, he was great to race with, very clean, i am sure he could have bumped me a couple of times coming out of 10a but he ran a clean race and i thank him for that. The start was good this year, kip and spillman were both great guys to meet and to race against and i hope to race against them more in the coming years.

The weekend was awesome, got to hang out with fellow waterford hills racers and had a great time saturday night in the infield. All around it was a great weekend and i look foward to coming back next year.

Good Job CenDiv 1, 3 in ITS 2, 3 in ITA 3 in ITC with the fastest laps in all three
Rob
[/b]

Congratulations on a very impressive weekend Rob. I really appreciated your help Thursday helping me learn the line. You would think I would run Atlanta as close as I live. David Spillman will be hard to beat this year after his impressive drive from the back at VIR and a strong run at the ARRC before a bonehead move took him out. Met some great people at the event and made some new friends--That is what this is all about in the end.

 

[lateapex911]

I was wondering the same thing about the IT7 cars. It seemed a little odd that I pulled every other ITA and IT7 car on the back straight except for a few of the IT7 leaders
[/b]

Yes, well, I inquired with the IT7 Road Atlanta regulars, guys who can turn 47s all day long in their sleep, and my answer to the question of where that ungodly time of 1:45 came from resulted in two comments:

- The car is driven VERy hard, and uses ALL of the track. Not much left on the table there..
- And it handles VERY well on the straight.

When I pressed the last comment, I just got shakes and shrugs. And frowns. LOL.

All I know is I wish I could find a way to make MY car run like that down the straight!

(That said, just to put things in reference, my motor is a 1 yr old ISC build, but my carb is bone stock...borrowed just for this event, as my Yaw carb had to go back to Yaw for a looking at as it ceased to run correctly a year ago. Still waiting for him to return it- or a phone call. Thanks to NE racer Grant McStay for the kind loan of his never opened carb. Seemed to run OK, Grant. EGT temps were about 200 to 300 off front to rear though. Maybe theres a bit more power there? )