Fun fast little cars.  They can be a real handful to drive quickly.  Powered by a half-liter 2-Stroke snowmobile engine.  The clutches are set so that they do not even engage until 5,000 rpm.   Just to move the car is a hole shot.  Redline is about 8,600 rpm so they have a very narrow powerband.  Coming into a tight corner is a real dance with your left foot stabbing the barkes while your right foot keeps blipping the throttle to keep the RPM up in that power band to stay on the pipe.

This chassis is no longer competeive in SCCA Competition (have to drive the wheels off it just to keep on the tail end of the modern cars.

Took first place in the Arizona Region Championship in 2001-2002 with the car and even took second place in the Southern Pacific Divsion National Championship with it.

Then I took a turn in a modern chassis car (KBS Mk5)  Wow what an eye opener.  Where I had to hustle my car through turns I was able to drift that KBS right at the edge of adhesion at will without breaking a sweat.  Time to move this basically unmolested car into one of the vintage organizations.  Can’t be too many of the cars of this vintage still running in the condition that this car is in.

Oh, in the video I am the only car on track.  Yeah, it’s that loud.  I have a friend that lives about 100 yars away from me and if I fire the car up and run it down the street – away from his house) he can hear it.  I don’t do that to often.  Don’t need John Law dropping by for a visit.

Well just prior to calling a halt last year  had purchased a new pump around setup (converted carb and dual fuel pump setup) to replace our stock carb using a TrackMagic “MagicCan” setup.  We figured this was part of the problem we had at Sandia last year.

Installed the new carb setup, checked the kart over, replaced the brake pads, bled the system put fuel in it and headed to the track.

First session lasted two laps until he brought the kart in complaining that 1st and 2nd gear were fine but that the kart fell on it’s face when shifting to 3rd.

Checked the fuel system and determined that the issue had to be a problem with venting and that the new dual pump setup was over pressurinzing the system.  Added a bigger vent tube and overflow catch tank for it.

Back out for the second practice session.  Same problem.  Back to the pits to work on the issue some more.

This time we addd more wire ties as we thought maybe we were sucking air into the system.  Checked jetting and while we were a bit “fat” I did not want to add a “lean burn” to our issues since the day was looking like it was going to be a test session rather than an actual race.

Also did not bother with adjusting gear ratios!

Back out for the third session.  Seemed a bit better except the muffler came loose from the pipe and rather then keep running an cause damage he brought it in to the pits for me to look at.  Fixed the muffler and sent him back out to finish the session.

Back in the pits I checked the plug for color and it was very wet.

Pulled the carb.  Lowered the needle, changed the pilot jet, kept the main jet, replaced the throttle cable and adjusted the pipe bracket (which had caused the pipe to seperate from the muffler).

Lined up dead last on the grid for the race.  We had NEVER been in that position before.

At the drop of the Green Flag we we NOT left for dead.  The wholesale changes had transformed the kart.  Tyler was able to work his up the grid a bit and finished in 10th place in the 125cc Shifter class.  A long way down the grid from what were are used to but at least the weekend was salvaged and hopefully we will be back up the grid at the next race in 4 weeks.

The camera on the kart was pointed too low but here is a few laps early in the day when we were fighting the probem.  You can see Tyler raise his hands in frustration and signal that he is going slow.

[Update 1]

A Student asked for a copy of the track slideshow.  These are PDF files for PIR and Firebird Main

Firebird Main (8.5MB)     |     PIR (38.5MB)

A few weeks ago I pulled the F500 out of the garage after getting it running from it’s long hibernation being on display over at F1 Race Factory.  So I push the car into the street.  Climb in, strap the car on (you wear a Formula Car) and fire it up to make sure it’s working by taking it into and around our cul-de-sac.  FYI: the transmission of an F500 is setup so that it will not even engage the clutch until you hit 5000 RPM – just to move the car under it’s own power from point A to point B is like a drag racing hole shot.)

Step on the throttle and watch/listen to the RPM climb up from an idle of about 1,500.  Finally, as the revs hit 5,000 and the car realizes that I’m serious about wanting it to move it launches itself.

Because the street was cold as were the rear tires I immediately had to feed in an armful of steering to keep the car pointed down the street since the rear end is stepping out propelling me down the street sideways.   When the spinning rear wheels finally “start” to get some heat and hook up the speed increases as I straighten the wheel just as I need to turn hard right to navigate into the cul-de-sac.  Of course the front tires have no heat in them so the car just pushes/understeers/plows straight ahead.  I had wanted to go round the cul-de-sac toward the left.  Ended up having to go round toward the right since the front end didn’t bite until I was well past the entry to the cul-de-sac…

Enjoy Clarkson’s article…

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article6536632.ece

As we know, stag nights are terrible things that cause perfectly normal men to be sick and push root vegetables up one another�s bottom. So imagine my delight when a friend announced recently that his stag do would be alcohol-free. �Yippee,�

I thought. �I shall be able to come home with a full complement of pubic hair.� Then I discovered why there would be no drinking. Because it was a �driving day�.

One of the other guests, a public-relations man of some repute, couldn�t understand why I was so harrumphy. �Well, dear boy. It would be a bit like inviting you to spend your day off pretending to like journalists. You�d be a bit harrumphy too.�

I�d heard all about these track days, of course, and none of what I�d heard was very encouraging. Rubbish cars on their last legs. Lots of cones. Two hours of safety lectures. Four hours of hanging around. Ten minutes of driving. Undrinkable tea. Wilting biscuits. And a million rules about overtaking, none of which says: �And if the bastard doesn�t move over, ram him.�

Happily, however, we went to Jonathan Palmer�s gaff on an old airbase near Bedford, which is about six days away from everywhere else in the British Isles. Jonathan seems to know that people don�t like waiting four hours to drive a Maestro. Which is why, five seconds after arriving, I was behind the wheel of a Caterham.

And then, after 10 laps, we were whizzed in luggzury 4x4s to another track, where we did 10 laps in some Renault Clio touring cars, and then it was Porsche 911s and then it was a funny sort of miniature Le Mans racer. And then we were dipped into Nomex, asked to put on some driving slippers and slotted into the single-seaters.

The instructor asked if I�d ever driven such a thing before. �Of course I have,� I replied indignantly. �I am a presenter on Top Gear and so I have driven everything.� But then I started to think. And realised that I hadn�t. That�s a bit like Jonathan Ross realising one day he�s never seen Brief Encounter.

Obviously, it wasn�t a Formula One car, but it wasn�t a puny Formula Ford either. It had slick tyres, a 3-litre Jaguar V6, a power-to-weight ratio of 500bhp per ton, a top speed of 170 and easily enough room in the cockpit for anyone up to 6ft 3in. I�m taller than that but I�ve been cramped before in exotic cars so I wasn�t even remotely worried about the drive that lay ahead. I should have been.

You hear motor sports commentators talking about the problems of cold tyres and you see all those mechanics draping the rubberwear with electric blankies to keep them warm and you think, �Oh don�t be so silly. And stop weaving around like that. Cold tyres can�t possibly make any difference.�

That�s why I went barrelling into the first corner only to discover I had no grip at all. I�m not talking about the rear end being a bit skittish. Or the front washing out. I�m talking about the steering wheel being completely and utterly redundant. So into the grass I went.

Happily, because the track is in Bedford, you could spin for a thousand miles in any direction and not hit anything, so soon I was off again, imagining that I�d made a mistake of some sort. But no.

I crawled round the second corner because everyone else was facing in the wrong direction and made it all the way to the third, where I braked carefully, came down the sequential box, turned in gingerly and � whoa � spun again.

I simply do not know how those F1 boys get round the first lap at all. And, what�s more, I don�t really have much of a clue about how they do the second, either.

Because, having slithered and spun round the first lap, you slow right down because you simply don�t trust the tyres to work. And that means they don�t get hot.

It�s catch-22. Go fast enough to warm them up and you spin. Go slow and you have to play the snail until the chequered flag comes down. After several laps, however, of eyebrow-matting concentration, I hit a pigeon. Which was a bit uncomfortable. For it.

Stopping was no easier. Brake at what you think is the right place and you will stop dead about 400 yards before the corner. A car this light has no real mass and, consequently, stops with a panache no road car can match. So you start to get cocky, braking later and later until, eventually, you will lock the fronts. When this happens in a normal car on normal tyres, there is much wailing and screeching. But in the single-seater, on slicks, there is no noise at all. For a while, you sit there, thinking all is well. Then you notice the smoke, and then you realise that you are heading straight for the pit wall at about a million.

Over the years, I have driven many cars, some of them very fast. And in my mind this had prepared me for life in a proper racing car on proper racing tyres on a proper racing track. It hadn�t, though. It�s like spending your life hiring out donkeys on a beach and then imagining you could win the Grand National.

And then there�s the question of g. F1 racing drivers talk about how they suffer from the effects of this, and I always feel compelled to drive to their houses and punch them in the face. Because the g they are talking about is lateral. And lateral g is for nancy boys.

In essence, the effects of g are felt in the form of blood moving around inside your body. In a fighter plane it moves up to your head in times of negative g � which makes you feel light-headed and sick � and down in times of positive g, which causes you to lose your peripheral vision and then die.

In a racing car it can move only laterally � from side to side. So it�s not all in your head or all in your feet. It just sloshes from shoulder to shoulder. Which is no big deal … I�ve always thought.

You see, eventually I did start to push the single-seater, and it was a revelation. Because you can see the front tyres and because they have so much grip when they are warm, you can place the car precisely where you want it to be at speeds you would imagine were simply impossible. All these years, I�ve scoffed at racing drivers for dismissing all road cars as rubbish, but I began to see their point. I may have even whooped occasionally like an American. And then my neck started to hurt. And then the muscles in it turned to fat. And then, after a couple of laps, I couldn�t hold my head up at all. When I got out of the car, it looked as though I�d been hanged. Lateral g, then, is unpleasant.

Which brings me to the BMW Z4. To a racing driver, who is used to slick tyres and fish-sharp reflexes, it�s wallowy and slithery and horrid. But to me it�s brilliant. Mostly because you can drive for more than 10 minutes without your head coming off.

I also liked the styling, the ride � provided you stay out of the sport settings � the engine�s urgency, the fluidity of the responses and the elegance of the interior. Though, that said, this is not a car you can drive in cuff links. Because the centre console is set up for left-hand drive, every time you change gear your silver dog turd, or whatever, will hit the iDrive knob, which in extreme circumstances can cause the cabin to be filled with rap noises.

However, I�ve thought quite hard about this and can confidently say that the Z4, with its folding metal roof and softer feel, is now the best of the medium-sized sports cars. Certainly, I prefer it to the Boxster and the Mercedes SLK.

However, if it�s a real driving experience you want, forget the ultimate driving machine. Because, as I now realise, it isn�t.

I actually like instructing females in the class.  Unlike the guys they don’t tend to allow their egos to get in the way and think they can drive fast.  Rather they work on their technique and as they get comfortable and their confidence incresaes so does their speed.

In the first track session we only got as fast as 55 in the oval and about 80 down the front straight.  In the second session she got her speed up to 80 (while passing another car) in the oval and hit 100 down the front straight.  She had fun and the car was quick and the sound of the exhaust was awesome.

Top Gear evaluates the F430 Coupe and Spyder

After signing up for the class (and getting a NASA membership) you show up to the track we are running at (PIR, Firebird, etc) around 6-7am.  Take your car through tech inspection (checking battery tie down, tires, etc…) and then attend the morning drivers meeting at about 7:45am.  The “Driver’s Meeting” is where the day’s schedule will be discussed and any important information relayed.  Then that meeting will break up to allow the smaller individual groups (HPDE1, HPDE2, HPDE3, HPDE4, Time Trials, Race, etc…) to meet with their group leaders.  At this time I’ll take the HPDE1 students to the classroom for their first session.

In the first class we go over track etiquette, flags, how to sit in the car, adjust mirrors, etc… and go over track photos and a track video.  Basic info to keep you safe on track.  This classroom session is normally around 1 hour 15 minutes.

The student then will go on track for the first of three 30-minute sessions.  The in-car instructor will drive the students car for the first 10-minutes of this first session.  He will not be driving it fast.  Figure if flat out driving is 10/10ths the instructor will drive at about 4/10ths.  The idea is so that he can feel what your brakes, suspension, etc… feels like as well as point out the references points and track features that were discussed in class.  Then they pull into the Hot Pits and swap drivers so that the student will drive for the final 20-minutes of that session.

Back to Class for the second classroom session where we go over apexes, vehicle dynamics etc… and discuss things that happened on track in the first session.

Back on track for another 30-minute track session with the student at the wheel for the entire time.

Back to the Classroom for a debriefing session and to get their logbook that the in-car instructor will fill out and sign after the third (and final) 30-minute track session.

NASA has four levels for street cars.  Level 1 is the beginner class. Passing only on the main straight and preferably with a point by from the car being passed.
Level 2 is the next rung.  Just like in Level 1 there are limited passing zones but the speeds can be significantly faster.
Level 3 has passing anywhere on track.
Level 4 is the only DE group with laps being timed.  The drivers in DE4 are competing against the clock.  It’s called a Time Trial but figure it being like an Auto Cross on a road course with multiple cars on the track at the same time.

Graduating the DE1 class with a signed off logbook moves you into DE2.  To move from DE2 to DE3 you ask the DE2 Group Leader if you can move up and if he thinks you are ready he or one of his assistants will give you a check ride.  You then present yourself to the DE3 Group Leader and either he or one of his assistants will give you another check ride to determine whether they will accept you into their group.  This keeps drivers from moving up that should not and also allows the Group Leaders to demote a driver to the lower group if they need to work on skills.

Besides the four DE groups there are also 2-3 race groups (grouped by horse power) as well as the occasional drift group that comes out a few times a year.

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The DE1 class is a High Performance Driving Class.  It is not a racing school.  Different concepts and theory.  What is taught in the DE1 class will certainly help you be a better and more aware driver on the street.  As for the equipment you need for the class.

Helmet. Yep.  It does not have to be a SNELL rated fire proof racing helmet.  It can be a regular DOT motorcycle class helmet. Full face or open Face.  But not one of those “Shortie” helmets you see some wanna be Hog riders or Vespa/moped (hehe…) riders wear.

No need for a drivers suit.  Jeans and a long sleeve shirt are fine.  No open toed shoes.  Tennis Shoes or a nice flat bottomed “driving” loafer.  As long as they are comfortable and not bulky.  You want to be able to feel the throttle and brake pedals.

Gloves?  Required no. However, I would recommend them for grip purposes but they don’t need to be fireproof racing gloves.  You could wear some old British Car correct string-back gloves.

Seatbelt.  Yes.  Racing harness?  No.  I’m not sure on tech but I would expect that a simple lap belt would not be sufficient.  At least a typical three point belt  (across the lap and over one shoulder) like that found in most cars is all that is required.

Rollbar?  Has not been required.  Typically, they would probably ask that you put up the top on a convertible.

My oldest Daughter took the class last year on her 17th Birthday.  She drove her automatic transmission BMW 528e for the class.  Typically the students in the class are male (although we generally have 1-2 females per class*) and are driving their street car.  BMW, Honda, Mazda, Vette, etc…  But I have had a student in a Pickup truck and even had a lady take the class in her Nissan Xterra SUV.  Last month I had students in a brand new Ford GT (belching 2 feet of flame when the driver lifted off the gas for turn 1) and a Ferrari 360 Spyder.  They were sharing the track with other DE1 students in an old Datsun 240Z and a Subaru WRX.  Tremendous mix of cars.  No speed limit but restricted passing zones.  Typical class will have about 18 students.

* I prefer to be the in-car instructor for the female students myself as they don’t tend to bring too much ego to the car and “think” they already know how to drive.  They are willing to listen and therefore make progress across the day without lots of bad habits to try and break.

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Due to Popular demand (well ok just two people emailed to say they liked it) I am submitting the second part of this report.

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Sunday, Oct 7th
Firebird Raceway, Phoenix, AZ
San Diego Double Regional

After the problems seen on Saturday getting the car running in time for the race it was a real relief that we did not experience any similar problems on Sunday morning. Since the FF/CF/F500/FV group was still in the #5 position we had time to walk around the paddock and admire some of the other cars that were there in the incredibly gorgeous weather we had that morning. There was one Club Ford in particular that was quite pleasing to the eye. The owner had made new custom body work for it (this was also his first attempt at laying up fiberglass) and he had painted it in Ferrari Red and it even had what looked like Ferrari decals on it, that is until you looked close and saw that the silhouette of the prancing horse had been replaced with a silhouette of his Black Lab!

Practice…
For the practice session the car behaved very well and seemed to have shed any of the problems that were seen on the previous day’s outing.

Qualifying…
When time came for posting a qualifying time the ambient temperature had gotten quite a bit warmer than the previous day or even that mornings practice session. After one lap to warm the tires I fired off three quick laps in the :09′s and then noticed the water temperature creeping up into the 180′s so I pulled my foot out of it to see if it would come back down (2 strokes lose power when they get into this temperature range). While the temperature did come down I decided to take whatever I had gotten for time and call the session over. At the point that I brought the car to impound I was less than three seconds off the pace being set by the fastest FF and only 1 second adrift of the fastest CF. My time was able to place me fourth on the grid with two FF on the front row and a Club Ford (the pretty one mentioned above) next to me in third.

Race…
The sky had started to develop some ominous clouds as it had the previous day so it was announced that all races were to be trimmed to 20 laps so that we could try and beat the rain. I of course was happy to see the overcast and cooler conditions since the motor would run better and I was not even minding the threat of rain since I had done well in it on Saturday. At the start the cars in front of me got a good start but I mistimed the flag which allowed Gene Petterson in a FV to get a good run on me and allowed him to plant his nose right under my diffuser and as he said later at impound to get a great tow down the front straight. Since he was directly behind me I was unable to see him and when I got ready to turn in to the carousel I checked my mirrors to see if Bill Windish in his CF was trying to come up the inside and imagine my surprise when I see Gene pop out to pass me instead. Because Gene took an early apex he got pushed wide on the exit which allowed Bill and I to repass him on the exit of T2. Coming into left hand T7 for the chicane I must have gotten on the gas too early on my cold tires because I instantly felt the rear come around on me. With Bill and Gene right on my tail I kept the wheel straight and straddled the curbing for the left hander backwards while watching both Bill and Gene overtake me. I had not braked as I went backwards (the tires were scrubbing off enough speed) into the turn so I still had momentum to turn left and rotate the car back onto the line as soon as Gene got by me and to continue without coming to a stop. I fell back into line behind Gene as we exited the chicane with the right hand T8 and we both had to avoid Bill’s car as it slowed on the short straight leading to T9. The race was uneventful for the rest of the session (except of the last lap – see below) with only one short local yellow on the next lap as Bill’s car was flat towed from the track. As I climbed from the car at impound I saw Bill getting out of his car too! Since I had not seen him back on the track I asked him what had happened since he was obviously able to rejoin (four laps down). He said that when the car got back to his paddock they tried to restart it and noticed that the kill switch was in the off position! When I spun going into T7 I must have thrown a rock which turned his motor off! Just like throwing balls at the target for the dunk tank or shooting ducks at the fair!

Looking over the time sheets I was running about 4-5 seconds behind the FF and 2-3 seconds behind the CF while 3-4 seconds in front of the Vees. Among the FF’s Barry Ebert and Greg Dalmolin had a great race with them running nose to tail for the entire race. Looking down their time sheets you can see that they were running almost identical times each and every lap. On the last lap I saw the blue going into the carousel at T1 so I checked mirrors and saw them coming and by the time we got to T9 Barry passed me on the left and even though I was trying to keep out of their way it caused Greg to drive through the corner at T10 (almost like taking the line that the Spec7′s always take) to stay with him.

All in all a good weekend and with two more Double Regionals to go this year here in Arizona I only need to complete two of the four events to step up to a National license so that I can run in the Snowbird Double National in January.

Hope to see some of you there!

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For those that have complained about a lack of race reports I present the following (Being posted to both the F500 list and on the Wheel:

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Since this is a Double Regional for the San Diego Region this weekend here in Phoenix at Firebird I will send two reports.

Prelude…
I had taken my car in to have the motor repaired (we thought we had experienced a lean burn again) but when the motor was taken apart it was discovered that a rod had broken. Of course all the parts I had gotten for a top end rebuild were only going to be part of the solution. Chuck Voboril had two spare Kawi motors and sold one to me so that we could get the car back together and running while I get the other motor fixed. We worked until late Friday getting the motor in and running (had a CDI fail) so the first practice on Saturday would be the first test of this motor (other than a couple quick bursts up and down the street before the car went on the trailer)

Saturday…Practice
The morning dawned a typical gorgeous early fall day here in Phoenix with the temperature just right and I could not wait to get on track and see how the car would run. Driving from the Paddock to Grid for practice was a real joy as the motor felt really strong and the acceleration snapped my head back against the head rest when the clutch engaged at 5k RPM.
Pulling onto track behind a LeGrand CF (the last one ever made) I quickly made short work of him and set my sites on reeling in another CF and then trying to keep up with the FF when it all came to naught! On the third lap a Swift DB-1 FF had gone into the wall in the “Valley of Death” and brought at the Black Flag. While sitting in the Pits waiting for the mess to be cleaned up we were told they had stopped the clock and would get at least seven more minutes of practice time. This turned out not to be the case however as just as were starting our cars they waved the Checker to end our sessions with just three laps having been run! As I stepped on the gas to head back to the Paddock I could not get the motor above 3500 RPM. Since the clutch does not engage below 5k this presented a bit of a problem and required a ignominious flat tow back to my Paddock. Since the motor would start and run (albeit weakly) I figured it must be a fuel starvation problem. Fuel Filter and fuel pump checked out ok so after checking the spark plugs I decided to check the fuel cell in case the pickup was not clogged. Rolled up my sleeve and dug out the foam and did not see a problem there either. Put the car back together and thought for grins lets try it. Fired it up and like magic the motor screamed to life when the throttle was  opened. We thought it must have just been “one of those things”, so we sat down to talk to our guests that had come out to watch the races.

Qualify
When the call to grid for Qualifying was announced I jumped in the car with great anticipation. Alas it was not to be! The motor came to life and when I stepped on the gas the car surged forward for about 30 feet and then ground to a halt with the 3500 RPM nonsense!

Pushed it back and cursed it. With the car up on the jack I pulled the K&N air filters off and started the car. It roared and the motor had no difficulty in reaching 8200RPM so I took it for a run up and down the paddock sans air filters and did not have any problem. Put the filters back on the car died again. Time to scratch your head and say “what the…”

After cleaning the filters (no difference) I decided to go back to the 260 jets I had been running in place of the 290′s we put on the car when the new motor was added. Took it for another test run and it was donut time (Zanardi – not Krispy Kreme). Look out Vees and CF’s.

During the lunch break we watched as a wall of ominous looking clouds built up along South Mountain and began to march towards us with occasional lightning and obvious areas of rain.

The first (SRF) and second (SRX-7/Pro-7) run groups were able to complete their sessions with little or no rain however it started to come down during the third group (FA/FC/FM) and then let up for the end of their run in time for the big bore cars in the fourth group to run on a drying track.

The Race… Or
Our group was up next (FF/CF/FV/F500) and another wall of clouds was headed our way. While it “does” rain in Southern California it hardly ever does here in Phoenix so in answer to your question “what are rain tires?” I can say “huh?”

Out we go with a pending rain shower with all of us on slicks. Since I did not get a qualifying time I had to start from the back. No big deal really since I knew I could work my way past the Vees and start to run down the CF’s within a few laps. Of course following a smokey Vee through a fast decreasing radius sweeper (the Looper at the end of the drag strip) on an already greasy track is not a real confidence inspiring undertaking.

Once I got the tires heated up I was able to take advantage of the conditions by kicking in some oversteer in the fast turns and drifting the car out to the rain line (if there is such a thing in Arizona!) and I was able to turn the fourth fastest lap with only FF’s outpacing me before the rain hit.

For those that have driven onto a drag strip in the rain you know what it is like, for those that have not let me paint the picture. Unless the rain is really coming down hard water tends to drain away and besides your tires are still nominally on pavement. Not so turning onto a drag strip in the rain. All the rubber and gunk that gets laid down by the dragsters merely serves as a catch basin for all this rain water. Added to that of course is the pretty paint that covers the starting line. This means that for quite a stretch of the track’s surface (and right were you want to be taking a late apex and putting the power down) you instead have to pussy foot across this no-mans-land by starting with an early apex and setting the car setup so that you have a straight shot to “coast” across the painted surface and then get on the gas while straddling the center line and running on a part of the track the dragsters do not use.

In an F-500 with a clutch that starts putting the power down in a rush at 5k RPM this gets to be a pretty tricky game to play. I only had one problem in this area and as the rear end came around in a spin and started to slide rearward (it is at this point that you gain a real appreciation for just how narrow a drag strip is, I had visions of being a pin ball bouncing from wall to wall) I stood on the brakes and the gas to try and arrest my drift (with lots of front bias this lets me stop the front wheels while still being able to put power down to try and dig out of a problem). This worked too well because as soon as my rear wheels got off that horrible rubberized ice rink they bit into the track and launched me the opposite direction. I turned the wheel to the right and was able to spin the car around and ended up sitting on that wonderful piece of asphalt between the lanes and pointed in the right direction no less. There is nothing quite as wonderful as small miracles.

My only other “off” was at the end of the drag strip when I realized I had delayed my braking to long on the increasingly wet surface and that it was going to be difficult to make the turn. When I got on the brakes hard to try and slow for the turn the tires decided they wanted to try body surfing instead of stopping. Fortunately drag strips have long runoff areas so once the tires came to their senses (silly tires) I was able to whip the car around an watch five other cars go by before I was able to reenter the track.

From that point on I decided to merely circulate and try and stay out of trouble for the remaining 8 laps and get a finish.

All in all an eventful day and I did not feel to bad about my first foray onto a wet greasy track with slicks on. Certainly will give me a greater appreciation for what others are going through when I watch races with intermittent rain showers.

Hopefully tomorrows event will be under clear and cool skies.