Mid-Ohio Majors, May 29-31

Still kicking myself for my spin and contact in the feature race on Sunday.
Tracey's post during the drive back pretty much summarizes what happened.
I had been driving a very conservative rain line thru that part of the track sue to how slick it was, taking a wide approach to square off the corner. On the lap that I spun, the flag station upgraded to a waving yellow and was motioning for us to stay to the right which put me on the slippery stuff. I clipped the curb and the car instantly swapped ends and I was along for a ride.
I'm thankful that no one got injured.
Lesson learned and I hope to bounce back with a good run at the Sprints to put this behind me.
Had a blast racing with Matt on Saturday. We were side-by-side and nose-to-tail for most of the race until the rains came.
Matt the slick stuff first which gave me time to react and get around him. I managed to get some cars between us to create a buffer.

For Sunday's race we had the car in the air with 15 minutes to go with rains on one side and drys on the other. It had stopped raining and started to dry but the radar showed another storm about 20 minutes to go so we went with rains. I thought I made a bad call as I pulled up to the grid but then the skies opened up about 5 minutes before the race I breathed a sigh of relief for making the right call.

Video from Saturday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv4hopsRuOY

Video from Sunday of the opening laps including the pace lap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRckRGtLBBc
 
I very much enjoy watching Mr. Gauper drive in the rain. It's like reading a textbook on the proper rain line. I will be saving the video of his driving in the Sunday race to refer back to over time.

Too bad that the unusual circumstance caught you out Greg. You deserved better . . .

Good luck at the Sprints.
 
Was great to see a bunch of people when I was up there on Friday. Thanks to OVR for getting my wife and I in! Unfortunately we just weren't there long enough to get around to everyone as much as we liked. I had hoped to get back up there on Sunday, but with the weather and family demand, that wasn't gonna happen.

dellenwood":4fcemker said:
I very much enjoy watching Mr. Gauper drive in the rain. It's like reading a textbook on the proper rain line.
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Yup, very much an instructional videon the Mid-Ohio wet racing line, especially in a FWD car. :applause: I was "watching" the race on Race Monitor, and with the front running EP cars all running about 50 seconds off their qualifying times, I figured the track had to of been a new level of wet. Glad to see I was right. Moser posted a video on his Facebook of a rearward camera from the first 3/4 of the race or so, but I really wanted to see the last two laps when I closed on Toby by over 8 seconds, especially the last lap when he ran 5 seconds faster than his fastest lap to that point. That had to of been a wild lap! I know he was also fighting some serious fogging and visibility problems though, so maybe it cleared up a bit there at the end? Don't know for sure.
 
From a rear-wheel drive car. Don't touch the gas until she's straight!

https://youtu.be/KAvt_u7YgXY

Forgot to clear the card so it filled up before the race finished. The rear facing camera was useless. Yes, it really felt like we were going that slow. There was just very little grip.
 
So all this praise, yet under a waived yellow the Driver lost control and hit an Emergency Vehicle. Something is wrong with that. :doh:
 
Gee, FlaggerMark, if my memory is correct, the guy who just won the Indy 500 for the 2nd time hit the jet dry truck a couple of years ago and caused a fire big enough to melt part of the race track at Daytona. The wet stuff on a track can be like ice and stuff happens. Close a track like Mid Ohio up with a safety truck and things can happen in the wet.
 
kruck":3jf62oxq said:
closed on Toby by over 8 seconds, especially the last lap when he ran 5 seconds faster than his fastest lap to that point. That had to of been a wild lap!
Click to expand...

I had a front row seat for that. Don't know if it was the fogging or getting passed by an F car :wink: but Joe definitely dropped the hammer at the end! It was impressive.
 
A very nice drive Greg. Never mind the flogger, I think we all have had some "not so magic moments"
See you at Daytona !

Tim Pitts
#11 HP Golf
 
FlaggerMark":1wm27694 said:
So all this praise, yet under a waived yellow the Driver lost control and hit an Emergency Vehicle. Something is wrong with that. :doh:
Click to expand...

Clearly you don't know Greg and obviously have little to no respect for his explanation as to how that incident happened. I do know him, as do a lot of people on this site and can assure you that doing something that could have even remotely put any course workers in jeopardy was the last thing he would have liked to have happen.

Unlike a lot of drivers who just drive (myself included) Greg knows exactly what it's like to be out there in situations like that. He's been a corner worker for over 30 years and as far as I know still does when he's not racing.

Besides, from what I have heard he was disqualified for it. Just a hunch on my part but I'd be willing to bet he's more than willing to accept that over even the possibility of injuring any of the workers.
 
What a weekend it was for sure, great field of cars and good weather for the most part until Sunday. Unfortunately I wasn't able to push the Sprite like I wanted to until Sunday in the rain. Got the ignition problems fixed, fuel mixture fixed, and the Sprite was ready to give me all she got for Sunday until...Sunday morning started up the car and it makes a awful ringing/rattling sound when started, ring gear is loose on the flywheel. Decided to go with it then the sky opened up and the rest is as shown in the videos. I definitely need better rains and a limited slip, it took me a while to find the right rain line that worked for me.

As for Greg I wont defend him(he stated it well) but my opinion of the EV even trying to recover a car that is abandoned (Driver walked away) and been sitting for two laps prior to recovery is what I don't like. We also don't see a yellow until we come under the bridge and it's almost too late to react especially when you have to be on the slick (dry line) to try and keep the car away from the recovery effort. I know I nearly spun it 4 times trying to slow down and keep a tight line.

Both Sestili and I drove through the sand trap near that area and a parked car could have been a danger but what is the best way to handle that situation and not endanger more people then necessary especially in the conditions? Not only did the driver have to return to his car but the EV workers and vehicle had to pull him out opposite of race direction at the edge of the track around a blind corner. Glad no one was hurt, just bruised an ego.
 
There are times when a hot pull under local yellow is the correct answer, and there are times when it is not.

I'd submit that if a guy as careful and heads up as Greg could lose control while tiptoeing through the incident, then it was time for a FCY and a pace car, or a black flag all and a restart.

But, that is 20/20 hindsight, and is unfair in a way, because for every "mistake" made under pressure and in a chaotic situation by race control, there are 100 good calls.

Drivers, rescue workers and stewards ( I'm 2 of those 3) should use this as a teaching point, not a whipping post.

Scott
 
Scott Sanda":1yg3eo6b said:
There are times when a hot pull under local yellow is the correct answer, and there are times when it is not.
Click to expand...

And then there are times when there are 2 wrecked cars sitting right in the middle of the track and there is NO FLAG! (leading to additional cars crashing into them at nearly full speed). Just ask the open wheel guys from last weekend... that's going to be a scary video if it ever surfaces.
 
It was an up and down weekend for me for sure...

We are trying to do the impossible and get some racing in on a tight budget this year...

Q1 was our first outing and we were scrubbing some tires and bedding brakes. Only a million cars on track and we started in the back. Even running way off pace to focus on scrubbing, we were passing cars every lap with the mixed classes. A clean lap was impossible with the speed differentials....

Towards the end of Q1, Charlie caught me as I was speeding up and I pointed him by, but then dropped in to see how the draft would work with another Miata at MO... We knocked out a couple quick laps together... None of them clean, but one must have been OK as we got the pole in F. I figured Charlie was P2 because I set my lap right behind him. However, somehow Prill managed to split us... All three of us within a tenth or so....

Ran old tires in Q2 and lucky nobody at front went faster.

Race 1 was a hoot... at first anyway. It felt good to start in front (except for 3 of the EP guys) and lead for perhaps 1/2 the race. It's very limited the number of times I've been in front of Prill since "the radials" All three of us ran pretty close. A tiny gap here or there, but nothing that allowed me any breathing room. I was calming myself on the front straight every lap. P2 and 3 were not able to draft up behind me as much as expected, so exhaust dramas must have been knocking off a pony or two... but I wasn't exactly motoring away. I was quite proud to lead Prill and Campbell until the Saturday rain hit. As Ron White would say... When the rain hit I was First on the scene. I saw it and slowed for the keyhole, but even that was too fast and I slid way wide and was lucky to not go in the beach... The other Sam H (EP) and Charlie got by, but I got back to the inside before Eric, who must have also went wide, could get by. Charlie got out perhaps 7-9 seconds in the moving rain drama... The track quickly dried and Prill and I were closing the gap on Charlie with laps running out. Passing GTL and Lapped cars pretty much every lap... I caught some GTL around turn 9 and was force to follow for a couple tight turns... Track opened up over the hill and I passed to the inside in t10 - T11 (right turn into thunder valley over the hill). As I was on the inside, I noticed the GTL car was headed for me taking a traditional racing line as if I wasn't there. I can only guess he never saw me and the contact was way to hard for side to side contact. I lifted to slow and tighen my arc, but there was no way to avoid. We hit wheels to wheels. It resulted in a tank slapper for me and a car that clearly needed parts and some geometry as I attempted to resume. Prill passed and I drove the last few laps way off hoping a wheel wouldn't fall off. We had a gap and managed to hold 3rd.

Saturday evening and Sunday morning were spent doing repairs and alignment. So much for the budget thing...

Sunday, We were sitting on dry tires and set up well into calls to the grid... The track was slow to dry and there was a blip on the radar that looked like a concern... We did a panic tire change during last call and put on the rain tires only... Pulling out of the EZ up, the skies opened up and I was completely wet before I made it to grid... Pull under the overpass kind of rain.... The race started. I blew the rear tires off then bogged and Prill motored by. By the end lap 1 and for sure lap 2 I knew I wasn't going to run the leaders pace and I slowed and started driving my mirrors. I settled into a pace that the car wouldn't slid around which was about golf cart speed in the corners. On the straight, I couldn't rev past 9000 without wheel spin... J/K not past 7400 or so in first, second, or third... Nothing in corners.... The corners leading into the EV/Greg issue were the slickest on the course. I'm not sure why it rained antifreeze there, but ok it was that slick in the left b4 the EV... No FP cars were catching me so second and no more damage sure sounded better than second and maybe body damage... Eventually the leaders (and Prill) came by to lap. No resistance, and I actually thought my odds of winning were increasing 8) :wink: as the leader was still pushing or at least going fast... Very impressive, and it worked out well...

Some drama, and sunday was a mess, but I'm still looking at the positive. Some setup changes are reducing the "radial scares" and our car feels better. We'll do a better set up and see if we got all the bent parts back in the shop.

Big congrats to the winners Charlie and Eric... Sorry about Charlie's engine...

Now the big decision.... Daytonna? :ask:
 
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