Region: SFR / NorCal
Car #: 72
Year : 93 Posts: 1276
Status: Offline
posted
We've got 16 cars right now, including 4 gentlemen from the Great Northwest (Washington, Oregon and Alaska) who drove Laguna last weekend and are joining us at Infineon this coming weekend.
I see a couple regulars are missing from the registration list (Bruce!) so I'm hoping to see a few more sign up this week.
Weather looks to be about perfect, and we'll get to race across (NASCAR SPOILER COMING!!!!!!) Kasey Khane's fresh donuts on the front straight.
Please check out the paddock map, as SM is in a new spot for this event. We're just south of the grid, smack dab in the middle of the paddock.
Looking forward to seeing you all Friday evening or Saturday morning.
Cheers,
Dean
-------------------- NASA Nor Cal SM series Director www.molaps.com
Winner - Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Driver Shootout
Evil Genius Racing / Race Engineering / Stewart Development
Region: SFR / NorCal
Car #: 72
Year : 93 Posts: 1276
Status: Offline
posted
Ok, now we're talking!!! Glad to have you, Bruce and Dan! If I see Vodden and Randy's names pop up, we'll have the full complement of regulars... I know Mark Drennan also has to get some races in to qualify for Nationals. Mark, are you out there??
Looking forward to a great weekend.
Cheers,
Dean
-------------------- NASA Nor Cal SM series Director www.molaps.com
Winner - Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Driver Shootout
Evil Genius Racing / Race Engineering / Stewart Development
Region: san francisco region
Car #: 39
Year : 90 Posts: 1800
Status: Offline
posted
Great the T.O.. too! what a cast.. Want to run the nascar course? Jerry said he doesn't care . Just convince everyone else. I guess that would be boring. fu-get it.
Region: SFR / NorCal
Car #: 72
Year : 93 Posts: 1276
Status: Offline
posted
It would be interesting to be able to compare our times and corner speeds to the NASCAR cars. I only ran the configuration once while breaking in an engine. David Reutemann was testing that day. Apparently, he didn't learn anything while "following" me around the track based on his performance last weekend.
Even if all the SM drivers agreed, we're sharing a run group with Spec E30 and the GTS cars, I think. We'd need to convince them, too.
-------------------- NASA Nor Cal SM series Director www.molaps.com
Winner - Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Driver Shootout
Evil Genius Racing / Race Engineering / Stewart Development
Region: SFR
Car #: 82/73
Year : 1991 Posts: 2015
Status: Offline
posted
-------------------- Kim
91 BRG SMT RIP 06 MX-5 Cup
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting 'Holy sh*t...what a ride!'" - Unknown
Region: san francisco region
Car #: 39
Year : 90 Posts: 1800
Status: Offline
posted
Tommy, Me and Dan G. both days. on the second only because Dean and Vodden wrecked totalling Dave's car. he flipped it exit right of T9. Locked tires. I was to far back in 4th to see exactly what happened. They had a real good battle going vodden and dean with tommy close behind. Dean was faster I believe. I'll let Dean Explain. I was on r888's all weakend. everyone else on ra1's. R888's suck fumes after about half the race on a 100 degree day. I was just driving to save my life. nut shell
Region: SFR / NorCal
Car #: 72
Year : 93 Posts: 1276
Status: Offline
posted
Total bummer on Sunday. Vodden, Tommy and I had a really good scrum going. Poor Dan on the ate-ate-ate's faded quickly. Dave's tires were going away about 2/3rds of the way through the race, but he is a MASTER of being in the right (wrong?) place at just the right time to prevent me from getting a run on him. I knew that if I could get by I would be gone. Tommy was never more than a couple car lengths behind, even coming in to bump me once or twice (thanks!) Dave got a little slideways out of T2 and I got beside him. We raced door to door the whole way from T3 to T9. As we were about at the midpoint of T9 racing very close, we touched tires and both cars just hooked right and we went into the wall together drivers' right.
It was a solid hit, but both of us are fine. The 72 car suffered body damage front and rear on the right side, maybe some suspension on the front, but no frame damage. Vodden's #1 car didn't do as well. The car was on its side when we came to rest - most body panels are toast. Not sure about the rest of it. Several people said "totalled".
I want to thank Tommy and Dave for racing super clean. This incident was just that - an incident from close racing. Thanks to Dr. Dan for some much needed shade all weekend and for doing the lion's share of a tie-rod replacement on Saturday. Also thanks to Scott Miller, crew man extraordinaire!
Big thanks to John Pagel at Evil Genius Racing whose head and dyno work brought our car from being basically dead a couple events ago to being competitive with some head and dyno work.
Also a HUGE thanks to Tim Barber who set up our car at about 4:30AM on Saturday (and then again in the afternoon after said tie-rod replacement). Tim just opened a shop at Infineon about 6 months ago and has setup for these cars dialed in. Tommy O and Dr. Dan turned Laura and I on to Tim. The car was on rails for me on Sunday.
Cheers,
Dean
-------------------- NASA Nor Cal SM series Director www.molaps.com
Winner - Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Driver Shootout
Evil Genius Racing / Race Engineering / Stewart Development
Region: SF Nor Cal
Car #: #39
Year : 1990 Posts: 457
Status: Offline
posted
When I raced MOTO X we called that the pick-up pass. Its when you can’t seem to get around the other rider so you crash into him and the first one to pick their bike up made the pass. Man it seems like 1 or 2 cars every event are getting totaled. Makes you stop and think don’t it.
-------------------- Al Angulo Auto Instructor Ford Senior Master Tech ASE Master Tech
Region: SFR
Car #: 89
Year : 90 Posts: 163
Status: Offline
posted
First, that lap had to be some of the best racing I've seen. You get a whole new perspective from T-8 as a spectator.
Second, cars are expendable, people are not. Sometime last year a NASA tech came through and said about 5 sm cars needed SFI roll bar padding before the next race, in a couple hours. I was a little frustrated but have come to learn NASA is just more concerned with the safety of their drivers. Almost every weekend they check some of the cars for safety items like seat belt mounting and certification, double checking your window nets, socks, stuff like that. Pregrid they are looking for head and neck restraint tethers hooked up. Last 2 weekends they have been testing to make sure drivers can get out of their cars in the required 15 seconds.
Don't skimp on the safety gear. NASA requires a head and neck restraint system and why anybody would drive without one is beyond me. Same goes for a halo type seat. I don't quite understand the right side net, but I guess it does something if your seat has nothing. If you have seen JD's video, imagine what his head would have looked like without the hans and halo, alot more like a Mr. Bobble Head on someones dashboard.
Also thanks to Scott Miller for finding my bumper and putting it back on. Poor guy shows up and usually get put to work somewhere. Thanks Dan G, also always willing to lend a helping hand.
Region: SFR / NorCal
Car #: 72
Year : 93 Posts: 1276
Status: Offline
posted
Amen, brother. I took about a 45 degree hit at the front and then the back end came around and hit again for a good side shot. It was like slow motion as my hands came off the wheel and my whole body shot to the front and right. Gotta LOVE head restraint seats AND the right side net AND good fitting, high quality belts (Schroth)AND the HANS!
Vodden should be even more thankful for good safety gear. He was unscathed as well with a much worse situation, ending up on his side.
I'll send you an SAE paper that explains the side net, Jeremy. Even with a head restraint seat I think it's a good thing.
The safety crew was great, too.
Cheers,
Dean
-------------------- NASA Nor Cal SM series Director www.molaps.com
Winner - Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Driver Shootout
Evil Genius Racing / Race Engineering / Stewart Development
Region: NorCal/SFR
Car #: 17/19
Year : 92/89 Posts: 268
Status: Offline
posted
Last year when my dad hit the T1 wall and rolled at Thunderhill in the reverse direction while trying to avoid another car spinning, he had a pronouned mark on his forhead from the helmet when it stopped due to the HANS. He just kept saying he couldn't imagine what would have happened to him had he not been wearing a HANS. I just cannot believe that they are not required in SCCA. I purchased mine in 2004 and wouldn't race without it.
It was great to see Dean and David walking around after the incident and I commend NASA on their efforts to maintain the highest safety regs for just that reason!
Region: SFR-033
Car #: 10
Year : 94 Posts: 60
Status: Offline
posted
I had a great time racing w/ everyone this past weekend and want to thank Jerry and NASA for putting on a great weekend.
Dave and Dean drove awesome and it was fun watching it from the best seat in the house. I agree w/ Dean that if he could have somehow made it past Dave, he would have driven away...I was personally was glad he didn't. Dean you were truly driving extremely well. Great job!
When the wheels touched, I knew it wasn't going to be pretty, a bad place to have contact with the wall immediately to our right. I was very glad to see both drivers were uninjured and the safety devices all did their job.
I'll try to get my in car video posted of the side by side from turn 3 until the incident in 9 soon.
Region: SFR / NorCal
Car #: 72
Year : 93 Posts: 1276
Status: Offline
posted
Also wanted to give a shout out to the traveling carnival from the Northwest! You guys were a lot of fun and picked up the track quickly. Jeff - you can really wheel that car! You guys are limited with the SCM rules and you were still turning great lap times. Impressive with such a technical track as Infineon.
Region: SFR
Car #: 82/73
Year : 1991 Posts: 2015
Status: Offline
posted
I see that more and more, tires rub and off you go...
Glad you guys came out of it okay.
-------------------- Kim
91 BRG SMT RIP 06 MX-5 Cup
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting 'Holy sh*t...what a ride!'" - Unknown
Region: SF
Car #: 99
Year : 1995 Posts: 49
Status: Offline
posted
Its definitely one of the drawbacks of running with the 25mm offset wheels or spacers... Back in the early days of SM (when most ran Panasports and no spacers) the cars could run fender to fender for laps on end, now it just takes a touch or two and the cars are spinning off one way or another.
Region: Houston
Car #: 91
Year : 1991 Posts: 2171
Status: Offline
posted
Interesting question raised here: By pushing the wheels out in the wheel openings with offset and spacers, have we made our racing more dangerous/costly?
-------------------- Do I turn my 99 Hard S into a killerfast SM or seek a donor?
Region: SFR / NorCal
Car #: 72
Year : 93 Posts: 1276
Status: Offline
posted
All I know is that if we would have just touched fenders instead of tires, we wouldn't have ended up in the wall.
I don't run spacers and I just run normal TD Race 1.2 wheels. I don't know what offset those are...
Keep in mind that this accident happened in a sweeping turn, so my front wheels are turned slightly. No amount of offset is going to keep the front tire completely under the fender when it's turning.
Dean
-------------------- NASA Nor Cal SM series Director www.molaps.com
Winner - Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Driver Shootout
Evil Genius Racing / Race Engineering / Stewart Development
Region: SF
Car #: 99
Year : 1995 Posts: 49
Status: Offline
posted
We all know that wheel to wheel contact is bad, look at how the open wheel cars fly around when they have contact. I know looking at my car with the new TD wheels, they stick out of the fender as opposed to when I throw my Panasports on which are tucked in. The incident we had with Dr. Dan at Laguna would not have happened if we had 40mm offset wheels... Once our wheels touched, his car went left and ours right, the result of his left rear & our right front suddenly slowing/stopping. I am not saying Dean and Vodden's incident would not have happened, but once their wheels touched, they were just along for the ride. Sad to see another one of our old cars bite the dust.
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