ReidSpeed Summit Point race report - (incredible vid footage!)

[fasthonda]

hi guys!

the final NASA Mid Atlantic race weekend at Summit Point was awesome! we had perfect weather both days, cool and sunny. this weekend was scheduled a bit differently -- one qualifying session early on saturday, then a 20 min sprint race on sat morning, then another sprint race on sat afternoon. sunday was scheduled for a one hour race; i'll call that a 'Super Sprint' race!    as an added bonus, there were a couple of PCA racers giving NASA a try;  Hunt and Scott (Streak and Good Hands);  they were driving identical 911s, both classed GTS2.  we were paddocked close together, plus they were racing in the Stinger heat, with me (and my famous 'Probenstien'!)

in my class, there were 6 other PTE'ers racing; i qualified 2nd on saturday morning, behind steve harper and just in front of scot and wade (all in nissan SE-Rs). i got a good start (harper's car got stuck in high gear at the start), but got balked a little bit by a red 911 ( -- scott   ) and a Diasio which were both a little slow off the line. i proceeded to run strong and got to the front, behind the sports racers (joe henderson in his Death Race Special was battling with the Diasio). the race ended a little early, due to an incident involving scot and a legends car (i'll let him tell all about that!). here is the video of that race: http://www.vimeo.com/2200764

the second race on saturday was about 3 hours after the first; grid position was the same as on the first race (determined by the morning's qualifying session). again, i got a good start, but had to check up due to the Diasio sports racer and the 911 being a bit slower out of the blocks. joe's Death Racer blew its motor almost immediately, and harper and i got into a really good tussle.... there was a yellow flag and a restart, and after that harper dropped away due to a blown up clutch. i finished again at the top of the heap, behind the Diasio. here is a video of that race: http://www.vimeo.com/2202917

i hadn't signed up for the 'Super Sprint' one hour race on sunday; i wasn't sure that i would have enough brake pads and tires left after saturday's festivities..... i checked out the Probenstien carefully after sat's last race, and decided that i would have just enough rubber and pads to attempt the one hour race. i went ahead and signed up, and rotated my front tires left to right. tanked the probe all the way to the top, gave everything the once over and put the cover on it!

my plan for the one hour race was to run at about 90%, so as not to burn out my tires and brakes, and thus hopefully leave something for the end of the race.... they gridded us according to our qualifying times on sat morning, but did not break out the race groups like they usually do (sat's races were started in three waves, with the spec e30s and the spec miatas in there own waves). i was gridded 7th, behind the diasio, the 911, two very fast e30s (jonny allen and skip bennet) and a very fast miata (dean copeland). i got a good start (this one was rolling, not standing) and my '90% plan' went straight out the window!!!! for the next 25 mins or so, i was running FLAT the F$#@ OUT!!!!! i had a tremendous battle with the spec e30s, trying to get past them and hold the lead, while at the same time, the miata was right behind us... our pack of four tin-tops was nose to tail, and eventually i was in the lead of the pack.... i was glancing in the rear view every few seconds, and just a few feet behind me the two spec e30s and the miata were going at it! this went on and on and on, with all four of us running almost identical lap times (we all did best laps of 1:27.1xx). the scrap going on behind me was immense; i could see cars jumping the curbs and huge clouds of dust flying (i dropped two into the gravel trap at T3 a couple times, and was waaaaay up on T10 a few times, too!). i was concentrating mightily on trying to run perfect laps, hitting every mark, and making no mistakes; and very very gradually i was able to start pulling away, maybe 10 feet per lap, until i had a few car lengths, and then finally 10+ lengths. we were in traffic by now, and i think i was getting lucky, and also managing it pretty well; it was about 30 mins into the race, and then a freaking FCY comes out!!!! my entire hard fought lead evaporates to zilch! i had jonny allen right behind me as we came around for the restart, with skip bennet behind him and dean copeland behind him. i watched jonny ease back to get a run out of T10 before the flag flew, and i matched him exactly. it worked perfectly, and i got a great restart. we came thru T1-T2 and heading towards T3 jonny was about a length off my rear bumper. suddenly, a lapped E30 lost it big time in T3, just as our fast pack of four were freight training into the corner. it looked as if there would be room at the edge of the gravel trap, but the e30 drifted back suddenly, and i had NOWHERE to go except into the gravel trap -- and i am talking DEEP into it at high speed! the bouncing and hopping and slamming was immense; i kept my boot in it and came out the other side, and rejoined the track further down towards T4. jonny and skip both had to avoid and lost alot of track position. my car was knocked out of kilter a bit; i think the alignment probably moved, and the tires were super dirty for a lap or so (i almost slid off at T9 the first time thru there after plowing the gravel trap!). the tires cleaned up, and the car was working ok. i settled down and was driving at about 95%, watching for the bmws and the miata. eventually, the miata got around the bmws and started to slowly gain on me. when it got to within about 10 car lengths, i was starting to worry. there was about 10 mins to go, and my front tires were SHOT! i was trying to drive super smoothly, and conserve the rubber, without slowing down too much. it was working, cause the miata stopped gaining and held position at about 10 car lengths out.... with about 3 mins to go, the miata suddenly dropped way way back; apparently some sort of mechanical problem???? he went in two laps early, and i cruised to the finish, in 2nd overall to the Diasio! i also set the new PTE lap record of 1:27.110!!!!!!      guess who was third overall????    Hunt was!!!!   great job, Hunt!

here is the vid of that race!!!: http://www.vimeo.com/2199123

i totally LOVED the format of that last weekend; all that extra time for practicing and qualifying was dumped in favor of RACING!!!! i'd love to lobby for that kind of format for next year; a qualifying session on sat morning, followed by two races. then a one hour race on sunday (or maybe a duplicte of saturday -- a qualifying session and two more races????). seriously; i'd SO much rather spend my time on track racing, rather than practicing and qualifying!!!!!!! x1000!!!!

let me know if the vids don't work correctly; i had a little trouble uploading them (especially the sunday vid).

i guess i owe it to the old Probenstien to clean up it's bodywork and throw some paint on it;  it ran it's heart out for me this year!!!   7 wins in the last 7 races!!!!!
 
todd
ReidSpeed

[John_Janick]

Off topic post, but I didn't want to start a new thread:

Just a reminder to be safe out there guys.  Some of you may know Cale Kastanek, driver of a red Honda S2000 that has run with RTR in the past (maybe the last time at Summit Main last October IIRC).  He was involved in a fatal accident at this weekend's Nasa event.  His fastest time stood (1:24.6) for the TTC victory and overall mid-a championship.  He would have been proud.

Anyway, some of you know him, so I figured you'd want to know.  We lost a truly great guy, and a great driver. 

Be safe out there.

[fasthonda]

wow.  i'm so sorry to hear that news...

that must have happened in the afternoon on sunday, after i had packed up and left.  my thoughts and condolences go out to his family.

todd

 

 

[Brian Minkin]

Sad news whenever an accident occurs on a track and especially when its fatal.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

[ccm911]

OK, back to ReidSpeed.  Now, we all know that "Probenstein" has provided years and years of service to Todd.  But really now, shouldn't that car be put out to pasture like an old horse?  It is time for Todd to get a new(er) racecar.  How many miles has that car gone?  How much abuse has been rendered at Todd's hands?

Maybe George's old Mazda?

[fasthonda]

hi chris!

yep;  years and years of service!  the odometer has ceased functioning back in 2005 at about 176k miles;  i'd estimate its up around 185k+ total miles now;  of that probably 45k are track miles.

i definitely think the motor is starting to weaken;  it just doesn't seem to be as 'snappy' as it once was.  and in the mornings, it REALLY puts out some blue smoke on startup....  after it warms up, the blue smoke goes away, and it seems pretty good!

every now and then, i get to thinking i should do a compression check, and maybe drop the oil pan and check the rod bearings.  then i think 'why mess with a good thing, when its not really broken?'!   i typically clean and oil the air filter once a year, and change the plugs once a year.  i change the motor oil twice a year (mobil 1) and change the tranny gear oil once a year (valvoline 75w-90 regular oil).  it's a good car, and i really love it!  i think it deserves a quick body straightening and spray job this winter, in thanks for its hard running season!  i think i'll drop it off in a month or so and have it spruced up, and you guys will for sure see it next year!  (it's gonna take a little longer to have the honda back in shape, i'm afraid   ).

i'm sorry i missed the big party get-together on friday evening!  hope you all had fun!

todd

[Gene]

Don't pull the valve cover or the oil pan unless you're prepared to rebuild the motor.  You'll let the magic fairy dust out and then it's all over.

[Racingswh]

Nice job Todd!  Looks like you had some good races!!  Nice job getting past the Porsche and then that Miata in the carousel.  Very good driving and it looked like you weren't ever overdriving the car.

Why was the Diasio so slow even in the corners?  For comparison Steve in the Radical is in the 18's at Summit.  Barry is probably alot faster than that with the new gearing and Bob is close.  Was that one powered differently than Bob's (the red one that runs with us from time to time)?  Just curious if you knew anything about it. 

 

[AMoore]

Racingswh wrote:

Nice job Todd! Looks like you had some good races!! Nice job getting past the Porsche and then that Miata in the carousel. Very good driving and it looked like you weren't ever overdriving the car.

Why was the Diasio so slow even in the corners? For comparison Steve in the Radical is in the 18's at Summit. Barry is probably alot faster than that with the new gearing and Bob is close. Was that one powered differently than Bob's (the red one that runs with us from time to time)? Just curious if you knew anything about it.

I was curious myself. I know that the Diasios can be powered with any number of engines. I believe they come from Diasio with Mazda rotary engines, normally aspirated around 250, hp, and more than 400 hp for the turbo. Either way, with a car that weighs less than 1500 lbs, they should be ridiculously fast.

[fasthonda]

hi guys!

the 'newer' diasios, like bob bouchers (and george busch's) are called 962R models;  they are powered by RX8 rotary renesis motors (250+ hp).  a turbo is an available option (400+ hp).  the earlier models were motorcycle powered;  most by 1000 cc yamaha motors (150 hp).  barry's is a custom built unit;  powered by a hyabusa 1300 cc turbo motor.

the one in my races was an early model, with the yamaha motor.  i think the guy was driving it kinda 'carefully';  his best laptimes were high 1:25s;  i am fairly certain that i could have circulated the track in the 1:20.xx range if i had 20 mins or so in that car! 

todd