ReidSpeed NASA Nationals race - TV rebroadcast

[fasthonda]

hello racefans!
 
wow, what a race that was!  i don't even know where to start the tale...  i have experience at Mid Ohio, but not a ton, and haven't been there since 2008.  i didn't sign up for the practice day ($$$ and time considerations), so first time out on track was on thurs morning, and it was TREACHEROUS in the rain!!!  i don't have a good set of rain tires, so i went out on my drys (i bought a brand new set of R6 Hoosiers for the race weekend.  only one set though).  it was total white knuckle driving;  very very scary, but i managed to survive and qualify and then the thurs qualifying race came, and it was a decent scrap and i finished in 3rd place.  friday i had a better qualifying race, and even lead for a couple of laps, before dropping back to third place and finishing there.  the combined results of the two qualifying races meant that i'd start in 3rd place on the grid for sunday's championship race.  in order to save my tires, i didn't practice at all on saturday, or warm up/practice on sunday morning.  sunday came, and the race was at 2:50 (weather was cloudy and threatening, but track was dry).  it was a 45 min (total race, which means about 40+ mins of actual wheel to wheel action).  my plan was to get a decent start, and then hang in third place or so, and wait til near the end, (thus saving my tires and keeping the car fresh) and then make a bid for the lead....   well, didn't work out that way!!!!  hahhahaha!    the instant the green flew, the other cars boxed me in (they knew the Probe and I were strong starters).  then after the first turn, they poured ALL over me like maple syrup!!!!  i had to drive the Probe at 105% the entire time, just to keep them behind me -- that was the most intense race i've ever been in;  i still don't know how i managed to finish in 2nd place?!?!?!?!  i ran a very good personal best of 1:42.7 (while battling, which is even more amazing!);  the winner did a low 1:42.
 
here's the link to the speedtv rebroadcast:
 
http://www.speedcasttv.com/nasa/#/races/243
 
click on the link (or paste it into your browser).  it's the tv broadcast for the entire race day;  mine was the last race, so click on the slider and slide it til the timer readout is reading 260.0 minutes.  then click on the full screen icon (its the one all the way on the right, right after the sound indicator.  it looks like a box with four arrows shooting out of the corners.  then hit the big play button right in the center of the screen and hold on!  (the commentator must have really liked the Probenstein;  he mentioned it (and me) constantly

i am working on my incar footage now;  should be plenty exciting!
 
enjoy!
 
Todd

PS  i couldn't have done it without the Probenstein!   holy cow does that car have heart;  i ABUSED it the entire race, shifting way above redline, sliding it all over the place, hopping the curbs, sliding into the dirt and grass.   and it just took it!  the left front wheel was trying to fall off the last couple of laps, but it held!!!!!  (the lower shock mount had come loose from the pounding and was flopping all over the place).  all the credit should go to the Probe!!!!   it's a one-in-a-million car! 

[fasthonda]

here is my incar footage;  the camera cut out a few minutes from the end;  i ended up 2nd in PTE.

http://www.vimeo.com/28920587

[Tony356993]

Todd

Great race. I enjoyed watching it and watching how everything played itself out. Congrats!

[fasthonda]

thanks Tony!  even though I finished in 2nd place, I think it is one of the best races that I've ever driven...  the guy who beat me holds the track record at Mid Ohio, and i believe he was undefeated this year.  the two guys in the Miatas (the maroon/black one and the white one) are both front runners (the maroon/black was a Rossini prepared and built Miata -- they build some of the fastest Miatas in the country).   after the race, the white miata (Webb) came over to talk;  he said he couldn't believe that i didn't make a single mistake, even though he had me under pressure the entire second half of the race, and got beside me multiple times...

I felt good about putting my home built, junkyard dog Probenstien up in that company! 

Todd

PS  i gave the Probe a hug when i loaded her back in the trailer

[betegh9]

Todd,
Had a chance to see the video, and you did a great job fighting off the 2 Miatas. Noticed how well you were protecting the line going into the turns vs. the guy that was ahead of you. When there is no threat behind you, you take a more efficient line where you turn the wheel a bit less. In a couple of areas, you were chewing the bumpers of the lead car. None the less, great driving and congratulations on your finish.

[fasthonda]

thanks Nick!   I was able to close little by little during the middle of the race on the leader;  but he got a little luckier with traffic, and that helped the Miata to close back in, and once we were locked in battle, i had to protect, which definitely slowed me down, and let the leader pull back out to a 5 sec lead again...

thanks again for all the kind well wishes!