NASCAR Rant

[catchacab]

ccm911 wrote:

bobt993 wrote:

You guys crack me up. Driving W2W in Nascar is alot more challenging than you think. Chris, I hope this is just one of your paper filling rants. It's hard enough to circle a track on a rolling start 3 wide at 120mph let alone 185 on a banked oval in a car that wants to turn, not go straight. Ask Larry, he had his hands full at Daytona just holding a line around the oval at 150.

Bob, you have got to lay off the Budweiser! You have apparently gone off the edge this time. For your pennance, I am going to recommend your watching only PBS for the next month. And if that doesn't work, I am going to quiz you weekly on the topics covered on NPR!

Just for kicks, we should do one of those "NASCAR" schools. But we should pick a track other than Pocono. Here a few links:

http://www.racingadventure.com/

http://www.drivetech.com/

http://www.speedtech500.com/index.html

http://www.fasttrackracing.com/

http://www.jeffgordonracingschool.com/

http://www.monsterracing.com/

[catchacab]

Here is my Stock Car experience story.

For our first wedding anniversary, my wife bought me a gift certificate to SpeedTech's stock car racing school.  Due to my work schedule, I kept delaying picking a date.  Finally, the certificate was going to expire so I went down to Atlanta in August of 2001. 

I had a 3pm flight out of PHL to arrive in Atlanta by 6PM.  Thunderstorms rolled into Philadelphia about 1:30.  The airport closed.  Flight were either delayed or canceled.  I finally took off at 11PM, getting in Atlanta after 1AM.  I had reserved a Ford Taurus from Hertz, but by the time I arrived they didn't have any, so the put me in a Volvo V70 turbo wagon (nice car).  I arrived at my hotel at 3AM (the race track is about an hour away from the airport). 

I needed to be at the track by 6:30AM, so little sleep I did get.  I pull up in the Volvo, and park next to a bunch of beat up domestic pick ups.  Little did I know, but their owners would be the people I would be driving with.

The school, gave us an hour long classroom session, followed by a ride in a minivan around to track, to teach us "the line."  We were then assigned a car based on our size.  (Most everyone wanted the black #3 Monte Carlo).  We were supplied with helmets, and Nomex racing suits.  To get into the cars we had pretend we were Bo and Luke Duke.  An instructor was in the passenger seat, and they helped strap us in (no cam lock harnesses).  Flick the switches on and then the ignition.

(Part 2 to follow)

[ccm911]

All right, on with the story.  We have barely scratched the surface here.

We need details!!

[bobt993]

Chris, that's funny, not.   YOur biggest problem is your out of touch and the closest you have been to a track in two years is the black and white tv in your living room......... but seriously about the rest of  the Nascar story.  Part 2 ?? 

[bobt993]

Marty Kocse wrote:

That's exactly what I think of when I see Boris Said out there with the Nascar guys. Part of me feels like he's been bought by Nascar, and turned on his road racing roots. Although, he's still a great driver no matter what the venue. You can't take that away from him. It makes me laugh when I think of how the guys that are still in road racing must talk about him and laugh. But then I think, if I was offered that kind of money, I guess I would change too. By the way, he still gets to run some road racing events during the year (24-hr Daytona etc.), it's just not a full road racing schedule. So, maybe he has the best of both worlds now. One thing is for sure, he's laughing all the way to the bank...

Marty, guess again. The Nascar boys have credibility now. Just read a nice post by Randy Pobst (GAC, ALMS,Porsche everything) about the talent from Nascar. Boris has done okay ( I like his driving too) , JPM is yet to get to the front, but I would give him till the end of the season. It ain't easy out there on the oval. The guys that make fun of Nascar talent level do not have a clue. Money aside, I would love to have 80% the ability of any of the top ten drivers on the Nextel Circuit. In the meantime, I will stick to wanna-be club racing.

[catchacab]

The instructor goes over hand signals, for more gas, less gas, kill the engine, and turning.  No chatterboxes!!!  Five of us are to be on the track at once, passing is allowed with a signal.  Shift at 4000 RPM, don't exceed 4000 RPM in 4th gear and once you get in 4th, keep it there.  The car will steer itself through the corners, you will have to pull the car to the wall exiting the corners.  We are going to do 10 laps now and then another 10 later.  Window nets are clicked in. 

Green flag given to me, I let the clutch out... stall.  SH--!,  I look like a moron, clutch in hit the ignition, clutch out, out of the pits into 4th gear 4000 RPM, lift slightly going into the corners, steer the car towards the wall coming out of the corner, is this guy nuts, he is going to get me killed, what is his name Jeb? We are going at 90mph at 4000 RPM, follow the line (markers are on the track), man this car is loud, I can't hear my self think.  Yeah, he was right I do have to steer the car to the wall on the exit of the corners.  The car does drive itself in the corners, this is fun but hard.  On lap 7 I catch up to the guy in front of me and he gives a signal to pass him.  I put the hammer down, but this baby doesn't have much torque at 4K, I'll get him after the next corner, going for the pass, hey, do I have enough room to get around him?  How do these NASCAR guys go 3 wide here?  How do they put 43 cars on this track at once?  I am going to crash!!! No, I don't but I do get around him.  A couple more laps, the checker is out. turn off power, coast in, these brakes can't stop a Beetle.

We debrief  (or at least take off our fire suits and helmets)  under a canopy in the pits.  Those 10 laps where hard.  I am sweating like a pig.  Another group goes out, we will have about 45 minutes until we are out on the track again.  

The guy I passed is from New York, he is there with his girlfriend.  Nice guy.  Then Billybob, Billyray, Bobbyjoe, Cletus and Cletus's son Billybobbyjoeray strike up a conversation with us.  Why are you northRNRRRS here? How many races you go to? Who is your driver? Ford or Chevy? WWF or WCW? We have been saving up for a year to do this.  You drive that Kraut car?  They are going to lynch me!  Which one is the Grand Wizard? Their pick ups did have shotgun racks in them. After this is over they are going to wait for me by the exit of the track, run me off the road and hang my northern Jew arse from the nearest tree! I could feel their dislike for northerners, let alone city slickers, jews, and anyone with more than an eight grade education.

The head guy comes to the canopy and asks, who is the guy signed up for 50 laps? I alone raise my hand.

We go out for another 10 laps, don't go over 5000RPM on the straights, 4000RPM in the corners max, no instructor.  I make a couple passes, I get passed a few times, then HOLY --IT, I just got passed like I was standing still.  Who the f--- was that?  The Checker is out.

Debriefing time.  Who Sh-- in their pants by that fast car? We all raise our hands.  It was the chief instructor.  We just wanted you to see how fast these cars can go.

All the other attendees leave, and I have 30 more laps to go. I am tired, I only got 2 hours of sleep and I am driving a race car.  My mind tells me this is not a good thing, and it is hot, air temp is already past 90, and it is as sticky as Concourse Chris's armpit after an all day waxing session (sorry, I just had to mention him here.  He is just beating Bob up too much).   I get to go out for lunch, McD's is the only place to eat that I am not afraid to go into.  Be back in an hour.

I drive 2 more 15 lap sessions on the track generally alone, but with an occasional visit by one of the instructors, providing hotlaps.  They have spotters (the other instructors)  around the track and when I get in, they gave me feedback about my drive.

I get back to my hotel at about 6pm.  I ask the front desk lady, where can I find a place to eat.  She tells me McD 's is a mile away, but if I want fancy, there is a Wendy's about 5 miles up the road.   Well, I am a fancy guy so off to Wendy's.  On the way I pass a food store.  It is a small wooden building with a piece of plywood on the roof with the words food store that looks like it was painted by a 1st grader.    I find Wendy's eat and go back to my hotel.

As I am lying in bed, I can believe how just being one hour outside of Atlanta can be so different from Atlanta itself. I think about the the people I met today, but most of all, how fun it is to drive on a race track.

Would I do a school like this again?  YES!!!

 

[Wellardmac]

Nice story.

I have a friend who did a NASCAR track day at Pocono for his 40th and had a blast. He made the same comment that you did about the noise.

[TwentySix]

catchacab wrote:

Concourse Chris's armpit after an all day waxing session

Must have taken him all weekend to do this

[ccm911]

Why is it that most bald men have an excess of hair everywhere other than their heads?

[Brian Minkin]

I think he is actually a Chia Pet......