Thursday, October 24, 2013

NSXpo at VIR, part Earnhardt or 3!!! The Finale.


So, I almost got 8 hours of sleep coming into the second day, but I still felt "blah". I did my typical routine and we headed to the drivers' meeting. It wasn't foggy like the first morning, but it was definitely gloomy. We got out of the drivers' meeting and it is now drizzling. Silly weather, but I had most of my stuff done on the car. I just had to get myself ready.

Ryan Conley was having some issues the day before, so he swapped out distributors. The rest of us were getting ready, then Mr. Security laid the hammer down on us. We were over the yellow line, whoops, but that's where we had been since we arrived. He comes back by five minutes later and Ryan lost the Mr. Nice Guy title for a moment. It was pretty awesome to see. He got his car right and we all moved our cars, there was peace in the air.



Our first session rolls around and I'm still "not in the mood". I planned on just going out and getting my "direction" back. I think I started third in line behind the TTB NSX and Jeff in his BRZ. It wasn't sprinkling, but it was a constant mist which didn't really help me wake up. We got out on track and Jeff let me go. I wasn't really pushing, but I was keeping a gap with the NSX. Ok, so, again, it gets me going. He picks up the pace and I follow. We got going pretty well for the conditions. Even though it would be "dry" on one part of the track, it would be wet on another. It was constant per location either. The brake zone into T1 is where it seemed to be the "worst". Traction there was goofy all weekend, but it was manageable. It caught me out once in the session and the NSX pulled a tad bigger gap. It was nice to go out and "wake up". I felt that the day was only going up from there.

VIDEO FROM THE FIRST SESSION ON DAY TWO.

By session number two, it was clearing up and at least dry. I borrowed Jason's AiM Solo because I have thought about purchasing one and I wanted to see the benefits. I didn't want to use it earlier in the weekend because I didn't want to get fixated on lap times. I started the session towards the front. So, we head out and we take our warm up lap. Then, on the first "flying" lap, someone lets me go and I come acrossed the line hoping that I did everything right to get the Solo to work properly. Yes, it worked, it was a low 23 lap which I didn't know if it was good or bad. The next lap, I cranked out a 2:21.96. I felt that the lap was good, but I was still trying to clean things up. Unfortunately, the rest of the session, I got caught out with traffic. Still a great session and it was nice to look over to see how I was doing. After the session, I got out and told Adam what I had ran. I think that was the first time that I thought "oh, well maybe that was a good lap." due to his facial expression. 

We had lunch, then I went to a classroom session. Meanwhile, the whole time, since I was using the Solo, I was thinking of where I could make it better. So, I got a plan together of what I wanted to work on. Now, we just had to wait to go out, which was supposed to be 3pm.



We are all hanging out and everything besides pressures are done on my car. I go back upstairs to the room for a bit before our session. I come back down and everyone is in their cars, running. I asked Adam what was going on, he replies "they combined Advanced and Intermediate." Oh crap, I'm going to be late to the party. I wanted to party with Adam, but I seen him head out. Well, I guess that I am out for that, back to plan A, work on getting quicker. As I am going through grid, I see him go by start/finish. Sweet, there is a chance! Well, apparently, he was tipping these people as he went by. They were holding me up like Simba in the beginning of Lion King. I come through South Bend and I see him up towards Oak Tree. I get on the back straight and line him up like a Kid N' Play fade. I was fully prepared to push him up the back straight, but he fully lifted, nope, not going to happen. I come to find out, he jumped a couple curbs, so he got black flagged for going "four off". hahaha. I keep working on what I had planned, but every time that I would think "this is THE lap", I would get slowed up by someone. That session, I never got a clean lap, bummer, but oh well. The session was still fun.



On day one in the drivers' meeting, I asked about flag stand location. The only person to answer me was Andy, he replied "they will all be manned." Ok, I'll find them and we will go from there. Well, I found them all, except for one. This one was kind of critical, it was the one on the outside of Oak Tree. I would always be one of the first ones out and wouldn't run the whole session before coming in, so I'd never see the checkered. Well, the third session due to going out late, I was to have seen the checkered. But, that didn't happen. Earlier in the event, coming out of Oak Tree, Joe pointed me by, then drag raced me. I joked around with him about it, so in this session, I see him ahead. He then gives a thumbs up, so I think "cool, he's just letting me go." So, I just buzz on by. I then get up into Roller Coaster and I see Dave ahead. Before T16, it seemed like he had slowed. So, I think "awesome, he knows that I want to start a "flier"." I go on by and as I am coming out of Hog Pen, the corner worker is giving me the "hang loose" signal. I also see Conley pulling into the pits, so it all "clicks" at that point. I cruise on through the pits, Andy gives me a hang loose while Jack and Nick give me a thumbs up. haha. I was laughing pretty good because I came out clean on that one with Joe and Dave ahead. I never miss flags and that wasn't the time to start.

Joe's view after the checkered.

Dave's view after the checkered.

Adam and I had a long trip ahead, especially after a long day. So, we decided to pack up and say our goodbyes. It stinks because most of these people, I won't see until next summer, but I've got Facebook. haha. Adam went over and took a shower while I just sat at the bottom of Roller Coaster to soak it all in. 



Once we hit the road, it was smooth sailing. Andy passed us in his old Integra and that was the last sight of any #IntegraFriends. I asked Adam about every mile if we could turn around, he kept saying no. It seemed the mountains were steeper heading home than coming to VIR. It was almost dark outside and we are climbing the mountain. I'm looking over to the left and I see this big, dark object moving. It was way too big to be a dog. Luckily, Adam saw it too, so by the time I yelled "WHHOOAAA!!", he was already on the brakes. Holy, black bear!! This bear runs out in front of us, we miss it by less than three feet! It was a full grown bear, but it at least weighed 250 pounds.

We kept on chugging home. We stopped at this truck stop as we got into Kentucky. I went inside and when I came back to the truck, Adam was asleep. So, instead of waking him, I let him sleep. He slept for about an hour and a half. I didn't sleep because I knew that I would have been "done" after that. Once we were in Indiana and on 74, I slept for about 15 minutes. We backed into my driveway around 6am, I was inside, showered, and ready to lay down by 7am. I slept until 8am, then I got up for work. I worked all day and when I got home, Bai and I played for a bit. I think I fell asleep on the couch around 830pm as we were watching cartoons. At that point, I would have been up for almost 39 hours with about an hour of sleep. I hadn't done that in awhile and I still think that I am feeling the side effects of it. haha.



Looking back on the trip, wow. What a great time even though it was long travels, it was well worth it. Everyone told me how "nice" VIR was and how fun the track was. They were all lying, it was better than even expected. It is a far drive, but it might have to happen on a yearly basis. It was also cool to hang out with ITR guys, but more in depth or one on one. I've seen Joe and Dave a few times this year, but the others, it seems like ITR Expo was it. The karting was awesome, I wish that we could have done it again, but with the schedules given, it was tough. Adam's idea of staying on top of the garages was a great idea. It was super convenient and accessible because I was up there before and after every session. The track itself, it was amazing. It let you know when you made a mistake, it also told you when you were being a girl. In the Midwest, we don't have many tracks with that variety, let alone speed. Fun track to learn and I can't wait to go back, until then, hang loose!!

Cheers.

#BrapCity


Saturday, October 19, 2013

NSXpo at VIR, part two.


So, it is time for my first session at VIR. Since I wasn't instructing, I was making sure that I got to grid early or at least on time. I got to the grid and I noticed that I was going to be third or fourth in line, so I held back and let every car possible go by. It originally worked well because I was about eight or nine cars back from the front. Then, they released us to go out on track. VIR Full course is 3.27 miles long and the first lap was yellow, which was good. But, the bad thing was, the person in the front of the grid had their hazards on going 50mph around the whole track. I thought "great, this isn't a good way to learn the track!" Some played really nice and let me go coming to the green, I wasn't going to pass that up. I picked the track up quicker than I had expected and the pace followed.

The first session went better than expected, but I had A LOT to pick up in the next couple days. On the Midwest tracks, you can rotate the car early and hammer down. There are a few corners at VIR that don't like that method or style. So, that was one of my big adjustments, waiting and turning in later. Going into Hog Pen was something that I really needed to work on because I was way early into T16. Overall, I was happy with the session.

The second session, I still wanted to "take it easy", so I could gather up the rest of the track. That would have worked well, but the TTB NSX was in front of me. So, it became "learn the track and keep up with him." haha. It was basically a blessing in disguise and that session was better than the first. That was also the first session where the car got a bit loose in the esses due to bombing the first right side curb. And, yes, I did scream! haha.

For lunch, Chris aka TeamNextGenChris cooked hamburgers and hot dogs. It was a pretty rad time. There was a bunch of us #IntegraFriends over there. Tons of laughs, not enough time to catch up with some. But, it was a great idea by Chris to say the least. Chris if you read this, thanks again, that was awesome!!



The one thing about VIR that I enjoyed is it has curbs and lots of them. Most of them have a lot of surface area, so using a lot of them is really fun. Well, in the third session, that came back to haunt me. This session as you would guess also got better than the previous ones. I'm learning the track, I'm waiting on certain apexes, and feel better up the esses. I had a decent amount of open track, then I caught up to the #IntegraFriends. Ryan, Dave, Jeff, and Joespike were always running in a line. It was awesome site to arrive to. These guys are all clean, have many years on track, and even better to be around in the paddock. Anyways, I catch up to Jeff on the front straight, but as I'm going by the kink, I notice out of the corner of my eye, my fuse box is hanging there. What the heck!! I get by Ryan coming out of the lower esses and I literally laugh out loud and point. Up ahead, Dave is running with the hazards on, it was too funny. I wish my GoPro got the session, but for some reason, the only footage I have is from South Bend before I catch up to Joe. To my pleasant surprise, Joe is also running his hazards. We come out of Oak Tree and Joe points me by, but I can't catch him. haha. I flash my brights a few times to no avail, but he finally lifts at the crest on the back straight. I love the Roller Coaster section into Hog Pen, so I hammer through there and coast into the pits.

With the use of zip ties, I get the fuse box mounted back up. There was a 25 minute gap between our third and fourth session, which is combined with the instructors. I decided that the day was a success, so I hung it up for the day. I took it easy, watched some of that session, and took at shower for the night's festivities. 

During the day, many were talking about BW3s because they were having a karaoke night. But, since we had left Indy, Adam kept talking about Aunt Millie's that the Penn brothers had taken him to. We basically threw in the towel to go with the rest of the group, but then Jack said Millie's, too. So, one group with to karaoke and another to Aunt Millie's. VIR is right on the Virginia and North Carolina. We made the seven minute trip to Milton, NC and ate at Aunt Millie's. This place looked like an absolute craphole. There was probably 20 of us which made them under staffed. I was hungry, so I complained to the table. I got asked if I wanted a Snickers, well of course I did. The first bite that I took of the pizza, HOLY SMOKES!!! It had a New York style crust with Chicago like style toppings, thick cheese, not a lot of sauce. Wow, I was so stoked that we went there. That sure beat the mini corn dogs that I would have got at BW3s.

The building next to Aunt Millie's. Yes, those are trees.


Once we were back at the track, I sat around the garage with the guys. But, I was worn out from the prior day, so I hit the sheets early. It was nice because normally my track sleep schedule is terrible to say the least. Enough of that, day two will lead off part three!



Friday, October 18, 2013

NSXpo at VIR, part 1.


I normally don't do these in sections, but there is a lot to cover with the trip, etc. So, I am going to try and cover NSXpo in different parts.

Everyone that has been to VIR has told me how good it is. Sander and Steve were the two who "pushed" the effort the most. Fortunately, they were lying, it was even better than they described. But, enough of that, lets get on with the build up and the trip.

Adam Jabaay and I started getting to know each other at ITR Expo '11 at CMP. It was my first big road trip for an event and it started my second full year of tracking the hatchback. The relationship has grown quickly which leads us to this trip. In 2011, Adam went out to VIR to run a TrackDaze event with the Penn brothers. Since that time, he has said that we needed to get out there, along with the others that I mentioned previously. There was never really "a reason" to head out there, until this year when Steve LaClair helped organize the HPDE portion of NSXpo. As soon as it was announced, Adam and I had the same idea. We both took our time paying, at this point, I don't know why. I should have signed up day 1. haha.

The trip from my house is about 11 hours, so for Adam, it is almost 14. He left his house at midnight, Chicago time, and got to my house are 4am EST. We were on the road at 4:30am and had a pretty smooth cruise. Once we got into West Virginia, it was awesome. What a view out there this time of year, wow is all I have for it. We weren't using GPS or anything, just going off of our map app on our phones. It wasn't bad, but they didn't have our exit road labelled properly. So, we missed 58 and ended up descending down the mountain and had to make up a detour on our own.

The detour was wild to say the least. We took 103 through North Carolina and this road took us out in the "sticks". To sum up the detour, we saw a headstone in front of a house, right next to the driveway. Pretty twisty road, but a nice scenic detour to say the least. The detour took us about 45 minutes out of our way, so we were cutting it close on making it to the karting portion of NSXpo.

We barely made it in time to kart. We literally hopped out of the truck, grabbed our helmets, and walked quickly to the karts. Luckily, it was some of the ITR guys, so we hopped right in. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to grab my GoPro, but what an awesome track and session. I started second to last and the other guys, beside Jabaay and I, had ran several sessions. So, the first couple laps were to figure out and watch out for the Mario Kartness. It was wild, one time going into the downhill right hand sweeper, the guys in front of me were three wide, banging the crap out of each other. I passed one at the exit, then I got the track figured out, so the pace picked up. I got around Jeff and Luke, then my pedal extender folded up, so I couldn't touch the gas. I pulled over to flip it back down and got underway. I was out in the open and it was super boring compared to what we had been doing before. So, I pulled over again and I knew Conley had on a red shirt. I timed the gap perfectly, he passed me as we went into the slow hairpin in the back. I got back underneath him, but due to the massive weight difference, he pulled away. Into the downhill right hander, I got underneath him, but he played it right and over/undered me. The next section was tight, so trying to make a pass meant contact. I played back and tried to get a run going onto the front straight to keep the gap close. But, by the time we got to the tight hairpin, he had a big gap. At that point, I was just trying to maintain the gap. That went on for a few laps, then the checkered came out. What a great time and I was ready to do it again, but guess what, that was the last session. 


We left and got the keys to our room above the garages. Adam said that was the place we needed to stay even though there were nicer facilities on the grounds. Man was he right, the rooms were decent enough, but the location was perfect. After we got settled in, it was time for dinner at Oak Tree Tavern which is on the grounds as well.


It was some sort of "official dinner" or something of the sort. The building that it is in was pretty awesome, old, assuming it was a house prior to become a restaurant. We didn't know what to expect, but I expected to order my own food. That was a negative, it was a predetermined meal. I am picky, so I was hoping for something decent. Of course, I passed my salad over to Adam. The dinner meal was a chicken linguine or something of the sort which was ok. Then, the dessert came out. Holy smokes, a brownie with vanilla ice cream. I looked over and seen Jeff and Luke feeding each other. If I remember right, Bernie was taking pictures. One of the best parts of the night was driving to and from the tavern in Adam's ITA car. Look, mom, no headlights. We followed some van over and then followed Bernie back. If it wasn't for them, it could have gotten bad. haha.

I think we hung out in the paddock for a bit, but after that long of a day, it was bed time. The beds were small, but Adam and I went with the butt to butt method and shared the bed. Kevin fell asleep in the other bed, then Luke crashed next to him once he got back. Luke said that he didn't even know who he was sleeping next to until he woke up in the morning. haha.

Saturday morning started out cold and foggy. I had a few things to do to the car after the trip down. I got those dealt with and we headed down to the drivers' meeting. The drivers' meeting was different to say the least. Some of the basics weren't covered, yet some of the way over the top stuff was covered. I asked about flag stations since I had never been there, I was told they would all be manned. That didn't do me too much, I looked for all of them, but apparently, I missed one(but, I'll get to that later). There were some other odd ball topics that were brought up while Jabaay went and got breakfast. Then, it was asked that since he was in advanced and never had been there before, if he could turn on the hazards for the first session. #DukesOfHazards

That will lead us into the beginning of day one for part two!

#BrapCity