In 2007 I won the NEDIV SCCA FE Championship and the FormulaCar Magazine NEDIV FE Championship. Thanks to my wife Michelle, Hoosier Tire, FormulaCar Magazine, SCCA Enterprises, Hagerman RacEngineering, Robinson Motorsports, and OneFormulaRacing for their support. Over just 7 races I won 4, finished 2nd twice, and 10th once. Also set new track records at Watkins Glen and BeaveRun. Not quite as good as my undefeated CP autocrossing season, but still excellent!
2008 plans are to run the NEDIV FormulaCar Magazine series and most NEDIV Nationals.
Could not make the practice day. Car died on 32 degree (brr!) grid before the first session of the weekend. Spent the next several hours chasing everything before replacing the 2 race old spark plugs which cured the problem. Traffic was heavy with 39 cars, but I was able to work with it ok. Never felt like I got everything out of the new pavement. Came in 6th fastest at 1:27.9, but 3 lbs too light so it was back to the end of the pack for me. At least we had another qualifier scheduled for Sunday.
Saturday at the gokart track, me, Keith McDonald, and Ron Inge teamed up for an enduro. With a team weight of just under 600 lbs we did ok for a long time, running around 5th place with 30 minutes to go. Then a bolt broke on the right front suspension while I was driving. We grabbed another cart and finished the race, but we were not scored after that. Still we had a good time.
Sunday first session was maybe 40 degrees, managed to keep the car alive and get out ok. Didn't do very well in traffic, my data system refused to show over 4500 RPM or any shift lights, and about half the laps my lap time didn't show on the dash. Despite that I was able to turn another 1:27.9, good for 9th on the grid- not fast enough but better than last! In the race I was too cautious in traffic and ended up 10th. Better than poor Keith who got whacked on the first wave off and never got to race.
Pocono was interesting. First qualifier I had a dead battery and needed a jump start to get off grid, got 2 laps at speed then we had a black flag all because all 3 Robinson Motorsports customers were off the track on drivers right around turn 2. Bad for them, and not good for my first trip to the track- a definite disadvantage since Matt Inge and Mark Eaton both were running SRF also. Mark had the pole, but was done for the weekend. Ian Harms was second, I was third, Matt was fourth, Steve Zamborsky was fifth, Bruce Allen was sixth, Keith McDonald was seventh.
Second qualifying session it was lightly raining heading to grid. Keith and I went up on slicks, only to sit there and get wet when the event was stalled due to lightning. I went back to the motorhome to stay a little less wet. After a while the rain slowed and I heard whistles so I went back down. The track was very lonely- not many people wanted to play on the wet track. The banking didn't have any standing water, but there were a couple small streams in the infield making things exciting on slicks. After a few laps I figured out it was possible to go full throttle all the way around the banking. As the conditions gradually improved, more cars made their way out, mostly on rains. Eventually all the FE cars turned at least a couple damp laps. In the wet I was fastest, and almost fastest overall except for Jacek Mucha in his super fast CSR. Keith was second fastest FE, 3.6 seconds back. Didn't matter since the morning times were faster, but at least now we both knew the track.
Saturday we started the morning with a qualifier for Sunday's race on a dry track. On my second lap we once again had a black flag all. This time at least the track crew got it cleaned up in 15 minutes and we got back out for a few laps. With more clean laps I was able to take the pole, followed by Ian, Matt, Steve, Keith, and Bruce. I wasn't feeling too well so I took a nap in the motorhome before the race.
Matt, Keith, and I were standing around talking before the race and the 5 minute whistle caught us by suprise, making us scramble to get in the cars and ready to go. Before the end of the first lap I was able to pass Ian for the lead, then on the next lap he retired with a flat tire. Around the middle of the race Matt Inge caught up and with a good draft down the front straight got by me for the lead. Two laps later I returned the favor and put just enough distance between us to keep him from doing it again. We had a little excitement with about a lap and a half to go when we caught a lapped DSR and S2000 just as I was braking for the chicane. Coming out the DSR went to pass the S2000 inside, while I went further inside to pass them both, and Matt tried the high line in an attempt to pass us all. He got by the DSR and S2000 but I got a little better run out of the chicane and kept him behind for the rest of the race. Final results were me, Matt, Steve, Bruce, Keith, Ian.
Once the adrenaline wore off I went back to bed, feeling a bit worse. Woke up long enough for dinner and a snack with some friends, then back to bed. Sunday I was pretty well useless, my cold was wiping me out. I didn't do much other than put gas in the car and head to grid for the race. We had a long delay on the grid while the track had some issues with their vehicles. After about 4-5 laps Matt drafted past me again, and I figured that's ok I'll just go by him later. Then Steve Zamborsky clipped the tire pile going into turn 1 and tore up his car pretty good leaving the track on the outside. Matt and I lapped a Formula Atlantic, then we got a black flag all. The yahoo in the Atlantic passed me under the black flag, and I didn't want him between me & Matt so I passed him back.
Sitting in the hot car in grid for an unknown time period was extra tough in my condition. We got re-gridded to the previous lap, unfortunately they left the lapped cars in the same order instead of moving them to the end. That put Mr. Bad Atlantic Driver right in front of me & Matt. Around 23 minutes later we got moving again. As I tried to clean the tires I thought I was going to puke in my helmet so I stopped weaving and just drove around trying to cool off. When the green flew the Atlantic was gone, then we almost hit him in turn 1. He blocked heavily through the infield, then left us on the back straight. Then we almost hit his slow behind in the chicane, and he was on the straight and gone again. This continued for a few laps, holding up me and Matt, when Matt snuck by at the entrance to turn two, almost getting taken out in the process. I gave just a little room so I could avoid the wreck if there was one, then started to go by and almost got my nose chopped off as the Atlantic jumped into my way again. He blocked me successfully for a few laps as Matt just drove away. I nearly hit him a few times, then the jerk went straight off in turn 1 with a mechanical failure. Matt was well ahead at this point, really there was no way to catch him. Just to make life more difficult, another Atlantic spun up ahead of me, I passed him, he passed me back down the front straight, then slowed so much I passed him on the outside of turn 2, at which point I think he realized I was in a race with the car up ahead and stopped fighting with me for position. Matt was too far ahead to catch and won the race, with me second, then Bruce, then Keith.
I'd never been to Lime Rock before, but watched a little in car video of an IMSA-Lites car to get an idea of the speeds. First session I had the pole over Bruce Allen by 0.6. Second session Keith and I both went faster, most people went slower, Lee Shumosic hit the wall in the Uphill turn- apparently with a little help. Final qualifying had me first by 1.3 over Bruce who was 0.7 over Lee who was 0.6 in front of Keith. The Motion Dynamics guys had all the parts to fix Lee's car, but he went back to the hotel Friday night. Saturday he packed up and went home before the race. Early in the race Saturday Bruce spun and Keith got by him. Then several laps later Bruce spun again, this time with some help from a passing Atlantic. Shortly after I lapped Bruce and figured Keith must be second. A couple laps before the checker I lapped Keith. Final order was me, Keith, Bruce.
Third race was Watkins Glen, one of my favorite tracks. We had a decent field of 7 cars, and I finally had new tires on the car. Qualifying I turned a 1:57.8, good enough for the pole by almost 3 seconds over Lee Shumosic. About another half second back Tom Mihelich, Amanda Hennessy, and Keith McDonald were all grouped together in the mid 2:01s. Matt Schreider was a second and a half behind Keith, and Bruce Allen was about another second and a half back. The race was the ugliest one I've ever finished. The guys at the front refused to stay in line or at a constant speed and we had two wave offs. My race almost ended in turn 1 when I over estimated the grip available on the kitty litter strewn outside line. After getting all kinds of out of shape and bottoming out on the outside curbing I managed to get the car going the way I wanted it to without losing too many positions. Once racing we didn't even get two laps at speed before the full course caution came out for a car parked in the track at the exit of the bus stop. It took 4 laps for the WGI personnel to flat tow the car out of the way so we could get back to green flag action. The traffic allowed Lee to get up close to me, I think at one point he even got beside me briefly before I got my act together and left him behind. A few laps later Tom passed Lee to take second. Further back Amanda passed Keith on the first green flag lap and started moving up through the field, eventually getting right behind Lee and even got a wheel inside him in the toe of the boot but couldn't get by. Matt pitted for a loose mirror making it easy for Bruce to sail by. Final order was me, Tom, Lee, Amanda, Keith, Bruce, Matt. I got the track record at a slow 1:59.1- never got a clean run through the traffic.
BeaveRun is a short little course but still has a couple interesting turns. I got my brakes dialed in and got the pole on another set of last year's Hoosiers. Keith McDonald is getting faster- he was only about a second back at BeaveRun, edging out Bruce Allen for second. About half way through the race I could see them battling on the front straight as I went down the back straight. While getting Keith was letting some faster cars lap him Bruce snuck by to take second. Final order was me, Bruce, Keith. I got the track record.
The year started a little later than I wanted due to work commitments- I missed the Summit Point and NHIS nationals. The first race I made it to this year was the Mid Ohio national in June. I put the new shocks on Friday with my old alignment specs but greatly reduced preload. The new Penske shocks worked great- the handling was much more sensitive to throttle inputs. Despite running on tires from last season I qualified on the pole, with Tom Mihelich in second about 0.6 back. In the second session Corey Dalenberg managed to clip Tom's morning time by a hundredth of a second, while Tom and I had traffic issues and never got a decent lap. Final qualifying order was me, Corey, Tom, Steve Stadel, Keith McDonald. Saturday night going over the car I found the 4 year old front brake pads were too worn to comfortably survive the race, so I installed new ones front & rear with plans to bed them in the morning during the warmup. After a few slow warmup laps it started to rain, and I never really got the brake bias adjusted to where I was happy with it. Luckily the rain stopped the session before our race. The outside row where I started got on the gas early at the green, then HARD on the brakes- I locked wheels way before turn 1 and Corey shot by on the inside. We were in a long chain of cars bunching up in the turns for several laps, and my lack of confidence in the brakes let Corey gradually slip away by a car here, another there, and soon he was well out ahead. Then Tom Mihelich caught up to me and got by, then I got him back, then he got me again. He got through traffic quicker than I could without the confidence in my brakes, plus being a bit rusty in my first race since the ARRC in Novemeber. When the starter showed 1 lap to go Tom had probably a 100 yard lead, so I pushed as hard as my old Hoosiers would let me, getting within a car length or two by start/finish where to my suprise and joy the starter showed 1 lap to go again! I knew I could get him this lap. Tom got a better run out of the keyhole and I didn't get him down the back straight, but I was all over him and managed to get a better run into thunder valley and passed him there. Apparently he had a shifting issue going into the right hander that made it much easier for me. We had run down Corey's gap to the point where we could see him easily, but he still won by about 6 seconds. Final results were Corey, me, Tom, Steve, Keith. Tom got the track record.