Western Blip Oct 2006

[TomBobN20]

Hey Everyone, Hope all is well. Time to get the first Blip of the Season going. I would like to encourage you all to join us in the West. Salt Lake is an easy one, 15 minutes from the airport, Laguna is Laguna, and Thunderhill may be one of the best tracks in the US. Hope to see you. TR

WESTERN
BLIP
OCTOBER 2006


Racetracks are not of this world. Have you ever noticed the change that happens when you drive into a complex? It's just different. Like Cape Canaveral. People do things at a racetrack that others would never dream of. There's a tension in the air generated by the thrill and anxiety of thousands of drivers and spectators. It hangs over the place and brings the best and the worst out in people. Life is bigger at a track. We get to share it with the greats like Andretti, Unser and Fangio. And we get to battle the demons inside that would convince us that we have nothing in common with these stars. A racetrack is a special place, a place we can test our limits, physical and mental, especially mental. We are a part of the very lucky few who are given this privilege to go beyond our self imposed limitations and find out what we are made of. Sure it's a bit cliché but if you have raced you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't it's time to stop dreaming about it. It's time for the 2006-7 Skip Barber West Coast Series.

Hard to believe we are ready to hit it again. Time to clean the bugs off the helmet, dry-clean the racing suit (should have done that in April, not pretty) and get ready for some serious racing action. As most of you know by now the opening round of the West Coast Series (WCS) will begin in a few weeks in majestic Tooele, Utah, home of one of the latest and greatest tracks in the United States, if not the known universe. Checking the weather it's showing mid-60's and sun so rumors of needing snow tires are a bit premature. Skippy has secured the west half of the track for us which is a fast, flowing configuration with some funky corners in the middle including a pseudo triple apex number. And there’s vitually nothing to hit. I did manage to find a video of a lap of the west side. It’s not the best quality but it’s a start:

At last count we have 30 people signed up to race. Glad to see we have some returning drivers ready to run. Jeff Kaiser will again team up with his sergeant of arms, Al -You Talkin' to Me- DeLattre, to squeeze you out of your hard earned cash for the mechanics fund. Alan Baia and Gray Gregory have hinted that they may, finally, move up into the Champ. group. The Rocks are back again hopefully to run the entire season (hey Dana, did you ever get Michelle’s #). It seems Quentin Wahl hasn't had enough abuse running in the Masters Champ Series so he will be there to show us how it's done. For those of you who feel a sense of loss that Alex(ander) Rossi has moved up to the big leagues, fear not, as his replacement in the form of one Jessica Brunelli is here. Last I heard she is the ripe old age of 13 and weighing in at thirty two pounds, give or take. Jessica has been cutting her teeth in karts and it has been said she gave Mr. Rossi a run for his money. Jessica, I want to give you some fatherly advice now that you will be driving real cars. First of all, you need to bulk up a bit. These cars beat the heck out of ya so you need a bit more padding. 190 pounds is an absolute minimum so you better start hitting the Haagen Daz. Secondly, it would be best if you built your confidence in the Sportsman group then move straight to Nationals. Just avoid the Regional Champ group altogether. I hear they are pretty mean (remember Quentin, regional rules, hitting your opponent is not a good strategy in this series) so best to just move right past them. Brett Smrz from Idaho (Brett, I think you need to buy a vowel, dude) is another hotrod karter joining us as is Max Riddle of VancouverBC. Max, tell your dad to get with the program and join us.

Sadly there are a few favorites missing from the roster. Tim Traver has been doing well in the Grand Am series with Mikel Miller but hopefully we will see him and Serena soon. No excuses Mr. Bonilla, Paul not Gerardo, we expect you to be joining the group. Sprague Theobald is still a bit soggy from his summer underwater but may join us later in the season. Kurt Berg has been running a European Radical series. Sarah Wahl would round out the group very nicely. Of course we won't even talk about Dom Bastien defecting to the Southern Series. I think some serious arm twisting is in order there. Paul Demeester, Ted Ballou, we're waiting. I could go on. Suffice it to say it would be great to get the usuals back along with a long list of newbies.

One more reason to sign up for the Miller Race is you will be on hand for the finals of the Skippy Nationals. First place is still up for grabs and our favorite racer Alex(ander) Rossi can still pull it off. He just needs to get his butt in gear and win this thing. Maybe he'll tell us what really happened at Road America between turns 3 and 5.

Celebrity Star Mazda racer and Skippy Instructor Gerardo Bonilla has kindly agreed to give us some hard earned suggestions on everything you need to know to drive the invincible R/T 2000 to its highest potential. I'm sure he left nothing out:


Secrets of R/T 2000 Driving
By Gerardo Bonilla

So, what am I doing giving away my secrets for driving the R/T 2000? Well, I’m not dishing out my closest secrets, but here are a few guidelines that will help you understand our beloved Formula Dodge racecar a little better. Perhaps you’ve learned some of this already, or perhaps not. Consider this an elementary lesson. If you have questions, just ask!

Acceleration
Are you stabby on the power? Do you exit a corner by first using 50% throttle, then going instantly to 100% when it feels right? If so, find ways to get to 100% sooner by using a gradual squeeze from 50% to 100% that begins sooner than the point you would have slammed it to 100%. Practice this in your street car in a parking lot by making the tachometer move slowly from 2000 RPM to 3000 RPM, then drop to 2000 RPM as slowly as you can.


Braking
Braking Tip #1
Many drivers slam the brakes to what they think is threshold. Indeed, many of us have found threshold by listening to the tire squeal in the brake zone. That said, you can increase the total grip at that limit by using a fast press rather than a slam. Press the brakes so that the front of the car compresses the most. If you slam, the tires reach their limits before enough weight has been applied by the nose. Rather than slamming, press very quickly so the nose drops more, applying more weight, allowing the tires to generate more grip before squealing (and hopefully before lockup).

Braking Tip #2
The faster you are going, the more brake pressure the car needs. Likewise, the slower you are going, the less brake pressure. At the end of long straight-aways leading to slow corners with long brake zones, you’ll start with your hardest pressure and “trail” off the brakes even before reaching the turn-in point, where you will bleed off the remaining pressure. Doing this gradually (while downshifting even) requires your foot to be incredibly sensitive to pressure. Do not move your foot to trail the brakes. Instead, just gradually relax the foot and leg muscles that are applying the pressure. Do not move….. relax! You can practice this while sitting in any chair. Simply press the ball of your foot into the floor like your trying to squash an ant, then begin to gradually relax your muscles as if to be merciful to the ant, but never lifting your foot off the floor. (Editor’s note, no animals (or ants) were hurt during the testing of this technique).


Steering
We have all been told to use slower hands through a corner. Have you considered that the initial turn-in is the most critical time to use slower hands? The quickness of your hands not only controls how the car leans into a corner (which affects your grip and stability), but the quickness of your hands also affects the line you’ll have on the way to the apex. Slower hands at entry will often fix line and balance problems you are having at the apex and exit. Consider it. Stay relaxed for best results.


Shifting
Upshifting Tip
Most of you have heard it helps to “pre-load” the shift lever before you upshift each gear. Pre-loading means to gently pull back on the lever with your fingers just before you want to shift, then at the right moment, popping off and on the gas as you pull the lever harder into the next gear. If your upshifts are jumpy, try the pre-load.

Downshifting Tip
It’s amazing to me how bad many of us downshift the cars, even with sequential transmissions, and even drivers who have raced with us for years. Be sure you blip the throttle on every downshift. You only need to blip enough to unload the gears from their negative braking load. Practice in shifter karts when possible. If you can downshift those cleanly, you can easily handle a formula car. It also helps in the R/T 2000 to use a single pump of the clutch for each downshift to clean up the shift if your blips are not perfect.


Drafting
Drafting Tip #1
Have you popped to pass and you just can’t get it done before the brake zone? Try changing where you decide to pass. It’s not always best to pop for the pass right when you catch the car. On long straight-aways, try different points and make note of the results.

Drafting Tip #2
Have you come to the pits hollering to your chief mechanic or instructor that you “can’t keep a draft” behind another car and that it has to be your engine? Think carefully, watch your in-car video, and make absolutely certain you are driving the same way out of a corner when you are following a car as you would when you are alone and apparently faster than Michael Schumacher.


Rain Driving
How will you get faster in the rain? Sure racing line and car setup are important, but when was the last time you did something to improve visibility? If you can see, you will be fast. Try using every method until you find one that works for you. Try Rain-X, Anti-Fog, Fog City, and similar products. Try using a piece of tape rolled up to hold your visor slightly open to allow cool air inside. Try to stay relaxed so you don’t exhale so much into your visor. Try a piece of tape over your nose (ask someone to show you how) that will direct your exhaled air down and away from your visor. If you can see, you will be fast!





Thanks, Bobo, for sharing those hints. I want to take a moment to talk about safety and the Han's device. There has been a lot of debate on the Team Juicy website as to whether Skippy should require the use of the Han's device. Here's a link for more info than you thought possible on the Han's:

http://www.teamjuicyracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185

Following two serious wrecks at Mid-Ohio this summer (I understand both Alex and Stirling are doing well) it has highlighted the importance of the Hans. Alex, who basically went full tilt boogy into a tire wall after his rear brakes failed, reports the Han's device definitely limited his forward head snap. Stirling, who also clobbered the wall, actually fractured his Han's, along with a vertebrae. It, of course, makes you wonder what their injuries would have been without the Han's. While Skippy is unlikely to require them, I hope all of you racing with Skippy get one. Yes they are expensive but being dead is overrated. These two recent crashes really highlight their importance. Also you will be happy to hear the problem that lead to Alex's brake failure has been fixed and is very unlikely to happen again.

I had the pleasure of racing at Road America a couple of weeks ago at the end of the Midwest Series. Bloody great track. If you haven’t run there do so as soon as you can. The Kink definitely helps you find religion as a short prayer tends to improve your chances of making it through in one piece. Especially a week after Katherine Legge smeared her car all over the wall. If you haven’t seen that wreck check this out:

Gruesome, but very happily, she walked away from that wreck. Anyway, it was a pleasure running there. I do have a gripe with Skippy though. You guys ran out of tires on Sat. and the cars were pretty bad on Sunday with a lot of differences in power and performance and badly flat-spotted tires. Not typical of Skippy performance and hopefully not something the WCS will see happening. I did not hear an explanation of the tire problem so I am a bit concerned that we could see a repeat. Flatted tires and large variations in performance don’t help the fun factor.

For those of you signed up for Miller as of yet I don’t know if there will be an organized dinner out. I will take a poll on Friday. The facility has a great restaurant/bar onsite so I am sure that will become a meeting place. I was there in July and did a bit of exploring in town. There is a brew pub that is a possibility but would probably not allow minors so it would rule out all the karters. More on this to follow.

Anyway, time to get this in the mail. For those of you signed up we should have a great race weekend at a new track. For those of you not signed up I hope you will join us. This track is 15 minutes from the airport. It doesn’t get much easier. Like I said in the last letter, we finally have our own West Coast Series that does not include any Southern tracks. Now we need to get the momentum up so we can keep things in the West. I look forward to seeing you all soon. As always, if you would prefer not to get this letter let me know and I will remove you from the list.

Later, Tom Roberts

[tom goodhart]

Excellent left coast blip Tom, wish I could be there.
Tom G

[Kasey]

Tom:

Nice to meet you at RA. Great newsletter. Hope you have a great season out west.

Kasey

[rocorerick]

nice job again Tom