Kakashi Racing Goes 2-3 at LRP in the rain! (con'td)
Greg Amy, Nissan NX2000 - #33 DP
So, having presented a reasonable
finish in the ITA rain race - despite our worst fears - and coming down from
that adrenaline rush, we had to then re-think our participation in the Big Bore
(Group 8) race.
Recall that we entered our ITA NX2000 in D Prepared for the purposes of development and testing of the NX's suspension. Also recall we went through this same thought process when it came time for the ITA race. However, this time it was a little different: whereas in the ITA race we were surrounded by similar-performance cars and drivers with whom we were familiar, in Group 8 we'd be surrounded by overpowered straight-line rocketship piloted by...well, we just didn't know them.
So we sat there under the canopy, listening to the rain plinking down on the fabric overhead, mulling the meaning of life. Did we want to risk damage to the car in such an environment? Was the potential reward of more vehicle and driver rain development worth it? In the end I decided, with encouragement from my wife, to go to the grid, see who showed up, maybe run the warm-up lap and one or two laps as a feeler, and then decide what to do at that point. So, the game was on.
We stood at the top of the hill watching the ITS/ITB race, and
about halfway through it I walked back to our paddock spot and started to bolt
myself in. I putted down the hill to the grid and noticed that about a third of
the field was missing from the grid, including the top-3 cars (one of them being
the aforementioned GT-1 that I very nearly became intimately familiar with
during qualifying). As I pulled into my spot the crew chief of the car next to
me remarked "seems like you may have an advantage here in the rain!" I smiled
and said "nah, I just want to learn something. You guys can go off and have your
fun, I'll stay out of the way!"
Boy, was he ever right, though.
As the five-minute warning came and I began to put on the helmet and tighten up the belts, we were treated to yet another revelation: the grid workers were indicating the entire track was covered in oil. Let's not forget it was raining (and getting harder). Water, oil, and all that? I told Matt this over the radio and he said, "Let's just call it a day." I thought about it, looked around at the sparse field, and replied, "Tell you what: I'll go out there for the warm-up, see how it is. If it's bad, I'll bail, but if it's drivable I'll stick to the original plan." The one-minute warning came and no other competitors showed up, and the rain got slightly worse. once we were released to the track I noted that with the sparse grid I was actual seventh overall, putting me again on the inside. We made a slow lap behind the pace car, came down the hill, and got the green. We were off!
As before in the ITA race, the mist was terrible, not allowing me to see much more than one or two cars ahead. However, one other thing became immediately apparent: these guys weren't accelerating at all! I was actually lifting down the front straight to stay behind one Porsche, and when he moved aside ot take the classic line I simply floored it and drove by him. Going through Turns 1 and 2 I found myself in third place overall with virtually no effort. I followed warily behind the ertswhile-polesitter GT-03 RX-7 and (I think) a T1 Corvette, and we again came down the hill to finish up Lap One. As I'm going down the front straight, my buddy Joe DiMinno gets on the radio and says, "dude, if you don't finish first overall, you really SUCK!!" Then, as the three of us headed into T1, the leading RX-7 spun in the braking area, causing the Corvette (?) to checkup; with that I found myself heading into the Left Hander, right towards Matt and Joe at the hillside concession stand, in the lead of the Big Bore race, singing "As I was driving through The Park one day; in the very merry month of July..." over the radio!!!
Well, this was just simply too much! We joked over the radio about the situation for about a lap, when I decided I better shut the eff up and drive, lest I drive the car off the track from being too damn cocky. I just, once again, concentrated to drive where I now knew was the best place, to learning as much as I could about how fast I could get away with in the rain. I glanced up in the rear-view a couple of times, expecting to see someone charging to the front in the rain, but I didn't see anything; I assumed someone was there but I just couldn't see them through the spray...
About halfway through the race - I glanced up at "the Big Board"
in T1 to get a lap count - Matt gets on the radio and says, "Dude, you've got
a 40-second lead on second place." I was incredulous; I could not
believe that none of these guys were unable to keep up. So, quick
calculation: halfway through the race, 40-second lead, roundabout 80-second
laps...Holy Toledo! So, I replied "dude, I'm going to lap the whole field" and I
set that as my goal.
Right about that time I started hitting traffic. Most of the
drivers were extremely courteous (or patently unable to do anything about it)
and I got by them easily; others weren't so accommodating, such as that
aforementioned RX-7. Maybe they didn't recognize I was was lapping them or were
fighting for their own positions; maybe they did and were pissed off about it.
Regardless, I carved my way through the traffic with a renewed vigor, now
wishing for more laps instead of less! With 5 laps to go, Matt said I had six
cars to catch; with 3 to go I had three. I caught third place, a GT-1 Olds
Cutlass, with two to go but the time ran out just as I was coming up on the last
two guys duking it out, a mere 3 seconds in front of me.
I took the checkered flag and just said to myself, "Now that
was fun."
As I did my cooldown lap I was elated. The corner workers were having a good ole time, too; they were all waving vigorously and giving me thumbs-up as I passed by. I entered pitlane, originally not intending to take that DP checkered flag lap, but this one I simply couldn't pass up; I took the flag and made a slow lap, making sure to wave at each of the F&C folks, gesturing many thanks to them for their being out there supporting us.
Of course, by the time I got back to my paddock spot, Joe, Matt, and the gang were there for the laughs and ribbing. I got a good ration of it from them, with Jeff telling me it was an entertaining and fun end to a tough day. Of course, I got more of it from the volunteers at the post-event beer party, and I tracked down our competition chairman so I could get my first-place trophy (a super nice coffee mug).
We'll be talking about this one for a long time...