Kakashi Racing competed in the NASA Pro Racing
event as part of the HyperFest activities at Summit Point West Virginia, taking
two class wins and setting the new SE-R Cup track lap record!Kakashi Racing at HyperFest 2004
11 July 2004
Photos Courtesy of Mike Geoghegan
Kakashi Racing competed in the NASA Pro Racing
event as part of the HyperFest activities at Summit Point West Virginia, taking
two class wins and setting the new SE-R Cup track lap record!
We arrived at the track Saturday morning just about the time of the driver's meeting at 7:45. We were lucky in that a buddy of mine had trailered down the car earlier in the week, so he was able to get the NX2000 tech'd and get our paddock all set up. We had also taken the time to get the car prepped prior to its departure from Connecticut, so we were pretty much ready to go. This was the first NASA event I had attended so I was at a bit of a disadvantage in that I had no clue what to do, so I figured the driver's meeting was the best place to start.
My first impressions were good, that of an organization that wasn't too full of itself and looked like it wanted to have fun. I happened across some friends from the Audi Club that were also racing that weekend, so I hung out with them during the meeting and they pointed me in the next direction. I met our group's liaison, who gave me the armband I needed, and from that point I had only to wait for our first session a couple of hours or so from then.
Wandering around I found some other SE-R folks,
such as Shawn who was driving the HPDE, and Matt (my crew chief) and I wandered
into the paddock of Eric Rosen and Stephen Harper. We introduced ourselves, and
given that they were getting ready to go on the track we thought it best to do
the same.
I had not been to Summit for a while so I gridded behind Eric Rosen and Stephen Harper, NASA regulars, and at 9:30 on-the-dot we were on track. After a lap Eric pulled off with some mechanical difficulties, so I followed Stephen for a while to get a lay of the track and feel out if the car had any issues. Matt and I had been trying to sort out some new suspension developments, so I spent the session trying different lines and discussing it with him. Fortunately, everything went well so we parked it and just made sure everything was screwed on tight.
The Saturday qualifying session didn't go so well
for Eric. Coming out of Turn 9 I got a call from Matt saying that someone had
blown up on the front straight; coming out of 10 I saw the billowing smoke. As I
reached the first turn I saw Eric's car stopped in the runoff area with smoke
pouring out; by direct experience I knew that it was due to an air-cooled SR20DE
block. We visited with Eric after the session to offer any and all help to get
him back on track, but the general consensus was that he was done for the
weekend. No one can complain that he doesn't go down with style, though; not
only did he have the most dramatic engine blow up of the weekend, but he damned
near won the HyperFest Habanera chili eating contest later in the day (he
definitely didn't look too good later that afternoon...!)
Let's take a little side trip to HyperFest for a sec. I'm not much into cladded out Hondas, and there were plenty of those. I don't really like super-bass dance music, and there was plenty of that. I'm a big beer drinker but there wasn't too much in evidence. But one thing I do like, and there was plenty of it, was eye candy. Oh, my goodness was there eye candy. 'Nuf said.
Our car wasn't without its problems on Saturday:
by the time I pulled back into the pits at the end of the qualifying session we
were showing oil temperatures of 235 degrees and higher-than-normal water
temperature. It was a super-hot weekend, but not really enough to cause this
kind of problem, but we had not changed the oil after the testing day. So, my
buddy Jeff and I drove his brandy-new R32 Golf (what a nice ride!) out to the
the metropolis of Charlestown WV and picked up some fresh Mobil 1 and lunch
fixins. The Mobil 1 seemed to cure the engine's temperature ills and the lunch
fixins seemed to cure Matt's ills, so we were ready to go racing.
Saturday's race was a hoot. The (now two) SE-R Cup entries were gridded in the Small Bore group, which pretty much consisted of anything with a small displacement save the Honda Challenge cars. We had sports racers in there, all the PS cars, and those silly little annoying mosquitoes called Legends. Coming from SCCA I expected an early green flag, and as we came around Turn 10 I was ready. By the time the lead cars we just coming up under the starter's stand I was convinced we were getting a wave off so I lifted, RIGHT as he tossed the green flag! Man was I left holding my Junior! Stephen made a KILLER start and was whizzing by me before I had a chance to start pedaling again, and I was swamped by Spec RX-7s and a few other slower cars wedged in between Stephen and I. He made some super moves through the traffic and did a great job keeping cars between us. We both fought hard before he got balked by a slower car and I managed to just sneak by. Fortunately, the traffic worked to my favor for the rest of the race (I HATE those Legends!) and I was proud to capture the first East Coast SE-R Cup win, 6th overall of 44 starters.
But, the day wasn't over! After cooling down we made our way over to the HyperFest activities at the Main Show area. Car displays, a executive defense driving demo by BSR, eye candy, vendors, eye candy, a rollover contest (!), and a US Drift elimination competition capped off a pretty fun day. Oh, and there was plenty of eye candy.
Sunday morning started off nice enough, but the weatherman was promising a hot one, and boy did we get it. Hot *and* humid.
The schedule was the same as Saturday, with a practice, a qualifying, and the afternoon race. Practice and qualifying went well with some minor chassis setup changes on our part, and once again we were able to take the pole position. True to form, though, the start of the race didn't go as smoothly as we'd have liked. Matt had told me on the radio that some of the Legends in the group ahead (we had a split start) were spinning down the front straight of us! As we approached the starter's stand after the warm-up lap I was ready for bear; I wasn't going to get caught with my pants down again, so I was rarin' to go. I noticed that the starter had a standing yellow flag out, but I wasn't going to fall for that; I was already on the throttle. However, just as our pack approached the pit out at speed, out pulls a pace truck into the front of the field! Everyone checked up hard and I had to hit the grass to keep from running over the guy in front of me, and then I look up at the Starter and we're full-course caution. Obviously, the little mosquitoes had tussled somewhere on the track and we had a no-start. Even worse, they soon red-flagged the session and stopped us dead in Turn One! As we sat there broiling for about 5-10 minutes we had no clue what was going on. Matt didn't know either because (as it turned out) the wreck was on the other side of the course. Finally, without any kind of warning, they changed the red flag to black and we all came back to the pits under a Black Flag All. But wait, there's more.
Remember, we never got a start, but the group in front of us did. As we all filed back into the pits they moved our group to the left side, then organized the group ahead of single file. When they released everyone the group ahead filed out single file, leaving our group with NO CLUE if we should expect a single file or side-by-side start, no any idea of how to proceed. Our group flowed around the track in haphazard form, half of us single-file, half of us side-by-side, all by corner stations showing a Full Course Caution double-yellow flags. I called into Matt and asked him if he even saw a HINT of a green flag to let me know. Our group was still trying to figure out what to do as we came around the last corner, and Matt yelled out "Green Flag, Green Flag!" just as I saw the corner workers drop their double-yellows. Without so much as a "wha...?" I was off like a rocket.
Once again, traffic was a big factor. I pulled inside several cars in front of me and Stephen got balked, by the time we hit Turn One I had a lead. Since we were right up the butt of the mosquitoes it took no time at all for me to catch up to the slower ones, and by some judicious use of brakes and the threat of a hip-check I was able to use them as picks. From there I concentrated on driving a clean race, and I couldn't wait for the checkered flag to fall! Chalk up another win for Kakashi Racing. By the time I got back to the pits I was fully broiled, ready for the butter topping and a side salad. Man, it was a hot day!
Unfortunately, our team had a 7+ hour drive to get home, and it was a school night, so we really didn't have time to stick around. Matt and crew already had the tent busted and equipment loaded up, so by the time I got back to the pits and emptied a Gatorade the car was loaded on the trailer and they were ready to roll. All that was left was the long drive home (admiring the 1st place medal hanging from the rear view mirror...)
I'd like to say thanks to all the SE-R folks that came by, Wade, Shawn, Pat, Mike, Eric, Stephen, and everyone else. It was a distinct pleasure meeting all of you and putting names to faces (and screen names!) We had an absolute ball running with NASA; I can see why it is becoming so popular. I sincerely hope we can get some events up this way and I look forward to meeting you all again soon!