Its Friday morning and its raining. This seems to have happened before - oh yes, in 2010 as we drove to Nelson Ledges in Ohio. The track looked slick, but had surprisingly a lot of traction. Since we are running near the back of the pack we gained a slight advantage of seeing a dryer track. We then managed to make it through the afternoon with an even dryer track and avoided ALL rain and high winds! YEAH! Another clean One Lap without any rain (minus the Drag Strip event, but does that really count?).
Greg and I took some fun laps after the event before the (quick) 4 hours to South Bend. Followed Team TheoGon the entire way and we made it safely back to the comfort of our Courtyard Marriott in South Bend.
Showering and heading out for drinks and dinner with some teams. An early celebration ahead of the dry skid pad and lunch tomorrow.
Morning mileage: 36536
Friday, May 10, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
CMP to BMW to VIR
How many acronyms can we fit in one day? Wednesday finished off with a quick track at the BMW Performance center. Greg looked and felt great...coming in an impressive 41st overall.
The short drive up to Virginia gave us the opportunity to restock on supplies: water, memory cards, oil, eye goop, lip balm and sunscreen. Another stop at Chick-Fil-A and Greg is officially hooked on these delicious sandwiches..YUM!!
A short drive through Danville led to a perfect weathered day at VIR (soon to be my home track). Today was a split day. They ran three configurations: South, North and Full Courses. We had strong finishes on the South Course - almost catching the Camaro in front of us on track. With a solid finish on the North Course we had Team TheoGon in our sights.
An afternoon session delay pushed the entire field back as we had several off-course cars. The Full Course is FAST! There are moments of flat out and tight technical turns. The high horsepower of the top Dogs led to some amazing times, but also some amazing spins and smoke. We lost the Mercedes Benz Gull Wing on 16 to 17 and somewhere we lost the Series 1M.
Greg wrestled with a Lotus through the tight turns and then we were off for our last long transit to Pittsburgh.
morning mileage: 36036
Day 6: Up to Carolina
This was a great drive up. We toured through Georgia and South Carolina without a hiccup, traffic or interference from our friends in blue. We enjoyed some low country cuisine, and I felt right at home popping in my hush puppies and sipping on my sweet tea.
We haven't had time to catch up on anything in the news to much at home, but the reality of the week being almost over and having to work on Monday has set in. Regardless of work, the car is packed and we are making our way to CMP for the day. Greg is driving and it is a fun and fast track.
The Evo went off course in the morning session, taking out about 30 tires in the tire wall with it. After an hour of delays we are running again. The workers also opened the Go Kart track for lapping sessions, so while Greg went on the track I took on some fellow Lap Dogs. Videos from both events are on the video page and photos as always are on the gallery - or coming soon based on the wifi service!
morning mileage: 35603....2500 miles to date
We haven't had time to catch up on anything in the news to much at home, but the reality of the week being almost over and having to work on Monday has set in. Regardless of work, the car is packed and we are making our way to CMP for the day. Greg is driving and it is a fun and fast track.
The Evo went off course in the morning session, taking out about 30 tires in the tire wall with it. After an hour of delays we are running again. The workers also opened the Go Kart track for lapping sessions, so while Greg went on the track I took on some fellow Lap Dogs. Videos from both events are on the video page and photos as always are on the gallery - or coming soon based on the wifi service!
morning mileage: 35603....2500 miles to date
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Day 5: Daytona on 4 hours of sleep
Getting in at 2:30 this morning was not part of the original plan. We didn't fare much different from many of the other teams - as a number of them were also running on fumes when we pulled into garages at Daytona. The drive through the tunnel was breathtaking and you got the sense that there was something special about the day.
I think we could've had 2 hours of sleep and made it though the day. This was a terrific moment for both of use to experience...in fact it is worth the entire trip. The only reason we needing the 4 hours of sleep was to get us through to South Carolina tonight.
We split today - obviously you don't drive 2,000 miles and not get to drive at this historic location. We had an added bonus of hot laps at lunch. The video (coming tomorrow) is of these hot laps. It is quite lengthy, but you get a great sense of the proper driving line and of the speeds that you "start" at...i.e.120 mph on the embankment. Just think, the professionals are going 200+ and passing each other. Now that demands some respect for turning left!
More photos have been added to the gallery, and more up to date comments and pics of our transit driving are on the FaceBook page: www.facebook.com/shinolaraceteam - which is also accessible on several links from the blog.
And that is what 31 degrees of pure engineering genius looks like from inside the car...
morning mileage: 35,139
I think we could've had 2 hours of sleep and made it though the day. This was a terrific moment for both of use to experience...in fact it is worth the entire trip. The only reason we needing the 4 hours of sleep was to get us through to South Carolina tonight.
We split today - obviously you don't drive 2,000 miles and not get to drive at this historic location. We had an added bonus of hot laps at lunch. The video (coming tomorrow) is of these hot laps. It is quite lengthy, but you get a great sense of the proper driving line and of the speeds that you "start" at...i.e.120 mph on the embankment. Just think, the professionals are going 200+ and passing each other. Now that demands some respect for turning left!
More photos have been added to the gallery, and more up to date comments and pics of our transit driving are on the FaceBook page: www.facebook.com/shinolaraceteam - which is also accessible on several links from the blog.
And that is what 31 degrees of pure engineering genius looks like from inside the car...
morning mileage: 35,139
Monday, May 6, 2013
Day 4: New Orleans
Mileage this morning: 34457
No real post from today...had to navigate New Orleans traffic and try to sleep so I could drive. Thought I could convince Greg to write a post, but that wasn't happening.
Anyway, was so slow in the morning session that we were last and 40 seconds faster in the afternoon. Still sitting only before the Plymouth in overall standings. Maybe we can win the helmet; although not the most coveted prize Greg could use a new one.
Just about to pull into the hotel in Daytona. Got hung up in traffic for over an hour so were behind schedule a bit. Already fled up with gas for tomorrow's laps, so were going to sleep in a few minutes.
Because of the sleep situation video and pictures will have to wait an extra day. However, those will include hot laps at Daytona!!
No real post from today...had to navigate New Orleans traffic and try to sleep so I could drive. Thought I could convince Greg to write a post, but that wasn't happening.
Anyway, was so slow in the morning session that we were last and 40 seconds faster in the afternoon. Still sitting only before the Plymouth in overall standings. Maybe we can win the helmet; although not the most coveted prize Greg could use a new one.
Just about to pull into the hotel in Daytona. Got hung up in traffic for over an hour so were behind schedule a bit. Already fled up with gas for tomorrow's laps, so were going to sleep in a few minutes.
Because of the sleep situation video and pictures will have to wait an extra day. However, those will include hot laps at Daytona!!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
New Orleans before 10PM - Crazy
After a rain out at the Drag Strip we are in to New Orleans...and quite early. Decided to head straight for the hotel and then sort out the food situation. The track tomorrow is 2.75 miles, and 16 turns...which means we will have to at least walk it once to not be lost. No partying on Bourbon St for this crew of misfits. Were heading to bed so we are well rested for the track and the eventual long drive over to Daytona.
Flooded Drag Strip :(
Day 3: on the way to the first track day
Woke up early to beat the line of pick-up trucks heading to big Talladega for the NASCAR event today. It was an easy drive, but we weren't sure what the weather wanted to do. The rain is holding out and the first event looked good.
Morning mileage: 33892
Morning mileage: 33892
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Gained an hour
Just hit CST again...ETA to hotel is 9:21. Planning a stop in Nashville for food, gas, a new pair of boots!
Day 2: Double Event - Wet Skid Pad & Autocross
Day 2 started off with my favorite breakfast: Chicken Minis from Chick-Fil-A...it was Greg's first time to Chick-Fil-A and he approves. We left our first of several Marriott brand hotels and went for a cruise around the wet skid pad at the Tire Rack HQ.
A short drive over to the Grissom Air Force Base led to an autocross. We are currently sitting in the back of the pack as we were off to a tender start in both events. However, we are looking forward to some of the big tracks in the days to come...plenty of time to make up some positions.
Nothing too interesting to see on the drive so far. We did make it through some reported spots with heavy construction delays and past Indianapolis without looking back. Currently we are about 45 minutes north of Louisville. Our next big traffic jam could be in Kentucky....did anyone see who won the derby yet?
We have video from both events and pictures on the picture page as always!! Don't forget to check out the facebook page: www.facebook.com/shinolaraceteam - Also, Jeff from Studio West posted pictures from a charity photo shoot with the car prior to the event. You can see all of these on his page at: www.facebook.com/stuidowestphotography
This is a split image video from the autocross. It is a little choppy because we took video from two runs and put them side by side so you could different angles from the camera (coming soon as we have 3G service!).
Odometer reading this morning: 33235
A short drive over to the Grissom Air Force Base led to an autocross. We are currently sitting in the back of the pack as we were off to a tender start in both events. However, we are looking forward to some of the big tracks in the days to come...plenty of time to make up some positions.
Nothing too interesting to see on the drive so far. We did make it through some reported spots with heavy construction delays and past Indianapolis without looking back. Currently we are about 45 minutes north of Louisville. Our next big traffic jam could be in Kentucky....did anyone see who won the derby yet?
We have video from both events and pictures on the picture page as always!! Don't forget to check out the facebook page: www.facebook.com/shinolaraceteam - Also, Jeff from Studio West posted pictures from a charity photo shoot with the car prior to the event. You can see all of these on his page at: www.facebook.com/stuidowestphotography
This is a split image video from the autocross. It is a little choppy because we took video from two runs and put them side by side so you could different angles from the camera (coming soon as we have 3G service!).
Odometer reading this morning: 33235
Friday, May 3, 2013
Pulled in for tech and stickering at the Tire Rack HQ. Started off as a beautiful day that turned to rain as we all departed for the hotels. Tomorrow starts the driving events...wet skid pad and an autocross. Working on the GoPro camera tonight so we can start with video tomorrow. Probably should've done this a week ago, but looks like we need a new battery.
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