"TeamClearCoat" (teamclearcoat)
06/09/2016 at 12:00 • Filed to: None
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"TeamClearCoat" (teamclearcoat)
06/09/2016 at 12:00 • Filed to: None | 2
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***This last weekend, we competed participated in the 24 Hours of LeMons’ BFE GP in Colorado. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of this story were published yesterday.***
Saturday night found me running around Denver, looking for spark plugs and wires. Brian had painted the engine block as part of the preparation for the race, and given the short timeline, should be forgiven for taking a few shortcuts. Even if one of those shortcuts resulted in pink paint all over the spark plugs. Which lead Matt to deliver the line of the weekend in his best deadpan, “Say, Brian, what are the conductive properties of pink paint?”
Pink paint: great choice for a V8 block, not as great at the whole electrons thing.
By the time we got the plugs and wires changed, and a small rear suspension change dialed in, it was time for Matt to get in the car for the first stint of the day. Immediately, it was clear the car was in better shape. Matt reported that none of the coughing and stuttering we noticed the day before was happening. And Matt was fast. He shaved 3 seconds off his previous fast lap and was just storming through the field. Aside from coming in once for a better-safe-than-sorry response to a light coming on the dash, Matt had an uninterrupted stint of fast laps and great passing.
Coffee and live timing and scoring. The life of a second-stint driver.
Matt’s stint ended with our only black flag of the weekend - a simple wheels-off from a lapse in concentration. Excited for my second stint, and with what I thought was a freshly fixed cool suit, my pillows and I headed out once again. And wow, what a difference from Saturday! The rear suspension no longer bottomed out, and the engine was so much stronger. Like running out of revs on the long straight strong. Even better was the traffic - fewer yellows meant the field was spread out, so I could practice my traffic work in 1s and 2s instead of a pack of 7,000 cars. Soon, I was slicing through people the way I should have been doing all weekend.
The best part, though, was the rhythm I found with the car. At one point in my stint, I was suddenly able to relax. I just knew I had found what would work for me. I’m sure it wasn’t the fastest way around, but it’s what allowed me to stay tidy and consistent. To put it another way, it felt like I figured out how to manage all the things at once. On the brakes, I’d leave a little outside track on the table to manage all the walking around it would do under braking. To manage all the body roll and crazy weight transfer, I moved to an almost 2-stage turn-in: slight turn-in early, get the outside tire loaded up, THEN dive for the apex. To manage not being able see out of the car, well, I kind of figured out a way to crane my neck a little bit, but that part pretty much just sucked all weekend.
Your author does not fit here.
It wasn’t all puppies and sunshine, though. Although my coolsuit now worked, we forgot to put ice in the cooler before my stint started, so the water at the end of the stint would have been on the hot side for my toddler’s bath. Also, a radio snafu meant the team could hear me but I couldn’t hear them. And with the increased track temperature, better performance and improved suspension settings, we were really up against the limits of the tires. There was much greasy-ness. By the end of my stint, I was totally exhausted. It was hot, I was dehydrated and not having communications is demoralizing.
In retrospect, all the problems started when we put our sticker on the car.
Brian decided not to drive the last stint, which meant Matt finished up the day. He had another amazing stint, putting in super consistent laps, usually faster than the leaders. And considering how physical this car is to drive, it’s amazing he was able to do that on his second stint that day. With 20 minutes to go, I radioed and let him know we couldn’t catch the car in front, and the car behind couldn’t catch us either. He responded, “I guess I’ll calm down and bring it home.” He then slowed down to match some of my fastest laps.
At one point, we were basically in last place. We ended up finishing 26th, and we couldn’t have been happier.
Personally, I’m really excited I was able to drive that car in anger all weekend. I’d never driven anything remotely close to it on a track before - a big shouty V8 muscle car is a real change from my little VW. It was physically demanding, fast, and it required me to learn new skills fast. And considering this was its first race in this configuration, it’s going to be a monster with some adjustment. A little less body roll, a little better tires, and a few cockpit adjustments is all that’s keeping this thing from contending for the lead in every race it enters. Oh, and a seat that moves up a few inches wouldn’t hurt.
Ike
> TeamClearCoat
06/09/2016 at 12:32 |
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Super fun read guys! Jealous of your weekend racing
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TeamClearCoat
> Ike
06/09/2016 at 12:44 |
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Thanks! Maybe we can get someone to sponsor an all podcaster car sometime.
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Ike
> TeamClearCoat
06/09/2016 at 13:12 |
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Well I’m prepping a lemons car now, I know my West correspondent wants to join me if he’s able to later in the year for a race, if and when I get locations sorted, your welcome to join in on the fun!