I'm mailing this to both the SOL and the autox lists. Autoxr's may
be confused because this is part 2 of N, where N is ~3.
VTR '91 Installment #2
The Central Commitee Triumphs over the Imperial Wallinist Oppressors.
Friday morning dawned way too early for our heros. After 4 hours of
'sleep' the alarm went off @ 6:30 am. Entirely too early. But I trundled
across the street from my hotel (the Cross Country Inn) to convention
headquarters (the Drawbridge Inn) to meet the rest of the team for breakfast.
After some confusion and one alarm failure, we headed out to the track
to prepare for the days event only about 15 minutes late. It was to be the
closest to on time all morning.
The VTR Autocross Advisory Board (aab) had attended the preparation for
the autocross meeting held by and for the MVTR folks who would be running
the event the next day. They went over the course, staging ideas, plans, etc.
The plan was to use the entire 3000 foot by 58 foot dragstrip for a run
the entire length, pin turn, and come back down. It was going to be a
Slalom From Hell. And a little dangerous with armco and concrete barriers on
both sides. At the meeting, we offered a few suggestions, some of which were
well recieved.
(Ed Note: aab consists of Mark Bradakis (mjb), Chris Kent, Bob Bownes
(rmb), and John Lye)
I expected about 150 entries. To me, the course looked long and
dangerous.
One car at a time down 6000' of strip would take quite a while with ~150 cars.
And it seemed that it would be a matter of when, not if, they put a car into
the wall. It was going to be a rough day.
Once we had assembled the team and set off for the track (only about
7 miles away we were originally told...) and arrived there about 40 minutes
later, things seemed to be headed downhill. We watched several TR's motor
by the entrance and eventually parked Rik and Viki Schlierer's full race
Spit by the entrance, which saved a couple more. But the drive up to the
entrance filled my contact lenses with rocks, and it was much further
than anyone had expected.
By now, it was approaching 9:30 with no sign at all of getting the event
(which was supposed to start @ 9:00 sharp) started. So, we walked the course
some, kibittzed a bunch, unpacked the trailers, took some pictures, wrenched
a little, and generally bitched about how poorly things were going. Evertime
you spoke with an organizer, you got a different story about how heats
were set up, when each group was running/working, etc. It was a serious
chaotic nightmare. Long about 11:00, after having a brief chat with the guy
from SCCA who was helping to get it together, and a talk with some nice folks
from N. Ohio who were trying to make sense out of T&S, Val and I, with no
small amount of support and commitment from a number of VTR members and the aab,
decided to stage the second coup of the trip.
I determined the run group structure, Val got the other volunteers
organized, and we called a driver's meeting. We got the first heat lined up
and ready to roll, with the first car through the gate at about 11:15. It was
a well choreographed effort. It ended up taking in the neighborhood of 35
seconds for the faster cars to run the course, which had been laid out in
the staging area after the 6000' foot course was officially deemed unsafe
for TR's in unknown shape. The original organizer-type-person was somewhat
put off, but I just avoided him for the rest of the day, which turned out to
be something of an error. Tough for me....
A quick note on tech. It was the most abysmal job I've ever seen done
in my entire life. Now, those who know the whole story will say I've been
rather nice up until now, but this is about safety, and there I will take
no compromises. Tech consisted for the most part of a quick glance under the
bonnet and check for seatbelts. Given the large number of bad ball joints
and wheel bearings we found last year, it's a good thing we were not on the
dragstrip. The one I really liked was the car who's battery tie downs were
*tie wraps*! I'm glad the insurance company was not close by.
Once we got the cars underway and T&S organized, things went rather
smoothly. It appeared that it was taking about 45-50 minutes for each heat of
about 25 cars to make their two runs, with the need for 3 heats. We Got Lucky.
If we'd had the 150 cars I predicted, as well as making 3 runs, on top of
getting started at 11:15, it would have been a disaster since we had to be gone
before the drag racers showed up @ 5:00. But early on, I cut it to two runs
to preserve time. If we'd started on time, we'd have had 3 runs no problem.
The first heat was TR-2/3's, and all the Street Prepared Cars. That
meant that all the really hot TR-6's & Spits would be out about in the
early (relatively) cooler weather. The only cars of note were Randy Freer's
black TR-6 that turned FTD, and Vicki's brown Spit that was close behind.
The next heat brought out my class, the Stock 6's, and the Modified
cars.
Modified is SCCA Prepared, and included Rik's race prepared Spitfire, and John
& Val in the TR-4.
The cousrse was small, tight, and VERY SLIPPERY. First time out I cam
into
the first left hander too hot and understeered right into one cone. The sheets
said I hit another, but I don't know where, and neither did the video tape.
But I turned a 32.6xx, while the rest of the class was back in the 36's. The
mystery cone turned out to be important. Second run, I slowed well before the
first turn, apexed it right, and plowed through the outside of turn 2, taking
6 cones with me. A quick stop to back up an let one go, and then round the
rest of the course to finish with a 34.xx. Now I'm not altogether sure I
believe that, but that's what the first set of score sheets read. I know
there was a 29.xx out there somewhere....
I'll let John & Val tell you about their first runs since I didn't
really get to see them. I was too busy being upset with myself and panicing
over organizational matters.
But the third heat came up quickly. It contained the 7's, 8's, Spits,
Heralds, and everything else. Oh, and a couple of guys driving John & Val's
TR-4. Our very own Chris Kent and Mark Bradakis. Not ones to let Val and I have
all the excitement, these two insisted on dragging it down to the wire.
I don't have the times written down, but Mark took the first run, and
turned in a rather respectable time, quite close to FTD. Chris climbed in
and tried to start the car. Click. CLICK. Ok, we'll push start it. But
no dice. The wheels are not turning....Bob immediately assumes the worst and
thinks the engine is siezed. But he holds his tounge and dives in with
reckless abandon. The rest of the team, TR-4 owners all, immediatly grok
the problem as a stuck starter. We rock the car. No Dice. We wrench on
the end of the starter shaft with a wench. No Dice. We spray the starter
with cold water. No Dice. We're getting ready to unbolt the starter right
there on the grid when something goes sproing and it turns. Quick, reconnect
the battery, button it all down, and send Chris out for his first run.
It was quick but not spectacular. A 35.xx. Hose down the radiator, put
mjb in, and hold him til the requisite 5 minutes is up. Then send him
out on course for a blindingly fast run that is almost FTD. Drop Chris
back in, and try again. Faster, but not quite fast enough. One of them will
have to fill in the times.
So, because of some good work we managed to have the last car out at
about 2:15. I then retired to the pits to wind down and pack up. It would
have been nice to go out and get some fun runs in, but I didn't want to
approach the powers that be after usurping their authority in front of god
and everyone. So, the next thing I knew, the course had been torn down.
Of course, 10 minutes later, 6 more cars showed up....
Woof. End of adrenaline rush. Time to pack up and head back to the hq
for a cold one and the VTR meeting where we're all officially introduced as
the AAB. Sweaty, grimy, oil & rubber soaked. We fielded a few tough questions
and headed for the TR-4/Ken Richardson birthday party.
I'm sure I've forgotten many important details, though I'm equally
sure there are those willing to fill in where needed.
More in the next installment.
Saturday brings the close of the Glasnost Garage and ushers in the new
era of 30 Over Motorsports.
iii
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