View from the Middle of the Pack(Group 5, B/P)
Well, to say that this event was spectacular is a bit of an understatement.
This was my first HMSA event and there's no doubt that Steve Earle puts
together a great show that pleases everyone including organizers, spectators
and drivers. It took the collaboration of an enthusiastic Admiral (1961
Corvette street car), the US Navy, the community volunteers who suppport the
Plymouth Holiday Bowl(charity event) and HMSA to make this thing happen and
they pulled it together in 6 months.
We arrived at registration on Friday, were processed quickly and efficiently
and proceeded to the Coronado NAS where the event was held. All drivers got
genuine Navy flight jackets that had a patch on the front bearing the event
logo, an American flag on one sleeve and a NAS North Island patch on the
other......way cool!!! When we got to the site, k-wall was being erected and
the stands, vendor tents and rest of the site was magically coming together.
Tech was efficient and through and we settled into our assigned paddock
areas. We were paddocked with other cars in our class so had a chance to
meet, socialize and kick tires. We got a chance to ride around the circuit
in our street cars, tow cars, whatever. The circuit was 1.68 miles and I'll
take you through it. Several different roads, aprons and runway were used
to make up the track so the surfaces changed several times per lap. The
front straight was a road along the beach and was within maybe within 75 ft
of the bay. Two thirds of it was lined with K-wall barrier and it was a two
lane asphalt road. It culminated in a sharp right/left(turns 1 and 2), then
onto a short straight into turn 3, a 120 degree two lane right, also lined
with k-wall. This exited onto a straight(4th gear) that ended in a 90
degree right turn (4) onto a wide open back straight tarmac apron which
crossed a concrete runway and into turn 5, a decreasing radius right for a
short distance and into a 90 degree left, turn 6(across a jet parking area)
and thru a chicane (7), brake hard for turn 8, a 90 degree right through a
gate, up a short straight to the beach and another 90 degree right (turn 9)
onto the front straight.
There was a drivers meeting Friday afternoon and Steve Earl focused on the
significance of the event, the track layout, the rules of engagement and the
fact that we were there to have a good time and go home in one piece. Any
incident involving going off the track surface or damaging your car or
another and the weekend was over for you. He noted that classes were
selected to represent 50's and 60's racing as it used to be. Also, factored
in was the need to have classes/cars that had enough ground clearance to
handle the lumps and bumps around the course.
Friday evening, Admiral Herb Brown, welcomed drivers and crew with a
wonderful cocktail party at his house on the base. It's a classic old
Calif. bungalow. The party was on the lawn and the weather was very
cooperative. Herb is indeed a car guy and had his 61 Corvette parked on the
lawn alongside a Cunningham, a Ferrari a Jag and a 57 Vette.
Saturday found events starting pretty much on time, a genuine feat in itself
as the whole facility had to be built from nothing. We raised ride height
on the new springs as the course looked a bit too rough for the present
height and reset the camber and toe. I got out in Group 5 and the plan was
take it easy and learn the course. On the third lap, coming into turn 3,
the car felt like a wheel locked on turn in and the back end came around 180
degrees. I locked 'em up and slid into the kwall at the exit, cracking a
rim and slightly scraping the side of the car. I restarted and quickly
found reverse and backed away from the exit as corner workers waved yellow.
I was in the exit lane and backed down and to the left, behind the kwall and
safely out of the way. The tire on the damaged rim was still inflated and
the car seemed to run fine but steering was very strange. When I got back
to the pit, we discoved that a nut was missing off the knuckle that connects
the tie rod end uplink to the spindle and the wheel would swing freely thru
30 degrees. HMSA tech ruled it a mechanical and we were allowed to continue
as long as we could fix the car. We were fortunate to find another bolt and
cotter pin castle nut, swapped rims, realigned the front end with a tape
measure and were ready for the qualifing race.
The track surface was old macadam between turns 2 and 4 and was coming up in
sizable chunks, beadblasting front ends and cracking windshields. The
street sweeper was very busy but couldn't keep up with the stuff we were
tearing up. I have a 4 inch plexi windshield and wear an open faced helmet,
something I have to reconsider for these kind of venues. My goggles got
pretty scratched and by the time the race started, the sun was low in the
sky and some low clouds filled in, increasing the glare. I hadn't really
noticed it until the race started and as we turned onto the back straight, I
found myself squinting thru eyeglasse lenses and goggles that exaggerated
the glare. The car would become airborne off a bump on the edge of the
runway, just before the braking zone for turn 5 and the crash barrel that
made up the apex would disappear in the glare of the setting sun. There
were two cones that formed the far boundaries of the turn and I was using
them as reference points. I found myself braking too late and spun twice in
that turn during the race. Fortunately, there was nothing to hit and no one
close on my tail. One of the tech guys came over and told me that one more
spin would put me on the trailer......no problemo....we'll get it dialed in
by tommorrow.
Sunday was another glorious day by the bay. We made some suspension
adjustments to dial out some of the oversteer, tweeked tire pressures and I
finally found the smoke lenses for the goggles buried in the recesses of the
trailer. The morning practice went well for us and we felt ready for the
race. Turn five was reconfigured with two very visible crash barrels dead
ahead so pick up points for braking were much better. There is a heavy
emphasis on having fun and finishing safely at HMSA events and winning is
deemphasized greatly. There are no awards for first, second or third.
There are awards for presentation, performance and sportsmanship and that
sets the tone for the races. This creates a wonderful format to enjoy our
cars within and fosters camaraderie among competitors. Drivers in my group
were very polite, respected the limits treated each other with respect and
still drove like hell.......a nice combination.
The actual race was great fun. I was gridded 22nd and finished somewhere in
the mid teens out of 30 or so cars. What I remember most about the race was
what I recall when in the "zone". The "zone" is where I usually end up
during a race when the car's working well and I know the track well enough
to have the shift points, brake points, turn in points and exits happen sort
of spontaneously. I don't know how to explain it other than as a shift of
awareness that takes place at the point where intense focus and execution of
task become one and on another level I'm aware of other events happening
simultaneously but the awareness doesn't detract me from the task at hand.
As we turned into 8 onto the short straight leading back to the front
straight, sails and masts passed by directly in front of us, including
Dennis Connors' Americas Cup winner "America III(?)" These boats were
participating in a San Diego Yacht Club sponsored race on the bay. There
were Navy jets parked on both sides of the portion of track between turns 6
and 8 and we were blasting between them. Spectators were smiling and
leaning against the fence at turn 4. The race began to take on a magical
quality for me at this point......I don't think vintage racing gets much
better than this.
But, to my surprise, it does. The awards ceremony was held Sunday early
evening on the hangar deck of the aircraft carrier Constellation. Carroll
Shelby, who was around all weekend looked chipper and relaxed. He awarded
one of the trophies. There were carrier tours after the ceremony and we
roamed the corridors, decks, bridge and war room of the ship. By the way,
we got to sit in the captains chair on the bridge....it's a Recaro!!! Are
these guys with it or what?
I'll be back next year for this one.........
This is just my view of the event....from the middle of the A/P B/P
pack.......sorry if I've left out other info you might want ot know.....email
me with any questions and I'll get back to you.......
Ted
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