Greg Collier
20+ Year Contributor
- 1,258
- 13
- Mar 8, 2003
-
Diego,
California
NASA PRO-RACING BUTTONWILLOW RACE PARK
(APRIL 9-10) DAY 1
It was 8:30 Friday morning and the truck was packed, the racecar on the trailer and we were off to Buttonwillow from San Diego. They predicted 20% chance of drizzle but it was a beautiful sunny day. We hit some slow moving traffic in LA but by 11:30 it was clear sailing up the Grape Vine to 5000 feet. Once we hit the top of the mountain all you could see below were dark billowing rain clouds. My heart sank as I realized I didnt remember to pack the rain tires.
1:30 in the afternoon and we arrived at a blistery cold and wet racetrack. It wasnt raining at the moment but who knew what was going to happen next in sunny California now-a days. We unloaded the car, toolboxes, spare parts, tires, (not rain tires), and all the other odds and ends you need for race day. Just when I parked the truck it started to rain. I mean I dont even have wipers on the car, just a plastic jar of Rain-X. Cars had been testing there all morning in and out of the rain showers. Bright and shiny racecars had mud all over them from off track excursions, and the usual smiles that generally beamed over race weekend were looks of concern and some outright pissed off expressions.
We took the two front wheels off the car for new Hoosiers to be applied at the racetrack tire shop. We filled the 5-gal jugs with race fuel and went down the list checking the car for Saturdays battle. By the time we were settled in, there was no time for testing, but I didnt need no stinking testing.
7:00 Saturday morning we left the hotel in the rain on our way out to the track. It didnt seem that wet once we got there so I was a little hopeful. It was about 45 degrees and skies were pitch black but everyone went on with business as usual. Our warm up session was scheduled for 9 AM which gave me plenty of time to get my tech book signed off and my windshield sticker so Im allowed on the track.
9 AM and Im strapped in my car on grid waiting for my warm up laps. Since Im running two new Hoosier tires I need to break them in like you would when youre embedding your brake pads. The plan is to take a couple of easy warm up laps then a couple of faster laps to heat up the tires to race temperature. Once youve done that, you park the car and let the tires cool down to ambient temps. To do it correctly you should let the tires sit for 24 hours before you use them again, but my tire budget doesnt give me that luxury. Im finishing up my fifth lap before Im going to bring the car in. Ive just come off the front straight through turn one to a buttonhook (they call it "off ramp" on the track map) and the car spins out of control. I think, "The tracks cold, I braked too late, ya-da ya-da, Ill bring the car in and chill." I finished the lap and drove the car into the garage and lifted the front end. I checked the new front tires and everything looked fine. Best of all I thought, "No rain!"
11:25 AM and its time for race qualifying. Theres not a drop of rain and its probably about 55 degrees and Im ready to rock-en roll. Im out on the track with about twenty five Honda Cup cars made up of Hondas and Acuras, a half dozen SER Nissans and another half dozen cars in my Super Unlimited class. We had the Axxis twin turbo Nissan Z, Bobby Labontes old 500 HP NASCAR, Grand-AM fully built BMW, Mazda RX7 turbo, and a supercharged totally built Mazda Miata.
I take my first lap pretty conservative to get my tires up to temp. I start pushing down the front straight on my second lap, hit turn one perfect, come up to the buttonhook ("off ramp") and I spin out. What the hell! I get the car turned around and Im off again pushing, braking, feathering the accelerator through a wide sweeper called Talladega (called Riverside on the track map). Talladega is a 150 MPH power drift that takes you up to a turn called Magic Mountain ("lost hill" on the track map) where you get a little air going over the top then down onto a left hand bank, then quick right then left down a small straight. All is good until I hit this little sweeper that brings you onto a series of Ss. I didnt go out wide enough and the first apex of the Ss came up real quick. Im going back and forth and back and forth and almost lose control of the car but I catch it! Then its down another straight to a hard, and I mean hard, left-hander onto the long front straight. All is well and Im pedal to the metal down the front straight, brake a hard left hander on turn one, sweep out to the right then pull to left, apply brakes before the little buttonhook ("off ramp"), and spin out. What the? To make a long story longer I must have spun out there four or five times. I brought the car back to the garage, lifted the front end and the tires were fine. We had a drivers meeting and its two hours until the race. I thought to myself, "I should check my rear tires." A fellow racer came up to me and asked about my spinouts. I said, "I guess Im braking too late." He said, "Maybe its your tire pressures, you know the track is really cold." I thought, "Thats got to be it," so I took 3 pounds of air out of each tire.
3:05 PM its cloudy, breezy, and cold. Race time and Super Unlimited is driving onto the track for our warm up lap. The Axxis Nissan had pole but he was still putting on his helmet when we were waved onto the track. That meant he was held and had to start in the back of the group. You snooze you loose in racing. That means the super charged Miata had pole and for the life of me I had qualified 3rd and now I was along side the Miata in 2nd for the start. "Its time for some major break away power," I thought to myself, so I pushed my boost controller to high boost. We were going pretty slowly so I was in second gear. I guess the Miata guy had never taken pole before. Green, green, green, I hear in my earphones and accelerated like frigg-en John Shepherd. I must have been 10 car lengths ahead of everybody by the first turn. I braked perfect and made turn one easy and I came up to the small buttonhook ("off ramp), and I spun out. Everybody had plenty of time to see me so they all drove around me with no problem. I gassed my car and spun around and flop-flop fizz-fizz I had two rear flat spotted tires and it was like I was driving on a big rubber square. As I accelerated it got worse and worse. I made it back to the paddock and DNFd. (DID NOT FINISH THE RACE!)
Back in the garage I checked the rear tires to see the worst crappiest excuse for tires that there is. Why I didnt check them when I thought about it is probably the stupidest thing I could have done. Not only did it cost me a possible 1st place, I get absolutely no points for the race. What a big waste of time! Spilt milk
(APRIL 9-10) DAY 1
It was 8:30 Friday morning and the truck was packed, the racecar on the trailer and we were off to Buttonwillow from San Diego. They predicted 20% chance of drizzle but it was a beautiful sunny day. We hit some slow moving traffic in LA but by 11:30 it was clear sailing up the Grape Vine to 5000 feet. Once we hit the top of the mountain all you could see below were dark billowing rain clouds. My heart sank as I realized I didnt remember to pack the rain tires.
1:30 in the afternoon and we arrived at a blistery cold and wet racetrack. It wasnt raining at the moment but who knew what was going to happen next in sunny California now-a days. We unloaded the car, toolboxes, spare parts, tires, (not rain tires), and all the other odds and ends you need for race day. Just when I parked the truck it started to rain. I mean I dont even have wipers on the car, just a plastic jar of Rain-X. Cars had been testing there all morning in and out of the rain showers. Bright and shiny racecars had mud all over them from off track excursions, and the usual smiles that generally beamed over race weekend were looks of concern and some outright pissed off expressions.
We took the two front wheels off the car for new Hoosiers to be applied at the racetrack tire shop. We filled the 5-gal jugs with race fuel and went down the list checking the car for Saturdays battle. By the time we were settled in, there was no time for testing, but I didnt need no stinking testing.
7:00 Saturday morning we left the hotel in the rain on our way out to the track. It didnt seem that wet once we got there so I was a little hopeful. It was about 45 degrees and skies were pitch black but everyone went on with business as usual. Our warm up session was scheduled for 9 AM which gave me plenty of time to get my tech book signed off and my windshield sticker so Im allowed on the track.
9 AM and Im strapped in my car on grid waiting for my warm up laps. Since Im running two new Hoosier tires I need to break them in like you would when youre embedding your brake pads. The plan is to take a couple of easy warm up laps then a couple of faster laps to heat up the tires to race temperature. Once youve done that, you park the car and let the tires cool down to ambient temps. To do it correctly you should let the tires sit for 24 hours before you use them again, but my tire budget doesnt give me that luxury. Im finishing up my fifth lap before Im going to bring the car in. Ive just come off the front straight through turn one to a buttonhook (they call it "off ramp" on the track map) and the car spins out of control. I think, "The tracks cold, I braked too late, ya-da ya-da, Ill bring the car in and chill." I finished the lap and drove the car into the garage and lifted the front end. I checked the new front tires and everything looked fine. Best of all I thought, "No rain!"
11:25 AM and its time for race qualifying. Theres not a drop of rain and its probably about 55 degrees and Im ready to rock-en roll. Im out on the track with about twenty five Honda Cup cars made up of Hondas and Acuras, a half dozen SER Nissans and another half dozen cars in my Super Unlimited class. We had the Axxis twin turbo Nissan Z, Bobby Labontes old 500 HP NASCAR, Grand-AM fully built BMW, Mazda RX7 turbo, and a supercharged totally built Mazda Miata.
I take my first lap pretty conservative to get my tires up to temp. I start pushing down the front straight on my second lap, hit turn one perfect, come up to the buttonhook ("off ramp") and I spin out. What the hell! I get the car turned around and Im off again pushing, braking, feathering the accelerator through a wide sweeper called Talladega (called Riverside on the track map). Talladega is a 150 MPH power drift that takes you up to a turn called Magic Mountain ("lost hill" on the track map) where you get a little air going over the top then down onto a left hand bank, then quick right then left down a small straight. All is good until I hit this little sweeper that brings you onto a series of Ss. I didnt go out wide enough and the first apex of the Ss came up real quick. Im going back and forth and back and forth and almost lose control of the car but I catch it! Then its down another straight to a hard, and I mean hard, left-hander onto the long front straight. All is well and Im pedal to the metal down the front straight, brake a hard left hander on turn one, sweep out to the right then pull to left, apply brakes before the little buttonhook ("off ramp"), and spin out. What the? To make a long story longer I must have spun out there four or five times. I brought the car back to the garage, lifted the front end and the tires were fine. We had a drivers meeting and its two hours until the race. I thought to myself, "I should check my rear tires." A fellow racer came up to me and asked about my spinouts. I said, "I guess Im braking too late." He said, "Maybe its your tire pressures, you know the track is really cold." I thought, "Thats got to be it," so I took 3 pounds of air out of each tire.
3:05 PM its cloudy, breezy, and cold. Race time and Super Unlimited is driving onto the track for our warm up lap. The Axxis Nissan had pole but he was still putting on his helmet when we were waved onto the track. That meant he was held and had to start in the back of the group. You snooze you loose in racing. That means the super charged Miata had pole and for the life of me I had qualified 3rd and now I was along side the Miata in 2nd for the start. "Its time for some major break away power," I thought to myself, so I pushed my boost controller to high boost. We were going pretty slowly so I was in second gear. I guess the Miata guy had never taken pole before. Green, green, green, I hear in my earphones and accelerated like frigg-en John Shepherd. I must have been 10 car lengths ahead of everybody by the first turn. I braked perfect and made turn one easy and I came up to the small buttonhook ("off ramp), and I spun out. Everybody had plenty of time to see me so they all drove around me with no problem. I gassed my car and spun around and flop-flop fizz-fizz I had two rear flat spotted tires and it was like I was driving on a big rubber square. As I accelerated it got worse and worse. I made it back to the paddock and DNFd. (DID NOT FINISH THE RACE!)
Back in the garage I checked the rear tires to see the worst crappiest excuse for tires that there is. Why I didnt check them when I thought about it is probably the stupidest thing I could have done. Not only did it cost me a possible 1st place, I get absolutely no points for the race. What a big waste of time! Spilt milk
