Yes, I think I have a racing problem, that is. This past Saturday, I went to Palmer with NASA (the National Auto Sport Association, not the space agency) to crew for my friend Ron's race effort and to sample their HPDE offering.
Ron, unfortunately, was not able to make the race due to a pinched nerve that has really caused him great discomfort. Hope you are back to full strength soon, Ron!! Talking to Ron Saturday evening, he was true to form saying, "well, I thought I might still race if someone could help stuff me into my car and strap me in. I can't walk, but I thought I could probably drive." That's a true racer right there.
Having not driven with NASA before, I really didn't quite know what to expect. They are a well-respected, national organization so I knew it would be well-run. But details matter - like how many cars are in your run group, what run group you are in, and how much education constitutes the "E" in HPDE. Having driven the track before quite a few times, I actually found that I was, on average, more knowledgable about the track at the outset than many other folks in the paddock. But I had way too much coffee in the morning (it was brisk and I needed the heat!) and my nerves were on high alert and I was less calm and collected than I would have preferred.
Registration was pretty basic and easy enough. Tech inspection was a little less so. When they got to my car, it started to resemble a colonoscopy as they proceeded to dig into every crevice and door pocket, claiming that even the microscopic dust particles in the glove box would become instant projectiles that would kill me to death on track (yes, I'm exaggerating a little). And that my metal track mat - a piece specifically designed for my car for track driving - needed to be removed because it was not securely bolted down. Uh, ok. As they pulled out the specifically fitted items (factory stuff - tow hook, air compressor, etc. - stuff that has it's own form-fitted compartments in my car to make sure it can't move!) from my car, I had to protest just a little. They tried to be kind about it, but then dumped all the stuff on my front seat that "had to be removed" from my car. All that stuff, in situ in my car, had somehow made it through two full track days just the prior weekend with the Porsche Club at Thompson and miraculously managed to not impale me or rattle around through the turns. Even the track mat! I'm all for safety folks, believe me, but there is a certain amount of ridiculousness that seemed to come into play. I figured maybe taking all that stuff out would at least shave a tenth off my lap times so I tried to make the best of it and get with the program.
I did meet one guy in the tech line, Tom, who ended up parking up his Z3 //M next to me. Tom and I chatted through the day and had a good time reviewing our experiences out on track. He was in the Green HPDE 1 group and I was in HPDE 2 so it was nice to find out what was going on it another run group. His brother-in-law, Ron, was there just to hang with him and enjoy the day. It's great when families go racing together.
The morning driver's meeting was refreshing. Dave Woodward, perhaps the most Palmer-addicted track junkie out there with about 1,900 or so laps under his belt, gave everyone an intro to the track. He fired up a projector and showed a video of him at the wheel (during a prior PCA event that I was at!). He explained how his line around the track has been evolving over time and how it had recently been informed by a race driver's advice. He did ask if anyone had seen Ron Savenor's track video at one point, but made no real comments about it. Dave's line was definitely a bit different than Ron's but the main point of differentiation was the main straight where Dave now stays to the right and then bends into Turn 1 at the very end versus Ron hugging the left side near the barriers and taking a more straight shot into Turn 1. The prospect of having the racing line evolve over time is an interesting and novel concept for my more nascent skill set. From there, I knew it would be a cerebral kind of day - which is a good thing.
It was then time to head out for our initial runs. I made sure my gear was in place, nuts were torqued, tires deflated to a decent cold starting pressure, and got my brain in gear. As I staged, Eric, my instructor, hopped into the car and we got our headsets connected. We chatted about the line a bit. He asked me what corners I struggled with and which I liked. It was an interesting question as I don't struggle with corners so much as I try to theorize things I want to try out in certain corners. The less I think I have a corner down, the more things I want to try out to see what works best.
Turn 6, for instance, was one where I've tried many things and still don't feel like I've got it nailed. I've early apexed it and then have to get back to the right entering Turn 7. The camber feels good, but the entry to 7 feels a bit sub-optimal. I've late apexed Turn 6 and didn't like the camber on the left side (can be quite scary actually as it is not in your favor), but it can allow for a better entry into 7 from way right on track. Most folks seem to be working on the more extreme turns like 7 and 9 but I find it's the faster corners that I am always tweaking to find a bit more speed (3, 6, 8 for instance).
The final corner before the straight (that isn't straight) was one where I think I finally made some decent progress. Eric was suggesting a late, late line into 12 to stay way left past the apex of 12 and then a hard turn-in to 13 and a quick flick back left to line up for 14. My car is not fond of hard turn-ins (the front gets loose and plows) and it's not as agile as a little Miata for flicking, but I pulled some good stuff from the ideas. Staying more left after the apex of 12, I found I could be a tad more patient before turning for 13 and basically just ignored 13. I could get on full throttle just after turning for 13 and I could (if wearing my big boy pants) stay flat all the way through 14 and onto the straight. My top speed at the end of the straight went up close to 10 mph to 120. And then I'd scare the crap out of myself trying to brake for Turn 1 from 120 down to about 60 mph. But what a rush. Feeling the car dancing around under threshold braking is a very cool, if somewhat scary, feeling. I think some bumps are developing on the straight before the uphill entry of 1 that I hadn't felt before.
With all these new lines in my head, the rest of the day became a fun exercise of trying to work out what I could pull into my laps for each corner. And I found my confidence at full throttle really developed over the course of the day. I was often flat all the way from the exit of Turn 1 to the entry to Turn 4. And by that time, you are really moving. Ron Savenor's insistence on driving the line precisely, and slowing down until you can do it perfectly, really helped out, not that I'm anywhere close to that level. Staying all the way right before turning into Turn 2 is still about the most difficult part of the track for me. There was quite a bit of traffic all day, but point-by's weren't too hard to come by and I was very appreciative of some nearly clear laps in my final run group session of the day. I was able to shave nearly a second off my best time yet at Palmer, putting in a 1:56.631 and a 1:56.730 on the next lap after that one - a good sign of some consistency. The traffic meant that I could only go sub-2-minute times for 8 laps over the course of the day, which crystalized Lee Carpentier's prior lesson from last week in using a session to learn and test, only putting in your one good lap when the time is right.
Overall, it was great to run with another club and become a bit more familiar with the diversity of people and machines that enjoy motorsports. I got to meet Dave Woodward and chat for a few minutes and he is a really nice guy. It was fun to spend some real time with Eric and his friend Val (sweet manual 540 BMW!) after all the Facebook conversations. It was a very enjoyable final race track day of the season. There are still a couple of ADSI autocross events left for the year, but it's sad to see things winding down for the year already. It was a really enjoyable year on track, though. I was able to advance a couple of run groups in the PCA and I can hassle cars with far more horsepower than I have these days, not that I'd ever do that! They still get me on the straights, but I've improved my skills in the twisty bits tremendously this year. I was somewhat dreading a year without the built-in instruction that the PCA provides in the early run groups, but I've found that the motorsports community always loves to talk about driving and is very generous with their ideas and knowledge. The learning adventure continues. And I'm clearly enjoying every minute of it.
