August 10th we did something we usually don’t do—we made a course that exceeded 60 seconds. Doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but when I can only think of one other time that the Fastest Time of the Day (FTD) didn’t break 60 seconds was an early design I had where we had two laps to complete. It is something I usually don’t do because this type of racing is hard enough without worrying about how many laps you have done. It was nice to run longer though, as a sort of rhythm develops and you really get into the feel of the lap the longer you run. This is what happened on this day.

With 34 racers giving it a go, the push was there to see who would come out on top and how hard this long technical track would be. Many tricks were added this time and some things that people had not seen before. One of my little challenges ended up biting me on my best run of the day, so Karma is obviously a fan of autocrossing. Thanks for that one…

Starting off with the Ladies, Sherry ran strong again finishing in 14th spot, but I’d like to make special mention to Beverly McNeill who drove well and should also receive a bravery award for our last run of the day where she asked me to drive her car with her riding along. I love to push the brake zones and the Boxster just can’t be beaten with the great brakes it has. It was my latest brake at the end of the long straight that I had, and it made me breathe a little faster and cause my heart to race. Great ride—thanks Beverly. Newcomers like Brian Chan and Harry Newman gave it a try and got to turn some times that I am sure got the blood racing. Mike Kilmer gained back his winning form by slipping by Eric Huggins for the 911 class, and then there were the top group of drivers battling it out for the top spot. Jeffrey set down some great times to chase with his race-prepped 2000 Boxster S. As each person got closer, he raised the bar and made it that much harder to catch the top spot. Jonathan Newhall’s Bugeye Sprite bowed out early with a clutch problem, a simple cable, but that sometimes is all it takes. Ray Schumin with his Honda S2000 knocked down a great time and really had his best moments at the end of his runs. Just goes to show you what focus and constantly thinking gets you as the day progresses.

For my part I was able to come up with an older tire to replace my front left tire that was about to start showing air. An older tire with a lot more tread helped me propel to third on this day, and I was quite happy with the ending results, although it could have been just a tad better. As I mentioned earlier, I had a Karma moment. Much discussion was had about the extra cone I left in the chute that tightens down at the finish line. I really wanted it there to cause people to think and worry about that cone. Many hit it, but not as badly as I did. As I was finishing my 5th run, and it was quick, I powered a bit early into the chute, causing the rear end to break loose. Done this a thousand times, completely controllable, but doing that at full song in 2nd gear in a 50 foot long 10 foot wide chute doesn’t leave much room for error, especially when you come in at a 30 degree angle. As predicted, the cone came into sight and I thought about it, but didn’t let up. I knew it was close, and when I passed the cone I immediately looked in the side mirror as I crossed the finish line. I saw the cone spinning but looking like it was going to stay upright. I drove around and saw a time of 79.0, FTD at that point. I jumped out and ran to Erik and he laughed and said I hit that cone, but didn’t knock it over. They told me where it stopped spinning and it came to rest one cone width out of the box where it should be, causing a 2 second penalty. My 6th run wasn’t as dramatic or quick, ending with the 80.6 my final time was. It can be just that much to make all that hard work not count. That is the difference at the top of the leaderboard, and like the last autocross, I believe the split from 4th to 9th was 0.23 seconds. It doesn’t seem like much on a minute run, and even less on a 78.5 second run that Jeffery finished with to give him the win for the much-coveted FTD award. It is always good to see Porsche at the top of the leader board, and once again we pulled two of the top three spots. Many others are coming up the list, with 4 spots in the top 10 being Porsches. Keep up the good work everyone. I figure sometime in the future we may host or participate in a regional challenge against other PCA regions, so the more we have at the top, the better our chances of winning will be.

Just a quick note on upcoming great driving events and gatherings for people who like race cars:
Sept 6 Autocross this weekend in Verona
Sept 14 New Kent Winery, Classics on the Green
Sept 25—28 Heacock Classic, vintage racing at VIR
Oct. 25 Fall Foliage Tour. They are using a lot of my roads I’ve suggested.
I plan on attending all of these events and hope to see you there. See you Saturday.