m9 is in the books

[ricksellner]

I must say that was one of the most fun courses I've have seen at midway.(at least for me it was anyway. I didn't get out of the car and say I drove 1 1/2 for this hehe) The theme thingy worked great. Hope someone got some great shots of those who went all out for the Austin Powers theme. I was happy with the cars performance. Although if it wouldn't work on that course it wouldn't work anywhere. I just need to adjust my driving skills when forcing the GTO in places it doesn't seem to happy with. Tires were in better shape when I got home then I thought. I may have been able to pull off a couple of buck runs. Oh well it was great event. Put on by the best car club. Thanks again to all who make it happen.Thanks for a great season.

[GUS]

I would say the best time at Midway for me to this date. I liked how the course flowed from wide in fast areas to compact turn sections. The slalom was nice and fast too :rockon

Thanks Sean for the ride! I owe you much for your generosity. Can't wait for next year! SM sounds like it will be challenging for the wrong wheel drive cars as well. Can't wait, ice racing anyone?

Thanks again everybody for a great event! We are lucky to have such generous and caring members. I am sad to wait another cold Minnesota winter until next year. I guess its "winter project" time. :(

[pbpancho]

This was my first time at an autocross event, or any motorsports event for that matter, but it seemed to me to be a well run and fun time. Check out my thread in General Discussion for my photos of the event:

http://forum.mnautox.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10359

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6559/77576382rn6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/1605/93835632jh2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[AlexL]

Great event! Excellent course for the lot- very short and simple, but it flowed well and never got painfully tight (at least I don't think it did, my car was a little narrower than most).

The event went really great for me. After a disappointing start in the F500 at Canterbury, I went in with very low expectations. I just wanted to start getting used to the car and how to drive a completely different beast. I ended up exceeding my expectations by a long shot.

I took it pretty easy my first run to just get a feel for the car and how it behaved, then started ramping it up in my next two runs. I ended up with an OK time, but not one I wanted to stand on. I put a much better run in on my first afternoon run, but it wasn't quite enough to pass Mark Yakich for FTD. My next three runs were all wasted making the same basic mistakes over and over, and they were all slower.For the last run, I pulled it together and stopped screwing up so much, and put in a significantly faster time than any of my previous runs. It was a huge rush coming across the line and setting FTD on the last run of the season against some very good competition, and just awesome to see all the people clapping and giving me the thumbs up on my way back to paddock. It was a very good feeling and I don't think I stopped grinning until well into the next heat. With that time, I thought I might have had a shot at top PAX, but it wasn't quite enough. Matt Murphy was the man of the day .061 seconds ahead of me on index and Neal Tovsen had me by .039. I can't complain.

Big thanks to Charles Kim for going above and beyond to help me get the car to the event, letting me borrow his tools to change tires (I had every socket on me but the two I needed), and helping me out between runs in the afternoon, and thanks to everyone else who helped me get the car started every time I needed it. You all made this event happen for me. More thanks to Steve Buetow for hosting the pizza party after the event.

All in all, I couldn't think of a better way to end the season.

[WhiteMamba]

MOWAG 9 (Don't worry, I know the proper acronym but this was the theme) was a blast. Sun and warmth in October? Are we in Arizona?

Regardless, I don't think we could have scripted a better finish to the 2008 season in SS with positions 1, 2, and 3 being 0.013 seconds apart. My hat is off to Matt Marks for taking my car (which he had never driven) and PAXing 6th overall. This is beside the point that it took me almost all afternoon to catch his fastest time (P.S. Matt, thanks for warming the tires up).

In the end, the difference for me between winning the season and second place in SS was 0.001 second. Congratulations to Allen on the win and a great season. I don't think I could have had more fun. I'll be thinking of ways I might have scrubbed those 2 milliseconds off my time over the winter and come back in the spring with a plan for next season.

[marks_lude]

MOWAG 9 (Don't worry, I know the proper acronym but this was the theme) was a blast. Sun and warmth in October? Are we in Arizona?

Regardless, I don't think we could have scripted a better finish to the 2008 season in SS with positions 1, 2, and 3 being 0.013 seconds apart. My hat is off to Matt Marks for taking my car (which he had never driven) and PAXing 6th overall. This is beside the point that it took me almost all afternoon to catch his fastest time (P.S. Matt, thanks for warming the tires up).

In the end, the difference for me between winning the season and second place in SS was 0.001 second. Congratulations to Allen on the win and a great season. I don't think I could have had more fun. I'll be thinking of ways I might have scrubbed those 2 milliseconds off my time over the winter and come back in the spring with a plan for next season.

Kevin, I cant thank you enough for letting me co-drive! If there is any thing that can ever be done to return the favor, never hesitate to let me know. That car is absolutely amazing and it blows my mind that it is such a contender right off of the showroom floor. and that all it has is tires.

It is such a controllable car as well, (releif to me!). The battle in SS was the best I've been involved in ever. When I was at the timing trailer after my runs there was so much confusion because everything was switchin around and soooo close.

Great driving to everyone else in SS! and to everyone in the other classes. It was a very very fun day to spectate.

Kevin, I'll get my pictures up for you soon and let you know.

[murph]

I don't think I've ever had so much fun in a single day autocrossing.

From all the club regulars who make MAC fun every time, to the awesome theme, to the people and cars in costumes, to a great co-driver and tire warmer, to the course that actually flows at Midway (!!!!!) to my very first #1 PAX, to plenty of fun runs, a few in cars that make my eyes bug out, to the pizza party....

WHEW! Who could ask for more than that????

Thanks to Nate & Dave for organizing a great event, thanks to Steve for hosting (and cooking!!!) the great pizza party, and thanks to MAC for a great season!!! :rockon

[marks_lude]

to my very first #1 PAX,

Congrats on your 1st, 1st PAX! Nice driving

[JCN]

Thanks 914 Dave and Nate for putting on an event that delivered all that was advertised! The course was fast, but still with a few "go slow to go fast" parts to dupe the impatient. The fast runs and limited cone-age kept the event running smoothly and gave plenty of chances to end the season on a high note.

Thanks to all the MAC members that have welcomed Jocelin and I to autocross this year! It does feel like a "club" and the social aspect is such a nice complement to the 4-6 minutes of racing. :p She was touched that people asked where she was Sunday and decidedly amused when everyone (myself included) asserted that she would have kicked my heine had she attended.

Devan, good to see you out again. Glad to see you got your car home safely afterwards.

David (Vite), nice job in your first RWD effort in a car that isn't particularly forgiving. It was fun to have a co-driver and thanks for driving the Honda up from Rochester. Look forward to karting this Winter. If you can left-foot brake there, then why not in your Evo? :lol:

Alex L, thanks for the instructional runs! I wouldn't have pulled out the 1st gear 23.6s fun run without you. Of course, you had to go and throw a 23.3s down... :flame: :p Nice job on the FTD. :rockon I enjoyed being "pit crew" on a winning team.

Julie and Thomas, hope to see more of you guys next year! Maybe Milwaukee Tour!

To the drivers of SM2 in general, thanks for the camaraderie! Throughout the year, it was great to have everyone cheering for everyone else all the time! What a great class! Looking forward to '09 already....

[MAYcar]

What a great way to finish off a fun year! Kudos to Austin and Powers (Able and David) for an event to remember! So much fun to be had at every turn, be it on course or off. Once again the individual class battles were so much fun to watch. The top had to be the SS battle between Alan and Kevan, only .001 points seperated them coming into the event, and Alan holds Kevan off by .001 seconds for the win! Congrats to Alex Lowe on FTD, I guess you found that brake pedal after all! I watched your last run and it looked way to tidy! The F Mod class should be a lot of fun to watch next year!

For me personally I've still got a lot to learn but I'm having a blast trying! In 8 runs I got down to a 22.7XX, in 4 or 5 fun runs John M. had a 22.3XX, and after 2 fun runs in the car Neil T. ran a 22.5! Watching them run was an eye opener, one was neat and tidy, the other was (semi) controled chaos. Tells me that there's alot more car here then driver! Planning a few mods for the car this winter and looking foward to another fun filled year in '09.

[phile]

In the end, the difference for me between winning the season and second place in SS was 0.001 second. Congratulations to Allen on the win and a great season. I don't think I could have had more fun. I'll be thinking of ways I might have scrubbed those 2 milliseconds off my time over the winter and come back in the spring with a plan for next season.
The final points total is 500 to 499.996. I don't recall offhand a closer year-end points difference.

[hamradio]

Overall I had a ridiculously awesome time. Had a little scare with a boost leak after all of the timed runs, but managed to fix it in about 2 mins, before the fun runs. Also had a scare with some fuel line I used the other day that turned out not to be fuel resistant (a huge thank you to the person with the b mod car [sorry, I do not remember your name] for offering up the tubing from the carbs), but a trip to walmart with Eric and friends and some $2.97 aquarium air tubing fixed it. :D I can't believe how much fun the whole thing was, and had a complete blast driving the rabbit. That was the longest trip I've ever taken in that car.

Nick- Thanks for letting me drive the focus! I was pleasantly surprised at the car, overall.

Charles- Your car rocks! I love it!

Thanks to everyone who organized the event and helped to put it on, and thank you to instructors who rode along with me and gave me advice!

Priorities for next year include some more solid fuel line choices, definitely an intercooler (the intake manifold was burning hot after 5 runs), much more solid piping, and diesel leaks fixed. I can't wait for the first event of next year! Overall, I had a great time this year.



Edit- I have photos of quite a few cars in run group 2 and Eric and Cullen took some of run group 3 that I intend on uploading tonight. (providing I don't run out of flickr space)

[Andres3165]

Great event!!kudos to Dave for the Event and the other organizers. Design of the course was fun , fast and allowed for 8 runs and buck runs!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Salah and Randy for the tips..you're always right;)

Did i mentioned i loved the Theme...;) ;)

Andres

[MacDubois]

A great end to the season. A shame the tires were corded on the 911, that explains why I couldn't get any power down in the morning:bigeyes: Thanks again to NM+ for letting me borrow his wagon for the afternoon. And thanks to Mike D and the "Laser" shark for loaning me numbers. Managed 2nd in SI. Hopefully next year I can make it to more events, 3 a year just isn't enough.

[Scuba_Steve]

I really enjoyed the course setup and getting bumped out of SI is a nice way to end the season :) Even better is my runs were consistant, except for my 360 degree Dave Bahl Spinout imitation :lol:

I'll see you in SM2 next year :rockon

[Don G]

Fun course, excellent event, and a great MAC group as always. I'm pretty happy with a Top 10 (in class, of course) finish. At least on a sub-30 second course I can stay within 3 seconds of the class leader. I've given up on trying to wear out the 3-year-old Kumho V700 Victoracers and 6-year-old Firestone Forehawks. I just ordered a set of Kumho ASX tires today, treadwear rating of 430 (bigger numbers are better, right? Just kidding--I now realize I need to have tires that won't put too much stress on the poor old cars). Just another part of "Big Picture Racing". And congrats to "Big Picture Racer" Rick Sellner for domination of F-Stock this year.

[Don G]

It must be about time to submit rules change proposals for next year. How about a 5% discount on your times for anyone with an AARP membership card?

[AliensRgr8]

It must be about time to submit rules change proposals for next year. How about a 5% discount on your times for anyone with an AARP membership card?

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[Andrew]

In the end, the difference for me between winning the season and second place in SS was 0.001 second. Congratulations to Allen on the win and a great season. I don't think I could have had more fun. I'll be thinking of ways I might have scrubbed those 2 milliseconds off my time over the winter and come back in the spring with a plan for next season.

Be sure to clip your finger nails next time.

[chuck b]

my very first #1 PAX

Congrats! You're the monster of Midway. Now you can savor this all winter long. Whew, I'm glad I had wrapped up DS b4 this event or I'd have been toast.

Thx to Delay for the ITR ride. That was sweet. Very different than my car; tons of power at VTEC explosion (I wanta power boost), a LSD that hooks up, smooth brakes, and freakin stiff rear suspension. That was fun! I also got to experience the grip of Hoosiers and the penalty one pays for going over the knife edge. I wish I could have stayed for the afternoon and tried chasing down Dahlman in the street tire ITR let alone Delay. Catching Matt's Murph's time would have been impossible.

Lot's of interesting results. The SS battle coming down to ~1" for the season. There are a few things I say I'll do if I ever lose by 0.001" seconds (remove windshield wiper fluid, remove front license plate, etc.) but that never happens. Well it just did for somebody else! That's crazy!

out

[phile]

There are a few things I say I'll do if I ever lose by 0.001" seconds


I was .006 out one time.

How close did Washburn miss that place at Nationals a few years back?

[111R]

In the end, the difference for me between winning the season and second place in SS was 0.001 second. Congratulations to Allen on the win and a great season. I don't think I could have had more fun. I'll be thinking of ways I might have scrubbed those 2 milliseconds off my time over the winter and come back in the spring with a plan for next season.


Be sure to clip your finger nails next time.

In the interest in full disclosure I will now reveal my secret: I took a leak right before my afternoon runs.:D

M9 was a great event! I loved the year party atmosphere. I'm glad that the decorations to the car was such a big hit. It made the effort all worthwhile. Ten hours to put on and one and a half to remove. Everyone's costumes/car decorations were great. Don G with a hippy wig! Mark who actually PAINTED his car the Union Jack. Lazer armed shark-cars. Sweet.

It was great having SS host AS for the final event. At one time I asked Kevin if he was prepared to come in third to my fourth in which our co-drivers killed us in our own cars. I think that having Matt and Mike in the class helped to push us faster than we normally would. My thanks to them both. Also my thanks to Kevin for giving me great competition all year. I'm going to have to get serious if I want to keep the trophy again next year.

Finally thanks to all the board members (and others) that put so much into making the events run so smoothly and everyone else for making MAC such a great club! See you all at the awards party in January and I look forward to doing this all again next year.

I guess one more thanks and it's a BIG one: My thanks to Josh K (my crew chief) for hauling my tires to and from events and storing them, asking for nothing in exchange. Without out his effort I would have no way to get sticky tires to events. His Integra is the coolest pickup on the planet! THANKS Josh.

[shane86]

Wow.. what a great event.

1. Murph, Big thanx for the co-drive. i honestly had some reservations about trying to drive a couch going into the event, but the car left me pleasantly surprised and then some! not only managing to swing 2nd place in DS, but a top ten pax finish in a car i'd never even driven around the block? WOW! Big congrats on your Pax 1st place, and i hope the warm tires helped a bit :D
my "i'm not good in RWD N/A cars" is still a valid scape goat right?

2. I really enjoyed the course despite the short length. this was one that gave you a few line options more than usual for a midway event, letting people get out there and hang themselves or really fly.

3. Matt D. Huge props to this man for spending a big part of his saturday getting the club new computers and helping me pre-load them with most of our software. that effort ensured that sunday ran as smoothly as it did, even on new hardware.

4. Everyone, thanks for the great year... what little i was around. next year, I'm fully back in the saddle, and gunning for a trophy again. Watch your butt darryl!

[chuck b]

the car left me pleasantly surprised and then some! not only managing to swing 2nd place in DS, but a top ten pax finish in a car i'd never even driven around the block? WOW!

nice driving Shane- that's 2 events in a row in a different car and posting impressive times; very cool.
what gearing selection strategy worked best for you and Murph?

out

[WhiteMamba]

In the interest in full disclosure I will now reveal my secret: I took a leak right before my afternoon runs.:D

I knew you were up to something. In view of this unfair weight reduction/stress relieving measure, I'm going to have to file a formal protest. :evil:

[washburn]

I was .006 out one time.

How close did Washburn miss that place at Nationals a few years back?

1998 Nationals, I was out of third place by .001 after two days.

[stoooo]

I was .006 out one time.

I lost out to Larry by 0.002 at DCTC one time. (http://forum.mnautox.com/results/2007/mowog3_fin.htm#sts) I knew I should've taken the loose change out of my pockets :(

I am so sorry Trish and I couldn't be there for this. It sounds like a great time was had by all. I'm going to wait until we get moved into our new place (yes, we're still squatting at my mum and dad's place) then sit down with a big cup of tea and scan through all the photos.

Stuart.

[Matt D.]

3. Matt D. Huge props to this man for spending a big part of his saturday getting the club new computers and helping me pre-load them with most of our software. that effort ensured that sunday ran as smoothly as it did, even on new hardware.
No problem. The amount of thanks I received on Sunday made me realize how much it was appreciated. It will be an extended life for those computers, they very well may have been heading to computer heaven a week later.

[marks_lude]

I knew you were up to something. In view of this unfair weight reduction/stress relieving measure, I'm going to have to file a formal protest. :evil:

Man if only you had held the wiper spray on and emptied the reservoir onto the ground or something!

[murph]

Wow.. what a great event.

1. Murph, Big thanx for the co-drive. i honestly had some reservations about trying to drive a couch going into the event, but the car left me pleasantly surprised and then some! not only managing to swing 2nd place in DS, but a top ten pax finish in a car i'd never even driven around the block? WOW! Big congrats on your Pax 1st place, and i hope the warm tires helped a bit :D
my "i'm not good in RWD N/A cars" is still a valid scape goat right?

I think the warm tires definitely helped, thanks Shane!

And no, your excuse is definitely not valid. You drove about as well as Mescke or the Evo instructors did in the car, and almost as well as Neal! It's a really hard car to drive well right away, partly because of the lack of a limited slip, and partly due to the way I have it set up right now, it doesn't rotate quite like other RWD cars do. (that part is a little easier in first gear...)

[murph]

what gearing selection strategy worked best for you and Murph?


My fastest times were first through the slalom and into the Right, second in the chute, then back down to first around the carousel to the finish. Turns out riding the limiter for 5 seconds through the straight wasn't the fastest way to go... ;)

Chris, did you end up faster when you spent more time on the throttle than on the clutch? :p

[phile]

1998 Nationals, I was out of third place by .001 after two days.
That was TEN YEARS ago?

Damn, I'm getting old.

[111R]

That was TEN YEARS ago?

Damn, I'm getting old.

I kinda thought you've been getting younger lately. Anyhow that's the way it seems with you on course.