phile
08-07-2007, 09:29 PM
My First Nationals or Coneage in Topeka by Pat Washburn
Wow. What a trip. I figured everyone will be asking, so I thought I would
tap out a quick recap of our adventures while still fresh in the cranium.
I will start out by saying right off that I am disappointed in my sloppy
performance this past week. Went through the whole list of standby
excuses, but couldn't use any. My only excuse is in the mirror. (That, and
all the nervousness) I will also say right off that this was a fantastic
experience, we had a great deal of fun, and I will do it again.
Unfortunately, we all ran the same run groups, but on different courses, so
Randy and I did not get to see Dave and Greg run, nor did they see us. I
will let them fill you in on their experiences themselves.
Day One
The weather was perfect all week for us. It actually started to rain 2
hours after the last car finished. Perfect timing. The place is huge. It
took us many, many hours just to get all the car gawking in that we could
handle. Woke up Thursday after little sleep, raring to go. We did a lot
of course walking, and decided that the North course, our first of two, was
not to our liking. We would not be alone with this thought. Very rough
surface, and it had a difficult pivot turn around a cone that was way more
than 90 degrees. My cone trouble started off right away on the first run.
The first run was spent wondering who's car I was in, because it certainly
wasn't the same car I had driven not four days prior. The concrete
surface, coupled with a miscalculation on our part as to the correct tire
pressures, resulted in a skittish and jumpy car. What a handful! It drove
me on my first two runs. These runs were in the so-so times, but also had
cones. It was under great pressure that I lined up for my final attempt.
My conservative strategy paid off with a clean run in the "a little better
than so-so" times. 18th out of 58 to be exact. I purposely, and
carefully, reigned in the violence on three occasions during this run in
order to insure it was clean. I could have gone a little faster, but I was
happy I got through clean, had a postable time, and was less than a tenth
out of the trophies. I had started to figure the car out, and we had
another day to go. The leaders were over a second ahead of me, and it
started to sink in that a grave tactical error was made by coming down here
with an unfamiliar car on an unfamiliar surface. The silver "MAC pit and
support" vehicle sitting over by the grid area was beginning to be missed.
The guys at the top level in this class are extremely talented, and have
been running their cars on this type of surface for a very long time.
Randy also suffered from the tire pressure decision, as he cleanly mustered
a nice 9th place run. He would have placed higher if not for the
unpredictable handling, the learning curve on the new tire size, and the
nature of the course design. The benefits of his concrete experience, as
opposed to the home surface, are also coming clearly into view at this
point. It would take a season of practice in this car for me to match up
with Randy's times here.
Went to the talent show that night, and had a lot of fun. Roger Johnson is
a great MC, and the atmosphere was loose and fun. Much beer was drank, and
meat eaten. (We didn't drink) The one highlight of my trip was here, where
my little song act garnered me a free set of BFG's. Thanks for the
suggestion Phil, as "Long May You Run" apparently went down pretty well.
Saw a dynamite video tape produced by Kinser that was hilarious, and
completely captured the fun of Autocrossing. Working on getting a copy, as
it is a "must have" for the library.
Day Two
The South course promised to be much more fun and potentially successful
than the North, and we both looked forward to tearing into it. Tire
pressures are down significantly, and I have a little more confidence going
in to the first run after the learning experience the day before. My first
run time holds up very well through the first run group, and is near the
top ten, but alas, cones have found me again. The car feels great, and the
course is as fun as predicted. I am still pretty confident about moving up
some positions at this point since the time was good, and the cones I hit
were no-brainers. No need to back off here. Second run was better, with a
few tenths coming off, but I got a little wide at the finish line, and
dumped an inconsequential cone at the lights. Here we go again! Now it
gets pretty dicey. I need to bring the time down slightly to insure a
trophy, so I can't back off, but I again am faced with a single do or die
run. I decide to push very hard, and either win that trophy, or go down
swinging. I went pretty well, semi-unconsciously backing it down in a
couple spots to be safe, and at the lights saw my time had indeed dropped
that crucial couple of tenths. Then the cone calls came in! Two. I have
replayed this run many times in my head, and still cannot figure out which
cones I hit. I can only imagine that I barely grazed them, as I had
finished positive that I had a clean run. I haven't rechecked the times
fully, but I think the scratch time was near the top ten for the day, and I
know it was worth a 15th place trophy. Dropped like a rock from trophy
position, to 31st out of 58 instantly. This is a cruel game sometimes.
It's worse when you consider that I spent a week vacation for total of
54.069 seconds of clean runs.
Randy went in with easy confidence. He cleanly and efficiently disposed of
everyone on this course with the fastest time of the day. We did not know
this until later in the day as the announced times were not accurate.
After the last run, the announcer ran down the top ten finishers, and had
Randy in 8th. We knew something wasn't right with this, and sure enough,
an amended finish order was read and it was then that we found out that he
would take home a third place trophy, only .070 seconds out of second. A
fantastic performance with clean runs both days in a car that is not nearly
as prepared as the competition. Me, I was looking for some beer to cry in,
and we found a lot of it at the awards ceremony.
Just for fun, I went over to see the H Stock boys. I checked the times,
did a little math based on the time differentials from the earlier National
Tour event, and was ironically and cruelly surprised to learn that my
faithful old Audi, the MAC pit vehicle, would have trophied in 5th place.
(Maybe 4th place with new tires on the front.) Just goes to show you. I
guess the philosophical lesson here is run what you know. It was
presumptuous of me to think that I could instantly adapt to a new vehicle
and conditions against such heady competition. I knew I couldn't win in
the Audi, but I will tell you what: With 20-20 hindsight I would much
rather have shown well in the underdog Audi than to be lost in the great
sea of Miatii. A last place trophy in the Miata hoard, tough as it is, is
an accomplishment not easily noticed, but a last place trophy in a
2-wheel-drive Audi in HS would be a triumph. There is a perceptible
groundswell of admiration and support for those drivers brave enough to
buck the trends and run cars that most consider not appropriate. The
Kozlak guy who took 4th place in his 318i against the flock of DS Neons won
my vote as the hero of the class.
As previously mentioned, overall I am very disappointed at the outcome with
my poorish performance, particularly if you just look at the finish order.
I am a little happier that I could have nabbed that trophy with my times,
and that I was at least a little in the game, sans cones. Still, I have
absolutely no regrets about going, and fully intend on making up for it at
next years Championships. This was fun, fun, fun, and I learned a great
deal. I know that Dave and Greg feel the same way. These guys knew going
in that a first place finish was a bit of a stretch, but these guys went
all out, finished in admirable positions, and had fun the whole time.
(Just ask Dave about front plates, running race tires on the street, and
officer friendly.) We will all come into this next local event with a new
perspective, and lots more confidence. A great experience all around.
Thanks to Randy for all of his professionalism, advice, and support.
Thanks to Dave and Greg for making the trek and adding so much more to the
whole trip. Looking for even more of a contingent for next year. The
National staff took notice of our region's comparatively strong presence,
and have encouraged us to keep coming back, and bring more. Anyway, this
is long enough. See you Sunday.
Wow. What a trip. I figured everyone will be asking, so I thought I would
tap out a quick recap of our adventures while still fresh in the cranium.
I will start out by saying right off that I am disappointed in my sloppy
performance this past week. Went through the whole list of standby
excuses, but couldn't use any. My only excuse is in the mirror. (That, and
all the nervousness) I will also say right off that this was a fantastic
experience, we had a great deal of fun, and I will do it again.
Unfortunately, we all ran the same run groups, but on different courses, so
Randy and I did not get to see Dave and Greg run, nor did they see us. I
will let them fill you in on their experiences themselves.
Day One
The weather was perfect all week for us. It actually started to rain 2
hours after the last car finished. Perfect timing. The place is huge. It
took us many, many hours just to get all the car gawking in that we could
handle. Woke up Thursday after little sleep, raring to go. We did a lot
of course walking, and decided that the North course, our first of two, was
not to our liking. We would not be alone with this thought. Very rough
surface, and it had a difficult pivot turn around a cone that was way more
than 90 degrees. My cone trouble started off right away on the first run.
The first run was spent wondering who's car I was in, because it certainly
wasn't the same car I had driven not four days prior. The concrete
surface, coupled with a miscalculation on our part as to the correct tire
pressures, resulted in a skittish and jumpy car. What a handful! It drove
me on my first two runs. These runs were in the so-so times, but also had
cones. It was under great pressure that I lined up for my final attempt.
My conservative strategy paid off with a clean run in the "a little better
than so-so" times. 18th out of 58 to be exact. I purposely, and
carefully, reigned in the violence on three occasions during this run in
order to insure it was clean. I could have gone a little faster, but I was
happy I got through clean, had a postable time, and was less than a tenth
out of the trophies. I had started to figure the car out, and we had
another day to go. The leaders were over a second ahead of me, and it
started to sink in that a grave tactical error was made by coming down here
with an unfamiliar car on an unfamiliar surface. The silver "MAC pit and
support" vehicle sitting over by the grid area was beginning to be missed.
The guys at the top level in this class are extremely talented, and have
been running their cars on this type of surface for a very long time.
Randy also suffered from the tire pressure decision, as he cleanly mustered
a nice 9th place run. He would have placed higher if not for the
unpredictable handling, the learning curve on the new tire size, and the
nature of the course design. The benefits of his concrete experience, as
opposed to the home surface, are also coming clearly into view at this
point. It would take a season of practice in this car for me to match up
with Randy's times here.
Went to the talent show that night, and had a lot of fun. Roger Johnson is
a great MC, and the atmosphere was loose and fun. Much beer was drank, and
meat eaten. (We didn't drink) The one highlight of my trip was here, where
my little song act garnered me a free set of BFG's. Thanks for the
suggestion Phil, as "Long May You Run" apparently went down pretty well.
Saw a dynamite video tape produced by Kinser that was hilarious, and
completely captured the fun of Autocrossing. Working on getting a copy, as
it is a "must have" for the library.
Day Two
The South course promised to be much more fun and potentially successful
than the North, and we both looked forward to tearing into it. Tire
pressures are down significantly, and I have a little more confidence going
in to the first run after the learning experience the day before. My first
run time holds up very well through the first run group, and is near the
top ten, but alas, cones have found me again. The car feels great, and the
course is as fun as predicted. I am still pretty confident about moving up
some positions at this point since the time was good, and the cones I hit
were no-brainers. No need to back off here. Second run was better, with a
few tenths coming off, but I got a little wide at the finish line, and
dumped an inconsequential cone at the lights. Here we go again! Now it
gets pretty dicey. I need to bring the time down slightly to insure a
trophy, so I can't back off, but I again am faced with a single do or die
run. I decide to push very hard, and either win that trophy, or go down
swinging. I went pretty well, semi-unconsciously backing it down in a
couple spots to be safe, and at the lights saw my time had indeed dropped
that crucial couple of tenths. Then the cone calls came in! Two. I have
replayed this run many times in my head, and still cannot figure out which
cones I hit. I can only imagine that I barely grazed them, as I had
finished positive that I had a clean run. I haven't rechecked the times
fully, but I think the scratch time was near the top ten for the day, and I
know it was worth a 15th place trophy. Dropped like a rock from trophy
position, to 31st out of 58 instantly. This is a cruel game sometimes.
It's worse when you consider that I spent a week vacation for total of
54.069 seconds of clean runs.
Randy went in with easy confidence. He cleanly and efficiently disposed of
everyone on this course with the fastest time of the day. We did not know
this until later in the day as the announced times were not accurate.
After the last run, the announcer ran down the top ten finishers, and had
Randy in 8th. We knew something wasn't right with this, and sure enough,
an amended finish order was read and it was then that we found out that he
would take home a third place trophy, only .070 seconds out of second. A
fantastic performance with clean runs both days in a car that is not nearly
as prepared as the competition. Me, I was looking for some beer to cry in,
and we found a lot of it at the awards ceremony.
Just for fun, I went over to see the H Stock boys. I checked the times,
did a little math based on the time differentials from the earlier National
Tour event, and was ironically and cruelly surprised to learn that my
faithful old Audi, the MAC pit vehicle, would have trophied in 5th place.
(Maybe 4th place with new tires on the front.) Just goes to show you. I
guess the philosophical lesson here is run what you know. It was
presumptuous of me to think that I could instantly adapt to a new vehicle
and conditions against such heady competition. I knew I couldn't win in
the Audi, but I will tell you what: With 20-20 hindsight I would much
rather have shown well in the underdog Audi than to be lost in the great
sea of Miatii. A last place trophy in the Miata hoard, tough as it is, is
an accomplishment not easily noticed, but a last place trophy in a
2-wheel-drive Audi in HS would be a triumph. There is a perceptible
groundswell of admiration and support for those drivers brave enough to
buck the trends and run cars that most consider not appropriate. The
Kozlak guy who took 4th place in his 318i against the flock of DS Neons won
my vote as the hero of the class.
As previously mentioned, overall I am very disappointed at the outcome with
my poorish performance, particularly if you just look at the finish order.
I am a little happier that I could have nabbed that trophy with my times,
and that I was at least a little in the game, sans cones. Still, I have
absolutely no regrets about going, and fully intend on making up for it at
next years Championships. This was fun, fun, fun, and I learned a great
deal. I know that Dave and Greg feel the same way. These guys knew going
in that a first place finish was a bit of a stretch, but these guys went
all out, finished in admirable positions, and had fun the whole time.
(Just ask Dave about front plates, running race tires on the street, and
officer friendly.) We will all come into this next local event with a new
perspective, and lots more confidence. A great experience all around.
Thanks to Randy for all of his professionalism, advice, and support.
Thanks to Dave and Greg for making the trek and adding so much more to the
whole trip. Looking for even more of a contingent for next year. The
National staff took notice of our region's comparatively strong presence,
and have encouraged us to keep coming back, and bring more. Anyway, this
is long enough. See you Sunday.