Race weekend 6 and season afterglow.
Posted: Mon Sep 30, 2013 11:01 am
There is always a sense of relief yet sadness as a season comes to a close.
I woke up this morning unable to speak over a whisper. So the first thing i can recommend is we again attempt to bolster the announcing stand.
Seems to me it should be at least 2 folks sharing the duty. It can be a lot of fun, but it's tough on one person to perform all weekend long.
Great Lakes Challenge. Thanks for visiting twice this year. Got a chance to spend time with a few of them that are not weekend to weekend regulars. Nice folks.
I like having guests , show case or not.
Having 2 or 3 "special weekends a year keeps things from getting stale.
Just like T.T. and lap counts that vary , even weekend to weekend.
My opinion is we should do TT at least 3 times a year, but perhaps not when we have a Showcase.
I also feel that Co-driver needs one last shot to survive. One thought i keep trying to find fault with is making it the last race(s) of the year Sunday afternoon on the final weekend.
Open and Closed wheel. Sign of the times. Folks do not share cars like in the past, and the fact many cars can dual or triple dip classes has contributed to the entry demise.
The lap count format for qualifying instead of time length format should be kept is some fashion.
I suggest the 2-3 weekends of the year be by time and the remaining weekend done by the lap count format.
1 .Doing via lap count saves time , creating a chance for more or longer races.
2. Going by time on the front side of the season will give rookies or newbies if you will an better chance to get settled into a regular race weekend, now being on track with full license holders not just fellow rookies.
Seems to me cars are getting prettier. Best looking Spec Miata field overall i have seen at the end of a season. In some cases better than the start of a season.
T-1 and T-2 do not have an ugly car. Nice trend.
Our track has had a stigma for years, mostly not deserved mind you, but a stigma never the less.
The last 2 weekends are proof that it is not deserved.
Let the all season push to better ourselves never wane. No matter how good it gets, it can always be better. That goes from drivers to operations. As soon as you think it's good enough it goes backwards. No different from car prep to driving, to time management, to race support infrastructure.
off the soapbox for a few minutes, let's do some shout outs .
1. Kristen Novak with a first win. Fun sidebar :As She stopped to get her checker on pit road, i already had a full water pail hiding against the flag stand guard rail on the ready.
Grabbing the chance to razz her a bit ( with a smile of course ) i asked her " are you sure you are supposed to be here? " Before i could grab the pail and soak the interior she was flag in hand and trying to pull away. As folks tried to stop her shouting" wait-wait-wait" she caught view of me grabbing the pail in her mirrors and sped away. Mike was concerned at first that the chance was gone.
" oh no, we have plenty of time to cross the paddock and get to station 7, she will never expect the pail there" was my reply.
Sure enough , we handed off the pail to the Turn 7 staff and crouched behind the barrier to not sell a clue of what was coming. Suffice to say the shriek emitted from the car after the pail was emptied was worth the effort.
Greg Steen with a first win. Quiet guy around the a paddock. I was surprised he had not won before. ( that's not a knock, actually the opposite)
The are other firsts but memory fails at this point. maybe they will return to my brain as i type. If i missed you at this point, do not feel slighted, between D.O.R duties, some non- D.O.R. duties, and announcing races and trophies, i am a bit worn down.
New class records:
Danny Kellermeyer in T-1, and Bill Wise in CFC.
That's a big deal. Fast classes subscribed by a lot of fast and able drivers. Anytime classes like those lower the mark, it's a big thing. WELL DONE.
Randy Shaw = Rain-man . Randy put on the best rain performance on a Waterford weekend that i have ever seen.
New rain tires or not. The level of dominance was over the top. Mostly because i never thought of a Miata as a good rain car.
Lot's of first time Class champions this year. Nice to see.
As much as i love rain races, i wish Sunday would have been dry. A lot of folks in our club history use Sunday as a reunion day of sorts.
Rain kept a lot home, or helped them to opt for heading home early. Bummer.
More later, who else has goodies ?
I woke up this morning unable to speak over a whisper. So the first thing i can recommend is we again attempt to bolster the announcing stand.
Seems to me it should be at least 2 folks sharing the duty. It can be a lot of fun, but it's tough on one person to perform all weekend long.
Great Lakes Challenge. Thanks for visiting twice this year. Got a chance to spend time with a few of them that are not weekend to weekend regulars. Nice folks.
I like having guests , show case or not.
Having 2 or 3 "special weekends a year keeps things from getting stale.
Just like T.T. and lap counts that vary , even weekend to weekend.
My opinion is we should do TT at least 3 times a year, but perhaps not when we have a Showcase.
I also feel that Co-driver needs one last shot to survive. One thought i keep trying to find fault with is making it the last race(s) of the year Sunday afternoon on the final weekend.
Open and Closed wheel. Sign of the times. Folks do not share cars like in the past, and the fact many cars can dual or triple dip classes has contributed to the entry demise.
The lap count format for qualifying instead of time length format should be kept is some fashion.
I suggest the 2-3 weekends of the year be by time and the remaining weekend done by the lap count format.
1 .Doing via lap count saves time , creating a chance for more or longer races.
2. Going by time on the front side of the season will give rookies or newbies if you will an better chance to get settled into a regular race weekend, now being on track with full license holders not just fellow rookies.
Seems to me cars are getting prettier. Best looking Spec Miata field overall i have seen at the end of a season. In some cases better than the start of a season.
T-1 and T-2 do not have an ugly car. Nice trend.
Our track has had a stigma for years, mostly not deserved mind you, but a stigma never the less.
The last 2 weekends are proof that it is not deserved.
Let the all season push to better ourselves never wane. No matter how good it gets, it can always be better. That goes from drivers to operations. As soon as you think it's good enough it goes backwards. No different from car prep to driving, to time management, to race support infrastructure.
off the soapbox for a few minutes, let's do some shout outs .
1. Kristen Novak with a first win. Fun sidebar :As She stopped to get her checker on pit road, i already had a full water pail hiding against the flag stand guard rail on the ready.
Grabbing the chance to razz her a bit ( with a smile of course ) i asked her " are you sure you are supposed to be here? " Before i could grab the pail and soak the interior she was flag in hand and trying to pull away. As folks tried to stop her shouting" wait-wait-wait" she caught view of me grabbing the pail in her mirrors and sped away. Mike was concerned at first that the chance was gone.
" oh no, we have plenty of time to cross the paddock and get to station 7, she will never expect the pail there" was my reply.
Sure enough , we handed off the pail to the Turn 7 staff and crouched behind the barrier to not sell a clue of what was coming. Suffice to say the shriek emitted from the car after the pail was emptied was worth the effort.
Greg Steen with a first win. Quiet guy around the a paddock. I was surprised he had not won before. ( that's not a knock, actually the opposite)
The are other firsts but memory fails at this point. maybe they will return to my brain as i type. If i missed you at this point, do not feel slighted, between D.O.R duties, some non- D.O.R. duties, and announcing races and trophies, i am a bit worn down.
New class records:
Danny Kellermeyer in T-1, and Bill Wise in CFC.
That's a big deal. Fast classes subscribed by a lot of fast and able drivers. Anytime classes like those lower the mark, it's a big thing. WELL DONE.
Randy Shaw = Rain-man . Randy put on the best rain performance on a Waterford weekend that i have ever seen.
New rain tires or not. The level of dominance was over the top. Mostly because i never thought of a Miata as a good rain car.
Lot's of first time Class champions this year. Nice to see.
As much as i love rain races, i wish Sunday would have been dry. A lot of folks in our club history use Sunday as a reunion day of sorts.
Rain kept a lot home, or helped them to opt for heading home early. Bummer.
More later, who else has goodies ?