My First DC Pro

or

Holy Mother of All Hilly Sites!

The DC Pro, this year called the Maryland Pro, took place this past weekend, April 13-15, 2012. We've been talking about it for weeks. It's been fun listening to Jim consider all of our options on tires, my class options, and strategy in general. On Friday morning Jim, David and I left Bahama at 8:30, and were on our way, Tiny Blue getting a ride up on the trailer in tow. As usual, something funny was said that had us laughing uncontrollably before we were out of the driveway. This time it may or may not have been about my pimp driving position setting on the Lincoln, leaving Jim to struggle to see out the windshield. Yes, I know. We laugh at pretty dumb stuff.

We stopped in South Boston for breakfast where we met Jennifer Bedell and her two co-drivers, Eric and Chris (the Ice Queen) Peterson. So, Team “Grab & Go” and Team “Two Cool Chicks and One Lucky Dude” set out on our way to a weekend of driving fun.

OK, so Eric has all these “better routes”. I’ve finally figured out that’s actually code for “I know where there’s this place to eat but it's off the beaten path.” Sure enough, on Hwy 301 there was this bar-b-q joint that sucked us right in. I’m thinking that it used to be a service station back in the day...but Eric wins a prize ‘cause the food was good.

When we arrived on site I really was surprised by the hills, even though I’d been warned. While the guys changed to our practice tires I went to get tickets for David and me to do some practice launches. I needed to brush up on the light tree and using the e-brake to launch on the hill, a new experience for me. David just needed to make sure that the MINI’s hill assist wasn’t going to come into play on the hill when using heel/toe. It doesn’t, as it turns out.

The host club had a great welcome party dinner on site so we had no worries about our evening meal. We, and when I say “we” I mean Jim and David... just changed to our Saturday tires, which ultimately became the tires for the entire weekend. R6s on the MINI with three drivers ROCKS! Then we registered, ate, relaxed, and got in a bunch of course walks on both courses by dark. For my non- autocross friends, a Pro Solo is run on two mirrored courses. You run one side first, then go straight to the opposite side and run the second course. Your combined best time on each course over 3 heats is your result. What’s so cool about the DC Pro is that with all the elevation changes, even though the courses are set up as identically as possible, they drive very differently. Figuring it out is the key. I’m lucky to have two of the best drivers around as my co-drivers. They really give me lots of help and great advice. Then they just tell me to “shut my pie hole and drive”. That’s usually the best advice of all.

The course opened at 6:30 Saturday morning, so we were able to get in a few more course walks before HS (my co-drivers’ class) had to report to grid. Of course there was the usual “inspection” of our car by some of the other HS drivers. I always laugh to myself when I see someone down on the ground looking under the car. That reminds me, I need to get a picture of that one of these days. Sometimes I think they want to magically find something to help them understand why she’s so fast. Funny, they never seem to look in the driver’s seat. Jim and David were in Shift A. I didn’t run until Shift D. That’s a plus that I don’t always get. Having them run first and give me feedback is a huge asset. As usual, I recorded reaction and course times for both of them and they kept tire pressures even for each other. Jim had Tiny Blue pretty much at the limit, David wasn’t far behind, and their morning session ended with Jim in 1st position and David in 2nd. I admit to being pretty anxious before my first run since I haven’t done a Pro since the Finale at Nationals last September. But, once I launched I was back in the game mentally. It didn’t hurt to have the guys giving me positive feedback while they checked my tire pressures between runs. At the end of the first session I too was in 1st position by .1 second. Both courses started at the bottom of the hill and after the first turn continued uphill for about one third of the course. For the little MINI it was pretty important not to lift or brake more than absolutely necessary to not lose any momentum. Then, across the top of the hill was a slalom, more off camber on the left than right, then the journey downhill began. That included sweeping turns, mostly off camber, a straight, and a “hold on to your hiney” finish. There were a lot of spectacular spins at the finish on the right, downhill and off camber.

The afternoon session didn’t change either David or Jim’s positions. I didn’t improve and had to stand on my morning times. The 370Z that was behind me did improve, and I dropped to 2nd by .4 seconds.  Still, it was a great opening to the Pro Solo season, day one.

Saturday evening we all carried on the tradition of eating Mexican food, and I once again became the victim of the “faux” birthday whipped cream in the face. I’m beginning to get a little goosey whenever I hear clapping in a Mexican restaurant. I’ve got to figure out an evil scheme to get even and balance this thing out. At least this time I got free ice cream and the hat! Going over data began at the dinner table and continued the next morning sitting in the Lincoln. Watching David and Jim’s Saturday runs on video was again a great help, even though as it turned out I didn’t improve on Sunday, and Learic, in the 370Z improved her right side by a half second, so the best I could do was to hang on to second for a trophy spot at my first DC Pro. L2 (my class) impound didn’t seem nearly as daunting as last year. Of course having Jennifer and Chris there made it much more comfortable. Plus, knowing more of the ladies makes it easier to wait for the time sheets. Jim and David both improved their times Sunday morning, increasing their lead over the rest of their class, finishing the weekend 1st and 2nd in HS.

Jim made it into the Super Challenge on his times and I made it to the Ladies Challenge on mine, so we still had more racing to do after lunch Sunday afternoon. I found the impound for the Challenges to be a bit confusing at first since the car was impounded for the Super Challenge before I had run my last L2 heat. Thankfully Chris explained how things go for the Challenge, and pointed me in the right direction. Now, looking back, it’s not a big deal. Maybe I’ll be able to help a newbie at the next Pro. In the Ladies Challenge I was seeded against a Subaru WRX driven by Karen Kraus. I gave it my best and felt pretty good about my runs, especially the right side, but was eliminated after the first round. Next came the Bonus Challenge. David had put his name in the hat for that but he didn’t get the call, so we waited for the Super Challenge to begin. Jim advanced, beating a Corvette in the first round, to be pitted against Mike Jr. Johnson in his C6 Z06 SSP Corvette in the next round. It was the battle of the Evo instructor, Jr, against the Solo Pro instructor, Jim, and Jim came out on top advancing him on to the next round, defeating the STX Mazda RX-8. Then came the match up of the Feinbergs. Well, technically Michael spells his name wrong, but it was Michael Fineberg in his SM Mitsubishi Evolution against Jim Feinberg in the HS Mini Cooper. It was funny listening to the announcer saying “we’ve got Fineberg in the left lane and Feinberg in the right lane”...no wait, that won’t work. Then, finally hearing “and Fineberg takes the win”, no, that won’t work either. The Evo took the MINI and Jim finished 3rd in the Challenge. It was a great showing against much higher horsepower cars. We did well enough to bring home 3 more tires, some MINI money and several other contingency winnings. Our MINI Money will go to the “United Behind Chelsea” fund. I feel certain that the other contingency winners will be doing the same.

I think it’s a bit unusual for a three member team to have such a good showing at the same event. But, I’ll take it, and with a big smile on my face. My goal for this season was to place above the cut off line to make the Ladies Challenge. Goal accomplished. Now I'm in the process of establishing a new goal for the balance of the season.

Things I learned at DC:
1. No torque is your enemy at the DC Pro.
2. No matter how many times I click my heels....I'm not in Kansas anymore.
3. Chris Peterson is the one you want at your dinner table if the manager of the restaurant needs to be involved in the bill paying process.

I must say that it was another super racing weekend. I’m so honored to be a part of such a great sport, and to have met and become friends with so many wonderful people. I can hardly wait until the next event, which is, as it turns out, the Evolution Super Shootout at zMax this coming weekend.

Gwennie

2011 Nashville Road Tour

or

Can Gwennie Get Her Mojo Going on an Oval?

We didn’t really decide for sure about going to Nashville until the week that early entries were to close, so I didn’t start getting excited until I saw my name on the entry list. From that moment on I was pumped. I’d exchanged emails with Joe Austin, a friend and competitor in H Stock, who assured us there would be a class in both HS and HS Ladies. This event was special for several reasons. First, this was a new format for the National Tour, using both the oval and the road course portions of Nashville Superspeedway. Second, this is a speedway that has hosted NASCAR events, and third, the speedway is closing and this was to be the very last event held there. How could we not be part of that?

David had to bow out so it was just Jim and me, once again, pulling out of my driveway around 6:30 on Thursday evening. I had hoped to add leaf peeping to this trip, and we did actually see some beautiful scenery, but, of course it was dark going and coming through the mountains, so the really pretty stuff was missed. We stopped west of Knoxville and by morning it was raining. The further west we drove the worse the weather became, so by the time we reached the speedway it was pouring rain and turning cold. Joe had saved us a garage space with other Mini drivers. We unloaded the car, chatted with friends, and decided we’d go find a good lunch before the Test & Tune. Maybe the rain would clear.  After getting totally lost trying to get back to the track…I still don’t know how that happened…it became obvious that the Test & Tune just wasn’t going to happen for us. There was nothing to be gained in running wets on a 20 second course when the weekend weather wasn’t calling for rain. Still, we had to hang around to register and walk the course, so we hung out in the garage with the H Stockers and talked sway bars way too much. Yes, there will probably be larger sway bars in Tiny Blue’s future.

 The course for Saturday was interesting, starting at the end of pit road, running onto the oval with several elements, then down into a blind sweeper onto the infield road course. Then another sweeper, some offsets, a 90 degree left and through gates uphill, I mean really uphill, and back onto the oval into what we decided to call the Texas Box, a really huge C Box. Next came a 7 cone slalom still on the grade of the oval. This was interesting since every time you’d turn from downhill to uphill the opportunity to break the rear loose loomed large. We decided the downhill turns were Earnhardt’s and the uphill turns were Mountain Dews…don’t ask why, it’s one of the spontaneous crazy things that makes being a part of Grab and Go so much fun… but the chant became Earnhardt…Mountain Dew…Earnhardt…Mountain Dew…Earnhardt…Mountain Dew…etc., ‘til we were through the slalom.  Then came some white space to hang on the limiter and a left that had to be done just right to get back onto the road course. There were elevation changes on this portion that most autocrossers are not familiar with at all. I was actually glad to have *endured* that track day a couple of years ago at VIR. Finally, back onto the oval nearing turn three with more elements and a blast through the finish. After several walks and a little quizzing from “my coach”, let’s just call him Dr. “Honey Badger”, we were off to a fairly early dinner and a good night’s sleep. (Something we don’t often see at a National event.)

Saturday morning we grabbed a biscuit and headed to the speedway to start walking the course by daylight. The only problem was that the fog was so thick that you couldn’t see from one element to the next. But, of course, we walked anyway. The event was delayed until we could actually see the track. Oh, and it was cold, around 30 degrees. The finish of the course was so far from grid that when my runs began, before I was even off the track I heard both my time and the time of the driver behind me. That was Linda. She’s my toughest competitor right now, and returning from my first run I had the better time. I drove past impound feeling stoked. Jim was working impound and able to ask me a couple of questions and give me some encouraging words. My second run was better by over 2 seconds and was the run I had to stand on when I took a cone on my third run. I ended day one 1.36 seconds in the lead. That was a first for me at a National event, so whatever else happened, I was off to my best result so far. Now, the hard part, stringing two good days together at a national event. Linda Duncan, who’s driving I’ve admired for a couple of years now was second. Would I be able to keep the lead? She’s a terrific competitor and good sport, a real pleasure to compete with.  Sunday would tell the tale.

Jim, my co-driver, ran in the third heat. There had been delays during the day including the fog, some timing issues, and an unfortunate incident that included an S2000 getting into a wall, so with the sun low in the sky, it was announced that third heat drivers would only get two runs. This was well into second runs and was pretty upsetting to many drivers who wanted to clean things up with their third run, but it wasn't to be. They still had to reset the course for Sunday and we’d heard that was going to take over an hour. There was well less than an hour of light left and it was decided that no one would get a Saturday look at Sunday’s course. So, we checked tire pressures, straightened up our garage and headed out to dinner and an evening of reviewing the day’s data and video.

Sunday morning again was “grab a biscuit” and get to the track for some course walking. It was sunny, bright and not as cold, but the course was so long that try as we might, two walks were going to be all we’d get. There were a number of changes, especially to the beginning of the course. Funny, both of these courses walked like we’d be well into third gear, but that never happened, and I was pretty happy about that. My first run turned out to be the highlight of my weekend, but not in a way that you’d ever imagine. Only about three elements into the run I realized that I’d missed a gate and DNF’ed the run. Instantly this seemed like the best opportunity ever to reach for the limits of what was possible on this course so I was off. I really gave it my best shot. I blasted out of the Texas box, got too hot in the slalom and missed the end of the slalom, but found my limits in a couple of places and was pretty excited. The raw time was fine too. I knew when I saw Jim’s face that he was worried. Would I implode? Before he could say much I told him I was fine, and knew what I had to do. He just said, “Good, go do it.” I got the car back to grid and headed over to the Lincoln Center to see the sweep sheets to be sure I was correct about where I’d DNF’ed and caught cones. It was funny that Jim kept pointing to one spot on the map and I kept saying, “No, it was here,” pointing to another. When they brought the sheets it turned out we were both correct since I had, in fact, DNF’ed twice. There was nothing to do now but take my next two runs and try to put it all together. My second run was five seconds faster than Linda’s since she had two cones. One more run to clean up a few more tenths. I took off three more tenths on my third run and had to wait to hear if Linda had pulled out a great last run. I wasn’t yet back to impound when I heard that I had her by half a second on that run. That meant I had the win. That was a definite fist bump from Jim while driving through impound. I have to admit to being really happy to have finally pulled off a win at a National event. But, as good as that felt, the best part of the event for me was to have taken the bad run and turned it into an opportunity to see what was possible. This is where I’m able to see the progress that I’ve made this year. I know for sure, that earlier this year that would not have been the case. I used to be so self-conscious about everything. How did what I do on course appear to others? Surely, I didn't really deserve to be there. Now I realize some things, not the least of which is that no one else is very concerned about what I’m doing. Everyone’s concerned about their own stuff. Even the “most important” event is just another opportunity to do your best and have some fun. As Jim reminds me from time to time, “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” I think I’m starting to get it.

Jim’s three Sunday runs put him in the lead in Open. Then, well after all the runs were done, it was announced that an “uncalled” cone was on the sheets for Jim moving him from first to second by .026. Of course he took it in stride, saying “it happens,” but I just felt terrible about the situation.

The National Event schedule is over for the year. Nothing left but some upgrades to Tiny Blue to get her ready for next year, and winding down with some low key, local events to tweak those upgrades. It’s been an exciting year, going from the DS Type R to my little Mini just before the Championship, Jim winning the HS National Championship, David trophying fourth in HS, and me taking second in HS Ladies Championship, netting us six tires, some Mini Money, and the promise for a great 2012. I can hardly wait.

I've set my goals for 2012 and I'm ready for the Dixie Tour.

Oscoda Pro Solo, 2011

or

A Really Fun Reason to Drive 28 Hours, Round Trip

The Oscoda Pro has been my most anticipated event to date.  After having done my first Pro in Lincoln I could hardly wait until the next one, which was Oscoda. This was another one of those entries that kept getting pushed forward. I remember asking Nancy at SCCA to go ahead and push my entry fee to Oscoda, all the time wondering if I could really convince Jim and David to go that far, especially so close on the heels of Lincoln.  Well, as it turned out David couldn’t get away, but it was pretty easy after all to push Jim off the fence, so on Thursday evening, June 16th, we were loaded up and on our way. Early on in these crazy adventures I had wondered about enduring these mega drives, but after the non-stop Lincoln trip, the drive to Michigan didn’t seem very daunting.

As usual I had a ball, and I think Jim did too. I'm getting better, but I'm still a knuckle head on some issues and just need to keep plugging away. We lost the clutch on Sunday morning just at the end of Jim's runs-I think he felt it going a bit during his runs-so I didn't get to run on Sunday. Joe Austin offered me his HS Mini, but SCCA wouldn't bite, even for seat time only, so my day was done.

The atmosphere in Oscoda is totally different than other, larger events. We stayed in a cabin on the lake since there aren't really any hotels in the area. That was certainly fun, and very retro. I told Jim that it took me back to being a child in the 50's staying in an old club house at Wrightsville beach. He wasn't even a blip on the radar back then. That's funny to me. We cooked out on Saturday night, since there were also precious few restaurants in the area. As it turns out, Jim’s a pretty good cook. His marinated chicken was way beyond delicious! There were autocrossers there playing volleyball on the beach, and there was even a bonfire on the beach one night. All good stuff!

As the season has progressed I find myself even more excited about the entire concept of National competition. I love everything about it. From the anticipation of leaving for the event, traveling to parts of the country like Oscoda, that I’ve never seen, to competing with the best drivers in the country, it’s all exciting and challenging.  I’ve also enjoyed getting to make new friends, and getting to know better some drivers that I’ve known for a while. I’ve never been a fan of crowds, and had actually used that as a reason for not doing National events. Oscoda was, by National standards, a small event, but I’ve never felt crowded at any of these events, so, there you have it. I was wrong again.

As much as I have enjoyed the National Tours, I’m finding that I love the excitement of Pro Solo much more. L1, my class, is one of the toughest (I’ve been told) of all the classes in Pro. These are truly the top lady drivers in the country. I’m still not as consistent as I’d like to be on the launch, but when the dust clears…and there’s always dust when I launch… my reaction times are passable, and my 60 foot times are, for the most part, reasonable. I had some good times and some that were a little slow. As I become steadier with my RPM’s at the line those times will improve. Of course I still need to work on the entire course. That’s the great thing about Pro. Eight runs on Saturday, 4 on each course, followed by 4 more runs on Sunday morning. That means we have Saturday evening to go over video and data to work out places to pick up time. The courses are shorter than Tour courses, and relatively simple, but for just plain fun they can’t be beat. Jim is a great coach and I’m getting a little less self-conscious about watching my videos frame by frame, looking for ways to improve. I’m feeling much more positive about seeing the things that I do, both right and wrong.

This time my work assignment was scanning. This means scanning the bar codes on each driver’s helmet as they come to the line. That square of space behind the SCCA trailer is the busiest spot on or near the course. Most every driver has at least one person in that space, coaching, checking air pressures, adjusting outside cameras and recording times. I’m just amazed about everything that’s going on during that time. It’s also the perfect place to be to see launches and to watch drivers on course. Listening to the announcer as each run unfolds just adds to the atmosphere.

This entire season has been a growth experience for me. I continue to learn more about myself, and perhaps a little more about the people around me.  Getting out of my comfort zone with Team Grab and Go has been good for me as I tend to be more of a planner than I’ve been allowed to be this year. Just rolling with whatever the game plan happens to be at the moment has been exciting.

Autocrossing isn’t nearly about the six minutes spent on course over a weekend. It’s about the times before and after as well. Sitting with friends at the end of the day, having a drink and laughing just seals the deal on the best hobby ever! I’m so thankful and appreciative to those who have made it happen.

Gwennie

SCCA Spring Nationals

Or

Lincoln in the Lincoln Lite

Last Wednesday afternoon I began the most recent adventure with Team Grab and Go. This time David was able to join us, and after figuring out how to load the Integra on the trailer along with 16 tires, 3 bikes, and all our bags, helmets and computers in the Lincoln, he, Jim and I were on our way. The plan was to make the 20+ hour trip non-stop and arrive in Lincoln, Nebraska, in time for me to get some practice starts under my belt, and for us to register, and walk the courses. This was my first Pro Solo. The format was new to me and I was concerned about launching on the light. As it turned out, I wasn’t half bad at it. So, for a couple of years now I’ve been missing out on what has turned out to be the most fun type of autoX so far. Lesson learned; approach new things with less fear and more confidence.

The trip out was an experience in itself. I had wondered if I’d be able to get much sleep, but now I know that I can pretty much sleep anywhere, if curled up in the back seat of the Lincoln Navigator is any indication. I continue to be amazed at Jim’s ability to drive all night. Of course the crazy conversations and all the laughing certainly helped to pass the time. We ran through terrible wind and rain, and trees down on the interstate, and by dawn we stopped in a rest area for a little non-moving sleep. I won’t even go into detail about looking for fuel at 3 AM. It’s not like we weren’t trying. There just weren’t any gas stations where we were. Success came with 3 miles to empty on the fuel gauge. Thursday morning daylight it was so cold, but after a stop at Wal-Mart I was finally warm in sweat pants and shirt. 

Friday morning began with heavy, cold rain. Not the weather preferred by autocrossers. We had a couple of course walks in the wet. Rivers of water were running toward the drains in some areas of the course.  Jim and David had to drive first so they had the worst of it. We broke out the rain tires and hoped for the best. During the morning runs Jim reinjured his shoulder and his day was pretty much done. I was lucky. I ran in the last group of the morning and things were drying up nicely. At the end of my first four runs I was near the last, but was becoming accustomed to the format and having a ball. I’m actually sad for anyone who doesn’t have something that they love as much as I love this sport. Even on a bad day I love this sport, and I’ll tell you about my bad day shortly. The afternoon runs came and both “my guys” improved their times now that it was dry. My times improved as well and I moved up a couple of spots in my class. I certainly didn’t set anything on fire, but I was pleased to have improved a bit. That night we enjoyed a good meal with Eric and Karl at Lazlo’s in the Haymarket District. Then back to the hotel to look at data and video of the day’s runs.

Saturday morning David ran his last four runs, but ended up having to stand on his afternoon runs from the day before. Jim’s shoulder just wouldn’t hold up to four runs and he withdrew from running. I improved my times from the day before and managed to move up another slot. I’ve got lots to do to improve, but for my first time in a Pro I was pretty happy.  I can hardly wait until my next Pro Solo in about two weeks! Once we finished we headed back downtown to the Haymarket for lunch, then back to the site to walk the course for the upcoming Tour scheduled to begin the next day.

Chris Peterson flew in Saturday to drive in BSL for the Tour. Since there were no other ladies entered in her class we invited her to join me driving the Type R in DSL. I must admit to having been a little jealous of Chris’s driving abilities and the fact that she has a built in coach being married to Eric. This was a fabulous opportunity. Not only did I get to know Chris a little better, which was really cool, we also got to compare data after our first day’s runs. Doing breast bumps to make the guys a little crazy was just a bonus. At the end of day one we were a tenth apart. Sitting in the Blue Orchard after dinner Sunday evening, we went over every segment of every run made that day. I was quite surprised to see that even though our driving styles are very different, we were actually very closely matched. Chris has a great natural talent and more years in the game, so to be close to her was a win for me. That was just another little high for the trip. Perhaps all the effort these guys are making to coach me is starting to show just a little.

Monday was day two of the Tour.  The day just didn’t begin well for me and continued to go downhill for a while. Among other things, I’ve never been a fan of wind, and Nebraska winds can really dent one’s sanity. Remembering my days on our boat, the Moonraker, I knew the winds were in the 35-40 knot range in the morning. When I checked the forecast I was dead on, except for the gusts of 50-55 knots. Seriously, you had to work at standing in the wind. I DNF’ed my first run, which didn’t help my mental state at all. When I returned to grid I actually had to leave for a minute and have a little talk with myself. When I returned Jim reminded me to shake it off, and Chris pulled me aside for a little girl talk. Both helped tremendously, and though it took me my next two runs to recover, at least I didn’t change position overall. And, best of all, it never stopped being fun.  I felt that I managed to do a bit of a comeback by my third run. Though I was slower than Chris, learning to get my head back in the game is a big part of the quest this year. I’m doing better at that. I still have to get past the worry of letting my co-drivers down. Something they say I cannot do as long as I’m having fun. Having fun is easy. Driving well can be hard.

I had to work fifth heat, so while I gave out time slips to some happy drivers, and some not so happy drivers, David and Jim packed everything up and loaded the car on the trailer.  So, we were off for the last 24ish hours of our adventure. Again, Jim drove most of the night, and again, I marvel at his ability to do so. Early in the morning David took over the wheel and after only about 30 minutes was an old pro behind the wheel. We came home through West Virginia, so David got to drive through all the mountains. I wanted to sleep so badly, but someone would say something funny and I finally decided I’d rather do without sleep than take a chance on missing a minute of the dialog. Sleep is overrated. Around 7:30 PM Tuesday evening we finally arrived in Bahama, tired but home, for me, at least.

I continue to learn as I enjoy these crazy trips. Among the lessons this trip I learned that sometimes you have to stop listening to your butt and just suck it up and not lift. I learned that sometimes you can get a small sweeper just right and it’s hugs all around when you get back to grid. I learned that sometimes things just go horribly wrong and you rely on short term memory to let them pass and move forward. I learned that I’m probably better than I think I am (very difficult for me to say out loud) and that I need to have more confidence in my abilities. Most of all, I continue to learn that I have the two best co-drivers ever, and I’m a very lucky gal. I’ll even admit to the fact that twice now I’ve been mistaken as “Mom”. What’s a gal to do?

Atlanta Tour in the “R”

Or

“1.9, Bernie”

Well, finally…after moving my entry forward from Dixie back in March, when I bailed because I hadn’t driven the Integra, last Thursday night I was finally on my way to Atlanta for my first Tour in the Integra Type R as part of Team Grab and Go. Things could not have been more to my liking. We had decided to trailer the car down, towing behind my Lincoln. I just hoped it would be a good tow vehicle since it’s a pretty comfortable ride. It turned out to actually tow well, and the comments and jokes once we were on site made the whole idea worthwhile. “Seriously, Dude, towing with that?” was heard more than once. The fact that I got to kick back while my co-driver, Jim, did all the driving made it a win/win for me.  Again, I was sorry that David didn’t get to make this event, but the seven hour drive seemed to go quickly just chatting about autocross, racing, music and stuff with Jim.

Fridays are a pretty easy day at a Tour. It’s mostly just getting set up in your pit area, getting the car teched, taking some practice runs to get the feel of the surface, working for an hour,  registering, and hanging out waiting until 6 or 7 PM when they open the Saturday course for walking. Getting to joke around with other racers that you only see at events is a big part of the package. Because of Jim I’ve gotten to meet so many people. There was also a welcoming bar-b-q that helped tide us over until dinner and the much anticipated Original Monster Margaritas.  Having to make changes to our entries required the dreaded trip into the trailer, but I finally got to meet Nancy, the gal I’ve had to ask to move my entries around a couple of times already this year. So, I moved into open and Jim moved to the tire warmer position, giving me the 186 spot. That made me feel pretty good since it meant that he’d go first and be able to give me feedback on how the course drove compared to how it walked. I was surprised and never expected him to do that, but it was a much appreciated gesture.

Friday afternoon we found out that a friend’s car had broken and was undrivable. Luckily, both he and his co-driver found rides for the event. Saturday morning Jim offered to tow their car back to Greensboro for them after the event. I was so happy that he did that. I just had not thought quickly enough to do so myself, but helping out friends is as big a part of this sport as the actual 6 minutes of adrenalin rush. It certainly upped the momentum of comradery for the entire weekend.

We hit Cracker Barrel for breakfast first thing Saturday morning, and were on site and ready to walk the course before 7 AM. I did my usual thing. After walking the course with Jim several times I walked alone and charted everything out, making notes of places we had discussed as important. I’m still not confident about my choices sometimes, and Jim still insists on those pesky test questions, but my self-confidence is building. Then, a couple more walks with Jim and some of the other Triad guys and they were calling for first heat workers. We were so lucky this event, drawing the work first heat, drive 3^rd heat positions. I once again got my favorite job of finish post worker. Giving time slips to drivers after they cross the finish allows me to watch the event as well as put times and faces together. What a great way to get to recognize more drivers.

The course was excellent. It was simple and straight forward with no thread the needle elements, a nice, long slalom and a 5 wall “wallom” across the back. There were many off camber transitions. The pavement was about the roughest I’ve ever driven. Just when you’d want to mat it there’d be a bump or a dip to unsettle the car. One of the “funnest” courses ever.

All who know me and saw me at Dixie last year would be amazed at the difference in my attitude toward these events. Last year I was such a bundle of nerves I was almost sorry I was there before my runs. This year is so different. I think the manner in which both David and Jim approach these events has made the difference. They’re really not a big deal. They are just the best chance ever to compete in a sport that I love, on some of the best courses, with the best drivers in the country. Simply being there steps up your game. Watching Jim run first gave me great confidence. It’s strange, but even with the pre-run excitement, once I’m in the car I’m just comfortable, confident and ready to run. That’s never happened before this year. All of my runs Saturday were OK.  They were, clean and reasonable, but just soft. I never got the shakes, but wasn’t really disappointed either. Just average. Jim was giving me pointers but I wasn’t getting amped up. After trying about a dozen things to get me riled up, he found the key. “Take a second off your time or you’re out of the car!” That did it. My 3^rd run was 1.2 seconds faster.  I finished 5^th on Saturday. Not last. One goal down. Jim finished day one .2 out of first place. I guessed we both had work to do on Sunday. After impound he changed the fronts to our other set of “not new but pretty good” tires for Sunday and left for lunch. Nothing left to do until Sunday’s course was ready to walk. The course was just reversed with only small adjustments so 3 or 4 walks and we were off the land of Monster Margaritas. ‘Nuf said.

Sunday morning we decided it was worth losing a little sleep to hit Cracker Barrel again for a good breakfast before the event. And again, we were on the course walking before 7 AM. With some pretty good coaching over drinks Saturday night I had the ammo to get some good laughs out of the Triad guys. That was fun. It’s cool to see O’Maley lose it.

During the 2^nd heat we took the opportunity to review the videos from Saturday. I found it extremely helpful to see so obviously how much I needed to step up my game. I’m seeing the videos in a completely different way now, watching where I am and how I’m angled, as well as what my hands and feet are doing, and listening to the throttle. It’s no longer just cool video.

So, finally they called for 3^rd heat. We had 2 more course walks before our heat. Again, running 3^rd heat clearly rocks! Jim put what he calls the “Jimmie V” move on his closest competitor closing the gap by nearly .5 seconds to win the class. My first run had some spunk, but clearly needed to rock harder. Faster in the slalom and holding first gear longer were Jim’s strongest comments. My second run was 1.7 faster and I could see exactly what I needed to do and where. That’s always been a guess before. The places I thought would be scary were exciting instead, and I knew I could do better. My last run was coming up and I felt really good. All I wanted was to not slip below 5^th.

Off I went. I knew the slalom was faster and so was the wallom. I was matted through there. I made the small sweeper without pushing and found myself in the little downhill going faster than the previous runs. I made the left, up the hill with the vision of “trimming the grass” that was growing at the base of an important cone. One more cone to attack, then summons the “breasticles” into play for the transitions through the light.  Looking back at the timing display I saw I’d taken .6 seconds off my previous run. But what I saw besides that is what excited me.  There were a bunch of “my guys”, the NC boys, all with their arms in the air yelling, and running to our grid spot. What a rush. It turned out that .6 seconds put me 3^rd for the day, and moved me to 4^th in class for the event, .003 from 40 seconds, and 1.9 seconds off of Feinberg for the day. The 1.9 is important because at every event when I talk to Bernie after my runs, the first question he always asks is “how far are you behind Feinberg?” So, as soon as I stopped shaking I was on the phone leaving the simple message, “1.9”.

Soon after we were released from impound we were on the road home, injured car on the trailer and Bret following us in Jim’s Integra. We dropped Stephen’s car off in Greensboro and loaded the Integra on the trailer for the last leg of our journey, and headed to Bahama.

I’m learning so much more about the sport itself, about the car, and really about myself.  I am so thankful for every minute of this opportunity. I’m enjoying the team and the new friendships that we are developing. Lincoln is in 3 weeks. I’m entered and ready to go. 

My First Away Game

This past weekend was my first two day event with Team Grab & Go. Well, part of the team anyway. David was unable to get away this time. It was so exciting to finally run at the much heard of "Black Lake" Michelin Proving Grounds in South Carolina. Ever since I was offered the opportunity to co-drive with Jim Feinberg and David Spratte I've had a renewed interest and excitement for autocross. That's saying a lot, because everyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy this sport.


I must say, right up front, that Bernie has been my staunchest supporter, reminding me that this is my sport and I should take advantage of this clearly once in my lifetime opportunity to drive with two of the top drivers in the country. It's so strange how things happen in life. Never, ever would I have even dreamed of having such an opportunity presented to me. When Jim first asked me if I'd like to give it a try all I could say was "wow".


Anyway, off I went. The weather forecast was for rain on Saturday, but drying out for a beautiful Sunday, which was just about on target. Saturday morning brought showers off and on as we wandered through the country to reach the site. I was thankful to be able to follow Jim, for believe me when I say that Black Lake is in the middle of nowhere. Being one of the first cars to arrive we got a good pit spot and were immediately off to walk the course. It was just dawn and the rains had stopped, at least for awhile. Waffling back and forth about the wet conditions, we decided to leave the street tires on the car. Several more showers reinforced our decision. We watched the first heat with rain and rooster tails flying, but the second runs for that group seemed to be drying the course, so off we ran to change to R comps. Yep, this is a good decision, we're sure. Don't be mistaken, Jim was doing the heavy lifting, I'm just the tire and lug nut placer and wheel torquer. All fluff stuff, really. Then they're calling for heat two. That's our heat. Off we go. Being a two driver car we're on the front row. We'll be off and running in a few minutes. What's this? Rain? It can't be. We just put race rubber on the car. One glance at each other, "yeah, we can do it", and we're off to the pit to change to street tires before the grid worker gets to our slot. Back in time and Jim's out first. It was still pretty wet so probably a good decision to have made the change. The tires actually had a little grip, well, until brakes were applied. Still, it was wet. They had to be better than R comps. Now, I must mention, these weren't the "golden autocross streets". These were the 440 tread ware get down here from Sunny Fuquay street tires. We each had two runs. The conditions were changing, the rain had stopped, it was windy as all get out, and the track was drying. While I made my second run Jim headed back to the pit and got the R comps out again. When I finished my second run I drove straight back to the pit and we once again changed tires and were back in grid for our third runs. We each got our third runs in and realized that the right front was starting to cord and the tires were just cooked. Do we really want to go back and take the 225s we've planned to run on Sunday out for one run. Hell no. We took our forth runs with what we had left and were done for the day. So how many tire changes was that? I lost count, but decided I was getting the hang of this Jewish Fire Drill stuff. Oh yeah, there was one more tire change to get ready for Sunday. All this and I didn't even mention how many shock adjustments Jim made that morning. Every run was a new learning experience, which, after all, is why I was there. I had switched my entry to Pro to be assured of running at the same time as Jim for the ride-alongs. Besides, bumping up to Pro took all concerns about placing well in the class out of the mix. As it turned out, while I was well down the list....not at the bottom, mind you....of Pro, I would have placed second had I stayed in D Stock. So, for my first time out at a bigish event in the Integra Type R, I was pretty happy. Jim placed well considering the crappy tires. We knew most of the other Pros were on new stuff, so it wasn't so bad.


I learned so much on Saturday. I still have the same tendencies to brake too hard and over steer, and though my brain wants to ease onto the gas, my foot sometimes works like a light switch. A discussion about that on Saturday night while watching videos of our runs, helped to determine that I'm not looking far enough ahead, and perhaps not at the right things, exactly. That changed a bit for the better on Sunday. At least I gave it my best effort. I also learned a lot about gas points. So much is made of braking points, I think maybe gas points are more important, and braking should be done with them in mind.


One of the sidebars to co-driving with Jim is getting an early start in the morning. Sunday morning we met at 5:45 AM and were again on site by dawn. What a beautiful day. The course was reversed, I got in all the walks I needed with Jim and alone. Jim's a great guy to walk the course with, and has lots of cool little tricks to help remember the important stuff. However, I'm more the "you tell me what to do and I'll try to do it girl" and he actually wants me to think things through and understand what I'm doing. Damn coaching! But I'll get there. Then there's always the test...." what are you looking at now?" sort of thing. He says there's going to be more of that, so I'd better get used to it.


The main reason for going to Black Lake was to learn how to do National style sweepers. Something that we just don't see around here due to the size and shape of our sites. Sunday was the perfect day for that. Dry, warm and sunny. How could you not just be as happy as a clam? I worked on good entry, not over steering, controlling more speed in the sweepers while staying right on the cones, and not braking at all where a breathe or small lift would do. I actually found the rev limiter too. That was way cool. By our third runs the 225s were shot and I was amazed that my last run was .5 faster than my third. Of course I was still several seconds, three to four, I think, as final times have not been posted as I write this, behind Jim, but I'm working on it. 


At Black Lake, once you're there you can't leave unless there's a break in the event. We worked forth heat but were ready to go and bugged out ASAP after the last car finished. Four hours later I was home, tired but happy, and Bernie had dinner waiting. The perfect end to a great weekend.


We've got a Tour coming up in three weeks, and perhaps a Pro event either before that or in June. I am so excited about this year with some really great opportunities to autocross with the best drivers in the country. What's not to love. Thanks to all.

My First Day on Track

by Gwen Baake on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 10:32pm

This is a testament to the reason you never say never. I never intended to put my little Mini Cooper on track. However, Bernie has enjoyed HPDE for several years, and now that he’s instructing for a number of venues and doing some club racing he’s at the track more and more. He just has such a passion for track work that in a moment of weakness I suggested that he sign me up for a track day. I immediately wondered “what was I thinking?” This was the perfect opportunity though. A group new to the area, on a weekday, low participation, VIR Full, and Bernie could instruct me. I heard that there were some in the instructor’s meeting who questioned the sanity of a husband instructing his wife on track, but we assured them, among all the “who’ll kill who first” jokes, that it would be fine.

Let’s just say that I’m not a big fan of going fast, or being passed by cars going much faster then I, and that’s been the big hold up to me giving track a try. Bright and early on Tuesday morning I showed up for my class. There were only 7 in Green group, 5 Vettes, a Mustang and me. Not too much was discussed in class so I was glad for all the hours of discussion that we’d had over the past few years. I knew the flags and where the flag stations were, so that was a plus, even though several of the stations weren’t manned.

Then, at 9 AM it was time for my first venture on track behind the wheel. All the hours of videos of VIR that I’ve watched did help some, and riding along on parade laps the week before was better than not, but everything changes when the pit marshal points at you to go. At least it did for me. The first few laps were a combination of excitement, joy and terror. I knew where I was on track, and didn’t have a clue where I was, both at the same time. Apparently I did a lot of praying out loud; at least if saying “Oh God” a LOT of times counts as praying. I settled down just a little about the time I got lapped by the Vettes. Then all my “Oh Gods” turned into “Oh sh!ts” as I had to release the grip of death to point them by. I was pretty sure I’d want to come in early, but as it turned out, the time went pretty fast. I was surprised when I saw the checkered flag. The first lap I called out all the stations to Bernie, and he told me when to turn and what to look for as reference points in turns. I had some problems getting over to some of the gators, and turning early was an issue as well. I had the most trouble with T3 and the entry into T17. I was uncomfortable on the back straight in my first session too. At 9:30 we were done.

At 11:30 we were out again and I was feeling a little better. I still had trouble at T3, feeling like I was going to drop a right front wheel, I continued to turn early. I began to enjoy T4 and T5 and the lower s’s. I was able to go 80-90 in the uphill s’s with Bernie saying power, power, power, but hadn’t yet gotten the rhythm that he was talking about. I also had trouble seeing where to make the turn at 10. Even watching the videos later I couldn’t see the edge of the gator there. With the initial fear of the 1st run out of the way I had a little trouble making my foot do what was being asked of it, ie, don’t brake until the instructor says to. Eventually, as I gained trust in the car (which is weird, since I trust the car 100% in autocross) I was able to brake later.

At lunch you could take your car on track for as much of the hour as you wanted, but only at 55 mph. We stayed out quite a long time and I could drive the line slowly. It was funny then, trying to stay at such a slow speed. Bernie also showed me another line into T3, the momentum line, and though I never did the rimshot as close to the edge of the track as I should have, I was way more comfortable with the new line. Driving parade laps was absolutely the best way to actually see what I needed to do. It was probably the most valuable tool I used all day.

2PM, time for my third track session. There was supposed to be another class session afterwards, but instead they opened the track, first to green and yellow with green rules, then they just opened the track to ALL, with green point by rules. I was satisfied with my 3 sessions. Anyway, in the 3rd session I was feeling much better after my parade laps. I lined up to be the last one out and fell in behind the Mustang. Off we went. Well, there I was, on track where I could see other cars ahead of me. Guess what. I stayed with the Mustang until he began to pull away at T10. I took T11 fine but didn’t use enough track entering Oak Tree and ended up with my first little off over the gator and right back on coming out of T11A. It was nothing like I had imagined. I actually was laughing and pretty excited that I was in complete control of the car and knew exactly how to manage it. I just said “I guess I have to go in don’t I?” Yep. But then, I was right back out on track to finish the session. We found that the little Mini with the two of us on board can only get about 108-110 when matted on the straight, which was way plenty fast for me. The back straight became a little more tolerable by the end of my third session. I was beginning to like 14A and 15.

When I came in after my 3rd session everyone could see that I was finally smiling and laughing. So, I made it through my first day on track to live and tell the tale.

Here’s the rub. I keep going over all the turns in my mind. It’s been two full days now and I’ve just got to do turns 3, 10, and 16 better. Guess that means I’m bound to return to VIR Full at least once more. Pass the track crack pipe, please.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I could not have asked for a more patient instructor. He took me from wishing I wasn’t there to wanting to go again. He always said the right thing, used a lot of humor, gave verbal upbeat rewards when I did a turn correctly and never gave up on me. Everyone there was rooting for me to do well.
It was a really cool day.