Oscoda Pro Solo, 2011

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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

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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?