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.