I gotta admit when I saw it on paper thursday I thought "oh god a miata course"
Then I walked it this morning and thought "I'm glad I'm driving a vette cause matt thinks he's got more power then he really does"
Then I drove it and thought "This is the most fun I've had on this lot"

Great Course Guys! Very similar to something you'll find in atlanta in April for the Pro!

(and Matt, Thanks for kickin my butt yesterday and giving me a reality check )

I agree - it was a fun course. I was pleased with my progress over the three runs. -- Stick Slither Slide -- I was able to find the Slither today.

adamb

Well Matt and Co, honestly that was the best course EVER! Throwing the Monte Carlo around was a blast, whoever is next on course design, has a hell of a job to follow!

more props to matt and david for a great event!

We will be doing drag strips back and forth.

Matt, again, great course. I never got a good run, and was hoping for the fun run, but ......

Just have to say that the 710's

I've already started a thread for the Feb. event, since Torch and I are 2 of the coordinators. We will have a drag strip for Torch, with a Chicago box at the end and a tricycle wheel finish for the Mini.

Thanks guys, and thanks to David for his help. It's as much his course as it was mine. We pretty much listed the features each of us wanted and combined them into one design. Also thanks to David Kingman and Jodie Gaspar for helping set up. Although we let Jodie stand there and look pretty while the boys did the dirty work.

If we didn't have the PC problems (again), and the delay with moving vehicles from alongside the course, we could've had a good hour for Fun Runs. We NEED to figure out why we keep having the same issues with drivers not being in the computer. If we can't sort it out, we need to go back to manual timing. Events went off much more smoothly before we had the computer. Also, from now on we're going to cone off the row of parking spaces along the course. I've always had a bad feeling about that row (thus why I never park there), and today's near miss was too close for comfort. We need to be proactive rather than reactive on this.

Ian, I'm speechless after your runs today. Slow down!

Mike, I'm glad to see your handling issues cured by the wider and stickier tires. I truly did not expect that much of an improvement.

Mark G., thanks as always for the show!

Mark Stockbridgemacher, thanks for kicking my butt again.

Marty, where were you?!?!

Kumho, your 710s are God's gift to autocross.

Great course! I really enjoyed myself. Flowed very well.

Thanks Matt and Dave!

Thanks to everyone for a great first experience! A special thanks to Glenn for all the great advice and the WILD ride!! See y'all next month.

Wrong Smile. No shifting Involved

Good point.

Entropyman, I didn't get a chance to put a face or real name with the screen name.

WHO ARE YOU?

Sorry I couldn't make it , man sounds like an awsome course. Can't wait to see the times posted and see where everyone finished. Will be at the next one tho, not sure which class but I'll be there. You need to put the course design down on paper Matt, sounds like that might be a good one to use again!

Nice course. That's two in a row, wow. No pressure for Feb. guys .

Some foo foo guy said always blame the equipment. Some day I'll show up with good tires... Tabor spanked me. Too bad he scared the folks parked in the VIP seats, I was hoping for a fun run in the E46 M-3 with the blingin' wheels. That was Jorge's first win, ever, not including novice. I'm sure the sweet RX7 will nail down SMST sooner than later.

EDIT: And I was NOT drifting. It was the only way to get it to turn and the only thing that happened when you got on the gas (at least I wasn't doing doughnuts like some ill informed Bimmer dude).

Great design guys! I'm now trying to figure out a way to use this 4 wheel steer thing to my advantage on our tighter courses. How hard do you think it would be to put an extra rack in the rear like those 4 wheel steering GM pickup trucks? hmmm.

Hey did anyone get any shots of me in the Monte carlo?

Check with Soma07, he was taking random photos of different cars. He might some pictures of you.

Wow, thanks for all of the nice words. Matt pretty much summed it up: We discussed what features we like and don't like in an autocross course and went from there. (For example, I like pointer cones and sweepers.) Also, thanks to Chuck and Brad and Ben and everyone else who joined our group that morning. That was fun. It would have been even more fun if I had gotten more than four hours of sleep the night before.

David S. Wallens
Grassroots Motorsports

Matt Doctor, white Mustang GT, held the radio by the trailer for most of the third round. One of the multitude of novices.

I agree with the sentiments on the course. Nice flow. Simple in concept, but with lots of rewarding "Easter Eggs" to find. My only comment would be it might be a good idea to put some cones (gates or a wall) to define the course limits in the area close to the parking lot. It might keep wayward drivers (especially white S2000s) in check .

Thanks to the gaggle of S2000s, and especially Todd, for giving me some fun competition. While I'd like to claim it was my excellent driving skills that gave me the victory, I was seriously tire-advantaged (brand new rear Potenzas), so I'll have to give credit to the tires for the victory.

I sincerely apologize to everyone for the safety check that I inadvetantly initiated. I have no idea how my first lap looked from outside the car, but honestly, inside the car I never felt close to out of control. The back end was admittedly very loose and at the time I was doing some serious "talking" to the rear tires. As Todd said, it was "the only thing that happened when you got on the gas". I was surprised by the lack of grip of the surface. And the first section (from first left turn to the left turn close to the tree), was much more difficult than I was expecting based on the walk through. I'm recalling there were a few others who did similar or worse in the same area including some who were firmly out of control (the aforementioned bimmer comes to mind), so I'm hoping I was merely the first to "expose" a potential issue. For the record, I didn't spin, hit any cones, touch grass, hit solid objects, lose bodywork, get airborne, or sink, and the time wasn't even bad despite driving extra distance. Those who saw me from the outside may know better how close I was to grass or objects, and I'd appreciate any "constructive" observations along those lines as I don't want to damage property or my car, or, especially workers or spectators!

Well enough excuses. Again, sorry for any inconvenience I caused. I hope my 1st run overexuberance (not typical for me) will be forgiven. Glen tells me I should claim my 1st lap was actually driven by my evil co-driver, but unfotunately "Dr. Murasama" was not separately registered, so that might be hard to prove.

In any case, I hope to see many of you at the IRCC and Deland events, and I'll try to be back for your next event.

I was behind you in line when you decided to disrupt the event by forcing them to move all those cars. I didn't see the oversteer however, so I can't comment on how it looked from the outside.

I think you and I were the only two stock cars to get down in the 47s -- but you beat me for fastest stock car time by a few tenths. Good driving.

adamb

NotAMurasama,

I was on cone duty at Station 1 during the first heat so I saw you get a little loose after the first left turn.

IMO it wasn't that bad at all, you were still at least 10-15 ft from the edge of the pavement. That said someone with less car control than yourself could have gotten themselves in trouble there. After our accident in November I'm guessing the event coordinator decided to play it safe.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't take it personally

Foo Foo
Entropyman was the other Matt, driving the white 2000 Mustang GT.

Matt, glad I could help, I just like to give back a little to make up for all the help more experienced drivers gave me when I was a novice.

But c'mon now, the ride wasn't that wild was it? I mean I never spun out or even nailed a cone Sunday! Anyway, glad you had fun and hope to see you come out again. If you want some more seat time CFR will have a practice day (lots of runs) this coming Saturday at IRCC in Fort Pierce. Terry Tabor (the big guy in the white #87 S-2000) will be chairing the event.

If we have learned one thing as a club, it's to make changes due to safety concerns as soon as they are uncovered. After the unthinkable has happened is unfortunately about one minute too late to make those changes.

So don't take it like they moved everybody just for you. We're just VERY focused on safety these days.

Less experienced drivers was the key concern. Yes, Terry was not out of control, it was just a big slide. And yes he was still a reasonable distance away. Heck the cones were 25 feet from the edge...other sites we normally use a 10 foot cushion.

The anatomy of a hook slide such as Terry's, if it were to happen with a less experienced driver at the wheel, often ends with the car shooting in the direction it's pointed. In this case, Terry was aimed directly at some spectators, and it was a heart-stopping moment from where we were watching. Thankfully it happened with a skilled driver at the controls.

Chuck's comment coincides with my earlier comments about our decision--being proactive is not an option. We made the right call.

It wasn't wild as in out of control, it was just the most fun I've ever had in the front seat of a car. I think my next event will be Deland on the 23rd. I'm trying not to do two weekends in a row. I do want to do the CFR IRCC practice in February. Does CFR start registration at 7:30 at all their events?

Entropyman,

We usually try to start registration at around 7:30, although there's usually some setting up going on at the same time. So registration may or may not be manned full-time by 7:30. Hope to see you soon at either IRCC or Deland. I'm sure the west coast SCCA guys will also welcome you at Brooksville/Gainesville events and be glad to help you along as well.

Terry Tabor

Adam,

Thanks for the kind words. After my first run, I re-calibrated my right foot, purged my adrenaline system, and (probably most important) lowered the pressure in the rear tires, and clicked off a couple of respectable runs. I didn't get a chance to look at many of the times outside my class, but I felt pretty good about a low 47 on street tires.

Incidentally, I REALLY like the idea of not having to change tires in the stock class. At the club I raced with in college, they allowed cars to run multiple classes which meant some guys were changing back and forth between street tires and slicks BETWEEN EACH RUN! I think changing tires twice a day is too much.

Terry T.

This changing tire business is too much work. I think I'll start offering someone $20 to take care of it for me.

Make it $25 and you've got a deal!

$21.50

$24.95

$22.05.

$24.75

$22.50

I wouldn't trust him. He will lose one of your lug nuts so that you won't pass tech!