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| Chilling, waiting for the next session to start |
This weekend was a blast!!! I am still pumped up and riding the high!
Saturday stared out a bit chaotic, I didn't hear the
announcement for HPDE 2 & 3, so I was rushing to get to grid. All the cars
were already out on the track. I didn't know what to expect. But I immediately
felt out of my league when I see within seconds of being on the track Porsche
after Porsche were on my buns. I learned quickly that there were some
ridiculously high powered vehicles in this group. Whenever I would take my eyes
off of my side view mirror because I didn't see anyone behind me all of a
sudden it was like a Porsche was transported right behind me. I am not going to
lie, it made really anxious, and I felt like I was the Miata of the group. I
let it mess with my head thinking I have to be as fast as them. I was pushing
the car harder and harder until the car bit back and said NAY. I ended up off track in a mud puddle but
still somewhat facing the right way. That made me realize that it’s okay to be
the slow car, let them pass, continue driving how I have been driving. Let it
go.
Second session on the track I was driving awesome…until…I
saw a white flag out on track. I had NO CLUE what in the hell the white flag
meant. I thought, “Oh, maybe it’s the flag where you slow down and no passing
is allowed. No wait I thought that was the yellow flag. No it can’t be. I’ll
just stay behind this Subaru.” Then I
didn't see the white flag anymore and didn't know what to do. I decided to
follow this slow Subaru around the track. That’s when I saw this huge train of
cars behind me, 12 cars, going about 20 MPH around the track. I was like oh
crap I think I just messed up everyone’s lap. I drive off into the pits, still
following the Subaru. Talk to the steward and learned that the white flag just
means slow car on track. Doh! I felt so stupid for not knowing that. Now I
laugh at the incident, although I don’t think my peers feel the same way. The
HPDE Director said it was THE strangest thing he has ever seen on the track. Later
in the day it started to rain pretty hard and into Sunday morning.
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| After racing in the rain |
The first two sessions on Sunday were awesome, I love racing
in the rain! It taught me to be smooth, calm, and patient. I am not as greedy
to go faster and push harder. I kind of wish it could rain all the time to
continue to learn from the rain. I know it sounds crazy to some; a lot of
people avoid it like the plague. But I REALLY encourage everyone to get as much seat time in the rain, it will improve your driving skills tremendously. I did
really good on Sunday only went off the track on corner 7 aka “Devil”. I took
the corner WAY too fast and didn't brake early enough. In the last session I
was behind Allie from Lyfe Motorsports. She drove a maroon Chevy Cobalt SS. She
was pretty good and I had one hell of a time trying to pass her. It was fun
chasing her around and seeing where she was faster than me and where I was
faster than her. After 3 laps around I had enough chasing her and set up to
pass her on turn 10 (West). I had to put my car into second gear to get enough
boost to pass her on the straightway. I usually take that turn in 3rd
gear and slowly let the boost build up in the straight away but her car had way
more boost then mine to continue doing that.
After I was done and putting my things back into the trunk,
the HPDE Director came up to me. He wanted to write some notes into my NASA
HPDE Passport. (It is how NASA keeps track of your racing progress.) He said to
send him an email before the next race to remind him to have someone ride with
me to sign me off to HPDE 3!!!! OMG!!! I was speechless. Maybe I am meant to race.
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| After the rain cleared up it ended up being a beautiful day to race |
The following are stats from this weekend's session:
SATURDAY
- Morning Temp: 44 F
- Afternoon Temp: 58 F
- Track: Miller Motorsport--West Track
- Front Tire Pressure: 38 psi cold, 45 psi hot
- Rear Tire Pressure: 37 psi cold, 43 psi hot
- Tires: Dunlop Direzza ZII
- Brakes: Hawk HP Plus
- Rotors: Centric Premium Brake
- Brake Fluid: ATE Type 200 DOT 4
- Rear Sway Bar: Whiteline Adjustable 22 mm
- Rear Endlinks: Kartboy
SUNDAY
- Morning Temp: 37 F
- Afternoon Temp: 44 F
- Track: Miller Motorsport--West Track
- Front Tire Pressure: 33 psi cold, 42 psi hot
- Rear Tire Pressure: 32 psi cold, 40 psi hot
- Tires: Dunlop Direzza ZII
- Brakes: Hawk HP Plus
- Rotors: Centric Premium Brake
- Brake Fluid: ATE Type 200 DOT 4
- Rear Sway Bar: Whiteline Adjustable 22 mm
- Rear Endlinks: Kartboy
Ciao!