Bill Pemberton
0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
Yes,I am taking a bit of poetic license, but it seemed appropriate for the recent NASA weekend racing at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas. Both days seemed to have high drama for me, but since I do have a tendency to ramble on, I will just focus on Sunday, here the weather gods decided to help end the Sunflower State drought. Got to the track early, per my normal procedure with the clouds giving us a lightning show and it was raining dogs and dogs ( figured this was the wrong title to throw in a cat analogy ) . Word finally came out that we would qualify an hour late , so some drying might occur , at 9 am. The Art of Racing in the Rain , takes the utmost concentration , mental focus , and being one with your machine, and since it was still pouring at 8:30 I decided to be one with my machine, and parked my butt in my Ram Truck. I was not focused enough with my lousy back to have a Zen moment with my rain tires, only to remove them to the trailer when the race started! I felt my thoughts wander up into the clouds and I was positive the track would be almost dry by our 11:05 race start and I was almost correct. After a brief driver's meeting we found out that turn 14, right before the front straight, had a river runs through it, and turn two had a bit of the same , yet not as severe, especially if you took a tight inside line --- and you better as this is a fast chicane type left hander.
Well 11:05 arrived and I was told , since I did not qualify , and I missed the second race on Saturday ( another story ) I got to start dead last in 22nd. I was overjoyed that I got this spot , thinking everyone else that was brilliant enough not to qualify in wet would be back there with me --- nope. I no sooner was heading to grid than I was waved down and told, " Sorry, but we screwed up , you actually need to start 23rd?" I , of course, responded, " Well , that is still DFL right, " and I got the cursory nod of the head.
So hanging in the back, on the parade lap, I took my sweet time looking for the wet spots and realized half the course , early on, would be like the slalom portion of an autocross, and turn 14 would be almost a dead stop zone , with turn 2 a hold on to your cojones jog. Get it right, though, and you could probably go through there at 9 tenths.
Flag drops and I patiently fall behind one of the quicker cars only passing one car into the early turns , as the last thing I wanted was to be punting other cars that locked horns going into the first turn ( notorious for being a boondoogle with over aggressive drivers). By the end of the first lap I had passed some of the other slower car classes and was viewing where everyone was driving? With damp areas all over the track the line established just meant early apexing some turns you normally waited a bit on, putting power down like a stone skipping over a lakes's surface, hammering on the dry areas, and watching the cars in front of you that were hesitant of confused. Of course there was the added excitement of spins from the over exuberant, and two modded Miatas got into it after I passed one , with the more aggressive pilot finding the concrete barrier - ouch.
Staying focused to the ever changing lines I even started hammering a couple of the curbings , as there was no sign of moisture there, and then I started laying into the brakes initializing the ABS on some turns to possibly get the max out of the solid speed zones. Excitement reigned when I was behind a American Iron Mustang and he blew his power steering hose , dumping fluid and the track got slick. After a little wiggle, I got to watch both the damp areas and move away from his line, till I could sneak around him, and fortunately that only wasted half a lap. Continued focusing on lapping vehicles, scoping my laps by how far ahead they appeared and working to see if I could catch them? Fortunately I must have been in that Zen moment , because the only thing , at my age, that seems similar is an afternoon nap, and I know I was not sleeping on the track. This was primarily due to another other exciting issue , my cool suit decided not to function right when I got to the line, so sauna sweatbox racing was trying to unhinge my mental awareness.
Finally , it seemed there was just another white Boss 302S in my line of vision and the race was winding down , and I felt I probably needed more time if I had any chance to catch him , and he was fast, so unlikely . Glancing over the last few laps of the race it did appear I was getting closer, but in a 30 minute race time was about up , and my old , hot , sweaty body was about up too.
Results seem to take awhile to pop up and since the cool suit was not working ( simple case of a hose that appeared to be connected , but was not fully engaged ), I was happy to sit in the trailer with a bag of ice around my head and shoulders and cool down. Couple of my Omaha area race buddies came over and told me I was on rails and that felt good, as only the second race of this year , and only the second race in the car I have finished ( electrical gremlins last year that ended up being only a oil pressure sensor mounted too close to the header).
Finally cooled down , I wandered up to the garage where the results were posted and noticed first was garnered by Jade Buford ( yes that Jade Buford ) in the PF Racing Mustang GT4, second was James Pesek ( co-driver with Jade in IMSA ), in another GT4, next was Laddie Pesek in the white Boss302S , on Pirellis, that ran Trans Am, and in the 4th spot was the old man from Blair, Nebraska in his ST2 Stang. To say that was a good day at the track was an understatement and I am looking for rain clouds at my next race? Hopefully there will be a dog nearby too , as I can't imagine where I might end up with that combination?
Sorry, and now you see why I didn't think it appropriate to discuss the crazy other incidents over the weekend, ha.
Well 11:05 arrived and I was told , since I did not qualify , and I missed the second race on Saturday ( another story ) I got to start dead last in 22nd. I was overjoyed that I got this spot , thinking everyone else that was brilliant enough not to qualify in wet would be back there with me --- nope. I no sooner was heading to grid than I was waved down and told, " Sorry, but we screwed up , you actually need to start 23rd?" I , of course, responded, " Well , that is still DFL right, " and I got the cursory nod of the head.
So hanging in the back, on the parade lap, I took my sweet time looking for the wet spots and realized half the course , early on, would be like the slalom portion of an autocross, and turn 14 would be almost a dead stop zone , with turn 2 a hold on to your cojones jog. Get it right, though, and you could probably go through there at 9 tenths.
Flag drops and I patiently fall behind one of the quicker cars only passing one car into the early turns , as the last thing I wanted was to be punting other cars that locked horns going into the first turn ( notorious for being a boondoogle with over aggressive drivers). By the end of the first lap I had passed some of the other slower car classes and was viewing where everyone was driving? With damp areas all over the track the line established just meant early apexing some turns you normally waited a bit on, putting power down like a stone skipping over a lakes's surface, hammering on the dry areas, and watching the cars in front of you that were hesitant of confused. Of course there was the added excitement of spins from the over exuberant, and two modded Miatas got into it after I passed one , with the more aggressive pilot finding the concrete barrier - ouch.
Staying focused to the ever changing lines I even started hammering a couple of the curbings , as there was no sign of moisture there, and then I started laying into the brakes initializing the ABS on some turns to possibly get the max out of the solid speed zones. Excitement reigned when I was behind a American Iron Mustang and he blew his power steering hose , dumping fluid and the track got slick. After a little wiggle, I got to watch both the damp areas and move away from his line, till I could sneak around him, and fortunately that only wasted half a lap. Continued focusing on lapping vehicles, scoping my laps by how far ahead they appeared and working to see if I could catch them? Fortunately I must have been in that Zen moment , because the only thing , at my age, that seems similar is an afternoon nap, and I know I was not sleeping on the track. This was primarily due to another other exciting issue , my cool suit decided not to function right when I got to the line, so sauna sweatbox racing was trying to unhinge my mental awareness.
Finally , it seemed there was just another white Boss 302S in my line of vision and the race was winding down , and I felt I probably needed more time if I had any chance to catch him , and he was fast, so unlikely . Glancing over the last few laps of the race it did appear I was getting closer, but in a 30 minute race time was about up , and my old , hot , sweaty body was about up too.
Results seem to take awhile to pop up and since the cool suit was not working ( simple case of a hose that appeared to be connected , but was not fully engaged ), I was happy to sit in the trailer with a bag of ice around my head and shoulders and cool down. Couple of my Omaha area race buddies came over and told me I was on rails and that felt good, as only the second race of this year , and only the second race in the car I have finished ( electrical gremlins last year that ended up being only a oil pressure sensor mounted too close to the header).
Finally cooled down , I wandered up to the garage where the results were posted and noticed first was garnered by Jade Buford ( yes that Jade Buford ) in the PF Racing Mustang GT4, second was James Pesek ( co-driver with Jade in IMSA ), in another GT4, next was Laddie Pesek in the white Boss302S , on Pirellis, that ran Trans Am, and in the 4th spot was the old man from Blair, Nebraska in his ST2 Stang. To say that was a good day at the track was an understatement and I am looking for rain clouds at my next race? Hopefully there will be a dog nearby too , as I can't imagine where I might end up with that combination?
Sorry, and now you see why I didn't think it appropriate to discuss the crazy other incidents over the weekend, ha.
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