Traveled here from Colorado to race yet another T2 350Z in the Performance Touring 'B' (PTB) class. There's several classes racing in the 'D' race group and lots of (crowded) track time to be had.

We're grouped with all the big bore unlimited cars: turbo BMW E36 and E46 M-cars, Porsche 911 and 930 turbos, 996/997s, a big block Morgan(complete with wing and ground effects undertray), ACR Vipers, World Challenge Vettes and fully prepped tubeframe GT1 cars mixed in with tiny sportsracers (Hayabusa power). There's even a Grand Am Daytona prototype racing in the Super Unlimited category! The PTB group looks to be the slowest on track and while the Z has the brakes and handling to match almost anything out there, top-end is another matter.

Incredible, but incredibly dangerous!

Hard to get a 'clean' lap in even during today's practice sessions. Once we start racing (Friday and Saturday qualifying races, with Sunday being the National Championship), you've gotta be on your game!

David Muramoto
Editor-in-Chief
Nissan Sport Magazine

 

I sympathize. You feel like you're spending more time looking in the mirrors then out the front windshield. SCCA once grouped sports racers with open wheel cars during a qualifying for a divisional. The Formula Atlantic cars were 34 seconds per lap faster then me in my SRF and had a 70 mph speed difference at the end of the longest straight.

 

PTB is going to be a tough place for a T2 car to compete in.
Good luck out there!

 

Thanks for the thoughts, guys! Yep, I really brought a butter knife to a machine gun fight this time...

 

You can always hope for the 30 car pileup in turn 1 right after the green flag... Oops, wait. You're not running SM.

 

Good luck David!!! I'll be watching the live timing and scoring feed during your races to see how things are going.

Go get 'em!!!

 

Good luck David! I know that you will represent the Z well.

-Rob

 

I know it's racing... but it just makes me cringe as an organizer thinking about those kinds of speed and vehicle disparities.

Good luck!!

 

It's a quandry--as a competitor I love track time and NASA delivers. Each day at M-O, there are essentially three sessions spread out throughout each day. When the Runoffs was here, you got ONE session a day, albiet with fewer cars and classes (usually two) on track each session.

NASA makes it clear that it's up to the skill and judgement of each competitor to avoid contact on-track. Now that it's started raining cats-and-dogs, we'll see how well that works during the race...

 

Oh no doubt NASA is by far the absolute best at cramming 20 lbs of whatever in a 5 lb bag... and they do it well (at least as far as the race competitors are concerned... personally, I feel the DE crowd gets shafted in some cases, but I know too that varies region to region.) I don't organize or participate in any W2W stuff... if I did, I'm sure I'd probably have a different stance (to a point.)

 

Thank you Rob. Coming from a fellow SCCA competitor who has represented the 350Z so well, that's quite a compliment.

 

Gary--Miss you out here buddy! Sorry that work has gotten in the way again. You would have laughed--seeing me reset the swaybar for the wet--as the rain poured down. I've already taken TWO showers this morning!

 

Good luck David! Be safe.

 

Friday was the first day of a long weekend of rain. After getting the wet setup on the Z, I found myself getting sideways at the exit of almost every turn! I had nothing for the PTB cars around me, but ended up dicing with a PTA Vette and ST BMW at the back of the field.

Slid off 2X, once on the warmup lap of qualifying, then again on the final lap of the qualifying race. Brakes would lock (my ABS is MIA) going into T5 and despite much pedal pumping and knashing of teeth, I went straight into China Beach. Do you know how much gravel and mud gets lodged into the trays and bottom of a 350Z? I do...unfortunately.

Saturday's warmup was better and I'm about to start qualifying with a optimistic outlook. More later...

 

man I would totally wanna go watch you race, it's about a 4 hr drive. Too bad I'm busy this weekend and the 24 hr of lemons is in toledo also.

Good luck!

 

Good luck Dave! Be fast, but be safe. You have a Bambi vs Godzilla placement with some of those other cars, but you obviously have the skill and experience to go out there and get the best out of what you have, and to do it in a very challenging environment. I would not wish that kind of concentration challenge on anyone who did not have the experience and judgment that you do. It is always much easier, though just as stressful, being in a much faster car and having to get by the driver in the slower car...hoping he/she is attentive to their mirrors and aware of your approach. Presenting yourself for the pass can be pretty darn hairy when it puts you right in the wheel spray of the car in front on a wet track! Looking forward to getting another of your great posts when it is over, and hopefully some pictures too.

Cheers,
Ed

 

The Sunday race dawned overcast, but clear. That meant resetting swaybars and shocks and getting the dry Toyo R888s ready for action. There were THREE pacecars for each start groups (SU/ST1-ST2-PTA/PTB) and at least it looked like it was going to work with clean starts about 15 seconds apart. That lasted right up to the time I had to bail on making a move into T5 when the waving yellow came out. Just over the hill into Madness a Panoz had the nose ripped off and fiberglass and parts spread across the track. Driver seemed OK, but was waving his arms as we passed by. The debris was too much to clean up and the NASA officials decided to red flag the start and get the track right.

After about ten minutes (remember, NASA races are run on a strict time schedule), we got a single file green start. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good launch off the Keyhole and found my competition disappearing into the distance. At least my Z was well-balanced after I softened the front bar when I reconnected it.

As Eagle1 points out, I was checking my mirrors every lap for signs of the Super Unlimited cars coming around. Ed is correct in saying that it's better to be the fast guy lapping folks than the other way around. At least it's more fun! Still, I drove the racing line cleanly when they showed up and stayed to one side to allow the leaders through. Just to be sure, I signaled with arm/hand gestures to indicate the side they were to pass on.

It was actually exhillerating to see the SU guys come flying by! First the V-8 Morgan, than a SP Vette and the Grand-Am Daytona Prototype with Porsche power. It was like a chess game, trying to set guys up with a clean opportunity at a point where it wouldn't force me off line. Most of the fast guys showed patience through Madness or Thunder Valley, where a clean pass is difficult, As more cars came through, there were sections I stayed to one side of the track to allow entire packs through without disrupting their dices. I had my own battles as well, first with a slowing Super Production car that didn't want to be passed and later a Grand American roadster (yeah, it was that varied) that came back to play.

Still, the facts remain that I was pretty outgunned in this field. Overall, I finished in 38th place (out of 52 who started the weekend) and 5th in class as the checkered flag fell. Looking back, I consider it to be a positive to not only drive well, but (again, Ed's words) use my experience to avoid disrupting the flow of this race. Besides, if I can drive the slowest car in the field with no mistakes, maybe karma will someday allow me the chance to be at the sharp end once again! As I loaded the Nissan Sport 350Z into the trailer and left Mid-Ohio without a scratch on her, that's gotta be considered somewhat of a success...

 

http://www.theracesite.com/index.cfm...m_photo_num=12

 

Sounds like you did well, all things considered, learned some more driving skills (not that YOU need any more), had some fun, and came away without any damage. I'd call that a win!

 

Thanks for the link! I was crewing/driving/wrenching by myself this weekend and didn't have any chance to get any pics. BTW- take a close look at this shot and you'll see it's in the wet. The Z is already sliding laterally (probably the exit of the Keyhole) and I'm trying to feather the throttle to put down the power.