Sorry I haven't posted earlier, but it's been a busy time! Last week I returned from the NASA Nationals at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and wanted to give a teaser of the experience. As you might guess, there will be more articles about this in future issues of Nissan Sport Magazine, so I can't give it all away! So, with apologizes for blatantly copying Dave90TT's lead, here goes:

The Good

Mid-Ohio has to be one of America's truly great road racing tracks. This year NASA used the 13-turn 2.25 mile circuit that omitted the chicane just before the 180 degree turn called the Keyhole. Like so other great tracks, the surface is smooth as glass and the circuit had been repaved since the last time I'd raced there at the SCCA Runoffs. It's very much a technical track, with lots of time to be found in linked turns that climb and swoop with multiple elevation and camber changes.

It's always a joy to be back at sea level and my Z felt much more powerful with NA power. Speeds were at triple digits at several points around the circuit and the demand on brakes high.

I decided to DRIVE my Redline Z to the event and test the new Cobalt Friction XR2 pads and Hankook Z214 R-compounds during the tirme trial event. It was a adventure just making the 1,300 mile trek east and I always enjoy driving that route. I did have to dismount my street tires when I got there and NASA RM's Dave Balingit was kind enough to take the R-compounds (and some tools) back with him in his trailer.

Mid-Ohio has nicely manicured hills with lots of trees around the circuit. It really is like a park! A great deal of the paddock is paved and the facilities are fist rate. Since NASA (and before them, SCCA) pours so much into the local community, the local Chamber of Commerce had a hospitality tent to offer assistance. Little did I know how much I'd need that...

The Bad

After getting to the track on Wednesday and getting my Z through registration and tech, I worked on getting the tires and wheels remounted. Those Z214s got their first heat cycle just driving back and forth to the hotel. I noticed that, even with time trials, NOBODY else brought a street car to this event. Purpose-built cars with some people 'supersizing' their race entries by also running time trial classes as well. These guys were serious!

As many of you know, I had my left knee reconstructed about eight weeks ago. What they don't tell you is that your OTHER knee takes a beating (particularly when you're schlepping tires/wheels, etc.) when you start walking again.

On Thursday morning (after the first of the mandatory download sessions each day), I turned and heard/felt my right knee pop. Grabbing it, I was lucky to be close enough to the car to sit down. It was so sore- I found I couldn't put any weight on it. My surgically repaired left knee wasn't up to taking much additional strain either. So here I was, just minutes before my group would go out for their first warmup session on track- what to do!?

The Ugly

Here I was, almost three days and 1,300 miles away from home and I couldn't even friggin' stand! I sat in the driver's seat and tried to hold down my panic. I found that my throttle foot and ankle still functioned OK and if I didn't bear weight, my right leg felt OK.

I decided I wasn't a risk to driver safety, but that it might be a problem if I made a mistake or spun off and got stuck. 'No mistakes!' was my mantra as I put on my helmet and went out to the pregrid. That first session was a warmup, but NASA still kept times. I ended up turning a 1:44.413 fast lap, almost as quick as I'd done in a 1200cc tubeframe SCCA race car! Felt a lot better afterwards, but I still couldn't walk afterwards. Two cars in the other time trial group had gone off, one in a big way. At the following download session, we all heard about it.

Had the knee checked out by the EMT crew and they gave me an instant ice bag and some Motrin after I declined their offer to sample their shiny ambulance ride to the hospital. I ended up doing the next two sessions on
Thursday and clipped a few tenths off each time out. Clearly, I could still drive!

The Mansfield County welcome party was that night and I ended up asking for a wheelchair so I could get around at the dinner looking up at everybody, but those are the breaks. I'll spare you the story of how I got into the hotel that night- let's just say that I tipped for extra ice bags and to get the Z parked in the lot!

Friday saw my knee(s) getting better. A call to my doctor and PT found they advised me to keep working the knee and not try using crutches with my (surgically-repaired) knee doing the work. The next few sessions went well as I tried working on the section they call 'madness' (turns 5-9); making sure my inputs were as smooth as possible and keeping my foot firmly planted on the throttle through it all! I was now into the 1:43's (faster than any lap I'd ever turned at M-O before) and looking for more!

Saturday was the final day of the time trial competition. The leaders in the TTB class were out of sight, but I focused on breaking into the 1:42s by small touches. M-O is a track that responds to balance and flow. Throwing a car around only scrubs off speed and puts you in a bad position for the following turns. I moved from a 1:42.146 to a 1:41.655 by the end of the day. Speeds at the end of the back straight were up to 131 MPH on the digital gauge before I STOOD on the brakes and blipped down to third for the following turn. I ended up finishing only sixth (out of seven) in class, but felt ecstatic about the consistent progress I'd made in three days!

I'd also met some new friends, some of whom offered to help me get the tires swapped and stuff put away before I left the track that night. Some of the other NASA Rocky Mountain entrants had fared better in their class finishes and we all celebrated their success. As I packed away the last of my belongings, another group was loading a heavily smashed Porsche 944/924 onto a trailer. There were other race cars with significant damage that had owners or crews woring on them to get them ready for the next days' races. Reminded me of what racers everywhere-F1, CART, Grand-Am, etc.-do when they're chasing a championship!

In conclusion, l'd happily recommend this kind of serious adventure to any of the SW forum members. NASA is clearly working to refine and improve their National Championship event and M-O is a track that has to be driven to be believed! The amount of time on track is significant and is a great deal for $400 over three days. Lots of great people from all over the country and a beautiful time of the year to travel cross-country. Just be aware of how deep the water is and remember to drive within your limits, without getting your ego too bent out of shape.

Look for more details (technical and otherwise) on this adventure in the Nissan Sport website and the pages of future issues!

 

With every thread, you reaffirm our belief in your stellar driving abilities. You sir, are a racing fanatic and I respect the hell out of that. Congratulations on another fantastic trip and best wishes for a speedy healing.

P.S.: Do we know any of the other NASA drivers from the RM region? Members here? What sort of vehicles did they bring?

 

JGary, GaryM05, and myself are the other NASA members on the forums; none of us went to the Nationals, because we all run in the HPDE classes, although Gary also does TTC (I think, might be TTD or TTB). As far as I know, there are no HPDE events at the Nationals. Next year, I am seriously think about getting into TT, but the probelm is that my G35 would never be competitive because of the class it falls into with the non factory turbo system.

David, thanks for the great review, and no problem with stealing my lead off line! Hope the knee is doing better.

See you on Friday!

Dave

 

Thanks for the kudos, but the only way to really affirm any driving ability is to ride along, or get out on the track with me! LOL

This trip did turn out to be one of those "uh oh- I'm screwed!" to "well, that wasn't too bad" kind of adventures.

Only two RM NASA time trial entries this year- I believe I was the first to go from Colorado and the other was from New Mexico (Sam in a TTC Boxter). Most of the RM NASA drivers were in Big Iron- vettes, camaros, etc.

 

Just a quick note on GaryM05- he ran TTC most of this year and his Z was the car to beat! I think he's the 2007 TTC NASA RM Champ! Jgray is not far behind and I forsee you having fun in NASA Time Trials SOON.

Consider going just for the experience. Let your own performance from day-to-day be your benchmark and you won't go wrong. I understand wanting to be competitive, and I even went into this hoping my past experience at M-O would give me an advantage.

It helped, but the guys who won were paying for testing the week before. Track rentals are in the neighborhood of $1500/day! They also had well-developed, dedicated track cars with multiple sets of R-compounds to throw down. It didn't hurt my feelings that I didn't win- I put in the best and most consistent sessions I could and came away with a clean and shiny car to drive home. The Z remains my trophy.

Just got back from PT and the knee(s) are doing better. I'll see you Friday!

 

Wow - sounds like quite an adventure! I've been wondering how everything went. I was able to keep somewhat up-to-date during the event by watching the live timing and scoring online, but just seeing numbers on a screen doesn't tell the whole story (such as the fact that it doesn't tell that the driver of the #7 TTB car is clicking off personal best laps while being unable to even WALK!!!!) Sorry to hear about the misfortune, but in true dkmura fashion, it sounds like you didn't let that get you down at all...great job!

What a heroic effort...sorry I couldn't be there to help out. Mid-Ohio is on my top 3 list of tracks that I'd like to drive someday (along with Watkins Glen and Barber Motorsports Park), and I had really wanted to make the trip out this year. As disappointing as it was for other responsibilities to keep me away this year, reading this review makes me feel like I was there...great writing, as always!

As for the TTC Rocky Mountain Championship, I'm not going to count those chickens just yet - there are still 2 events left, and I don't know that I'll be able to make either one of those. It's not too late in the year for somebody else to take the championship, since there's been a lot of TOUGH competition this year, and I can lose a lot ground in the points if I can't even show up to at least one of those events.

Dave90TT - it would be awesome if you could run TT next year. Don't worry about the aftermarket Turbo putting you into a higher class, as some of the cars in those classes aren't as quick as you would think (as long as Clayton doesn't bring back his criminally-fast Evo next year!) It would be great to have you (and Joel and anyone else who wants to compete) out there in TT next year. You would have a great time, and I think you'd do really well!

 

You should come out to a NASA event sometime - there are 2 more this year, and there will be a ton of them next year. NASA will take you all the way from your first day ever on track, all the way up to racing wheel-to-wheel for a National Championship. They really are a very user-friendly organization.

As others have said on this thread, there are several of us who frequent the NASA events, so you'd surely find a friendly group of local Z owners to hang out with (not that the other NASA members aren't just as friendly, though...like our local Z group, the best thing about a NASA weekend is all of the great people you'll meet!)

 

Echo what Gary said, while the Z drivers are great, and I spent my first NASA event hanging with the Z drivers, there were no Z drivers at the Hastings event I went to the next time, and I met a lot of great people, and hung with them at that event. Very great crowd all around!

Dave

 

One of the other competitors I met at this years' NASA Nationals was a racer I'll call Dave. Dave had been a longtime SCCA member, who got out of the sport and was just trying to get back in. He purchased and modified a second gen CRX Si and was campaigning TTD (or E?) and had recently rebuilt the motor.

The Bad

First session out, yellow flags start popping just beyond the exit of the Carousel. It's Dave and he's off to driver's right just before the bridge that precedes T1; which is almost flat-out, third gear turn. After the session, he finds that the engine has been "windowed", with TWO holes on the side of the block where the engine comprehensively destroyed itself.

The Good

The next day, I limp over and help Dave get his rig hooked up. He's not headed back to NM, instead he's found a local Ohio Honda guy to help him out. They're going to pull an all-nighter to install another engine with the aim to be back for the last day of time trials and set a Banzai time. There's electricity in the air- this is the stuff of legend: impossible odds to beat and pulling victory out of the craggy mouth of defeat! You can practically hear the symphony rising as he bravely sets out to do the improbable. Go Dave, GO!

The Ugly

It doesn't start out that way- on Saturday morning Dave is back in the pits (all the RM NASA drivers paddocked together). He's a bit woozy, but caught a few hours on the way back from the 24 hr engine swap. Ready to go, he'll start from the rear of the grid, since he never set any times.

This session found me dueling with another BMW M3 that was two tenths quicker than my Z. After probing for a few laps, I was set to draft and pass him for a quicker lap down the backstraight. But as we exit the Keyhole, my peripheral vision picks up some smoke in the distance. I immediately back off and drop back; giving myself room to manuever.

It's Dave: his CRX is pouring smoke out the engine compartment as he parked it on the grass just past the start/finish line. There's a greasy smear where he managed to pull off the track and keep the mess to a minimum. Engine #2 has gone bye-bye.

Back in the paddock, I talk to Dave and he's remarkably sanguine about the whole episode. He says some stuff about maybe putting the car back together and just selling it- getting out of the sport altogether. I told him that he fought the good fight and used his past racing experience to get off the racing surface and to a safer area in both instances. A calm, thoughtful guy, he's a racer who's facing a crossroads. I suggested he take some time before he makes the decision to retire. Hopefully, we'll see him out at some RM NASA events next year...