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So, help me try to understand. There were no brooms available to fix the finish on Sunday? If I were there and noticed the finish sand-dunes, would I be prevented by some rule from sweeping it away during the coursewalk? If not, stop complaining and grab a broom! It's not like the sand suddenly appeared just before the first car of the day was launched.

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James Plotkin
'05 FSP Echo

atcovan:

So, help me try to understand. There were no brooms available to fix the finish on Sunday? If I were there and noticed the finish sand-dunes, would I be prevented by some rule from sweeping it away during the coursewalk? If not, stop complaining and grab a broom! It's not like the sand suddenly appeared just before the first car of the day was launched.

 You know what happens when you assume right?

 I got exactly one course walk sunday morning before I ran.  I arrived only a few minutes after the site opened and had to get the car ready and to the scales to be weighed before I could walk the course.  Why?  Because the scales were never made available on saturday.  I spent most of my course walking time sunday morning sitting behind other cars being weighed that ran in heats 4 and 5. 

 By the time I was weighed and on grid, I bearly had time for one walk and that gave me no time to figure what line I would be using on the approach to the finish.  That section of the course was approached deep into 3rd gear in my car.  It was VERY fast there.  I never got a chance to find the line until I arrived there on my first run.  By then, two feet wide of the clean line and you were backwards.

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Steve Hoelscher
#27 DP - Toyota MR2
2006 DP National Champion
'98, '99, '00, '02 DSP National Champion
http://www.terriehoward.com

OK, the grab a broom comment was a bit harsh, given your situation. Not having scales the day before and waiting in line behind later run-group folks who shouldn't have been there was a very unfortunate deal for you. My question still stands... Where were the other drivers who could have helped clear the sand?

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James Plotkin
'05 FSP Echo

atcovan:

... Where were the other drivers who could have helped clear the sand?

 

I don't know.  I even stayed late saturday to walk the course.  By the time it was done we ended up walking in the dark.  Rober Carpenter had a flashlight but its still hard to choose a line when there is only two gates and you really need to drive a line way out in space to setup for the righthander into the finish.    Maybe they didn't drive my line?

With the rain in first heat saturday an unusual amount of sand was dropped on the outside of the first two turns.  So when running the opposite direction, you needed a wider approach than the exit from the previous day.  That put me right into the edge of a prominent line of sand. 

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Steve Hoelscher
#27 DP - Toyota MR2
2006 DP National Champion
'98, '99, '00, '02 DSP National Champion
http://www.terriehoward.com

 

A sweeper was run over the Sat course.  I thought I missed them running it over the Sunday course.

There were other drivers on slicks spinning off to oblivion in the first run group Sunday.  Looks like I shared the same line with Steve.  Went from pretty good grip to ice in a split second.  My head is 2ft off the ground and from that angle can't see the sand from inside the car.  I even had folks asking me if my tires were shot.  Nope, perfect R25A's.  After near 2 years of 1^st run group, always sweeping the national tour courses with my slicks, not having any fun because of lack of grip, I'll never return to a national tour first run group in a mod or prepared car.  I'll spend my entertainment dollars someplace else.  If the first run group at S Ga is like Tokepa now, I definitely wont go to nationals either.   Ice racing is fun, but not when you desire and expect grip.  I had more fun on sat. wet course.

Does anyone actually read the comments on the solo event evaluation form?  I think I've calmed down enough to be semi-civil in my reply.

TedV:

 

A sweeper was run over the Sat course.  I thought I missed them running it over the Sunday course.

 

Darrin was driving the track's sweeper on saturday but it ran out of fuel before he could finish.  It used diesel and the track didn't have any more.  So the sunday course never got swept.

I don't understand why the NT and PS equipment list doesn't include a blower? 

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Steve Hoelscher
#27 DP - Toyota MR2
2006 DP National Champion
'98, '99, '00, '02 DSP National Champion
http://www.terriehoward.com