NorCal/SoCal crossover in August

[Pat L.]

Hey all. I'm really excited about going up to Sears Point for the small bore crossover event. I just signed up a few days ago and noticed that transponder rentals were not available. I've been delaying the inevitable purchase of my own transponder, but just wanted to double check that they are sold out before I pull the trigger.

 

Also, I know it's a little early to start the NorCal/SoCal smack talk, but I would just like to note that NorCal has home field advantage, so no excuses when the SoCal guys come to hold court at Sears

 

BTW, I haven't driven Sears in a few months. Are there any track changes that us SoCal guys should know about?

 

Thanks

[Gumball]

Hello Pat,

 

There is no online transponder rentals up in in Norcal. I handle the transponder rentals for our TT'ers. Just drop me a note if you would like me to reserve one for you.

 

We too are looking forward to having the Socal drivers to run against. Just remember that Infineon has zippo runoff room. If you go off hard, there's a good chance you'll end up in a wall........ would hate to see your cars on tow trucks for the long journey back home.

 

That said, be prepared to have your butts kicked. Norcal Rules!

 

John

[Greg G.]

If John runs out of transponders and you need one, make sure to let me know so I can bring some of them from our region.

 

Also, who's butt is going to get kicked? I forgot who had the fastest time of the entire TT competition at Thunderhill last month. I think it was a TTC driver. Oh, I found it http://norcal.nasa-tt.com/Results%200505%20Thunderhill.htm

[Gumball]

Greg,

 

You mean an SRT4 beat the entire field? Hmmmmm....... you think it was the car or the driver?

[Greg G.]

Must have been the car --then again, "It's just a Neon".

[Pat L.]

Hello Pat,

 

There is no online transponder rentals up in in Norcal. I handle the transponder rentals for our TT'ers. Just drop me a note if you would like me to reserve one for you.

 

We too are looking forward to having the Socal drivers to run against. Just remember that Infineon has zippo runoff room. If you go off hard, there's a good chance you'll end up in a wall........ would hate to see your cars on tow trucks for the long journey back home.

 

That said, be prepared to have your butts kicked. Norcal Rules!

 

John

 

Touche'

 

Maybe it's all those big, scary walls that keep you guys from going fast up there? I'm resigned to the fact that my car will look better sitting in my trailer Saturday afternoon all smashed up from going into 10 early and backwards to the tune of a 1:4X than it will taking parade laps all weekend

 

Seriously though, NorCal knows how to put on a great event. The last time I ran at Sears with NASA was October '03... what a fantastic time!

 

BTW, I've decided to go ahead and purchase my own transponder. I wouldn't want to deprive any of the locals from getting their times recorded for future embarassment.

 

*Watch out for those wiley SoCal Sedans*

 

Heading towards 3a ->

 

[Pat L.]

By my count, here on the East Coast, we've got:

 

47 days

14 hours

20 minutes

 

Until the fun starts at Infineon!

 

 

 

Does John have new rubber for the wife's convertible?

[Gumball]

Hi Pat,

 

Nice meeting you down at Buttonwillow. You certainly have some boys that can drive down there. Congrats on the track record BTW.

 

According to my watch (PST):

 

46 days

23 hours

and 37 minutes until launch!

 

Looking forward to having you all with us up here at Infineon.

 

BTW......... What are you doin on the East Coast? Do you live there and fly in for the events or what?

 

Regards,

 

John

[Pat L.]

Likewise, John, nice to meet you. You've got one clean little mustang there! Looked like you were hussling it pretty good too.

 

Yes, I work in NYC at a small broker/dealer, and keep the toys at home in Bakersfield. So all I can do is talk smack on the internet since I can't be turning wrenches on the car ... it's my way of dealing with being stuck out here in the land of "hey you's" and "fuggetaboutit".

[Shawn M.]

So all I can do is talk smack on the internet since I can't be turning wrenches on the car ... it's my way of dealing with being stuck out here in the land of "hey you's" and "fuggetaboutit".

 

 

 

Well, as fast as your car is, you dont need to be wrenching on it!

(Passed me and my 2.Litres of furry on the front straight like I was standing still!)

 

Im around VW & Audi's alot at the track and I think im qualified to say you probably have one of the fastest Audi's on the west coast!

 

Cant wait for the Norcal event, I havent been there since One Lap of America 04!!

[Bart Carter]

Can anyone tell me what track accomodations there are? Can you overnight with a motorhome? Are there electric or other hookups? Do you need to pre-register a spot? Can you come in the day before?

 

Thanks

[Navid]

Hi Patrick,

 

It was nice meeting you at BW. Nice driving buddy!

 

Since I was unceremoniously kicked out of TTB, I'll be running in your group. So, bring it on! You'll be needing all of that 1:4x and then some!

 

Now, excuse me while I go look for some 18" slicks. If I'm running TTA, I might as well take advantage of the points I have to spare.

 

--Navid

[slock]

We stay there all the time in our Motor Home no problem. there are no hook-ups however. if you rent a garage you could run an extension cord to your rig parked in front.

 

No reservations (except garages) are taken, first come, first park. the gates are not always open the night before so check with the track if they will be open at your expected arrival time. if you make it before they close, usually you can stay the night.

 

If you arrive late, go past gate 1 to Gate 7. this is a large area where they allow you to RON untill the gates open the following morning. don't miss the gate or there is no place to u-turn with a rig for many miles.

[FocusTed]

I have now signed up for the event as well. Sounds like a lot of fun.

[Gumball]

Ted,

 

Looking forward to having you up here. Infineon is a great track.

 

Navid,

 

I will need you to submit a new classification form as you will be running in the Norcal region this time out. And, in a new class. Since you are on OUR side this time around, I'm still not sure how much to asess for the $8,000 Rally suspension. That is the fastest "stock" EVO I have ever seen.

 

John

[Navid]

John,

 

I'll be sure to fill a new classification form for you. Does Norcal go by a different set of rules across the board or just for the class the director runs in?

 

My car runs nationally with SCCA Solo II under "Street Prepared" rules. As such, it can't be modified beyond the rules in http://www.scca.org/_filelibrary/File/2005SoloRules.pdf

section 15. These rules are strickly enforced and do not change without going through an intestive process and gathering member comments. Also, if there is a change, competitors are given enough time to prepare for the change.

 

I never said my car was stock. I marked 25 point on my classification sheet at BW.

 

As for the "$8000 shocks", maybe I'll go back to my single adjustable $2K coilovers. I did 2:00.388 at TH on those. Unlike the ones I was testing, they are proven to work.

 

--Navid

[Bart Carter]

...I will need you to submit a new classification form as you will be running in the Norcal region this time out...

 

Do we need to check our classifications compared to where we are placed in SoCal?

[Pat L.]

Navid,

 

You better pick up some VHT to paint on those slicks cause that's about the only way you're going to carry enough speed off those corners to keep up on the straights

 

BTW, in case nobody knew... Vishnu's dyno is notorious for reading LOW. I'll bet my car wouldn't even make OEM power on his rollers

 

And what is everyone's problem with you running Motons? From what I've seen of their hardware you should get a couple points BACK! Too bad Penske doesn't dabble with McPherson strut cars... then we'd all have something to worry about.

 

Shawn,

 

Thanks for the compliment. We need to get some other Audi/VW guys out to the NASA events! We're out numbered by the pony cars and monster Evo/STI gang!

 

Ted,

 

How's the car? Did you upgrade to a carbon fiber hood?

[Gumball]

Bart,

 

No, you don't need to fill out a new form unless you have made changes that constitute a change of class. I trust that Greg has already signed off on all the Socal cars and that is good enough for me. Navid filled out his form in class TTB. Upon further review, his car was reclassified as TTA. And, I understand further mods are forthcoming.

 

Navid,

 

SCCA rules have nothing to do with us. Moreover, this is NOT racing. It is Time Trials, governed by NASA's TT/HPDE rules.

 

Yes, I am the king! No other cars can run in TTB except me....... in ANY region.

 

Seriously, the idea behind Time Trials is to bridge the gap between HPDE and racing. The goal is to have fun and put drivers on a level playing field to see who are the best drivers, not who are the best at stretching the rules. I would recommend that those folks quickly move on (or back) to racing.

 

In the interest of fairness, we have up-classed AND down-classed cars, regardless of the written rules. We would need a rule book larger than the Library of Congress to account for every option on nearly every make and model of car ever made.

 

For the record, you told me face to face, while looking at our lap times posted on the window, "No, it's stock. You can take a look at it". We did.

 

Regards,

 

John

[RX-Heven]

Hey all. Just chiming in to let you know I'll be at the Infineon event all weekend in TTA, pending inspection/confirmation from John.

I've run with NASA's group 4 on and off over the years but this will be my first TT event with them. Perhaps some of you will recognize me and/or my car.

 

btw, I've run 1:42 all day long at Infineon...in Star Mazdas

[Navid]

Navid,

 

You better pick up some VHT to paint on those slicks cause that's about the only way you're going to carry enough speed off those corners to keep up on the straights

 

 

You socal guys just care about the power. That may help you down that drag strip you call Willow Springs. Up here we have turns, lots of them.

 

--Navid

[Shawn M.]

You socal guys just care about the power. That may help you down that drag strip you call Willow Springs. Up here we have turns, lots of them.

 

--Navid

 

 

HAHA!! Yeah, all I care about is my 118hp to the wheels destroying lap rcord power! Me loves da turns!!!

[Gumball]

Dave,

 

Check your inbox when you get a chance.

 

John

[Navid]

SCCA rules have nothing to do with us. Moreover, this is NOT racing. It is Time Trials, governed by NASA's TT/HPDE rules.

 

Doesn't matter who publishes the rules. They are published for a reason. This way the competitors know where they stand and can prepare their cars accordingly. They should not be modified at the track because someone is going too fast.

 

Seriously, the idea behind Time Trials is to bridge the gap between HPDE and racing. The goal is to have fun and put drivers on a level playing field to see who are the best drivers, not who are the best at stretching the rules. I would recommend that those folks quickly move on (or back) to racing.

 

First, let me thank you for making a newcomer feel welcome. Always a good recepe for success! I didn't attend the TT at BW to stretch the rules. I registered Saturday morning as the Sti we were testing that day broke down. I didn't even classify the car until mid-day.

 

FYI, I'm not new to time trials. I would suggest checking the results of the 2002 Open Track Challenge. I won Touring 2 and beat all the Z06's on every track with my e46 M3 with bone stock engine. Based on your logic, my car would have been reclassified. But Ryan and John Lindsey understand the difference between a fast car and a fast driver. Instead I got the overachiever award for the event.

 

In the interest of fairness, we have up-classed AND down-classed cars, regardless of the written rules. We would need a rule book larger than the Library of Congress to account for every option on nearly every make and model of car ever made.

 

Fairness to whom? To be fair to everybody, you need to follow the written rules, regarless of the thickness of the rulebook. OTC rules are not extensive, but you will not see them change dring or after an event. Everybody has to know where they stand with the rules when they show up to an event.

 

For the record, you told me face to face, while looking at our lap times posted on the window, "No, it's stock. You can take a look at it". We did.

 

For the record, you said that car was not a TTB car before even looking at it. That's an opinion that was based solely on laptimes. Is that fair? I have a bone-stock engine, turbo, diffs (all 3 of them), and tranny. I also have a bone stock interior. I have stock brake calipers and rotors with Ferodo street pads. When you ask about a track car, that's as "stock" as they come. If my car was bone stock, it would run TTC. That's not were I classified it.

 

--Navid

[Gumball]

Navid,

 

Please see my responses below:

 

Doesn't matter who publishes the rules. They are published for a reason. This way the competitors know where they stand and can prepare their cars accordingly. They should not be modified at the track because someone is going too fast.

 

As I said, there are simply too many variables to write them all in the rule book. However, the rules DO cover this type of situation...........

 

OEM special edition cars that are not listed under the base classifications need to be verified with the Regional TT Director to determine the correct base class. New cars will be classified as they enter competition on a provisional basis. Any changes to classifications will be done through rule revisions or Technical Bulletins released on nasaforums.com in the Time Trial section.

 

First, let me thank you for making a newcomer feel welcome. Always a good recepe for success!

 

I am sorry if you don't feel welcome, just outlining the facts.

 

I didn't attend the TT at BW to stretch the rules. I registered Saturday morning as the Sti we were testing that day broke down. I didn't even classify the car until mid-day.

 

I did not acuse you of stretching the rules. Just stating that it is a mindset common to "racing."

 

FYI, I'm not new to time trials. I would suggest checking the results of the 2002 Open Track Challenge. I won Touring 2 and beat all the Z06's on every track with my e46 M3 with bone stock engine.

 

Wow!

 

Based on your logic, my car would have been reclassified.

 

No, I would only reclassify you if you filled out your form incorrectly or had modifications to make your car faster that were not yet listed in the rule book.

 

 

But Ryan and John Lindsey understand the difference between a fast car and a fast driver.

 

Now you get it. That is precisely what we are trying to determine.

 

Instead I got the overachiever award for the event.

 

Wow again!

 

Fairness to whom?

 

Fairness to the other drivers in your class. So that if they are beaten, it is by a better driver and not a better car. Again, a distinction we are trying to make between Racing and Time Trialing.

 

To be fair to everybody, you need to follow the written rules, regarless of the thickness of the rulebook. OTC rules are not extensive, but you will not see them change dring or after an event. Everybody has to know where they stand with the rules when they show up to an event.

 

This is not OTC, this is the NASA Time Trials. We do follow the rules, refer to the passage above. Moreover, you can always petition if you are unhappy with the Director's decision.

 

For the record, you said that car was not a TTB car before even looking at it. That's an opinion that was based solely on laptimes. Is that fair?

 

I saw it on the track and I saw the lap times. My opinion, it turns out, was correct. Sorry.

 

I have a bone-stock engine, turbo, diffs (all 3 of them), and tranny. I also have a bone stock interior. I have stock brake calipers and rotors with Ferodo street pads. When you ask about a track car, that's as "stock" as they come. If my car was bone stock, it would run TTC. That's not were I classified it.

 

You are entitled to your opinion as to what "stock" means. To me, it means unmodified. Your car has over 30 modification points.

 

John