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Nationals Updates


Tony G

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Dave and Glenn: With all due respect to both of you, GET ON THE DAMN PHONE! This internet shit is old already and getting you no place. In fact, it's most certainly making it worse.

 

With egos in check and motives pure, you'll surely work it out.

 

Glenn - (214) 869-9603

Dave - (480) 459-8343

 

rb

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that there shows you dont know the CCR. once my wheel is at your door, i have every right to be beside you. there is no "rights to the line" at that point. its clear i'm door handle to door handle when contact is made. if your 5ft from the left of the track, i can keep you 5 ft from the left the whole way around the track if i so choose. in fact, i only have to let you keep 3/4 of a car if i have my front tire at your door. i was clearly farther forward of that. i also clearly left you w/ all the track you had the entire time.

like i said, you need to read the CCR.

 

Ok Glenn... this only proves my point with your wording of 'only need to... and 'I can keep you'... again... it's a difference of driving etiquette.

 

And you did not allow me to maintain my line, you drove my car further to the left... when we were both turning right... and this is only 1 of 3 instances... what about going down the back straight... just the two of us... and you're again... driving your car over into my line... forcing me to the very left?? To the point of rubbing cars again? Please let me know who is attempting to be the bully.

 

I'm sorry we disagree on the occurences...

 

As to the comment during practice... I displayed the exact etiquette... you came back across track... when you admitted you blew the corner up to 8, I locked up my brakes, and swerved out of your way... and our bumpers barely touched. Had the roles been reversed... you would have kept your car there... at that point it 'would have' been at your door (not on the brakes)... and said 'I only had to give you 3/4 a car'.

 

Just different strokes for different folks.

 

Dave

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Adam, are you/could you do a review of post race/pre race tech?

 

Sure - I'd be glad to. Just got back from Mid-O this morning, got some bid-nid to handle, then later today/tonight, I can post what we teched for each car, after each session, what was found on each car, etc. Todd/Tony/Al and I put our thinking caps on prior to this event, and created a spreadsheet that contained what we were going to tech after each session (practice, qual, qual race).

 

Everything, from every car we tech'd, was logged by myself as the Race Director, Don as the Series Director, and the tech shed.

 

To put it mildly - NASA's rock'n tech folks were very busy after our run group came off track each day (except Thursday....I decided to be Mr. Nice Guy).

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Can I just say It is this type of post that keeps a lot of guys away from the nationals.

 

It's supposed to be fun and each year the nationals turn into a WWE Smack Down.

 

For the ten guys that went this year your not making a good point for any one to head to Miller next year.

 

It can't of been all bad. This is like watching the 9.00 news. You guys are just proving the point that it is more fun to play in your own back yard with your friends than go play with a bunch of strangers half way across the country.

 

Just one of the Arrogant east coaster POV...

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It can't of been all bad.

 

Trust me - it wasn't. There was some excellent, very tight/close racing. I'm very proud of our group, and how well, overall, they raced.

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"In summary, I just want to say that this is extremely disheartening and depressing to a hopefully future CMC driver. I was really looking forward to being competitive, but at the same time very respectful, of fellow racers. This kind of crap is not something I look forward to dealing with."

 

Cozog

Dont get discouraged, this is by far not normal. CMC is a fantastic class and I love it!!

 

Look at the results for the race and the top 7 of the 8 cars where something like 1.1 seconds apart. Dave B was running fast times earlier in the week so I am assuming he had some car issues in the race. So the entire field was basically with in a second and a half. Compare that to spec Miata or American Iron.

 

Even with the occasional drama the nationals is a great event and I would encourage everyone to go at least once. Meeting people from all over country and racing with them is a fantastic expirience.

Mix together a lot of time invested, egos, close racing, National Championships, and a little adrenaline to top it off and you are going to get a little drama. But it is all good and we just need to step back and remember why we race. To have fun and compete in a sportsman like manner.

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Definitely don't get discouraged, it's one race... crap happens.

 

The entire week was a bunch of fun... and their was some drama during the final event.

 

It would be good to see more people attend Nats... I believe 1st Place for the CMC Championship was $300 in Toyo Bucks... the same I get for a weekend of wins locally.

 

AI Paid more for 5th place!

 

Let's get back to 2006 numbers... at a MINIMUM 20+ Car field.. we have the most affordable racing (if you can call it that... affordable that is)

 

And honestly... a great group of guys. For me... AI was much more exciting w/ 20 Cars... 8 in CMC has got to change... our class is better than that. I'm hoping w/ the move to Miller we see 30 Cars next year... between TX, CA, & CO... ALONE!!!

 

Peace,

Dave

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Good gosh and I thought when I left the series the drama would go away. NOT!

 

Glad you all were having "fun" during the weekend burning all that fuel for fun/entertainment when some (myself included), after having surgery the week before, were out driving 150mi. looking for an open gas station or grocery store for food/water in order to survive after Ike. (yeah, had plenty of stuff stocked away, except Ike had other plans for it all) No power expected for 2-4 weeks.

 

WTG gang!

 

Yeah.. QQ on my behalf, but those that know me can read between the lines.

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I guess because I missed Nat's I've got some pent up energy, but I'm just itching to chime in.....

 

Hey, I'm one of those newbies that spent most of last year looking for a place to race. Started from nothing (and I mean nothing) and in one year got my car, got my comp license, got my car crunched, got absolutely spanked by the gang, got my lap times down, got my first win, and had about as much fun as I've had as an adult human. I was blown away by the (close) times in CMC at Nat's and, "issues" aside, I expect the video's are going to show one of the best races we're ever going to see (watched NAPCAR lately?), and WE GET TO ACTUALLY GET IN THE CARS AND GO VROOM, VROOM! For those of you lurking and wondering if you should get involved...DO IT!! I don't regret for a minute choosing CMC and really look forward to the reunification of the class and a growing field here in the Midwest.

 

Kudos to those of you that sucked it up this year and towed to Nat's....and to all of us that make the race weekends something special. Local, Regional, National....who cares? Let's go race!

 

KO

 

Kent Owens #30 'Bluebird' with the "keep the pointy end forward" big orange arrow on the (new) nose.

Midwest CMC rookie driver and proud of it.

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2008 Nats Tech:

 

Thursday: practice day, no tech done. All dyno sheets had to be provided to the Race Director no later than prior to Friday qual. Each competitors dyno sheet, and CMC dyno spec sheet had to be signed by the RD. CMC dyno tech sheet had to be 100% completely filled out, or it was not accepted. Once each sheet was signed, that was the ONLY dyno sheet that would be accepted at impound. If a competitor chose to redyno on their own, they could bring the new dyno and tech sheet to the RD for signature, but it was not required. Meaning, they could redyno if they so chose, but they didn't have to get the sheets signed if the new numbers essentially matched the original dyno numbers - it was left to the competitor.

 

As competitors exited the track, those selected for impound and/or dyno were handed an official NASA impound card, and dyno card. They were required to go to tech, and submit those cards. The card was marked with "WEIGHT" for a weigh in only, or "WEIGHT/HOLD" for weight and tech. If a competitors card showed "WEIGHT/HOLD", they could only be released from tech by the Group A Race Director.

 

The RD and SD kept a log of each competitor selected. Tech logged each competitor that came to tech, then we cross referenced. The impound cards were marked with the car's weight, then returned to the RD. Any competitor that did not come to tech after being handed an impound card was penalized/DQ'd (this did not happen in our race group).

 

ANY vehicle could come to tech to weigh on their own if they so desired - this was highly encouraged to ALL competitors.

 

Below is how things went for the CMC drivers:

 

Friday:

Practice - weighed #70 and #03. Checked dyno sheets against weights. No infractions.

 

Qual - weighed and teched #75, #67, and #35. Tech'd for OEM injectors, rating and fuel rails. No infractions.

 

Friday Qual race - weighed and teched #75, #18 and #95. Pole sitter #75 was re-dyno'd (he also happened to be the race winner). No infractions.

 

Saturday:

Practice - weighted and teched #35 and #03. Tech'd for sway bar diameter and factory style end links (CMC Rule 8.36.13). 1 infraction (sway bar too large), no penalty issued as this was a practice session. Driver replaced sway bar with a legal unit prior to qualifying (I verified this myself, as I helped find him a replacement which was measured prior to installation. Big thanks to Corey Weber of Agent 47!).

 

Qual - weighed and teched #16, #75 and #70. Weight only for #67 and #18. Tech'd for legal battery and ballast (CMC Rule 8.10 and 8.8.). No infractions.

 

Saturday qual race - weighed and tech'd #75, #70, #35, #95, #16, and #67. #67 and #70 (P1 and P2) were re-dyno'd. All were weighed. Tech'd items were rear suspension (CMC Rule 8.36.3). No infractions.

 

Sunday:

Warmup - all cars that went out were sent for weight. No infractions.

 

National Championship Race - top 4 sent for weight and tech. #70, #03, #67 and #35. Tech for P2 throug P4 were weight, restrictor plate (if equipped) and fuel sample. #70 and #03 had their hoods sealed and were redynoed under the SD's watchful eye. #70 also had the following teched:

1. Removed valve cover to verify stock valve train - rockers, studs, valve springs, pushrods.

2. Checked for steel flywheel and correct flywheel diameter.

3. Checked front rotor for proper diameter and thickness and caliper piston sizes.

4. Fuel sample.

5. Checked restrictor plate.

 

No infractions from the Champ race.

 

Additionally, contact forms were reviewed and decisions made prior to the results being signed as official.

 

Also, the CMC SD walked around the grid, measuring ride height, wing height, numbers (we found 2 cars that didn't meet the required CMC number height of 16", and their log books were noted), etc.

 

We kept every impound card, and every tech sheet from every car tech'd. After the results were finalized, the impound cards were stapled to the final results so that tech for all cars in Group A could be tracked.

 

FFR's impound items/procedures were similar, but not 100% identical due to variations in our rules. A unique tech sheet was issued to the tech shed specifically for FFR, with a second sheet maintained by the RD and the FFR SD.

 

944Spec felt some special love by checking for aftermarket chips connected to the ECU (no infractions), compression ratio, displacement, and cam timing (no infractions) in addition to being weighed every session. There was 1 DQ for a 944Spec car being light....the 944Spec SD, of all people. He was 3.5lbs too light, and sent to the back of the field...of 4 cars.

 

So, there you have it. I'd be glad to answer any other questions about how the tech process went, how the competitors responded, etc.

 

And if anyone thinks it will get "easier" next year...don't bet on it.

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Adam-thanks for the very informative rundown of what went on.

 

Sounds like that Todd fellow needs to do a video with the toy cars and post it for everyone to see.

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I had a ball on the track...though the Ohio weather gods did their darnedest to make things miserable for us. It was widely acknowledged - by all groups - that Group A had the hardest rains of any group. If the rains had stopped/slowed for awhile, you could be absolutely certain the skies would open up as soon as we got even close to the track.

 

Friday morning qualifying was so bad several of us almost gave up. Between the rain and the fog on the inside of the windshield, visibility was almost nil.

 

We put the wiper motor/arm/blade back on the car between qual and Friday's qual race, which helped. And carried a make-shift mop to wipe off the fog, but it wasn't enough. Bought a fan from one of the vendors, wired it in, screwed it to the dash, and could finally see. (I super-sized with PT, so was back on the track again that day.)

 

The rain stopped as soon as the last group was off the track. Of course.

 

Saturday morning it started raining - of course. So qual was in the wet. But the rain stopped approx noon, and the Spec Miata group went out. Nothing like 56 cars hugging the race line to dry things off.

 

So Group A had a dry qual race on Saturday. Great driving by all.

 

Sunday I discovered my front rotors were cracked. HUGE thank you to Matt King for letting me have the old ones he took off his car. I would have been in the pits - literally and figuratively - without them.

 

Sunday's championship race was what I was hoping for: in the dry, everybody on the grid. Tip of the hat to Dave B, Bryan, and Dave D - fun close racing with you guys.

 

And another tip of the hat, this time to Bob - I tried several times, but could not figure out how to get around him. Great driving.

 

I hope that more CMC'ers make it to Miller. Maybe even some of those Cali guys?

 

Adam and Don - you guys did a great job, thanks.

 

And one last thing: when (not if) you go to the Nats, don't think you can do it by yourself. This is not like a weekend race. This lasts 4 days minimum, more if you do the practice day. Stuff will break, count on it. And it will be stupid stuff. (the worst for me was a leaking gasket at the thermostat housing; that is NOT one of the spares I carry with me, so it was off to Autozone for salvation.) Get someone to help, and I don't mean another person who is driving; you need someone with energy, who can think straight. I was blessed to have my brother-in-law with me, and it is absolutely certain that if Ken had not been there, I would not have finished the races.

 

-chris

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That's the kind of update from Nationals I was waiting for and exactly the kind of update I was hoping for to inspire the rest of us (myself included) to get out there and make it to a National Race. You know...the one where there are stories about battles fought (2 secs. between 1st and 4th), of adversities overcome, fellow racers helping each other out, and suggestions given to others in order make it a better event for all the next time around.

 

Wooo Hooo! Nationals at MMP in '09! I can hardly wait to get started on next season.

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You could have covered the top 4 with a blanket, they were that close. It was a very exciting battle to watch from the tower....I don't think I sat down for a minute of it. Had the headphones on, chewing my nails the entire time. After what seemed like an eternity, I checked the race clock only to discover there was still 23 minutes left in our race!

 

Do the Nats. It calls your name.

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CONGRATULATIONS GLENN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008 NASA CMC National Champion

What an effort by the reigning Texas regional Champion.

 

I'm now your fourth biggest fan.

Everyone here on my end says congrats and awesome job.

 

jb

IMG_8871.jpg

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though the Ohio weather gods did their darnedest to make things miserable for us.

 

That's why I moved from NE Ohio to Colorado, Chris. Blech!!!!

 

Glad you kept it racing all weekend!!

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well, i'll take a few to tell how my week went.

 

we got there Monday around 3-4pm. took the next couple days just getting settled and running erands. Thursday was my first day on track and i spent the first session bedding pads and scrubing new tires. the rest of the day (2 sessions) was spent on old tires and i clicked off a 1:42.335. that turned out to be fast lap of the whole weekend. from there on out till Sat's qual race it was raining.

i qual'ed 2nd Fri and finished 3rd in the qual race after i dayum near buried it in China Beach. this was a result of interior and exterior windshield fogging, rainX that must have been expired and massive amounts of spray from cars i was overtaking. i raced 2 laps looking out the driverside window looking for braking markers. thats why i missed my braking point for T7. i was at about 95mph (Thanks MaxQ Data!) when i got to the 3 cone brake marker. thats deep in the wet. had i had one more lap i would have i would have taken 2nd back. me and the orange Fox had a very respectful battle door handle to door handle in some places. as some of you know here, passing at Mid Ohio is hard, add water and its plain crazy. in fact we were hydroplaining several times a lap at speeds approching 80-100 mph.

Max Q also showed a .9 G in the keyhole in the wet. i was shocked!!!

Sat i once again qual'ed 2nd w/ my best wet lap that week - a 2:14.985 to Daves best wet lap of 2:13.700. seemed like every time i stepped it up, he did as well. i finished 2nd in Sat's race w/ little drama. Bob Denton had his car dialed in and managed to work past myself after working thru Dave. he really knows this track well and showed us.

so that set the stage for the Sunday race. Dave on pole and me 2nd, Bob 3rd. i was hoping for rain as i figured that was the only way i was gonna hold off Bob after his performance on Sat. it didnt rain. we had a clean start and i filed into 2nd. at some point i managed my way to first and started to pull away untill i lost it thru the end of Thunder Vally and sailed thru the gravel and the grass and bailed back on behind Dave in the carousel. shortly there after it was obvious Dave had a power issue as i just motored past him. he had complained about what felt like a lazy motor days before so i figured it was that or he lost a gear in the trans. turned out to be a plug wire had come off. from that point on Dave just fell back lap after lap. the shocker of the race was Matt King. man can this guy drive. i take back all the bad things i ever said about him (w/ regards to his driving). he hounded me endlessly. Bob Denton stuck it in on me a few times and just couldnt make it stick. my rear facing camera had him completely out of the frame many times. i thought for sure has had gotten past a couple times. Matt got intot he mix, passed Bob and those two worked together alot and battled some. they drove a very smart race. props to those two guys.

 

i remember at one point Jeff Burch was teling me we had been racing for 25 minutes and i was like "WTF!!!" cause it felt like an hour. when most of the sessions that weekend were 3-4-5 laps long, 17 laps felt like the drive to Mid Ohio - long. add to the fact that i was leading and running for my life, it just couldnt end soon enough.

the car was flawless all week. i changed rear spoilers for the big show and it helped the handaling of the car. for the first time, i felt the need for a completely different set-up for a particulare track instead of the "one size fits all" method i always use. i had no mechanical issues all week. the only nuts we turned were lug nuts. and those rains i bought back in 2006 Nats finally got put to alot of use. i only used them 2 times before this event. the only problem i had was the fogging issue. Home Depot fixed that - dryer duct baby!

 

i'm very happy i finally won. the car count takes away from that somewhat, but the racing from 1-7 was 100% better than the previous two years hands down. Chris McComb is making improvements in leaps and bounds. Matt King has shown his stuff, Bob Denton came w/ a better car this year over years past.

 

last but not least i got to thank Jeff Burch for coming up hand helping me all week. he got me breakfast in the mornings, drinks from the cooler, did this, and did that all week w/ nary a complaint. he offered valuable insite and feedback when i needed it. he's as much as a National Champ as anyone could ever be - Thank You Jeff Burch.

gotta thank Pi-Co Fab in Hutto Texas. Jerry Jordan stepped up and made my wish of getting to Nats a reality - and he's a fellow Texas racer. Moonlite Printing and Graphics is still the best. they always provide an invaluable servince to me to help my effort each year. Natwell Weld Supply - Steve Mulder (also a fellow racer) deserves a big thanks as well. AJ Petersen at Performance SpeedTech in Cresson Texas (MSR-C) has alwyas provided me w/ accurate set-up feedback and shock service as well as a place to purchase the best in racing supplys and equipment. Thanks goes out to all the Texas guys and gals AI and CMC alike for the well wished and support and Congrats that i got from them. on the net, we look disfunctional, at the track we are a very big and happy family. i consider all of them a part of my extended family. Big Thanks to you all.

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Nice going Glenn,

 

It sounds like it was an exciting race. I wish I could have been there. I like racing in the rain. Congrats to Matt and Bob too for a good safe race and podium finishes. It was great meeting all of these guys last year and putting a face with the names. You guys made us proud, just wish Mid Ohio was about a thousand miles closer. Dave M. said if they move the Nationals to Infineon and we don't get thirty cars in CMC he will give away his car. I hope we see a good car count in Utah cause we're deffinately making that party. Now back to your local regional championships. Going Plum Crazy around here.

 

ps

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Congrats to all the guys that made it to Nats and either competed or helped to put on the show. Loved the videos so far this!

 

Glenn...you're the man! Can't wait to hand over that giant trophy to you.

 

Adam, Don...fantastic job running the show. Thanks.

 

Its been a little rough here in Houston the last week or so...finally online and able to say congratulate those that deserve it

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