Summit FRP 2019

September 6, 2019

I never take this long (more than two weeks) to write a race report, but here it is. There was serious doubt if I would make the race this year. The rotator Cuff (shoulder) injury from tennis four months or so ago left me with one very weak, sore and limited motion arm. Before signing up for the race, I set about seeing if I could get myself out of the cockpit. Getting in was easy. Gravity.

The first exit try went very badly. It took FOREVER, and with great pain to finally squirm out. I would definitely need to create some driver extractor aids. The handle that already existed on the driver’s right was not very useful since my right arm was spaghetti. I added another on the left, and then I added padding since the handles hurt my hands. At this point I was practicing extractions half a dozen times each day for many very hot days. It wasn’t pretty or nearly quick enough. My knees, shins, and ankles were showing a growing population of scraps, cuts and bruises. The low Crossle dash bar was beating me up. I added lots more pieces of padding. I tried several approaches for shoes. I was going thru lots of dry t shirts and band aids. I had almost decided it was hopeless, until I stumbled upon an extraction procedure that was tolerable.

So I hired a dog sitter and went off to Summit Point for the Pro and RCFFS races. Life is looking up. We were let into the track at 6PM on Thursday. Big rain showers made setting up a chore. Mark Walthew and I paddocked together. The Friday schedule had two practice sessions and a qualifier for us RCFFS guys. It literally rained all day. There were NO periods, no matter how brief, of drying. Mark and I exercised mature judgment and stayed out of the racecars. After nearly 50 years at Summit, there was nothing to be gained. We were not alone as five drivers did not go out. We drew for starting positions for the Saturday morning race. Mark drew #9 and I was #11.

The Saturday morning race was ill fated. Sam Eyer was dropping large amounts of oil due to a bad gasket. On lap two, I found neutral while searching for first gear at turn one, went wide and off and hit a BIG puddle causing a spin back on the race surface. Angela Slocum hit my right front wheel and drove me back. (I have video) I got the beast sorted and rejoined the back of the pack, passing a couple of cars before the race was stopped. Greg Peluso had crashed into the tire wall at T3 exit and was be extracted and taken off in the ambulance. Race was declared a non-Race.

I had changed the gearing for this race. A taller 3^rd allowed carrying it thru the chute and T10. Also, a taller 4^th prevented running into the rev limiter when under a draft in t1. Gearing was not a good choice and I was slower despite new tires. I had changed 3^rd before the April race, and it too was not effective. Despite a good hit to the front wheel, I chose not to check alignment. Lazy old guy! A couple of weeks later, when I did get around to checking the suspension alignment, I found the front toe out was a huge ½ inch! OUCH.

Saturday afternoon race conditions were near perfect. Started 11^th and finished 6^th but with a disappointing 1:21.8 best lap for the 15 laps. I should have been 2 seconds faster given recent race times. Don’t know why, except the gearing. Data and video did not work.

Sunday’s race happened before the lunch break. Again, another perfect 80 degree day. I would be gridded 6^th because of prior race times. I was running mid pack with mediocre times. At lap 10 Chuck Van Nostrand snuck by. He was smoking increasingly, so I hung back for a for a few corners to make sure he wasn’t dropping too much oil. I went on past him. I guess Tom Venturino closed up on me. Under heavy braking entering T5, Tom ran over me. I saw his belly pan as he passed over. He destroyed my engine cover, knocked the right rear tire off the rim, landed on the right front tire dinging the wheel. I was done. I limped back to the pits. Mark would soldier on for 5^th place and continues to get quicker with each race. Rand after the race said that Tom frequently drives in excess of talent causing incidents. My turn to suffer, I guess.

I have lots of tasks now. I have to check out the data system and camera. I have two noses to be repaired. The very trashed engine cover, besides missing some structure, is riddled with stress breaks and cracks. I would just replace it if it were not a “one off conversion” to suit the Honda. It will be nursed back to usable with many days of fiberglass surgery. My rear sway bar is bent beyond use and two of the mounting blocks are broken plus two of the link rod ends are bent and need to be replaced.

Repairs are underway and new mechanical parts have arrived from Porter Racing (about $400) and McMaster-Carr. I am at day 6 of the repairs of the engine cover.