After a disappointing and aggravating outing at the Summit Point National in May, I wanted to test my Swift and driver. I am in the throes of my now annual Summer skin problems where my fingers split open and bleed and I have blister covered rashes all over my arms and legs (and sometimes elsewhere). Doing a race last season with the split fingers was very uncomfortable. I need to see if my aging hide could survive a hot weekend in three layers of Nomex.
In May, the sub frame that holds the aft end of the Swift’s lower rear a-arms had come loose (VERY). During the race weekend, we had checked the usual suspects for getting loose, but the sub frame was not on my suspect list and didn’t get looked at. The handling was very sloppy and the car was very darty under braking. Despite new tires in May, my lap times were poor and I began to wonder if I had suddenly become an inept driver.
So, just days after returning from Mid Ohio for the pro F1600 weekend, Sean and I headed up the road again. We left from Sean’s in mid afternoon on Friday, only to encounter torrential downpours starting in Richmond. We had similar downpours on our trip home from Ohio, but at least this time trees were not being blown over and the tow truck didn’t break down. We got to the track in time to unload, do the administrative stuff and head off to dinner before dark. At this point, both of us are getting very tired of road food and cheap (but not necessarily inexpensive) motels.
Being the second race group, a meager gathering of 12 wings and things, we got on track before the heat of the day settled in. There was only one other FF and four CF’s. I used my well-used spec tires from the VIR pro race in April. They had 12 plus heat cycles on them. The Swift seemed much better and I ran consistent 1:21 times being somewhat cautious with my worn and hard tires. At least now I could go full throttle from turns 6 thru 9. I spent the entire session swapping places at least twice a lap with Wayne Nicolette. Best FF/CF time was 1:20.3
Sean had his newly repaired video camera along for a test and we aimed it forward and mine aft. We got some interesting video and as soon as we figure out how, will post the videos side by side.
It was 95 degrees and sunny for the afternoon 10 lap race. Not wanting to interfere with the CF race, my start was conservative. It took me most of the race to get up to speed, I really don’t know why. About mid race, I ran over something with a big THUMP as I crossed the start line. I slowed a bit to make sure the car was OK. The next lap I saw blue body pieces on the track. Joe Marcinski and Wayne Nicolette were in front of me by about 100 yards. Late in the race, I was closing, but it was too late. Best lap 1:20.8. Wayne had the best time of 1:20.1. Turns out that one of my lower engine side covers had come adrift, folded under and I ran over it. Unfortunately, my shock canister was mounted to it. The canister spent the remainder of the race suspended by its hose and bouncing on the track. The bleed valve got destroyed as well as the adjustment detent. Despite now having one bum shock, I didn’t notice much difference in handling.
Sean and I managed to scavenge a replacement Schader valve, installed it and were somewhat surprised that the canister held a charge. Sean retrieved what was left of my side cover (two big pieces with about 20% missing) and we set about with some fiberglass repairs. It wasn’t pretty, but it was functional. With the hot afternoon, the epoxy cured quickly.
Sidebar: My paddock neighbor, the other FF driver, came over to see if I had any scrap metal as he needed to make a battery tie down bracket. Well, “Ed” had an 18 foot trailer stuffed with boxes of I don’t know what. He was also driving a big commercial sized van, which was also full of “stuff.” I surmised that he must have at least two of everything. Not so. Ed then asked if I had a drill motor he could borrow. He then asked for drill bits and then if he could use the vice in my AIR CONDITIONED trailer. After finishing his project, Ed asked if I had a shop vacuum so he could cleanup his mess. He would later borrow Sean to help him with engine timing (which Sean said he wasn’t doing correctly). Ed pulled out his extension cord to share my connection. It had not been coiled up and was a 50-foot ball of tangles. Ed never ran more than a couple of laps in each session before coming in with “engine problems.” Ed has been racing his FF for three years!
Sunday’s 18-lap race got off at 0945, before the BIG heat of the day. I had mounted the R25 tires that were new at the May National. I was worried that perhaps they were too soft for the conditions and they would go off. I got balked at the start behind a weaving CSR. Two CF’s got by and it took a lap or so before I carefully got around them. By now, Wayne Nicolette was half a straight ahead of me but I was clear of the other CF’s. (Wayne has been racing CF’s at Summit Point FOREVER. He was a regular back in the 80’s when we ran the Zink.) I was treating the race as a test session - trying later braking and earlier on the gas at or before the apex. I got down to a 1:18.6 lap as I closed in on Wayne. I passed him going into turn one on the white flag lap. However, while downshifting and braking going into turn 5, the car pitched sideways and I backed off the track at the apex. Wayne, of course, got by, but I recovered in time to avoid getting passed by anyone else. I can tell you that when you coat hot and sticky tires with that orange Summit Point mud, you have NO grip for a full lap.
Another sidebar: I was really puzzled why I spun going down the chute to turn 5. Lots of people spin in turn 5 when they leave their braking too late or if they are carrying too much speed. I was doing neither and the car pitched sideways BEFORE the hard braking. Back home after downloading the data and studying the video, I have come to the conclusion that the spin was caused by contact from Wayne. There is a telltale mark on the rear tire. See a slow motion video of the spin here: http://billmaisey.com/swilly/SunSpin.wmv See the video of the full race here: http://vimeo.com/26470894 .
All in all, it was a good test race, and we got to leave the track before 11 AM for home. After intense racing for two weeks, we need some down time (and Sean needs to cut his grass at home). The old girl (Swift) and the old boy (me) still have some speed. The driver’s hide survived.