Okay, a joke that Morgan made in another thread got me thinking. How many of you guys have experienced real track rage? I can't ever remember giving anybody the finger, or shaking my fist - but I know that I've been pissed off enough to comfront another driver after a session. Usually because they either weren't letting me pass, or did something that I felt was dangerous.

When I was out for my first track event ever, my instructor got track rage when some jackass in a Vette was holding me up for 90% of the track, then gunning it down the front straight (the only passing zone for the beginner group) so I couldn't pass. He got so mad he started barking instructions to me to "get closer! get closer!" Here we were, in the beginner group, and I was going about 80, and so close to this Vette I couldn't see his exhaust pipes. I didn't know enough at the time to realize that I just should have said "no". Then again, his instructions taught me what a late apex was, and sure enough, I took the Vette out on the front straight (without a passing signal). I was looking ahead, but I think he had a nice gesture for the driver of the Vette as we passed by.

I do remember having a fist shaken at me when I did something really dumb in one of my first races. I passed a car just before the braking zone, cut back in front of him, and immediately slammed on the brakes for the turn. He came SOOO close to hitting me. It was a really stupid move on my part, as I should have stayed off line considering we were so close to the braking zone. Luckily he was good enough to keep it from becoming more than it was. That's something I'll never do again - that's for sure!

Matt

 

i think it is healthy to confront issues verbally after the event, but at 100 mph under "hot" lap conditions it needs to be let go,

i guess my feeling about it is, that racing is dealing with arising situations wether intentional or not

 

I can only think of once in the past couple years...

At ARRC last year there was another CRX that was on an in-lap (or something) during qualifying. I had a great lap going and he was going half speed, right on the racing line in T6.

I blew it off that time, but he did the same thing on the T7 exit (most important turn on the track!) in the enduro qualifying session. That one earned a "one lap to go sign".

 

"Track Rage is foolish and dangerous and the members of this forum do not support it and will not respond to posts about it"

Sorry, couldn't wait until we got a street racer to try it out on.

 

I never have had rage, just frustration, I am sure about everyone else who drives a honda as experienced the underpower/fast cornering car VS the overpowered/heavy slug car..

When you are the beginner/intermed level, there are a lot of ego problems, and passing becomes a problem sometimes.. Once you are at the advanced level, there is really no problem at all passing people.. They know you are faster so the let you by..

I do get frustrated kinda easily myself sometimes, mainly because If I am not running faster lap times, I am not having fun... But thats just me...

 

Man. When I go go-karting, my middle name is track rage. Only if people are really stupid, though, like deciding it would be fun to t-bone me when I'm about to apex, rather than actually braking and taking the turn. Some people don't seem to realize there's a difference between go-karting and bumper cars. I'm not as bad as I used to be, though, because I've learned how to avoid some of the hairier situations (like trying to steal and apex, and having the other person not pay attention and turn into me putting me under the wall).

-Mike

 

Try following a SC'd Lincon Mark 8 around Lowes for almost an entire session..

I know that I could have pitted and got some open track..

Sticking to his bumper from the start of the infield around to the Nascar #2 made him a bit hot ---> mistakes ---> slow

After he finally let me pass on the infield passing zone... it was time to walk away.

Will
-who was driving a Volvo at the time

 

This is the source of most of my on-track frustrations. Another one is when I get the "point-by", but they don't lift....so here we are just about side by side heading into a corner. I even have in-car video of me yelling "Come on man....lemme go you FU&%#@ing idiot!" I'm starting to use my horn more often now.



[Modified by johng, 10:47 AM 2/8/2002]

 

When I used to do driver's ed events in my Prelude, I started taping over my headlights with black tape (the car is black), so that it was very hard to identify when I came up behind another car. When they don't know what kind of car you are in, you get the point-by much sooner than if they can tell what it is. Just my $.02

Matt

P.S. The good news is that you see that less and less as you work your way into the higher run groups. Usually the advanced/instructor groups are excellent about that. Two exceptions though: Mustangs and One Lap of America racecars. Don't ask me why, but both are horrible when it comes to passing signals.

 

My instructor got road/track rage at Watkins Glen, I got upgraded to a blue run group (intermediate) at a Porsche track event. I was WAY faster than the 911s in the turns (easy to do with a FWD on that skill level, I know I would have been going a lot slower if I had a RWD rear engined car). Anyway there was this one 911 that was a lot faster than me in the straight, but braked a lot s00ner than I would need to. The instructor was getting pissed off and kept telling me to get closer to the guy and i started creeping up, then the guy panicked at one turn and i almost run into the back of him. Then the instructor told me to pass him on the straight without the signal, at that point i was staying far enough back at the turns that I was keeping a lot more momentum at the end of the turn and was faster through the begining of the straights...he kept yelling at me to pass him, but i didnt go past his quater panel, I told my instructor that I am not going to pass him without a signal...he called me a "pu55y".....huhu. It didnt bother me, I didn't any more attention than i was allready getting by being the only yellow "rice" car there...

 

I would need a lot of black tape for that to work, Matt...huhu

 

Then that person should not be an instructor. We teach people how to drive their car at a high-performance level SAFELY...we are NOT teaching people how to race...in any case, the racing line would be different from the text-book line through turns...yet another discussion altogether.

When there is a guy holding up my student, I tell my student to hot pit, and go back out.

Andie

 

911 turbo's are the worst...............finger, highbeams and horn usually work

 

As a student, I have no problem doing this. It's a lot better than being stuck in the middle of a "train" of cars. I figure the farther away from the other cars I am, the harder it is to hit them. Until I get to the pit-in, I use the time practicing NOT following the other guy's line.

 

I never had rage, that's for sure. That's because in general it takes a LOT just to get me upset about anything, which I guess is great for me. I did have some "incidents" happen before though.

Once at VIR about 50 mins into a race, I came up on this red ITS rx7 to lap it. First of all, the red ITS guy then runs off one of the ITS cars in front of me off the track after nascar bend (I think that's turn 3?). Then I'm stuck behind him. For half a lap he wouldn't let me go even after getting about 3 blue flags. And he was really slow, too! So in Oak tree a little tap on his back bumper fixed that and it reminded him that someone was actually there. It worked because he then let me go at the end of the backstraight. Another incident came at road atlanta where we ran both CRXs in a pro-it. In qualifying we were running close together to get some good laps. We were both coming on the front straight on a hot lap and this IT7 decides to leave the pits and get on the track at the wrong time. Anyone who has done a hot lap on road atlanta knows that once you're committed for turn 1, you have to follow through it on the gas and can't do much else. Well the rx7 pulls on to the track, still probably stuck in 1st gear doing 20 mph. Louis manages to avoid him as the rx7 was still halfway on the pit lane, but then I come and there's this car going 30 mph on the racing line. So I lift and try to ease on the brakes, but other than putting the car into a cool "unwanted" drift it doesn't do much else in avoiding him. So, "tap" on his bumper - hey it's better than going off on the grass and have a chance at a TAP with outside wall ! We both kept going, no big deal but we did have a little talk afterwards.

The worst actually happened on my first ever race two years ago. I had a run on this IT7 out of turn 5 and got along side it for the pass in 6. Well this guy said to himself "No way!, I'm not letting another crx go by!" and so he turns in. I was with my left wheels on the inside curbs, but still my front wheels made contact with his door. I kind of lost control of the nose of the car long enough to go off and say hello to the wall. Wasn't a bad hit, but why would this IT7 guy not let a faster car go through? What are some people thinking? I was in 2nd place in class and had nothing to do with the IT7 guy because we weren't racing each other. I talked to him afterwards and he was this disgruntled older guy who doesn't give a **** about anything. He said "well I saw you comin', but there's no way you coulda made that turn anyway." Ok, so he had try to help by turning into me? I told him if I can't make a turn, that's my problem let me deal with it. You just back off and let me slide off the track by myself."

I've had a really busy schedule the last two years and that was the one and only "bad" incident that I've been involved in. I think that's pretty good!

Scott, what color was the CRX you're talking about?

 

Blue

Couldn't get close enough to any of the damn yellow ones to let them cause problems! This is another year though...

 

This is what NASA-VA expects of our drivers and instructors, nothing less.

Grumpy

 

That is good to know! The group I was running with when I had that instructor who pushed me to pass the Vette without a passing signal is a group that is well known for not being particularly safe. They are more concerned with their own track time than they are with teaching anybody else.

Matt

 

As I said in another thread, if I see you in the lead of the same bunch of cars your going to see a black flag.

I'm also going to tell them that the blue flag (in HPDE) might be considered "advisory", but consider it advice from the "godfather."

 

Speaking of instructing...

If we are pairing instructors and their students in advance of the event, why not give the instructor the student's e-mail address so they can start a dialogue before they even get to the track? The instructor can find out the student's experience, the car set up, make some recommendations, etc. I think that might make for a better relationship during the actual event, and help the student to learn faster, or at least be more comfortable.

Matt

 

I just pit in it if its too slow for me
or I pit in or let people pass if I'm holding people up.

The last thing thing I want is a bent car... or bent attitudes to deal with

 

good suggestion. I'll see if it will work

 

[Modified by G0D, 5:23 PM 2/8/2002]

 

There was an episode at Roebling where a bunch of us wanted to go out and play. Me, r2x, MaddMatt, and Ron Spencer. Well there was this guy in a 911 who...well, let's just say I don't know just what track he was driving, but it wasn't Roebling. At least not until the big straight Ron went to him and talked to him later I believe.

However, pitting in to get room is one of the most valuable things I learned at Bondurant. There we had I'd guess 4 hours or more of drive time per day. So I wasn't reluctant to try it. It took just the first try to make me realize that 30-60 seconds in the pits was well worth it to keep the frustration level low.

So I always suggest to my students that they can pit in in a similar condition.

 

My problem with pitting in is that I have no concept of time under the circumstances. I pit in for what feels like 30 seconds, but it's actually probably closer to 10, then I come back out on the track and 4 turns later I'm not only caught up with the doofus who was holding me up, I'm caught up with 6 more cars that have stacked up behind him. D'oh!

Matt