Just interested in seeing how Saturday's races went. Anybody know?

 

From best of my memory on Saturday:


HC Overall:
P1 - (H1) - Sam Lockwood
P2 - (H4) - Walt Puckett
P3 - (H1) - Philip Ambrose
P4 - (H2) - Allan Haggai
P5 - (H1) - (red S2K - sorry, don't know his name)

H1:
P1 - (Del Sol) - Sam Lockwood (HT.lockraceworks??)
P2 - (Hatch) - Phillip Ambrose (HT.Backmarker)
Chad pulled up gimpy before the start
Hunter I am not sure made the grid, think there was a electrical problem???

H2:
P1 - (ITR) - Allan Haggai (HT.Track Rat)
Blake had an airdam coming off and pulled in around lap 2

H3:
P1 - (GSR) - Zsolt Ferency (HT.Spiff)
I don't know if there was another H3 car, Chris Brinson had a problem in qualifying and didn't start the race

H4:
P1 - (Integra) - Walt Puckett (HT.metalworker)
P2 - (Civic) - Lyonel Kent (HT.Lyonel 13H4)

H5:
P1 - (Civic) - Chris Towne (HT.madhatter)

Sorry I don't have a better memory than that. I just can't remember the order.

 

WOW! So, you're saying an H4 car came in 2nd overall on Saturday? Geez! Anyone know the results for Sunday? What about track times? I would be interested to hear what times Sam Lockwood (H1) ran and Walt Pucket (H4) ran. Very interesting....

 

Jeez Adam, don't need to apologize for that. You remembered a great deal more than I did.

Yesterday was a good event for most the SEHC crowd. Chris B had a DNS for the race and will likely chime in here soon to tell folks why.

Casey, who couldn't make it back to RA today

 

Walt Puckett is an amazing driver. I believe he got down to the 1:45s in the race. That is just plain sick for a car I can pass on the back straight pretty easily. Sam was damn quick this weekend as well. I am sure he got in the 1:44s or lower. As for me, I am an idiot. For the 2nd straight race weekend I went from the top of third to 2nd and bent valves. That stupid short shifter is coming out of the car. And it only took me 3 missed shifts with bent valves to do it.


Modified by chrisb at 7:46 PM 6/20/2004

 

Sunday results:
p1 SLockwood H1 1:44.723
p2 PAmbrose H1 1:45.596
p3 JHaggai H2 1:46.542
p4 SBurner H1 1:45.214
p5 BMeredith H2 1:46.970 (broke on last lap and coasted across finish line)
p6 LKent H4 (No time--busted transponder)
p7 ZFerency H3 1:50.004
p8 HBirchmore H4 1:51.353
p9 KKondor H4 1:51.515
p10 CTowne H5 1:54.414

Times listed are fastest laps.

 

I guess I am surprised by the lap times posted for the SEHC event at Road Atlanta. I don't say this to cut anyone down and belittle the effort and concentration it takes to win because I am sure there are some fast drivers in the field. But I don't understand the lap times.

I would have thought the lap times would be much lower for H1 cars at least. Spec miatas run 1:46s and 1:47s there with a little less than half the horsepower and what four to five hundred more lbs? The ITA lap record is 1:43 in a Nissan 240SX and again that is a car down on power and heavier by several hundred pounds. Looking at the ARRC results (I realize it is November) There is an Integra and several ITA CRXs in the 1:43s and 1:44s. (left my GCR at the office for minimum weights) Shouldn't the lap times be a little faster than ITS cars? I was expecting 1:40s or in that neighborhood. Was the track extra greasy this weekend? I know lap times can vary quite a bit due to surface conditions, temp, time of day.

I guess I am trying to understand the lap times because my "new" 88 CRX with a modded B18c (190fwhp/approx.1800lbs), cage, stripped, I am expecting to be faster than the 1:45s I would run in my 3400lb, 275rwhp 94 stock boost, tt supra during track days. At least I hope I will be fater. Not doing this to flame just trying to understand. Thanks.

Barry H.


Modified by apexinghonda at 1:39 AM 6/21/2004


Modified by apexinghonda at 1:42 AM 6/21/2004

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by apexinghonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I guess I am surprised by the lap times posted for the SEHC event at Road Atlanta.
.
.
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At least I hope I will be fater. Not doing this to flame just trying to understand. Thanks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The level of competition at the ARRC, and in IT in general, is a lot higher then your avg HC weekend. My guess is the main reason is that SCCA has people who have been racing the same cars, in the same classes, at the same tracks for many years. They drive the pace. Honda Challenge, and NASA, is very young. Most of the people didn't come from SCCA. They came up though the HPDE ranks or from places like HT. We don't have the Fowlers, Stretches, etc to set the pace.


For this weekend in particular, most of the HC guys have never driven RA. I think we had 4 people out of the group who had.

I am very much looking forward to my first IT weekend to see the difference.

 

It was super hot out. The hottest two days of the summer so far. But the main reason times are so high is because this was the first time running that track for over half the field. But yeah, if you can drive as well as Bob Stretch you will open one large can of whoop *** on anyone currently running H1. I can't even comprehend how an ITA car can run a 1:43. At any event I have run at, the fast SCCA guys have generally schooled all the cars in the class above and sometimes two classes above them. And with the exception of James Evans I have not seen any fast SCCA driver run an H1 car.

 

Oh yea .. also.

I had a lot of fun and it was great to meet and race with all of you. We had a lot of broken cars this weekend. I think the feild on Sunday was smaller by at least half. The good news is, they were all mech and no1 got to know the RA walls up close and personal.

 

Here at Summit Point the H1 cars are at least 3 seconds per lap faster than the fastest Spec Miatas. In terms of other classes here are some lap times:

1) H1 approx. 1:25-1:26
2) SM 1:29
3) ITA 1:28
4) ITS 1:24

I have not run at RA but the 240 SX was probably Bob Stretch's car. He is one fast driver.

Much of it depends on who is driving the car. I can't comment on the H1 drivers at RA because I haven't raced with them.

Just because you have an H1 car doesn't mean you are fast. At CMP I outqualified 3 H1 cars and 1 H3 car in an H4 Integra.

The fastest time at CMP was a high 1:49, my fastest time in H4 was a 1:54. There where plenty of H1 cars in the 1:52 - 1:53 range.

At Beaverun, John Marhefka finished 6th overall in an H4 car only 2 1/2 seconds off the fastest H1 cars.

Much depends on track conditions, car and driver.

Regards,

Jon P. Kofod
#40 Guident Technologies/HRPWorld.com Integra LS

PS: What happened to Walt in Sunday race? Way to go Lyonel on your 1st place

In two weeks we will be dicing for the Championship lead at Summit

 

Walt had other plans and just signed up for Sat.

 

Great job Mr. Ambrose!

Brian

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by apexinghonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I guess I am surprised by the lap times posted for the SEHC event at Road Atlanta.</TD></TR></TABLE>


my first time at RA.....best time for me was 1.45.2xx with SERIOUS missfiring....i did this in a total of 11 laps.....i'm sure my time would have gotten much better....

sam drove a heck of pole on sunday at 1.44.xxx sam has probably more laps at this track than all of the HC drivers combined.....so....i don't think i would have been any faster....unless of course i had more power....sam was nailing corner 1 and 12 every time.....and those 2 corners are where you make up time....really don't think another h1 car could have taken it any faster!!!!

and it was sooo hotout there....we fried an egg on my hood....
jk

 

Most (if not all) of the IT and SM records at RA are set at the ARRC, where the weather is often perfect and the level of competition ratchets things up a notch.
I'd guestimate that the track was about 1.5 to 2 seconds off of typical ARRC conditions. There was, as mentioned, also a severe lack of experience at that track.

Chad did extremely well in his limited amount of laps. Lockwood was hooked up as well and seemed to be able to go as fast as he needed to to win. He and Chad might have had an excellent race.
Puckett and Meredith were, as expected, just silly. It's fun to stand kind of behind the people at turn 1 and watch them just shake their heads when Blake comes through there. As far as Puckett is concerned, he just needs to keep running in classes where I'm not.

Lots of people made great strides through the weekend as first timers. Road Atlanta is a monster and doesn't come quickly to very many people.

 

ok, now for my excuses...

made a few laps on sat. during practice before we had a major electrical failure. car would completely cut out at partial throttle... didn't make qualifying or race on sat.

got the problem fixed on sat. afternoon. (thanks to brinson for the tps sensor!)

practice on sun... blew a driver's side axle in T7.

qualifying went ok considering the limited amount of track time i had (first time at RA)

during sunday's race... after about 4-5laps... i started loosing brake pedal pressure... (apparently one of the bleeder screws on the wilwoods started to back itself out)... on lap 11 (w/ 4 or so laps to go)... i blew out BOTH axles cresting over the hill to T12...

3 axles gone in 1 day!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phat-S &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">From best of my memory on Saturday:


HC Overall:
P1 - (H1) - Sam Lockwood</TD></TR></TABLE>


Yeah, I'd venture to guess Sam has driven that track before.....

Nice guy and good driver from what I hear. I've had excellent results from work done by his shop on several occasions (which coincidentally is just up the road from RA).

 

I make no excuses for being 9 seconds off the ITA pace. I am just not as fast as I would like to be. Blake is able to carry 10 mph more up turn one in a C car than I am in a lighter car. Great yardstick to measure how much I need to get faster.

It was good seeing everyone out there. Had a ton of fun.

 

Walt's performance is a good example of what a very experienced guy in a well prepped Hoosier shod car can do on a track that he knows in his sleep! Walt rides it HARD! Saw him catch a couple of tank slappers Saturday = Nice! This was the first time at Road Atl for much of the NASA field and this track is one that smart guys learn at a measured pace....or else they'll eat some concrete.

Road Atl is more of a handling track than people realize, thus the Spec Miatas do really well there and...guys in the top ranks of SM are very good racers!

Even though I know the track, this was my first time out on all-new spring rates and dampers, on old V700s and the surface was pretty hot! I could have found another 1/2 second pretty easy if I weren't a 40 year old fart! (yes, I know, Walt and I are about the same age!)

I had a fun time and put it on the trailer in one piece . Wish there had been more H2s to run with . Franza? Williams? ****?

 

Walt was driving Muresan's car. It isn't sorted, and TB was getting setup advice on it from Walt. Imagine if the car was sorted and actually was faster.
He blew by me so fast in 10a that by the time I was in 10b, he was over the hill and gone.

 

Good to see people had fun! (and stayed away from the walls!)

As far track times from the weekend go, they would probably drop as people get more experience. Speaking only for H4, Professor Metalworker definitely put on a clinic out there on the whole field. 2nd overall in a car running its 2nd race weekend ever while on worn out tires that lived out their last miles during that race - that's just awesome. You can't run 1:45s in an ITA/H4 car in those really hot conditions without having one heck of a driver with a ton of race miles of experience behind the wheel of a fast car. Once the rest of the classes will have this combination, you can bet that all times will fall significantly.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by apexinghonda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> The ITA lap record is 1:43 in a Nissan 240SX... ...There is an Integra and several ITA CRXs in the 1:43s and 1:44s. </TD></TR></TABLE>

As I believe someone else mentioned, the high sense of competition in the air together with the significantly cooler ARRC conditions especially, can account for almost 2 full seconds. I don't know exactly how that happens, it just does every time. And as a reference, when "the" ITA 240SX shows up and runs races at road atlanta other than the ARRC, its times are right in the middle of 45s territory. Also, I can attest for one of those CRXs mentioned in the quote above and confidently say that it was never able to break below 47s in similar hot weather as last weekend.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Track rat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Walt's performance is a good example of what a very experienced guy in a well prepped Hoosier shod car can do on a track that he knows in his sleep! Walt rides it HARD! Saw him catch a couple of tank slappers Saturday = Nice! This was the first time at Road Atl for much of the NASA field and this track is one that smart guys learn at a measured pace....or else they'll eat some concrete.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hoosier rubber is very sticky, Hoosier skins are not so great.

It was a great weekend for TB and myself. It was a lot of fun, and NASA puts on a pretty decent program. It kind of freaked me out that there was a schedule with times, and they stuck to it.
Smart guys do learn RA at a measured pace. It only takes a small mistake and you could be done for a few months. When you get there it is such a fun track, and gravity makes a few of the corners much faster than they should be, but that is something that it takes time to learn.
Does anybody need a H1 car built? I've got to get my hands on one. Those things are FAST down the straights. I was amazed at how much they would pull on me. I really want what Ambrose has under his hood.
Thanks for making me feel so welcome at your event.

Walt - Who is taking donations for the " Let Alex stay in France for one more semester scholarship fund". The donations will really go for a good cause. Me and my ego.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by metalworker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Does anybody need a H1 car built? I've got to get my hands on one. </TD></TR></TABLE>

For those who need a translation, that means "We can work something out if you let me drive it."

I think Chad still has a crappy bolt-in cage...
Chad?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by J28S &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">WOW! So, you're saying an H4 car came in 2nd overall on Saturday? Geez! Anyone know the results for Sunday? What about track times? I would be interested to hear what times Sam Lockwood (H1) ran and Walt Pucket (H4) ran. Very interesting....</TD></TR></TABLE>

Jon, just going on memory but I think Alycia had WP down in the 45s (maybe it was a 45.8 - I did see the time sheets but I can't recall) in qualifying and I can't remember Sam's qualifying time (pretty sure that Chad had the HC pole though, Sam was P2 ??). The scarry part for me is that car is going to go quicker - its on shocks valved for a CRX and the rear tires were pretty far gone for the race (46s in the race) and its only got maybe 200 miles on the OD?? The car will get more shock, more tire and more other go-fasties all much to my horror (and cheer too ).

Barry H., like others said, comparing lap times from June to November is a bit misleading. You are right though, its not just Stretch's 240 but also Anthony Serra went 43s at the ARRC last year in a ITA 2G Teg (but I don't think a CRX has yet). I believe P1,P3,P4 last year (CRX) were in the 44s so they'd maybe be somewhere in the 46s on this weekend by my guessin'. Obviously can't say that for sure. I too would think that eventually, when H1 guys get used to running at Road Atlanta (which is really really freaking tough IMO), they will be below ITS times too (they are 2 seconds faster at Kershaw for instance so I'd assume the same at RA too). Like Chris said, for the large majority of folks there, this was their first ever time to Road Atlanta, I would expect that August (although it probably won't be any faster track conditions) will see lower times.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
You can't run 1:45s in an ITA/H4 car in those really hot conditions without having one heck of a driver with a ton of race miles of experience behind the wheel of a fast car. Once the rest of the classes will have this combination, you can bet that all times will fall significantly.</TD></TR></TABLE> Exactly.

It was good seeing all you folks again and putting a couple e-names to faces and it was a fun day of races to watch. I hope things continued to go smoothly Sunday.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by metalworker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does anybody need a H1 car built? I've got to get my hands on one. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Heh I duno if that's such a good idea... If you do get your hands on one and build it as well as you made the H4 Integra, it might only please one person but frustrate everyone else.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by metalworker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Walt - Who is taking donations for the " Let Alex stay in France for one more semester scholarship fund". The donations will really go for a good cause. Me and my ego.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sure not a problem! But the scholarship will have to include a paid 2 way plane ticket for the first weekend of november.