I was generally happy with how I ran at the reconfigured CMP. The transmission I put in the car last week was junk, so I struggled with that issue all weekend. I qualified 14th out of 18 on Saturday and finished 9th. There was a huge wreck in turn 1 on the first lap...look here for the slideshow:

http://picasaweb.google.com/LisserCoates/CMP

As you see, I barely slipped through. :eek:

On Sunday, I qualified in 9th out of 16, but my lap times were a second a half quicker than Saturday. Because Damion couldn't start due to a broken rocker arm, I actually got to start in 7th right behind Chuck Taylor and Robert Patton. Unfortunately, the transmission popped out of gear at the green flag and when I finally got it in gear, I was back in 15th. Over the next 25 minutes, I drove hard and made my way back up to 8th, but I misjudged the closing rate as I was approaching the 7th place car and had to lift at the fastest part of the track (The Kink) and the rear came around and I looped it a few times, taking out the 400, 300 and 200 foot brake markers for Turn 11. The 400 foot marker actually came through my passenger side window and clunked me in the helmet and ended up in the passenger side footwell. I got the car going and I think I finished 10th. :(

The car is banged up on the passenger side and sprung an oil leak or something after my incident, but it should all be fixed in time for the next race at Road Atlanta next month.

It was nice seeing Patrick Webb at the track. And a shout out to Matt for doing the crew work. He was very helpful during the entire weekend.

damn, that looked nasty! u got real lucky...

Sounds like a good weekend!

Damn, that's a nasty wreck. Glad you made it through. Looked like the white car swung too wide and oversteered right into the black car?

Wow! I agree with Geordie, glad you made it through that mess. Nice bit of driving on your part to miss it too. Congrats on where you placed!

Very nice bit of driving to get around that wreckage. I was still down by the start, so I didn't get to see it. Hopefully someone will post some in-car from behind all the carnage too.

Your speed is great... a little work on the car and a little work on the driver and you'll be running up front in no time. :buttrock

It was a great time at the track. Thanks for letting me tag along! :wave

Damn, that's a nasty wreck. Glad you made it through. Looked like the white car swung too wide and oversteered right into the black car?

Exactly what happened. Then it was SpecE30 pinball.

Very nice bit of driving to get around that wreckage. I was still down by the start, so I didn't get to see it. Hopefully someone will post some in-car from behind all the carnage too.

Your speed is great... a little work on the car and a little work on the driver and you'll be running up front in no time. :buttrock

It was a great time at the track. Thanks for letting me tag along! :wave

I just looked on MyLaps.com at I was running 1:53's and 1:54's during my mad dash to catch up on Sunday. My best time during my first session on Saturday was 1:58, so I am very happy with a 5 second improvement during the weekend. Skeen was running 1:51's all weekend, and he is the man to beat.

Whoa, nice driving Bill!

On Sunday, I qualified in 9th out of 16, but my lap times were a second a hald quicker than Saturday.

:shifty

Bill's actually the one on the far left, methinks. Nice, though. :laugh

Bill's actually the one on the far left, methinks. Nice, though.
Did I say I was attributing the quote to Bill? :shifty


:stickoutt



:crazya

Did I say I was attributing the quote to Bill? :shifty


:stickoutt



:crazya

Oops.

I assumed. :(

Oops.
I assumed.
:rofl

Nah, it's all right. I thought it was the guy on the right. :D




Of course, this means that Bill needs to hire a better photographer. :shifty

Fixed, for the Tire Man! :silly

:rofl

That's better! :laugh

:shifty

Glad to see spece30 is starting to look more and more like wrecMiata. Sorry about the wreck. Sucks you just got it painted and its prob all messed up

:shifty
The question was about which car was you. ;)

My damage:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/m3bill/DSCF0021.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/m3bill/DSCF0020.jpg


Photo credit to Harrison Motorsports.

That'll buff right out. :D

The real question is:
Did you get to keep the sign?
I'm thinking, if it ends-up in my car it's mine.

Kinda like hockey in the old days before the damned nets behind the goals... If you're in the stands and get hit with a puck, you own it.

P.S. IT Nazis FTL. I can't see any of these photos here at work :(

Jeez that white car got pwned like 3 times.

Bright side alert! Tony Pedregon had a somewhat worse weekend at the track:

http://cwimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CW&Date=20080210&Category=FREE&ArtNo=488316130&Ref=AR&Profile=1580&maxw=350

http://www.russiatoday.ru/media/news/c/47b03b675cdee.jpg

sorry to hear about the tranny issues :shifty

don't worry about the door, it adds character ;)

That'll buff right out. :D

Like he'd stoop to that. You know he's just going to get a new car.

The real question is:
Did you get to keep the sign?

Yup. I kept it.

Like he'd stoop to that. You know he's just going to get a new car.

Nope...just some bodywork and a repainted door.

:D

Wow! That looked like a crazy set of photos.

Bill, it was great making it up to the track Saturday. I had really hoped to see a full e30 race, but thankfully no one was really hurt. Looking at those pics, I can't believe Steve didn't end up on his roof.

Also, thanks for taking us out during the parade laps, good to see the upgrades to the track, maybe I'll have to sign up for the April weekend.

I just went through the results on the NASA website, you really cut some time off! Keep it up, it's great racing.

Finally looking at the pictures of the wreck. I'm sorry but I'd send the bill to the dude in the white #70. I've no idea what the speeds are coming into that turn but it's pretty clear that the red mist has that guy fully in it's grasp. He's WAY out there in the dust and should have just let-up. It looks like he'd have had a hard time wrecking anybody else if he was trying.

Sounds pretty harsh of me. I'm sure he didn't mean it but damn..

Pray tell, what did the stewards do?

I'm sorry but I'd send the bill to the dude in the white #70.

If only it worked that way. More than 1 well known clubracer has punted, wrecked others and offered nothing. On the other hand, there are good guys who stand up and offer to help pay for damages they caused. It was a big concern when I was racing my LTW M3. If you cant afford to walk away from a balled up race car, probably best to stay home.

I like the new mod to the car, Bill. Speed dimple?

Nice to see the progression as you go through more events. Congrats on teh placement. Sadly wrecks are part of racing, though we all hope we have as least many possible. Glad to see you made it out of the melee with a minor ding.

Pray tell, what did the stewards do?

The video is still being analyzed or something. Nothing will come of it, however.


If you cant afford to walk away from a balled up race car, probably best to stay home.

Exactly.


I like the new mod to the car, Bill. Speed dimple?

:flipa

If you cant afford to walk away from a balled up race car, probably best to stay home.

Oh I totally agree. Racing is not for the poor.

But a "racing incident" and somebody wrecking five people just because he's a dumbass is something different. If it were my racing series, that sort of thing would be punishable for sure.

But then again, I've seen some pretty bone-head moves in the pro ranks...all the way up to F1 and back.

I recall a HUGE accident with a RX-8
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YQWbCarAFE&mode=related&search=) for instance. That wreck wasn't all that different from the one discussed here.

Cory
who has never raced a car in his life but REALLY wants to.

Glad to hear that you did ok, and everything ended up fine for you Bill :wavey

As far as the door goes - meh, I'd touch up the chip and keep it as a battle wound for the season. No need to do body work after every incident, IMO. it's not NASCAR where you just slap on new sheetmetal after every weekend.

Glad to hear that you did ok, and everything ended up fine for you Bill :wavey

As far as the door goes - meh, I'd touch up the chip and keep it as a battle wound for the season. No need to do body work after every incident, IMO. it's not NASCAR where you just slap on new sheetmetal after every weekend.


lol, its best to do the body work at the END OF THE SEASON, otherwise it can be a pure waste of money. But then again in this case thats not a problem right? :D

I lol'd at "speed dimple" haha, looks like a fun but exciting weekend Bill, gj avoiding that wreck, I managed to guess which car was yours! lol

That was a nice slide show!

I like your new sig, Bill :shifty

I think I recommended no paint ;) Glad you were able to "sneak" through there as best as possible. Really seems like that guy just kind of messed it up.

I don't think it was asked... last time you had video... Does said video exist again?

I like your new sig, Bill
Thanks. :shifty



:silly

I don't think Bill's ever made that face. Besides, it doesn't have glasses on, so it's obviously a poor photoshop of the lawyer guy.

I don't think Bill's ever made that face. Besides, it doesn't have glasses on, so it's obviously a poor photoshop of the lawyer guy.
Bill makes that face in here all the time. :rofl


And if you want good photoshops, I may have to start charging money. :stickoutt



:crazya

Amazing photos!

Congrats on your first 2008 race Bill! Keep up the good work on track and see you in March.

If only it worked that way. More than 1 well known clubracer has punted, wrecked others and offered nothing. On the other hand, there are good guys who stand up and offer to help pay for damages they caused. It was a big concern when I was racing my LTW M3. If you cant afford to walk away from a balled up race car, probably best to stay home.

+1 except that I don't agree with the 'if only it worked that way' part. It's pretty difficult to assign absolute blame in a racing incident, really the only one who knows is the car that got loose. In the case of the white car, he could say a car turned in later than expected so wasn't able to brake enough and then bada bing!

I never had a chance to test this theory (thankfully!), but when I was racing I always figured I would make amends with a racer that I got into due to driver error. Conversely, I would probably turn down a similar offer if somebody else got into me.

Bill knows this now, but you need to factor repairs costs into you budget and acquire body parts in your car's color when you can. Looks like fun, I'm hoping to get back out there in a year or two.

lol, its best to do the body work at the END OF THE SEASON, otherwise it can be a pure waste of money. But then again in this case thats not a problem right? :D

I have a connection that does body work. :shifty


That was a nice slide show!

I like your new sig, Bill :shifty

Wha makes all my sigs. He is a sig god.




I don't think it was asked... last time you had video... Does said video exist again?

I don't have a camera in my car, and I am still tracking down video from other cars.

I don't think Bill's ever made that face. Besides, it doesn't have glasses on, so it's obviously a poor photoshop of the lawyer guy.

I make that face all the time. :shifty

Wha makes all my sigs. He is a sig god.
Which explains Bill's constant skepticism in anything I say. :ponder


:biglaughb


I make that face all the time.
:lol Told ya, G! :rofl

Which explains Bill's constant skepticism in anything I say. :ponder


He is a Lawyer...it is his job to be skeptical! ;)

He is a Lawyer...it is his job to be skeptical!
I thought that was for scientists and jounralists. :ponder

Lawyers help their clients get away with whatev... uh... I mean...


Lawyers represent their clients' interests under the law. :smash


Yeah... yeah, that's it. :paranoid:

I thought that was for scientists and jounralists. :ponder

Lawyers help their clients get away with whatev... uh... I mean...


Lawyers represent their clients' interests under the law. :smash


Yeah... yeah, that's it. :paranoid:



That is only what he has convinced you to be true! :shifty

That is only what he has convinced you to be true!
You're just paranoid from looking over your shoulder for lurking killer computers. :stickoutt

Here is one in-car video from one of the cars involved in Saturday's incident:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3259039662829975014&hl=en

Jeez, that looked like fun.

Here is one in car video from one of the cars involved in Saturday's incident:
D'oh! :eyecrazy

interesting in that the white car's front wheels dont show him trying to counter steer at all. From the video alone, it looks like he might have been bumped off track by the black car at first.

Did he have steering failure? fall asleep at the wheel? having a "o shit" moment after the first contact? It looks like he just kept the wheels turned left and played bumper cars, was it a rookie?

interesting in that the white car's front wheels dont show him trying to counter steer at all. From the video alone, it looks like he might have been bumped off track by the black car at first.

Did he have steering failure? fall asleep at the wheel? having a "o shit" moment after the first contact? It looks like he just kept the wheels turned left and played bumper cars, was it a rookie?

He is a very experienced racer. He definitely was not bumped by the black car (Chuck). He likely had steering failure after the first impact, as there wasn't much left of his left front suspension.

WOW that was a good video :D... air borne e30 is always Good stuff! :buttrock

M3bill you *need* a camcorder, you will learn so much from going thru the video after each race, after every practice lap. Every time you watch it again you will see something you could’ve done better; Bottom line you will see your improvement. Invest $150 you won’t regret it! Or go with a traqmate if the budget is ok.

Good news you made it ok after loosing your tail.

I agree with Kenny touch-up paint, maybe get the dent out and definably take care of the tranny... I will buy a spare tranny to take on tour if tranny is the weakest link. E30 transmissions are cheap anyways.

Rafa.

WOW that was a good video :D... air borne e30 is always Good stuff! :buttrock

M3bill you *need* a camcorder, you will learn so much from going thru the video after each race, after every practice lap. Every time you watch it again you will see something you could’ve done better; Bottom line you will see your improvement. Invest $150 you won’t regret it! Or go with a traqmate if the budget is ok.

Good news you made it ok after loosing your tail.

I agree with Kenny touch-up paint, maybe get the dent out and definably take care of the tranny... I will buy a spare tranny to take on tour if tranny is the weakest link. E30 transmissions are cheap anyways.

Rafa.

I will be getting a Traqmate at some point, and now they have a cool video system that synchs the camera with the data acquisition, but the whole thing costs $2000. My budget doesn't support that just yet.

I am definitely going to have a spare tranny. I may eventually just buy a rebuilt one and use my leaky one as spare.

My budget doesn't support that just yet.

Right. And I'm starting for the Hawks tonight.

And I hate beer.

I will be getting a Traqmate at some point, and now they have a cool video system that synchs the camera with the data acquisition, but the whole thing costs $2000. My budget doesn't support that just yet.
Single-chip knockaround MiniDVs & solid-state digicams are well under that. :thumbup:

Right. And I'm starting for the Hawks tonight.
And I hate beer.
:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

Right. And I'm starting for the Hawks tonight.

:rofl: :rofl:

I'm serious. I am trying to work a deal for a tire sponsorship...if that falls through, I am screwed.

:shifty

Single-chip knockaround MiniDVs & solid-state digicams are well under that. :thumbup:

Yes, but the Traqmate system is $1000 anyway, so it would be cool to have the camera system that synchs the video with the data.

:rofl: :rofl:

I'm serious. I am trying to work a deal for a tire sponsorship...if that falls through, I am screwed.

:shifty

Might wanna finish better than 10th before that sponsorship proposal...:devillook

Might wanna finish better than 10th before that sponsorship proposal...:devillook

I was 9th on Saturday. But 5th or 6th fastest for the weekend.

:shifty

I was 9th on Saturday. But 5th or 6th fastest for the weekend.

:shifty

Get me the info for the first place guy if you will. ;)

:rofl

Get me the info for the first place guy if you will. ;)

:rofl

:(

In watching the video, I guess one lesson is when you see a car sideways in front of you, or one that is being hit, give it as much room as possible. Too bad the video car didn't follow Laura a little further left in the track.

I was 9th on Saturday. But 5th or 6th fastest for the weekend.
"Hey! Last season, I led this team in ninth-inning doubles in the month of August!" :shifty

- Jack Elliot, Mr. Baseball (1992)


:D

Get me the info for the first place guy if you will.
Ouch. :rofl


:biglaughb

Bill,

Could you tell if the white car was pushed a bit wide on turn 1 and put 2 wheels on the grass? From the video that seems to be the case IMO but videos can be very misleading vs what one actually sees on the track.


A large field of E30's racing does look like a blast. Plus the idea of racing for a whole season on what it cost me to do 2 race weekends in the LTW would be nice too.

Bill,

Could you tell if the white car was pushed a bit wide on turn 1 and put 2 wheels on the grass? From the video that seems to be the case IMO but videos can be very misleading vs what one actually sees on the track.


A large field of E30's racing does look like a blast. Plus the idea of racing for a whole season on what it cost me to do 2 race weekends in the LTW would be nice too.

He did get two wheels off just a bit, but I don't think he was pushed wide. Come on over to SpecE30! It is a blast and it is cheap as far as racing goes!

Get me the info for the first place guy if you will. ;)

:rofl


Already got him, thanks though. ;)

Glad to see spece30 is starting to look more and more like wrecMiata. Sorry about the wreck. Sucks you just got it painted and its prob all messed upWhoa, park the bad attitude at the door, fella. Why are you taking joy in the misfortune of others?

In the SE, SpecE30 has seen very clean racing, and I don't think one incident (severe though it was) is changing the complexion overnight.

In the SE, SpecE30 has seen very clean racing, and I don't think one incident (severe though it was) is changing the complexion overnight.

Exactly. I don't think I have ever seen any other car-to-car incidents in SpecE30...

I have, just not in the SE which is why this is where I'm racing this year. This was an anomaly.