2007 June Sprints

[Keith Carter]

We just entered online (it's SOOO nice) and have 11 signed up in FC so far. Hopefully we'll at least double that before next month.



5 John Larue
9 John Mcmurray
15 Tony Smith
16 Russell Lindemann
29 Keith Carter
32 Kirk Kindsfater
35 Chas Shaffer
39 Michael Wettstein
51 John Sauermilch
67 Dave Weitzenhof
05 Jerry Smith

[BDavis15]

I should have the Tatuus ready for the June Sprints... So, add #75 Brian Davis to that list.

[Peter Olivola]

http://www.dlbracing.com/clubs/clubd...x?EventID=2777

[Keith Carter]

Thanks Peter!

Here's the FC list

20 cars now!

[Thomas Copeland]

Are any of you doing the double regional at Road America the weekend before the Sprints? A couple of us from the West Coast might be stopping by on our way to Cleveland (nothing definite yet). Too bad the Sprints take place the same weekend as Cleveland.

[Keith Carter]

We've got 22! I think tomorrow is the last day for registration (without getting slapped with a late fee). Come on out!

[Keith Carter]

Our group is now tied for the largest race group at 52 cars. 24 of them are FCs and that's not counting late or mailed in entries I would imagine. Should be fun!

[dsmithwc04]

Hello all, I am just getting into racing. What is required to race the FC cars? I just bought a VD95 FC from Bill Spight. Thanks, Dan.

[Keith Carter]

A National Full Comp license and you're all set

[M.Sauce]

What will the Sprints be without Dave Weitzehof?

[Dennis Hand]

What will the Sprints be without Dave Weitzehof?

Answer: "...Any other race."

Well, not quite, and that's not the only reason it just doesn't seem the same anymore.

[Keith Carter]

Official entry list is up. Looks like everyone used the online registration so far 'cause it's still 25 drivers. A slightly thinner field without the St Clair posse, the Pritchard, Mr. Weitzenhof, and a few others but I'm sure it will still be a fun time. Something about it being a large spectator event makes it more fun. I guess that's the appeal of the Champ Car support and F2000 Championship races... Makes you feel like a big shot.

[Bob Wright]

mmm...I like to think its the single class, superb tracks, and great racing throughout the field as opposed to the spectators...but who knows

[Keith Carter]

mmm...I like to think its the single class, superb tracks, and great racing throughout the field as opposed to the spectators...but who knows

Don't forget the grid hootchies either, Bob.

[FF3]

I know the Sprints ain't what they used to be, but does anyone have an interest in what is going on at the track? Are their any intrepid reporters there? A couple of years ago the session results were posted on I believe the www.junesprints.com website in darn near real time. I can't find them now. Are they still available somewher? Thanks.

Franz

[John LaRue]

I don't recall the exact times, but Coello has the field by a sizable margin somewhere near 13.4. Tomasi is 2nd quick less than a second off.

[dc]

2:13.4!?!?!?




HOLY CRAP.

[dc]

Any results or ANYTHING from today? No qualifying numbers or anything so far.


Looks like I'm gonna have to cover the Sprints next year as an intrepid reporter for the ever-expanding ApexSpeed media monster.

[TimW]

Any results or ANYTHING from today? No qualifying numbers or anything so far.

SCCA.com has a story. http://www.scca.com/News/News.asp?Ref=842

[jnortonjr]

Hey Doug,

I just got back from the Sprints so here's a quick recap of the weekend. Niki and Brian Tomasi were the class of the field by at least 1.5 seconds. I had heard of Niki running some test session times in the 12.5 range which was quite impressive, however, Q1 and Q2 turned into a black flag fest and that hurt all the times.

The real story this year was tires, or a lack of them. For the past couple years the Avon tires have been a top performer. They are light, sticky from the get-go and you can put 15 heat cycles on them and have a great time. Hoosier has spent the time to develop a tire that is competitive with the Avon, however, they were unable to seize the market opportunity when all of Avon's tires were floating in the middle of the ocean.

Q1 was pretty uneventful. Many guys put good times up but the session was black flagged after about 6-7 laps. Coello and Tomasi did a nice job and many other FC teams were in the 15-17.5 range so it was shaping up to be a good Sprints.

Q2 was very eventful. Coello sustained damage to a front corner and Tomasi closed the gap to about .2 seconds. Other teams stepped it up with the top 12 in or under the 2:16 mark. There was a lot of carnage all over the track including Kirk Kindsfater who blew a motor. If you could get a clean lap and avoid some traffic due to yellows you were in good shape,

The race. If you thought last years Sprints was a joke this one should have it's own comedy tour. On the first lap someone was misting oil everywhere (possibly Kindsfater who had more engine problems) and an Atlantic was stuffed in the tire barrier between 7 and 8. From that point local yellows were plenty and it just got more crazy. After sweeping through 7, with a yellow flag, I was dived bombed down into 8 sending me into the kitty litter (current position 8 with a tightly packed field). I was able to keep going but had to stop on pit road to check the damage. That's when the first double yellow pace car occured. I rejoined the race and was behind a line of Atlantics. As we were making our way through the Kink, under caution, I saw Tomasi on my tail. Not wanting to affect the Continental race I let the entire FC field pass me once I got through 14, plus I wanted to gesture my displeasure with a certain red van diemen driver who hails from Colorado. As we were making another lap under double yellow I noticed Niki Coello 4 cars in front of me and later found out he had been Black Flagged. We got the green next time by and I think Tomasi and Steve Thompson got together in 5. I continued through only to have to race with a swift .008 who would park it in the corners and motor through on the straights. I decided to park it, being a lap down, and another double yellow came out. At least this year the pace car came out.

FC
First place Bobby Caldwell
Second Chas Shaffer
Third Brian Davis

FA
Kasemets

[bryancohnracing]

Once again the officials intercede in a pole sitters race and penalize him for a jumped start.

For the record, since I first went to the Sprints as a driver in 1998, that makes 4 "called jumped starts' by pole sitters in either FF or FC (Nunes, Pritchard in FF, Hodges, Ceollo in FC) Have I missed one?

Hmmm, think it's "Us" or could it be "Them"? Same officials year after year, different drivers. You decide.

I live an hour away and I just couldn't make myself go. What does that say about things?

[FF3]

Bryan, you weren't the only one who could not make yourself go. The entries this year I believe were less than 400, and not so many years ago the entries were in the 600 range. Some 200 drivers choose not to go to what once was a crown jewel of an event. What is wrong? You suggested "us vs, them", and that is a pretty good and succinct analysis. Dave Weitzenhof put it pretty well in a similar allusion in another thread on this site. The old joke of "Those that can do, those that can't officiate" has never been more accurate than at this event. What a shame.

Franz

p.s. Bryan, try coming to the Northern CA area. This division treats drivers as their "customers" (their term, not mine). Generally speaking all seem to get along, there is damn little us vs. them, and an awful lot of mutual respect. It is kind of the SCCA done right. What a concept.

[Purple Frog]

Hum.... seemed much more pleasant in Cleveland.

[dc]

Looks like the results were FINALLY posted HERE.



Wow.

[Keith Carter]

Congrats to Bobby and crew! Also congrats to Chas and Brian on their podiums. It was indeed a mess of a race. SURVIVAL was the name of the game. I was predicting lots of yellows to happen in the race with as many cars as there were out there. Based on the attrition that had occured, we would've ended up 5th if I hadn't lapsed in concentration and had a tank slapper in 14 to allow several cars go by. I'll only beat myself up over it for the next couple months or so... I had a couple of positions sacrificed at the expense of some SLOOOOOOW FA's that were 15-20 seconds off a lap of the FA pace, but I'll take it. We finally finished a race this season!!! Yay!!!

[Mike B]

Here are the top 3. I think I got pics of everyone in the field. If you want a copy, send me a message and I'll sort through them.
Congrats to all the competitors, it was a wild one!

[Chas Shaffer]

Once again the officials intercede in a pole sitters race and penalize him for a jumped start.

In all fairness to the officials and no disrespect to Niki, I started 3rd directly behind Niki and was full throttle from the T14 apex exit trying to stay with him. I was in 3rd gear when the green was given. You be the judge.

I do not like the split start. In the event of a full course caution it puts a bunch of very slow FA's in front of very fast FC's as well as being problematic for the second group start. It most definitely impacted the results. Brain was held up on the first restart and I was hit on the second restart taking each of us out of the lead respectively. I'd prefer to line up where we qualified regardless of car class. Pehaps next year they could regroup us.

Congrats to Bobby, he drove a great race and is a super guy!

[Keith Carter]

Chas, I respectfully disagree on the merging of the classes for the start. From a slower guy's point of view, if we were to get put behind an FA who is slightly slower or faster than us by laptime at the start, the chances of safely making it past without some sort of banzai corner blitz is pretty low. In qualifying and in the race, I was held up by slower "blast down the straight and coast through the corners" Formula Atlantics. In bigger races like the Sprints where there are 50-60 cars on the track at the same time, cars should have to qualify within a certain percentage of the top runners in order to make the show otherwise it makes for a dangerous combination when people attempt to make a hasty pass in order to catch up to guys in their own group. Just another opinion though...

[Purple Frog]

Keith,
Trust me. You will never forget your first finish at the Sprints. Congrats!


So if someone was on the radio telling Nicki the FAs got the green... maybe he thought the FCs had to get the green...

If you have to mix classes, I think I agree with Chas, run how you qualified. Especially at the Sprints where there always seems to be a pace car / restart. But I do understand Keith's point.

[KevinFirlein]

The entire part of qualifying is to get a running order for the race. Why would you then want to change that order after all the hard work ? Thats all a split start does. It puts slower cars in front of faster cars.

the June Sprints have been pretty consistent with the jump start rule. While I dont agree with it its also the same rule as the pro series, go before the green and you will get a penalty.

btw chas, Just because you put a sticker on a car doesnt mean you cant eventually take them off. Starting to look a bit ' Silverish' there mate

[Purple Frog]

I personally don't see anything wrong with the Subway sticker on his car.

[Keith Carter]

I understand that, but a split start should put the slower cars 2 miles ahead of the faster cars at RA and therefore be easier to get around at that point when the pack has spread out a bit. Qualifying should put you in race order for the same class. People shouldn't have to race with a car in another class (especially with the significant power difference) for a good amount of time in order to get to someone they should be racing with. I don't get any points by passing a slow FA. I see Chas' point in the case of a FCY if that does even ever happen (which at the Sprints it does A LOT) though.

[dc]

Maybe it's just a matter of teaching Atlantic racers how to drive their really fast cars at events other than the June Sprints.

[Steve Demeter]

Keith,
there is typically in the supps for most races a 120% rule.

You have to qualify within 120% of the pole in your class or the chief steward has the option of not allowing you to race.

[Matt Satchell]

so at elkhart, they ONLY have to be within 25 seconds of the leader.... LOL

[dc]

So David Grant ran a 2:03.059 to sit on the front row. That's 123.059 seconds for a TQ lap. 120% of that is 147.671 seconds, or a 2:27.671 fast lap time. There were only 5 cars in FA who's fast lap time was slower than the fastest FC. The split starts are necessary when there is such a great speed difference. The FM/FC issue is similar in that the FMs go like stink on the straights and then become cement parking blocks in the corners.


I'm pretty sure I could run a 2:25 with one practice session and I've never even sat in an Atlantic. Maybe the Altlantic guys shouldn't use the Sprints as a track day test session.



Were the on-track speed differences in cars within race groups brought up at the driver's meeting? Why not bring this up then to officials to make a point to slower FA guys that they need to watch their mirrors a bit more.

I watched some of the in-car from Keith's Qs and there were some NASTY chops and blocks (in qualifying!) from a few Atlantics. I'm glad I wasn't out there dodging pylons. That track is scary enough—then to deal with aimlessly wandering and blindly darting Atlantics—no thanks.






Sounds like there are still kinks that need to be ironed out with the Chicago Region...

[jnortonjr]

So, if the FA pole was claimed with a 2:03.00 that would make a competitor ineligible at say 2:27.6. Would that help the situation if a FA is 11 seconds per lap off a competitive FC time? No wonder it's not enforced.

We dealt with many conflicting deals this year. One, there was a 50% increase of FA's over the 5 year average of FA's. That has to dilute driving skill.
Second, the debacle last year made it almost mandatory that SCCA bring a pace car out. Guess we should be careful what we wish for.

This is close to being our superbowl of national competition and with all of the yellows, which are mostly driver error, it has turned into a disappointment for ourselves, our crew and spectators which pay a good amount to see 13 laps of competitive racing.

[Keith Carter]

Were the on-track speed differences in cars within race groups brought up at the driver's meeting? Why not bring this up then to officials to make a point to slower FA guys that they need to watch their mirrors a bit more.

The drivers meeting was Friday at noon which was before we even hit the track for the first practice session but that's not really an excuse not to bring it to the officials. The thing was, in order to alleviate an obvious problem they did send out the FA's and FC's split for qualifying too. They waited until the FA's got to T4 before releasing the FCs. I'm not sure what the proper fix is in the matter. Separate race groups would have worked nicely. It's hard to make the supps and event schedule up before the car counts are in though.

[Keith Carter]

Hey Mike, get any pics of the ApexSpeed machine? Were you in T14 where you were able to see me step on my peep?

[Scott Hutchison]

jnortonjr:
"This is close to being our superbowl of national competition and with all of the yellows, which are mostly driver error, it has turned into a disappointment for ourselves, our crew and spectators which pay a good amount to see 13 laps of competitive racing."

John,

I couldn't agree more. I have a regional car and am pretty much a regional racer so I thought it would be a treat to go to the Sprints again after many years away. My crew commented, and I had to agree, that we actually get more laps of practice, qualifying and racing at the regional level.

When I think back over the weekend I'm not sure how many totally clear laps with no yellows we actually had. Certainly not many, if any at all!

I don't like full course cautions or pace cars but when every session is a crash fest what are the officials going to do? I don't see this so much as a SCCA or race officiating problem as I do a driver problem.

As far as jumped starts go. From my vantage point entering turn 14 watching the front row go up the hill on the main straight it certainly looked like a jumped start to me. Again this is not a SCCA problem, it is a driver problem.

I think we better put out own house in order before we start complaining about others.