Road Atlanta: Three Races - One Weekend

[Monty M]

The new triple-header format starts this weekend at Road Atlanta. One race Saturday, two races Sunday - should be interesting to see how the new format plays out.

[Dennis Valet]

Unfortunately I couldn't commit to taking photos for the entire season this year. Too much stuff going on with work and family. I didn't think it would be fair for the series to have to find a replacement for me whenever I couldn't make it, so Monty has gone ahead and brought in Doug Kniffin. He's a great photographer and should get some good shots!

I'll miss being at the track with everyone but hopefully I can make a comeback soon. Good luck to all and have fun.

[Steve Bamford]

Unfortunately I couldn't commit to taking photos for the entire season this year. Too much stuff going on with work and family. I didn't think it would be fair for the series to have to find a replacement for me whenever I couldn't make it, so Monty has gone ahead and brought in Doug Kniffin. He's a great photographer and should get some good shots!

I'll miss being at the track with everyone but hopefully I can make a comeback soon. Good luck to all and have fun.

You will be missed Dennis. Thanks for the many great pics you have taken as they are great to look back on. Hope to see you back sooner then later.

[Dan Pyanowski]

Monty - this has probably been covered, but I easily forget. What will determine the staring line up for races 2 and 3?

Dennis - thanks for the series support. It's always great to have a photographer with a passion for racing and insider knowledge to capture the essence of competition on the track and in the paddock!


Didn't Dough Kniffin race an FC some years ago?"

[Monty M]

Monty - this has probably been covered, but I easily forget. What will determine the staring line up for races 2 and 3?

Dennis - thanks for the series support. It's always great to have a photographer with a passion for racing and insider knowledge to capture the essence of competition on the track and in the paddock!

Didn't Dough Kniffin race an FC some years ago?"

I believe it will be based on fastest race lap from the previous race. I.E. race two's grid will be based on fast laps from race one.

Kniffin raced in the Cooper Series and also the F2000 Series, among other things.

[Beartrax]

Doug Kniffin did in fact race an FC in the F2000 Championship series a few years ago.

[Douglas Kniffin]

Dennis...Thanks for the kind words!

Dan... Hey, I'll be shooting at RA so let me know if there is anything specific you are looking for. Yep...I'm an old timer who started racing in the days of Carburetors...LOL

Road Atlanta was always my favorite race track to race on. It's a great combination of an old school scary track with not shortage of speed and lots of great places where you can really race and pass people. I'm looking forward to getting out and shooting some great racing!

[Steve Bamford]

The new triple-header format starts this weekend at Road Atlanta. One race Saturday, two races Sunday - should be interesting to see how the new format plays out.

4 dry practice sessions with tons of track time, new and old drivers across the field yet no update from Monty today?

[Monty M]

The field just got a bit deeper - Skylar Robinson is driving a Mygale/Honda for K-Hill this weekend.

[Steve Bamford]

The field just got a bit deeper - Skylar Robinson is driving a Mygale/Honda for K-Hill this weekend.

And I believe he was fastest or in the top 3 yesterday

[Monty M]

Hobbs takes Pelfrey to pole ahead of his teammate Auriemma. Kirkwood P3 for Chastain. Top ten cars within a second.

[Monty M]

Kirkwood around Bamford on the last lap for the win. A couple incidents during the race, including a few Pelfrey cars getting air-time, but everyone was ok. Australian Scott Andrews finished third.

[Mike Scanlan]

The three race format was a big success, the new Hoosier didn't seem to fade. Yet another season with a really strong crop of young kids. Jim was on the wall Sat morning when the 07 car was on prov pole and he heard one of the Pro teams say, 'don't worry, just one of the old guys'. Well that old guy stayed strong all weekend, nice job Steve. See you at the Glen.

[Steve Bamford]

Thanks Mike, it was a good weekend & I agree the tires seemed to last much better then the previous series of tires. You ran well too.

New lap record for a race at Road Atlanta on Sunday AM in the cooler weather so the tires do have speed in them as well.

See you at the Glen from one old guy to another

[Beartrax]

"Just one of the old guys" - who consistently finishes ahead of younger drivers.

[GT1Vette]

I attended on Sunday afternoon as a guest of FRP and have to admit I was pretty impressed with the competition, particularly in F1600. Car counts were a bit disappointing in all classes, but that's expected to pick up once the NE guys come out of hibernation (we've already been racing for four months here in the Southeast! ).

I did not get there in time to watch the Sunday morning race, but I made sure I was at my standard station on the infield side of the bridge at 10-A for the afternoon race and I've got to say the F1600 race was fantastic! 8-10 cars in the lead pack, three wide into the braking zone every lap, and lead changes just about every lap as well. Yes there were a couple of incidents, but by and large it was a very clean yet spectacular show.

Others tell me it's been that way since the series began running the F1600 cars, but this was the first time I'd watched a race green to checker. I'm not sure what it would take to make these spectator-friendly events, but y'all should think about exploring that in the future. Once someone sees the level of competition being offered it'll be hard to go back to something mundane like F1!

Thanks to Bob & Al for inviting me to a great show.

[a. pettipas]

Great racing has (generally) been disconnected from the spectacle of top-level motor sports (cars). Road racing, in purpose-built cars, doesn't get any better than FF, IMO.

[Dennis Valet]

16 year old kids think someone who can legally drink is ancient, so I wouldn't worry too much about them calling you old Now Scanlan on the other hand....

[Mike Scanlan]

Ouch! But really, I take bigger hits at home.

[Lotus7]

Ouch! But really, I take bigger hits at home.

Mike,
The three kids in our 2 Mygales and the VanDiemen added TOGETHER are younger than me on the wrenches LOL

[Dennis Valet]

But seriously Mike, I saw your lap times and they were impressive. Congrats on the good times.

[Raceworks]

Here's the visor-cam video from the Sunday morning race: https://youtu.be/3xAxageJv-4

[Parker]

Thank you for posting Raceworks

Wish more video was available.

Can't quite put my finger on why this racing if more fun to watch than F1.
Maybe it's more attainable?
Maybe the POV is more consistent?
Maybe the moves take more time to develop because of the slower speeds and thus the viewer feels more involved?

Anthony.

[Mike Scanlan]

Thanks for posting Sam, haven't had time to go thru mine yet. See you at The Glen. I suspect that if F1 took away aero and added a spec engine they'd be just as much fun to watch. The Honda Fit package has also been a huge upgrade for the F1600, leveling the playing field and making it more reliable.

[Raceworks]

Thank you for posting Raceworks

Wish more video was available.

Can't quite put my finger on why this racing if more fun to watch than F1.
Maybe it's more attainable?
Maybe the POV is more consistent?
Maybe the moves take more time to develop because of the slower speeds and thus the viewer feels more involved?

Anthony.

All of the above, plus the average F1600 pro race has more competitive passing than any 3 given seasons of F1.

[Dennis Valet]

Cool video, I love the perspective and being able to see the mirrors.

[Steve Bamford]

This is what happens when 3 cars actually take 10 A together. I sorta ran out of room.

[Dennis Valet]

Cheater

[Steve Bamford]

Cheater

What, I kept 2 wheels on the curbing, lol.