The Coop Chronicles ARRC 2008

[glenn cooper]

OK, Ya'll, this is a long one. Get a cup of something hot and a slice of something warm, probably with a pad of butter. Enjoy!

[glenn cooper]

See Below

[rickjohnson356]

Try doing a 'save as' from your MS Word document.
It will ask you for the 'type'. choose '.txt' as the suffix. (coop.txt)
then open the txt file and copy & paste tto the Apex message box

[DanW]

Glenn,

I assume you wrote it in MS word first?

If so, go to File/Save As/and in Save As Type, select Text with Line Breaks.

Select all,and copy and repaste into the message. I think that should work.

Great story!! Now if I could only learn how to drive as well as you.

Best regards,
Dan Wise

The Coop Chronicles American Road Race of Champions (ARRC)
Road Atlanta
November 8, 2008
Man, what a difference a year makes. I was here for ARRC ’07, attending the first ever Formula B National Championship. The only problem was I was on the slow side of the chain link fence.
While it was great to be involved, helping with the party, doing a little bit of driver coaching, basically helping out any way I could… the thing is, I’m a driver, not a spec-"tater".
A wheel man, A Shoe, The nut behind the wheel, and as such it isn’t good, or proper for me to be at a racetrack without my gear bag, at a minimum (just in case mind you).

Fast forward one year and I’m finally in my own car, and having a pretty good run of it so far in‘08.

Back in August, I had a setback of sorts at a race meeting at Birmingham, Alabama’s exquisite Barber Motorsports Park. I had an engine let go, which resulted in a small-ish fire, which put me back more than a few $’s, and a few months of valuable testing for this weekend’s race at Road Atlanta - The 2nd annual Formula B National Championship.

I had been chomping at the bit for the past year to get a shot at this thing, and I planned to be ready, come Hell or Highwater. Team Coopsport was gonna make it’s presence known!

Rewind to one day before the pre race test day.
Everything is go:
Fresh Vic Fasola Racing Suzuki GSXR1000 engine, check.
Larry Kropp Dry Sump Oiling System, check.
Hurly Racing Products Engine Cover/Rear Bodywork, check.
Custom Stainless/Ceramic NASA spec Heat Shield, check.
Custom C and R Racing Oil Cooler, check.

All of these mods were done post blow up, incorporating changes to equipment and systems that had shown the need for improvement.
Some of the bits were untested; there would be a bit of gamblin’ going on.
Quite the laugh when you consider I’ve never been to Vegas, or Biloxi for that matter...


After many late nights that melted into early mornings, it’s finally time to light this thing off, so I flip the master switch, hit the start button, and NOTHING. No fuel pump whirring away, no throttle bodies cycling their secondary butterflies, no nothing, well the starter is turning the engine over.

Why in the heck would the act of simply replacing the engine and plugging the harness up result in a no (electron) flow situation? Good question, one that over the next 12 hours I probably asked myself a few hundred times. Folks that I called, desperate for advice, were a dead end. Specialists that I then spoke with, trying their hardest to diagnose this thing blind, over the phone, came up empty…

Finally, I was forced to do something I never thought I’d ever do: Load a non-running race car on a trailer and head to the track! The late hour (‘bout midnight, with the test day looming a mere 8 hours away) left me no recourse.

Things were coming along oh-so-well up to that point. The Racing Gods were toying with me, I could feel it...

Thursday Test Day

As the first of 4 test day sessions is taking to the track on a beautifully crisp North Georgia Fall morning, we’re just tearing into the harness, poking away with a test light, hunting for that elusive open (circuit).

By the time the second session is running around, we’ve, oh hell, who am I kidding, Vic has done a bit of hot wiring (and I’m the one from New York - Go Figure!), and the almighty GSXR 1000 comes to life.

Now most folks at this point normally go into full Dr Frankensteen mode, looking up to the sky, hands outstretched, exalting "It’s Aliiiiiiiiiiiive, It’s Aliiiiiiiiiiiiive!"
Not Vic. He’s a professional. No cliched movie quote. No goofy gesticulations.


No, it was more of a sly, knowing grin. This was his baby, and it just took it’s first breath. It was a Proud Papa moment.
OK, half the test day is gone, but Road Atlanta is one of few tracks that offer a half test day, seemingly for jokers like me that show up with stuff that won’t run. Cool, AND it’s less than ½ the price. Shhhhhhhh, don’t say anything!

We get out for the third of four sessions, and everything feels and looks great.
Can you say reversal of fortune? Things were on the typical Team Coopsport curve - moments of sheer desperation, followed almost immediately by a euphoric turnaround that rivals any Knute Rockne bio.

Folks, I don’t have any explanation for it, it just happens. It’s been that way for longer than I can remember. Maybe ‘cause it makes such good copy?

Friday Morning, Quali 1I got right out in the middle of the mix, managing to get maybe 5 or 6 laps in, before shifting became problematic.
I was not able to downshift as rapidly as I’d like. The transmission was fine, the problem felt like something was binding, as the shift paddle was not reacting as crisply as usual.

Say, had I mentioned that the designer (Jay Novak), AND the builder (Dave Piontek) of the conversion kit were down here in support mode?
They had driven down from Michigan with a few extra bits, chief amongst them a complete, including engine, Novarace chassis subframe kit, and a few spare bits, including, luckily a new shift cable. Sweet. Thank You Racing Gods…

Jay tears into replacing the cable, while Vic and I tend to the rest of the car.
And what of Dave you ask? Well with lunch hour fast approaching, and the track available for "touring" (sub 60 mph laps) he’s unloading one of his Twin Tech cars from the trailer. It’s a Roadster with a V Twin Harley clone engine mounted upfront, and I mean up front - right about where the bumper would be.
These things are pretty cool and you’re not liable to run into one on the way to lunch. Bonus.
Around this time George Dean rolls up after an all nighter / red-eye from Seattle, and gets busy on the wiring harness issues.
At first he looks confused, starts to ask me why I just didn’t initially wire it up as he had instructed, then quickly thinks better of it and offers up something to the effect of "Gimme a wire stripper, terminal kit, and some heat shrink tubing and I’ll get this thing all rosed out in about 15 minutes". He did and it was.
THAT, people is customer service!


So things are looking up, even more. The time sheets are out and we’re a solid 3rd, with only a handful of laps.

It’s about this time that I’m spinning the rear wheel and Vic is lubing the rotating drive chain. OK, did I just see the axle hop instead of rotate smoothly?
I grab onto it and my heart sinks. The inner tripod joint feels as though it’s come apart. Ton’s of play where there should be virtually none. Groan, this is gonna be a long day…

"OK Racing Gods, I see your plan: you’re trying to break me. Well it ain’t gonna happen! I’m onto you guys!"

I now embark on a time honored racetrack tradition. As the bits required are not exactly everyday production car parts, but rather are exactly parts used exclusively by my competitors, I would now be asking/pleading/begging (merely relay to me which level of groveling to descend to, and I’m there!) for the purchase/loan/use of bits that will work, in virtually anything close to working order. We’ll make it work somehow, even if it involves taking two bad units and making one good one.

You’re not likely to find a more willing and giving group than racers. We feed on competition. Having a good race is paramount to our experience, and having one of the group not be able to participate due to a part failure and having that part in the bottom of a cardboard box, stuffed under the porta-vac in the right front cabinet of your trailer that was towed all the way from Ontario, Canada would just not do for one Jeremy Hill, he one of the "Dons" of Formula B…

It was with much reverence and humility that I accepted the loan of the two tired, somewhat corroded tripod joints. "Don Jeremy, I stand before you and proclaim my utmost devotion to your teachings, for they are true. I will fight cleanly with you on the track, and if the time ever comes where you or any member of your immediate family needs this favor returned, I trust you will come to me first, so that I may repay my indebtedness to you."

Yeah he looked pretty uncomfortable, especially when I tried to kiss his ring… "Here, just take ‘em, it’s cool!"

Times-a-wastin’! I bolt back to Coopsport Central with the parts, where Jay has the axles disassembled awaiting my return. Had I mentioned how cool it was to have a dedicated crew this weekend?

Q2’s comin’ up fast, but first a quick call to Taylor Race Engineering:
Brrrrrrrrring, Brrrrrrrrrring…"Yeah tough guy, get Scotty on the phone… Hurry up! (On hold music)… "Scotty here"…
Yeah Scotty, Coop. I need four new tripod joints, next day to the track. Yeah, Road Atlanta. Yep, The ARRC. I dunno, look it up. Yep, Brasleton. Yeah I know it ain’t gonna be cheap, like anything related to this endeavor is??? Right, Master Card on file. Do it. Thanks bro".

One call, does it all. Scotty is the man!

Friday Afternoon, Quali 2


All-righty, seemingly all the gremlins have been put to death, and maybe I’ll be able to get more than a few laps in! We take our places from the Q1 times, so I’m 4th car out.

We make hay for several laps before coming up on slower cars. I take this opportunity to come in for some tire temps and pressures, also to see where I’m at lap time wise, but my ultra zoot, real time I-Card timing device is not working at all. The display still comes up as Carolina Motorsports Park, back from the summer. It’s quite possibly the worst technology currently in racing, which seems to work perfectly about 85% of the time. Hmmmm, perhaps they’ll issue me a 15% refund. Ha!!


I ask my crew to get me back out with a good gap to those ahead. They oblige and almost instantly I’m told to GO! It’s a F1 pit stop simulation: both rear tires light up, I’ve got to pedal it for a scosh, then get back in it, and damned if it doesn’t light up the rear’s again, this time slewing slide-ways right as I’m going by the Piper People, tending to their car/driver.
Piper Patriarch Don Seivenpiper doesn’t even flinch, apparently his nerves are as tough as his car!

I come in after a few laps, having gone almost a ½ sec quicker, but not quick enough to advance up the grid. None of the other FB drivers improve on their time.
Third it is…

Saturday 1PM Race

Race day morning, nothing like it. Went home the night before to get a goodnight’s sleep, as one of those in the motorhome has proven darn near impossible. All we gotta do is drive to the track, pick up the AM delivery FedEx package, bolt on the new bits and throw some fuel in the car. Everything else is already done.
Upon arrival at the track, I step into the Road Atlanta office and inquire as to where the over-nighted packages can be picked up. I‘m informed that whenever the office is closed, as they were and had just opened, the front gate security folks are the point.
OK, I roll over there and inquire. The response nearly dropped me: "Yeah, the guy was here about 30 minutes ago, but we sent him away, we’re not allowed to sign for anything".

OK Coop, don’t panic, there are options still:

A) Steal/borrow the tripods off Russ McBride’s FB. He won’t mind, as the EBay special Kawasaki motor in his car expired on the Thursday test day, and he has no spare. No, too much work…

B) Choke the gate guard till blue, then have him squeak "Uncle!", and have him go find the FedEx guy. Nope, too much potential involvement with law enforcement…

C) Call 800 # for FedEx and explain my predicament to the nice lady.

"C" it is. After the horror just experienced mere minutes before, it must be the professional training and professionalism of "Jan" that sees me chilled quickly: She assures me of her complete understanding of my situation: "Yeah, we race in a few hours and if I don’t have these parts installed on the car, Chip Ganassi may never hear of me, and if he never hears of me, how can I expect him to hire me as Helio’s replacement?"

I’m informed that they will contact the driver and see if he can be met somewhere on his route. This sounds good, but I’m a nervous wreck. Is this some shipping industry lip-service? Will the guy actually turn around and come back? Do I need this right now?

After what seems like hours, but was actually about 30 minutes, my cell rings. It’s Jan with FedEx. The driver has agreed to return to the track and will call me within 5 minutes of arrival, at which time I will meet him right up front, by the gate. Yeah, that gate…

He calls, I go, we meet. He tells me the gate guard was pretty snippy too boot!
I reply that this guy will be lucky if he has trash pickup duty when I’m done talkin’ to his boss. Driver leaves with crisp $20 stuffed into his shirt pocket over much objection…

Whew!



Here’s the Formula B Final (race) grid / lowdown:

On Pole, 2007 FB National Champ Jeremy Pritchard, driving THE Piper (only example in existence), with a Q time of 1:21.206

In P2 with a time of 1:22.5 is Shane Lewis in the Stohr Cars North America F1000 entry, the same car driven to a fine 2nd place finish last year by Cole Morgan. Shane’s list of racing accomplishments is pretty impressive, with drives in the 24 Hours of LeMans, 24 Hours of Nurburgring, Daytona Prototypes, many different levels of tin top racing as well as a strong history in the Junior Formulas. And Karts!

P3 is perennial Southeast ‘shoe A Sports Racer driver Jacek Mucha, who while not driving in FB, is still mixed in with our class on the grid. It will be very important for me to get into T1 on the start in front of this car and hang tight with the P1 and P2 FB’s.

P4 – Your’s truly w/ a 1:22.950 / Novak Converted Van Diemen / Production Kit #1. While good enough for 3rd FB on the grid, this time is not representative of what I should be able to hustle this car around Rd A.
The shifting difficulties really cut into a quick lap time and hopefully the new cable will not provide anything but silky smooth operation.
P5 – Jeremy Hill (driving a converted Van Diemen car of his own design, the Photon) with a 1:25.279

P6 – Bill McLaughlin / Stohr F1000 / 1:25.932
P7 – Out of class entry
P8 - Ben (The Other) Cooper / Cooper Elan DP-04 / 1:26.867
P9 and P-10 Out of class entries
P-11 Sean Maisey / 1:27.924 / Novacar Conversion Prototype / Van Diemen

I fully expect at least ½ the FB’s will go quicker in the race.
Apparently I was not the only one having issues during testing/qualifying: Maisey and Ben Cooper were battling problems right along with me.

Taking to the track for the warm up / sighting lap, I can’t help but feel pretty jazzed. This one’s for all the beans; whoever takes the checker first will be the 2008 Formula B National Champion. It was time to lay it down…

We come down the hill from T11, all formed up, 2 wide and handsome. Suddenly it’s on, and a full boogy, 13,000 RPM redline blast ensues. Up through the gears, and down the front straightaway. Halfway down the straight, I’ve got enough room on the ASR of Mucha to slot in front of him, and secure 3rd position, before sweeping back out on the hot (wide) line, and tossing it into T1, rivals ahead.

Up the hill out of T1, and the Stohr (now P1!) and Piper pilots have started to build a little gap. We wind our way through the famed Rd Atlanta esses, and by the time we are on the high speed back straight, I’ve reeled ‘em in. The spectators in T10 are treated to a 3 car train, hard on the brakes, downshifting from 6th all the way down to 2nd. As we start the climb to the T11 bridge, the 2 lead cars are pulling away as I’ve yet to be able to select the proper gear! By the time I finally do, 1st and 2nd have checked out. THIS is not in the playbook.

I’ve got to come up with something, and quick. The problem only happens when I have to perform multiple downshifts, pretty much only at T10, hauling it down from over 150mph, down to about 45.

What a difference the folks on the front/pit straight saw, compared to the folks in T10!
T10 crowd / 3 cars nose to tail, and seconds later,
front straight crowd / first and second nose to tail, and third, quite a way back…

This can not, and will not go down this way. I’ve got a reputation to uphold. The pride of others is on the line (not to mention potential sales of conversion kits, eh-hehm) as well.
It’s all on me now…

Racing is such a mental game, perhaps that’s why I‘m into it so much – I’m mental!

We’re raging around the track, fighting almost 3G spikes in cornering, and max braking G’s slightly less. Speeds in excess of 150mph, all the while attempting to stay centered on an imaginary ribbon about 3 inches wide, tires right on the edge of adhesion, monitoring temperatures on the dash display, scrolling through the display via a button on the steering wheel, keeping an eye out on the corner stations for any flags displayed, and now, multitasking even more, attempting to come up with a game plan for the shifting issues I‘m encountering.

I decide that I will try to leave a little time-gap between each downshift, giving the cable or whatever is not responding smoothly a little time to recover. I’ll have to start my braking that much earlier, but if this proves to work well, I’ll then begin shortening the interval. Down into the T10 dip, and I start the mildly delayed downshift sequence, or MDDS for short. It works. Cool…

Now I can concentrate on getting back to the leaders who are having a good little dice just ahead. The Lewis/Stohr entry now relegated back to P2 by the determined Pritchard/Piper, me in third, and starting to build a gap on the Photon of Hill, and the other Stohr of McLaughlin, running 4th and 5th respectively.

Lap by lap, I’m gaining on Lewis. By the 4th go-round, we are into lapped traffic, and 2 laps later on the way into T1, I get a great run on him and a lapped car, and do the double with what has been described to me by the owner of Lewis’ car as "a monster run up the inside", and by others as "a monster outside double pass".

In what is possibly a Coop Chronicle first – I actually can’t remember! I know, I’ll give you a second to let that sink in.
Coop. Can’t. Remember.
It just doesn’t sound right, does it?

Any-ole-hew, I‘ve got the laser sight on the Piper: While not exactly a D. Vader-esque "You’re mine now, Skywalker" moment, the level of determination was the same. Errr, maybe not – the Empire would still survive, even if I failed…

I’m also trying to stave off an attack from the rear, and whenever I can stuff past a lapped car and get him between me and the FB behind, all the better:
There’s a war being waged - on two fronts.

One of the coolest things about FB’s is their obscene rate of acceleration, especially in the lower gears. Prior to the entry of left hand T5, there is a short chute, coming off a little right hand jog. In most other cars, this is a place where if you come up on a lapped car, you have no choice but to stay behind them, and blast by coming off of T5. Not the case in an FB, where (sinister laugh) you can literally turn this spot into a passing zone, which I do, putting Lewis an additional car back. You never know if or when there will be a Full Course Yellow flag displayed and a Pace Car sent out, effectively wiping out any time advantage you built over your competition. The only thing you can do to combat this is to build a space/placement gap to those behind.
One war, two fronts…

I’m reeling Justin in ever so slowly, a tenth here, tenth an’ a half there.
Each time I pass my crew on the front straight, Ana is encouraging me, and like me, she loves to have a good time. As we have heard all season long in Formula 1 races the word over (and it’s always some Italian accented English speaking Race Engineer telling their driver to) "Pooosh, Keep Poooshing.
So what does Ana say? "Poosh Giancarlo, eet ez time to pooosh, keep pooshing".
Try holding a straight face with THAT coming over the helmet headset speakers…

A few laps later and we are plunging down the hill from the T11 bridge. Up ahead something is not quite right, and it takes a split second for the mind to catch up with the eyes. The Club Formula Continental of Barney’s little purple brother, Mike Eakin, AKA Purple Frog is sitting cattywampus in T12, just about at the apex, perpendicular to the flow. He’s just come to a stop as we come into view, and I know there’ll be a Full Course Yellow flag thrown as he is in a really dangerous spot. We both fly by behind/on the outside, conscious of the fact that he may roll backwards, or possibly he’s got it in gear and a foot slips off the clutch pedal. You name it and it could happen. Best to get by with cushion, and then keep railin’!

Sure enough a few turns later, and the FCY comes out. Usually Race Control will dispatch the waiting Pace Car to pick up the leader and bring it down to a very low speed, thus allowing the safety crew to get to Eakin. They’ll either get him push started (favorable), or if he can’t get it lit off and going, flat towed outta there (unfavorable).
We make a lap and come by and they’re still fooling around with the car.
Meanwhile the Pace Car has come out, but the driver has been mistakenly directed to pick up a different car, and while the pack is slowed down, the order is not correct.

I’m wondering just how we/they are gonna get this straight, when just as we crest the back straight T9, there is a Formula Mazda into the wall, driver’s left. Due to the amount of car-nege, it looks like it was a pretty fast shunt, and I hope the driver is OK.
Now we’re in for quite a few laps of caution; this thing won’t be able to be flat towed in.

We stay FCY for about 6 laps, and after about 2 more laps, the pace car pulls right and starts pointing cars by, until Pritchard is rightfully directly behind. With the order restored, we stay FCY about 2 more laps, then as everything has been cleaned up, the lights go out on the pace car, and he jets off, turning over field pacing duties to Pritchard.

It is imperative that the following car (me) and all other following cars (everyone else) stay on the guy ahead. You’d think it would be easy, right? As someone who has in the past been trapped by what I lovingly refer to as "lollygaggers", I know how Lewis in 3rd must be feeling. The two or three cars behind me and in front of him are not exactly keeping the gap tight. I know Pritchard is going to hit it and hit it hard as we come down the hill from the bridge. I’m right on him, and we’re in first gear doing about 40. He hits it hard for a second, ass end stepping out, just enough to clean the rear tires off, and then hits it for real, in full-on Tony Kannan IRL oval race restart mode, running it hard down the hill, me in tow.

We now have a huge gap back to third; keep this up and I may only have to focus on a one front war – the one directly ahead!

We fly into and up outta T1, I’m now so close I can see sparks flying out from under his car, the metal sacrificial wear strips on his diffuser doing their thing.

It’s times like this when it can all go to hell real quick. We won’t have to deal with any lapped traffic for a while, quite possibly for the remainder of the race.
Even without that distraction, a mental lapse at the speeds we are going can be spell disaster. Now is the time to breath, stay focused, and stay in the zone.
Shadow your opponent. Fill his mirrors with your image. Keep the pressure on. Keep it clean, but try to force a mistake.
It’s been said that the true mark of a champion is his ability to not get ruffled by those that would challenge their lead. Who was it that said that you ask? Me, yep just then, remember?

I’ve been that dude up front, it’s tough. It’s also what all those laps, spent hurling these things around have taught you. Things like smoothness and race craft. Positioning of your car, and the ability to, when required, make that car ‘wider" than it actually is. When to attempt a pass, and just as importantly when not to.

With maybe two to go, there’s no one behind. We’ve run past a few lapped cars, and the Yo-Yo is swinging both ways, Justin gets a gap, I close the gap, but the fact is I’ve been gaining. I can hear Jay telling Ana to tell me the interval, but I can see it. It’s right there. Right in front of me. I just gotta reach for it, a high speed brass ring…

One to go, and I’m all over the Piper. As we come out of the long left after T3, there’s a lapped car ahead. Pritchard tries him up the inside into the downhill T4, trying desperately to put him between us, but he’s chopped off by the unsuspecting driver. This move forces Pritchard to brake very hard and fast to prevent contact, and with the left side of his car loaded so heavily in the right hander, it steps out big-time. I’m half thinking "Oh no!" and the other half thinking "Well, if ya have to…" but he gathers it up and shakes it off; it was a great save![/SIZE]

I’m still right behind, hoping to capitalize on anything and everything I can.
The corner workers are doing everything they can; blue flags w/ diagonal yellow stripes are flying everywhere. When a driver is being shown this flag (The Passing Flag) it means Be Advised, Faster Cars Are Approaching.
I’ve also been told by some old sage it means "Hey Buddy, There’s a race going on, and you ain’t in it!

Remember that short chute just before T5? Turns out I’m not the only FB driver that uses this as a passing zone. Pritchard is by, but the door is closing on me. If only the driver of that car woulda given BOTH cars coming through some room, THAT woulda been sweet. Yeah, if only…
Comes under the heading of Woulda/Coulda/Shoulda.

Cue Porky Pig – "Tha, uh Tha, uh… That’s All Folks".

No way could I make up this gap, but I’m from some very stubborn Russian/Austrian/a scosh Greek/and a wee-tad Polish lineage: I’m gonna try till ya can’t try no mo’.
Into the T7 hairpin and it’s a 4 wheel drift onto the back straight where I can see Justin just ahead. He climbs the T8 brow and drops out of sight. An instant later, I climb the brow and he pops back in view. Up through the gears one last time, and I’m gaining; maybe he’s running hot and down on power? Around T9 and into the dip (or what’s left of the dip. Anyone remember The Dip?).
I’m gonna run this thing in deeper than ever. Past the 300 marker, then the 200, then the 100. The GSXR engine now on the rev limiter in 6th, somewhere way north of 150mph, "Daa-daa-daa-daa-daa-daa (seriously, it sounds just like that, but REALLY loud).

I finally through out the anchor, smoke is absolutely boiling off the (unweighted) left side tires, throw it into the left hander, completely abusing the underside of the car over the rumble strips/alligator teeth, then whip it to the right in another futile 4 wheel drift, up the hill slideways, leaving a fresh pair of darkies, channeling the spirit of Danny Ongais as it were, foot to the floor.
Like there’s some other way…

Moments later Pritchard takes the checker, making it two in a row for Piper.
I come second in "Connie" my Novacar converted Van Diemen in what I’m billing as The Race of my Life TM
Lewis takes third in the Stohr, Hill/Photon 4th, McLaughlin/Stohr 5th, and Ben Cooper/Cooper-Elan 6th .
Epilogue

We had a nice little Winner’s Circle/podium deal going, until that is we were handed bottles of champagne. As I’m getting my foil torn away and starting to shake, the other two guys run away! I’ve never seen anything like it; I just stood there, all alone, bottom lip all poked out like a 5 year old that can’t find his new puppy.
I think someone may have even gotten a photo of this.

Strangely enough, prior to meeting at the rostrum, I never even so much as said a peep to either of the other driver’s, much less shook their hand. I’m fairly certain that that has never happened in my racing career. All weekend long I would drive past the Ten Tenths/Stohr paddock spot, usually in a blur, trying to find parts and Fed Ex employees(!), and never got the chance to meet Shane, maybe just a nod or a wave.
I never actually knew where the Piper paddock was, and as they are quite private, perhaps it played out that way for a reason.
Not enough time in a day to get it all done.

Turns out the little conversion that could, did. Get a new lap record that is!
On the 17th of 20 laps, a 1:21.4 and change is now in the books, and I’m proud to have my name next to it. If I could, I’d love to add about a dozen names after mine, because without them, it wouldn’t have been possible: Jay and Dave, race bud Jack Velden, Mike Devins/HRP, Vic and George, ALL my FB forefather’s, and of course Ana, my (way) better half /Crewchief. That lap record is in print w/ one name on it, but in my mind, it’s recorded quite differently.

Sunday morning I took the front damper cover off to do a little prep work, and found the front anti-roll bar blade had reached it’s fatigue limit. It was in two pieces, basically resulting in me having a very soft front roll setting, kinda like something you’d run in wet conditions. I recon this happened after the halfway point when I sorta remember the car not turning in as crisply as it had been, and mentally filed it under the tires starting to go away.

Like Vic implored us back in the 2 wheeled racing daze of the ‘80’s: Just ride (drive) the thing!

Next up is a long deserved rest, well at least a few weeks worth. In the southeast, our first race of 2009 is the first weekend in January, at the newly revamped Palm Beach (formerly Moroso) International Raceway.

I solemnly swear that by this race I will have finally had some flashy paint thrown on this thing. Up till now, during it’s development phase, I’ve sorta relied on the multi-colored body panels to convey a certain "Sanford and Son" look, and with it perhaps the slightest bit of uncertainty/empathy/shock value into my competition:
"That Giancarlo fella over there sure has a sweet lookin’ ride, any of you guys know him?" type deal…

Preeeeeeeeeeeeeeety sure I won’t be able to play that card anymore.
The news is out. Lap times that used to require a car costing 75-100k are now, available to anyone with 25k burning a hole in their pocket, putting it squarely in the hands of regular guys like myself. I still would love to drive one of the almighty Formula Atlantics if the opportunity presented itself. In the meantime, I’ll just keep developing this thing in 2009. The way I see it, we’ll need to shave another second or maybe a second and a half off the record if we have any hope of winning the title in ’09 here, in one year.

Ciao, Giancarlo DiCoopola / FB 43

[glenn cooper]

,,

[billwald]

Great article Coop! Next time take some time to come hang with us awhile. Congrats again on a great run.

Bill

[Lincspeed]

Bravo, piloto superioro! Scrivi bene, anche... (I think that's how to say it)

Best line (most truthful?) "Racing is such a mental game, perhaps that’s why I‘m into it so much – I’m mental! "

Cheers, Clark

[Chris McNitt]

Sweet!!
Congrats on the track record! I bet those FCY laps were hard laps, knowing how fast you were.

I just ordered a pan from Larry also and he mentioned the oil tank you are using, could you pm me where you got it from?

[Ted Idlof]

Coop, good on ya my man. It looks like TeamCoop has finally landed back on earth and in the pointy end of the grid after being adrift in the garage and SR cosmic void since the days of FM greatness. I mean, fenders.......c'mon

And I must say, you've done it in style..........like with a crew and everything. Sheesh, whoda thunk it? For those who don't know how far you've come, they should read the early Coop Chronicles. Ya know, it's going to be a long winter, and I wonder how many of the ApexSpeed community would collaborate on writing the story line for DAYS OF COOPNESS, a racing movie we wouldn't be ashamed of. Tons of material back in the moldy archives of the FM forum, doncha think? I've got a few scenes taking shape in my fragile egg-shell mind. Let's see, how about The early years.............hmmmm kind of a mix of The Great Labowski and Apollo 13.

Well, anyway, looking forward to vicariously racing and dodging bullets Coop style next year.

[Wow, crew?? ...........I can't grasp it!!!]

[formulasuper]

One thing Coop didn't mention was how during the Sunday "bonus race" for the Wings & Things group he lapped the entire field. Made me feel pretty slow as he went by like he was on rails, then when I saw his lap times I didn't feel so bad.

[camaroz1985]

Excellent write up. Puts all of us right in the cockpit with you. Congrats on the record, and best of luck next year.

[Mike Devins]

Hey Giancarlo,

If you really are Italian why is George Dean the one talking with his hands?

[Purple Frog]

Mrs Frog was all set to take FB podium pictures... then it was over before it started. She did catch Coopala sprinting off with a bottle of bubbly. He wasn't quite on cloud nine, but looking closely at the picture, his feet weren't touching the ground.

The suit? I guess Cooper is short for Coopala. Or he stole it from that guy from Atlanta that used to have the day-glo orange helmet.

I noticed in Coop's posted pictures there seemed to be a purple clothing theme.

[Jnovak]

Purple clothing is a very good thing!

Thanks ... Jay

[glenn cooper]

I appreciate the feedback and comments, Thanks.

Sorry for the time delay, almost 2 weeks since race, but I was pretty busy w/ planning a suprise party for Ana's Big 5-0. I confirmed once again that I really suck at planning parties, but we still had about 20 folks show up.

Now getting ready for Winter Nat's in FL.

GC

[kma4444]

So Ana's undefeated, that's quite a good record, congratulate her for me!!

Good job Mr Cooper..