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The current V8RRS points standings are posted.

Charlotte Race report

Started by vern smith, August 14, 2016, 08:50:38 PM

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vern smith

Not a good way to start a report but with qualification and two ralces in the same day I simple did not have the time to take the pictures and talk to the people as I usually would. Butch was there as well and had about nine fewer hours on the drive home so I'm sure he will have his usual informative and colorful commentary up shortly. My best overall impression of the weekend was a decidedly mixed bag. We tore up a lot of good cars for some really strange reasons, none of which had much to do with the  track or it's layout, just freaky occurrences. I'm penning this after 13 hours pounding the interstates so my recollections may be cloudy   :(
The difference between theory and practice is that, in theory, there is no difference but in practice there is.



Butch Kummer

Got back around 4:00 yesterday afternoon but needed to spend some time catching up with things rather than posting. I'll have a (much) longer report later, but here's the quick update:

We lost two cars during Friday's test day - Carl Bussard's Fusion in SPO and my Monte Carlo in GT2/GTA. I ran two sessions before lunch and then we broke the rear end housing during Allan's first session in the Time Trial portion in the afternoon (at least he actually got to drive the car this time - more on that later as well). Carl was in the garage across from us and I noticed they were thrashing a lot on the car, but I didn't realize the situation was terminal until we got to the track Saturday morning and his stall was empty.

There were communication issues between Race Control and the racers/workers all weekend, and those were compounded by the lack of a PA system that could be heard in the garages and much of the paddock. A number of our racers thought we were the first race after lunch on Saturday, but given the lack of issues on track during qualifying the decision was made to move our race BEFORE lunch. That was further compounded by the inability to hear the call to grid by most of our drivers/teams. As a result, Ricky Sanders was off getting parts for his pole-winning Corvette and Larry Hoophaugh and Steve Magowen joined the race one lap down.

Bottom line on Race #1:
. 2nd OA, 1st in GTA - Bobby Reuse, Camaro
. 3rd OA, 1st in GT1 - Mark Mercurio, Tyler's Grand Prix
. 4th OA, 2nd in GTA - Vern Smith, Impala
. 5th OA, 3rd in GTA - Steve Magowen, Camaro
. 6th OA, 1st in AS - Dainton Brooks, Mustang Cobra
. 7th OA, 1st in GTSC - Larry Hoophaugh, Grand Prix
. DNF - Randy Walker, GTA, Camaro (hood blew off at the green flag!)
. DNS - Ricky Sanders, GT1, Corvette
. DNS - Carl Bussard, SPO, Fusion
. DNS - Mike Attaway, GT2, Monte Carlo
. DNS - Butch Kummer, GT2, Monte Carlo

Randy, Ricky, and Mike got their cars ready (and Bobby pulled Roger's car out of the trailer since his had a big dent in the front end - those details will be in the longer report), so after dinner we had 9 V8RRS cars plus John Finger's ex-Gordon Cup car take the green for Race #2. Vern was running second overall behind Ricky but had fire in the car as he finished lap 1, so he pulled off in the gap between Turn 1 into the infield and the return onto the oval, dismounted his vehicle to extinguish the flames, and then proceeded with guidance back to paddock area.

After starting last due to not being able to crank the car on the grid, John Finger had made his way though to run second behind Ricky Sanders. Bobby Reuse had quickly gotten comfortable with Roger's car and was running third, but was closely followed by Larry Hoophaugh while Mark Mercurio had also joined them after electing to start last since he was in Tyler's car. Randy Walker was also part of that best battle on the race track but was the first to fade back.

As the field finished lap 12 (of the scheduled 25) the order was Ricky and Finger, then Bobby, Mark and Larry running nose-to-tail. I was looking at Start/Finish to chart the race and didn't see what happened, but apparently Larry misjudged his braking point and got into Mark, then both of them pounded the tire wall on the right side of the opening to the infield section. The yellow lights on the oval went on and the field collected up behind Ricky in the following running order:

. Ricky Sanders, GT1
. John Finger, non-V8 member
. Bobby Reuse, GTA
. Randy Walker, GTA
. Steve Magowen, GTA
. Mike Attaway, GT2
. Dainton Brooks, AS

Ricky had slowed the field so no pace car was deployed. The clean-up was taking longer than expected, however, so after six laps under the FCY the decision was made to do a Black Flag All to bring everyone to Pit Road then red flag the race to stop the session clock (we were about 35 minutes into the 45-minute time limit at this point). Unfortunately, here's where the communication issues created havoc.

Ricky, Bobby, and Mike did not see any black flags, much less the "All" sign, until they were approaching the starter's stand on the front straight. By that time it's too late to enter Pit Road but the rest of the field DID enter the pits and were joined by the first three their next time around. When the race was restarted Ricky, Bobby and Mike were held at the exit of Pit Road to allow the rest of the field to make up the lap, but the rest of the field was given the green flag while Ricky, etc. were stationary. Ricky made a single lap and came in (with Mark out he'd already won his class and first OA was now out of reach) while Bobby and Mike continued at a reduced pace. The checkered flag flew two laps later when overall leader John Finger stuffed his car in the tires after being blinded by the sun as he made the turn back onto the oval.

Tyler linked to the official results above, but given the communication issues and "disgruntled" racers in impound V8RRS points will be awarded based on the running order when the BFA first came out. As a result, here is the final finishing order for our puposes:

. 1st OA, 1st in GT1 - Ricky Sanders, Corvette
. 3rd OA, 1st in GTA - Bobby Reuse, Camaro
. 4th OA, 2nd in GTA - Randy Walker, Camaro
. 5th OA, 3rd in GTA - Steve Magowen, Camaro
. 6th OA, 1st in GT2 - Mike Attaway, Monte Carlo
. 7th OA, 1st in AS - Dainton Brooks, Mustang Cobra
. 8th OA, 2nd in GT1 - Mark Mercurio, Tyler's Grand Prix
. 9th OA, 1st in GTSC - Larry Hoophaugh, Grand Prix
. 10th OA, 4th in GTA - Vern Smith, Impala
. DNS - Carl Bussard, SPO, Fusion
. DNS - Butch Kummer, GT2, Monte Carlo

More later when I get caught up with things...
Butch Kummer
V8RRS Director of Competition, 2016-2021
Associate Pastor, First Church of GTA

Tyler Wilson

Butch, were the Keystone Cops there at all this weekend?  ;)
41 GTA

vern smith

#5
I guess this is part of a race report but I can move it if some feel it should be somewhere else. I had my first experience with a fire at Charlotte albeit it a very small one. I'm sure it was of my own making since I raised the float levels several months ago to get a a corner exit flat spot and raised the fuel pressure at Charlotte because my new logger sensor was telling me it was four pounds. My old logger told me it was ten and I made the wrong guess as to which sensor was accurate. This combination made for excessive fuel accumulation in the exhaust system under de-acceleration with lots of flames and backfires. This all caught up with me Saturday evening during the downshift sequence from a buck fifty something to about 60 mph according to my GPS going into turn one. The visible flames were in the right rear corner of the interior compartment coming from the exhaust pipes into the interior compartment at the junction of the right door/rear fire wall/ exhaust pipe exit enclosure. These pictures will make all the a lot clearer.




This is the exhaust exit flange and all looks pretty normal.




Here you can see where the gasoline flames came up between the RR tire splash shield and the door as well as the exhaust pipe enclosure. I thought I had this area pretty well enclosed but obviously not well enough.




Smoke dust on the door bars. Kind of ironic that the fire would be right under the fire bottle   :)




It charred up the Cool Suit line insulation sleeves a little.




The Cool suite wiring harness as well as it's protective sleeve were scorched as well. The plan is to extend the exhaust pipes about an inch beyond the side of the car to be sure the problem is fixed.





The difference between theory and practice is that, in theory, there is no difference but in practice there is.

moespeeds

#6
I extended mine outside the body for exactly this reason. I also welded up as many of the seams as I could.

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/0fkbE3P.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" />

Butch Kummer

Executive Summary:

In NASCAR parlance, "It ran real good right up until the point we done blowed it up!"

The good news is the engine ran like a champ and we got multiple sessions during Friday's test day. I ran two sessions in the morning and quickly figured out we were geared a bit short (buzzing the rev limiter at about 159 mph halfway down the back straight), but we had a taller gear that we could install after Allan (Kosloski) got some time in the car. And Allan DID get most of one session in the car, but unfortunately the rear end broke about 15 minutes into his first 20-minute session. And when I say broke, I mean BROKE - the back half of the quick change is no longer connected to the front half and most of the gear lube was on Larry HIgh's windshield rather than in the case! Even with that, Allan said he had a great time and can't wait for our next outing.

(Slightly) Longer Version:

Although it took a little longer than was optimal for me to "place the order", Lee Schwartz of Flowtech Racing Engines (828-775-8886) had our new engine ready for pick-up on July 27. Lee said this was probably the best GTA engine he'd ever dyno'd, and because the rings were sealing so well it actually produced 2 hp more than the old engine when it was fresh. With the assistance of BK Racing's newest sponsor, O'Brien Express Delivery (http://www.obrienexpressdelivery.com/), the engine was delivered to our shops in Greater Woodstock on July 28, then neighbors Allan Kosloski and Jon Genger helped me install it on August 2. Over the next week Harriett helped my finish things up (install the transmission, bleed the brakes, etc.) and on August 8 we loading a running race car into the trailer.

Allan and I headed out Thursday (8/11) morning with the goal of getting through Charlotte traffic before it got REALLY bad (as it always does) on I-85 north of downtown. Along the way we encountered about a 45-minute back up getting out of Atlanta and I threatened to leave Allan on the side of the road in Clemson, SC, if he didn't stop talking about the upcoming U.S. Presidential election (we finally agreed to disagree), but we managed to arrive at the track around 3:30 in the afternoon. We hung out with Vern Smith and Randy Walker while waiting for the gates to open at 4:00, then found our garage, checked things out in general, and got Cuervo ready for the weekend.

Our plan was that I would run the test day sessions in the morning before turning the car over to Allan for the afternoon/evening Track Trials sessions. I went out in session #1 and warmed the car (and driver) up, then started leaning on things at bit. The engine pulled strong and was actually hitting the rev limiter in fourth gear (just shy of 160 mph) about halfway down the back straight, so we made a note to check what other gearsets we had. A more pressing issue, however, was the oil leak we first discovered at Road Atlanta was still present. After cleaning things up a bit and investigating, we found the back bolt mounting the fuel pump to the block was only in about two turns and there actually was a gap that was the source of the leak. We missed the second session while effecting repairs (red Permatex to the rescue), then during the third session we confirmed the leak was greatly reduced if not completely fixed. During both sessions I found myself being tentative under braking (stopping earlier and more than needed), and a couple of times I felt like I hit the gas and brake pedals at the same time. When people asked me how it was I replied, "We're running consistent 1:21's, but I'm simply not comfortable with the car."

We took a long lunch and missed the first TT session in the afternoon, then arrived on Grid 20 minutes early for the second one (it seems Grid had a different schedule than the Tower did), but rather than getting out Allan opted to remain in the car until it was time to go. Allan is no virgin to going fast - he has ridden motorcycle scrambles and the occasional motocross, plus on a couple of trips to Las Vegas he had driven some exotic cars (Porsche GT-3, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc.) at Pahrump - but this would be his first time ever in a 2800 pound, 500 horsepower, slick-shod race car with, oh by the way, no instructor sitting next to him. In my best calming tones I kept telling him Cuervo was very forgiving while also reminding him he had all afternoon to go fast.

You're allowed to pass other cars in Track Trials, but only on the straights and with a point from the driver you're passing. After working his way through some traffic Allan ran increasingly faster laps of 1:38.7, 1:38.6, 1:36.2, and 1:33.9 before catching some more traffic exiting NASCAR 4 near the end of the 1:33 lap. Even from my spot on Pit Road it was obvious he was getting his bearings, so while he was working his way through traffic I keyed the radio  and asked him (when he had time) to take a look at the gauges and tell me what they looked like.

Here is Allan's first person account of driving a car capable of running 150+ mph into Turn 3 at Charlotte:

= = = = =

Yes, my first time behind the steering wheel of a GTA car on a road course with banking was what I expected...and MORE!   

First, gearing up and getting strapped in is more than a casual race fan would think.  Once you're buckled up and locked in......you're IN and getting out does take a systematic planned effort!  Reaching over to turn that Go-Pro on? Sorry...it just won't happen.   

Next, sitting on the starting grid, it's a time I spent thinking.  I want to be: smooth, transition from the road course to the banking seamlessly, and shift at the right tach points (7000 RPM).   Good thought, but did it happen?  Hell no....not on laps 1,2,3 or 4!   

My first lap:  It was a thrill especially when I entered the turn 1 banking, mashed the pedal, shifted to 3rd gear and OMG...POWER.  That moment is what brought my senses to life!   As I entered turn 2, shifted to 4th and dropped the hammer again.....WOW, this is WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!   Control, speed, smooth transition. Then....hitting turn 3 + 4 while trying to carry speed is a section which needs experience/time to master.   3+4......yep, I had a skirt on and I need a few more 100 laps to get more comfortable with banked corner speed.  I felt like I was maintaining my backstretch speed (which afterwards I learned was about 150 mph) into turns 3+4 but no, I backed off the pedal to keep a steady and even speed throughout the corner.

Next, I loved both the backstretch speed and the front stretch speed, but stopping the car.....is another story that we can get into at another time. The brakes were more than up to the task, so I did what I needed to do and I did get the car down to a speed where I could manage the corner without taking out tires or painting anything.   Infield, I certainly didn't master the infield backstretch, turn right, hill climb then right into a low left turn.   That's how I saw it......maybe I was sitting on my lawnmower.   I never did get comfortable with the corner dynamics, turn-in points and speed with this section and that is exactly what keep me wanting more!   I want to master it.

Lap 2 – picked up speed, passed a few cars which always is fun!
Lap 3 – pushed my speed into turn 3, passed 2 cars on the front stretch.....yeah, take that.
Lap 4 – started to get more comfortable with the infield turns, still not comfortable with the area after the infield backstretch. 
Lap 5 – Picked up speed in banked turns 3+4, stayed high in lane 3 and pushed the speed down the front stretch......felt good.
Lap 6 – Exited the infield turn 2 onto the infield backstretch when Cuervo jumped out of gear.  Coasted through the next 2 right handers and pulled on the infield crossroad and waited for the tow truck.   Sitting there, I thought to myself.....what could I do better?

a.   When Butch asks you.....what is the water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, etc.
1.   Don't yell back, the mic is right there in the helmet.
2.   Realize....Yes, there are gauges other than the tach on the dash in front of you!
b.   What not to do when a tow truck pulls you:  Don't let it free wheel.....slack is produced and it bounces the tow truck+staff...when it catches up.  They don't like that!

Control, speed and smooth transitions is what has me hooked!   Can't wait to get back in the seat for another go at it, and I have much to learn.

Appreciate all the insight and support from Butch, all the V8RRS members, Steve, Vickie and many others who I spoke with.  Great group of racers and support staff.

Allen


= = = = =

Unfortunately, about halfway around lap 8 came on the radio and (loudly) proclaimed that he was "NOT MOVING!". At first I thought there was a problem with the engine, but after he pulled off the course he explained the engine was running but he had no forward drive. That could be a myriad of things (bad clutch, broken transmission, broken driveshaft, broken axle), but when he got towed back to the garage we noticed a lot of gear lube on the back of the car. We then looked underneath and eventually noticed the back half of the quick change rear end (the part with the spur gears) was no longer attached to the front half (the part with the ring & pinion). After talking to some of our V8RRS buddies we confirmed even duct tape and JB Weld would probably NOT hold in this case, so we were done for the weekend. As I wrote earlier, however, it was good that Allan finally got a bit of reward for all the time he's been putting in at the shop.

The Monday after the event we unloaded everything and got the rear end out, then over this past weekend I took it up to Tiger Rear Ends in Mooresville and got it repaired.  Assuming we can get everything back together the plan is to run the Track Trials sessions at Barber Motorsports Park this coming weekend (Aug 27-28) to make sure everything is working correctly before heading to Watkins Glen in Mid-September.

In other news, those of you that keep up with "things SCCA" may have noticed the Aug 10 press release stating Lisa Noble has resigned from the President's position effective immediately. This past Saturday (Aug 20) I learned I have been appointed to the SCCA's Pro Racing Board, but regarding the vacancy in the corner office in Topeka my official position at this time is:

"I will continue to monitor the situation with a great deal of interest".

Remaining (proposed) 2016 BK Racing schedule:
•   Aug 27-28 - Track Trials at Barber to practice my footwork and get compfortable with car again
•   Sep 16-18 - V8RRS at Watkins Glen International (Watkins Glen NY)
•   Oct 14-16 - V8RRS Finale at VIRginia International Raceway (Danville VA)
•   Nov 4-6 - The ARRC by GRM at Road Atlanta (Braselton GA)
•   Nov 19-20 - Roebling Road TT (Savannah GA)

As always, let me know if you'd like more information about any of these events.

See y'all at the track...
Butch Kummer
V8RRS Director of Competition, 2016-2021
Associate Pastor, First Church of GTA

vern smith

A more careful investigation made it apparent that the fire was fed by lots of raw gasoline coming from my fuel tank vent line and ignited by exhaust flames under hard braking. The first picture shows the plastic fittings I use to pass stuff through the interior sheet metal from the back of the car. If you look closely you can see where the plastic is melted and deformed on the firewall fittings. The electrical wire plastic sheath is shiny because it got hot enough to partially melt.



Here you can see the flow pattern of the raw gas coming out of the vent line with enough force to spray through the seam in the sheet metal and leave behind the puddle marks of dissolved tire rubber and track grime. This picture shows the interior sheet metal just below the rear quarter panel window, in other words inside the drivers compartment. This is why I could see flames.



I had the 8 foot vent line hose coiled on top of the tank and then tie wrapped to the highest place I could get it under the interior sheet metal in the trunk area. My car came with seven or eight of the pictured breather tanks, most of which were not necessary. I converted one to a poor man's discriminator valve. It doesn't have the interior float and it did not cost a couple hundred bucks. Gas can accumulate in it and then drain back into the tank as necessary. It is also on the left side of the car away from the exhaust.



Just for good measure I extended the exhaust pipes an inch beyond the exit flange.



While I had the exhaust system out of the car I took it to a local sand blaster and had him turn it to bear metal. I then welded up all the old splits, cracks and holes. I painted it with VHT 550 F paint available at the local auto parts store. The sand blasting left a nice slightly rough finish which the VHT seemed to like.

The difference between theory and practice is that, in theory, there is no difference but in practice there is.