Weekend Report

[Butch Kummer]

So I arrived late today, but unlike Vern I had an excuse. This morning I tried to park the (street) Monte Carlo during a deluge on I-59 in West Virginia and missed it by "THIS MUCH!"

[Butch Kummer]

It ends up when it rains in West Virginia you REALLY need to slow down because there's water in the ruts (yes, even on the interstate) that will cause one to lose control. I was driving along just fine when the sign on the dashboard flipped from "Driver" to "Passenger" with no warning. I'm fine other than a sprained back, and I did arrive at the track around 3:00 in a rental car. Do NOT try this at home, children!

Seven V8RRS racers on the track for three practice sessions today:

. Tyler Wilson - 1.51.743
. Randy Walker - 1.52.490
. Andy Trought - 1.53.018
. Mike Longo - 1.53.166
. Chris Evans - 1.57.349
. Chris Gill - 1.58.342
. Chris Durbin - 2.02.076

Keith O was also there on Thursday - not sure if he'll make it back tomorrow or not.

Saturday calls for a 20-minute qualifying session in the morning, then a 20-minute race "plus one lap" in the afternoon. And it ends up you CAN follow things on Race Monitor, but since this is not an SCCA event you need to click on "Road Racing", then scroll down to the "2016 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix".

More tomorrow from the track...

[Butch Kummer]

Or to date myself because Tyler had had never heard of them:

"The Keystone Cops Visit the Keystone State"

Since they own the track and were running "for fun" in our run group we made the management level decision to make Kathy & Jim Stout honorary members of the V8 Road Racing Series. They are former owners of NARRA and stil run that series, but they put the V8RRS stickers on their Vipers and did us proud. After the qualifying session Saturday morning the grid lined up as follows:

1. Jim Stout, SPO Viper, 1.45.037
2. Andy Trought, GTA Impala, 1.49.053
3. Randy Walker, GTA Camaro, 1.50.053
4. Tyler Wilson, GTA Grand Prix, 1.51.244
5. Kathy Stout, SPO Viper, 1.52.565
6. Mike Longo, GTA Monte Carlo, 1.52.672
7. Chris Evans, GTSC Monte Carlo, 1.54.775
8. Chris Gill, GTA Ponte Carlo, 1.58.949
9. Robert Liddle, SPO Corvette, 2.03.099
10. Keith Orawiec, SPO Olds, 2.09.617
11. Chris Durbin, T1 Mustang, no time (transponder malfunction)

In the process of checking in with everyone I went down to see Keith O (he was at the FAR end of the paddock and responsible for at least 4,000 of the 11,356 steps I got in today!  ) and found he was (still) suffering from from low fuel pressure coming out of the corners. He was ready to chuck it all but I jumped in to help and we ended up re-routing his in-tank fuel line to see if that would help keep it from collapsing. In the meantime we also talked to race officials and convinced them to allow us to run a 20-minute race on Saturday afternoon rather than just making it another qualifying session as originally scheduled. Jim & Kathy were cool with that but opted to start from the back to keep from messing up the V8 race. Since Vern likes photos in our race reports, here's one of the cars on grid at the 5-minute warning (if you look closely you can see the two Vipers all the way at the back):

[Butch Kummer]

At the green Randy Walker got the jump and lead into Turn 1 while Mike Longo followed him to slot into third place. Andy got back by the 03 car on the back side, however, and at the end of the first lap the order was:

Trought, Walker, Longo, Wilson, Evans, Gill, Liddle, Orawiec, Durbin, then Kathy & Jim Stout.

Chris Durbin and the Stouts quickly started moving through the field while Keith O's fuel pressure problems were better but still problematic. At any rate, at the end of lap 5 the order was:

Trought, Walker, J Stout, Longo, Wilson, Durbin, Evans, K Stout, Gill, Liddle, and Keith O

Randy Walker fell back considerably on lap 6 after going too deep into Turn One, and Tyler Wilson got by Mike Longo on the same lap. As they finished lap 7 Longo and then Keith O came down pit road - Longo to clean grass out of his grille and Keith O to retire. Longo rejoined the race after a pit worker cleaned off the nose of his car, but he was now one lap down at this point.

Things REALLY got interesting on lap 8. After starting from the back Jim Stout got by Andy for the overall lead as they entered Turn 1 to start the lap, then at the end of the lap Andy came down pit road followed by Tyler! Randy had worked back to fourth overall by this point and wondered why Andy & Tyler were both coming into the pits? Had he missed the checker somehow?!?

Mark Mercurio was spotting for Tyler and patiently explained to his driver that no, the race was NOT over and furthermore, HE (Mark) would tell him (Tyler) when it was time to come in!!! I wasn't listening to their conversation but others who were later explained that Mark was very persuasive in offering his evaluation of the situation. To say the least, Tyler re-engaged...

Bottom line - as they finished lap nine it was Jim Stout leading Randy Walker by about 30 seconds, then Tyler Wilson, Chris Durbin, Chris Evans, Kathy Stout and Chris Gill followed by Robert Liddle and Mike Longo a lap down. This set up the best race of the day as Tyler tried to chase down Randy, but Randy had absolutely no idea he was leading GTA at that point - he was just trying to keep Tyler from lapping him! Over the last three laps Tyler closed the gap and the crowd on Spectator Hill realized what was happening. Tyler dove inside Randy cresting the hill between the new and old sections of the track, but as the pair emerged from behind the trees Randy was back in front. At the checker Tyler was less than a car length back and Randy had absolutely no idea he was first in GTA, second overall!

Final positions (with best lap):
1. Jim Stout, 1st SPO, 1.45.107
2. Randy Walker, 1st GTA, 1.50.253
3. Tyler Wilson, 2nd GTA, 1.50.785
4, Chris Durbin, 1st T1, 1.53.344
5. Kathy Stout, 2nd SPO, 1.52.399
6. Chris Evans, 1st GTSC, 1.55.126
7. Chris Gill, 3rd GTA, 1.59.940
8. Mike Longo, 4th GTA, 1.52.416
9. Robert Liddle, 3rd SPO, 2.03.100
10. Andy Trought, 5th GTA, 1.49.029
11. Keith Orawiec, 4th SPO, 2.07.516

It ends up Andy pulled in because his car got stuck in fourth gear just after Jim got by him, and Tyler followed him down pit road thinking the race was over. Randy saw the two of them heading into the pits and wondered if he was in for a butt-chewing from the stewards for blowing the checker. but after Tyler came back out of the pits (calmly encouraged by Mark) Randy was simply trying to keep from getting lapped. Had Tyler stayed out he would have won GTA easily, but then he wouldn't have a great story to tell his (future) grandchildren.

And yes, much beer was consumed in the aftermath...

[flyinwrenchz]

If I wasn't here to witness it all I wouldn't have believed it. We sure had fun. Maybe I was a little to vocal on the radio but he surely got the point. 

[vern smith]

I guess I should have taken a week off and made the trip      I'm glad to see everyone had a good time. I'm also glad to see the oldest driver in GTA won the class, gives me hope. Are any of the guys at this race considering Charlotte?

[KeithO]

I'm calling "uncle".  Choosing throttle position based on fuel pressure makes driving pointless.  I can't work on improving my line and I can't learn anything when +50% of my time is spent looking at the gauge.

I think I'll stop being a moving road block and let you guys run today:

Fuel gauge is off to the right with the white needle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOXnHivCx7I

It will be fun to spectate today.  Good luck guys.

[Butch Kummer]

Andy packed up and headed back to New Jersey yesterday afternoon (with the promise he "might" make it to Charlotte) and with Keith O's retirement we should have nine cars left to battle it out today. Since my plans now call for me to fly back to ATL rather than drive my Monte Carlo as originally intended (see photo in the first post  ), I'll miss today's action at the track. You can always follow the action on the Race Monitor app, and hopefully others will chime in with some "color commentary" to provide details.

I would like to say that (despite some original misgivings on my part) it is great being a part of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix effort. The PittRace facility is fantastic, the workers and officials are easy to work with (and welcomed us with open arms once they figured out what V8RRS is about), last year the week's festivities allowed event organizers to contribute over $400,000 to the Autism Society of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, plus there are literally thousands of fans in attendance this weekend. And as Mark reported while spotting for Tyler from the top of Spectator Hill, they ALL moved nearer the fences and paid attention when our Big Noise cars took to the track! 

[KeithO]

It was great to finally meeting you guys this weekend.  Looking forward to the next event.

Special thanks to Butch - I was so annoyed when the problems started with the car that I was done.  Thanks for the "push".

[millstreet]

Saturday AM qualifier results;



Andy

[Butch Kummer]

I didn't go to track because I had to fly back to ATL, but I did manage to "watch" Sunday afternoon's feature race on Race Monitor.

Looks like Jim & Kathy Stout again started from the back while Randy Walker, Tyler Wilson, Chris Durbin, and Mike Longo were running nose-to-tail at the front. Mike apparently spun dropped back after the second lap while Jim was quickly working his way through the field. Tyler got by Randy about halfway through the race, which was about the same time Jim took the overall lead. On RM there were never more than two seconds between Tyler, Randy, and Chris (in his T1 Mustang), so I imagine the crowd was going wild up on Spectator Hill. At the checker Randy had dropped about ten seconds behind Tyler & Chris (who appear to have finished nose-to-tail - 0.550 gap!), and according to a later email from our Series Administrator Randy looped his car while trying to pass Tyler.

Hopefully those in attendance will provide details, but it indeed looked like another great show!

Final finishing positions for our V8RRS drivers along with their best race lap:

1. Jim Stout (1st SPO), 1.46.440
2. Tyler Wilson (1st GTA), 1.50.592
3. Chris Durbin (1st T1), 1.50.619
4. Randy Walker (2nd GTA), 1.50.405
5. Kathy Stout (2nd SPO), 1.50.865
7. Chris Evans (1st GTSC), 1.55.683
8. Mike Longo (3rd GTA), 1.53.186
10. Chris Gill (4th GTA), 2.00.069
dns. Andy Trought (GTA)
dns. Keith Orawiec (SPO)

Thanks to the PVGP, PittRace, and Steel Cities Region SCCA for inviting us to play with them.

Next up is Road America with Milwaukee Region SCCA the weekend of July 30-31.

See y'all at the track...

[Scott Broadfield]

Great report.  Working steadily to get car 37 ready to join the festivities at Charlotte.

[stick947]

Thanks for letting me come play.  Not with the car I intended but still a hoot nonetheless.  Finally good to get to meet some of the V8 folks in person.  Video coming soon....

[Tyler Wilson]

SATURDAY
What a great weekend! The madness of what happened during the Saturday race made it that much more fun! It was incredible to race nose to tail with Randy Walker for the last few laps, to pass him at one point but then give it back up, and to have the gap at the finish be .138!
Butch came over to the pits after the race and started to interrogate each of us on what we were doing out there. It was classic, because when one guy was finished with his story, another fellow racer would come up to the group and share their story (Butch made sure to get all the details  ). I now understand "The Keystone Cops visit the Keystone State" analogy, I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.

SUNDAY
Sunday was another great race, Randy and I started 1 and 2, Randy being on the inside. We went nose to tail for the first lap, then on lap 2 Mike Longo spun through turn 1. So now it's just Randy and I up front, and we were nose to tail for the next 5 laps. At some point Jim Stout would be working his way up, he was running 4-5 seconds faster than us all weekend. I noticed him gaining on us on the front strait on lap 6, but I didn't think he would pass us in turn 1. Well, he did and at that point Mark Mercurio (who was spotting for me) was suggesting that I follow him. Because I had learned my lesson on Saturday, I listened to him.  I was so quick to take his advice I was doing what he told me before he even said it! I was able to get by Randy (and he later scorned me for "Vipering" him  ) and spent the last half of the race trying to gap Randy. This is not easy to do, Randy is a great driver. I have zero experience running first, but Mark and crew made it easier for me because we had 2 spotters on the track, and I had just learned 2 valuable skills - listening to the crew chief and matching my revs on the downshifts. Randy and I had an incredible race, we went nose to tail the full 22 minutes, had lap traffic to get through, and the last 2 laps were very intense. My gap on Randy was 3-10 car lengths, but Randy was making his moves and expecting me to make mistakes, but somehow I was able to hang on and Randy ended up spinning out on turn 1 trying to get by me. I know now that I spent too much time driving with my mirrors, but again this is my first time running up front with a juggernaut on my tail.
After Randy spun, I let off and started to take it easy to be sure to take the checkered, but after a few turns of really slow driving the T1 car of Chris Durbin appeared in my rearview. At this point, Mark got back on the radio and told me to pick it up, no need to go "That Slow". Chris was coming fast, I was surprised how fast he was. His fastest lap of the weekend was the last lap of the race! Made for another close finish.
Pitt Race is a top notch facility, and I really enjoyed racing the "Vintage Grand Prix".  There were a lot of fans there, it was kind of cool to have people taking pics and video as we were coming out of the hot pits. The entire weekend was great. For those that missed this race, you sure missed a good one.

One more detail - in my post race talk with Randy Walker, his wife mentioned that the announcers had a blast calling this race. She said she could tell they were having fun, and that we put on a nice show for the fans! Jim Stout (track owner SPO Viper, overall first place) said he even stuck pretty close to us to keep it interesting. 

[millstreet]

Or to date myself because Tyler had had never heard of them:

"The Keystone Cops Visit the Keystone State"

you have to remember , Tyler is about 30 something, he's not going to get Charlie Chaplin or Fatty Arbuckle references, I think even this guy is before Tyler's time;



Andy