So how did we do at Nelson Ledges? (Page 3 of 7)

It was kinda but not really claimed.

The Spec Miata wasn't actually in the race. We told them they could drive it on the track, as long as they relaxed and just went around in circles.

Totally a mistake on our part, as Wreck Pinata guys must go flat out at all times!

So, as they got black flagged, we just yanked that particular driver's yellow wrist band. In other words, you get a black flag, you are done for the race.

At about 7:00 am or so, I was up in the tower and saw the Spec Miata take out a Sentra (100% the Miata's fault) and then they Miata driver flipped off the the Nissan driver. Then the guy in the Spec Miata ran through 5 black flags. When he finally came off the track, I ran down to penalty to KILL HIM.

But, being a coward, he instead sped through the pits, parked and fled! Luckily, our awesome black flag helper Bruce had run after him and when I got there the team was no where to be found.

They parked and ran.

So, I yanked the key out of the ignition. We eventually saw one of the team members slinking about (not in a racing suit -- might have pulled his bracelet earlier) and he said, "That's my car." To which I replied, "It's my fucking car now." Or something like that. I was pretty upset.

Anyhow, I immediately handed the Miata key to Jay who put it in his pocket until noon.

The team with the spec Miata "backup car" should have gotten the curse not the 944 team.  Judge Jonny, as you stated late in the evening the Miata wasn't eligible, but thier RX-7 still was. We sent our homeless Sheriff of Shantytown to wash peoples windshields, everyone had fun and appreciated the help.  When he arrived in their paddock the Sheriff was not met with open arms but rather with some pretty harsh words.  When we saw their RX-7 getting dragged to their paddock a few hours into the race we all agreed that it could not have happened to a nicer team (insert sarcasm here).  Not sure why they were let back on the course to ruin other people's races in their Miata but you did the right thing in pulling their keys.

Huh?  The thread asked for feedback, I gave some.  Overall the event was fun, track was great, flagging and underpreparation on our part were the only negatives.  We never got black flagged FWIW, so I'm not complaining about some penalty or something, just on-track confusion.

I would like to officially beg Jay to make sure Nelson Ledges is permanently on the Lemons schedule.  It was fast, safe and fun and the NL folks were fantastic.

I'm glad to hear of the pulling of the keys from the Spec Miata.  They practically drove us off the road, and I was thinking "why are they so much faster than OUR Miata?" without realizing at first that it was a spec.  They were a danger, as were certain drivers in the #28.

i was confused and frustrated by the seemingly interminable yet apparently groundless full-course yellows between 9 and 11 on Saturday evening.  certainly we generally don't get the full story sitting out on track, but it was frustrating circling and circling and not seeing any apparent reason for another FC yellow.

overall, i think the track did a bang-up job (pardon the pun) and really hope that we get to come back next year.  i agree that it was probably the "Lemonsest" of the Lemons events i've been to so far.

proof that slow does not equal "relaxed."

I did not realize that the Spec Miata was allowed on the track, and now I'm disappointed in myself for not saying something to track officials.  The Spec Miata owner was drinking while driving in the paddock.  I thought it was a bad idea but since he seemed to be doing okay in the paddock and wasn't going on track I didn't say anything.  Had I known he was going out on track after drinking, the officials would have heard it from me.  I apologize.

Hi all,

First I wanted to thank everyone for coming out to Nelson for the visit over the weekend.   For the most part it was a pleasure hosting the event.  Reading all the complaints / criticisms of the corner workers is somewhat disappointing but I definitely understand why some of the confusion existed.  Most of the confusion seemed to be associated to the decision to follow the wrecker with a yellow .  I realize that some of the participants have never seen a white flag used for covering a slow moving or emergency vehicle, but all this confusion clearly demonstrates why it is a very useful flag.  I don't think it is beyond the capability of the majority of the Lemons racers to learn this concept very quickly.  Same goes for the Blue Flag.  Check your mirrors-  Not too difficult.  As mentioned above corner working can be a tough job and most if not all of the workers at this event have had years of experience.  If we would have let them use all their flags like they have done at thousands of races I think the entire race would have been safer and more enjoyable.  This would have cut down on a lot of penalties provided the drivers with useful info and avoid confusion.  The attempt to dumb down the flagging communications is dumb.

FYI - Scott@Nelson is the track president at Nelsons (I think that's the right title). Scott & his staff (Bryan, Kerrie, Rick, Fred, + the Minions) are the folks who worked like dogs through the deluge to pull off the Lamest Day in conjuction with Jay & his hard working group of traveling race degenerates (I mean that as a compliment). 

Thanks Scott.
Thanks Jay.

Had a ball, can't wait to do it again next year!

Topless Asset Racing had a disappointing (and wet and cold) weekend but still had a great time. We got in probably less than 2 hours of racing before our head gasket blew. We started on dropping the motors from the parts car and the race car at about 2:45 and had the donor motor totally wired up in the race car by about 8:30.

Unfortunately, we then spent the better part of the next 7 hours trying to get the 1 & 2 cylinders to fire and were never met with luck despite trying every suggestion possible short of swapping the entire chassis electrical harness from the donor car   We called it dead at 3:08 am. I was really proud of our team for pulling it together after the first engine blew and everyone really sweating it out to drop 2 engines simultaneously, swapping them, and getting the one in the race car buttoned back up. Mostly, at least.

I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who stopped by as we were doing the engine swaps and troubleshooting. Thanks especially to the Hard Drive Racing guys with the yellow Transformers Camaro for loaning us the cherry picker and the test light, and to Rob and the rest of the guys at Schumacher Taxi Squad and to Bill Strong and David Hawkins of Mod Squad for their advice when we were troubleshooting the injector problem.

I agree with trying to keep NL on the schedule in 2010. I'd love to race there again, preferably for more than just a couple hours. If it could be scheduled for sometime in the summer would be better -- who would imagine that Ohio in the fall can be rainy and cold?

Other suggestion: get a third coffee stand that sells just drip coffee. It was crazy to stand in the line for 30 minutes while someone was getting crazy espresso drinks for their whole team. That said, the coffee was good, much better than typical weak-ass track swill, and the folks there were super nice and open all-night, which we really appreciated while trying to do the motor swap dance.

Despite not running as long as we would have liked and ending up disappointed, I still had a fun time (even wrenching on a dead car is better than work) and can't wait to rejoin the circus at MSR-Houston. Cheers guys.

I think that's the miata that nearly gave me a concussion as I was sitting there under yellow? Thanks in part to the rear end shut our trans broke Spec miatas are a PITA in any circumstances, much less Lemons!

this gives me an idea.  a parts swapper board.  need a part?  write it on the board.  have a part listed on the board?  be a good guy and go help 'em out.