Alternate Title: California has the worst drivers (Page 2 of 5)

There must be pictures of this...

KT

My mistake. One of the judges/officials/TH personal told me that. I distinctly remember it because that is how all of my motorcycle track days are run and I thought to myself "ohh, this is the same"

Well I was able to avoid everyone for the other 80 something laps I did in the car so I guess God does like them better than me or maybe that maxima just didn't like how my rear bumper looked and wanted to modify it.

Dude, a bucket full of "should" and a pallet stacked with responsibility won't help anybody that wrecks. There ARE no rules. If you hit me it's both our fault clearly stated just for being there. Bad things happen when speeding cars collide. Physics trump righteousness.

Man-up and take the lumps we deserve and the cards that are dealt. Do it with a sense of humor, camaraderie and honor, or you miss the whole point.

And god likes you better than me.

I have to keep reminding myself that there are actually 3 "events" going on simultaneously on track at Lemons.

There are usually about 15-20 teams that are well "prepped" with drivers who have some experience and are actually trying to WIN the event.  They have to avoid penalties AND drive pretty quickly to win overall.  This is serious endurance race taking place inside a circus.

There are about 100 teams who actually make a reasonable attempt at prepping their cars with usually one or two drivers on the team with some track experience, and they "become" racers during the event.  This is fair-grounds racing, where the lack of prep of the cars and the fact that the drivers are in a little over their heads is what makes it FUN to participate in and FUN to watch.

Then there are the rest of the teams and drivers to whom this SOUNDED like a good idea at the time they entered, but once they get on track, they are completely overwhelmed with what's going on around them.  I have a ton of respect for these folks.  I can ONLY IMAGINE what the guys in that Mystery Machine are thinking when I'm screaming up their asses at T8 at 100mph in a 3000lb volvo and apparently not planning to brake...

I am admittedly one of the more aggressive drivers on the track at these events, and *most* of the time that works out ok.  While I'm going fast and am on edge, I know my limits pretty well and leave a small margin to account for the unpredictability of other drivers.  However, that did NOT work out so well for me this race.   The TR7 spun in front of me at T10 - but instead of just coming to a stop, I tried to predict where he was going to spin and tried to shoot in underneath him.  Yes, in a "race" I should have been able to expect him to keep his foot on the brakes so he's spin in a predictable manner, but even experienced racers don't always do that.  MY FAULT - a little patience on my part would have saved our team 10 laps and the TR7 team a bunch more than that.

I guess this is just a very long way of saying what bob-e said in fewer words (and Judge Jonny said 100 times) - you CAN avoid contact by not putting yourself in low-probability situations, but even if you do that, you MIGHT still get hit.  So try not to hit anyone, and if you do get hit, take it like a man.

I plan to dial it back from 11 at the next race.  Say, to 10.5

Dean

well put dean

This has kinda blown up . . .

I feel like I did drive defensively, I wasn't dive bombing all day like some people trying to make passes. I was actually taking it easy trying to conserve the brakes on the giant beast when I got hit. I gradually came on the brake early into 10s braking zone trying to keep them cool when I was hit from behind. I heard the maxima lock up the brakes and looked in the rear view mirror to see him coming up on me fast. I even let off my brakes to go deeper into the turn and allow him more space to brake but it wasn't enough and we hit.

I got black flagged for it. I am not complaining that we lost any time or anything. We were one of those team out there just to have fun out on the track. I raced the way I did not to win but just have fun.

End the end I had a great time and if I could I would do it again this weekend and isn't that what its all about?

No one is trying to come down on you, THATguy.  We're all just trying to extend the Lemons weekend instead of letting the reality of work creep back into our lives... and BS'ing  the forums is the best way.

Sounds like you understand what Lemons is about.  You'll get more experience with the "details" as you do more events.

Cheers,

Dean

Does the 521 include the 30-40 you guys allowed the 2nd place finishers to ignore, because they had great costumes?  We finished 3rd, thus the bitterness about that. 

Our car never spun, passed under yellow, or went off track, but it (me) was called in twice after being collected in other's incidents (judges agreed).  No other blacks. 

I agree the drivers sucked.  I expected crappy cars, but not such crappy drivers.  Perhaps California drivers have proven that they need more mandatory experience and/or schooling?

Seriously?  I certainly remember MY first time on the track.  It was sensory overload, and that was a well-controlled, point-by-passing DE event.  I remember having a hard time *really* concentrating on watching for each flag station while still remembering the track, and I also remember getting more than a little rattled when a car was right behind, even though I knew they wouldn't pass me until I pointed.

I consider myself an above average driver (who doesn't?) and I am 100% POSITIVE that if driving in a Lemons event was my first time on track, I would be making all the same mistakes...  missing flag stations, coming to the apex when a faster car is expecting some room, trying to "move out of the way" of a fast car but being unpredictable as I do it...

While I get just as frustrated "in the moment" on the track (those listening on my radio frequency know that!) when someone closes the door, brakes early, slows to a crawl at a yellow flag when the incident is 100 yards from the track - I totally appreciate what those folks are going through.

Ease up, man.  You're holding the drivers in what is PRIMARILY an event for novice drivers to the wrong standard IMO.  As an experienced racer, you're in the minority out there.

And for what it's worth, having a bigger fuel tank and placing high in the standings by making fewer stops is a great strategy for the 25 Hour but there's no honor in it for Lemons.  (of course, that being said, we're already looking for a bigger fuel tank...)

The driving did stink. It is California and Everybody was gonna win or take someone out in the process! As I said on another post I was on sensory overload with all the craziness. I thought you guys must have been teaching the Newbies, in your secret meeting, how to screw with everybody. 

The only good thing about all the Black Flags was when you did get into the penalty box they wanted to rush you out.

Man we had a museum quality Bob Ross hood painting goin' down and you guys took our paint and said get lost. Now that sucked. Our team was in the zone!

Drivers were every where, I really wish you would have black flagged most of the field, (all at once) so I would have some running room.  Frankly if you other drivers would watch the corner workers close enough, you could see when they are looking the other way and punt some jerk off.  Not they I am recommending it......

Good brakes were definitely cool to have. 

Cheers,

the Shoe

You are correct.  Its as much my fault as theirs, for expecting too much and not remembering that many of those folks were on a track for the 1st time. 

My comment about experience/schooling was meant to suggest that perhaps first timers should get a little more attention beforehand.  I was at the Lemons 1st timer's drivers meeting, and flags weren't explained like they are at every track day event, despite being more important.  This thread began with a judge's rant about drivers sucking, and IMO that problem could be improved with a little education.  Despite being an experienced racer, a mandatory class for 1st timers wouldn't have scared me away.

Flagging was the best yet. Only a couple of full track yellows. Traffic was manageable. Only a couple of cars decided to be annoying and try to block. Much cleaner than last year for us.

Jonny, you and Phil need to negotiate a per penalty fee for your judging duties. You would have been rich after this race.