runoffs from FF perspective

[Steve Maxwell]

OK everybody, I'm posting some info on the runoffs here because Mike Rand asked me to. I (we) think Purple Frog is doing a fantastic job and I (we) hope he continues. Mike R thought a FF perspective would be nice. So here is my feeble attempt at an update (bear with me).

OK, Some guys were fast out of the box in testing last week. The usual suspects such as Schweitz, Robonson, Kephart, Johnson, M. Sauce etc.... Regardless of what you may have heard this is a difficult track to learn. Tough to get up to speed quickly. The first day of qual. has been the best so far: sunny, mid 60's. Tues. was a washout, literally. In the rain was, Hobby, Stokkers, M. Blank, Vlasis. Today, Wed., we, FF were group one at 8:00 am. The f500 went out first, about 10 min. and we went out next. Quite the circuis really as the grid workers and race control seemed to be at odds as to how it was supposed to work. Any way, like i wrote the track was wet and no-one improved on Monday's times. so here is a crude grid. It will probably change tomorrow, Thurs., as the track will be dry and warmer, about 55 air temp.
1, Schweitz 1:44.7
2, Kephart 1:44.9
3, Robonson 1:45.045
4, Bardwell 1:45.3
5, Johnson 1:45.8
6, M.Sauce 1:45.98
7, Barrett 1:46.0
8, Hakewill 1:46.3
9, Leslie 1:46.7
10, Maxwell 1:46.9
11, H,.Sauce 1:47.002
12, Blanc 1:47.045
13, Foster 1:47.352
14, Lee 1:47.5 He's good at controlling a spin!!! it was cool! Thanks James!!!
15, Stokkers 1:47.623
16, Ruedisueli 1:47.663
17, Copple 1:48.1
18, Koch 1:48..7
19, Wise 1:49.230
20, Bangert 1:49.60
21, Allen 1.49.460
22, Baggett 1.49.442
23, Keller 1.49.578
24, Michael 149.578
25, Blythe 1:50.443
26, Payne 1:51.25
27, Hobby 1:51.26
28, Rozeboom 1:52.1
29, Mashburn 1.52.3
30, Townes 1:52.5 Drive pins on hub came loose=loose wheel
31, Vlasis 1:53.2 rear heel hop under braking
32, Serra 2:06.1

That's enough data entry s**t. I need a beer.
More tomorrow
SM

[Mark Walthew]

Thanks Steve.
While the Purple Frog is doing a great job it's nice to get the specific info on FF.

Mark Walthew

[Michael Rand]

Thanks Steve, an update after final qualifying with the actual grid will be great.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and the FF race can be on a dry, clean track.
Best wishes to all FF competitors out there.

[Rob Howden]

Thanks Steve, an update after final qualifying with the actual grid will be great.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate and the FF race can be on a dry, clean track.
Best wishes to all FF competitors out there.

Mike,

As soon as qualifying is made official by SCCA, we'll post our EFCN Photo Grid to give you a look at all the cars in the field and where they'll start. It will be similar to what we did for the CanAm Cup.

[Mike Allison]

Steve,
Hope you're enjoying yourself and that you do well this week.

Thanks for the rundown on the FF action. We'll be watching and we have you on our"good karma" list.

Best wishes,

Mike

[Tom Valet]

Steve,

I'd also like to say thanks for taking the time to post the laptimes and fill us in on what's happening with the FF group.

Best of luck to you in the race, we'll be pulling for you and the rest of the Northeast guys.

Take care.

Tom Valet

[RoadHazard]

San Francisco Region's James Hakewill looks like he was fastest in today's session, at least. Live timings off the leaderboard.vfx.com site show these times just after Thursday's 4th qualifying session.

James Hakewill, 1:44.957
Todd Bardwell, 1:45.133
John Robinson II, 1:45.306
Thomas Schwietz, 1:45.374
Mike Sauce, 1:45.439
Cliff Johnson, 1:45.724
C. William Kephart, 1:45.789
Harry Sauce, 1:45.925
Steven Maxwell, 1:46.091
James Lee, 1:46.835

[Steve Maxwell]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm going to forego posting lap times as they can be found on the Eformula car news website (see rob Howden's post). Instead I will just give an overview of the day from my perspective.

We (my dad and I) had shortened 2nd and 3rd gear and hoped that a good dry session would reflect a drop in lap times. we were rewarded for our efforts by going 8 tenths quicker. Once I learn the track I should be on the pace. I have difficulty on the "go slow to go fast" corners. The tricky part about this track is the strong winds. We have a headwind 4th gear, a tailwind 4th gear and a no wind(ha!) 4th gear. Sat. morning will be busy if the wind is not right.

Back to the point. We went .8 quicker but I'm still 10th. Leslie fell behind me and H. Sauce got ahead of me. Oh well. The weather was bright and sunny but windy and cold. 55 degrees I think. I also made some chassis changes that made the car feel more stable. Some guys are having difficulty keeping tires on thier cars, it seems brand specific but I think it's just runoffs rumors to help peoples ego's. Anyway, the session began with a pretty good track. Lots of guys slid off and Lynn Serra looked as though he (she? sorry Lynn)[Crossle 50F] made contact with the wall. From what I understand he (she?) is OK. Lynn is however over 120% of the pole time so I don't know if he'll(she'll) make the race. I think if he (she?) didn't crash they'd be in it. Probably still will be. Lets hope so.... As the tires come up to temp there is a LOT of sliding. This track seems to REQUIRE lots of temp to get any grip at all. You know how some tracks seem to still have a little grip even on cold tires? This one doesn't!! The wind was strong out of the west about 25 mph constant. It was blowing across the front strait. I don't have a gear for that so I left the gear I had in the g-box in there. In the middle of the session people were really going for it. I know I was, but, not really, I mean REALLY knowing the track, I was a little tentative. I know what I need to do to improve and I will do it. I'm just out of time is all. we'll see.... At the end of the session someone oiled the hell out of the northern section of the track. It was too bad because I had a good lap going. Luckily it was the end of the session. Some people improved dramatically like Hakewill and Townes; most stayed the same. Some lost positions like Cliff Johnson and Kephart.

I've met some really cool people out here. Jay Ivey, Tony Jimenez(sp?), Curtis Farley et al. All very nice people. Jay stops by the trailer twice a day to make sure all is well. That's a big help.

At the end of the day Dad and I were glad to have a day to prepare for the race. It is so easy to get behind the eight ball at the runoffs. Keeping in mind that it is just another National helps with the stress. Letting the track come to you is also important. With so many cars the track changes a lot. If I adjusted for the track after every session I'd be sunk.

Gotta run, beer waiting!
SM

[Dave SanF 50]

[Dave SanF 50]

[Dave SanF 50]

[Dave SanF 50]

Jim, you forgot Mondays results.
I think the final grid should look like this:

Schwietz 44.755
Hakewil 44.957
Kephart 44.969
Robinson 45.045
Bardwell 45.133
Sauce 45.439
Johnson 45.724

Did I get that right?
dave

[Tom Valet]

Dave, yes you have it right. E-formula car news has the final grid up on their site, along with make of car and tire:

http://www.eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=1609.

Bets of luck to all the racers.

Tom

[Rob Howden]

Hi guys,

We're still working away here in the Topeka media room preparing for tomorrow and the taping of our next Trackside Live podcast. Here's the link to our EFCN Photo Starting Grid for the Formula Ford race tomorrow morning.

http://www.eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=1621

RH - EFCN

[Steve Maxwell]

Today was down time. Just make sure all is happy with the car. Nothing really to do but watch the racing and work on the car. Tomorrow will be intense as we(FF) are first out in practice. Then two hours until we're out at ten AM. No beers waiting tonight.

Tomorrow is forecast to be 66 degrees and sunny. At ten AM though we'll be lucky to see 45 degrees. I'm trying to get a good idea as to the wind direction and velocity for tomorrow. So far it looks as though it will be calm. Hope so.

Thanks for reading
SM

[Roux]

Thanks for writing.

All the best tomorrow and may the best man win!

[johnd]

Steve:

Go for it.


John, MaryAnn and Davy.

[Al Craighead]

Hey gang,

We may have a very interesting race today. It was very cold last night and there's frost on the ground as the cars went out for the warm-up. Check in a www.eformulacarnews for full results and reports following the race.

Cheers,

[swifttiga]

No live timing of the FF race?

[race95]

Where did you get that info?? It was working fine on the warm up.

[Garey Guzman]

No. 72 Thomas Schwietz wins Formula Ford at the 2006 SCCA National Championship Runoffs.
No. 88 Hakewill and No. 19 Robinson complete the podium.

[Tom Valet]

Appears to have been the usual first lap mayhem, followed by lots of back and forth dicing throughout the field. Cant wait to see the race on Speed.

Congrats to Tom Schweitz on the win, and congrats to Steve Maxwell for a great finish in 7th.

Tom Valet

[DanW]

Congrats to Tim Wise #25 on his first runoffs and 12 place.
Glad to know he didn't tear off any corners or scratch the roll bar.

Cograts also to Schweitz, Hakewill and Robinson! Must have been some great racing.

(edit)I tried to paste the finishing chart but it didn't work.

[Jon Jeffords]

How's this...

[Rob Howden]

Hi folks,

Here's the EFCN report on the Formula Ford race with an short audio interview with winner Tom Schweitz. The unofficial results can also be found in our forum thread.

Report:
http://www.eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=1627

Forums:
http://www.eformulacarnews.com/viewtopic.php?t=478

[KevinFirlein]

congrats to Tommy and for Justice Race Engines winning the 2 biggest races of the year in FF, The June Sprints and the Runoffs

[Tom Valet]

Hey Rob, just wanted to say thanks for the great coverage of the event and also for the pictures of the starting grid. It was great to see what all of the cars looked like. Great idea.

Thanks

Tom

[Rob Howden]

Thanks Tom...we spent a bunch of money to be here and the boys worked their asses off all week. I'm very pleased with the level of coverage we were able to provide and look to fine-tune it for tomorrow. We've still got FV and FA tomorrow, but it's been a great ride so far. The podcasts have been fun and I think they're a great start.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm a little disappointed that people didn't ask us more questions on our forums, but that's cool...I'll shake it off. ;-)

Time to head to the paddock for a cold one.

RH - FCM

[Jerry Santucci 33]

Hey Guys......
Congratulation to Tom..... way to go man.... And to everyone who raced at the runoffs this year. there must be a lot of stories to tell (and..... we are listening )
also........ to Rob and your whole staff...... Kudos' to you and your staff for all you do for formula car racing and "US," we DO APPRECIATE IT......
and of course.... thanks to APEXSPEED for a place to talk about it

[Jonathan Hirst]

Thanks Rob and Al for keeping us up to speed on the activities at the Runoffs. Your efforts do not go un-noticed and hopefully will not go unrewarded.

What was the scoop on the Crossle 50 on the grid? It got me thinking about a thread a while back on this forum about the potential competitivness of older chassis at this new facility (Art Smith / Crossle).

Was it wishful thinking? Is the track more accomodating to an older chassis? Looking at the results tells one story, I'd like to hear from someone that was there.

Let me add my congratulations to Thomas, James. and John on their excellent results. Looking forward to seeing it on SPEED.

Jonathan

[bryancohnracing]

Jonathan, I think a few old cars like ours could rattle a cage or two at HPT. It's not an aero track in the same way M-O is. Torque, power application and acceleration out of slow corners is key. A set of proper shocks, a strong motor and a driver willing to wring the life out of a car might shake up a few people!

I'm betting I can get my old Royale into the 47's. If I can do that, what could a top driver do?

Hmmm, now you got me thinking........

Bryan

[thunderracing91]

Hey bryan lets not think about it lets race it next year! I plan on going to the run offs if all goes as planned (wich it never does!) next year. Looking forward to racing with you in a couple weeks at GIR. Is blythe going to go?

Andrew

[Curtis Boggs]

It was nice to See a QuickSilver / RFD engine finish second, ..

and kinda cool to see my ex- car run that well and driven better then I ever could, ..

Nice job James, ..

Curtis

[Scott Gesford]

Curtis, what's up? Miss seeing you around the tracks.

[John Robinson II]

Curtis,
James had Jay Ivey working on his motor in impound. Schwietz had JJ working on his and Rollin was overseeing me. Three different builders with 3 different makes of cars.

[Curtis Boggs]

Curtis,
James had Jay Ivey working on his motor in impound. Schwietz had JJ working on his and Rollin was overseeing me. Three different builders with 3 different makes of cars.

John,

The engine that was in the car I sold James is a Quicksilver build that Eric & Sandy
worked extra hard on , .. and had one of my "special" heads & intakes on.
Made 115.5 on Sandy's Dyno when I had it, ..

Scott,. .. I miss being around the tracks, .. but FF doesn't support a family so I'm working
on several pro NHRA teams, .. drag race stuff, some Pro stock, .. top sportsman, ..
Pro mod, .. etc. All big & small block drag race eninges, .. where I started my cylinder head
career. I also have 5 axis CnC that I do contract work on as well as develope heads for
pro series, .. so I've been very busy.

I would have been at the run offs but I had to attend an NHRA natioanl event with some pro stock
customers.

Curtis

[Joefisherff]

So Curtis which teams so we can root them on. James' run is a testament to your car building skills as well - it was meticulously prepared when I saw it in your garage.

[James Hakewill]

I won? How about that. I could have sworn that I got second -- I'll have to watch it on Speed and find out for sure.

As for the engine - the lump in the car was indeed the engine that was originally done by Eric, Sandy and Curtis.

It's now a charming maroon color after taking a refreshing trip to Jay and Susan's Engine Spa and Resort in Portland OR, painted in a matching shade to the crated spare which was previously the blue Loyning from my Crossle.

Despite the color it does indeed pull like a train, so big hugs and kisses to everyone involved!

I enjoyed the event hugely - nearly two weeks at the track, long days and I was still not ready to leave by the end.

The great thing was all the people there - just about everyone you could hope to meet (with the notable exceptions of Carroll Smith and Curtis). I met a few, but not nearly as many as I'd have liked -- on account of being a bit busy with the car.

It was very cool to have a question come up, then be able to hop on my bicycle and cruise over to speak to just the person that would know the answer.

Cheers,
James

[Curtis Boggs]

So Curtis which teams so we can root them on. James' win is a testament to your car building skills as well - it was meticulously prepared when I saw it in your garage.

Joe,

Thanks for the kind words but I'm sure James has rebuilt that car since he got it from me.

It really makes me feel good to see a car I built from a bucket of bolts, run 2nd at the
Run Offs, .. I knew the equipment could do it and I knew James could do it too.
I loved that car and it killed me to sell it, .. but my back still hurts, ..

James, .. cangrats man, .. great, great run, .. huge pat on the back, .. but I will
not be taking those hugs for the engine thank you, ..
If you want to continue the RFD sponsored name for next year's Run Offs there will be
a nice new CnC machined head waiting for you, .. I'm sure Jay would like it.

Now let's not take anything away from Jay & Susan, ... VERY talented engine builder, .
and great people, ..

James, .. did you take and incar video during the race???

Curtis

[James Hakewill]

Thanks Curtis!

There is some video of my ham-fisted attempts to pass John Robinson at the link below - it was good fun, and John was doing a great job considering how he was struggling with the tires.. :-)

http://www.jameshakewill.com/video

Cheers,
James