Blackhawk EWC

[PK]

I didn't get a chance to pick up the final results, so I don't have the official finishing order, but I must say that it was an eventful race. Hans Iwand and Tom Stillwell both ended up uposide down in separate incidents. Hans got a little out of shape under braking while attempting a pass, and he got rolled over when his tires dug into the grass at the wrong time. Tom went over after contact with Paul Quinef. The race ended early after the second rollover. Also, Dave Harmison ventilated both sides of his engine.

I'll do more of a report after I get the results.

[Shep]

Is everyone all right? Hans or Tom able to start on Sunday?

Race highlights? Details please.

[cooleyjb]

Is everyone all right? Hans or Tom able to start on Sunday?

Race highlights? Details please.

I'm fairly certain that Tom didn't start on Sunday, the car was pretty trashed, I don't remember seeing Hans' car on the grid or during the race however I was spending time getting my stuff ready for the next race.

Ehrlinger won on Sunday.

[PK]

I should have said that everybody is ok. No significant injury except to wallets. Hans' car seemed to go over fairly gently without too much damage, but there was enough wrong that he wasn't back on Sunday. Tom's car was a little scary looking because the roll bar broke off about 8" below the top. His helmet got scraped up too. It sounds like the car basically landed on the roll hoop.

On a more pleasant note, Sunday's race was much less eventful. I left just as they announced final results, so I don't have finishing order. Both Marc Blanc and John Luxon were parked off the course at different places, and Bill Ehrlinger and Allen Wheatcroft had a battle for first in FF with Bill coming out on top. Bob Hall was on the pole of CFF, but he got held up on the start and I got by and eventually won.

Onward to Gingerman! Only 3 weeks away.

Phil

[bryancohnracing]

Wasn't/Isn't the goal of the EWC to promote good CLEAN FF/CF racing?

I'm honestly floored that two guys got upside down. Sounds to me like it's time for a "Get your **** together" drivers meeting at the next round.

[cooleyjb]

According to one of the track workers Tom's car put a hole in the pavement about 6 inches deep right on the line the motorcycles take so they are fixing it early this week.

As for the races also of note Brad Ellingson in his first time out with his new DB-1 was running third both races when he went out with an off course to avoid lap traffic incident on the first day and a bad ground causing a monster miss on the second day. Once he gets some fresh tires on the car he should be even faster.

[Allen_W]

Brad was awesome. He drove great all weekend.

On Sunday I finally got a good start -- until turn one. I got boxed in somehow and watched 5 or 6 cars stream by me on the inside until I could find a safe spot in which to re-join. I was somehow able to pass some guys, and, in contrast to Saturday, the racing was so well done. People didn't give up anything, but they left room and made it a really fun and safe race. Also it should be noted that Todd Rhoades was coming hard at the end of the second race. I couldn't find a way around Bill for first, and for the last three or four laps that red car's nose kept getting bigger and bigger. Someone from race control told me that the three of us were within 25 feet at the finish.

You're tempted to say that the two turn-overs on Saturday were just one of those things, but I agree with Bryan. It was scary out there, especially after the Sprints, so we need to think about why. The chief steward (you know who you are, Bob!) made a good decision calling for the checkered so that we got off the track instead of following a pace car around and getting in the way of rescue for Tom Stillwell. Tom's rollbar broke off, and I am really, really happy he's ok.

[Brad Ellingson]

Kind words guys, thank you, I appreciate it!! Coming from CFC, I wasn't sure what to expect. I have to say, though, I couldn't have done it without the help of the folks at Lindstrand Motorsports! Nick, TJ, Bruce all provided me with help this past weekend, without which it would have been a frustrating weekend. Cindy and the bunch had a great spread for customers Saturday night...very yummy!!!!! I do believe I finished last amongst the FF's both days but went away from the weekend very happy actually.

Allen W, thanks for the offer to sell me those tires!

Joe did a fine job for his first time out in his 89 Van Diemen CFC....wins both days and some pretty respectable lap times.

To Bryan....I can't speak to the Hans' trip upside down, but I was 10 feet away from the Stilwell/Quinnif incident in 3D. An ill advised pass attempt to say the least by a car that had already been lapped. Very scary to watch Tom's head and hand drag across the track. Thankfully he was okay, and cursing a blue streak when we got to him. I say we because I went out to help the one available corner worker that was there to assist him. Rescue was there in short order. Not only do we need to get more drivers/cars into the series, we need to find more people to help work the corners.

As for my off on Saturday, the driver that put me there and I talked and all is ok. He was trying to be polite and get out of the way of the race Ehrlinger and I were having. Unfortunately I expected him to hold his line and I was going to make the pass on the inside going into the right hander. He pulled off line and got his hand up to tell me to pass on the OTHER side....it was too late....I was already 4 wheels into the grass to avoid hitting him. Nearly saved it but it was not to be....then the thing wouldn't start so...end of day. Could I have jumped on the brakes and avoided the whole thing.....yeah. I would have lost the position to Bill but I still would have been in the race. I just expected him to hold his line. Lesson learned.

All in all, one of the funnest racing weekends I've had in a long time. Thanks to all who made my first run in the DB1 and debut in the EWC Series such an enjoyable experience.

[akilcoyne]

It was great to see some old faces again. I'm surprised nobody has talked about the biggest competition of the weekend...the heat. The Firecracker lived up to its usual expectations of 90-95 degree temps and the humidity made in unbearable at times. Lap times were about 1-1.5 seconds off the usual pace. Fords in the 14's and 15's and Club cars in the 17's and 18's.

Saturday's race in FF
1. Marc Blanc
2. John Luxon
3. Bill Ehrlinger

CF
1. Phil Kingham
2. Bob Hall
3. Pete Wood

Hans' incident was viewable from pit lane. I'm sure he'll chime in to give his onboard perspective. The rears locked under braking going into T7, he looped drivers right on the entrance, hit the curb near the apex going sideways and when the wheels hooked it put him on the roll bar. The car looked amazingly well considering what it had just been through!
Stillwell's mishap was almost alarming. The incident happened at the slowest part of the track causing tremendous damage. The roll hoop broke just above the forward braces. It DID NOT break at the weld. The car took a pretty good hit, glad Tom and Hans were able to walk away unhurt.

Sunday's race in FF
1. Bill Ehrlinger
2. Allen Wheatcroft
3. Todd Rhoades

CF
1. Phil Kingham
2. Bob Hall
3. Pete Wood

Marc Blanc and John Luxon held the front row at the start of the race for the second consecutive day. Marc and John had a very close battle going with John leading a good portion of the race. Marc had a bit of a "slip angle" problem in turn 6 leaving no place for Luxon to go, he tagged Marc in the RR ending Marc's day. The incident removed Luxon's tail section on his Piper taking the radiator cap with it. A witness referenced a geyser coming from Luxon's car as the cap was removed...he later retired with a "cooling" problem. Kingham took the lead from Hall on the start and won in convincing form in Club Ford.
Kudo's to Bob Hall, his first time in his new to him club ford was Friday. He continued to get quicker as the weekend progressed. Bob was able to capture two second place finishes and a poll position.

It was also good to see Steve "the commish" Beeler. Steve was there Friday evening to soak up the racing fuel fumes and lend a helping hand to anyone that needed it. Steve took delivery of the Lola powerplant from me Friday evening. Steve definitely looked anxious to get back home to work in the garage.

Andy Kilcoyne
Schulz Motorsports

[eaglefordracer]

thanks for all who came by and helped us get the Eagle back into the trailer. the car is broken, but it could have been worse.

In trying to run both Mid Div and EWC I've created a problem with tires, and decided to try to run tires that weren't fresh this year. In addition, it was an ill advised move on my part to try to make an inside pass, with slightly out of adjustment bias, or better stated rears that couldn't take what I was trying to provide. The rears locked, spun to drivers right, slid through the grass, all was well, I saw that Dr. Hall was heavy on the brakes and we weren't going to hit...thought I'd slip out to far side of track. But, instead hooked earth inside of 7, and flipped it. took out right side uprights, and some minor chassis parts...didn't touch the paint job!

My flip and Tom's incident are entirely different situations. In one case, I made a poor choice and paid the price, without affecting (hitting) any other cars. Sorry for messing up the race pace.

tom's situation was not of his doing, and though I didn't see it (I was in medical...they did a great job, thank you!) it was because not enough racing room was provided, in an area that is nigh impossible to pass in.

From an engineering perspective, the roll bar broke off just where you would expect it to, right at the heat affected zone, just above where the tubes triangulate. the Eagle has a triangulation from the top of the bar, back to the rear bulkhead which prevents that, but DB1's don't (and can't) have that arrangment.

To Mr. Cohn's comment, it seems that I recall a coming together with a certain citation and recently ground up restored FF at HPT...weren't those the only FF's on the track???? Brian, we all make mistakes.

Thanks for everyone's support, especially Steve Beeler! this is a great challenge and I appreciate everyone being friendly...even after I screwed up big time.

congratulations to Phil and Bill...hopefully we'll be back next year.

Hans

[Allen_W]

Thanks for everyone's support, especially Steve Beeler! this is a great challenge and I appreciate everyone being friendly...even after I screwed up big time.

I couldn't agree with this statement more! Steve, Sarah Kingham (points keeper), the sponsors, and the driver recruiters all deserve our thanks for keeping this series going. It was great to see so many cars at Blackhawk. Despite the heat and humidity, and, as Andy pointed out, a troublesome track, this weekend was terrific fun. I hope to see most everyone who was present for the Firecracker at the next EWC weekend, in 3 weeks at GingerMan -- and some of those who weren't.

And, yes, we all make mistakes and try to learn from our own and those of others. I recently discovered a piece of real estate at RA on which I will never try passing again! We were very fortunate that Tom and Hans walked away from ugly crashes ok. And good luck to both of you getting your cars back on track.

[Trhoades]

There alot of good things about racing as a whole as well as the EWC..The people, at the BLK event you can count on seeing mostly the same people every year..It is good to see the familiar folks as well as additional races as Brad E and Joe Marcinski..I did miss not seeing Steve in the Lola, as well as Shep and Tips.

Special Thanks to Bruce Lindstarnd for getting the car done, as the car took the set-up very well. Qual Sat was on last year tires and were absol junk (Do not use tire treatment on old tires..IT DOES NOT WORK) as tires were locking up during braking..Put new ones on for race and got alot better..John and Mark had really quick cars, as they were the class of the field, but the next 4 to 5 FF were very close in lap times and we had some really good battles going on both days. I'm still kicking myself in the @#$ for going to deep in the last turn on Sunday and going wide allowing Phil and Allen by..I was able to get Phil back, but just could not get Allen..You could have put a blanket over The three of us at the finish.

I agree with Brian I do think there should be a Drivers meeting before the next race, I thought there was some over agressive driving, as on Sat I was chopped off by a car in the first turn, that had no business driving in there causing me to slam my brakes to avoid hitting him, which could have caused additional problems behind me. I beleave in being aggressive, but I also have a limited budget so I prefeer to use my money on entry fees rather then parts. You do learn that there are certain cars to stay away from the track, but racing accidents do happen, that are just that accidents.

Tom was really down on Sat and is considering hanging up the helmet for good, some e-mails from his racing buddies would really be helpful.as Tom is the EWC current Champ and would appreciate hearing from us.

Hope to see you all at the track again..Todd

[bryancohnracing]

I really screwed the pooch in June of 2005 at HPT. I feel as though I still owe Gabe as he rightly should have punched me a good one. I deserved it. Low margin move, totally my fault, took out Gabe and an innocent SRF as well. I spent the entire race sitting in the corner station with my head in my hands. Honestly, I can't recall a time ever feeling so crushed about my lack of judgement and poor driving.

My point is simply to look at the big picture:
Look at the number of cars that got crashed, bent, broken, etc in a single 2 day period. Then look at the EWC over the last year or so to see if there is a trend. I am betting there is one.....

I am Race Director for two NASA Regions (Think Chief Steward only with Pro Racing powers). I pull drivers aside when I see trends start to happen. I had two just last week to deal with.

Really, that's all I am getting at. Instead of an out of touch Cheif Steward sticking their nose in, how about a drivers meeting lead by Steve or one of his designates to set the expectations for the weekend?

I'd hate too see the EWC start to get a reputation as a crash festival. That's not good for any of us.

BTW, it's killing me that an EWC race was 70 miles from my home and I still couldn't pull off attending. I'm dying to get back in the seat.....heading to St. Louis to do some prep work next week for a few days. That will have to do for now.....

[Trhoades]

still006@tc.umn.edu


Allen W. your a class act!

[Dave Harmison]

It was a good showing as far as entries go. The incidents were bad. My engine failure was a result of shift linkage causing multiple missed shifts and that lead to the number four wrist pin pulling the piston apart.

I had a spare engine on the stand so I'm working hard to get that together for Gingerman. This is my last block.

[Frank C]

Hope you get things back together soon, Hans. I am glad you are OK. I stayed closer to home and ran HPT, removing more driver rust. Gabe ran there Bryan, and the Citation looked good, but he had a brake caliper problem.
- Frank C

[Tim Webb]

Frank,

We missed you at Hallett.

Tim

[Frank C]

I missed Hallett because at the HPT national, a FV did not see me passing in qualifying and squeezed me to the wall going up the hill on the front straight. We bumped hard. Fortunately (I guess - scared me), all that happened was a bent rocker, a cracked ARB, and a broken motor mount bolt. I finished the weekend, though, in ignorance. I discovered the ARB cracks while replacing the rocker. I did not discover the broken bolt before Thursday before Hallett and broke an Easy-Out off in it on Saturday morning. I was trying to make the National at least. I got it out after I got a carbide drill bit after the weekend. One has to be careful everywhere.
- Frank C

[bryancohnracing]

I want to make sure everyone understands that I was not pointing fingers at anyone. After re-reading my original post it sure looks like I'm doing just that, and as Han's points out, it would be the pot calling the kettle black.

Have fun a G-Man everyone! I'm off to M-O and Autobahn back to back, then Rd America and M-O again. Nothing like 4 races in 6 weeks to keep me busy!

[Paddy O'Brien]

Actually Bryan, you made a good point in your earlier post. I was racing in another group at the "Firecracker" and so I had a chance to observe the EWC group on a couple of different corners, most sessions. Let me say that it warmed my heart to hear the 18 FF's on the grid and the FF guys I spoke to were very friendly and cars looked well prepared. As I have sold all my racecars reciently I am "shopping" and have been considering a club FF as they represent a tremendous bang for buck and I could re-live my youth! HOWEVER by my math over 1/3 of the field managed to incur major "driver-induced" damage, that is totally unacceptable and as I understand, not the first time this has happened in EWC. In the races the field spread out into groups of 2 or 3 cars, so it wasn't traffic, but I saw lots of "low percentage" moves (passing up the inside of T6?) that rely on the other guy to avoid the crash. I talked to some of the drivers and only a few I talked to race more than about 2-3 times a year, yet a couple of the racers out there were VERY agressive in putting moves on drivers whose skills were rusty at best. Maybe the drivers should have a meeting to discuss the rules of the road and when and how to pass. I would say that unless you race regularly or are at least a second a lap faster,you have no business trying to deep-brake anyone. You guys should also discuss when and how use"point bys". For those who want to be "competitive" and show what studs they are, may I suggest the pro F2000 series? Save FF!

[Brad Ellingson]

Paddy,

How is passing up the inside of T6 a "low percentage" move? That is a GREAT place to pass!! I am not sure where you get over 1/3 of the field sustaining major driver induced damage either. That would be 7 cars. Stilwell, Iwand, Blanc, Luxon, Quiniff and Harmison sustained damage this past weekend. Quiniff got into Stillwell causing major damage to Stillwell, but not his own car. Hans' incident was solo, but an incident none the less. Harmison's damage was engine related. Blanc spun after missing a shift and Luxon had nowhere to go. I didn't see Blanc's car, but Luxon's didn't look like it had major damage. Even at that, that's hardly over 1/3. Were there incidents that happened, yes. Should some of them not, absolutely. I would hardly use this past weekend as any sort of deciding factor about running in the EWC. This was my first EWC event and I had an absolute blast! I sold my 2 liter car, bought a DB1 and even though I finished last both days, have no regrets about my decision and would gladly run with these guys again.

Quite obvious that there are guys out there that race more often than others. No getting around that. I will argue that just because one doesn't race 8+ times a year that it gives one the excuse to forget the rules of the road or garner them any sort of extra courtesy. It's racing....the point is to race, not drive around nose to tail for 18 laps. Being competitive is what racing is. I agree with you that maybe reminding folks to not move off line when being overtaken...hold your line, or that point by's are a good thing is a good idea. I'd hardly say that anyone was out there trying to prove what a stud they were.

I hope you do get a car, Paddy and come join us...more is better. I still think we would have had a great race last year at RA had it not been for my electrical issue. I do have to say though....if you do join us and you leave the inside open going into T6...check your mirror a second time cuz I'm coming.

[cooleyjb]

I made 3 passes during my race at six. I'm gonna guess that Paddy's six might be different than they way BFR numbers their turns.

Yes there was a decent amount of carnage in the FF/CF race. It didn't help my nerves one bit being that my first race ever was 1 group later and as I'm starting to get stuff ready they bring Stilwell's car right past where I was in paddock.

[Paddy O'Brien]

My comments were meant to be constructive, sorry if I stepped on some egos. Havent been to BHF in a few years so my T numbers are off, I was refering to T5 the fast left sweep. In the first race I saw two pairs of cars go thru there with the second car diving under the car in front every lap, and never passing, it looked more like intimidation,at the end of the race all of those cars came back on the hook or rope. I raced FF in the late 70's early 80's and we regularly had 50 car FF fields, and grids were much closer but didn't take out as many cars(usually).

[fubar]

Reference B/H passing: Having driven the Farms for many years, I have to weigh in on passing areas. I agree that turn 5 is not a proper place to make a pass, but is an excellent apot to set up a pass into turn 6 by negotiating the sweeper at higher speed than the car in front. Otherwise you have turns 1 or 7 as the primary passing opportunities unless someone really screws up the carrousel in front of you. With with the revised track layout there is no real opportunity from turn-in at carrousel until exiting turn 5 as the kink before turn 4 basically forces you to run single file in FF. This was again proved at Tom's considerable expense last weekend.

The other nasty spot to attempt a pass is the high speed bend approaching turn 7. At full tilt you really need all the road to properly set up for 7, and someone sticking their nose in can result in some nasty results. Last year I was running the test day for my first (and probably last) attempt to drive a SRF. While following another SRF attempting to figure out braking and turn-in points and getting used to my first time in a boat, a CSR dove inside at the last minute at that bend knocking me off the outside of the track into some pretty sturdy brush/trees. This wound up costing me considerable money and although we got the car back on track, pretty much ruined the weekend for me.

As far as EWC driving is concerned, I have driven many of these events and found almost all drivers most considerate and aware of what's going on while at the same time being very competitive. Whenever you have comparably prepared cars, unless you can pull off a clean drafting pass, there will be out-braking maneuvers into slower corners. The only time I've had contact with another car was several years ago at Road America when I had to brake early into turn 6 to avoid a car off course and was clipped from behind in the blind area just past the bridge. Two years ago the wrong wheel spacer caused a loose rear wheel and cost another car severe damage avoiding my spin, while the next day a rod-end failure put me into the wall at turn 1 all by myself. I take the blame for both incidents due to mechanical goofs, but not for driving ability or lack of same.