FB at the sprints

[Sean Maisey]

In spite of being woefully uncompetitive, I really enjoyed the track, the people, the atmosphere etc...

This was the most fun I have had at the race track in a few seasons really. It had all of the atmosphere of the Runoffs. The track was great, and everyone really seemed to genuinely welcome us racers, from the workers, to the Elkhart Lake townsfolk to the fans (we had fans, really...Wow!)

So even though I got something like 8-9 laps of practice and qualifying on a track I had never seen before. And even though I f'ed up and surfed the turn 14 beach and bounced off of the tire wall in Q1, I had fun...

Many thanks to all of the people that made it possible for me to make the thrash to get there and at least compete. The list is too long to tackle, but special thanks to Eric Cruz and George Dean without whom I would have stayed home, and to Brad Baytos for being there with the parts to save my weekend.

Next year, I will know where the track goes. I will start with more appropriate gearing (apparently the 17/44 setup was NOT the way to go). And maybe I can achieve a more respectable showing next time. (That is what keeps us coming back isn't it?)

Regards,
Sean

P.S. Thanks also to Franklin Futrelle for taking us in at the lake house. It was an awesome place to stay...

[ghickman]

John
Nice race video....and GREAT JOB dealing what looked like a good dose of understeer the last 3 or 4 laps. Put some ARB's on that monster.

Sean M.
Dude...you deserve the hard luck of the year award. Keep with it though you'll make a breakout soon.

Congrats to Coop and MJ

Gary Hickman
Edge FB #76

[billwald]

Great video and photos! Thanks for sharing them.

[WFelch]

First off, congratulations to Glenn for another Sprints win and to Mark for making it a great race to watch. Niki and his crew did a great job finishing the car and getting it up to speed. John gave a solid 3rd place finish in his Stohr. What a class!

Kyle did an outstanding job with what we gave him. He got in late and missed testing our new stuff. We did find quite a bit more speed with the new body. The more wing we took off, the faster it went. In the end we probably still had too much wing. We are going to continue to develop the new body for the ARRC race. We will have parts available before then.

Kyle, thanks for the great job. You not only set the fastest race lap, but the overall fastest lap for FB all weekend (12.0).

Wayne

[Misterkris]

I found some decent pics.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/w_neali...00719/?page=10

[Wright D]

That picture is COOL!

[Richard Dziak]

I would like to add photos from the June Sprints Class FB F1000 race to the F1000 owner/drivers website that I have created.

If you have any photos that are action photos please let me know so that I may add them to the site. The site is currently the most extensive on the internet of present F1000 owners/drivers. I want to continue to build on this site. I have some great photos that have been taken over the past year. I also want to add to the roster of drivers names and locations for the interest of the viewers. If you want your name and location added, email me. There is also a spot of internet links that relate to Formula F1000.....send me a link if you have a website that you want listed on the site and is F1000 related.

At present Glenn Cooper and the Phoenix are the featured cars. 1st & 2nd at June Sprints

So please advise or forward any pics and I will get them on the site within 24 hours if not sooner.

The site has over 3000 hits in less than 6 months and growing.

http://formulaf1000classfbracecarownerd.shutterfly.com/

Thanks to everyone who has contributed photos to the site. The site is an F1000 community effort.

[Matt Conrad]

I watched the Stecher in-car and was amazed at how MJ was outpowered at the start...until I found out the Phoenix was running a 2005 motor for the Sprints....a track you don't want to give up any HP on. Congrats to MJ, Dustin and the Phoenix team for their 2nd place without having their 08' bullet in the car.

I think the main thing I took away from the weekend was that the top four cars (different F1000 manufacturers) built uniquely engineered cars and they were within 6 tenths (or so) in qualifying and raced very competitively. F1000 is a great class!

Matt Conrad

[996kyle]

Well, now that I'm back, somewhat settled and rested from our 34 hour (non stop) drive back to Vancouver BC (Canada). I wanted to thank Coop and MJ for a great race,... it was a blast dicing back and forth with you guys and I cant wait to do it again next year (if my wife will let me?)!
Coop and Nicki you guys gotta come out west to play with MJ and I at portland, seattle or thill!
Mark it was good to hang wheel to wheel again and come away with good clean (a little oily) fun!
Sorry to those of you that I oiled down during the race, the seal on the front spocket shaft began to push out sometime around lap 4 from what our data tells us and if only it hung on for 2 more laps we would have finished the race.

A HUGE thanks to Wayne, Doug and Roxanne Felch as well as the rest of the team (Ron, Dusty, Jim) at Stohr Cars for the countless hours (i think it is somewhere around 1200 man hours in under 2 weeks) to re create the new body that proved to be faster in a straight line than last year with much impoved downforce and lower drag than the first gen design.

For ALL you Stohr owners out there get ahold of Wayne to order the NEW body work,... It is awesome!

Cheers
Kyle

[Alex Brown Racing]

For ALL you Stohr owners out there get ahold of Wayne to order the NEW body work,... It is awesome!

Do you have any photos of the Stohr F1000's new body work?

[RussMcB]

Do you have any photos of the Stohr F1000's new body work?

You'd think the new bodywork would have gotten more press, especially after 2 races. The only picture I've seen where you can sorta make out some differences is here:

http://www.apexspeed.com/forums/show...&postcount=125

You could probably contact Stohr and get some pictures emailed to you. Maybe the parts are still pre-production, still testing and not available yet.

[996kyle]

Russ,

I would have thought there were more pictures being taken as well at the track?
I know that Wayne did take a bunch of pictures from a variety of angles, so he would be the best guy to contact!

Cheers
Kyle
ps looks like we make it to the ARRC race, anyone interested in sharing a tow from the Pacific Northwest??

[996kyle]

Another update,...
Our 2008 GSXR motor blew the head gasket sometime in Q2 and it was not evident until the race when the engine completely let go lap11 in T6.
Sorry again to those behind me that I covered in oil/water!
We have a strong 2007 going back in the thanks to George Dean and will be in Portland July 3-5 to test more of our NEW aero package preparing for the ARRC race.

Looking forward to takin gmore wing out and going faster!

Cheers
Kyle

[jjstecher]

Some one asked earlier on oil and water temps at the Sprints. Ambient was 86 degree with 92% humidity at race time. Temps on the Stohr were water 200-205 and oil 246-254 for the duration of the race. Water measured at the top of the radiator and oil coming out of the motor into the cooler.

[BrianT1]

I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to the Phoenix Race works team of Dustin, Stephen and Mark.

Mark could not make the test day on Wednesday and Stephen and Dustin offered up the Phoenix for me to test. Because of my knowledge of the track they trusted me to get through there test program of mechanical and aero bits. They were a pleasure to work with and the day was very productive not to mention fun. The 2009 Phoenix is an extremely fast and fun car to drive and I could see this is a true labor of love for Dustin and it really showed in the cars speed and grip. The whole day we kept taking grip out of the car for more speed and as Mark showed in qualifying and the race that it is a car to be reckoned with.

The car did not feature many whizzy bits and when I asked Dustin about those he said he does have those like the paddle shift and such but he said he wants to Crawl, Walk and then Run and were still in the crawling phase. If the car is as fast as it is in plain trim then everyone better watch out.

This was my first taste of the F1000 type car and the Pheonix, and I think it is a great class with huge potential. I hope to be back in the Phoenix some time this year as now I know what to expect. As my dad said when watching the Phoenix on track it has all the sex appeal of a formula 1 car and is the best looking car out there. I can say after driving it that it surely one of the best looking and the fastest.

If you are interested in trying an F1000 or buying one I would call Dustin at Phoenix Race works to set up a drive. You won't be disapointed.

Brian Tomasi

[mjaremko]

Wow,
What a fantastic track, picture this for those who have never attended, a very nice public park/campground with a high speed roller coaster of a racetrack running through and around it, and the professionalism and hospitality from the local SCCA also did not dissapoint.

The Phoenix Race Works Team worked double time from the moment they arrived at my home in Spokane, WA. until the car was finally loaded into the trailer after the race. Dustin and Stefan did a great job getting the car from the 2:20's all the way down into the 2:12's. There was very stiff competition but our team managed to grab the pole and fight hard to capture 2nd place and a podium finish at the June Sprints.

I would like to thank the following people: Dustin and Stefan, do you guys ever sleep?
Brian Tomasi & Jeremy Treadway, w/out you two my lap times would have sucked !!
George Dean, Thanks for being on our team Dude !
Goodyear and WRD, you guys keep it all stuck to the ground.
Mike & Colleen Devins, the best food and company possible at the track.

Congratualtions to Coop and John Stecher for their great performances and podium finish's.

mj

[Richard Dziak]

June sprints news and photos ......................

http://formulaf1000classfbracecarownerd.shutterfly.com/

These F1000 cars are just plain awesome...........

Be sure to view the most extenisve library of Formula F1000 photos on the internet.

[James Michael]

Well, I thought I'd just give a recap of my weekend. In Q1 I got down to a reasonable time (2:16 something). It was only my 4th time on the track so not that bad. I went to tech to get myself weighed just for kicks, but the tech guys wouldn't let me leave and were eying my duel rear wings closely. I read the rules and 2 separate wings is legal but they eventually said my bottom wing was a moveable aerodynamic device. Because the way it was mounted, it could move up and down a bit (maybe 1/4 inch) so they said it was a movable aerodynamic device. I didn't agree but just to avoid the hassles I took it off hoping that I might be faster the next day with less drag/weight. Well I wasn't, I was slower by a good second - the car was less planted especially in Turn 1 and the carosel. Thanks very much to Wayne at Stohr for giving me some pieces to work with but I didn't have time to get it all fitted so I just kept what I had without the bottom wing for Saturday.

I got a good jump right at the start but then fell back. I got my act together after a few laps and was doing better but at lap 9 the engine blew up on the straight before Canada corner. I think I was probably geared a little low and I was using that gear at TMS in May as well (15/45) and was putting a lot of strain on the engine though not bumping into the rev limiter. I think one of the rod bolts went. I pulled into the grass on the inside but the tow guy wanted to get me off the track. He was towing me quite fast and when we slowed down for Canada, some slack got in the tow line (I should haved braked earlier). I tried to signal but it was too late - they kept pulling and it janked the tow bar from my car. This is why I was sitting in the middle of the corner the last few laps. Thanks very much to all the FB/FE drivers - I was a sitting duck but everyone avoided me. Well not the best weekend but that's racing.

I was very sorry to hear about Tom Thrash. I met Tom in April in Hallett - we pitted next to each other. I had heard his name before so when he introduced himself I asked him if he had won the championship. It was fun to listen to his stories about winning the Runoffs and about the June Sprints. He was a very nice and friendly fellow as was his Dad. We pitted next to each other again at TMS and had a friendly talk again. He won I believe 4 races that weekend competing in two different classes. I'm very sorry we lost such a great racer and a very nice person as well.

Well back to the FB race, I wanted to thank my fellow FB racers for being there - the class is building and a big field like the one we had at the Sprints is great for the class. Thanks especialy to Mike Beauchamp for pulling the F1000 champioship together, and it was a pleasure meeting Bill Vogeley, Wayne, Kyle and the other FB drivers there.

[Mark H]

All nice cars! Having taken a break from racin / spendin this is all so clear?
The driver IS for sure the speed.
The Phenoix was ...well slow, until MJ joined up.
The VD was a 4th place car...until Coop built and raced one.
Nicki well he gave away an FC crown to do this.

The field looks strong, best drivers and sick speeds!
The RO's look to be up 4 grabs?

Hey Russ and Sean where are yall at? No cars? Just been out of the loop.

[Matt Conrad]

The Phenoix was ...well slow, until MJ joined up.

Even though I'm not officially associated with PRW anymore, I feel your comment is not really an accurate assessment...especially because nobody drove the new Phoenix car before MJ did. In fact, that car never even had ANY testing. Dustin took it on the road in hostile territory (Portland and Seattle) on its maiden voyage....and set track records and won races doing so.

If you're talking about the 2007 car....it still holds at least 4 FB track records and is an awesome car....the best race car I have ever driven. Others who have driven the car (some in private testing) have said the same thing.

Obviously the driver is a huge part of the equation...I've said so all along...the point is that MJ (and all the other talented drivers out there) have shown what their respective steeds can do out there "on the edge".

FYI....No Runoffs for FB in 2009. Maybe 2010? ARRC at RA is considered the FB National Championship.

Matt Conrad

[RussMcB]

Yea, I think Mark H is out of touch with the FB scene. I don't think anyone familiar with the class would consider the Phoenix slow by any means. It has as good a chance to win as any chassis, and most anyone would jump at the chance to drive it.

[Jnovak]

What you witnessed at the Sprints were several great race car drivers in several great race cars putting on a great show. The Sprints clearly demonstrated to everyone who was watching what the future of F1000 will look like as more cars get built & developed & are driven by more great drivers. Believe me this is just the beginning, I am convinced that once this class has adequate support & the cars get more sorted that we will see drivers from other classes migrating to F1000.

Good race cars & good drivers go together, one without the other will not get the job done. Look at F1 right now, there are obviously great drivers in mediocre cars & they cannot get the job done with essentially unlimited funds. So that said, a good race car without a good driver will probaly not win a ton of races & neither will a good driver without a good race car.

So here at NovaRace we are glad that our NovaDiemen race car has a great race car driver named Glenn Cooper.


Thanks ... Jay Novak

[Wright D]

Mark drove our F1K.07 at Phoenix International Race with Darrell Soppe as the race engineer. Darrell ran the F1K.07 with Brandon Wager in a Race at Phoenix and at a few test days in California. I asked Darrell to give me his honest opinion about the car; his email reply is below.

The set-up on this car is very much like an Indy car, it responds exactly the same. The aero balance seems to be very similar and there are no surprises. We started with a set-up that made sense for this track based on a test from Buttonwillow, and the car set-upwise just seemed to come in. It has a pretty wide distance between under-steer and over-steer, which is a good thing. In my experience, cars that were never able to run fast were the ones that had a very narrow span between under-steer and over-steer, and it was something that could never be overcome. Mark told me that the car was always very predictable which is great; it was never on a knife edge. We went from old, worn out tires to a new set and there was no balance change – impressive. On his best qualifying lap he got held up by a slower car at two different sections of the track, which definitely slowed him. Every set-up change that we make to the car seems very predictable and the car responds well. This all tells me that the suspension geometry on this car is pretty close – the fact that the tires just don’t seem to wear out backs all this up.

Darell Soppe has guided the setup of many of the sports greatest open wheel drivers and teams, including successful stints with Penske Racing, Newman-Haas Racing, and Team Menard.

Darrell, Stefan, and Mark combined have over 80 years of racing experience that is being applied to the development of this car. The Phoenix IS fast, and it is only going to keep getting faster.

[mjaremko]

I like Jays description of cars and drivers, IMHO he has the correct view. I have driven many different cars in the last 26 years, some were great, some were not. The not so great ones were never capable of running at the front in competitive enviroments, no matter who was driving.

When I drove Dustins first gen F1000 for the first time at Phoenix Int Speedway I was very impressed, the car was responsive to small changes, consistent over a race distance and was 1 lap faster over a race distance than the FM National Champion at his home track. The new car has that same solid feel of the first gen car but its wrapped in slippery bodywork.

For the little time we have on the car so far I am very impressed with Dustins F1K 09. Its a winner right out of the box and its only going to get stronger from this point forward.

mj

[Jnovak]

Anyone who thinks the Phoenix is a slow race car has their head in the wrong place. It is my opinion that the Phoenix is 1 very sweet race car & will most certainly be 1 of the toughest if not the toughest package at the ARRC. We know we need to improve the NovaDiemen to keep the pace with the Phoenix & we are working hard to get where we need to be.

Congrats to the Phoenix Team for a great effort ... Jay Novak

[Richard Dziak]

I have to also agree with Jay Novak. It's all about the car and driver. As the longest owner of a Phoenix F1000 on record, I must admit that my car has so much more potential.... than what I have the courage to drive the car. The Phoenix is fast, very fast. It's intimidating for me to drive the car. That is why I remain a regional racer. I guarentee if Mark Jaremko drove my F1K.07 he would win races and record podium finishes. My Phoenix F1000 is a national event race car.

While the car is intimidating for overall speed, the car runs flawlessly and after a total tear down inspection by Dustin Wright after 14 SCCA regional events the car was in top condition. The only thing he did was replace the chain. The setup of the car has never changed even with different brands and sizes of tires. The car is awesome, and I can only applaud Dustin Wright and Team Phoenix (including Matt Conrad) who built me a fantastic racing machine.

So even as a mediocre driver...I will personally attest that the Phoenix is one great racing machine. With Dustin Wright's dedication and personal motivation to develop high quality race cars, the Phoenix will only get better and faster.

I truly believe that the Phoenix is an F1000 race car that has been totally under estimated for quality and overall development. Many more of these cars (Phoenix)should be on the race tracks. I had many choices when ordering my car, and to this day I have absolutely NO REGRETS in any way having that beautiful Phoenix F1000 sitting in my garage, and most of all driving it on the race track. Its awesome, and one fast race car.

[Misterkris]

Found some more pics. They all have watermarks on them put are still fun to see. FB continues for the next 2 pages. I think theres more in this gallery somewhere though.

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/87362...77773610_SqCvB


found someor
http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/87362...77772199_57ymr

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/8736269_bXH6W#P-71-15