Report from Elkhart Lake

[JakeL]

Typing on an iPhone, so forgive the typos.

Haven't made it around to talk to a lot of the FB folks yet, but some info to share beyond just the time sheets.

Brandon going well with very little apparent drama.

Coop is thrashing a bit as he discovered a huge amount of toe on the LR after Q1, explaining some carousel excitement.

JRO and Vollum reportedly had brief contact in Q1, necesstiating some wing repairs for JR.

Had a bizarre gremlin raise it's head as we prepared to leave for Q1, turned out to be a bad battery ground.

Q2 was delayed due to a big jerblammo the session before, huge abound of oil from T8 to t11. Not fun.

Coop pulled off part way through, big oil leak from slave cylinder I hear. Worried about the motor. Heard JRO was off in 1 and came in on the hook.

For my own part, went out and relearned my way around, but have a huge top speed problem, only 135 on the data. Going to try to find and fix tomorrow on the dyno. If I can get the missing 10 mph, I might be reasonably competive with the sharper end.

Loving driving the F1000 at Road America. Tons slower than the DSR, but an absolute riot to hang it out.

J

[Wren]

There's not really an FB runoffs thread going right now. I propose that we hijack Jake's thread for that purpose.

Did the second qualifier with a damaged right front that lost air during the session. I'm not sure what it will take to find last year's pace. The track has not been great in either session.

[JRMarchand]

My car is saying "take me home". I've had my share of problems, from having no rpm signal, temperature or pressure values on the dash (nothing like revving an engine and guessing when to shift). The Proshift solenoid shaft snapped on the third lap of Q2. What really sucks is the diffuser, on both sessions the diffuser mounts failed and dragging the diffuser to almost death. Devins is doing a second resurrection to the diffuser tomorrow.

If anyone has a programmable shift light or something that will give me rpms. I will buy , borrow or steal hahah, just kidding.

there's always next year, bummer.

[crowe motorsports]

Jake under stated Q2 conditions and he will definitely be on the sharp end with missing 10 mph today in Q2 and missing the 1st session. Q2 delay was due to the Exxon Valdez dumping oil from T8 around the carousel and through the kink and down to Canada. It was a challenge for all. They delayed us from 5:40 to around 6 so oil dry could be applied. The sun set was beautiful for some but blinding to us. T3, T6 and part of the carousel was a white out for me. The oil dry was a white out from Oil dry dust for many laps. Then they cut our 30 minute session short. So weather permitting, tomorrow at 5:20 will be the real test.

I had 4 laps in Q1 and broke a header. I was just getting ready to go for it as I have not been in the car since June with a very different set up. But 6th quick was encouraging.

Thanks to Nick Fuhs, definitely one of the very best fabricator/welders in the world that took time out of his busy schedule to weld my broken header. Nick builds formula car suspension replacements better than the original. By the way, Nick was wrenching and built much of Tim Kaultz FF Piper that won the Championship today after battling with last years champ Lewis Cooper. Great race as FF always produces. Thanks Nick! Also congrats on the win in FF. Also thanks to Mike Devins/ HRP who had TI rod for Nick to weld with and Charlie at Phoenix Racing that had equipment that allowed Nick to apply is expertise. I cannot thank you guys enough as I was headed home after 4 laps and no one other than Nick offered to make it happen. Amazing! Even the guy who has built these headers and hundreds of header he tells me had no solution for a set of headers not 3 weekends old. Amazing!

I remember I broke a header on my Stohr WF1 at Savannah and called Wayne Felch at Stohr and he welded one up and over nighted to me so I could complete the Double National weekend. Thanks Wayne!

And Thanks to George Dean of Geroge Dean Race Engines that helped me today and many times before.

Finally thanks to Mike Devins for an incredible Thursday night party and Level 5 for allowing us to visit and party at there compound. The food was excellent.

And then thank to Mike Beauchamps for th Mysst F1000 Pro Series Championship on top of the Runoffs.

All the guys mentioned above are great assets to motor racing and are so important to making things happen and solving challenges that arise during a weekend when you have already invested much time and $ to be there.

I think the chance for rain for Sat/Sun has declined, so stay tuned as Q3 and race day will be interesting.

[Richard Dziak]

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Provisional polesitters following Friday’s qualifying sessions for classes still to qualify at this week’s 49th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America, with class: provisional pole sitter, hometown, car, fastest time (speed); second place driver, hometown, car, fastest time (speed). * - Denotes better than existing track record.

Formula 1000: Brandon Dixon, Tuscaloosa, Al., Citation/Suzuki, 2:08.263 (112.269); Jeremy Hill, Toronto, Ont., Photon VD07/Suzuki, 2:08.654 (111.928).

[JakeL]

Very little to report from the day.

Full day of waiting, only to play dodge-the-crashing-Atlantics during q3. 5 of them in the wall or tires by my count, capped by one blowing up and oiling T6 to the kink.

Session was black flagged twice, and was basically useless.

Coop finishing a precautionary engine change. JRO smoking, but made his way into the pits.

Put the car on the dyno today to make sure engine was ok, and it was. Pulled wing out and went to more aggressive gearing instead. Top speed improved into the 140's, so at least sort of in the hunt now. Will have to back down the gearing though, turning wayyyyyy to many revs down to Canada.

Was advised that my endplates were illegal, so we cut them down by about an inch to get under the 90cm rule.

Seems like it's been nonstop work on the car just to keep in the game!

J

[Richard Dziak]

Here's the link to the final Q3 Qualify FB (F1000) for tomorrows race at Road America.....

http://scca.cdn.racersites.com/prod/...ts/fb%20q3.pdf

Should be an exciting race with a large field...one of the largest open wheel fields for the 2012 SCCA Runoffs.

Enjoy the race. Live TV via SpeedcastTV.com

http://www.speedcasttv.com/

Good luck owner/drivers.

[crowe motorsports]

Jake said it all. Useless after waiting all day.

No one has shown their Q potential and two Q's have been cut short and mine was cut short due to a broken header after lap 4 in Q1. I think I have had less than 5 potential laps to run a non consecutive quick lap in 3 sessions.

If the FA guys cannot get it together, F1 will have Green/Yellow at he start because we will have an Atlantics Parking lot in T1-2 etc because they were all spun out all over the place this afternoon. Come on guys!

A few F1's were problems as well. JR Osborne sprayed a rooster tail of oil I think the whole session.

Yes I had some cheese with my Whyne-----ing tonight.

Summary: tomorrow will be exciting has no one other than Brandon knows what he may have in consistency over a race cycle. Don't miss it!!!!

[Nicholas Belling]

Many people still have a big full of speed in them.. Its very much a technical new track for begginners !! but heck you iracing rocks just to resolve that.

[Brett Lane]

That 3:20pm start time IS central time-correct? I'm out of the country and have to convert my brain to local time here.

Thanks, and good luck to everyone!

[JakeL]

That 3:20pm start time IS central time-correct? I'm out of the country and have to convert my brain to local time here.

Thanks, and good luck to everyone!

My card says 2:20

J

[JohnPaul]

That 3:20pm start time IS central time-correct? I'm out of the country and have to convert my brain to local time here.

Thanks, and good luck to everyone!

NO, 2:20 Central , 3:20 Eastern

[Richard Dziak]

2012 SCCA National Championship Runoffs

09/23/12 - Exclusive live coverage of the 2012 SCCA Runoffs at Road America

Sunday Schedule (all times EST):
9:30 AM - H Production
10:30 AM - Touring 2
11:30 AM - STU / STL
12:30 PM - Formula Vee
2:20 PM - F Production
3:20 PM - Formula A / Formula B
4:20 PM - GT3
5:20 - Formula 500

[Richard Dziak]

Today's posting on SpeedcastTV website.............INTERESTING to say the least.

August 26, 2011
2012 Formula 1000 Championship Series to be covered extensively on SpeedcastTV.com

The Formula 1000 Championship Series announced today its association with SpeedcastTV.com to produce and distribute on-demand video coverage of each race in 2012. In addition, SpeedcastTV will live stream timing and audio of each race event on the 2012 schedule.
“We have come to an agreement with SpeedcastTV to produce our races in an exciting new and ground-breaking format. SpeedcastTV’s superior quality of production and delivery as well as the overall creative concept of the show made this the only correct decision,” said F1000’s Jon Lewis. “This new format will be exciting from its race coverage and will also provide viewers with background on our drivers and the teams in our Series, as well as insight into what it takes to race in F1000 and advance in the world of auto racing. Nowhere in junior motorsport have drivers been promoted to this extent. I hope all our teams and drivers are ready to be TV stars!”
SpeedcastTV.com will feature a special Formula 1000 Championship Series section, where viewers will be able to access the Series’ races and capture the excitement of live audio with Timing & Scoring of each race. SpeedcastTV will also be producing Series races in a format for television, enabling the Formula 1000 Championship Series to place them on broadcast TV.
“The Formula 1000 Championship Series is a fantastic concept and it's going to attract some of the brightest young talent in motorsports,” said SpeedcastTV owner Clark Cambern. “We wanted to develop a format that would capture all the speed, technology, and excitement of the cars while enabling the audience to engage with these rising stars. Fans can expect plenty of racing action, but we're also taking them behind the scenes to learn what really makes these drivers tick. This kind of exposure really is unprecedented in junior motorsports.”
SpeedcastTV.com is home to over 180 road race, oval, karting, and drag racing videos. Combining broadcast-quality video production with a cutting-edge online delivery platform, SpeedcastTV is the leading source of live and on-demand grassroots racing video.

[KenT]

Great job by Brandon, but how about Beauchamp and Latham? Awesome job!!!

[KenT]

PS. Its been said before, but this Speedcast system sure beats the hell out of watching this race on Speed 3 months from now.

[JohnPaul]

Congrats Brandon, Mike B. and Jake. Great driving guys! Can't help but have a huge smile to see Mike B. do so great the whole race!!

[Richard Dziak]

Top 10 FB Class

1) Dixon
2) Beauchamp
3) Latham
4) Robinson
5) Hill
6) Marchand
7) Biner
8) Mayer
9) Cooper
10) LaBrie

Great racing guys. Fun to watch.

[Revs2-12k]

Way to represent Jake!

Nice podium! I liked the Double thumbs up


On a side note: The SpeedcastTV announcers couldn't get any of the FB competitors names right.

Wonder what # it will take for FB to have their own run group next year?

[RussMcB]

Sorry to see JR, Coop, Jeremy, Brian (and others) have issues. Your heart goes out to them after putting so much effort into the run up to the Runoffs. No doubt they all would have finished high.

But, GREAT to see Brandon and Wren get the championship, and to see Mike, Jake, Dan, Juan and the rest do well.

Watching Mike B. turn consistent fast laps (and a 2:11.1!) was great to watch.

[Brett Lane]

Way to go!

Everybody!

[Richard Dziak]

Formula B F1000 Race Results w/ times, now posted.

http://scca.cdn.racersites.com/prod/...ace%20prov.pdf

So nice to see so many F1000 represented at the Nationals.

Congrats to:

Brandon, Mike & Jake........great racing.

Have a safe trip home.

[James Michael]

Nice job Brandon but special congratulations to Mike Beauchamp - awesome!
Mike's done a great job getting the F1000 series going then 2nd at the Runs Offs. Well done!
James

[Carriebluejay]

[FONT=Monaco][FONT=Monaco]Congrats to my 2009 Driver, Champion and TeamMate[/FONT][FONT=Verdana][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][FONT=Monaco][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][FONT=Monaco] JUAN R. MARCHAND [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][FONT=Monaco][/FONT][FONT=Monaco][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][/FONT]
[FONT=Monaco][FONT=Verdana]for successfully and safely completing the 2012 SCCA RunOffs and gaining spots consistently throughout the race. It seemed like a perfectly cloudy and cool day for the championships! I had a hard time signing up and loading the streaming video for a while and luckily it came through halfway from the F Production race. I'm glad I was able to watch you from all the way down here in Tampa, though (surprisingly) I am missing the cooler weather and color-changing leaves of Wisco. Near the end of the race JRO's white car went off and I was nervous that it was you, since the announcers didn't identify who it was for a few laps. They commented how you've been in open-wheel racing for a long time and how you skillfully avoided an oil slick in the first few laps. I'm glad that you have safely finished to enjoy another race day in the future. Did you get the 'cobwebs' out from your eyes. It’s probably a good thing that you didn't take the gold, since you don't have anyone to properly celebrate-hug you there with ya.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Monaco][FONT=Verdana]Love Coyote Cota for me...[/FONT][FONT=Verdana][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana][FONT=Monaco][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Monaco][FONT=Verdana] You are and will always be a [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Gold-Winner[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] in my eyes! [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana][FONT=Monaco][/FONT][FONT=Monaco][/FONT][/FONT][SIZE=3][/SIZE]

[JRO183]

Thanks to the JDR Motorsport crew for letting me have a go in their new creation.

A couple plumbing issues: blocked vent line that blew countershaft seal in 2 motors until we figured it out and a oil line that blew off during the race, killed our weekend. The car is definitely fast and shows great potential. Sure would have loved to make it a race with Brandon though.

Thanks to Greg Moon for busting his tail helping us figure out and fix the hurt motors due to our own short comings. You have been a pleasure to work with.

Good too see everyone again and congrats to all the winners!

[crowe motorsports]

Congrats to Brandon, Mike and Jake.

We had a great start then up to third and had plenty of time and was closing in on Glen a little each lap and then my header broke again. I struggled for a several laps without power and decided it was a fruitless effort.

Congrats again!

[Franklin Futrelle]

How many FB's where actually running at the end of the race? I didnt get to watch it

[jaltaman]

Well done, guys. It was a heck of a race for me, even though I didn't get to the checkered flag. Had a rear suspension failure exiting canada corner with one lap to go, ending my race. From what I could tell, 9 FB cars took the checker, so there was quite a bit of attrition.

Having said that, it was great to actually meet Brandon, Juan, Mike and Dan. Brandon, your performance was stunning - well done.

With this being my first trip to Road America, all I can say is WOW. What a track! It's amazing how fast it is, and as long as we're not running at 6 PM with the sun in our eyes in T6, T8 and the carousel it's a hoot.

Sure hope we can get our own run group next year - with the turnout we had this year, it's got to help our cause.

By the way, kudos to Mike B. for not only his performance but also paying CASH at the track to the winners. Mike, you are the man!

See ya all next year!

[starkejt]

[CDS]

Big congrats to Brandon and Wren on their 2nd Runoffs Championship!

[Jnovak]

Another stunning effort from Brandon and his crew of wizards. Great work guys!

Thanks ... Jay Novak

[Mike B]

Thanks for all the congratulations, both here and via PM. Like I said in the interview, I still don't feel like I belong on the podium at the Runoffs, but I'll take it! Congrats to Brandon and Jake. I think Jake was more visibly excited than me and Brandon combined. He and I had a great race and close finish, but all clean racing. Great job, Jake! I had front and rear mounted cameras so I'm hoping I got some great footage.

Unfortunately, tech was the usual Runoffs (lengthy and tedious) so I wasn't able to pay everyone before they left the track. Give me a day to make sure I have the correct addresses and you'll have payment in your mailbox by the end of the week.

The biggest thanks goes to everyone that came out and made this the biggest F1000 race ever! Make plans next year to make it even bigger!

[JRMarchand]

Big congrats to Mike, Jake and Brandon, that was one heck of a race. I want to give special thanks to Mike Devins for repairing the diffuser on my car after every session, Mike the diffuser made it and "it wasnt a pretty one hahah" thanks so much to Brandon for providing the bits to make the repairs possible.
I got to talk to most of the drivers and crews for FB and can tell you this is a very nice group, I can see why the class is growing strong. Cooper, thanks for the talk!!! we'll have more fun on track next time.
I had my best times of the weekend during the race, having not qualified well because of the diffuser breaking, no gauges at all times etc etc... During the race I was able to learn the car and it works ok. Anyhows, I'm excited to dump the K5 motor for next year and look for something that has comparable power to the rest of the field, heh.

ps. Did SCCA gave the FB a "one lap to go signal"?? three of the finishers i talked to after race said no.

JRM

[Rick Kean]

A dry race for a change, if cold!
What happened to Brian; Coop?
John Bisignano looked overwhelmed, but live HD beats multi-week delays everytime!
Jake's two thumbs-up looked great.
Mike belongs on the podium.
Brandon brings Class.
Wish I was there, but wish'n don't get it.

I look forward to continued F1000 growth and participation next year.

Rick Kean

[Wren]

ps. Did SCCA gave the FB a "one lap to go signal"?? three of the finishers i talked to after race said no.

JRM

Yes, they had a big, pink one sign up as soon as the lead atlantics came around. Things were kind of screwed up because Brandon was the only FB on the lead lap.

[JerryH]

Well, now everyone knows that the JDR F1000 actually does exist....and we were fortunate to have JRO showing what it can do. Unfortunately, as JRO posted, we had some issues.......and other than JR knocking the front wing askew in Q1, they were all my fault...... been kicking myself all the way home. We blew a countershaft seal in Q2 after only a couple laps. Changed motors and did it again in Q3 (again with only a few laps). These were JRO's motors.....built by Greg Moon.....and they performed flawlessly. But they will not run without oil.....and this lame brain decided to rerout the oil vent line.....with a hose that was plugged! The obvious result was crankcase pressure which pushed the seals out. If that wasn't enough, a poorly installed oil line came off just after completing lap one in the race (running in P2 not far behind Brandon). That hose replaced a damaged one just before Q1.....and apparently was not done properly.......again by me! Appears I can design and build a good car.....but don't let me touch the plumbing!

There was a rumor floating around RA that the JDR is a one off special. That is not true. We have tooled up to produce these cars and we are now in a position to start taking deposits. We decided early on that we would not hype the car, or offer the car for sale, until we had acutally developed it and showed what it can do. This car is the prototype, and fortunately the chassis performed as designed, so no changes needed there. However the bodywork needed some minor tweeking as we anticipated.....so it shows the signs of such things. The production pieces will be a much better fit and finish.

My congrats to Brandon, Mike, Jake......and to everyone actually......a job well done!

Thanks especially to Mike B for all he has done for the class!

Jerry Hodges
JDR Motorsport

Thanks to the JDR Motorsport crew for letting me have a go in their new creation.

A couple plumbing issues: blocked vent line that blew countershaft seal in 2 motors until we figured it out and a oil line that blew off during the race, killed our weekend. The car is definitely fast and shows great potential. Sure would have loved to make it a race with Brandon though.

Thanks to Greg Moon for busting his tail helping us figure out and fix the hurt motors due to our own short comings. You have been a pleasure to work with.

Good too see everyone again and congrats to all the winners!

[R. Pare]

Congrats on getting the new car out there - just getting one finished and ready to run is more of an accomplishment than most people realize!

[Christopher Crowe]

-- on getting out there with a full field and putting on a great show. Special congrats to Mike Beauchamp and Jake Latham on their great showings... and of course a big salute to Wren and Brandon and the entire Citation gang.

-- Chris

[Northwind]

I want to thank all the FB drivers that entered and showed up to race. A large field definitley made my race. The runoffs is not the best place to develope a new nose/wing design but with the help of Kevin(part of Jeremy's crew) we managed to get the car fairly balanced for the race. I can honestly say that I have never had such a shower of oil in my racing career. I was about ten feet behind Yelkin during Q-3 when his engine let go in turn five. The oil was literally running down my hemet and all front surfaces of the car. Tha amazing part was watching him continue on fire and smoking as far as he did. I slowed way down because I knew the oil was there and aborted the session. It was too bad for Grant as he paid the price for the reaction time by flagging to get the oil flags out. The race was good, clean, fast, and fun. All the drivers were very predictable and solid drivers. An honor to race with.

[KenT]

Yeah, we know all about that wing. Biz spent a few minutes showing us.