US Formula 1000 Festival at Road Atlanta!

[crowe motorsports]

I did not expect the numerous responses to this incident and will post a video if I can when my crew sends a link. It is a Contour camera and he is struggling with getting it loaded to a site for viewing.

I have a history of racing in in both high speed and low speed cars with much faster classes in a mixed group when I have been the slower class. I also have a history of not taking low percentage passes. In this situation it was not low percentage and if I had to do over again I would have made the pass. The driver made a very late wide apex and I had plenty of room initially. Even in the race with Alex later that day, if I did not know where he was, I could of easily taken us both out for some very late passes in a few brake zones. So a driver should be aware of what's going on around them.

I did approach this driver to discuss the incident. They said they were committed to the corner and did not see me or the flag. I asked about the passing flag that I swear the corner was waving like a yellow where a car was broadside in the corner. They were waving it hard.

So it is what it is and it happens. But I would make the pass again as the door was readily open to make the pass. Some people drive race cars and some let the race car drive them. I am a relaxed driver and typically know what is going on around me at all times. Like my original post said. My weekend could have been worse.

[KevinFirlein]

I am sorry but since 2001, when the GCR was changed, safe passing responsibility rests with * both * drivers. It is the driver being passed resposibilty to leave racing room according to the GCR. I don't like the rule( it creates ludicrous situations) and lots of long time drivers either don't know about it or completely ignore it. The fact that the FV driver hit the FB driver shows she didn't leave racing room. And I am sorry, T6 is at the end of a straight, there is a blue flag, you know there are faster cars on track, if you cant make this work out without hitting the mid part of the passing car its your own damn fault. If the faster car tries to do it down thru the esses and ends up in orbit thats a predictble result and * his/her * fault.

[Steve Davis]

From the CURRENT GCR...
6.11. RULES OF THE ROAD
6.11.1 On Course Driver Conduct
A. Drivers are responsible to avoid physical contact between cars on
the race track.
B. Each competitor has a right to racing room, which is generally
defined as sufficient space on the marked racing surface that under
racing conditions, a driver can maintain control of his car in close
quarters.
C. Drivers must respect the right of other competitors to racing room.
Abrupt changes in direction that impede or affect the path of
another car attempting to overtake or pass may be interpreted as
an effort to deprive a fellow competitor of the right to racing room.
D. The overtaking driver is responsible for the decision to pass another
car and to accomplish it safely. The overtaken driver is responsible
to be aware that he is being passed and not to impede or block the
overtaking car. A driver who does not use his rear view mirror or
who appears to be blocking another car attempting to pass may be
black flagged and/or penalized, as specified in Section 7.

Seems simple to me .. but I guess I'm just SIMPLE myself .
AND, we should consider that this rule was written well before we had FV and FB or FA, or CSR, or DSR, or FM, or FC ... or even FF on track in the same (racing or qualifying) sessions.

BTW - I got T-Boned at COTA by an FF driver. Initial contact was his RF wheel into my chassis at just above the left elbow. My front tire was about 10 feet from the apex of the 90 degree left hand T20. I checked my mirrors TWICE between T19 and T20 and did not see this car. He obviously decided that there was "plenty of room" between me and the apex about 1.5 secs before he pulled out and DOVE inside of where I wasn't quite AT at that particular time - but I got there before he did .. by a large margin. And the closing rate was about half of the closing rate of an FB.

Steve, FV80

[KevinFirlein]

yeah and read B under the same rules of the road Steve. You have a long standing habit of giving FV a pass under almost every circumstance. Sorry mate it doesn't work that way. If the driver cant handle being passed by a faster car at the end of a straight and still leave that person room w/o driving into the side of them then they don't belong on the track at a regional let alone a national.

[crowe motorsports]

We can cease this discussion on this incident. My race report was not to provoke this dialog. Everyone learns from experience. I mean no ill will to the FV driver and I did approach them to discuss so it could be a potential learning experience. Enough said. I fine with it as these things do happen in racing.

Back to the F1000 Championship. We are getting 14 or more cars per event and it is growing. I like the structure of us racing in scheduled Nationals to get the benefit of National Points and compete in the F1000 Championship Series. Some one off F1000 only cars like Road Atlanta makes it even more fun when it makes sense for the promoters. This is a very affordable series and I would not be surprised if we don't have 20 plus cars per race next year.

Thanks again to the F1000 Series and Road Atlanta for making it a great event.

[Nick77]

I couldn't agree with you more mike. But this topic is getting old
As far as the f1000 race. This was the best race I have run in a long time all due to the professinalism of you persision driving. Thanks for a good time. See you next race.
Alex Mayer

[Nick77]

Here is our video from Atlanta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6w5d...ature=youtu.be

[SEComposites]

It was great to catch up with you and your Dad at the weekend, and well done for two great results. Please don't post videos like this though - its hard enough spectating without having to be reminded what it's like driving these cars!

Some good driving here - nice to see two drivers battling it out fairly and with a good awareness of each other.

[tombeattie]

Here is our video from Atlanta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6w5d...ature=youtu.be

Outstanding Video!

Thanks for posting Alex.

Nice drive Alex and Michael!

Wish I could have been there

Thanks,

Tom

[LLoshak]

The passing debate is a calculated risk. And both must dance together. In Mike's defense, he's an outstanding driver and safe. And to the FV drivers defense, we shouldn't be on the track at the same time. Its not even friggen close, anywhere on the track. Can we play together? Sure more often than not, but it can get ugly.

I passed a FM in turn 7. He was getting blue flags into 7, but as I was approaching 6, he was already around 6. It looked like he was giving me room so I dove down into 7. As I was next to him I saw him turn down and then he saw me. He adjusted and slipped in right behind. As I exited 7, I knew that could have been REAL bad. Instead, that was the lap where we grabbed pole. After the session, I went over and apologized and thanked him for being so aware and watching his mirrors. Even he said he was shocked because going into 6 he didn't see me and then by 7, he saw the flag at the last second and BAM, there I was.

Its not the first time stuff like this has happened. Even between a C, D, FA and FB. Its racing. We just have to try to do our best calculating risks.

But as Mike said in his last post... I cant be more impressed with the USF1000 series and the drivers. My race with JR and Glen Cooper was probably the most epic race Ive had in sports racing and FB. JR and I had a great battle at COTA too before all the flags. But the race I had with Glen last Saturday will be one that I will always remember. Going 2 wide through 1 at speed giving each other only mm of room was awesome. Fighting tooth and nail lap after lap, so close, having to watch temps and aero wash.... Oh the fun. Alex's GoPro video is awesome and paint those cars mine and glens colors and that was the same race we had. What a series, what a class, I couldn't be happier with my decision to join FB.

But one thing was proven once again. Want a epic race? Just forget to turn on or mount your GoPro. God I wish I had this race on video.

Looking forward to June Sprints.

A quick write for our weekend:

First session testing, I saw the motor had low oil psi at full operating temp. 30psi WOT. So I brought it in. This motor has been a rocket ship at COTA and Blackhawk but has always had lower oil psi to my liking. Well, we had our vinyl put on last week and some supports and zip ties were removed allowing air to bypass the oil cooler and oil temps got REAL hot. We changed the oil and fixed all the ducting for the next session. Despite running at 230 oil temps, the oil psi got to 28psi WOT. Just as I was thinking I'm going to pull into the pits and park it, BOOM!

Rule #1 when in the moto powered machines: when you blow an engine, do whatever it takes to drive to a corner station, check for fire, pull the fire system and then grab the corners fire extinguisher and save your car.

Well, I couldn't get the car out of gear. The clutch wouldn't disengage and the blown motor was slowing me down. I tried to find neutral but it was just slowing me down more. The car slowed to a stop in the middle of the straight and I pulled off onto the grass. Sure enough, fire. I set off the fire system. Fire goes out. Car looks like a mess. Whoosh, fire reignites. Look up the straight, nobody. Down the straight nobody. The vinyl starts bubbling, the fire is getting bigger. I have no tools to open the body work and no one to help me. So I strip off my race suit and try to put the fire out with my race suit. Yes, me standing in my boxers, trying to put out the fire. Hilarious now, but man, I couldn't just stand there and watch it burn. I quickly realized it wasn't working. I look up the straight and now I see a safety truck barreling down the straight. Before the truck even stopped I snatched the fire extinguisher off the back of the track and put the fire out.

The car went up on the hook and delivered to our paddock spot and it looked really bad. Fluids dripping out everywhere, burnt vinyl, soot... Terrible. But Jerry Hodges and Don Conner were on a mission and giving up was the last thing on our list. The good news was we had a spare Moon Super Cycle engine that they had from last year in the trailer. So they started pulling the engine. By 3 am, we had to call it quits. Special thanks to Critter for allowing us to use his awesome paddock spot and awning as it was raining all night. We woke up 3 hrs later to finish it up, I repaired a handful of burnt wiring, airbox was a duct tape masterpiece but we couldn't get it back together in time for Q1.

So we go out for the special Q session that was for the feature, F1000 only, race at the end of the day. and things felt great. 55psi hot, now were talkin. And finally I can get some laps in. "your smoking bad" comes in over the radio... Damn it... Back to the pits. Sure enough, I didn't tighten the oil cap enough while topping off the oil. Totally my fault but we caught it in time. At first we were going to pull in the paddock. But after a quick chat with Don, he ran to the trailer for oil, tools to get the side panel off to see the level and rags for Jerry to clean up what he could. I just closed my eyes and did laps. Hoping we could get back on track. Finally I get a thumbs up and off I went. It was now or never, learn the track and get a good Q spot. Only a few laps left.... Watching Glen in Q1 through 1 helped a ton, the rest was years of Forza and the few laps I had during testing. But the JDR was hooked up which allowed me to push and only missed the pole by .2 of a second. We were ecstatic. Its funny how less tired you are when you get a good result after busting ass all night!

So next, was the last Q session was for Sundays race. Only a couple of hours after the qualifying session described above. Couple of adjustment to the car and we were ready. Traffic everywhere. But with Dons help over the radio, we found a gap and I went for it. That was the lap I described above passing the FM. Pole, Pole, Pole! But our job wasn't even close to done yet.

Taking my first green at Road Atlanta definitely caught me off guard. As I'm coming down the hill next to JR, I'm thinking, do they really throw the green right there? Wont we be in the middle of the corner? GREEN! Wow, did I ever sleep on the start. Glen gets by me and the three of us are driving our butts off, 110% tooth and nail. Curbs, 4 wheel drifts, drafting, mistakes... Epic battle. Couple laps later JR slows down the straight and lets us by. Glen and I continue to battle. "You know there's 18 laps right?" comes over the radio. But this was just too much fun. Looked to me, Glen was trimmed out and we were running a grip setup. As I could go faster in several corners but I couldn't pass him down the straight. Definitely the fast RFR in the country, awesome job Glen! We were running consistent 1:22's. Glen also knew where to put his car to make hard for me to get by, driving defensive lines to keep the lead. The best I could do over and over again is get a run out of 5 or 7, only to get side by side but he would smartly protect the inside. Finally I got a great run out of 7 and got a nose on Glen, but that's it. And he had the inside. So I knew, I had to make it work on the outside of 10A and which would lead me to the inside of 10B. It worked, but Glen was on my arse! Swoop down onto the straight and I protect the inside. Glen goes to outside, I move over now to set up as wide as possible for 1, we go side by side through 1, up the hill and into 3. I take the lead, nail the down hill esses, smash 5 using all the exit, carry speed through 6, nail 7 and check the mirrors and see I have some breathing room. Glen pulls me in down the straight but not enough. Next few laps traffic plays a role. Give and take but able to get a gap on Glen. On the white flag lap though I get held up and Glen really closes the gap but we win with only a .9 second advantage. Awesome stuff.

Impound had the top 5 all removing their spark plugs for a compression check. Pulling plugs out of hot motor is scary but all passed the inspections and made weight, no changes to the finishing order.

F1000 party was great. Tons of prizes and food. Even some moonshine that even I couldn't pass up. Spent the rest of the night hanging out with the Meyers and Nicholas Ortiz. What a couple of talented drivers these 2 are. Both from karting with several wins and championships under their belt including manufacturer support. I assured the 2 that coming from karts and in F1000 is great move, but there's a lot to learn and not to get discouraged. Nicholas was having to nurse a ill motor all weekend and salvage as many points as possible. Later we watched Alex's in-car and it was awesome! I told him it had to be posted on the forum and the USF1000 website. I'm glad he did. And shows he'll be a force to reckon with soon.

It poured all night and hard. Several lightning strikes on the track property. So much for making up for lost sleep. The morning came and several canopy's damaged, including ours. It stopped raining for a bit but complete overcast and radar showed another front coming. Right before our race it started raining. This is the race I had pole and it mattered. It was really dark and raining pretty hard by the time we took the green. I knew it was a must to come out of 1 on top but at the same time, had to figure out the rain line. At the end of lap 1, full course caution, several off in 1. Took a few laps to clean it up. I did my best rendition of a F1 restart and I took off. A couple laps later, they throw the checker as someone lost it coming on the front straight and we were passed the 50% mark on time.

1 blown engine, 1 fire, 1 pole and 2 wins. I'll take it.

Special thanks to JDR, Jerry Hodges, Don Conner, Critter, Moon Super Cycle, ETE Reman and my awesome friends and family.

So much for a quick write up! No time to reread, so sorry for any typos.

Ill post the short rain video asap.

See you all at the Sprints.... My home track!

[LLoshak]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUTYKEpaJW4

[Brett Lane]

That has got to be the best video of car control in the wet I've seen! Especially Road Atlanta. Lawrence, you make it look so easy.

Congratulations! To you and everyone there!

[LLoshak]

Well, thank you sir! Means a lot.

[Nicholas Belling]

Smooth driving no doubt.. and a well setup car for rain is the key, which you obviously had!! No fighting the wheel from a loose rear end was great to see.

being the lead car in a full wet situation is a dream as you can imagine that every car behind gets the zero visibility wall of spray !

see you at the sprints Lawrence.

[Mike B]

being the lead car in a full wet situation is a dream as you can imagine that every car behind gets the zero visibility wall of spray !

I'm hesitant to post this video because everyone will see how slow I am but this shows what Nicholas is talking about. My view from a distant P4.
This wasn't the worst rain race I've been in but damn close.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-C2iNa6uE4

[Richard Dziak]

Well done Mike.

I would have never raced myself in those conditions.

You're a brave racer.

Nice video, fun to watch.

[crowe motorsports]

Maybe things happen for a reason

My fuel line quick disconnect decided to disconnect going down into 10 where Mike B went by in his video as I pulled off in 10B. We pump the tank using it and it was ever so slightly not fully engaged. When we took the body off it looked connected. It lasted the pace lap and almost a whole lap. That will not happen again! But sometimes we have to learn the hard way.

I think those blinking LED rain lights are pretty important in a wet wet session.