FB - 2015 Runoffs

[RussMcB]

I had a chance to talk to a few of the F1000 guys here and guess what? There are a few of them who think they haven't shown their best speed yet. That sounds to me like we might be in for another great FB race. Can't wait.

[Tom Valet]

I had a chance to talk to a few of the F1000 guys here and guess what? There are a few of them who think they haven't shown their best speed yet. That sounds to me like we might be in for another great FB race. Can't wait.

Russ, one of them is in the garage right next to us, Giancarlo Di Coopola. He has been working on that Stohr non-stop all week. Hope it pays off, we will be rooting for hm.

[Northwind]

Congrats to JR. Sounded like one heck of a week for the team. Excellent interview with Heyward too.

[RussMcB]

Coop seemed to have a good race. He had his typical awesome, super-aggressive start and was battling in the top three, before dropping back a little. Poor Jeremy had some bad luck and got punted into a spin. Great to see Gary finish on the podium.

FB had a great turn out. 20 high quality entries. Third highest count in the formula classes, I think.

JR announced his retirement during his podium speech. Hard to imagine him leaving. He's still super fast.

[Mike B]

Full results:
1. JR Osborne
2. Alex Mayer
3. Gary Hickman
4. Glenn Cooper
5. John LaBrie
6. Joel Haas
7. Jason Slahor
8. Jeremy Hill
9. James Michael
10. Tim Pierce
11. Peter Frost
12. Bill Falatick
13. Tyler Thielmann
14. George Levien
15. Jose Gerardo
16. Rod Rice
17. Jason Bell
18. Michael Crowe
19. Shane Prieto
20. Kevin Roggenbuck

[ghickman]

How about that Podium, same top 3 as last year. Kinda bummed that JRO is retiring but I understand.

I'd like to take this time to thank some folks that I wasn't able to during my press interviews.

Tom Beattie:
Highly experienced former F1000 driver from Florida who was the track record holder at Daytona in this class. I reached out to him clear back in June to see if he'd share his data with me. He not only shared that and in car video, but played a vital role in helping me with all the little nuisances of the track. Tom is an awesome guy and I will forever be grateful for his help.

Don Boughan:
Also a local racer and friend of Tom. He loaned us his setup gear and scales for the week. On Wednesday early evening after we discovered we had a seriously cracked header Don said hey drive out to my shop and you can use all my equipment. There aren't too many folks that would just let a couple of dudes from SoCal have full run of their shop. Thanks so much Don...get that Indy Car going.

Chris Harrison:
For reading all the squiggly lines of data and making some great decisions during the 10 days we were there.

Last but not least all the SCCA locals and volunteers from regions near and far for making my "Bucket List" appearance at Daytona so much fun. This is one of the coolest tracks I've been to in my 4 decades of racing formula cars.

[jchracer]

Congrats to JR for another win…..man do those guys work hard.

I had a good time at my first Run-offs. Prior to the event, I was thinking I would be bored and have plenty of time to socialize with ONLY one session each day….I was waaaaay wrong. We barely had a minute to spare the whole time I was there. I had no idea how much everyone steps up their game at the Run-Offs. I had run at Daytona last year and knew there would be some fast laps but I think ¾ of the field qualified under the lap record as of July this year…..that’s serious.

A big shout out to Greg Rice. It turned out bringing in someone to help was a great choice. Greg Rice from Rice Race Prep came down and helped me out all week. I think he was the main reason I was able to improve so much during the week and have a respectable result (for me). Greg’s a great guy and I would recommend his services to anyone needing help…..very knowledgeable and professional.

When does the restrictor debate start again?

And Coop…..are we going to get an 2015 Run-Offs Coops Chronicle?

[billwald]

Add my congrats to JRO, all the drivers and teams. Some great looking FB's in the field and some awesome driving.

The broadcast coverage was excellent as well. Sorry to see some cars had problems or incidents. Glad there were no injuries - especially the fire (been there before).

A great showing for FB. Well done to all involved!

[JohnPaul]

FB? Best class, best competition, best group of guys in SCCA hands down.
I think all the early days haters that talked soo much crap about the class ate their words after watching the size and competition FB put together this runoffs.
Great class. Don't let the idiots that know nothing about FB F*ck it up with their "opinions" about what the class should or was intended to be change what you have. Just a bunch of wankers that can't drive and have too much time on their hands.

[ghickman]

Well said JP

And congrats on the P1 win....you da man now.

[billwald]

JP; P1 Champ; Killer drive, man. Hope you get to see the TV replay online. Congrats to Chris Young Racing!

I'd like to hear more from the drivers about the Daytona experience, race, and their crews/engine builders. Great job Joel!

[BURKY]

Race Video. http://www.scca.com/videos/1972536

[ghickman]

What the announcers didn't know was that every time I'd pull up alongside Alex I'd instantly hit the rev limiter. Almost every lap I'd have to trail the throttle down the entire length of the front straight. Those in the know the soft limiter on these aint so soft, you'll pull the bottoms right out of the piston or stretch a rod bolt.

We geared down 1 tooth on Thursday, turned out to be colossal mistake. Shoulda woulda coulda.

More too this story but I won't go any further.

[SEComposites]

It struck me that the commentators didn't know much of anything on the races I watched : /

[ghickman]

I agree....since when did we convert FA and Super Vees to an FB?

Dorsey did notice my wheel fans on the rear.

[R. Pare]

So, what happened to Bell in the race? Nowhere near a good enough finish for that car.

[Jnovak]

So, what happened to Bell in the race? Nowhere near a good enough finish for that car.

Looks like he spun off. Do not know if there was another issue.

[ghickman]

So, what happened to Bell in the race? Nowhere near a good enough finish for that car.

The cameras didn't catch his off that he had.

On the restart (since we didn't do a complete lap under green) they moved Bell back up in front of me when they had us lined up single file on the pit lane. I wasn't too happy about that because I knew I had to get around him once again.

When the green dropped we came around T4 and he went off the entry to T4 then came back on right in front of me in the braking zone of T5. I barely missed collecting him. He drug a ton of grass up onto the entry to T5.

My opinion was that they had trimmed just a bit too much D/F out of the car. I really expected Bell to be a major threat. Brandon was there last week taking a saw to the diffuser, they chopped the heck out of it.

Forgot to mention Bell was my dark horse pick.

[Tyler Thielmann]

We weren't happy with the re-grid of the cars either but in the end it didn't affect us because of the water pipe failure.

I would like to congratulate JR for the race win but will be sad to see him go. No matter what car you put him in he always manages to turn quick laps! This is a great series with a lot of great drivers and it always puts on one heck of a show. It would be really nice to see 10-15 cars at all series races as the spectators seem to really gravitate to these cars.

I would also like to thank the series sponsors which include Hoosier Racing Tire, Sunoco Racing fuels, Replay XD Cameras, Hyperco, HRP, Jongbloed Racing Inc., Taylor Race Engineering and Sprocket Specialists. Also the US Formula 1000 series and Sports Car Club of America.

I would also like to thank my family and friends for the help and support this year along with SO Bright Natural Pet Products, Greg Moon of Moon's Super Cycle, Jerry Hodges and JDR Motorsport, Don Conner for helping out with data and setup, and Bart and Nate Wolf of Wolf Motorsports.

Some in car video for your enjoyment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWuxP3OAt0E

[dereklola]

................ because of the water pipe failure.

What was the read warning light next to your left thumb?
Low coolant pressure maybe? Tx - Derek

[JJLudemann]

It was great to be able to watch the full race video on a big-screen TV halfway around the world. So cool to see the guys I know only through ApexSpeed actually racing.

Any word on what caused the fire in Roggenbuck's car? I sure wouldn't want that to happen to my car. So sad for him.

-Jim

[Tyler Thielmann]

What was the read warning light next to your left thumb?
Low coolant pressure maybe? Tx - Derek

First water temp, then we lost water causing the spike because it was reading air temp at that time. Oil pressure eventually dropped and then came back up later on.

[BRONCO]

Gotta admit, the best announcer I ever heard at a race was the Road Atlanta SARRC Runoffs a couple ago when Yes! Ginacarlo Dicoopola did the color commentating. The man knows what he's talking about!

[glenn cooper]

Thanks, Tony - That was a good bit of fun.
It was the ARRC, last year.
Fellow racer Beau Borders recorded it from the track radio signal and Dropboxed it to me.
I listened to it just the other day and got a few laughs - being on the mic is like TRUTH SERUM!

[Mike Devins]

What fuel was being used for the Daytona race?

[jchracer]

What fuel was being used for the Daytona race?

I was running Sonoco 260 GTX unleaded.

[ghickman]

Sunoco 260 GT is a better fuel. Dyno numbers prove it. That's what we ran at Daytona.

We self tested our fuel at the beginning of every session. We failed once and after that we didn't leave any fuel in the car or in the jugs. We bought and filled just what was needed.

[jose gerardo]

Gentlemen,
let's see a show of hands with respect to some cost control for our class, with some driver's swapping their engine between quali sessions and the race the fair thing to do would be to instill a position / time penalty like they do in other type's of racing, we are an amateur class and not everyone has deep pockets to perforn multiple engine swaps and the only fair thing to do would be to race on the engine we qualify with to make sure not one competitor is running on a "special" motor that may not last a race lenght .
after speaking to two other chassis manufacturer besides our own it looks like the issue of kawi vs susuki choice and the runaway costs associated with our class nowadays is taking a heavy toll on car sales since many people are staying on the sidelines allowing this dilema to untangle on it's own.
the other would have to be with having a spec tire, one team went through a set of tires per day including their test days, that would be something like six or seven sets for what turned out to be a sprint 7 lap race.
If necessary we can start a new thread if someone wants to moderate it.

thanks to all fellow competitors

[Jnovak]

Gentlemen,
let's see a show of hands with respect to some cost control for our class, with some driver's swapping their engine between quali sessions and the race the fair thing to do would be to instill a position / time penalty like they do in other type's of racing, we are an amateur class and not everyone has deep pockets to perforn multiple engine swaps and the only fair thing to do would be to race on the engine we qualify with to make sure not one competitor is running on a "special" motor that may not last a race lenght .
after speaking to two other chassis manufacturer besides our own it looks like the issue of kawi vs susuki choice and the runaway costs associated with our class nowadays is taking a heavy toll on car sales since many people are staying on the sidelines allowing this dilema to untangle on it's own.
the other would have to be with having a spec tire, one team went through a set of tires per day including their test days, that would be something like six or seven sets for what turned out to be a sprint 7 lap race.
If necessary we can start a new thread if someone wants to moderate it.

thanks to all fellow competitors

This is the reason we have moved on.

[Purple Frog]

Jay! You can't seriously be saying the engine/chassis combination debates in FA are any clearer than FB.

[jchracer]

This is the reason we have moved on.

Come on Jay, that's the reason you moved on? To the much more stable and affordable class of FA?

[ghickman]

Gentlemen,
the other would have to be with having a spec tire, one team went through a set of tires per day including their test days, that would be something like six or seven sets for what turned out to be a sprint 7 lap race.
If necessary we can start a new thread if someone wants to moderate it.

thanks to all fellow competitors

I like the spec tire idea Jose, I'd endorse that. I believe I may be one of just a few drivers that took the race grid on non sticker 1 heat cycle tires. I Like the way the R25's grip after one good heat cycle on a hot day.

The Kawi powered Firman cars were going thru engines like water. Most of that was self inflicted.

Not sure about the engines race what you qualified on though.

[ghickman]

Come on Jay, that's the reason you moved on? To the much more stable and affordable class of FA?

You are awesome Joel...that made me laugh.

[Jnovak]

We are not alone in FA Joel.

[Nick77]

Jose, you are absolutely correct , Qualify it, Paint it, Race it
any other way leaves it to inviting for a special Qualify Motor

Nick77

[Northwind]

Gentlemen,
let's see a show of hands with respect to some cost control for our class, with some driver's swapping their engine between quali sessions and the race the fair thing to do would be to instill a position / time penalty like they do in other type's of racing, we are an amateur class and not everyone has deep pockets to perforn multiple engine swaps and the only fair thing to do would be to race on the engine we qualify with to make sure not one competitor is running on a "special" motor that may not last a race lenght .
after speaking to two other chassis manufacturer besides our own it looks like the issue of kawi vs susuki choice and the runaway costs associated with our class nowadays is taking a heavy toll on car sales since many people are staying on the sidelines allowing this dilema to untangle on it's own.
the other would have to be with having a spec tire, one team went through a set of tires per day including their test days, that would be something like six or seven sets for what turned out to be a sprint 7 lap race.
If necessary we can start a new thread if someone wants to moderate it.

thanks to all fellow competitors

It seems to me that implementation of restrictors could prevent something like this. They are cheap, fast, and easy to inspect after a session on track. The fastest cars could be checked in little time. Having a questionable motor would be negated by airflow restriction. Paint marking an engine or tires would not be a problem for me.

Was there really something fishy going on at the runoffs or is this speculation about special engines used in qualifying?

[John LaRue]

What I find amusing about the turn of this thread is that as I understood it (perhaps my memory is fading) the theory behind FB was to create a class which would essentially utilize an FC chassis fitted out with an inexpensive motorcycle engine/gearbox. (It was essentially creating a place for the motorcycle FC cars that got legislated out of existence.) Wow, did this all land quite wide of the mark. Perhaps Cooper and some others can chime in and give the true history of the class, but that concept was lost coming out of the gate with alternative aero and body specs. FB had a healthy field at DIS however I question whether that will continue if there is the perception that multiple engines are required to be competitive through an event.

[ghickman]

It seems to me that implementation of restrictors could prevent something like this. They are cheap, fast, and easy to inspect after a session on track. The fastest cars could be checked in little time. Having a questionable motor would be negated by airflow restriction. Paint marking an engine or tires would not be a problem for me.

Was there really something fishy going on at the runoffs or is this speculation about special engines used in qualifying?

Haven't we seen this all played out before at Runoffs gone by? I know I have.

I got the whole he's sand bagging, he's this he's that. Just doesn't fly with me. If I get my ass kicked I just try to do better next time.

In my opinion there was nothing fishy going on. Why would a major engine builder risk his reputation. I know this particular builder well and he simply would not do it.

If the Kawasaki is such a monster motor why is it the 3 other cars with Kawasaki power weren't up at the front.

Some drivers (not naming names) if you tell them to keep the redline below 13,500 he's going to push it to 14,500. Ok so maybe this makes a good case to race what you qualified on. I personally don't like trashing my engines, I self police myself to not over rev. They simply stop producing power at a certain point.

[Jnovak]

Haven't we seen this all played out before at Runoffs gone by? I know I have.

I got the whole he's sand bagging, he's this he's that. Just doesn't fly with me. If I get my ass kicked I just try to do better next time.

In my opinion there was nothing fishy going on. Why would a major engine builder risk his reputation. I know this particular builder well and he simply would not do it.

If the Kawasaki is such a monster motor why is it the 3 other cars with Kawasaki power weren't up at the front.

Some drivers (not naming names) if you tell them to keep the redline below 13,500 he's going to push it to 14,500. Ok so maybe this makes a good case to race what you qualified on. I personally don't like trashing my engines, I self police myself to not over rev. They simply stop producing power at a certain point.

I agree with Gary. The issue IMO is excess rpm in Q and not special engines. There are easy ways to control this and the maximum power these engines can make. Since we are no longer in the class I will shut up. Good luck guys.

[R. Pare]

You unfortunately always have those who believe that the reason they are getting smoked is that the guy doing the ass-kicking is cheating somehow, when the real problem is that they are nowhere near as good a developer and driver.

So we get the annual "how do we get rid of the cheaters" threads.