Road Atlanta Super Tour

[Hartley]

Two and a half weeks to go any only 8 entries! Does anyone know of any other drivers coming who are not on the list?

21	Paul Douglas	FC	2001 Van Diemen RF 01	Atlanta, GA	Apogee Design Corp.
24	CS Chris Scharnow	FC	2001 Van Diemen RF01	Saint Petersburg, FL	Morgan Stanley, Chris-Craft, LTD Motorsports
27	HM Hartley MacDonald	FC	2006 Van Diemen RF06	Mulberry, FL	Florida RV Sales & Service, Florida Landmark Realty
35	Eric Presbrey	FC	2000 VanDiemen RF03	Ridgefield, CT	Centrical/KK Motorsports
46	DR Douglas Rocco	FC	2008 VanDiemen DPO2-8	Sandisfield, MA	BLUE CHIP DIESEL
55	MF Mauro Fauza	FC	2003 Van Diemen RF03	manalapan, NJ	Greene Marble & Granite
81	TM Tim Minor	FC	2010 Citation Citation	Fredericksburg, VA	Automotive Specialist Center,Hoosier Tire,Bungalow Lake House
145	DK Dean Kiriluk

[CScharnow]

With the second most entries of all formula classes, I wouldn't have exactly said only 8 (now 9). But yes, with all the prizes on offer from Brad's series I would have suspected more by now as well. I know there may be a few more yet to register, and it would be awesome to have a great showing for Brad during his recovery. Get those cars out and let's have some fun.

[Hartley]

With the second most entries of all formula classes, I wouldn't have exactly said only 8 (now 9). But yes, with all the prizes on offer from Brad's series I would have suspected more by now as well. I know there may be a few more yet to register, and it would be awesome to have a great showing for Brad during his recovery. Get those cars out and let's have some fun.

We are now up to 10 FC cars! Anyone else coming?

[CScharnow]

We’re up in the rolling hills of a small town in Northern Georgia that Kim Bassinger used to own (you can look it up) for the next stop on the road to VIR and the Primus Mini Series.

Minor, whose early season form has shown he’s clearly one of the favorites to win it all this year, laid down a ridiculous time in this afternoon’s qualifying session, flirting with the track record.

The LTD trio are all very close. Hartley has the wrong gears in his new-to-him VD so is changing them for the morning. And Stern had a problem during the session and stopped on the backstretch.

The big story is the weather. Some parts of GA are expecting snow tonight, and the forecast tomorrow is for a high wind advisory and 36 degrees during both the morning qualifier and the afternoon race, which should be just great for getting heat in the tires…

We also had a surprise visit under the LTD tent today when a certain 2X National Champ decided to stop by on an off day between games and do some driver coaching.

We’ll keep everyone updated throughout the weekend and maybe someone will even take some pics that we can post (looking at you, Livingston). Stay tuned.

Last but certainly not least, quick shout out to Brad and all his progress. We miss you buddy. Hope to see you at the track soon.

[CScharnow]

Road Atlanta Recap:

This was a weekend I was trying to forget, but Satchell guilted me into writing something. So here you go.

Not sure where to start. The weather was nuts, Minor is superhuman, and the battles throughout the field were the best we’ve had so far this year.

On Saturday, watching snow flurries come down while sitting in a race car before a session was something this Florida boy had never experienced before. My first snow session, it was a bit surreal. Although I hear the regional at VIR had it much worse.

And what can I say, Tim is the man. If rumors are to be believed (and you should know everything you read on the internet is true) then taking turn 1 flat out is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a 2 liter car. That dude is next level.

The rest of us were fighting for 2nd place. We had great battles throughout. And even Walko was there in a FX to add to the fun.

The podium was the same both days with Kiriluk and Fauza joining Tim, but there was no shortage of excitement as Hartley and I joined in with the 4 of us dicing it out lap after lap.

Multiple passes and position swaps, dealing with traffic, me going off track twice. It was great (except for that last part). And that was just Saturday.

On Sunday, we had clear blue skies and the racing in the pack was even better. I would know from my trackside seat after something seized up going into turn 5 only a few laps in. (Side note- thanks to everyone for not running into me when I was stranded at the exit there).

Big congrats to Tim Minor for dominating the weekend. I’m just happy it’s over and to be back in warmer weather. But I’m most excited about the momentum this class has and the great racing we are seeing. Get those cars out and join the fun.

Next stop is heaven on earth, according to one of the all time great actors and just about everyone who has driven there. Come get some seat time in before the Runoffs. It’s going to be a great race.

[Hartley]

Chris your report nailed it! Great fun racing in some very extreme conditions ie. temps and traffic. I threw on some new but scrubbed in Avons I got with the VD, I I just recently bought, to run the practice session. I did not want to damage my new Hoosiers while relearning the track. The Avons were ok for 2 sessions at Sebring where I first tested my new car 3 weeks previously. They must have been older tires because in the much colder temps we had at Atlanta they were, in a word, dangerous. I could not get any heat in the tires and it was like driving on ice. I barely survived the first practice session and was greatly relieved to experience the sticker bias ply Hoosiers. As a dyed in the wool cheerleader for the Hoosier radials I was pleasantly surprised at the grip levels of this new tire. They did not fall off much over 4 heat cycles. So glad you all figured out this tire controversy just as I arrived in the class! Great shout out to Tim Minor who graciously shared some set up and gear ratio intel! It really helped me get up to speed to be able to run with Chris, Mauro, and Dean. I have to say it was amazing to race that hard and that close in a a 4 car pack with out a single scratch on any ones car! It was nothing short of breath taking to go through 10/10A side by side with Dean only inches apart! And we did that twice, once in each race to decide the final spot on the podium! My wife Diane watched it from the hill and she said there were 8 simultaneous plumes of smoke coming from the 2 cars at the bottom of the hill! Lastly a huge shout out to Diane who filled in as crew chief for the first time as 2 of my crew could not make it. She called the start on my radio as I was still going up the hill when the flag was thrown. To hear a high pitched female voice, that I was not used to screaming GREEN GREEN GREEN GREEN GREEN startled me so much that I nearly drove off the track!

OK I heard a lot of reasons why some cars did not come down to RA. It was either the potential rain/ snow, work schedule, fuel prices, etc. Well with all due respect you missed a great time! Great racing, awesome camaraderie and hospitality by the region and track people. It is my favorite track even more fun than my local track Sebring! I am told that my new favorite track will be VIR. Cannot wait to try it out for the first time!

Road Atlanta Recap:

This was a weekend I was trying to forget, but Satchell guilted me into writing something. So here you go.

Not sure where to start. The weather was nuts, Minor is superhuman, and the battles throughout the field were the best we’ve had so far this year.

On Saturday, watching snow flurries come down while sitting in a race car before a session was something this Florida boy had never experienced before. My first snow session, it was a bit surreal. Although I hear the regional at VIR had it much worse.

And what can I say, Tim is the man. If rumors are to be believed (and you should know everything you read on the internet is true) then taking turn 1 flat out is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a 2 liter car. That dude is next level.

The rest of us were fighting for 2nd place. We had great battles throughout. And even Walko was there in a FX to add to the fun.

The podium was the same both days with Kiriluk and Fauza joining Tim, but there was no shortage of excitement as Hartley and I joined in with the 4 of us dicing it out lap after lap.

Multiple passes and position swaps, dealing with traffic, me going off track twice. It was great (except for that last part). And that was just Saturday.

On Sunday, we had clear blue skies and the racing in the pack was even better. I would know from my trackside seat after something seized up going into turn 5 only a few laps in. (Side note- thanks to everyone for not running into me when I was stranded at the exit there).

Big congrats to Tim Minor for dominating the weekend. I’m just happy it’s over and to be back in warmer weather. But I’m most excited about the momentum this class has and the great racing we are seeing. Get those cars out and join the fun.

Next stop is heaven on earth, according to one of the all time great actors and just about everyone who has driven there. Come get some seat time in before the Runoffs. It’s going to be a great race.