-Dick Reece
("Are you kidding me?")
Every so often, there's a race day that's so absurd in circumstance, that all anyone can do is just smile. It seems outdoor racing produces these "are you kidding me?" moments on a weekly basis. Maybe that's why I love racing on asphalt under Mother Nature so much. You just never know what's coming your way. This past weekend, June 17th, we had a typical club race. Round 4 of the SeaTac RC Raceway outdoor series. No big deal, just another "are you kidding me?" kind of day.
Saturday's forecast called for cloudy skies, with zero chance of rain. No real sun breaks to speak of, but the ambient temperature was up around 67 with relative humidity. The track was blown off and sprayed early that morning, and the course felt great. Good grip and a kickass layout. Lots of load on the drivers side tires, so setup and drive on corner exit was essential.
With 60 entries strong and full heats throughout, it was a busy day for everyone involved, but at the same time, it was awesome to see the progress of the racers from a pace standpoint. Everyone's getting faster and getting those outdoor setups dialed in. Harbke, Schreven, Shook, Mason, Danilchik, Reece, Banks, and Pate. Plenty of the fastest dudes in the PNW, and the token Canadian. All pushing themselves and the club. Rad stuff to watch, no doubt about it.
My day was a bit odd from the get-go. From the first pack in practice, I had trouble finding that "comfy balance" that the car had during the previous rounds. My driving was a bit tight and choppy, and the car just felt off early on. Thinking back on it now, I never really did get back to my happy place during the day, but the morning was spent just trying to turn laps and loosen up myself and the car.
The car had a "plowing" feeling for most of the day. It wasn't un-drivable by any means, but turn in wasn't as crisp as it had been previously, and corner exit just felt a bit lazy. Now, I hadn't changed much on the car from a setup standpoint during the past couple weeks, so my personal consensus was twofold: My driving was an issue more than the car, and the rest of the field had stepped it up, so I was driving the car harder, thus exposing flaws in the setup. One thing was for sure, grip was up, and the rest of the field's cars were coming in, so I had picked a hell of a time to have an "off day". As frustrating as this all may seem or seems at the time, I love it. It's days like this when you're not at your best, when having a decent result means much more. It does to me at least.
Mike Boyle was again the class of the Scale Spec field, taking a comfy TQ time all the way to the second qualifier, locking up the top spot for the Main, with Q3 left. Jim Glasgow slotted in second with a fast looking Camaro, while I found myself in third. I had improved my overall time by over 4 seconds in Q2, so I was stoked at the progress. The problem was, everyone else progressed at about the same rate, so while I had improved greatly, I wasn't alone.
It was at this point, that things got weird.....
(Raindrops keep falling on my head, er, windshield)
Just after Q2, I'm sitting in my camping chair watching some racing, and I feel a rain drop. Then another, and another. "Wait, it's not supposed to rain today......" Welcome to the PNW.
I check my phone to see a nasty band of precipitation headed straight for us. Throughout the rest of the second round of qualifiers and into Q3, the rain turned to sprinkles, which turned to rain. By the time Formula 1 Q3 was up, the track was a soupy mess of water and washed up soda. There was some rumblings in the pits about whether we should continue racing in what was worsening conditions. As the rain continued to fall, several racers had seen enough, and packed their equipment. Others stuck around, but refused to race on what had become a very damp and slick track.
As the F1 cars gingerly made their way around the track, race director Todd Mason asked if I would be willing to turn a few laps to check the conditions. As the formula cars finished their wet weather excursion, I proceeded to flog the #OGTC TC4 around the course. Tires spinning, 4-wheel drifting around each corner, I had probably the most fun driving a RC car in a very long time. There just something about making lemonade out of a sour lemon of a surface. Todd then pulled me aside and asked "Is it race-able?" I replied "I'm not sure if I'd call it race-able, but if someone's willing to race with me, I'm ready." And that was all he needed to hear. I'd payed my entry fee, and up to that point, I had only gotten two races in. I wasn't going anywhere until the race was canceled.
(Franko Roberts made an entire car change, and suddenly became fast. Really fast.)
As the rain subsided, Todd took a quick survey after qualifying had concluded, on who would be willing to stick around. Not surprisingly, more than few turned down racing the Mains. Many had either packed up for the day, or had no interest in racing on an ice rink with the chance of water ruining a speed control.
What was refreshing though, was the vast number of racers who gladly raised their hand in support of running the Mains. 13 Scale Spec racers, 8 Mod racers, and 8 F1 racers highlighted the all-deciding finals. It was great to see fellow racers see the moment for what it was: outdoor racing at its finest. Adverse conditions that would challenge the car and driver, not to mention add a bunch of smiles and a metric ton worth of laughs. It's club racing, it's meant to be fun.... Right?
(The #OGTC was "off" for most of the day, but so was it's driver.)
(Snapped this just before the tone. probably should've been concentrating on more important things.... Details.)
Scale Spec:
Scale Spec was first up, taking 9 cars from what was originally 13. It was going to be a full house in tricky conditions, so it was peculiar to all of us, when we took our first laps in warm up... and we had traction, and a surprisingly high amount, at that. Somehow the track had dried enough to provide decent grip for the start, and it only got better from there. I had a good jump on pole-sitter Jim Glasgow going on the main straight, but checked up to avoid the dreaded "first corner pileup". As we rounded the first complex of turns, everyone stacked up behind me to form what seemed like a bumper-to-bumper train going into the middle "keyhole" turns. What happened next was inevitable, but I still kick myself for letting it happen. I became fixated on what was happening behind me, rather than driving in front of me. As we entered the keyhole, everyone closed in, which caused me to make a desperation pass to the inside. There was clearly no room for two cars, and I had no reason to try a pass at that point. Had I waited a few corners later, I may have made something stick. Instead I got hasty and collected Jim and myself, causing a chain reaction of taps and spins. When the dust settled, Jim and I had been shuffled to dead last. Time to go to work.
If you recall in my last RACER Report, I talked about racing based on circumstances. I always prefer having a game plan when I grid up for a Main. While this works well in theory, there are instances when logic and rational thinking get thrown out the window. At this point, with almost a minute gone, I was in full damage control, trying to pick off as many spots as I could, while trying to string together as many clean laps as possible. In situations like this, I find myself making passes that I normally wouldn't have tried, and taking cringe-worthy lines that my sanity would scream bloody murder at me for. Now, I get it.... This all seems a bit intense, and probably a hair too serious to be a toy car race. Did I mention these are toy cars? The funny thing is, it doesn't matter whether its LeMans or slot cars, competition is still the name of the game. It's the "nerdy truth" about this hobby, and I love it.
With nearly half the race gone, and the beneficiary of a couple tangles in front of me, I found myself in second with a lazy-feeling car and a rapidly improving track. After working me for over a lap, Jim Glasgow put together a beautiful move to take second back, and would stay there for the remainder of the race. For the second race in a row, I gave it the ol' "College Try", but I just couldn't muster up enough of a challenge. For the final two minutes, I had my hands full, trying to keep the top two in my sights, while fending off a hard-charging Franko Roberts in 4th. Franko made a bold "car" change between the 2nd and 3rd qualifiers, scrapping the HPI Pro4 that he had been campaigning, to a more modern Tamiya car, and the results were clearly visible. I spent the final minute on the defensive, trying to make my car as wide as could be. It was probably the best I had driven all day, holding off Franko in the closing laps to take 3rd by just 3 tenths of a second. Intensity at it's best. Gary Lewis took the win, having a clean drive to the front, and not faltering for the entire race. Jim Glasgow would take 2nd, recovering nicely from the first-lap melee.
Modified Touring:
Modified was, and is nuts. The amount of talent on one track at one time with this club still makes my jaw drop at times. Korey, Travis, and the rest battled for TQ up until the rains showed up. In the end, on point for the Main was Jason Melnyk, with Alex Pate and Jake Danilchik in second and third on the grid. The start was clean and the track was starting to come in. Stuart Mason, hoping to take advantage of the tricky conditions, mounted a set of grooved "full-wet tires" before the start. Unfortunately, the track had just too much grip, and "Mini-Mason" faded early. At some point during the first couple minutes, Brian Shook had shimmied his way from 8th on the grid, to 1st. No one really saw how, so it's safe to say it was either witchcraft or divine intervention that propelled him to the lead. It could've also been the fact that Brian is one of the finest asphalt racers in the NW..... I'm going with witchcraft. Brian would hold on for the comfy win.
(Open-wheeled Rock Stars.)
F1:
Say what you will about scale F1 racing. Say also, what you will about the racers who race them. These guys were the Rock Stars of the day. In the face of everything from good, to tricky, to downright terrible track conditions, these guys went all out, having a blast in the process. It was, to me, these F1 drivers that exemplified the true spirit of hobby-level club racing. At the end of the day, this hobby is all about having fun with like-minded people. Sometimes that's on a great track, on a great day, and sometimes it's on a damp track in deplorable conditions. you make the best of it, and have a laugh about it afterwards. John Tveten would take the pole, but it was his son Mark, that would take yet another win on the SeaTac track. Congrats, fellas.
Stock Touring:
Stock Touring was light on cars for the Main, but was business-as-usual when it came to action on-track. At this point, the track was nearly the best it had been all day. The drying track, mixed with the sticky soda spray and cool air, made for a ridiculous surface to race on. A far cry from just a couple hours prior. Russ Dyer would start on pole, but it was George Strichan who drove fast and smooth to secure the win. Alex Danilchik and Dick Reece would round out the podium.
Mod 12th:
The fact that these guys even ran during the third qualifier and a Main, was pretty badass to be honest. Todd bowed out, George kept it as clean as possible, but it was Stuart who had no fear on his way to the TQ and Main win.
(The product of ridiculous track conditions, good tire sauce, and defensive over-driving.)
(I swear this car had more tire dust than a bad carpet race. "Are you kidding me?")
I really can't overstate how much I enjoy the process of racing again. Each race day has had its own set of challenges, from the car, to my driving, to mother nature. It's these challenges that I love more than anything. If it was easy racing and smooth sailing, It'd be just another boring attempt to dodge adult responsibility on the weekends. To be out of my element all day, fighting some setup deficiencies and some sketchy driving on my part, and still be able to work my way through the field and finish third was a pretty cool deal. It was a good reward for sticking around through the rain and crappy conditions.
In the end, we saw more of the epic racing and great attitudes that define the Seattle RC Racers club, and On-Road racing in general, here in the Pacific Northwest. Off-Road definitely gets the glory around the Puget Sound region, but this club deserves a large part of the attention. We have a good thing going here, and it will only continue to get better. Bring on the Summer!
Peace and Fast Laps.
-JRoy386
