QUOTE(Jake Raby @ Aug 2 2009, 12:44 AM)
Man, that car must be possessed..
The car has been wrecked by me driving off track only three times since I started racing it 15 years ago. This incident was the hardest hit from the driver's perspective, but actually the least physical damage to the car. And there was the '05 runoffs where things didn't go so well, but that was almost entirely due to one asshole in a Miata. Funny thing, I was told that miata was in my race yesterday. I never saw it. New owner and new paint job.
I've logged nearly 10,000 miles at Lime Rock in that car. It has served me well. This is racing and shit happens quickly. I don't feel especially bad about any of my frightening experiences with this car over the years. I have 3 national wins and numerous regional wins, with 3 regional championships to my credit. I've been on pole and led races overall, not just in class, so I have no regrets at all.
Its all fun! Remember, the last time I drove my car at LRP was exactly 4 years ago in the same event, and I won the race.
I could engage in a lot of hypotheticals as to what I should have or could have done differently but this is what actually happened:
Wet qualifying went great for me on Friday. The car was working well, with only minor issues to be worked out over time. It was nice being on the front row but I knew at the start of the race I would lose a few positions quickly. I don't have a National motor in the car and only have 4year old tires to play with until the budget allows the purchase of a new set.
I lost 2 spots on the first lap. On the second lap I was being hounded by a black Miata and it was only a matter of a few more coners, maybe a lap, before he got by. I think I may have been overdriving the tires when I entered West Bend and had to go agricultural at the exit. It's a near miracle I didn't have a serious wreck there as the grass was soaking wet everywhere off track, and its only one lane wide between the track and the Armco. Somehow I managed to get back on the pavement at the bottom of the hill. The Miata driver had backed off in a heads up move to avoid me collecting him so I was in front of him on the front straight until the engine sputtered and I slowed. I parked on No Name Straight and the race went Full Course Yellow until a wrecker towed me to a safe place around the corner.
I didn't notice that my fuel pressure gauge had a big clue to why the engine died until after I spent a few minutes looking for something loose in/under the engine compartment, as I had driven over some big curbing to get back on track. Once I started looking in the right places I found the power lead (spade lug) had come off the fuel pump switch on the dash. With that re-connected I strapped back in and asked the workers if I could start racing again, and got back on track. The race was about halfway over but I figured I could score a finish if I got to the checker and completed 15 laps.
I took it easy at first, letting the leaders go by and feeling out the car. I had a bad vibration in the right front at some speeds that really shook the steering wheel, but the engine, handling and braking felt ok. I gradually built up my speed to a near race pace and actually passed some slower cars.
An EP Austin Healey dumped oil on the uphill a couple laps after I resumed, and he parked the car in the grass on driver's right - halfway to West Bend. A debris flag was shown for several laps for the oil, and I had no trouble driving around it.
The black Miata went off at the entrance to Big Bend and was nosed into the tire wall, which brought out a local yellow for a few laps.
On the last lap (I didn't know that at the time) I entered the uphill a little faster than before and my line took me out to the edge at the top of the hill. I've never liked driving that far to the left there, as the car gets light and tends to rotate when the rear wheels lose traction momentarily while the car still has a little sideways momentum. The track has an odd crown right there and it takes some getting used to. The track had some major work before last season started and a number of areas on the track look and feel different. Especially the apex curbs. They are higher and steeper where they meet the road and I found that it was best to avoid them completely, which affected my driving line here and there. I still have a few more things to learn about the subtle changes that affect the fast way around the track.
Anyway, the car rotated when I caught a little air at the top of the hill, and I couldn't aim the car back down the road quickly enough. I left the track on a slight angle to the right, bouncing over a concrete curb that upset the car just a little as I drove onto the wet grass. I was mostly worried about avoiding the Armco barrier 20 ft away from the road, but there was a lot of water and I didn't have much hope of controlling the car. It turned sideways - spun clockwise 90 degrees and I scraped the Armco lightly with the right front corner of the bumper.
But that would have been ok... except for the parked car another 50 ft ahead of me. Before the car turned sideways, I actually thought there was a narrow window of opportunity to drive between the Armco and the Healey, but that didn't happen. Instead I slammed my driver's side into the back of the other car at 50 mph or faster. The impact was centered on my rear door jamb and his right taillight.
I briefly saw stars as the car came to rest, lots of little ones flying around in front of me. The Healey was in the road and I came to rest backwards just off track, with 2 inch deep water outside my door. I checked my vital signs as I calmed down and waited for rescue workers to arrive. I was very shaky but my breathing and pulse settled quickly. All I could think about was the Healey owner standing on the berm watching me hit his car in a freak accident after it sat there for 12 laps.
We were both transported to the infield medical center but he didn't need to be there as he wasn't in his car, although he may have been in as much shock as I was. My BP was something like 147 over 78 and pulse around 120 when the medics measured it less than 10 minutes after the crash. I was fully coherent with only slight neck soreness, and they released me into Mary's care after all the paperwork was in order. I got out of my drivers suit and went to the tech area to view the carnage.
A significant amount of damage was done by the wrecker operators who used my rear tow loop to lift the car and drag it backwards. Its not a fucking lift hook for christs sake! I think I need to redesign that so it is way off center and can't be used for that purpose. It was only designed for pulling, not lifting. I suppose they figure I have to fix a lot of sheet metal and fiberglass anyway, what difference is a little more.
The front deck lid and right door are undamaged. The rear deck lid has minor damage from the wrecker. The left front turn signal bucket is collapsed, which also pulled the back half of that fender out of position slightly. I think the right front fender is repairable, but it was rubbing the tire. The right rear, where I just got finished making major repairs was pushed back into the tire just like before. The new stiffening bar is bent, so it must have helped absorb some of the secondary impact with the Armco that occurred after bouncing off the Austin Healey. The rear panel is bent out of shape from the wrecker lifting the car.
The worst damage is the left quarter panel. It and the door jamb will need to be replaced completely, along with the driver door.
The fiberglass rear bumper is trashed and the C/F nose has a lot of cracks. It may be repairable but I don't know how to work with that stuff yet. There is minor suspension damage, but no bent mounting points as far as I can tell. The roll cage is intact and the engine runs. Genaro, my employee, showed up at the track and was very helpful getting the car ready to take home. We cut a little sheet metal off at the right rear corner, pulled a couple of rubbing fenders and I was able to drive the car back to the paddock and onto the trailer.
I'll be sore for a few days. Both shoulders are bruised at the base of my neck from my harnesses, and my neck is a bit stiff this morning. I haven't noticed any other injuries. We went out for Mexican food after getting home and a pitcher of Margaritas helped immensely.
It was really nice being back at Lime Rock after a long hiatus, and enjoyed socializing with many old racing friends.
The car will be fixed and we will return better than before.
, including 6 other FP cars and 8 EP cars. Funny thing, the two slowest qualifiers drove only half my average speed on their best lap.![popcorn[1].gif](http://www.914world.com/bbs2/style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)
with fingers crossed. 
Regardless of the outcome of the day Chris, you have a victorious spirit and a great history building story.
I now know I will never be able to race after seeing that. 
