San Fran Region SCCA Double Race Weekend May 22-24, 2009
Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows, CA
Beautiful weather, NorCal style, was the order for the ’09 Memorial Day SCCA races. Being the biggest race weekend of the year, race fans here were a bit overwhelmed with race choices: Jensen (also ran) Button on pole in Monaco, Helio (Star Dancer) Castronueves on pole in Indy or Kristopher (New Kid) Olson on pole in the very exciting Willows CA. When asked by this cub reporter what she was following, Brenda down at the Black Bear Diner exclaimed: “Ha ! no question: the real action is here. But, uh……
you telling me to put my money on the new kid Olson???” (Besides bodacious ta-ta’s that girl has a brain.)
The Driving Ambition (DA) team of Shad Huntley and the Kipster (KO) rolled the car out of the trailer on Friday and promptly threw down a track record of 1:52.6 in ITE. If you don’t pay attention to such things, after 15 years of track history, track records get whittled away by a few hundredths or maybe a tenth or 2. So, they created quite a stir, when the DA/KO team took the current track record, slapped it upside the head and threw it in the corner like a rag doll, beating it by over 5 seconds. Adding a bit of frosting on the cake, they then took pole in the superfast Super Production (SP) class. (For the casual observer, SP is the fastest, sexiest thing with fenders in SCCA.)
SP race #1. Saturday Pre-Grid 8:30 AM. The KO kid sat on pole, looking for his nemesis Frank Emmett to show up for the race. Frank didn’t make it to qualifying yesterday but if he came now he could start at the back of the grid. That would be no big deal for Frank since he owns the SP class, and can win from the back without breaking a sweat. He’s rubbed shoulders with the likes of Scott Pruett, Boris Said, Bill Auberlen, Justin Marks, Paul Newman and his credentials include the 24 Hrs of Daytona, on a team starting in the top 3rd of the grid. Only a select few in SP have tried to hunt him down and only the DA/KO team currently has the Top Gun equipment and attitude to take him out. And this weekend was supposed to set him up if not shoot him down. Unfortunately, Frank was a no-show today. :frown:
As the 3 minute board went up on pre-grid, this cub reporter, imitating the very lame Jack Arute, leans in the car and asks KO “So, you’re on pole, but being a veritable rookie in this super fast class, what’s going thru you mind right now?” Totally unfazed or amused by such a lame question, he just smiled and offered “I just wanna win, but I was really hoping to be able to dethrone king Frank this weekend.” And off he went.
Although Frank wasn’t there to start in the back; someone almost better was: Elmer Shannon in the monster 700 RWHP #07 Vette was. , Elmer has the money and crew to run an IndyCar team, and loves to throw down a little smack now and again. More on that later…………….
As the pace car pulled off, the starter threw an early green and the ground shook as KO effortlessly led the 12,000 HP pack thru Turn 1. KO pulled out a few car lengths as things got sorted out thru Turns 2 into 3. By lap 7, KO and the leaders were lapping the backmarkers. As Shad asked KO for some gage readings and how the car felt, all he got back was a “Yee haw, this is fun!!” :tongue:
Michelle Nigai, an annual fixture at pointy end of the SP grid, started 2nd and hounded KO, just over a second back for several laps. However, it soon became obvious she was pushing and a bit too hard; dropping 2 wheels here and 4 off there, then into traffic and wham-o, she’s 7 seconds back. Meanwhile, KO was grinding…….. no make that gliding thru backmarkers with Swiss watch………… no make that atomic clock precision.
But hold on, Elmer’s coming. :wink: The announcer on the first lap started giving updates on Elmer, who, using some jaw dropping acceleration, was on a charge from the back. By lap 3, he was up to 3rd; and 2 laps later, only 8 seconds back. Shad and this cub reporter are crunchin’ numbers to figure how this will play out with Michelle, traffic and all. But no worries because all of a sudden Elmer’s getting the meatball and puling in to pit lane for a sound bust. His crew waves some magic dust over the muffler and Elmer’s back out but not before after losing 30 seconds on pit lane. Shad winks “We’re half way home and Elmer would have to find 4-5 seconds/lap on KO.” That ain’t happenin’ :tongue:………..whew.
Meanwhile, Michelle in the 72 car has spun up in Turn 5, T-Hill’s mini corkscrew, and is now 16 seconds back. KO keeps reeling off 1:52’s and with that much of a lead, no one’s gonna catch him unless he stumbles. Which he doesn’t, so that’s the way it ended, except Elmer passed Michelle for the right to be first loser. But who cares about that?
Can you say “Dom-in-ation”? Up and down the paddock, the buzz is: “Who’s the new kid in that funny lookin’ car?”
ITE Race. There was no time for an SP class victory lap, cooling down or anything, since the 5 minute board went up for the ITE race not lonb after Kip took the SP checkers. And the DA/KO team has to make a pit stop for fuel and tires. KO sits in the car while Shad fuels and some clueless pit monkeys, including this cub reporter, change tires. KO makes it back out to pre-grid at the 2 minute mark but 85 year old Paul, the Pre-grid Gestapo, won’t allow him to take his pole position, saying the 49 is too late and will start in the back (any questions?). Who made up this schedule any-who?
Here’s the set-up for the ITE race. A Darrell Anderson, in a well put together #45 Mustang, inherits the pole with KO’s relegation to the back. The #45 has typically turned laps in the mid 50’s (1:55+/-). But this weekend, with a fresh bucket of speed, he’s in the 52’s and a threat to DA/KO. This likeable guy could be KO’s cousin; a friendly soft spoken guy, who you can tell, secretly wants to “Kick your ass” as they say. :biggrin:
Well, needless to say, starting in the back of a 30 car field after racing the SP monsters for 30 minutes is no small feat. Shad, on the radio for the pace lap, repeats KO’s mantra for him, “Take a deep breath, relax and SACK UP YOU PUSSY!!! “ With the bit set firmly between his teeth, KO utters “Game on!!” As the green flies, the 49 car blows by at least 10 cars into T-1 and out-brakes a few more into T-2. With absolutely no detectable drama, he’s up to 6th on the 2nd lap.
By lap 3 he’s hunting down the very suave and debonairRylan Hazleton, in the well known and well used DA turbo’d S2000. On his ass down the back straight, KO makes the pass, out-braking Ry at over 120 mph going T-14. Shad radios that Anderson is within reach and “we’re gaining by 2 seconds/lap. Plenty of time, even if he doesn’t bobble.” By Lap 4, KO is only 2 turns back and takes the time to think “that s.o.b. has the same number as Frank Emmett………..he’s gonna pay !!!!” But the racing gods have a different idea and the 49 starts thumping on the right rear. Hoping it’s just some clag pick-up, KO pushes on. But 2 laps later, it’s apparent something is not quite right and KO backs off big time. Team spotters in the tower frantically call their drivers that the 49 is slowing dramatically; “push now and get a video of you passing that NSX!!!”
Well a CV joint on the right rear gave up; not surprisingly with all the high G left hand turns. KO pulls her in and we’re done. First problem in 5 tough sessions. Otherwise, all 520 ponies have been pulling flawlessly all weekend. :smile:
Lunchtime. Getting just a chicken sandwich to deal with a pounding headache, Shad swaps out the CV, thinking he shoulda done it after the left side gave up in Laguna last race. Another item for the checklist. Meanwhile Elmer (07 monster Vette) comes by to lay down some smack. Saying he “would’ve gotten y’all if it hadn’t been for the meatball” he snapping pictures of all the machinery he can. But the kicker was this compliment for KO: “Those your tires? Those wimpy things………??? Man, I couldn’t turn a two flat on those.” KO just grins as he looks him square in the eye and says “We’re going to make the most of what we’ve got here before we do any real mods, but thanks for noticing.” Elmer waves and jumps back in his golf cart with a young girl who might be his daughter or his trophy girlfriend; probably just this weekend’s GF. KO mumbles under his breath, “Did you see those legs? And he calls my tires skinny ?? !!”
Report on the weekend’s 2nd Races to follow. Stay tuned.
Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows, CA
Beautiful weather, NorCal style, was the order for the ’09 Memorial Day SCCA races. Being the biggest race weekend of the year, race fans here were a bit overwhelmed with race choices: Jensen (also ran) Button on pole in Monaco, Helio (Star Dancer) Castronueves on pole in Indy or Kristopher (New Kid) Olson on pole in the very exciting Willows CA. When asked by this cub reporter what she was following, Brenda down at the Black Bear Diner exclaimed: “Ha ! no question: the real action is here. But, uh……
you telling me to put my money on the new kid Olson???” (Besides bodacious ta-ta’s that girl has a brain.) The Driving Ambition (DA) team of Shad Huntley and the Kipster (KO) rolled the car out of the trailer on Friday and promptly threw down a track record of 1:52.6 in ITE. If you don’t pay attention to such things, after 15 years of track history, track records get whittled away by a few hundredths or maybe a tenth or 2. So, they created quite a stir, when the DA/KO
team took the current track record, slapped it upside the head and threw it in the corner like a rag doll, beating it by over 5 seconds. Adding a bit of frosting on the cake, they then took pole in the superfast Super Production (SP) class. (For the casual observer, SP is the fastest, sexiest thing with fenders in SCCA.) SP race #1. Saturday Pre-Grid 8:30 AM. The KO kid sat on pole, looking for his nemesis Frank Emmett to show up for the race. Frank didn’t make it to qualifying yesterday but if he came now he could start at the back of the grid. That would be no big deal for Frank since he owns the SP class, and can win from the back without breaking a sweat. He’s rubbed shoulders with the likes of Scott Pruett, Boris Said, Bill Auberlen, Justin Marks, Paul Newman and his credentials include the 24 Hrs of Daytona, on a team starting in the top 3rd of the grid. Only a select few in SP have tried to hunt him down and only the DA/KO team currently has the Top Gun equipment and attitude to take him out. And this weekend was supposed to set him up if not shoot him down. Unfortunately, Frank was a no-show today. :frown:
As the 3 minute board went up on pre-grid, this cub reporter, imitating the very lame Jack Arute,
leans in the car and asks KO “So, you’re on pole, but being a veritable rookie in this super fast class, what’s going thru you mind right now?” Totally unfazed or amused by such a lame question, he just smiled and offered “I just wanna win, but I was really hoping to be able to dethrone king Frank this weekend.” And off he went. Although Frank wasn’t there to start in the back; someone almost better was: Elmer Shannon in the monster 700 RWHP #07 Vette was. , Elmer has the money and crew to run an IndyCar team, and loves to throw down a little smack now and again. More on that later…………….
As the pace car pulled off, the starter threw an early green and the ground shook as KO effortlessly led the 12,000 HP pack thru Turn 1. KO pulled out a few car lengths as things got sorted out thru Turns 2 into 3. By lap 7, KO and the leaders were lapping the backmarkers. As Shad asked KO for some gage readings and how the car felt, all he got back was a “Yee haw, this is fun!!” :tongue:
Michelle Nigai, an annual fixture at pointy end of the SP grid, started 2nd and hounded KO, just over a second back for several laps. However, it soon became obvious she was pushing and a bit too hard; dropping 2 wheels here and 4 off there, then into traffic and wham-o, she’s 7 seconds back. Meanwhile, KO was grinding…….. no make that gliding thru backmarkers with Swiss watch………… no make that atomic clock precision.
But hold on, Elmer’s coming. :wink: The announcer on the first lap started giving updates on Elmer, who, using some jaw dropping acceleration, was on a charge from the back. By lap 3, he was up to 3rd; and 2 laps later, only 8 seconds back. Shad and this cub reporter are crunchin’ numbers to figure how this will play out with Michelle, traffic and all. But no worries because all of a sudden Elmer’s getting the meatball and puling in to pit lane for a sound bust. His crew waves some magic dust over the muffler and Elmer’s back out but not before after losing 30 seconds on pit lane.
Shad winks “We’re half way home and Elmer would have to find 4-5 seconds/lap on KO.” That ain’t happenin’ :tongue:………..whew. Meanwhile, Michelle in the 72 car has spun up in Turn 5, T-Hill’s mini corkscrew, and is now 16 seconds back. KO keeps reeling off 1:52’s and with that much of a lead, no one’s gonna catch him unless he stumbles. Which he doesn’t, so that’s the way it ended, except Elmer passed Michelle for the right to be first loser. But who cares about that?
Can you say “Dom-in-ation”? Up and down the paddock, the buzz is: “Who’s the new kid in that funny lookin’ car?”
ITE Race. There was no time for an SP class victory lap, cooling down or anything, since the 5 minute board went up for the ITE race not lonb after Kip took the SP checkers. And the DA/KO team has to make a pit stop for fuel and tires. KO sits in the car while Shad fuels and some clueless pit monkeys, including this cub reporter, change tires. KO makes it back out to pre-grid at the 2 minute mark but 85 year old Paul, the Pre-grid Gestapo, won’t allow him to take his pole position, saying the 49 is too late and will start in the back (any questions?). Who made up this schedule any-who?
Here’s the set-up for the ITE race. A Darrell Anderson, in a well put together #45 Mustang, inherits the pole with KO’s relegation to the back. The #45 has typically turned laps in the mid 50’s (1:55+/-). But this weekend, with a fresh bucket of speed, he’s in the 52’s and a threat to DA/KO. This likeable guy could be KO’s cousin; a friendly soft spoken guy, who you can tell, secretly wants to “Kick your ass” as they say. :biggrin:
Well, needless to say, starting in the back of a 30 car field after racing the SP monsters for 30 minutes is no small feat. Shad, on the radio for the pace lap, repeats KO’s mantra for him, “Take a deep breath, relax and SACK UP YOU PUSSY!!! “ With the bit set firmly between his teeth, KO utters “Game on!!” As the green flies, the 49 car blows by at least 10 cars into T-1 and out-brakes a few more into T-2. With absolutely no detectable drama, he’s up to 6th on the 2nd lap.
By lap 3 he’s hunting down the very suave and debonair
Rylan Hazleton, in the well known and well used DA turbo’d S2000. On his ass down the back straight, KO makes the pass, out-braking Ry at over 120 mph going T-14. Shad radios that Anderson is within reach and “we’re gaining by 2 seconds/lap. Plenty of time, even if he doesn’t bobble.” By Lap 4, KO is only 2 turns back and takes the time to think “that s.o.b. has the same number as Frank Emmett………..he’s gonna pay !!!!” But the racing gods have a different idea and the 49 starts thumping on the right rear. Hoping it’s just some clag pick-up, KO pushes on. But 2 laps later, it’s apparent something is not quite right and KO backs off big time. Team spotters in the tower frantically call their drivers that the 49 is slowing dramatically; “push now and get a video of you passing that NSX!!!” Well a CV joint on the right rear gave up; not surprisingly with all the high G left hand turns. KO pulls her in and we’re done. First problem in 5 tough sessions. Otherwise, all 520 ponies have been pulling flawlessly all weekend. :smile:
Lunchtime. Getting just a chicken sandwich to deal with a pounding headache, Shad swaps out the CV, thinking he shoulda done it after the left side gave up in Laguna last race. Another item for the checklist. Meanwhile Elmer (07 monster Vette) comes by to lay down some smack. Saying he “would’ve gotten y’all if it hadn’t been for the meatball”
he snapping pictures of all the machinery he can. But the kicker was this compliment for KO: “Those your tires? Those wimpy things………??? Man, I couldn’t turn a two flat on those.” KO just grins as he looks him square in the eye and says “We’re going to make the most of what we’ve got here before we do any real mods, but thanks for noticing.” Elmer waves and jumps back in his golf cart with a young girl who might be his daughter or his trophy girlfriend; probably just this weekend’s GF. KO mumbles under his breath, “Did you see those legs? And he calls my tires skinny ?? !!” Report on the weekend’s 2nd Races to follow. Stay tuned.
