Bob,

   Missed you up at the Glen. We had cool weather and hot racing. Chuck Burns and I were nose to tail all weekend. My car was running the best it's ever been since I own it. It was my weekend and I got a win on both the short course and the long course. I almost did not go but Chuck talked me into it! Anyway, I've lost my login & password for the CCA's website. Would you please send me that info and I'll send you a few pic's when Jill sends me a CD of her coverage of the races. Many thanks, Joe

THE FUN ONE at Watkins Glen 09’

By Joe Danner 

Mid September in the Finger Lakes Region of New York is a great time to drive your Corvette on the back roads and enjoy the sites that this region has to offer. Many people make the pilgrimage to Seneca Lake area this time of year just to watch the fall foliage explode into all the fiery hues of yellow and red. Even some hotels charge a “leaves” premium on top of their regular rates. The heat of the summer has passed and couples are found strolling around the lake’s shores, hiking the many trails, visiting the local wineries and shops. Some Corvette people travel with just an over night bag and some bring a trailer full of tools, parts, tires & fluids of all kinds. That’s us, the racers; we basically empty out our garages and pack it all into our cars, trailers and tow rigs. I’d hate to be in this bucolic setting and not have what I need to fully enjoy The FUN ONE at Watkins Glen.

TCC’s PA posse was all there except Dave & Ron Sanders who made the drive out to Road America for the SCCA Runoffs. Bill & Jill Lex brought their house on wheels with their garage and family in tow. Chuck Burns, his rolling garage and his life long friend Craig Bonney (a.k.a. “The Mechanic”) towed their pile of stuff to the Glen. Chuck’s lovely better half, Chris, smartly drove up separately meeting them at the track. Finally my beautiful wife, crew chief and registrar rode shotgun knitting my daughter a sweater for the five-hour ride to the track. Did I say my crew chief was knitting a sweater……..she does it all. One minute Linda is checking the torque on the wheels she just put on the car. The next minute she’s in my notes looking up the best air pressure to set the tires at. Then she is making sure I’m drinking enough fluids so I don’t get too stupid on the track. Racing without my better half would be like driving without seatbelts. You could do it but I would not recommend it.

Friday evening my boss and Chris headed down the mountain to Seneca Lodge to check us in while I grabbed a beer and got in line for registration. It’s always great to see the people you have not seen for sometime and catch up on all the news of family and racing. In no time we were headed into the track looking for just the right place to set everybody up together in the paddock. I’m telling you it’s always a case of Goldilocks and the three bears. This spots too small, this spot not flat enough, I need to set up a tent on grass or I don’t think we will all fit here. Historically someone always says “but we are already set up over there, why don’t you guy move over with us”. Its all part of the race experience. One minute you are in front, the next minute you are on the wrong side of someone’s car. Good times.

Saturday morning found layers to be the key. Sunny and a cool light breeze made jackets & coffee mandatory. Its time to go over the cars, off come the covers, in goes the gas and even though you spend a week or more preparing the car you find yourself checking fluids, wires and anything else you can think of before you line up for qualifying. Really its not that the cars not ready, it’s more that I’m not ready. Get your head in the game Joe. Where’s my fire suit and helmet? Honey did you torque the wheels? Is there any orange juice? What time are we on? What group is out there? Do they still have that blue wall around this track? I want to go home………..

Relax she says, here’s some OJ drink it, Group three is out there now, you are group seven. You have plenty of time. Your helmet, Hans & gloves are on the car. Let’s talk about tire pressures. Chris is making hot breakfast sandwiches, do you want one? Yeah, a hot bacon, egg & cheese sandwich sounds great. Hey Chuck, what are you running for tire pressure, I ask while consuming my morning nourishment? With out skipping a beat my best racin’ buddy tells me his secrets, 65psi in the front & 75psi in the back. We all laugh, no really what are you going out with? Honey where’s my notebook?

It’s still pretty cold for performance driving but we head out for our Saturday qualifier. Now I remember why I love this track. We were not breaking any records and we were sliding around a lot but the jitters faded away while Chuck and I found our way around the “long” course, nose to tail. Sometimes he was the rabbit and sometimes I was the rabbit but we were close enough to adjust each other mirrors on many occasions. All to soon it was over and back to the paddock to prepare my car for the afternoon race.

I was running low on brake pads so I installed a different compound than I’ve been using on the front brakes. These old pads have more initial bite than what I’ve been using so I stopped using them because flat-spotting tires is dangerous and expensive. I put them on anyway figuring metal on metal won’t last long either. The other part of the equation I was not thinking of was I was now using the “A” compound tires with only one race on them. Little did I know I had stumbled on to a great combination. Linda and I finished going over the car, gassed it up and roamed around the paddock visiting with everybody until race time. Craig and Chuck were buried under his hood for most of the afternoon. I figured Chuck was installing NOS or something so I popped over to Tom Kriner’s garage sale to see what he was unloading. Now that he is moving up the food chain to STO class “stock” parts won’t cut it for him. I grabbed about 100lbs worth of stuff thinking my pick-up will refuse any more than that.

It’s time. I borrow Chuck rolling garage to pop into my fire suit then wander around the paddock for a few minutes waiting to head to the false grid. My crew chief pops into the passenger area (no seat) and off we go. We are lined up right in front of Chuck for the race so, I better get a good start or he’ll shoot by me. It’s happened before. Five minute warning, then one minute, then thumbs up and off we go for a warm up lap. Get heat in the brakes and tires. Everybody swerving back and forth, speeding up and braking hard trying to get ready for the green flag. I’m just trying not to hit anybody before this thing even starts. How embarrassing would that be? OK we are coming up on turn 12 the last turn onto the front straight away. Green, green, green….go, go, go! Everybody has got their car floored. The roar is so loud you need to see the tach to make sure your car is running. Half way down the front straight the two cars in front of me split like I was Moses standing in front of the Red Sea. I jump into the middle and push my way forward. This sounds like a great move until you realize that turn one is coming up fast and I just put a new driver’s door on this car. A quick peek in the mirror and I see Chuck is being swallowed up by other cars. It sucks to be Chuck right now. I press on. There’s Tom Kriner five cars ahead of me (my rabbit!) By the time I get around the first lap of The Glen, I start to realize what I’ve stumbled on. The car’s brakes are amazing. The “A”s I’m running are sticking like I’m a slot car. I start to talk to myself out loud, “Make a note of this combination Joe. I think we are on to something”. I’m laughing, I’m screaming “Push, push, you are gaining on Kriner!” Lap after lap Tom and I are picking off cars but I’m picking off two for every one of his. Yeah baby! Finally I’m close enough to use my secret weapon. My good buddy Chuck told me, “he is fast but if you get in his mirrors you can get him to miss his marks. Then you got him!” Thanks Chuck, you were right. I’m close enough now that we are nose to tail almost all the way around the track except the front straight. He’s too fast for me there but I’m out braking him in turn one and my car is so predictable that I never lift from turn one until we hit the “Bus stop” at the end of the back straight. Tom has to lift in the “Esses”, to bad for Tom. Finally with the laps winding down, I’m starting to think of where to set him up for the pass. Again I get a great run up the Esses. It has me inches from his back bumper going into the Bus Stop. I won’t lift (you have to tell yourself this). We exit the Bus Stop and wind around the outer loop and head into the “Boot” I move to his right and then along side of him. I’m really counting on the brakes now because I’ve got to get by him before we get to the “laces” of the Boot. It’s his turn if I don’t. Again you have to tell yourself don’t lift (most normal people would tell you, you’ve got to lift). My brakes hold, I dart in front of him and head to the “toe” of the Boot with Tom a car length behind me. By the time I came out of the Boot there was no Tom. I asked myself “Did I scare him off the track?” Not really, he had pulled off with “clutch problems”. I’m in first place both in TCC and ITE with a few laps to go. Don’t screw this up Joe. Get her home. I got to tell you with no rabbit your concentration starts to fade. Just then as I was heading back into the Bus Stop I saw nothing but bright red in my mirrors. What a wake up call! I thought it was Chuck putting on his classic pass to win move. My heart sank. Whoaaa…it’s a Vette but it’s a GT-1 red Vette, not Mr. Burns. I give way to this GT-1 car; he is on three wheels most of the time anyway. Scary stuff. As I pass under the start/ finish line, I get the one to go sign, a little over 2 miles and twelve turns left. Try to keep up the pace, hit your marks, check your mirrors going into the turns, you are almost home. Checker Flag! I won my first race and ran a fastest lap of 2:12. The veterans tell me that’s a good time. Really the whole weekend was a good time.

Oh yeah, I won Sunday too! More good times.