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10 PM-Summit Point

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aeronca65t

aeronca65t

Great Pumpkin
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OK, I'm camping out in my van tonight at the Summit Point race track. Amazingly, they actually have wi-fi here!

It's always sort of fun to hang out at night at a race track. I was just in a trailer with a bunch of guys....all of us telling lies about how good we are.

Sometimes, at night, I've ridden around the track on a bicycle (or walked it at Lime Rock).
Lots of deer here tonight....hope they stay away for the enduro.

Anyway, my car is one of these (I just took the shot a minute ago).

spec-renault-sp-2010.jpg
 
That's one fond memory I have of crewing in SCCA years ago; spending the night in the paddock.

After the last race on Saturday, the SCCA would park a van on the "False Grid" (I know we're supposed to call it the Grid now). The van had kegs of beer inside and the taps were outside the van. Crew, drivers, and workers lined up for free beer and told lies.

Then we would eat something. After that, if the car didn't need any work, we would walk around the paddock and bother our competitors who were working on their cars. Some would have campfires and sat around telling more lies. Many spent the night in the paddock. I slept in the bed of a pick-up. I remember a very cozy feeling.

I walked around the paddock at a vintage race, but no one was about. They were all in their hotel rooms or motor homes I guess.

It didn't feel cozy.
 
I liked to walk around Portland International Raceway
in the evening.It was like being out in the country.

- Doug
 
DART said:
Nial- is this practice for the Turkey Bowl?? :devilgrin:
Click to expand...

Haha....I wish!

Lin would kill me if I took off to go car racing on Thanksgiving!

Just ran my first practice session 15 minutes ago.....these cars are The Bee's Knees.

I was just at NJMP for a vintage event a month ago and there were tons of folks in the paddock at night (hanging out in large group with camping chairs). Nice.
But the The Glen (two weeks ago), there was nobody around at night. It's too cold in Oct to sit outside and chat.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]<span style="font-style: italic">Lin would kill me if I took off to go car racing on Thanksgiving!</span>[/QUOTE]

Nial--

Thanksgiving is on Thursday so what's her problem anyway??? Sorry you won't be there.

I have the Courier (now named "Humpty Dumpty") fixed from the WG incident. See a progress shot below, taken where all the pieces that "fell off the car and onto the track" are back together into one unit which I then hung back on the rest of the car. Interestingly only about two square feet of the front right corner were destroyed--it was really a matter of pasting together all the shards. I did have to replace one control arm but everything else was okay.

My son will be driving the Courier while I will be in the IV. We are in the same run group and this is his first time at Summit so I can show him the line, or at least where I think it is--Poor kid!
 

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Here's another shot taken just after painting--not bad for folk music....
 

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Looks great! I sure wish this event was not on a holiday weekend.
The only way I'm going is if I rent a Greyhound bus and stuff all my relatives in it, to come with me.
(in my case, better make that <span style="text-decoration: underline">two</span> Greyhound busses) :laugh:

Make sure you let "junior" win at least one race.....gotta keep 'em coming back! :jester:
 
Doug:

The cars are SpecRacer Renaults (also called "Sports Renaults"). This is a sports-racer spec class that the SCCA created 25 years ago.

These days, most of these cars have been converted to "SpecRacer Fords" by swapping in the newer 1.9 Escort motor. Even with the Ford motor, they only have about 110 HP, so not real powerful, but slippery and great handling.
The Renaults will do about 115 mph and the Ford-powered versions are good for about 130 mph.

These SpecRacers are very robust...they were designed as rental cars from the beginning. Tires are small 185 or 205 wide by 13". Weight is about 1600 or so.

My car ran a 12 hour enduro at NJMP last summer. Durable and fun!
 
A friend of mine,Brian Forster (he played Chris,the drummer-
on the Partridge Family),had one of those way back when they were
near new.I'd thought that they'd all dissapeard by now.
He also told me that he wasn't impressed with the handling of
them.

- Doug
 
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