May 11, 2002 Blackhawk Farms. (track map)
This was my first time at Blackhawk Farms. I had heard a
lot about it from various people and was anxious to get out there. Before this
event I wanted to get my car aligned since I didn’t really trust the last
alignment, not only because my steering wheel was never centered, but the car
has always drifted to the right. I paid WAY too much money for the last shop to
do it to not feel confident about it. Yes, I did go back to them and ask about
the drifting and they said it was “probably” a result of having different
pressures in the tires. Thanks,
guys, you no longer get my money. This time the new shop told me that my upper
rear control arms were worn and the alignment wouldn't be any good until that
was fixed. Since I was leaving the next day, that wasn't going to get done. So I
let the alignment slide. We left at 7:00 Friday evening and made it to the track
at midnight. We got a hotel room and set the alarm for 6:00 in the morning.
After what felt like a nap, the alarm was blaring. I opened the curtains and saw
dark clouds that looked like they were ready to dump some serious rain. Oh well,
it should still be fun. We made it to the track and unloaded the car, and
breezed through tech. These events run three practice sessions in the morning,
then timed runs after lunch. They try to set the sessions up so you are running
with cars with similar times. However, since I had yet to run at this track, I
didn't have a time to base it on, so I was considered a novice (which I still
think I am anyway). It wasn't raining yet, so I was hoping to get at least one
session with dry pavement. No such luck. It
was pouring rain, so for the first practice session they told us no passing and
to follow the lead car, which had an instructor in it. The instructor was none
other than my second cousin, John Banas. I was the
last car in the group, behind two Mustang 5.0's. I couldn't see the lead car and
the Mustangs were all over the place, so I just sat back and tried to see what I
would use for the line. We were on our third lap and coming out of turn 7 when
the first Mustang decided he wanted to take a tour of the infield grass.
Overall, it was a rather slow session but any track time is a good time. The
second session I became the lead car and John rode with me. I got to go around a
little faster and on the second lap coming out of turn 7, I found out what the
Mustang did in the first session. The track is mostly asphalt but the corners
were all concrete, and for those who don't know, asphalt is slippery stuff when
wet. I was still coming out of the turn and accelerated, then the pavement
changed to asphalt and my rear end started coming out quick. Remembering my
Gateway experience, I came off the throttle about 1/3 and partially turned the
wheel and the car snapped right back in place. John's only comment was, “Nice correction.”
The third practice session, I started in second position behind an older
RX7. As we went around the RX7 was getting further and further ahead of me, but
we were both far ahead of the other cars. I was more concerned about getting the
car straight before getting off the concrete. Every time I crossed the pavement
change my rear end would blip out. That was the biggest difference between
Gateway and Blackhawk. The entire track at Gateway is concrete so I never felt
the car slide like this before. I was gaining some confidence. The only damage
to a car was a ‘99 Vette (Vette1, Vette2).
I am not sure which practice session he went off, but he tried to straighten a
corner and hit a guardrail and knocked the bumper up pretty good. We had a quick
lunch and it was time for the timed runs.
For my first timed run I was eager to apply the throttle at
all the wrong places. I think I got squirrelly around almost all of the corners.
I ended up running 2:13; not the best but it was my first timed run. My only
competition was the guy in the Vette that hit the rail in the practice session.
He beat me, running a 1:5x.
For my second timed run I tried to get the car straight in
the corners and give it gas on the concrete, then lifting a tad when it changed
surfaces. This seemed to work: the
car wasn't coming out on me, however I was still slow with a 2:08. John told me
that I looked really slow coming out of turn 4 and going into turn 5, which, by
the way, has the most trees in the area and I was quite content going slow
through there. My competition beat me again with another 1:5x. There was an Audi
AWD Quattro that was hammering through turn 3 and lost control and didn't make
turn 4 and hit the tire wall head on. The guy was all right but his car had to
be towed off the track. The front end was severely damaged.
For my third timed run I was trying to go faster. I couldn't figure out what the guy in the Vette was doing that I wasn't. He was a couple cars in front of me at the start/finish line. When it came my time to go I heard the Vette coming down the long straight towards the finish line. He was HAULING. I figured that was where he was making up some big time. He wasn't braking until he passed the finish line while I had been braking before that. There was only about 100 yards from the start/finish line until turn 1. And since it was wet, I was nowhere near comfortable trying to brake later. So I got the green light and I thought I would try to hammer all the little straights I could. In doing this, I was getting loose after the corners and I felt like I was driving slower (pic of me between turn 4-5). I was headed into turn 5 and knew that there was a big straight before turn 6 so I was heavy on the gas. Turn 6 came rather quick -- too quick. I had the pedal down, I felt the ABS ticking away and I was still going way too fast. The corner was coming and I didn't think I would make it. I started looking to the grass to try to find a way to slide through. Then miraculously the pavement changed to concrete and my front end dove around the corner. Whew! I made a mental note to change my shorts when I got back in the paddock. I then came around turn 7 and hit the straight. I looked down at the speedo when I decided it best to begin braking. I was only doing 80, and I had let off about 40 feet before the finish line. I thought that this would have been my worst run yet. When I got back to the paddock, I began packing my things thinking that would be the end of the day. Then they called for the fourth timed runs. I was holding firm in calling it quits for the day when the guy in the Vette asked me if I wanted to check out the timesheet from the last run: 2:05 -- my fastest yet. I couldn't believe it. The Vette also did his best of 1.5x. He asked me if I was going to run again. I said, “No.” Then he said, “Well, I guess I won't either.” So I thought, “Man, if I came down eight seconds from my first run, I gotta be able to break that two minute mark.” So I agreed to run a fourth lap and we both ran to our cars.
For my fourth run I decided not to be SO ballsy on the straights but still try to pick it up, especially in the long straight after turn 7. I got a green light and headed out. Doing everything as I did earlier in the day, I came around turn 7 and decided that I could haul some booty and not brake before the finish line, but rather maybe maintain a higher speed. I got about 30 yards from the finish line and I noticed they were waving a yellow flag, which means caution. I was really unsure when I should slow down. I saw flashing lights at turn 1 and figured I could maybe slip by and not slow down “that” much, but I ended up braking before the finish line anyway. When I came around the turn, I realized the guy in the Vette hit the guardrail head-on and his car was seriously damaged. I went by right as he was getting out of his car. He looked okay but his car was a different story. I did notice that his car went off the road about 20 feet before the turn, so something weird must have happened for him to spin in the straightaway. Then as I was approaching turn 3, there was another yellow flag. I was unsure if the whole track had a yellow because of the Vette, or if this was something else. Sure enough -- there was Dave with the white Mustang in some thick shrubbery getting a tow truck to pull him out. Then as I turned my head towards turn 4, I could see that Emily and John were looking this way. I was going fairly slow and held my hand out to give notice that I was leaving the track. I saw Emily wave back, its nice to be worried about. I was told that if I had to brake because of the yellow flag before the finish line, I could have a re-run, however, after seeing the carnage of the Vette, I opted not to. Nothing was damaged on the Mustang but the Vette was something else (pic2). I later found out that the fourth run was my fastest run anyway but I don't remember the time. In talking with people about the Vette, they said he was HAULING ASS coming down the straight before the finish line, and he waited to brake after he tripped the lights. He (guy in the Vette) said that he felt the ABS doing its thing and the traction control clicking away also, then right before the turn his car just snapped and started spinning, hitting the guardrail head-on (doing about 40 is my guess). So now my question for the day: What makes a better driver -- one that relies on the ABS and traction control or one that doesn't? He was faster than me but I did drive my car home.
