[BLOG] 2009 SCCA National Championships - The Return of The Luck
Since I've never been any good at informing people how my racing is going, I figured that I would blog this years National Championship races! Since this is the first post in the series, a little background is most likely needed for some so bear with me.
I've been racing since I was 17 years old in the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America). The SCCA is a sanctioning body much like IRL sanctions Indy Cars, only SCCA is geared towards the amateur racer. My dream has always been to be a professional race car driver, and SCCA racing has been one of my stepping stones towards that goal.
I've always wanted to drive open-wheel cars such as Indy Cars or Formula 1, and to that end I have been driving lower level open wheel cars in SCCA. I started in Formula 500, then went to Formula 2000, and am currently driving Formula E this year.
My career has had its ups and downs like most, but so far the highlight has been winning the Formula 500 National Championship in 2007 (Some of you may have seen this http://icrontic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66383). I ran 7 races that season and was on the pole 6 times, set 7 fastest laps (4 of them were track records), won every race, and led every lap of every race. I also won the Chicago Region Triple Crown and Detroit Region's Driver of the Year award. Lets just say that was a good season.
In 2008 I gave pro racing a try and due to some budget issues things didn't go so hot, so I'm back running SCCA amateur racing, and going for another National Championship in the Formula E class.
The current car is a winged car powered by a 2.3L Mazda motor with about 180hp.
cue Monty Python GET ON WITH IT.
Ok, so enough with the background. As many of you don't know, my luck at the RunOffs has been absolutely horrid. Before my win in 2007 I had several seasons where I dominated the regular season and lost at the RunOffs due to some freak failure. In Summary-
2001- Broke a rod end, took a nap in the gravel.
2002- While running 3rd, lost a tiny part in the carburetor, finished 4th.
2003- Had an issue with the motor while leading, still managed 2nd.
2004- Blew a bearing in the motor that NEVER fails while leading. The motor was brand new.
2005- Broke a wheel while leading. Honestly, who brakes a wheel?!?!
2006- Got punted while leading by 2nd place and got taken out by another car. sigh.
2007- WIN!
So as you can see, not fun. I was hoping for some love from the race gods this season and so far things have gone well. I won 1 race, finished 3rd in 4 others, and qualified for the RunOffs. Pretty decent since this is a new car to us, but could have been a bit better. We made some good strides at our pre-RunOffs test to, so I've been pretty happy as of late.
But then it happened. My hideous RunOffs luck reared its ugly head yet again. Our trailer was broken into and a several items were stolen. One was a box of all our spare parts for the car (Brake rotors, gearbox parts, suspension parts etc, anyone own a scrap yard around here?), and the other was all of our setup stuff including our scales and caster/camber/toe gauges (Watch ebay and craigslist for some Intercomp scales!). Beyond that we also had our nitrogen bottle stolen and the trailer hitch, but that's no big deal compared to the other stuff. Luckily the tools and car were not in the trailer, and they actually left the trailer this time too, lucky me.
So here we go again, I get my one win and its back to the crapper. We leave Friday morning for the track, test on Sat and Sun, take Monday off, and then qualify Tues, Weds, and Thurs. Racing starts on Friday (There are 24 classes), and my race is 8:30 am Central time. It will be broadcast live on www.SpeedcastTV.com.
Anyways, I'll be shooting updates as the week progresses.
I've been racing since I was 17 years old in the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America). The SCCA is a sanctioning body much like IRL sanctions Indy Cars, only SCCA is geared towards the amateur racer. My dream has always been to be a professional race car driver, and SCCA racing has been one of my stepping stones towards that goal.
I've always wanted to drive open-wheel cars such as Indy Cars or Formula 1, and to that end I have been driving lower level open wheel cars in SCCA. I started in Formula 500, then went to Formula 2000, and am currently driving Formula E this year.
My career has had its ups and downs like most, but so far the highlight has been winning the Formula 500 National Championship in 2007 (Some of you may have seen this http://icrontic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66383). I ran 7 races that season and was on the pole 6 times, set 7 fastest laps (4 of them were track records), won every race, and led every lap of every race. I also won the Chicago Region Triple Crown and Detroit Region's Driver of the Year award. Lets just say that was a good season.
In 2008 I gave pro racing a try and due to some budget issues things didn't go so hot, so I'm back running SCCA amateur racing, and going for another National Championship in the Formula E class.
The current car is a winged car powered by a 2.3L Mazda motor with about 180hp.
cue Monty Python GET ON WITH IT.
Ok, so enough with the background. As many of you don't know, my luck at the RunOffs has been absolutely horrid. Before my win in 2007 I had several seasons where I dominated the regular season and lost at the RunOffs due to some freak failure. In Summary-
2001- Broke a rod end, took a nap in the gravel.
2002- While running 3rd, lost a tiny part in the carburetor, finished 4th.
2003- Had an issue with the motor while leading, still managed 2nd.
2004- Blew a bearing in the motor that NEVER fails while leading. The motor was brand new.
2005- Broke a wheel while leading. Honestly, who brakes a wheel?!?!
2006- Got punted while leading by 2nd place and got taken out by another car. sigh.
2007- WIN!
So as you can see, not fun. I was hoping for some love from the race gods this season and so far things have gone well. I won 1 race, finished 3rd in 4 others, and qualified for the RunOffs. Pretty decent since this is a new car to us, but could have been a bit better. We made some good strides at our pre-RunOffs test to, so I've been pretty happy as of late.
But then it happened. My hideous RunOffs luck reared its ugly head yet again. Our trailer was broken into and a several items were stolen. One was a box of all our spare parts for the car (Brake rotors, gearbox parts, suspension parts etc, anyone own a scrap yard around here?), and the other was all of our setup stuff including our scales and caster/camber/toe gauges (Watch ebay and craigslist for some Intercomp scales!). Beyond that we also had our nitrogen bottle stolen and the trailer hitch, but that's no big deal compared to the other stuff. Luckily the tools and car were not in the trailer, and they actually left the trailer this time too, lucky me.
So here we go again, I get my one win and its back to the crapper. We leave Friday morning for the track, test on Sat and Sun, take Monday off, and then qualify Tues, Weds, and Thurs. Racing starts on Friday (There are 24 classes), and my race is 8:30 am Central time. It will be broadcast live on www.SpeedcastTV.com.
Anyways, I'll be shooting updates as the week progresses.
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Comments
Does SpeedcastTV.com broadcast all of your races? I want to watch one, but I just now (Monday) saw this post.
I LOVE motorsport. In many was I wish I would have gotten into it when I was younger. I'm a hoosier, racing is in my blood. I never considered getting into racing because it didn't seem like a realistic option.
How much money did it take to get into the discipline? compared to now?
Cost is far too high! I do this along with my father so we pool our resources, or else I could never afford it. The previous class I won in, the car I won with cost $20,000 when we sold it. These cars are more like $30-$40000, but we got a good deal on this one.... This is also why I don't own a house, or anything else for that matter!
How about the victory/championship purses? Do they pay the bills?