The New Technology

[Deaf Bob]

I was a local hard hitting show guy.
Brought my kids into it...
They hit like Pink is supposed to..HARD!
Then they became crafty.
I never ran with the calibur of drivers they have
The respect is sweet.. No doubt..
What they accomplished is overwhelming.
Daughter once said, "How can I not win with the good cars you and Bobby build me"
I'll admit to crying when the kid won Forks... Took a couple tries. Car was done both times.

[pdub]

Took a couple tries. Car was done both times.

But ain't it fun? It sure was. Thinking about it and doing are two totally different things. Most folks just think about it, and that's a shame. The life clock is running, are you gonna do it or not? I have no regrets, none. There's lots of fun to be had while you're still able to have fun.

[pdub]

I'm gonna bore everybody to death with this subject until somebody tells me to let up. That computer simulation, there's one thing I cannot tie into real life at Daytona. After so many tries so many different ways, the computer suggests that the fastest way through the Bus Stop is to come in there nearly too hot and then let it roll through there.

That's not what I saw in real life. There's a huge braking zone going into there and then the tires scrub off so much more speed making the turn into there, you HAVE to give it some gas to keep going. And in which gear, 2nd or 3rd? I tried that all ways in real life.

But there's something to it. The weekend after I drove at Daytona they ran the Rolex 24 on that same pavement. I was glued to the TV. Look at how FAST they're going through the Bus Stop! They've got it figured out, I for sure don't.

[RockJustRock]

Bus stops are fun in video games. The cars don't like upsetting the chassis and depending oh your settings the traction control gets weird so often you go faster rolling through. Like I've said, almost crashing. On any corner I tend to get on and off the brake before the corner and power back on early if the traction control is working.

[pdub]

I'm still running 10-lap heats at Daytona. I don't think I'll ever leave that track. That's just too much fun to do in a Mustang. I've got the opponents' skill bumped up to 20% (just about my skill level) and I'm still passing them like dipping goldfish out of a soup bowl. That's just too much fun.

The crew chief is hollering at me, "Cool the brakes, the brakes are overheating." They didn't give me a microphone so I could talk back, "Why didn't you put better brakes on the car to begin with while you had it in the garage?"

[pdub]

Well, I'm finding out again about losing, all over again. I finally finished 2nd at Daytona with the cars set on "lame." I hit another Mustang so hard in the back end that his rear wheels came off of the ground, about 4 inches. Penalty. He kept going and I went sliding through the grass. Not a scratch or a dent on either of our cars. There must be a Damage OFF/ON function that I haven't found yet.

BUT, a few laps later I ran off in the infield outright, all by myself, all the way to the tire barrier. I was there doing doughnuts, trying to get out. I was nearly stuck. To add detail to misery, there was black junk slung all over the side of the car where I'd been spinning the wheels. I waited until I had passed them all to serve my drive-through pit penalty, but I couldn't pass that last guy at the end of the race, the leader. I could see him but I couldn't get to him. How in the world can you have so much realistic fun in the living room?

[pdub]

After another race and another nap, I've slept on it. And I'm inspired again. I declare that of all the things I've ever done that required time and effort and money, driving on that Daytona track in real life was one of the best. In person, that view from the high banking in Turn 4 is just breathtaking. I don't think an in-car camera could ever even capture it in its majesty. It's a view of the track no fan in the stands will ever get to see, it's gorgeous. Look how FAR it is into Turn 1. A loooooooong way. Even if you were going 200 mph it's still a looooong way through there.

I was so used to running road courses where you turn, brake, steer, and Daytona has all of that in the infield portion. Out there on the Big Track, if you can see somebody, they are within reach. The speed compresses time somehow. With the video game set on lame, somebody might be a quarter mile ahead and I know for sure I'll get him, on this straightaway probably.

[RockJustRock]

When the Street Machine Nationals were in Indy they had the track open on Friday for us. 50 MPH, but no cops. You entered from the end of the pit lane. So wide, so smooth, yeah there's bleachers. Nobody's looking, 80, 90, feels exactly the same, slow back down. Around turn 4 and damn, THOSE grandstands! Like a canyon. Then it dawns on you you've spents hours looking at the place on TV. Suddenly I HAD to hit the museum I passed on coming in. Didn't stagger everyone as much as me or maybe encouraged them. Then there was Shadeland. Possibly the first time ever Car Craft Magazine made national news.

[pdub]

At Daytona the garage area is vintage. The paddock area is a problem on a track day, there's not enough parking for everybody. But that garage area...imagine....Marvin Panch and Tiny Lund and David Pearson had their cars in there. Under that very same roof.