The Art of Racing (No, Just Driving Fast) In the Rain

[pdub]

I'm sorry, but cars are female. Trucks are male. As for CUVs and minivans . . .

I'm sorry, but any machine that can run like that is a male. Balls. And he's not pretty, he's handsome. And I'm not gay. Red's like a horse. A stud horse. We're best buddies. And I'm not gay.

[38P]

At 15:00, I changed my line to pass the first guy after Turn 7 and just darned nearly turned Red around. Saved it, it doesn't look nearly as dramatic on the camera as it felt in the car.

That moment was pretty dang big, I'd say. It's hard to decrease the radius of a turn at speed while accelerating in a RWD without some power oversteer. Nice save.

I don't know the line at Road Atlanta (never driven it or even seen it in person), but it would seem that some of the cars you were following weren't really using as much of the track as they could have been. Perhaps that's how they teach 'em to drive it. Or maybe there are quite a few "throw-away" corners** on it.


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**For the 1320 people, a "throw-away" corner is one (usually a slow one regardless of what line you take) that you sacrifice a bit on the optimal line in order to position the car better for a subsequent (usually faster) corner. The objective is a lower net elapsed time for the combination of corners. It takes huge discipline and concentration to keep from "apexing" a "throw-away."

[38P]

I'm sorry, but any machine that can run like that is a male. Balls. .

No "plums" . . . and more than twice as fast as a fat, old geezer like me . . . .

Hey, it's your car . . . I just can't see cars as anything but female. Although some of 'em are fairly homely, if not stomach-turning . . . .

[pdub]

That moment was pretty dang big, I'd say. It's hard to decrease the radius of a turn at speed while accelerating in a RWD without some power oversteer. Nice save.

I don't know the line at Road Atlanta (never driven it or even seen it in person), but it would seem that some of the cars you were following weren't really using as much of the track as they could have been. Perhaps that's how they teach 'em to drive it. Or maybe there are quite a few "throw-away" corners** on it.


---------
**For the 1320 people, a "throw-away" corner is one (usually a slow one regardless of what line you take) that you sacrifice a bit on the optimal line in order to position the car better for a subsequent (usually faster) corner. The objective is a lower net elapsed time for the combination of corners. It takes huge discipline and concentration to keep from "apexing" a "throw-away."

7 is the only throwaway at Road Atlanta, the slowest turn on the track, but the speed you can carry through there ultimately determines the maximum speed you can get at the end of the straightaway into 10A if you don't have a heap of horsepower. It's a really fun track, but it's so scary I'm not sure I'll do it again. There's nowhere to run off without hitting a wall real soon.

[38P]

Thanks. Good info. If I was any good at video games, I might have noticed that. But I've typically had to feel what the car's doing through the seat-of-the-pants (and occasionally go "agricultural") to really learn.

[pdub]

So, at the end of the adventure, with three days to think about it and watching that video so many times Sue Unit may move out of the house to get away from it...

Red and I are retired from "racing." I am fulfilled. When I was 6 years old, the teacher asked us all what we wanted to be when grew up, and I said race car driver, and I meant it.

It didn't happen because Daddy wasn't into that. 50 years later, for 15 minutes on a wet track at Road Atlanta against no competition, I was. I lapped folks, drove away from them, that feeling. Yep, there it is, 50 years later.

I told Superman about it, and he didn't like it, me quitting. Because we would do tracks together, at least one anyhow.

And on another note, the computer simulation helps the track racing but the track racing doesn't help the computer racing. I tried Road Atlanta tonight on the computer after what I'd done on the real track and I maintain that Red sticks better than that computer car, sticks better in the wet than that computer car sticks in the dry.

And on the computer....there's a thing under the bridge going up the hill out of 10B, it's on the bridge, it looks sort lof like an Italian flag, may be, I dunno. Color bars.

I was taught at the track, that's your mark going over the hill when you can't see the track dropping into 12. Match the red bar with the center of the car, stay straight and believe it, ad you'll basically be on line into 12 with a small adjustment. Elst you'll hit the wall right under the flag stand at the start/finish line.

Cool stuff.

I've tempted fate enough. I don't want to wreck Red and maybe get hurt or worse. Finally, been there done that. If I ran tracks another hundred times, it could not possibly be that much fun ever again, like the stars lined up or something.

[fast Ed]

I'm pretty sure that you'll get the itch to get out there again at some point !! Especially since you've done some great mods to the car to make it more track-worthy, may as well take advantage of them, right?


cheers
Ed

[Bob Holmes]

I'm with Ed.

I'm sad to hear your current sentiment. But, its expensive to run the cars on a road course, and there is clearly an element of danger, both to person and wallet.

I'm glad you had the chance to do it, and that you found it fulfilling and satisfying.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

oh, that itch won't let go that easily...

[Deaf Bob]

You will be back... At some form or another..
Itch's scratched for now...
You will click on the website, just to look...
Then to see when...
Then clear your calendar and say, "Looky here I'm FREE"
Superman will say something or another....
Then before you know it... The itch is back...
You might miss an event, but that will only make the next one itch even more..
Then you will be soloing all alone... Thrilled shitless...

[Beagle]

I've tempted fate enough. I don't want to wreck Red and maybe get hurt or worse. Finally, been there done that. If I ran tracks another hundred times, it could not possibly be that much fun ever again, like the stars lined up or something.

aww bullshit. Every time you nail a corner that you thought you might kill you instead, Mr. Brain says "Release the adrenaline, release the endorphins"

You're hooked. Don't lie to us. You can go into a closet and lie to yourself, but that dog won't hunt here.

[pdub]

A.) aww bullshit. Every time you nail a corner that you thought you might kill you instead, Mr. Brain says "Release the adrenaline, release the endorphins"

B.) You're hooked. Don't lie to us. You can go into a closet and lie to yourself, but that dog won't hunt here.

A.) Yep

B.) Buy me a blower and pay the track fees.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

[pdub]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26519[/ATTACH]

Okay. Tell Unit Red's getting a roll cage. It's up to you to tell her.

And I can use the tow hook to pull a Chevy out of the ditch on the way to work, but I'll have to remember to put Bubba's tow chain in Red's trunk.

[Whelk]

B.) Buy me a blower and pay the track fees.

There we see it, PDub has accepted that there's a blower in Red's future. Just a matter of time until he can't stop himself.