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Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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Well written, Jason!
I can't write as eloquently as Jason on my GT6 run, but I know I had at =
least as much fun - I started near the rear, as i did not run the rain =
session and was gridded based on car number. I had a great run, though, =
climbing to 14th with some great racing along the way. I flogged the =
car harder than perhaps I ever have, knocking two seconds a lap off my =
best previous times for the weekend. Looking at the cars and drivers =
who finished in front of me, I have no complaints with the outcome. =
Well, perhaps two - I think if I can get the stock brakes to run cooler =
and bite harder, I can certainly turn better times on this track. The =
entry to turn 5 was killer, coming from 120 mph down to a mid-second =
gear turn at the end of a downhill - as Peter Egan says, the turn =
"smokes about $10 of brake pads every lap"! And, I know I'm leaving =
something on the table in the Kink. But, I'm not leaving paint on the =
concrete walls there, so I guess that's a good thing!
There was a sense of comfort racing with all Triumphs - knowing many of =
the other drivers, and the feeling that the cars, all designed by the =
same people, somehow behaved in a predictable manner out on the track - =
I felt like I knew what moves they would make, more so than when racing =
Porsches, Datsuns, etc, which each dance to a different tune. Finishing =
the race flat out up the hill on the main straight to the checkered =
flag, right next to one of Sam Halkias' TR6s, being driven by Jack =
Madison, that was a finish to remember!
I'll be back to Road America, and I hope the Cup event will be there =
again soon too. I don't think I'll beat Jason's times, though - he's out =
there performing on one tire size smaller than mine - amazing!=20
I'm still smiling, even after a 16 hour tow home.
Scott
On Sep 11, 2013, at 11:06 AM, Jason Ostrowski wrote:
=46rom my perspective, the weekend was met by perhaps the fiercest =
multi- GT6 contingent seen in America since the 1969 runoffs at Daytona. =
Right off the bat, it was Chuck Gee=92s immaculate yellow beauty setting =
the quickening pace for our group 8 coupes. Early on, it was seen that =
our GT6=92s would have to be in the low 2:50=92s to even be a contender =
for the Cup. Road America seems to eat GT6=92s up. I knew that from a =
disappointing trend of half-finished race weekends there over the past =
few years. So, going in I had focused very hard on presenting a car that =
was stout enough to go the weekends many session distance requirement. =
VSCDA weekends offer over 3 hours of track time in a variety of =
different races, practice and qualifying. My weekend goal was simple and =
threefold; get in enough track time to feel totally comfortable, beat my =
own personal track record and without-fail be the fastest GT6 in the =
end! (When Chuck set that time pretty easily right off the bat, clearly =
it was going to take some real inspired driving to be running at the =
front.) Like any race track disguised as a gorgeous national park, Road =
America can take the very best cars and put them on the trailer early. =
Such was the fate of the booked-about hot-rod of my new friend Chuck =
Gee=85broken on session 3.
Enter Scott Janzen and Clark Lincoln. Scott=92s car is set up with an =
eye for high quality. His giant, daunting, Webber Carb set-up brings the =
hot breath of a mid-evil dragon to the 2 -liter table. Scott=92s car has =
a great vintage history and he has updated it beautifully. Surely a bit =
more seat time and better qualifying race conditions would have put him =
closer to the front. Clark=92s orange and black car has taken the rear =
end of the GT6 into a new and totally different dimension. Rich in fresh =
conceptual development, the #71, is a fearsome new contender. His hard =
thought choice for a transmission set-up ratio at Road America made him =
a bullet on the front stretch. And he turned out to be the one in my =
sights or in my mirrors as the weekend progressed. Jeff Clark also =
brought a car that he and his inspired crew stuck with and maintained =
all weekend, against diversity, a long way from home. (Nice work) =20
Friday, I broke a velocity stack. It fell off the car at full song =
towards the end front strait. The noise was significantly explosive as =
it popped the bonnet upwards. I rolled in under my own power back to the =
paddock. Like a factory sponsor, my dear racing friends and trick part=92s=
supplier Alexander Racing immediately provided me with an updated ARE =
stack with reinforced flange welding.
In the first qualifying session Saturday, I went careening off the track =
in spectacular fashion at turn7 as the bottom of my right front upright =
sheared off at the top of the trunnion. Through the gravel trap, into =
the grass and near ye wall. John Reed jumped on car like a young George =
Bignotti and had the whole thing taken apart and determined what we =
needed to replace. Pretty quickly, he had the upright, and ball-joint =
replaced from our magic parts bin and a new trunnion was sourced from =
Scott Janzen. We were back in action before the lunch break. Yet, the =
removal of the =93kitty litter=94 rocks, measured by the pail, continued =
for quite some time.
Then it started to rain. I really like to race in the rain. This played =
into my hands quite nicely as a drying track allowed me to leave the =
rain tires in the trailer and go out on dry tires in slightly wet =
conditions. I played it fairly conservative in the slippery conditions =
and posted a 3:03 for a final qualifying time. Somewhat to my surprise, =
that meager 3:03 had put me 3rd on the grid for the Cup race. This was =
golden for FGR, as Sam Halkias was choosing to start in the back to wage =
war with the 250K. It was an all GT6 front row for 2013.
The pace lap was slow and my car was acting funny. Some strange fuel =
delivery gremlin seemed to haunt me from the get go. I yelled at myself =
through my helmet; something to the effect of =93This is Your Race to =
Loose! Drive this Car! This is your chance!=94 (Really, I did). I was =
in the perfect mindset; totally psyched yet almost calm. I felt a sweet =
confidence in both myself and the car, and just kind of told myself to =
drive through the fuel problem and push it like I never have before. And =
so I did. In a nice little drag race and a game of same-direction=94 =
chicken=94 with Clark Lincoln, I led the pack into 1 and got a pretty =
good run out of 3. I led through 5 and up the hill=85 but the car, she =
coughs a bit. Under the circumstances, things were really ticking along =
good until the car cut out bad coming out of the kink and opportunistic =
Mark Weatley and Tony Drews were able to slip by. Seeing my good racing =
buddy Tony go by really got me focused on staying up front. In a =
wonderfully spirited Battle Royal Tony and I swapped spots back and =
forth several times each breaking our own track records during the =
fight! Clark was back there too, but we were going so fast that the rear =
view mirrors showed nothing but vibrating nothingness. Somehow I seemed =
to pull away a bit until I saw the grey and blue Ken Knight in shining =
armor on a charge from behind.
As I entered Canada Corner with the Knight in my mirror,=85 the car, she =
breaks. And in a poetic lost Joust, I violently bounced across the =
rumble strips, skipped across the runoff and coasted along the grass. I =
came to a stop close to the wall, no contact, but beaten by equipment. I =
gave it all I had but it was not my year to win the cup. This time the =
#69 broke it=92s other (right) front upright in the same spot. This has =
never happened before, yet, here=85 twice in one weekend. Surprise, =
surprise, as we all know=85 it is fairly easy to make these toys go =
faster and faster for shorter and shorter periods of time. For what it=92s=
worth even though I had to break the wheel off doing it, I met my goal =
and set the fast GT6 time of the weekend in the Cup race with a nice and =
tidy 2:52.7. The GT6 class win went to Clark Lincoln in his ready to =
race #71 hot orange coupe. =20
In spite of my defeat, the personal rewards for me were great. The =
positive comments I got from Kas will keep me chasing the cup for as =
long as there is a cup to chase. I got A Big Bear Hug from Tony Drews =
and lots of complements from so many drivers and some of my favorite FoT =
folks. I=92ll be smiling all the way to Eagles Canyon.
A big thanks to my crew chief John Reed and our FGR mechanical genius =
Brian Garcia. Brian went out Friday afternoon and sourced a new tach and =
got me out there Saturday with some well needed RPM info, as the Friday =
sessions were ran on a glimmer and a hope that I was in the proper =
range. John did everything he could to keep the car running up front all =
weekend. The car carries with it his long legacy of front running and it =
was an honor to drive it his way and to his approval=85we were fast and =
at the front. Having a good performance and racing with the best of my =
Triumph Friends in front of Triumph legends=85Don=92t wake me up! I =
think I must be dreaming. Thank You ALL!
Jason Ostrowski
Friendly Ghost Racing
Owner/Racer of 2 original privately owned historic GT6+ racecars. #27=85 =
The David Dooley SCCA National Contender. And, The #69 Zippy Racing, =
Crystal Tack Cloth =93Zippy=94 ; the most raced GT6 ever.
_______________________________________________
fot@autox.team.net
http://www.fot-racing.com
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/fot/sjanzen@me.com
--Apple-Mail=_647B11D0-E92B-435B-9FCB-B89CE61AB04F
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
charset=windows-1252
<html><head></head><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; =
-webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Well =
written, Jason!<div>I can't write as eloquently as Jason on my GT6 run, =
but I know I had at least as much fun - I started near the rear, as i =
did not run the rain session and was gridded based on car number. I had =
a great run, though, climbing to 14th with some great racing along the =
way. I flogged the car harder than perhaps I ever have, knocking =
two seconds a lap off my best previous times for the weekend. =
Looking at the cars and drivers who finished in front of me, I =
have no complaints with the outcome. Well, perhaps two - I think =
if I can get the stock brakes to run cooler and bite harder, I can =
certainly turn better times on this track. The entry to turn 5 was =
killer, coming from 120 mph down to a mid-second gear turn at the end of =
a downhill - as Peter Egan says, the turn "smokes about $10 of =
brake pads every lap"! And, I know I'm leaving something on the =
table in the Kink. But, I'm not leaving paint on the concrete =
walls there, so I guess that's a good thing!</div><div>There was a sense =
of comfort racing with all Triumphs - knowing many of the other drivers, =
and the feeling that the cars, all designed by the same people, somehow =
behaved in a predictable manner out on the track - I felt like I knew =
what moves they would make, more so than when racing Porsches, Datsuns, =
etc, which each dance to a different tune. Finishing the race flat =
out up the hill on the main straight to the checkered flag, right next =
to one of Sam Halkias' TR6s, being driven by Jack Madison, that was a =
finish to remember!</div><div><br></div><div>I'll be back to Road =
America, and I hope the Cup event will be there again soon too. I don't =
think I'll beat Jason's times, though - he's out there performing on one =
tire size smaller than mine - =
amazing! </div><div><br></div><div>I'm still smiling, even after a =
16 hour tow =
home.</div><div><br></div><div>Scott</div><div><br><div><div>On Sep 11, =
2013, at 11:06 AM, Jason Ostrowski wrote:</div><br =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><div dir=3D"ltr"><font =
color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">=46rom my perspective, the =
weekend was met by perhaps the
fiercest multi- GT6 contingent seen in America since the 1969 runoffs at
Daytona. Right off the bat, it was Chuck Gee=92s immaculate yellow =
beauty setting
the quickening pace for our group 8 coupes. Early on, it was seen that =
our
GT6=92s would have to be in the low 2:50=92s to even be a contender for =
the Cup.
Road America seems to eat GT6=92s up. I knew that from a disappointing =
trend of
half-finished race weekends there over the past few years. So, going in =
I had
focused very hard on presenting a car that was stout enough to go the =
weekends
many session distance requirement. VSCDA weekends offer over 3 hours of =
track
time in a variety of different races, practice and qualifying. My =
weekend goal
was simple and threefold; get in enough track time to feel totally =
comfortable,
beat my own personal track record and without-fail be the fastest GT6 in =
the
end! (When Chuck set that time pretty easily right off the bat, clearly =
it was
going to take some real inspired driving to be running at the front.) =
Like any
race track disguised as a gorgeous national park, Road America can take =
the
very best cars and put them on the trailer early. Such was the fate of =
the
booked-about hot-rod of my new friend Chuck Gee=85broken on session =
3.</font></font></font></p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times New =
Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">Enter Scott Janzen and Clark =
Lincoln. Scott=92s car is set up
with an eye for high quality. His giant, daunting, Webber Carb set-up =
brings
the hot breath of a mid-evil dragon to the 2 -liter table. Scott=92s car =
has a
great vintage history and he has updated it beautifully. Surely a bit =
more seat
time and better qualifying race conditions would have put him closer to =
the
front. Clark=92s orange and black car has taken the rear end of the GT6 =
into a new
and totally different dimension. Rich in fresh conceptual development, =
the #71,
is a fearsome new contender. His hard thought choice for a transmission =
set-up
ratio at Road America made him a bullet on the front stretch. And he =
turned out
to be the one in my sights or in my mirrors as the weekend progressed. =
Jeff
Clark also brought a car that he and his inspired crew stuck with and =
maintained
all weekend, against diversity, a long way from home. (Nice work) =
<span> </span></font></font></font></p><font color=3D"#000000" =
face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">Friday, I broke a velocity =
stack. It fell off the car at
full song towards the end front strait. The noise was significantly =
explosive
as it popped the bonnet upwards. I rolled in under my own power back to =
the
paddock. Like a factory sponsor, my dear racing friends and trick part=92s=
supplier Alexander Racing immediately provided me with an updated ARE =
stack
with reinforced flange welding.</font></font></font></p><font =
color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">In the first qualifying session =
Saturday, I went careening
off the track in spectacular fashion at turn7 as the bottom of my right =
front upright sheared
off at the top of the trunnion. Through the gravel trap, into the grass =
and near
ye wall. John Reed jumped on car like a young George Bignotti and had =
the whole
thing taken apart and determined what we needed to replace. Pretty =
quickly, he
had the upright, and ball-joint replaced from our magic parts bin and a =
new
trunnion was sourced from Scott Janzen. We were back in action before =
the lunch
break. Yet, the removal of the =93kitty litter=94 rocks, measured by the =
pail,
continued for quite some time. </font></font></font></p><font =
color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font color=3D"#000000"><font =
face=3D"Calibri"><font size=3D"3">Then it started to rain. I really like =
to race in the rain.
This played into my hands quite nicely as a drying track allowed me to =
leave
the rain tires in the trailer and go out on dry tires in slightly wet
conditions. I played it fairly conservative in the slippery conditions =
and
posted a 3:03 for a final qualifying time. Somewhat to my surprise, that =
meager
3:03 had put me 3</font><font><sup>rd</sup></font><font size=3D"3"> on =
the grid for the Cup race. This was golden
for FGR, as Sam Halkias was choosing to start in the back to wage war =
with the
250K. It was an all GT6 front row for 2013. =
</font></font></font></p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times New =
Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">The pace lap was slow and my =
car was acting funny. Some
strange fuel delivery gremlin seemed to haunt me from the get go. I =
yelled at
myself through my helmet; something to the effect of =93This is Your =
Race to
Loose! Drive this Car! This is your chance!=94 (Really, I =
did).<span> </span>I was in the perfect mindset; totally psyched
yet almost calm. I felt a sweet confidence in both myself and the car, =
and just
kind of told myself to drive through the fuel problem and push it like I =
never
have before. And so I did. In a nice little drag race and a game of =
same-direction=94
chicken=94 with Clark Lincoln, I led the pack into 1 and got a pretty =
good run
out of 3. I led through 5 and up the hill=85 but the car, she coughs a =
bit. Under
the circumstances, things were really ticking along good until the car =
cut out bad
coming out of the kink and opportunistic Mark Weatley and Tony Drews =
were able
to slip by. Seeing my good racing buddy Tony go by really got me focused =
on
staying up front. In a wonderfully spirited Battle Royal Tony and I =
swapped
spots back and forth several times each breaking our own track records =
during
the fight! Clark was back there too, but we were going so fast that the =
rear
view mirrors showed nothing but vibrating nothingness. Somehow I seemed =
to pull
away a bit until I saw the grey and blue Ken Knight in shining armor on =
a
charge from behind.</font></font></font></p><font color=3D"#000000" =
face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">As I entered Canada Corner with =
the Knight in my mirror,=85
the car, she breaks. And in a poetic lost Joust, I violently bounced =
across the
rumble strips, skipped across the runoff and coasted along the grass. I =
came to
a stop close to the wall, no contact, but beaten by equipment. I gave it =
all I
had but it was not my year to win the cup. This time the #69 broke it=92s =
other
(right) front upright in the same spot. This has never happened before, =
yet,
here=85 twice in one weekend.<span> </span>Surprise,
surprise, as we all know=85 it is fairly easy to make these toys go =
faster and
faster for shorter and shorter periods of time. For what it=92s worth =
even though
I had to break the wheel off doing it, I met my goal and set the fast =
GT6 time
of the weekend in the Cup race with a nice and tidy 2:52.7. The GT6 =
class win
went to Clark Lincoln in his ready to race #71 hot orange coupe. =
<span> </span></font></font></font></p><font color=3D"#000000" =
face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">In spite of my defeat, the =
personal rewards for me were
great. The positive comments I got from Kas will keep me chasing the cup =
for as
long as there is a cup to chase. I got A Big Bear Hug from Tony Drews =
and lots
of complements from so many drivers and some of my favorite FoT folks. =
I=92ll be
smiling all the way to Eagles Canyon.</font></font></font></p><font =
color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">A big thanks to my crew chief =
John Reed and our FGR mechanical
genius Brian Garcia. Brian went out Friday afternoon and sourced a new =
tach and
got me out there Saturday with some well needed RPM info, as the Friday =
sessions
were ran on a glimmer and a hope that I was in the proper range. John =
did
everything he could to keep the car running up front all weekend. The =
car carries
with it his long legacy of front running and it was an honor to drive it =
his
way and to his approval=85we were fast and at the front. =
<span> </span>Having a good performance and racing with the
best of my Triumph Friends in front of Triumph legends=85Don=92t wake me =
up! I
think I must be dreaming. Thank You ALL!</font></font></font></p><font =
color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">Jason =
Ostrowski</font></font></font></p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times =
New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">Friendly Ghost =
Racing</font></font></font></p><font color=3D"#000000" face=3D"Times New =
Roman" size=3D"3">
</font><p style=3D"margin:0in 0in 10pt"><font size=3D"3"><font =
color=3D"#000000"><font face=3D"Calibri">Owner/Racer of 2 original =
privately owned historic GT6+
racecars. <span> </span>#27=85 The David Dooley SCCA
National Contender. And, The #69 Zippy Racing, Crystal Tack Cloth =
=93Zippy=94 ; the
most raced GT6 ever.</font></font></font></p><font color=3D"#000000" =
face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D"3">
</font></div>
_______________________________________________<br><a =
href=3D"mailto:fot@autox.team.net";>fot@autox.team.net</a><br><br>http://ww=
w.fot-racing.com<br><br>Donate: =
http://www.team.net/forums<br>Unsubscribe/Manage: =
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/fot/sjanzen@me.com<br><br><br></div>=
<br></div></body></html>=
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http://www.fot-racing.com
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