PERFORMANCE DRIVING

- FROM STREET TO TRACK


SATCAR STARTS RACING!!!

GINGERMAN RACEWAY, SOUTH HAVEN, MI - SEPT. 17-18, 2006

This fall we were guests with other clubs and offered one run group for SATCAR drivers. We had three races in September and October. The entry was not large in any of the races, which was good because it allowed us to test our procedures and the timing and scoring system without the intensity and time pressures that a large entry would have produced. It also forced us to combine cars that would not normally run together because of speed differences and to determine how that worked under race conditions.

The first event was run with the SVT Cobra Mustang Club at GingerMan Raceway in mid-September. We had a Saturday morning practice, Saturday afternoon qualifying, Sunday morning practice, and a 20 lap race on Sunday afternoon.

Unequal cars can race together! Todd Davis in the Impala followed by Tony Jasinski in the Scirocco.
Craig Smid in the Porsche just passed Raemarie Talbot in her NSX.

The field was quite varied, including a trio of '80s VWs, a Porsche 944 Turbo, an NSX driven by a woman, an Impala SS, and a track prepared Mustang Cobra R. As expected, the lap times also had quite a variation. One of the VWs was the slow qualifier and the Mustang Cobra, driven by Brian Groth of Minnesota, was fastest. Brian had to wait out an eight minute Performance Parity Time and the VW had almost four laps in before Brian started.

The SATCAR timing system worked exactly as predicted. There were three breakouts during the race. The pass that won the race was made on the last lap and when the checkered flag fell, all cars were within 45 seconds (1/2 lap) on the track. They would have been closer if Brian had been able to run his R compound tires. He had corded them and ran a new set of street tires so his lap times suffered slightly. Not by much though. Brian sliced through the field, passing some cars as many as two times, to get on the lead lap within sight of the leaders when the checkered flag fell. Great driving by all!!!

 

The winner, and also winner of the Consistency Award, was David Talbot of Plainfield, IL in an Acura Integra Type R. Second place was Jeff Stombres, also of Plainfield, in a 1984 VW Scirocco and third was Anthony Jasinski of Aurora, IL in a 1981 VW Scirocco. The lady in the NSX ended up fourth, even though she broke out once, and was very pleased.

The drivers were very excited about how the race went and many had created various strategies to seek the elusive win. The winner said he had to be very cautious not to get anxious and overdrive the car and create a Break Out. Comments sent to me after the race were strongly positive and indicated that the drivers had a great time. Some of the comments were:

Brian Groth, the fast qualifier.
The race staff and competitors, L to R, Bill VanNorman, Kern Fischer, Bruce Beauvais, Jeff Stombres, Tony Jasinski, David Adney, David & Raemarie Talbot, Todd Davis, Craig Smid, Chuck Lamb, Brian Groth, Jeff Herrmann, and John Smiskol.

 

Good sportsmanship of all the drivers.

I had a blast!! Professionalism of the staff was great.

I felt the on track safety of the SATCAR race was greater than that of a typical open track event.

It was a hoot!!!!

SATCAR really has it all. It is real racing, while being inexpensive, safe, and fun.

SATCAR is perfect. It allows someone to truly compete with the car they drive every day.

Anyone who enjoys high performance driving events or open track days will truly enjoy a SATCAR race.

Sign me up for the next race. I can't wait.

Your trophies were stunning. You outdid yourself.


AUTOBAHN COUNTRY CLUB, JOLIET, IL - OCT. 29-30

On this weekend, we shared the track with the Northwoods Shelby Club based in Wisconsin. We used the north track on Saturday and the south track on Sunday so we had 30 minute practice, qualifying, and race sessions each day. Entries were again somewhat diverse, including the VWs, a 1980 Mazda RX7, a supercharged Mazdaspeed Miata, Mitsubishi Evolution MR, Subaru WRX STI, a new (Three weeks old) Pontiac GTO, and a supercharged 2005 Kenny Brown Mustang. About half the drivers from the first race were excited enough that they also entered this weekend's event.

The Saturday race (13 laps) had a few minor issues in execution but went off reasonably well. Chuck Lamb from Goshen, IN, in the RX7, won the race and the Consistency Award. Jeff Stombres in the 1984 Scirocco again placed second. Smiles all around again.

We created procedures for Sunday that would eliminate the minor execution issues.

The Sunday race was for 12 laps and went very well. The first two cars on the grid qualified within .1 second of each other so were sent out nose to tail at the start. The first car pulled a slight gap so was not given the pass flag. If the second car had caught and been able to hold position close to the first, a pass flag would have been shown to the first car and the second car would have taken the lead. The situation worked itself out on the first lap. The first car had a Break Out and was called in for a penalty. The second car dropped two tires off on a corner and was also called in for a penalty.

The VW Scirocco driven by Tony Jasinski that started in third place inherited the lead and held it for most of the race. At two to go, he had a 21 second lead on the second car, the Mazdaspeed Miata. The Miata qualified 11 seconds faster so it looked like a last lap shootout for the win. At the start of the final lap the time gap was 9.5 seconds. Then on the last lap Tony spun off track and gave the lead and the win to Jeff Diffendorfer from Saginaw, MI in the Miata. Todd Davis from Portage, MI, driving the new GTO placed second. Eric Meyer from Indianapolis, in the Kenny Brown Mustang, received the Consistency Award.

Jeff was very excited by his win. He said his father had raced and he (Jeff) was just getting into the sport. He had many lapping and school days but this was his first competition. To win on his first weekend of racing was extremely satisfying for him.

The two top places in this race were taken by drivers who drove safely and consistently and received no penalties. This shows what it takes to win these races. The variety of cars that were contending for the win also shows that the SATCAR formula works to equalize the competition for drivers of all different types of car.

The winners in all three races were pleased to receive the crystal awards and I am assuming that they are being displayed in a prominent place in their homes or offices.

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