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**John in Houston** · 09-16-2005, 09:09 AM

So they were bumping up the rear pressures to get the tires to stop rolling over (more grip in Topeka) and help the car rotate (faux spring rates).

I only ran a couple PSI more in the tires at Topeka.... but I had more spring rate.

My car felt great on the bus-lot at TMS.... and feels good at GGP. Probably would have still plowed like a sow at Topeka.

**hancheyb** · 09-16-2005, 09:31 AM

Yes, more tire pressure due to the increase in grip.

We're going to whatever Divisional, Tour, Pro is on the new surface in Topeka next year so we get plenty of seat time. Remember, the new site is asphalt.

**Redwood** · 09-16-2005, 10:30 AM

Tommy was in 2nd after the first day.

**hancheyb** · 09-16-2005, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by Redwood

Tommy was in 2nd after the first day.

Tommy got a run in before the downpour. I think most 1st drivers for STX did. After that it started pouring. Check out www.scca.com. He's on the front parting the flood waters!

**Nick** · 09-16-2005, 04:45 PM

Tommy got 3rd in STX!

Way to go LP!!

**hancheyb** · 09-16-2005, 09:33 PM

$250 from BMW! Good job Tommy.

**Tommy R** · 09-19-2005, 07:45 AM

Thanks, y'all. I did get pretty lucky on day 1, but all first drivers had similar conditions on their first runs, i.e. wet, but not a torrential downpour. The important point? Josh Sortor, the reigning champ in the class, ran two cars after me in the same conditions, but was almost 2 tenths slower. So while some second drivers got hosed, I never felt like I totally lucked into a goofball situation like some other classes where total "no-names" ended up winning. I was proud of my driving on Thurs., but Fri. lacked a bit.

Actually, I felt my driving was decent, but the car had a horrendous push that really held me back. And did I mention I found out at the event that my Falkens (though purchased new in February) were actually a year and a half old?

Next year, new tires for sure.

I did manage to get some Motor Force press, though!

http://www.scca.com/News/News.asp?Ref=424

Tommy

Hello, BMW? Send me some money!

C3 · 09-20-2005, 08:34 PM

tons of pics...

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=416272

FRAK ME, NICE PIC!!
http://www.teamwtf.org/index.php?ful...view_photo.php

**Tommy R** · 09-21-2005, 01:56 PM

My Nats pics.

**Fair!** · 09-21-2005, 04:22 PM

FRAKKING H3LL! I'm just getting my net conn back... man, what a WHIPPING we took on day two. Like Tommy, Hanchey and I were fighting a wicked push on Day 2 in the dry on the South course. Day 1 was so wet and dirty that we couldn't tell (and both drove like total rain gods, so it didn't matter!)

Well, OK, it was "drying", and we were d*** lucky on that day.

Day 2, we were totally lost... the car felt like total sh!te, nothing but massive push. We were so unprepared it wasn't funny. Car felt like it had more in it, but the harder we both pushed, the slower we went. We started doing big changes to shocks, tires and swaybar, but too little too late.

My first run - coned - would have netted me a second place overall! AND IT WAS A TERRIBLE RUN! My second run, somehting was bad wrong. NO POWER. OMFG did we run too little gas?!!? Had to consciously break away from the run, realize what I had done... I left the frakking traction control on and I'm 15 seconds into the run! Then I reach over, deactivate ASC, then finish my run. AND THAT WAS MY BEST RUN OF THE DAY!!!

That terrible, horrific, blunder filled run got me 6th. ARG!!!! FRAK FRAK FRAK!

Hanchey drove equally as bad, coning two runs (one of which would have won him the championship), and he NEVER cones 2 runs in any event. We were so flustered after our first runs that we couldn't get our heads around the conditions/car/course, I guess? I will have in-car video of all of our runs soon and will rewatch the 2nd day runs... many, many times. It is a bitter pill.

We still don't know how we could have been so slow and the set-up so "off" for day 2. Car felt great at TAMSCC practice days before NAts... but that surface was different enough form the horrible Forbes Field site, I guess. (good riddance to that PoS event site!) It is also disappointing because we demolished Brandon (who won the class) at the MW Div. I am just SO dang disappointed in the car and our driving! Hanchey and I have been stewwing for days.

It was in the middle of the night after day 2 when one of us yelled "WHAT JUST HAPPENED!!! WE THREW AWAY A 1-2 FINISH AT NATIONALS!"

...oh well... lots of lessons learned. This was only Hanchey and my 2nd Nationals, and we can agree on many things: Setting up a car 1.5 months before nats is not the best path to a win. Not running more Divs/Tours/Pros was a bad idea. Not ever running on the Topeka surface in the year before the event in the car we're running was a monumentally BAD idea. Missing the warm-up was STUPID. Thinking you have it in the bag with a fairly convincing lead after Day 1 is a bad bad bad idea.

Going to run the car myself at the TMS bus lot on Sunday, to test the asphalt set-up. Never too early to get ready for next year.

**Fair!** · 09-21-2005, 04:38 PM

Props to McCall and Paul for doing dang well in their first Nats event. Paul had us ALL (4) beat on Day 2, and deserved a trophy for his drive. McCall had a heck of a run on Day 1 as well. Either won coulda been a top 3 contender with cleaner runs. To finish in the top 10 in your first Nats is dang fine, to trophy is even better.

Much respect to Soup Daddy for his NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! Good job!

Tommy and Toddles with 3rds, nice. CP looked like fun, but tere were some wacky cars (I have lotsa pics). STX looked huge with what? 44 cars? Wow! The rain was heavy for their first day. Suckage.

We all had high hopes for Teucci and Ramey - the rain/wet hosed Chris, but Teucci had a nice finish on day 1 - first by tenths. Oh well, it didn't work out on day 2. Teucci still showed us how it's done with a killer looking car, custom engineered suspension parts (and a business to sell em!), a wild engineering thrash to prevent a protest (Todd helped a little), and still a great showing. I hope they don't give up on that car yet - they both did so well in it at the various Divs, Tours and Pros. A 3-4 finish at Nats is nothing to sneeze at.

Adam and Cammy got hammered by the rain - as did so many others - but it was good to see them running and the Vorshlag stickers were da bomb. I got lotsa airtime for Vorshlag - I better go update it.

How did Paul Russell do in F125? John - you were missed this year! No work for next year, eh?

BIG BIG thanks to Hanchey for allowing me to co-drive with him this year (and part of last!) in his d*** fine M3. I had a helluva good time driving the car at the various events the past 2 months and Nationals was a blast, of course. He was a good sport letting me make 20 runs at the TAMSCC practice, on our Nationals tires - that car is too fun to drive (when the set-up is right!). He's offered to let me co-drive again this season, and I might just do it. The car still feels like the STU car to have - we just didn't put together the runs on Day 2 to prove it.

I really wanted the STU TAMSCCers to finish 1 thru 4 - didn't really care who had 1st, so long as we represented. Oh well, 2 trophies and a 1st & 3rd on Day one wasn't too shabby. Next year we're going to get more serious.

McCall has the "competition bug" - finally! He's got to get a competitive car, but we have plans for that. >

Paul has a great car himself - just needs more time and practice (like us all!) and the results will keep coming in. Hanchey has the bug worse than ever, already planning for the next event the day after Nationals. Amy and I will be running in the RX-8 as much as possible and I will be doing double duty in the Hanchey M3, until he changes his mind.

I know I have a LOT to work on (smoothness, overdriving, not cracking under pressure!) and want to get into solo2 more regularly this year...

**Fair!** · 09-21-2005, 08:15 PM

http://punky.smugmug.com/gallery/827370 - My 2005 Solo2 Nats Pics

Hanchey and Fair

STU Class Picture

Tommy had a "hunch" that he'd place well...

Happy Teucci!

**Fair!** · 10-06-2005, 02:46 PM

**hancheyb** · 10-06-2005, 03:03 PM

OUCH!!! MY EYES! Fookin' tire pressure. I can't believe we didn't prepare for THAT.

http://www.4113pittsburg.com/picture.../DSC_0413.html

**Fair!** · 10-06-2005, 03:31 PM

Announcement

Nationals 2005 Results

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