Joe is probably going to post a full report soon, but I know he stayed and camped overnight so it could be later today or tomorrow before he gets around to posting it and updating the official website. And he certainly deserves a break - three cheers for Joe Black!
What I can tell you is that this was friggin' awesome! :-) It was a real adrenaline rush every time I pulled up to the line and waited for that tap on the roof until I stopped by the time table to get my time card. The course was great and all the hard work Joe and John put into it really paid off. Everyone made four runs - we ran one course configuration twice and then after lunch they changed the course a bit and everyone ran that twice as well. The first setup was tight in places but I wouldn't say that it was too tight overall. The second setup was pretty wide open with a few well-placed hairpins to keep us in check.
We had a great turnout despite the fact that MapQuest gives errant directions for getting to the property. I was fortunate enough to have encountered this at the previous meet there and didn't rely on MapQuest this time. I regret that I didn't think to mention this in advance so the coordinators could have put the word out, but all in all I think things ran rather well. It was a tremendous undertaking and my thanks go out to Joe, John, and everyone else that made this a reality. We had a photographer out there who took a bazillion pictures and will have them up in the next few days. We'll post a link as soon as they're up. There is also a ton of video footage but Joe probably has a better idea when we may see that. If I understood correctly, apparently we have complete footage of about every other run made throughout the day, and every driver should have at least one full run on tape. I can't wait to see the video! Joe is probably going to produce a DVD but the editing alone could be pretty intense as there's lots and lots of footage.
Having never done this before, I did not expect too much from myself. I know I did not always brake properly, probably didn't stay on the throttle as much as I could have, and just focused on staying inside the cones more than taking the best lines, but I was happy with my day's efforts. My goal was to just try to run progressively faster times, and I did. On the first run I was pretty lousy (second to last) and didn't maintain my momentum, but I shaved 15 seconds off that time on the following run and beat a few Subarus. Which was cool because Joe said he was hoping to see me make a 15 second improvement but I don't think either of us thought I would. :-) In the second course configuration the track became faster, and I still beat a few cars on the first run when there were less radical turns and more places to just floor it. I told my wife that as long as I wasn't dead last I'd be happy since it's my first time doing it, and I did that. It was a real blast, particularly when I kicked the rear end out some on one run - probably looked like I knew what I was doing there because it helped with the turn, but it was completely unintentional. LOL! I was leaned back a good bit for head clearance with the helmet and could've sworn I took out a cone or two on two of my runs, but I checked and I didn't take out a cone all day, though it must have been real close. Woo hoo!
You also have to consider that Joe and I were the last to run the course - because of our vehicle weight they put us last so we wouldn't chew up the course too bad for everyone else. They ran the 2WD cars first, then the 4WD under 2.5 or 3 liters (forgot which), then the modified (read turbocharged) 4WD cars. We got tossed into the latter group for simplicity's sake and ran last. The result was that it was pretty chewed up for us with some 30 cars having a go at it first, and we would have racked up better times in the VXs had we run earlier in each rotation. Joe ran faster than I did (but I was close once LOL), and had he really wanted to and had made all four runs, he would have made quite a showing. As it was, he had his hands plenty full just running this thing and just made a couple runs.
This event was definitely a great success in my opinion and there should be more to follow before too long. Everyone was very appreciative of the opportunity Joe provided and I think the SCCA folks have been trying to get a rallycross setup in the area for some time and finally they have a good venue.
All eyes were on the VXs - I had so many people tell me I had a nice ride and I think the VXs got some respect out there. I heard guys talking about how they were a lot of fun to watch, and was amused by the incredulous looks we got when they heard what they weigh. I had a guy running my time card to me after my last run tell me that my time wasn't bad for a tank. I had another one say it sounded "friggin' awesome", and overheard someone else say they sounded pretty mean too. So the PV2 was a hit as well. :-)
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