First Adventure to Road Atlanta

jimpastorius · **Posted:** Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:05 am

With the Mid-Atlantic season over and still wanting to race, I decided to head to the SE-NASA event at Road Atlanta this past weekend. Early in the fall, there were 8-10 CMC drivers from the Mid-Atlantic planning on going down for this event. Three of us made it :-)

I have never been to Road Atlanta, had always wanted to race there and had heard great things about the track. If you have never been there, put it on your list. If you can imagine VIR on steroids, that is Road Atlanta.

My buddy Ron Cates and his CMC Mustang came down to my place from the DC area on Thursday and we headed out Friday morning. We arrived mid-afternoon, just in time to watch a few friends that were running in the 9 hour enduro. The primary topic of the day was the prospect of rain and snow on Saturday. Yes, I was nervous that night, new track and rain would make an interesting combination.

I had studied the Trackpedia write up and watched a few youtube videos. The videos are useless with three of the turns being blind ones by the way.

Saturday morning came with some light drizzle and cold. The rain stopped totally around 9AM and the track was dry for our 10AM practice session. I headed out, got the tires warmed up and took the green. First thought was, were the hell is turn two as you come up the hill...oh there it is. Ok, I have cars in front and some coming up behind me, now where is three...oh shit, ok made it through that. I got five and then into 6 and 7 the carousel. Wow, I made it to the back stretch, I can take a breath and relax the death grip. Into 10 and the car broke nicely, out of 10B and up the hill...ok, now aim for the UZ on the bridge. I got that aimed up, not what the hell do I do? The track just disappears under you and next thing you now you are driving off a cliff. I really think my AX experience helped, cause I simply looked all the way down for the exit of 11. Put the car where you can to make that exit. Look at the wall, and hello wall.

It is going pretty well, I completed my first lap without incident. So I am coming into turn 6 (look at a track map) and have a FFR and a stock car in front of me, I see the yellow at 7 and lo and behold the stock car is sideways on exit. I go to the inside and I thought the FFR was going to punt the stock car. He manages to get slowed down enough to avoid contact. Well, next thing you know they are red flagging the session! Coming back into turn six (my third lap) there is a red flag...pull over and wait. They black flag the session. Something about the stock car catching fire, driver jumping out, then the fire going out, the corner workers not being able to run across the track...whatever the reason, I now had two laps under my belt.

Ok, I have a 15 minute qualifying session at 11:40AM. That will give me a few more laps to find the track, right. Well, that was not going to be the case. We line up for qualifying and head out. An aside: The car is running really well. I taught myself to repack a differential the weekend before and it seemed to be working. Well, since I was 7 seconds behind the lead CMC car and had only two laps, it was a little hard to tell how well it was working.

I take the green for qualifying, take turn one, head up the hill, find turn two, look for turn three and there track left is a 944S Cup car with no front end left and draining every fluid possible across the track. Oh, I did see the frantic yellow waiving. WTF...yes, you guessed it. I took the red flag a few turns later. Then the black flag, qualifying was done.

The starting positions were determined by your practice times. Pete Urbanski did not go out in practice (he has been to the track a lot and had run the enduro the previous day) and would start towards the back. Gregg Housemann had the fast time for CMC and Ron was 1/10th faster than me. With the split of the field, GTS starting in the second group, AI, CMC and spec 944 in the first group, I had the 14th spot. Pete was only 6 spots back and then there were the AIX cars and other ST cars back there that did not practice. Then I knew the thundering herd of GTS cars were not going to be far behind. Yes, I was not feeling well.

Kind of funny and in hindsight a premonition, I was worried that I had no idea where to pass on this track. Keep in mind, I had no idea where the track went, where the Camaro liked to be on the track, braking zones or gear selection out of 10A/10B. Passing should not have entered my mind :-)

Honestly, at this point I was kind of wishing I was in HPDE.

jimpastorius · **Posted:** Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:20 pm

We took the green flag and I honestly do not remember much until I got to turn 5. All I know we were two and three wide into turn one, up the hill and into turn two. By turns three and four we had sorted out to only two wide.

Coming into five, I stayed tight to the inside and was still in third gear. I got a great jump out of it and made up a couple of positions. I saw Gregg about 4 cars in front me. I had a good run into six and got out of 7 really well. The diff was working! I was kind of proud of myself.

Down the back straight and then the bridge. I think this was the only lap I was not passing under the bridge or being overtaken. To make matters worse I had to do a short shift from 3rd to 4th coming up out of 10B to the bridge. A lot of thinking and reacting in that little straight before certain peril.

I had my sights on Gregg. I hit turn 1 nicely (that is the trickiest turn on that course and probably the most dangerous), powered up the hill, found turn 3 and got a great run to 5. By the time we hit 6 and 7 I was on Gregg's bumper. Coming out of 7 I got a run right up to his bumper. Using his draft, I went to the right and got around him. He drop back behind me and tried the same. About 2/3rds of the way down the back stretch the track kinks slightly to the right. I held my line as an ST car was passing me on the left. This pinched Gregg off cause he ran out of track. I thought to myself, if you want to try and pass me in the grass, go ahead. With him having to lift, I was able to pull ahead.

I had clear track in front of me and the car was working really well on one year old RA1's (far better than brand new R888's). I was just focusing on hitting my marks or what I thought was the proper line. Plus making sure the faster GTS and ST/SU cars were passing me on straights.

I started to catch lap traffic after a few laps. The passing zone between 5 and 6 was under caution because of an ST1 Vette that had a hard hit on the outside wall. So I had to figure out where good passing zones were. Maybe because I did not know better, the hill leading to turn 11 and the front straight was an option and turn 3 was a nice option :-)

Then it happened...a full course caution came out for the wrecked Vette that we went by under local yellow for three laps. Just as the caution flew, the leader in an STU stock car came flying by. I know Pete. I cut Pete off at VIR to maintain my first trophy position and prevented him from trying to get Craig Gelston on the last lap in Hogs Pen. Pete always said he owed me. Well, pay back was a bitch.

Going by me or right before, he blew a head gasket. For two laps there was a fine mist of fluid coming out and onto my windshield. The pace car picked us up on lap two and then Pete rolled into the pits. But the damage had been done. My windshield was coated, the wiper did not help. But it was pretty cool being right behind the pace car. The downside, I could not see from turn 1 until exiting turn 5 because of the sun. Plus Gregg, Pete and Ron where now only 6-7 cars back.

The pace car lights went out coming into turn 10, my heart beat picked up and and when the pace car headed to pit road, I was on the throttle hard down the hill. A GTS car came by and I could follow him up through turns 2-5. My only hope was that the slower cars I passed would hold up the other 3 CMC cars. Another aside, one downside of running in another region, you are not afforded the same benefit as the regulars. The three cars I fought to get around would not put up a fight for Gregg and Pete since they are well known and respected. I enjoy the benefit at Mid-Atlantic, but quite at the Southeast.

I got a good run out of 7 and checking my mirror on the back stretch I could now see the 3 amigos and their Mustangs coming hard. I car held perfectly through 11 onto the front straight and there was the waiving white flag. I also saw the shift light come on, the first time all race I saw it on the front straight. Another GT3 Porsche caught me and I really wanted him in front heading up the hill in turn 1. I had to follow someone, remember I could not see. I was late getting into 1 and the car started to just slide out to the edge of the track. A slight lift and it settled down enough to allow me to get over towards center track for turn two.

Luckily the Porsche was real fast on straights and not any faster through turns than me. So I stayed right on his bumper through 2,3 and 4. If he had gone off, I would have driven right off after him. The whole time I am talking to myself to keep it together and wait for 5 and the ability to see. I felt if I could get to 7 with the lead, I could keep it. The Camaro is pretty wide and I would have made it wider. I made into 6 and got a great run out of 7. Now the little voice in my head was telling me I only had 4 more turns and don't blow it.

Hit 10 and 10B really well, a great run up the hill. Aimed for hte UZ on the bridge, kept the throttle planted, a slight lift 2/3 of the way down the hill, turn in, drift out towards the wall and there was the checkered flag.

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

A great post Jim, a pleasure to read. Road Atlanta was always one of my favorite tracks years ago before the offset was added before the bridge. Alas, I have not been on the track since it was changed.

I appreciated your dilemma with the windshield. My old Datsun 280Z had a badly sand pitted windshield during my "poor boy racing" days. Late in the day with the sun low and the track in the shade it was a lot like driving by braille.
Charlie G

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Mon Dec 07, 2009 2:44 pm

Congrats Jim for a great race win and wonderful write-up! Good job.

Like Charlie, I've not driven RA since before they added the chicane and reoriented the path through the bridge. If you think it's a bit hairy now, back then it was beyond crazy I guess as the plunge at the end of the back straight was deeper and then you had a steep uphill into the bridge followed by an apex somewhere around mid-bridge. It's been 26 years since then, but I still remember those slight oversteering drifts out of the bridge turn and down the hill toward the front straight, using up all the track out into the pit entrance (when there wasn't an inside pit like now) before diving for turn 12. In some strange way, I don't want to experience the new layout.

Anyway, congratulations on an awesome first outing to Road Atlanta. I'm guessing you're ready for another event there already.

Kevin Harvey · **Posted:** Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:25 am

Congats, Jim!!!! And an excellent write-up.

I ran Road Atlanta the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Great track with little room for error. It is definitely on my "gotta run again" list. After running a couple of sessions in the late afternoon and being blinded by the sun up through T1, I cannot imagine doing that with water/oil all over the windshield.

-Kevin

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:40 am

Congrats on the win! And as always, your write ups are great.

jeremy gast · **Posted:** Tue Dec 08, 2009 11:01 am

congrats Jim I love your write ups it is like we are there with you. Way to go!!!!!

Mark Barnes · **Posted:** Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:31 pm

Jim, great write up. I was also there running the HPDE. This was my first time to the track and experienced the same feeling. Wishing the force was with me the first couple sessions.

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