Final Points Race - Good & Bad

Daytona · 08-18-2008, 10:21 AM

Had my final Sunoco Super Challange Points Series race yesterday. Was 3 points back of 8th place in the points standings. Top 8 in my class get team jackets, top 5 also get bonus $ and a trip to the Bracket Finals @ Maple Grove in September. I knew I couldn't finish high enough to get into the 5th spot but I could get as high as 7th.

Had pretty decent lights all day and was slow climbing my way up the standings. Then I end up paired on the ladder against a guy I've known & run with my entire racing career. We started together back in 1987.

I cut a nice 0.023 light to his 0.045 and had enough space between me and him at the finish line to hit the brakes when I saw he wasn't going to catch me. Unfortunately, my car was in the midst of pulling another unusually fast run out of its ass and I didn't hit the brakes in time. Broke out by more than 0.16 seconds ON THE BRAKES! I went faster on the brakes than any flat out run the entire day!

That cost me the win as Jim also broke out but by a lot less (0.04). He went on to win the whole event and I finish 1 point - ONE LOUSY STINKING POINT!!! - out of the 8th and final spot in the standings. Due to tie-breakers I officially finished in 12th place, 1 spot higher than my worst finish ever. This now marks the 3rd time in 15 seasons where I finished outside the Top 8.

The good news from all of this? Remember my earlier posts where I couldn't understand how I'd be cutting .003, .006 and .009 lights and losing on the brakes? Well, Jim and I figured out (after the race, of course) that when I have a small lead I'm left-foot braking while my right is still on the gas. When I have a big lead I tend to right-foot brake with my foot off the gas. The right-foot braking is harder and more extreme and causes my nose to drop enough that the spoiler under my nose is breaking the finish beam before my tire is, causing an artificially quicker ET.

The finish beam, for those who don't know, is 5" off the ground. It's higher than the starting beams which are only an inch or so up.

I broke out yesterday by more than a nose so there was more to it yesterday than just my heavy nose-dive, but it helped explain quite a few other losses from this season where the incrementals didn't make sense or where I broke out on the brakes by a few thousandths.

The trick now for next season is to figure out how to get my spoiler or nose to always sit 5" off the ground so, no matter what, it's always breaking the finish lights - braking or under full throttle - before my tires.

Redog · 08-18-2008, 05:25 PM

At least you got in the top 8, some of us had traction issues early in the season

Daytona · 08-18-2008, 06:41 PM

^Dear Mr. Post Skimmer,

Please reread the aforementioned thread in its entirety. I did not, as you claim to have read, finish in the top 8. Instead, I finished 1 point behind those that were in 8th place and due to tie-breakers I am officially 12th place.

Please also refer back to your elementary school math books, as 12 is higher than 8 though for the purpose of ranking it is inversely beneficial. In the case of rankings, the lower the number the better the position in the standings.

Thank you.

-- The Management

jackal2000 · 08-18-2008, 06:42 PM

put a wheelie bar on the front of your car LMAO

Midgear · 08-18-2008, 06:44 PM

AleroB888 · 08-18-2008, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daytona

...........The trick now for next season is to figure out how to get my spoiler or nose to always sit 5" off the ground so, no matter what, it's always breaking the finish lights - braking or under full throttle - before my tires.

Hmmmmm..... I used to run a low air dam off a Ford truck to get air to the radiator....... Guess that sucker's going back on.

Redog · 08-18-2008, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daytona

^Dear Mr. Post Skimmer,

Please reread the aforementioned thread in its entirety. I did not, as you claim to have read, finish in the top 8. Instead, I finished 1 point behind those that were in 8th place and due to tie-breakers I am officially 12th place.

Please also refer back to your elementary school math books, as 12 is higher than 8 though for the purpose of ranking it is inversely beneficial. In the case of rankings, the lower the number the better the position in the standings.

Thank you.

-- The Management

O I see now.

Boy it must suck to be you

Daytona · 08-19-2008, 08:46 AM

^Better than being you, but still not so good.

AleroB888 · 08-19-2008, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daytona

^Better than being you, but still not so good.

Oh, sure! There is still a lot of racing time left, maybe you can just win another giant trophy and windfall cash pot... something trivial like that.

Redog · 08-19-2008, 12:01 PM

^^ Sounds like the Quick 16 in October.

If it's not a Nopi thing