I had already made the tough decision to not drive in the annual Double SARRC at Daytona long before wrecking my car at Road Atlanta in July, but I was still pumped up about making the trip.  I would get a chance to visit my mom in Orlando, I’d pick up our new (to us) “Greyhound Bus” (to transport our two rescue greyhounds), I’d get to see some great racing at the Birthplace of Speed, and we’d finally get a chance to demonstrate that our GTA-Southeast rules were working pretty well.  A large contingent of GTA cars from both Kansas and Texas would be there, and a week before the event we had twenty-one (21) GTA cars entered.

I had worked out a deal with Andy Fox where we’d share his ex-ASA car for the weekend, but unfortunately that plan was run off the road (literally) by a drunk driver that crossed the center line and took out Andy’s truck and trailer as they were headed to the track early Saturday morning.  Everyone is okay and the racecar was not damaged, but it’s obvious the racing gods wanted neither Andy nor me to race that weekend.

I visited with my mom Saturday morning, but when I arrived at the track I KNEW without asking anyone that qualifying had been a zoo because Ron (Burr) Keith, was on the GTA pole! <g>  Ends up the session was stopped partway through due to a rain shower, plus with 60+ on the track getting a clear lap paid a serious premium.  Everyone had to deal with the same conditions, however, and the head of the Kansas Tornadoes had gotten the job done!  Jeff Bailey and 2008 SARRC points leader Tony Amico had their times thrown out because they blew the checkered flag, so they moved to the rear of the grid with Scott Lagasse Jr. who had failed to go out in the morning.  The entire GTA field for Saturday’s race:

I was calling the race for Jeff as he made his charge from the back of the pack so I don’t remember a lot of what happened at the front, but I do recall looking a couple of times and seeing the first five GTA cars running nose to tail.  I know that Burr led some laps and Gregg was in the hunt, then a full-course yellow came out about lap five when Paul Breehne’s SPO Late Model blew a tire in NASCAR Four and then blew all the bodywork off in the subsequent spin.  I thought for sure Paul had smacked the wall a ton since the hood and windshield were the only pieces still attached to the chassis, but I was assured he had not.

The yellow was out for four laps so we were setting up for a famous “green, white, checker” finish.  The final order for Saturday’s race was:

Apparently  Greg Cecil’s transponder wasn’t working, and Preston and Phil had opted to sit it out because they were concerned about it raining.  California champion Rudy Revak lost a drive shaft on his Ford, Tom Graham lost a clutch, Tony Amico had a flat tire, and Scott Lagasse was penalized four positions for multiple passes under yellow.  Spirits were high in anticipation of the battle resuming on Sunday.

Sunday dawned early but the weather was dry all day.  Getting a clean lap was again paramount during qualifying, but many of the drivers came in halfway through the session so the guys running at the end effectively had an open track.  When it all shook out Bob Stretch was again on the pole and Tom Graham & Scott Lagasse were starting at the back due to transponder issues.  They lined up in the following order for the last race Sunday afternoon:

I’ll have to look at MyLaps to figure out all that led a lap on Sunday, but it was a barn burner.  Bailey jumped to an early lead, then a freight train of GTA cars with Bob Stretch as the locomotive got by him in the International Hairpin in the infield.  I’m pretty sure Gregg led at least one lap, and I do know that the top six GTA cars were covered by less than two seconds halfway through the race.  We again had a full-course yellow, but this time is was resolved quickly because the Pace Car was only out for one lap.

Bailey got a good jump on the restart (due to a heads-up call by his Crew Chief) and slotted into second behind Bob, but he had nothing for the “slime green” ASA car.  Burr pulled off with overheating problems after a trip through the grass to avoid a back-marker after the restart, but he was pumped up about having second fastest race lap.  Ron Fariss had rubbed a hole in the oil pan Sunday morning and didn’t make the show, Tom again burned up a clutch, but I don’t know what happened to the others that dropped out.  Jeff and Gregg had a helluva battle for second that went down to the last lap, and at the checkers the final order (with best race lap) was:

What I took away from the weekend is there is NO clear single chassis, engine, and tire combination that is head and shoulders above the rest of the field.  Bob Stretch won both days and had fastest GTA lap of the weekend, but he did NOT turn fast race lap either day.  What I can imagine (to be verified when I can look at all the lap times on MyLaps) is that Bob was easily the most consistent driver EVERY lap – making no errors and hitting his marks lap after lap after lap.  That also supports my contention that the biggest improvements we’ll make to our cars will be found in the carbon-based control unit connected to the steering wheel.

The last SARRC points races are August 30,31 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, then the 2008 SARRC GTA Champion will be determined at the SARRC Invitational Challenge at Roebling Road the weekend of September 20,21. 

The last race of the year will be November 7-9 (we qualify on Friday and race on Saturday) at Road Atlanta.  Not only is this the American Road Race of Champions Presented by Grassroots Motorsports, but it’s also the final round of both the GTA National Tour and the V8StockCar Series.  We’re expecting over fifty (50!) ground-pounders to show up that weekend, at least thirty of which should be GTA cars.  Should be one helluva show!