Just another loose lug nut.

     This weekend was the ProAutoSports Thanksgiving race weekend at Wild Horse Pass motorsports park.  Running the Bondurant/Main (Mondo) configuration.  Brian and I had a full weekend of car oriented events planned for the holiday weekend.  Getting the car ready to race,  Loading and delivering the car and Toyhauler to WHP on Thursday morning and setting up our spot in the pits, Going to the Phoenix Auto Show in the afternoon and eating a great Thanksgiving meal with more car friends, then back to the track to relax and sit by the campfire and enjoy time with "our racing family".  It started out as a great holiday race weekend.

     This was to be the 2nd time Brian drove my race car on track,  We planned to share the car for the first time. This was my idea because the Mondo track is very technical and has some tricky spots known for eating cars.  No need to bend a street car.   Brian running in the street car groups to gather more seat time, and me racing on Saturday.  I had him run in the Beginning group on Friday morning because he had not ever been on the "mondo" Track before.  That proved to be too slow a group for him to be in.  Being 15 years younger than me he has eye and hand co-ordination skills that I no longer have.  His mastering the car has been a fairly fast process.  I had him move up to the intermediate group for the 2nd session thinking that by the end of the day he would be running with the advanced group as he as getting faster each lap.

     He started his 2nd session for the day and I hiked up to the top of the stands to watch as much of the track as I could see.  Which was more than enough to judge his progress and keep a close eye on the car.  With each lap he got more comfortable, he drives very smoothly, getting quicker passing cars and staying ahead of some very fast cars, He developed a rhythm quickly and what the car lacked in top end speed down the straights he was making up in the cornering sections of the track.  Starting at the back of the group and running down other Vettes and Vipers and staying ahead of Porsche's and Vipers and only getting passed by drivers with more experience that he has.  I was enjoying watching him immensely,  My years as a horse trainer have taught me that, while I am fairly proficient as a horse trainer I was always better as a coach, I think driving race cars will be the same, I love to instruct and I enjoy watching the performance of a car and driver doing well just as I did watching my customers get along with their horses.  He could see where I was in the stands and I was using arm movements to encourage him to go faster and push his limits.  I was particularly enjoying his on track battle with a newer more expensive Porsche that was faster down the straight, but Brian could out brake him and stay ahead of him and gain distance on him in the curves.  I was encouraging him to go faster each time he came by not knowing f he could see me or not.  I was enjoying watching him very much.

     Well by now most of you know the session ended with Brian drilling our Vette nose first into the wall going into the tower turn.  It was a hard impact happening directly in front of me.  Hearing the sound of the impact and the engine revving I knew the carnage would not be small.  The car spun off the wall and thankfully did not back into the wall again and stopped.  I laughed out loud and the guy next to me called me an asshole and said I wasnt very nice.  I said it was my car, and I wasnt upset in the least because drivers with much more experience, more expensive cars had done more damage than that in the same turn.  I walked quietly down the stands and over the pedestrian bridge and to the accident scene only stopping at the top of the bridge to tell Bill Pfeiffer, the first person to the car to let Brian know everything was ok. By the time I got across the bridge and down to the track and asked to go to the car, Brian was out and I could tell by his face that he was extremely upset.  I didnt realize however how upset he was until I watched the go pro video with him later.  Damn go pro microphone works pretty well.  I told him it was ok not to be upset and I set about helping the safety crew load the car and get it off the track to keep the down time as little as possible.

     I think I should explain my relaxed manner about all this because those that know me seem to be kind of surprised.  One, in some respects I am just like my dad.  He has the ability to handle difficult situations with an extreme amount of control and intelligence.  2nd.  I know how well built the cage in my car is.  I was there when it was built, and I've already had the opportunity to try it out.  3rd.  those C5 plastic fantastics have steel frame rails and are pretty damn tough as well.  4th, I know the safety crew.  Kyle, Bill, Kim, Gene, Jim, Hurley and Dan know what to do when an incident occurs and I had extreme confidence in them.  I was only there to help speed up getting the mess cleaned up and tying to insure that Brian knew I was not upset.  Finally,  My partner Mark and I shared the car hobby on the same level,  buying and collecting, driving, auto-crossing, going to all types of races and basically spending as much time enjoying cars together as we did apart in our professional lives.  I did not know how much I missed that in my life until I met Brian.  The fact that he and I can enjoy this together, that he wants to race and enjoys camping at the track with me and my racing family and enjoys working on the cars together just makes my already good life even better.  Remember it was my idea for him to drive the race car in the first place.  Firebird main is fast and tricky and his safety is foremost in my mind while we are at the track.  At my age, I wont get another chance at happiness and I intend to make this one last until I am no longer here.

     So after taking the front clip off the car it looks like a right inner fender, two front fenders, a bumper cover, front splitter, new non flat spotted tires, fixing both the front frame rail horns, and some fresh paint and she will be good to go again.  Until then, we will have to enjoy a slow, track day at AMP where there are no walls to run into in December while we put her back together again.  Maybe a fresh color applied by Chris at Elite Automotive finishes, I havent supplied him with any work in a while and its about time.

    All things considered.  I had a very good Thanksgiving holiday.