02/08/2009
Grand Bayou Race Series Round #5
Saturday - Well this is the first event I have been able to run in so far in 2009 due to
blowing the transmission out in Round #2 of the series. The new TRE Stage 3 tranny is all
bolted in and ready to go. Today's practice was really going to be a lighter one. Just trying
to get a feel for the new tranny and not roast the only set of tires I have for the car right
now. The weather was absolutely perfect for racing today. Not a cloud in the sky and
about 75 degrees. Sorry for you who live elsewhere in the country where it is still cold.
The car felt pretty good in the early sessions but the track was a bit slicker than normal. It
could have something to do with my tires are fast becoming slicks, but they are meant to
have tread on them. Still, the tranny is shifting like butter and there seems to be nothing
wrong with the car. Everything was going pretty good all practice long until I decided to see
how fast I could go through turn one and ended up going through turn 2 at about 105 mph
completely backwards...Spinning off and doing my best mud bogging skills and shooting
back across the track between turns 3 & 4 backwards. At that point, I thought I would call it
a day.
Sunday Practice - As per my routine on Sunday's practices I usually just do a few warm up
laps, a few all out laps, then a cool down lap. I do this just to make sure the car is ready to
go and nothing is about to fall off or anything. Everything seems to be in good order this
morning. I am still battling a boost spike around 6000 rpms in 3rd gear, but I have decided
to short shift it and just go to 4th until a solution presents itself to this issue. The tires I can
feel are really starting to go now, I just hope they can last another 45 minutes of racing.
Qualifying - So here we are for qualifying for round #5. What I always do is get as far
back in the grid as I can so i can have virtually a clean track to get going in. The first few
laps I take easy to get the car and tires up to temps. Then I go all out for 2 laps, then take
a cool down lap and head on into the pits to save my equipment for the racing action to
come. I felt really, really good in qualifying. I was staying no more than 3 - 3.5 car lengths
behind a Porsche 911 the whole way. By doing this, I was really pushing the car and
myself and I knew I would have a good time here. But as always, you have to wait and see
what the all knowing computer says to see where you will start in the heat race.
Heat Race - Well....After checking my qualifying times...I was a bit surprised to say the
least. And believe me, not in a good way. After following the 911 around, I thought for
sure I would be near a 1:27 or so time. But the all seeing computer says all I did was a 1:
29.666. No where near where I need or want to be. No where near what I thought I was
running. Thats ok though....I have 20 minutes in the heat race to improve where I line up in
the feature race later in the afternoon. After lining up on the grid waaaaay in the rear. We
head out on track to scrub the tires in and get ready to go green flag racing. In front of me
I have 2 BMW's and an Rx7. I have 20 minutes to go and get around these guys and have
a good starting position in the feature race. We head to the starter and the green flag
flies. I stay in my position as a Porsche 944 slams the door on a few cars as he had to
check up from a car getting sideways in front of him. I tuck in behind one the BMW's
(driven by Ricky Ricks) and wait on his bumper till we hit turn 14 and roll out onto the front
straight. We all hit the front straight and I keep my foot into the throttle and go shooting
past both BMW's and a 944 and get right behind Troy Marcelle in his Rx7 and go banging
through turn 1 at 105 mph's. The rest of the heat race was truly uneventful as I was trying
to catch back up to Troy in the Rx7 after blowing a few turns here and there trying to press
the car too hard. But as the heat race came to a close I finish 2nd to Troy with a best lap
of 1:29.530. Still not where we need to be but I will take the 2nd as that moved me up in
the starting grid for the feature race.
Feature Race - So here we are in the feature race of Round #5. I am starting right beside
Troy in his Rx7 and I have a Porsche 911 right in front of me with 3 BMW's and a 240 sx
behind me. On the track and ready to take the green flag...I get as close to the 911 as I
possibly can. Green flag waves and I dive to the inside of the track and try to get around
the 911 and doing so, dropped a wheel off and shot sharply back across the track almost
taking one the BMW's out. Everyone holds position as we head through turn 14 and onto
the front straight. Power down and the boost is kicking as try and sling around the 911
and Tory at the same time. We are going 115 MPH down the front straight and I know I
cannot clear either one of them. So I take my spot behind Troy and his Rx7 and the battle
begins. He is about 3 car lengths ahead of me after 3 laps. After about lap 4, I am starting
to get closer and closer to him. On lap 5, we are pretty much separated by a car length.
Going through turns 3 & 4 we come up on the 911 and around he goes. Bassackwards
down the short shoot heading into turn 4. This actually helped me out greatly as Troy was
closer to him than I was and forced him to check up. Now I am right on his bumper. We
head through the turns and battle bumper to bumper till we hit the front straight. I was
struggling with turn 14 all day as my tires are basically just balls of grease at this point of
the day. I just needed to hit it once just right. Well I didnt hit if perfectly, but I hit it better
than Troy did and was able to motor be him on the front straight. From that point on, I was
focused in on the turns ahead of me, I didnt even look to see what he was doing behind
me. On the straights I would glance in the mirrors to see what he was up to....But the more
time I did, the more he was falling back. It took me all of 12 - 15 minutes of the 20 minute
feature to catch and pass him this time. With around 5 minutes to go in the race, I couldnt
wait for the checkered flag. The rear of the car was sliding all over the place. It took all I
had in some turns just to keep the car on the track. But in the end, i took home the
checkered flag, 1st place and the 10 points that go along with it in the Yellow Bracket. In
the end, I even finished 5th overall out of all the bracket racers. By far my best result of
the series. The TRE tranny REALLY was a great addition to the car. I went down 5 full
turns in the rear on the coilovers and took 2 psi out of the rear tires (to 30 psi cold) before
the feature race and that really helped the rear end not be so washy in the turns.
Wrapping It Up - Well after waiting out 2 events it was good to be back in the racing seat
in some wheel to wheel action. Baring the tires being completely shot now and during the
feature race. I say the whole weekend was s success for me. First race back and a 1st
place trophy and points to go along with it. Now all that is left to do is order some more
tires. Doing that tomorrow, get the new camber kits all squared away, ride height checked
out and we should be good to go for Round #6 in 4 weeks. That boost spike has me really
puzzled. Did a boost leak check and did not have one so I think it may have something to
do with the wastegate or something. But we will see soon enough and address it before
the next event.
~Eddie Garrison
blowing the transmission out in Round #2 of the series. The new TRE Stage 3 tranny is all
bolted in and ready to go. Today's practice was really going to be a lighter one. Just trying
to get a feel for the new tranny and not roast the only set of tires I have for the car right
now. The weather was absolutely perfect for racing today. Not a cloud in the sky and
about 75 degrees. Sorry for you who live elsewhere in the country where it is still cold.
The car felt pretty good in the early sessions but the track was a bit slicker than normal. It
could have something to do with my tires are fast becoming slicks, but they are meant to
have tread on them. Still, the tranny is shifting like butter and there seems to be nothing
wrong with the car. Everything was going pretty good all practice long until I decided to see
how fast I could go through turn one and ended up going through turn 2 at about 105 mph
completely backwards...Spinning off and doing my best mud bogging skills and shooting
back across the track between turns 3 & 4 backwards. At that point, I thought I would call it
a day.
Sunday Practice - As per my routine on Sunday's practices I usually just do a few warm up
laps, a few all out laps, then a cool down lap. I do this just to make sure the car is ready to
go and nothing is about to fall off or anything. Everything seems to be in good order this
morning. I am still battling a boost spike around 6000 rpms in 3rd gear, but I have decided
to short shift it and just go to 4th until a solution presents itself to this issue. The tires I can
feel are really starting to go now, I just hope they can last another 45 minutes of racing.
Qualifying - So here we are for qualifying for round #5. What I always do is get as far
back in the grid as I can so i can have virtually a clean track to get going in. The first few
laps I take easy to get the car and tires up to temps. Then I go all out for 2 laps, then take
a cool down lap and head on into the pits to save my equipment for the racing action to
come. I felt really, really good in qualifying. I was staying no more than 3 - 3.5 car lengths
behind a Porsche 911 the whole way. By doing this, I was really pushing the car and
myself and I knew I would have a good time here. But as always, you have to wait and see
what the all knowing computer says to see where you will start in the heat race.
Heat Race - Well....After checking my qualifying times...I was a bit surprised to say the
least. And believe me, not in a good way. After following the 911 around, I thought for
sure I would be near a 1:27 or so time. But the all seeing computer says all I did was a 1:
29.666. No where near where I need or want to be. No where near what I thought I was
running. Thats ok though....I have 20 minutes in the heat race to improve where I line up in
the feature race later in the afternoon. After lining up on the grid waaaaay in the rear. We
head out on track to scrub the tires in and get ready to go green flag racing. In front of me
I have 2 BMW's and an Rx7. I have 20 minutes to go and get around these guys and have
a good starting position in the feature race. We head to the starter and the green flag
flies. I stay in my position as a Porsche 944 slams the door on a few cars as he had to
check up from a car getting sideways in front of him. I tuck in behind one the BMW's
(driven by Ricky Ricks) and wait on his bumper till we hit turn 14 and roll out onto the front
straight. We all hit the front straight and I keep my foot into the throttle and go shooting
past both BMW's and a 944 and get right behind Troy Marcelle in his Rx7 and go banging
through turn 1 at 105 mph's. The rest of the heat race was truly uneventful as I was trying
to catch back up to Troy in the Rx7 after blowing a few turns here and there trying to press
the car too hard. But as the heat race came to a close I finish 2nd to Troy with a best lap
of 1:29.530. Still not where we need to be but I will take the 2nd as that moved me up in
the starting grid for the feature race.
Feature Race - So here we are in the feature race of Round #5. I am starting right beside
Troy in his Rx7 and I have a Porsche 911 right in front of me with 3 BMW's and a 240 sx
behind me. On the track and ready to take the green flag...I get as close to the 911 as I
possibly can. Green flag waves and I dive to the inside of the track and try to get around
the 911 and doing so, dropped a wheel off and shot sharply back across the track almost
taking one the BMW's out. Everyone holds position as we head through turn 14 and onto
the front straight. Power down and the boost is kicking as try and sling around the 911
and Tory at the same time. We are going 115 MPH down the front straight and I know I
cannot clear either one of them. So I take my spot behind Troy and his Rx7 and the battle
begins. He is about 3 car lengths ahead of me after 3 laps. After about lap 4, I am starting
to get closer and closer to him. On lap 5, we are pretty much separated by a car length.
Going through turns 3 & 4 we come up on the 911 and around he goes. Bassackwards
down the short shoot heading into turn 4. This actually helped me out greatly as Troy was
closer to him than I was and forced him to check up. Now I am right on his bumper. We
head through the turns and battle bumper to bumper till we hit the front straight. I was
struggling with turn 14 all day as my tires are basically just balls of grease at this point of
the day. I just needed to hit it once just right. Well I didnt hit if perfectly, but I hit it better
than Troy did and was able to motor be him on the front straight. From that point on, I was
focused in on the turns ahead of me, I didnt even look to see what he was doing behind
me. On the straights I would glance in the mirrors to see what he was up to....But the more
time I did, the more he was falling back. It took me all of 12 - 15 minutes of the 20 minute
feature to catch and pass him this time. With around 5 minutes to go in the race, I couldnt
wait for the checkered flag. The rear of the car was sliding all over the place. It took all I
had in some turns just to keep the car on the track. But in the end, i took home the
checkered flag, 1st place and the 10 points that go along with it in the Yellow Bracket. In
the end, I even finished 5th overall out of all the bracket racers. By far my best result of
the series. The TRE tranny REALLY was a great addition to the car. I went down 5 full
turns in the rear on the coilovers and took 2 psi out of the rear tires (to 30 psi cold) before
the feature race and that really helped the rear end not be so washy in the turns.
Wrapping It Up - Well after waiting out 2 events it was good to be back in the racing seat
in some wheel to wheel action. Baring the tires being completely shot now and during the
feature race. I say the whole weekend was s success for me. First race back and a 1st
place trophy and points to go along with it. Now all that is left to do is order some more
tires. Doing that tomorrow, get the new camber kits all squared away, ride height checked
out and we should be good to go for Round #6 in 4 weeks. That boost spike has me really
puzzled. Did a boost leak check and did not have one so I think it may have something to
do with the wastegate or something. But we will see soon enough and address it before
the next event.
~Eddie Garrison