Huge congratulations to Stuart for his win this year! Those of us in the
know have been considering him a threat to win for years, even though he is
often overlooked by the public prognosticators. And congratulations to
Tommy for building the killer car -- none of us even came close (check out
the margin from Tommy in second to me in third).
I'm very happy with my third place finish. I'm thrilled to have finally
had two good days in a row in Kansas, and psyched about finishing in front
of so many fast drivers. I wish Dick and Bruce had been there so I could
have beaten them too. :-)
I think the reason I finished so high this year is mostly because starting
Thursday at the end of our heat, I had this very odd, uncanny confidence
about Friday. At that point I didn't know the course well, but for some
reason, I just *knew* I could be fast, and for me that confidence is
everything. After working on appeals most of Thursday afternoon, I managed
just two course walks on the North, one of them in the rain, before it got
dark and I ran off to catch the talent show. I just wish I knew where I
got all that confidence so I could go get some more next year!
My car felt fabulous in the warmup, with the front end feeling as hooked up
as it has ever felt, the car immensely drivable in sweepers.
Unfortunately, the cold weather first heat Thursday was so different than
the hot weather fifth heat on the weekend that it felt like a totally
different car on Thursday. But the big thing on Thursday's South course
was just running with a lot of patience, precision, tight lines, and a well
damped right foot. I don't think the car was nearly as big a factor there
as it was on the north. Congrats especially to Brent and Greg for their
third and fourth place finishes on Thursday, where in my opinion the driver
was a much bigger factor. For me on Thursday, I felt like I had the wrong
second gear (about two teeth too short) and the wrong right foot (just
couldn't manage to roll onto the power instead of stomping the pedal).
The north course was a hoot to drive. The secret there, IMHO, was just
staying ahead of the course all the way through. Karen provided all the
tools necessary for a driver to hang himself by being off line -- a little
too greedy on the throttle here, a little too late on the braking there,
and you were off line and paid the price for the next seven maneuvers.
Definitely a course that rewarded controlled aggression, very unlike the
south. For me, the warmer weather on Friday made all the difference, as my
car was back to its old self and I had all the confidence I needed to get
on the throttle early and place the car where it needed to be.
I noticed an awful lot of new rain tires on the grid on Friday. Thanks to
everyone for shelling out the money there, which clearly kept the rain
away. I have a set of grooved wets for sale, new at Nationals in 1997, for
sale for $200 if anyone wants them. They've only been used a handful of
times.
Here's the day-by-day trophy positions:
Thursday (South): Friday (North): Overall:
1. Tommy 44.170 1. Stu 43.840 1. Stu 88.081
2. Stu 44.241 2. Tommy 44.087 2. Tommy 88.257
3. Brent 44.630 3. Mark 44.303 3. Mark 89.333
4. Greg 44.893 4. Alex 44.622 4. Tim 89.653
5. Blake 44.904 5. Tim 44.686 5. Alex 89.805
6. Tim 44.967 6. Don 44.739 6. Don 89.969
7. Mark 45.030 7. Gary 45.038 7. Brent 90.310
8. Alex 45.183 8. Steve 45.042 8. Gary 90.367
9. Don 45.230 9. Blake 45.481 9. Blake 90.385
It's interesting that the Friday order so closely mimics the final order,
even though the courses were so similar in length.
I had a great time this year, as always. Thanks for helping to make this
the best class in Solo II.
Mark
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