[Fot] Sad news from Road America

[David Talbott]

When I first read the 8/10ths comment, I assumed it related to some kind of vintage rule about slowing by that amount in the proximity of an off-course car, or something similar.  It simply never occurred to me that there is an assumption that vintage racing is to be carried out at a such a reduced level.  I suppose the fraction refers as much to effort as it does to speed, but using our usual measure of speed, 8/10ths means you are adding around 20 seconds to a typical 90 second lap time. 

I know that some of us (in our younger days) have been known to be susceptible to the dreaded "red mist," but at the other extreme, if I were driving at anything resembling an 8/10ths pace, I'd be a little concerned that I could potentially overlook something like a yellow flag.  I'm a firm believer that for myself, as my speed and adrenaline go up, so does my focus, awareness and attentiveness to the serious task at hand. 

Obviously there is a point (and this is the red mist territory) where the desire to get past the car in front of you can preclude the ability of one's brain to see much else, but I'm clear that vintage events are not the place for that.  Not many racing venues today are for that matter, although there have been a number of drivers (Nigel Mansel comes to mind) who've been richly rewarded for just such behavior.   

DT
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Bill Babcock 
  To: WILLIAM TOBIN 
  Cc: fot at autox.team.net ; susank at 141.com 
  Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 7:57 PM
  Subject: Re: [Fot] Sad news from Road America


        Nextly, as far as I know, nobody has gone from vintage to F1. Are we getting too serioius about winning? Just a thought. 


  Geez, so my planned career path is probably a bust?


  I know it doesn't make sense, but when you get behind a wheel you race. End of story. I honestly never have really understood this eight tenths stuff. Sure, we don't jam our cars into a chicane five across and get all chesty, and we back off rather than make that low-percentage pass that would be just part of the game even in your basic SCCA regional race, but we still all push it, and try to pick up a little more mid corner speed in that long sweeper, event though the car is bucking a little and the back end is stepping out. 


  I'm KNOW there's some people out there that don't think of winning, they think about their car's history, and they just enjoy being on the track. I know because I usually lap them, sometimes several times. It's not a parade. I don't drive it that way, and neither do the vast majority of the people I know. 




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