Race Report

Young Chevrolet SCCA Grand Prix of Texas 2002
July 12-14, 2002, Fort Worth, Texas

Group 5 (FF/FV/F500) Report
by Nick St. Laurent

Well someone has to lead this off. My hat is off to Don Howson, the RE of Texas Region who was the force behind the scenes making this event a reality. The usual first time organizational woes were present, the worst of it from my perspective was that we weren't allowed to park our rigs until around ten p.m. Thursday night, and then everyone seemed to have their own interpretation of the parking diagrams. So that was a mess, but it all worked out fine in the end, we had a paddock area big enough for two trailers, a motorhome, and four race cars.

The track is an absolute blast. We used the apron around both ends of the oval, and the apron was wide enough for three abreast at 125 - 130 mph (FF). The infield section was really interesting and challenging, but the biggest thrill was going flat out around NASCAR 1 and 2 at the end of the straight. Unlike TWS or PIR where you turn into the flats and hold your foot down for a couple seconds, at TMS you're flat on the floor all the way around with the car dancing but with what I thought was a reasonable safety margin re grip.

There was one BIG issue for most of the racers - I believe - and hopefully there will be some other opinions and constructive thoughts. The officials put single file chicanes made of multiple stacks of tires at the beginning and end of the main straight. Friday the first of these chicanes required slowing and down two gears to second. Because it was too close to NASCAR 4, after the drivers meeting Friday, that one was moved farther down the straight and widened out so that it became flat out in fourth gear at 115 mph, to go along with the end of the straight chicane taken at 130 mph. Now picture that you are blasting through these with no more than the width of a FF front tire to spare on each side... it's just a real slight flick flick, maybe more like a nervous tic tic.

Two opposing thoughts on this, rushing down into NASCAR 1 at 130 mph, without chicanes, would have been exciting and interesting for the drivers, and the racing would have been more fair vis a vis slower traffic. But two or three abreast at those speeds on the apron could well have resulted in a major incident because the transition to the fairly steep banking is so abrupt. Forcing cars to back off and go single file took away most of that risk. On the other hand, more than one car tagged the tires (and subsequently a wall?) and I'm quite sure the results weren't pretty or cheap. The chicanes also allowed slower cars to have a much too significant effect on the racing - if you had to follow a FV through either of the chicanes the gaps to your competition could change by several seconds. The official who spoke on Friday (may have been the SCCA track guru) said the chicanes were there to make it more interesting for the drivers. As the event was being planned, I was under the impression they were there to make it safer. It was controversial, and being a racer I'll go back there regardless of what they do next year.

It was amazing having fans in the stands (our Prez Steve Johnson said we outdrew the early IRL and/or ALMS races), and local television coverage... I was interviewed Sunday by the most intelligent and articulate announcer I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Made me feel totally at ease and definitely took my mind off the racing that was moments away. Anyone who saw her will understand.

As to the action:

Saturday Regional QUALIFYING
     1. Greg King
     2. Mike Sauce
     3. Nick St. Laurent
     4. Darren Brown

Saturday Regional RACE
     1. St. Laurent
     2. Brown
     3. King
     Sauce and King contact while contesting second place on lap two or three.

Sunday National QUALIFYING
     1. St. Laurent 1:27.25 (lap record)
     2. King 1:27.55
     3. Brown 1:28.8
     4. Matt Van Guilder

Sunday National RACE
     1. Brown 1:28.011
     2. King 1:27.947 (lap record)
     3. Van Guilder 1:28.470
     4. St. Laurent 1:28.005

I missed a turn (the 125 mph down to first gear hairpin) while being pressured by King for the lead on about lap five or six, did a u-turn and played catchup to no avail. King led from Brown (Van Guilder pretty close) until the last lap when a communication mixup caused King to back off at the finish line thinking the race had ended. My sources said Brown had already nosed in front of King at that time and that King slowed on what was actually the last racing lap, after passing the finish line. Brown ended up winning by five seconds (big turkey - he's back in the points lead, making life difficult). Believe me, King got the "it's the driver's responsibility to race to the checkered flag" lecture. I learned that one in '97 and haven't used a radio or relied on pit boards since. Sorry if I got any of that wrong. For complete official results of all of the races, look for results elsewhere in this website.

FYI — In case the track's the same next year - the gearing used by King and St. Laurent was 18:34 first and 24:27 top.

Again, thanks to Don Howson and all the others for putting this race together, I really think it's going to be a fantastic event for years to come.