Hi, Everyone.
Where do I start? This was an outstanding learning experience for me and I would be pleased to share anything that I have learned with anyone who wants to listen. I have returned home humble (to say the least) but inspired.
Cindy and I arrived on Tuesday night to the smoke-filled Stardust Casino. Funny how one comes to appreciate the west coast clean air. When I opened my bags I found nice little notes from the airport security folks letting me know that they had gone through my luggage. No harm, no foul. Everything arrived intact.
Lesson #1: Don't over-pack
I managed to check in to the race registration desk on Wed AM at 10:00 and found myself standing in line with three fellows from Calgary. Some of you will remember Dwayne Floddel from our trophy race, Rod Stark and Ian Buchan. Really nice people. Keith Yu and Nospoom were also there but more about that later. I just saw Dwayne and turned around and there was Frank Calandra. Hard to miss for sure. I introduced myself and he immediately found a gracious, friendly Frank. At registration I met another big man, Boomer - he is Scotty's (the organizer and announcer extraordinaire) brother. I introduced myself and he smiled, elbowed his buddies and said "we've heard about you and your story from the first day!" That was a nice way to start things off.
Lesson #2: Pay homage to the organizers - they deserve a world of thanks, and make or break the experience.
So, back up to the room to take the first of what must have been 247 nervous leaks, and then back down to the pits for the opening at noon. Well, by the time that I returned, the pits were filling up very, very fast and I had waaaay too much gear dragging behind me. I plopped myself down only to find that I was amid the Team Associated crew space. Oops. I was lost and it looked as if I was running out of options at every turn. Then, Keith appeared behind me, put his hand on my shoulder and said "hey Phil ... I have been saving a space for you. Cool. In the pits with the Team Much More crew, including the exceptional Martin Crisp (he wrote the XXX Main setup book).
Lesson #3: Get to the pits early and mark your spot. Find out if you know anyone going - even if the only common ground is your nationality. They can be a great source of strength and familiar faces.
Of course I then met some great guys from Arizona (Ray and Larry) and the Philippines (Allan). Before you know it, I was comfortable, sharing laughs, equipment, information, stories, assistance, food and coffee. Before I knew it I was walking around the pits looking at the big boys, chatting with everyone, being my usual reserved self. I finally met up with Scotty and if you ever have the opportunity, go say hello - he's one hell of a person. No matter how stressful things got, he and his crew (Doug et al) were ALWAYS level headed and on the ball, usually before it dropped.
Lesson #4 Expand your network - fun and friends is what it's all about (for me anyway).
One thing that I really appreciated both during practice and during qualifying was how Scotty and the IIC crew kept things flowing smoothly and rather astonishingly, on time. It was remarkable, actually, over 430 cars and I think that we only had one or two late starts. You know, no one really worried about re-peaking or losing that edge we always complain about. I think, in part, that this was due to everyone lending a hand. Buddies would take the driver's car out to the track and turn it on only when the driver asked them to, or when IIC crew was moving towards the start time. Tech was amazingly efficient. You had to be cued up before the previous race was finished. In fact, when it was done, you should have been through tech and waiting in line to get on the track. It was nice to know that everyone else struggles with the weight, ride height and wing height relative to the body (not worried about width or body height) just a you do. I found that I always had time to go through tech a couple of races early to avoid last minute rushes.
Lesson #5 Do your part to keep things running efficiently. With only a few exceptions (like a major fix), there is no need to be behind with maintenance on your car or getting ready for the race. It runs so smooth not only because the organizers are on the ball, but also because everyone is doing their part.
Now, about the traction. Yikes. The ATLAS was its predictable self when the track was loose at the beginning of practice. This was the first time that I was running a front diff all year and I still had the centre one-way installed. You know, not once during the entire event did I use breaks. Maybe I should have. :) Traction at the beginning was familiar to me and I was confident. But then, next round, the traction Gods touched the track. Running two classes (stock and 19T foam) allowed me to see subtle changes in traction at first, but that went to hell and it was just plain velcro-ish. At this point I could go on forever about the lessons I learned about increasing traction, the effect of the type of body that you use, setup evolution and how you should avoid coffee just before you race (it's not the pissing my pants that I was worried about: it was the fact that I was so tense and nervous that I almost disassembled my radio while driving. They aren't supposed to be like Lego, are they?
Lesson #6: Listen to what experienced guys at the club tell you. They have been there.
At this point I should mention some of the manufacturers and engineers. I had some real nice chats with Curtis from DC Motors about how we seem to like his motors a lot at IROCC. We used the Monster Horsepower as the handout motor and I was blessed to have Curtis tweak my motor for each class after every run. Sweeeeeeet. Mmmmm Horsepower. Those things fly. Having said that, there are some simple things that we can do to keep them in top shape. My gearing from our club races was right on the mark according t the man and in the end, I actually geared even lower than at the club! Too bad it didn't help me in the corners! This is where I had the trouble with the ATLAS: As exotic and easy to drive on asphalt as it might be, it wasn't represented at the race and parts were not available. Two diffs later I was actually considering a one-way when Keith and Nospoom suggested the 415 (sorry, Bri, not the EVO IV). I had only driven the car once on carpet and faced the challenge with trepidation. Enter Martin Crisp, the Tamiya boys and the Much More crew from Vancouver. With their help I worked my way through the bumps and bruises, trials and tribulations of driving what amounted to a new car, in high-consequence racing (hit something and you break). I also managed to chat with some of the battery manufacturers (thanks Erin) and they gave me some tips, too. There is soooo much to say about all of this.
Lesson #7: Talk to the people who make, build, write, design, race and market your products. Learn, learn, learn. I found everyone to be very accommodating and eager to help (Ian from Calgary had his car taken apart by Hara's mechanic, I had great setup advice from Martin and from the TRF boys, and battery/maintenance tips from Much More and Pro-Match).
Sleep was a scarcity and I hear that Cleveland is actually worse due to additional classes and a change in track configuration, not to mention a lack of pit space (mixed blessing I hear). The buzzer sounded for the first race of the day at either 7 or 8 depending on which day it was. With coffee in hand I headed to the pits and immediately regretted the work that I didn't do the night before. But that's OK, since the night before Cindy and I headed down the strip for good food and entertainment. Cindy managed to see "o" and Celine Dion, and together we went to Zoomanity. Cirque du Soleil was awesome. We ate at Caesars, Paris, Belaggio and New York New York. Cool. It was hard to get racing off my mind, but after a while I think Cindy got into it as well. She was really excited watching the mains and knew the top drivers by sight and by car. After a while she was helping out (every little thing counts!) and was even checking tire diameter and other tasks. Now ... I think that I'll buy her a com lathe for Christmas ... maybe a tire truer (she even bought tickets on the raffle and won some stuff which she has happily donated to IROCC for our Saturday night 12th scale draws - can you imagine her walking around with a Team Associated hat?).
Lesson #8: Take care of yourself and remember that it's fun!
Well, folks. I look forward to chats and learning from all of you. Thanks again for your support and encouragement. See you on Wednesday.
Phil
Thanks for that Phil,
I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to hearing more about your trip and your experiences down in Vegas.
Regards,
Nick
Hey Phil,
As I was busy Sunday working about the house, and dealing with a sad family event, I managed to sneak in some time listening to your main events over the internet. Like Jody, I found myself cheering out loud in an empty room because it was so damn exciting ! The announcing was very good and kept you on the edge of your seat. It's funny, we take TV for granted and sometimes don't appreciate how using your imagination to visualize an event can in some ways be more exciting. I think the golden days of radio must have been pretty cool....
Sounds like the event was fantastic and I really want to take in a big race sometime before my reflexes get any worse :) I look forward to hearing all of your stories Phil. I won't be at the meeting until 8:00 tomorrow evening so don't start without me ;)
Mick Sz.
maybe we should have an IROCC showing next year.
however, Frank Calandra has told me it was the most expensive race he has ever been to. The airfare was cheap but that was it he said., something to think about