Chris.Derecola

Well, my latest foray into the world of racing wasn’t nearly as successful as my last.

Things didn’t start well when a strange quirk in schedule inconsistencies, announcements and timing afforded me a very short qualifying session. Some of my competitors got six laps, some four but a few of us only got two. I probably could have gotten the full session had I been willing to bake on grid wearing my three layer nomex suit in 90° weather, but I was trying to maximize my “freshness” while on track. With only two laps, I never really got up to speed and the end result was a qualifying time seven seconds off my usual pace. Needless to say, I was going to start the race at the back of the field.

I actually like starting at the back and was looking forward to picking off cars at the start. Unfortunately, I was far enough back that I couldn’t see the green flag and several of us back there kinda got left in the dust. I did manage to overtake a few cars during the course of the race, but what ended up being a leak in one of my break lines (from police tape wrapping around the wheel) kept me from really trusting my car. Throw a bunch of traffic in the mix and you had all the makings of a relatively low finish. It was one of the more intense races I’ve had in a long time, but it wasn’t always for the right reasons.

Given I was leaking a noticeable amount of brake fluid, things could have been a lot worse. I still got to race and bring both myself and the car back in one piece. Maybe I’m just growing older (more boring?), but I’m willing to take that as a measure of success.

This past Saturday marked my first race in eight months and my sixth in more than a year and a half. I raced part time while I was in grad school and took the first third of this season off to recuperate from shoulder surgery. I hadn’t been in my car since the engine blew last June and I wasn’t sure my shoulder would hold up for a full day of racing. My dad and I have decided to share a ride (and points) this year,  so I entered Saturday looking to re-familiarize myself and have a good time.

I decided to skip practice, because I didn’t want to put undue pressure on my shoulder… so it was going to be trial by fire. To have something to shoot for, I set an informal goal of qualifying in the top half of the field and finishing in the top five. I got a clean qualifying session and was pleased to see the timesheet list me as fifth. I figured a podium finish and the trophy associated with it was a long shot, but I filed it away as a “nice to have.” I was relatively relaxed for the start of the race; excited to be back in it. I got a great start and quickly moved up two spots, but relinquished one by the time we got through Turn 1. I spent the next few laps battling it out with the car in front of me and eventually grabbed third for good. The rest of the race was spent playing with a Turbo and keeping everyone else behind me.

All in all I’m very pleased with my return to racing. I think maybe there’s a lesson to learn there.

Yesterday didn’t go quite accordingly to plan. It all started so well, with the car feeling strong and me very relaxed, so I was looking forward to the race. I qualified 3rd, managed to get up to 2nd and I’m pretty sure I had a shot at winning the race… but I didn’t. I’ll let the video do the rest of the talking for me.