TJR MotorSports

Desert Center, CA: Last weekend we returned to Chuckwalla Valley Raceway (CVR) for the second round of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) U.S. Majors in the Western Conference. It was a like a small Radical Racer Reunion. Ron Fletcher showed up with his original SR3 (the Batmobile) that had been in storage for over three years, and we had ex-Radical SR3 racers Dave Tweedlies, Joe Schifini, and myself. Additionally, Jeff Shafer and Rene Lohr brought out their Radical SR3s to play! So the stage was set for a fun weekend in the desert.

The Team had decided to run the regional SCCA race at CVR last month as an opportunity to learn the track and figure out the optimal set up on the Stohr WF1. We set some lofty goals coming into the weekend:

1. Get the overall win in both the Saturday Race and the Sunday Race in Group 3.
2. Set the fastest lap of the weekend
3. Set the track record for Prototype 1, by improving what was accomplished last month.
4. Leave the weekend with a commanding lead in the points for the Western Divisional Championship in Prototype 1.

In racing things don’t always go according to plan, and the weekend did throw us some curve balls. And of course it wouldn’t be racing without some drama…so read on.

First Practice: March 21, having been at CVR a month ago I am now familiar with the layout, braking zones, turn in points, and approximate corner speeds. It’s considerably warmer than last month, and the track seems to have less grip. The session is uneventful; the only thing I had forgotten is how much work it takes to wheel the Stohr WF1 around this circuit. Many of the corners which could be 90 degrees or less are extended, almost exaggerated, the results is a lot of long turns. After the session I am a little spent.

Qualifying for Prototype 1 Class: March 21, the strategy going into the qualifying session was to run the existing tires on the car, as the set only had four heat cycles. We plan to save the new tires for the balance of the weekend. Plus I love starting a race on a new set of stickers. OK, there’s mistake number 1. The team is still learning the car, and was caught off guard by the excessive tire degredation being generated by the elevated temperature. By lap 2 of the qualifying session I knew we had a problem. The car wouldn’t hook up like it did during our February visit. As the session progressed the car lost more and more grip. I ended up qualifying fifth, so I definitely had my work cut out for me. Upon inspection in the pits, we could see the cords just starting to come through…the tires were completely shot after 5 sessions, of which two were rather short.

 Saturday: Race 1: Late to grid? In an attempt to resolve some electrical issues, and adjust the set up on the car, we mismanaged our time. By the time I was belted up and got the car up to the grid, they had already released all the race cars in Group 3 for the warm up lap behind the pace car. My resulting penalty was no warm up/pace car lap. Race control would hold me at the end of pit lane until the entire grid of cars came by after the race start. So I sat there helplessly as they held me, the adrenalin flowing, waiting……waiting…..waiting. The entire grid roared by at the wave of the green flag, and 5 seconds later they released me….dead last. I launched out of pit lane on mission, watch me go to work…..

We ended up having a solid weekend. The tire degradation issues denied us the opportunity to improve on the lap time set during the February SCCA Race. Nonetheless we won both Prototype 1 races, and we are now qualified to complete for the National Championship at the SCCA Runoffs at Daytona International Speedway in September. Additionally, the Team leaves CVR with the lead in points for the Western Divisional Championship in Prototype 1. Again, very strong results!!