They are both faster than us NorCal rookies.  This was Jim's first time at Infineon and he practiced on Friday and turned a 2:00.  My fastest time at Infineon prior to this weekend was 2:04.

During practice on Saturday, Norm did lead follow with me.  There were places on the track where my car just wouldn't do what his would do -- his car stuck in the esses, mine would not.  So Norm helped me adjust my suspension.  We changed the front toe ever so slightly and tightened the rear sway bar.  In qualifying, I turned a 2:02!  Two seconds faster than my previous best.  Later that day, Norm took me for a ride in his car and showed me how he drove the track.  This was incredibly helpful!  Norm drove far more agressively than I did -- he attacked the corners and was constantly shifting to keep his engine at the right RPM.  In the corners, his car was always on the edge of traction and would smoothly and quickly counter the slight slips of the tires as he flew through the corners.  Again, I learned a lot.

We started the race with Norm in the pole position followed by Jim, me, Ken, and Jerry.  The start of the race was a madhouse!  It took so long for our group to get around and get the green flag, that the crazy fast cars had already caught up to us by turn one.  So here we are in our 944s just trying to get up to speed when the whole field of crazy fast Honda Challenge cars came slicing into our group.  It was total chaos!  It was so crazy that Jim went wide on turn six and did a little agricultural excursion.  While he was out mowing the field, I managed to slip past him but he got back on track.  Norm was about 100 yards ahead at this point.  We went around the track for several laps with Norm pulling away from me, and me pulling away from Jim, who was stuck in a pack of Spec Miatas that were slightly slower than him but wouldn't let him through.  About half way through the race, Norm and I are flying down from turn 10 into turn 11 and a black EVO passes me and wants to pass Norm.  So Norm goes wide in turn 11 to give the guy plenty of room to pass him on the inside.  Instead, the guy locks up his breaks and T-bones Norm right at the gap between his passenger door and his rear quarter panel.  I am about 100 feet away at this point and have two cars stopped in turn 11 and so I really get on the breaks and crawl around the inside of turn 11 past them.  The EVO backs up, turns, and heads down the front straight and passes me by turn 2.  Norm is nowhere to be seen.

A few turns later, I came flying through turn 10 and there was Ken Huey with his car embedded in the tire barrier up against the outside wall.  His car was buried all the way up his windshield.  So 944s were dropping like flies.  First Jim went off track but got back on, then Norm got T-boned, then Ken is buried in a tire barrier.  I decided that the rest of the race was going to be staying out of trouble which is what I did.  I ended up winning!

After the race I found out that Norm did get back on track.  His tire was being pinched badly by his fender so he limped off track.  My nephew Eric was there crewing for us and he pried the metal away from Norm's tire and Norm went back out.  But this all took time and he didn't have a chance to catch the rest of us.   Jim also had a few more agro excursions and I didn't see him after we were about half way through the race but he came in second.

After the race we looked over the three damaged 944s.  Ken's wasn't going anywhere except to the bodyshop.  Norm's was probably okay although he had body damage and his rear tire was shredded.  Jim's car had a mangled spoiler and had grass inside the tires.  Really!  So Jim sutured up his wounded car and had his tires taken off and remounted to get the grass out.  Norm put new tires on the rear of his car.  Ken trailered his 944 off with a promise to return on Sunday with his brother Steve's car.  Happily for Ken, Steve was on vacation so he could borrow Steve's 944 for the race on Sunday.

On Saturday night at the NASA BBQ Jim and Norm told us what gears they were in in the various corners so on Sunday morning I tried different gears -- and found 2 more seconds!  I turned a 2:00!  Four seconds better than my previous best time at Infineon and close to what Jim was turning.  I think that Norm was down at 1:57 or so.  In qualifying, Norm was again the fastest, followed by Jim, and then me.  I was .6 seconds off Jim's time.  Jerry was next with his stock suspension and Ken had some mechanical problems started fifth.

At the start of the Sunday race, Norm and Jim immediately pulled away from the rest of us.  I tried to stay with them but was about 100 yards or more behind Jim and couldn't close the distance.  Norm left both of us in the dust.  A few cars wrecked and yellow flags were in various corners but I still couldn't catch Jim.  Eventually Norm decided to slow down and let us catch up and race with him.  Jim caught up with Norm and then I caught up with them and passed Jim who had slowed down to wait too.  No sooner had I passed Jim then a full course yellow came out.  And it stayed out for the rest of the race.  So I came in second even though Jim should have.

It was a fabulous racing weekend!  The weather was great, the 944 racers were nice, and I found four more seconds at Infineon!