Wednesday July 3:

Trying to get the car and trailer ready for my first ever trip to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. My normal routine is very hard to follow because of 113 degree heat! I can only pack up the trailer for  10 minutes at a time before sneaking back into the house to sit under an a.c. vent. I finally got the race car washed but I ended up getting more water on me and the dogs than the car.

Friday July 5:

We planned on leaving the house early to beat the projected 100+ degree heat but details slowed us and we didn't get on the road until after 12pm. The drive should take about 4 1/2 hours which will get us there about the time they open the gates at 5pm. Kim and I really enjoy long drives together and this one was no exception. Great conversation, great company, and plenty to see along the way made for a pleasant trip. Traffic got heavier as we got closer to the coast, and thankfully the temperature was dropping dramatically! We left home at 104 degrees and hit 61 when we saw the ocean.

We pulled up to the state park gate a few minutes before 5 and the wait began. It wasn't boring however as everybody was excited to be there. NASA doesn't run Laguna often plus this was also a Northern/Southern Cal crossover event so there were lots of new faces and people to meet. At 6 we were allowed to line up to get in the paddock but the queue was long!! Everybody behaved and the line moved slowly but steadily. We got our paddock set up, had dinner and then Charlie Buzzetti snuck us on the track for a track walk to help familiarize us Laguna rookies with the nuances you can't get from a video game. Charlie's got a lot of laps here and his insights were very helpful and appreciated but now I'm nervous! This track looks tough and a mistake can be costly! Am I up for the challenge?

Saturday July 6:

A show of hands at the morning drivers meeting showed that over half the drivers had never been to this track so I didn't feel so nervous. We will all be learning together. Fourteen spec 944's lined up on the grid for morning warmup. Some faces and cars were familiar to me but others were not. As we headed out on track I was thinking that I didn't want to mess up anybody's session while learning the track, and I also wanted to hook up with Jim Richmond or Tom Atteberry, who both graciously said they would let me follow them while getting my feet wet. A group of us stayed together for a few laps but when I felt more comfortable I got some track space of my own and tested the limits. I turned a time of 1:51 which was good for fourth fastest but I knew others would be picking it up for qualifying. A fast time at this track is in the mid to high 1:40's.

As predicted times dropped dramatically for qualifying with Norm Hamden snagging pole followed by Charlie.

I got fifth behind Steve Lewis and Jim Foxx. Behind me the gap was nowhere near as big as warmups with just a second separating most of us. Ken Meyers and Jim Richmond, two very good racers(well, everybody in this field are very good!) with experience at this track were starting right next to or behind me so I had to get a good start. Didn't happen! I timed it wrong and Jim R got it right and pulled alongside me going into 1. I tried to give him room but didn't have much myself because Ken was inside and pulling away! Jim had to hit the dirt as I squeezed him out. I hated to do that to him but I didn't have any room myself. Ken and I funneled into turn 2 side by side with Jim R pressuring us hard! Directly in front of us Jim Foxx went off and came back on in front of me. I was sure I'd hit him so lifted(ARRGGG!!!) and Jim R took full advantage and got alongside as Ken and Jim Foxx pulled a gap. Into 3 Jim R got sideways and that's all I needed. I pulled some space and set sail for the two in front of me. When they went side by side through turn 4 I got a good run, passed Ken but couldn't clear Jim Foxx. Jim R cleared Ken because of mechanical issues and we settled into that order.

I chased Jim Foxx and Steve Lewis as they battled. I couldn't catch them so just waited. Sure enough, Jim Foxx went off and hit the wall damaging the car. I tried catching Steve but couldn't. Late in the race my car started oversteering real bad, and Jim R was turning fast laps and catching up quickly. Luckily he ran out of laps and I finished fourth out of fourteen. Not bad. Sitting in impound it occurred to me that I'm in the company of some of the best in the country and felt very honored and proud of how far Kim and I have come. My moment of revelry was short lived however when iI rolled up to the scales. With the cool weather I didn't have my Coolshirt box full. I filled it full of gas to make up for it but did I do enough? I sat for a long time on the scales getting weird looks from the tech guy. He asked me how much minimum weight was supposed to be and gave me a look when I told him. 2603! Way too close for comfort. I'll add more ballast when I get home.

Dinner was great. Kim and I couldn't wait for the planned potluck so we snagged some ribs from the NASA bbq but still ate with the group later. Charlie won, Norm second, Steve third. Just missed a podium but still a great day!!

Sunday July 7:

Good nights sleep because we were exhausted. Warmup and qualifying the oversteer got worse. I couldn't break the 1:40's. Ran a best of 1:50.003. Along with the oversteer I now had a clunk in the rear to match the one up front. Steve asked how old my shocks were and I told him 6 years. He was shocked(no pun intended). He had 2 year old rears that we swapped in. The old ones were so worn out that they would compress way too easily but wouldn't rebound at all. That accounts for my bouncing sensation. I qualified 5th but we decided to invert the grid. I would start behind a bunch of cars that I only out qualified by tenths. Should be exciting!

Kim made me a plate of tamales for lunch and I took one bite and, uh oh, I'm choking! The food feels caught in my throat and I feel like I can't breath. I've been through this before and know it should pass but I started to panic. I sent Kim to look for medical help and I just tried to stay calm. No can do! I feel it getting worse so I wander over to where everybody is hanging out and try to get their attention. I'm starting to pass out so I slump against Charlie's car as the Paramedics show up, with the NASA officials in tow. After being checked out the paramedics advise me to relax and skip the race. Good advice which I planned to follow but as race time approached I felt better. I asked if any body minded if I raced and I got best encouragement from my fellow 944er's. I will always be indebted to these guys, some of whom I've never met before for their understanding and help. If you're going to choke to death these are the guys to be with!

Embarrassed, ashamed, still choking and still hungry I lined up for the start. The last 6 of us stayed in line for one lap to let the frontrunners settle things and not cause a huge melee. After that it was on! Jim Foxx got in front of me and we started working our way through some tough drivers.

Slowly I caught up to guys and gave everything I had to race cleanly and get by.

I had great battles with a bunch of guys with memorable moments like when Everett Delano had an epic slide through the dirt right in front of me. I marveled at his car control skills and wondered whether I could have saved that one. Probably not. I couldn't dally too long admiring him because I had to get going.

I eventually got up to second behind Jim Foxx but Charlie and Norm were coming. I pushed as hard as I could to hold them off but they are the best in the business! Both eventually got by but couldn't catch Jim. Now I had to watch my mirrors for Steve. He went off early in turn 11 but I knew he was coming fast. Late in the race I got a glimpse of him in the mirror so knew all I had to do was manage the gap. The "new" shocks made me understeer like a dump truck but it was enough to finish 4th again behind Jim Foxx ,Charlie and Norm. No drama at the scales this time, 2623 with the coolshirt.

Weekends like this are why I race. A new,challenging track, new friends, old acquaintances and good racing. We should do more inverted starts, it's great fun! I need to thank everybody for the hospitality and understanding after my incident. I especially need to thank Everett, who as series director could have stopped me from racing but instead was very encouraging and understanding. I also want to say I think I've made new friends I look forward to seeing at Nationals like Jim Hicks, Jeff Wojnar, Norm Hamden, Everett Delano, and I always enjoy the old friends like Charlie Buzzetti, Ken Meyers, Jim Foxx, L'il Kat, Jerry Whitteridge, Steve Lewis, Jim Richmond, Tom Atteberry, and Aubie Schmidt.

Stuck in sunday traffic dreaming about Miller and a national championship!

Ron Dale