Yes as the title says....let down. I didn't win FTD or my class....I was DQ'd and the car not allowed to run.
On my first run, apparantly I was red flagged three times. I never stopped cause NO ONE was waiving a flag. Had I seen a flag I would have stopped. Why was I being red flagged? My exhaust was too loud.
So for the fact I didn't acknowledge the red flag I was told to leave. Fortunately I still have my VA plates on the car. I talked to the guys in charge and after some heated discussion and petitioning I should be given a chance to fix the problem and run, they allowed me to fix the problem and possibly run. Well my fix was steel wool, cardboard and duct tape. I passed the pit sound test, but once I launched the car the pressure from the turbo blew the silencer I made off. I made sure to look for flags and didn't see any.
When I finished I saw my time, FTD at that point by four tenths. I was told at that point I couldn't run anymore since the baffle didn't work. I didn't argue at this point. So I parked the car. I talked to a few participants about my run. I was hoping to get one more run as I am not used to the car. Once figured out, I had another second left in her, but this day I think I would only muster out about half a second or a little more.
I talked with the Chief Steward if my times would be allowed, he said no because my car was 'illegal.' So I asked if I could get my money back, and again he said no. So my times would not be allowed and I won't get my money back?????
This pissed off one of the guys I had met earlier in the day, Matt. Matt argued for me but to no avail. To 'make up for my lost money,' he offered me his car to drive... a prepared Jetta. R compounds, suspension, roll cage, stripped interior. I himmed and hawyed and finally decided to drive it after I test drove it on the street. The car has a very smooth power band, but its no Evo power. The grip is amazing along with the handling.
I run the car and on my first lap, I lap within .3 of Matt. Oh his car is in FSP but since there was no one in FSP or DSP, he was bumped to CSP. CSP is meant for Porsche 944s, built Miatas etc. Matt was able to quicken his time to 32.99 and I was able to get down to a 33.3, still .3 off of him. The car was real easy to drive, even on 3 wheels.
Matt took home 3rd in CSP and I took 4th. He was pleasantly surprised to do as well as he did in that class considering the group of cars he was running against.
It turned out to be a decent day. Besides the organizers being...I'll bite my tongue; there are some really great people in this club. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't go back. I mean, who tosses the keys to someone they just meet and say "You can race my car if you want."? A huge thanks goes to Matt Cummings. We ended up hanging out most of the day and like you guys he is great to be around. I've already told him at the next event, he's driving my car.
Check out Matt's sight and some of the cars he and his friends play around with.
http://addictionracing.com/
Results
http://www.cartct.com/08-26-07.shtml
