Night Sprint (10/27/2018) - 45 minutes - Portland International Raceway:
Immediately after the 7 hour race we start getting prepped for the sprint race. The rules for the sprint race were simple, one required 3 minute pit stop. I had really been struggling with hydroplaning during the previous race, so I had asked for some more air pressure. We clean and Rain-X the windshield, and I am ready to head out. With my dad not really enjoying sliding around in the dark, we decided that I would do the whole sprint race.
On the pace lap, there are five cars ahead of me. It's not quite dark yet, but the track is sopping wet with puddles and it's drizzling. I am lined up next to the #185 Winning Bigly Miata.
As we roll up onto the front straight, the Rum Runners CRX jumps out of line and takes off.. but the other cars don't react. I hesitate, as I can't see a green flag. I don't have a call of green on the radio, but I assume the CRX must see something I don't.. and I jump on the gas.
As the CRX is disappearing into the distance, I can see they have a flashlight on a green flag they are waving up and down.
I'm now in 2nd place, chasing down Rum Runners. Front wheel drive cars tend to do well in the water, and this is no exception. They have some kind of an issue and we inherit first place! Unfortunately I also have some bright lights right in my mirror. As I try to keep the back end of my car from going faster than the front, the Nissan Maxima of Pyrotect Ghost Riders pressures me and I don't have the traction to hold them off. First place was short lived.
A few laps later, and now it's getting quite dark. My headlights are a few lumens short of what I would like, and I'm sometimes having to rely on streetlight reflections from across the freeway to see the track. I'm into traffic now, and it's still raining.
I decide that it's time to do our pit stop, so I pull in and get my windshield cleaned. I get to pit out, and they tell me that the timer has died. He asks, "Do you think it's been three minutes?" I reply, "No, I think about another minute." Less than 30 seconds later, he waves me out. Well now it's really inky black out there. The LED lights really illuminate anything reflective like the brake markers, but are doing a terrible job of sending light down the track. It's now just finding specific markers that I can see and muscle memory to make it around the track. All this time I'm also dealing with puddles of water that I can't see.
I get passed by the #777 Lucky Fuss Racing, a BMW campaigned by Greg Fuss. He runs a very impressive 1:52.6, fastest time of all and in a rear-drive BMW! Greg Fuss is the husband of Cathy McCause-Fuss, who owns and runs Lucky Dog Racing. Even though we finish 2nd, Cathy wouldn't let her husband win a trophy so they gave it to us. After a very long day and some stressful night driving, I am ready for some sleep and hoping for some better weather tomorrow.