Howl-o-Ween (10/26/2019) - 8 hours - Portland International Raceway:
We picked up four more Enkei RPF1s and showed up at the track with some Bridgestone RE-71Rs and Hankook RS4s. The Bridgestones are a much stickier and faster tire, but in October it nearly always rains and they would be a much better wet weather tire. Somehow we lucked out and find that the forecast looks perfect for racing!
The morning is brisk and the sky is clear. The first race of the weekend is an 8 hour race. With two hour maximum driver stints, if we want to have a chance at winning this we will need to run the full two-hour stints or we will have an extra pit stop.
Since there is no rain in the forecast, we decide to just start with the Bridgestones and see how they work. I am in the car first, and start in 5th place. The tires feel fantastic! Unlike the RS4s which need some heat, the grip is available immediately with the RE-71R! Turn in is razor sharp and the steering corrections are nearly telepathic. I am a huge fan!
I get into a big battle with the Race Invaders Miata. Our cars are incredibly similarly paced, and their car is being driven extremely well. I get them hung up on some traffic and pass them, then they pass me back under braking, I get them again later with a better run off of a corner.. and that repeats lap after lap. I run a 1:28.1, our fastest ever lap and turn the car over on lap 63 in 2nd place behind the Hall Pass Racing BMW!
Dave gets in the car with 6 hours left. During his stint he also gets a chance to tangle with Race Invaders. We are in 3rd place, and Dave puts in the pass to put us back up into 2nd! While Dave is out on track, a nice Trans Am of Screaming Chickens hits the rear wall and completely demolishes their front end! The driver is OK, but always a bit of a tense situation. The team always clean and considerate, so especially sad to see it happen.
Dave pits in 2nd place on lap 116 having ran a 1:30.7. I jump into the car with 4 hours remaining. I know that for us to have a chance at finishing in 1st, I need to push as hard as I can and give a little bit of cushion for my dad.
I am chasing down Hall Pass, with my sister Jana on the radio calling in updates of where I stand to Hall Pass. 8 seconds. Focus, keep my lines tight, don't scrub too much speed. 4.8 seconds away from 1st place, and now they are in view. Just need to keep it up, they are coming to me. They are definitely faster in the straight, so I will have to make the pass in the corners. In turn 6 I get my chance when they slide and I get by on the inside. I manage to get ahead of them far enough that they just catch me on the straight, then a V8 powered Volvo 240 parks it right in the corner in front of me, and with Hall Pass coming up the right side it's too late to get over and Hall Pass gets the lead back.
I get by Hall Pass in turn 6 again on lap 128, and this time I'm able to hold the position. A few laps later coming into the chicane, the #32 E46 BMW completely dive bombs me into the chicane! I was already turned in by the time the get alongside me, and I have to abort my turn-in to avoid contact. What a jerk move! I take off after them, a little pissed off. They are in 5th place, so our race is not with them, but I want my position back anyway. Their car handles well and has a lot of power, so it's not easy to real them back in. I finally get by them in turn 6, feeling very accomplished with myself. However coming into turn 10.. they have enough horsepower to get by me. I chase them down the front straight, intent on trying to outbrake them.
I get up to the chicane, brake as late as I dare.. and I get a lockup! I am behind their car on the left and catching them too fast. If they don't turn very soon, I will hit the back of their car! I decide that my best chance is to actually quit braking, and try to shoot through the corner before they get there. It's a bit risky, but I manage to stay out of the way enough and make it into the chicane without incident. Ok that was dumb, definitely a red-mist fueled mistake there.
At the 1 hour mark, I have less than 1/4 tank of fuel. Hmm.. maybe I've been pushing it too hard to make a full two hours. I had gotten the gap on Hall Pass up to 40 seconds at one point when there is a full course yellow and I am picked up by the pace truck. The plus side of that.. is I get a chance to see what these Bridgestones will do with no traffic! I run a 1:27.9 and a 1:27.6 before I get back around to traffic again. Another lap record for us, these tires are amazing! Now with all that fun, oh yeah.. I'm low on fuel, I should be conserving. Oops! The gas light is on, and I start short shifting and coasting before braking zones with 40 minutes left in my stint.
I get more and more nervous as time goes on, until eventually I'm trying to draft behind the Yoohoo! #37 BMW and barely on throttle trying to cruise in 6th gear. I can see the wideband going lean on the straights and I'm losing power while I try to stretch every last lap out of it. After what feels like an eternity.. it's time to come in on lap 190. I'm in 1st place but the gap has been shrinking while I've been drafting behind a B class car.
After our pit stop Hall Pass makes it by us, and it's Dave's turn to see what he can do with the car. Race Invaders is in 3rd place with a fast driver in their car, running 1:29s and 1:30s while Dave is running 1:31s and 1:32s. We have a couple lap cushion, so we should be OK there. Hall Pass is turning some 1:28s and 1:29s, so we don't really have a chance of catching them at this point. Eventually by the end of the race Dave is starting to cough on fuel as well, but we still have a lap cushion and Dave cruises it home to a 2nd place finish!