Well, after late nights every night last week, we DID make it to the HPCC. Here I am staging in a sea of camaros. Let's just say that Chevy was WELL represented at HPCC. Would LOVE to own any one of these!
My buddy ( & ad hoc crew chief!) snapped a few photos - I love this one because it looks like I'm in the lead ahead of these camaros. Only LOOKS like I'm in the lead...
I chuckled when I saw this photo - there's me in my jeans and cotton shirt/sweatshirt - attire that would be sure to SLOW the burning should I mess up and find myself in a fiery crash (my open-faced helmet is in the front seat). In front of me is Stacy Tucker in a full-on fire suit, full faced helmet complete with Hans device. Maybe I'll think about preparing a little more before the next track day...
Probably the coolest thing about an event like this (besides seeing bada$$ cars being pushed hard) is how everyone (that I ran across anyway) is approachable and willing to help out or lend advice. Stacy could have blown me off as we waited for our turn on the track, but instead she was more than happy to chat and provide a little advice to someone slightly
less experienced.
Not sure who the driver in the black suit was, but she had one SLICK looking RS/SS camaro. Like many cars there, it just oozed speed...
This was a sobering reminder to everyone that there are real risks involved with pushing our cars' limits. This brought out the red flag (race stopped) and we all watched quietly as the multiple safety crews (and an ambulance I'm told) sped onto the track and around the bend. Fortunately, I think the only thing hurt was this poor camaro. Reminded me that as a newbie, my skills are definitely not up to the level that my car can support and pushing it with my limited skills will likely result in some potentially serious carnage (to metal or even flesh!). Some serious seat time with an experienced instructor is in order later this year...
I wish I could say that for me the event was a triumphant success for our first time out, especially given that the car saw its first real street time on FRIDAY night before we drove to the Autobahn at 9PM, but alas, by mid day Saturday we were done thanks to a blown torque converter in the 4L80e. On the bright side, we got the trans out by this afternoon and everything is in order to have it upgraded to handle the next event we throw at it. And despite all the pressure and "friendly" advice, I'm going to resist the temptation to start pricing a conversion to a 5 or 6 speed. We were situated in the pits next to Danny Popp and the white & black corvette he was driving - affectionately called "Snoopy" - and the first thing out of his mouth when he saw us with the car on jack stands messing with the trans was "you know what your problem is - you need a 6 speed!"
