2011 Del Mar Nationals Autocross Results

[73CPCAMARO]

Originally Posted by chr2002ca

Cool, thanks for posting those. Golly geez, looking at the results, I did better than I thought considering I only got 3 runs in. My old-school carbureted iron big block with my 300 treadwear tires ain't so bad after all. Best part of my day was when, in the middle of our 2nd run, I heard my wife say, "God, this is so much fun." Having her on board with the whole thing helps big time!

I got to ride with Doug on his 34.4 pass and he absolutely drove the snot out of his car on that run. It was a real blast and it taught me a few things about pushing my car a little harder. I can't wait to see what Doug starts running after he gets his new suspension and new LS motor in place. Great improvement by Matt also. He's really getting good out there now. Of course Steve in Bad Penny and the OLC were laying it down as usual.

I did not know that Kyle Tucker in his '70 Camaro came so close to beating that lightweight Maier Racing Mustang. That's pretty amazing driving right there, by both drivers.

Definitely a great event. Congrats to all the other top finishers!

It is funny and sad how no one gives Mike any credit for beating everyone with his 280 hp mustang.

[SLO_Z28]

Originally Posted by 73CPCAMARO

It is funny and sad how no one gives Mike any credit for beating everyone with his 280 hp mustang.

That must be the ford math. I doubt that hes over 260, I could be wrong though. Still more than I have....

That guy is insane quick, here is a video my crappy camera shot of one of his runs:

[GregWeld]

If you ask Mike -- he'll tell you 250 HP.... "a mild cammed 302" I think is what he said.

Shows that on the Auto X -- it's about driving skills not HP wars.

[chr2002ca]

Originally Posted by 73CPCAMARO

It is funny and sad how no one gives Mike any credit for beating everyone with his 280 hp mustang.

In the very next sentence after the one you highlighted I gave both drivers props for both doing a great job of driving. Geez, trying to praise people is a tough gig around here.

[73CPCAMARO]

It is kind of a back handed compliment when you say the light weight Mustang, like he had an advantage. Why even mention light weight? And Greg is right, he probably does only have about 250 HP. I have driven it. It does not have a lot of power compared to most of the cars out there. Mike has it set up beautifully with his suspension and he drives the hell out of it.

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by 73CPCAMARO

It is kind of a back handed compliment when you say the light weight Mustang, like he had an advantage. Why even mention light weight?

Because HP to weight ratio is important.... it explains how a "relatively" low HP car can be so "quick". But of course... then that discounts the drivers skills because just because it has a high HP/Weight ratio wouldn't mean much with an unskilled driver. Light weight is also a GOOD quality in a "race car" -- so I think he was paying Mike a compliment. It takes some skills to build a car that is properly balanced and is light weight but stiff and strong.

[Vegas69]

HP don't mean jack in a Good Guys autocross. A good miata/driver would of mopped up the whole damn field.

[SLO_Z28]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

HP don't mean jack in a Good Guys autocross. A good miata/driver would of mopped up the whole damn field.

Id have to disagree with that one.

[chr2002ca]

Originally Posted by 73CPCAMARO

It is kind of a back handed compliment when you say the light weight Mustang, like he had an advantage. Why even mention light weight? And Greg is right, he probably does only have about 250 HP. I have driven it. It does not have a lot of power compared to most of the cars out there. Mike has it set up beautifully with his suspension and he drives the hell out of it.

I sat out there this weekend and watched Mike in his Mustang really rip around the track and I was really amazed by it. It's a very nimble vehicle and he drives it beautifully. I consider the 'nimbleness' of his car to be a result of weight and suspension. I thought to myself(as others did), it's going to be very difficult for anybody to come close to beating him on a track like that. When I saw the results posted here, I was like, wow, somebody(Tucker) actually did come close. I tried to write a nice post where I complimented some people and I wrote those few sentences you're focusing on because I was amazed that someone actually came close to Mike's blazing times, and I included the 'both drivers' thing to give Mike credit also. I said lightweight, because YES, his car is lightweight and very nimble on a track like that and I didn't think anybody could come close to him and the way he drives it. Maybe I should've used 'nimble' instead of 'lightweight', so it gave credit to his suspension setup also.

Reading your posts where you're hammering me for not properly giving Mike props, I realize now that my assumptions are false about how having a lightweight car is advantageous on a tiny autocross track like Del Mar's, and that HP makes little to no difference on that same type of track. I was thinking of ways to make my car lighter(carbon fiber, aluminum engine, etc) to make my car more nimble and quicker(along with other suspension mods). I guess it's back to the drawing board for me!

Mike did a great job of racing and so did everybody else.

Have a great weekend.

[73CPCAMARO]

Chris,

I guess it gets a bit frustrating when I hear people say the only reason Mike does well is because his car is a bit lighter than theirs. There is much more to good times other than weight. I am sorry if this was not your intention. You are not the only one to say it, so my comments were more directed to others that say the same thing.
It looks like the entire group of autocrossers are getting better and that is a great thing. Better cars and better driving.

Brian