Kansas Majors

I drove the configuration in a vintage Elva Courier last year that the other club used and as you can see in the video the chicane was right there at the end of the back straight. Even with that, it was much faster than Elkhart Lake in this car. Not sure how that compares to other tracks but it should be even faster than that. A solid 10 mph more in an EP car. Not sure in a GT1 but I see the Smith's are entered so that should be cool to see.
 
Matt93SE":28tzeppw said:
How about more than one race per year at Hallett?
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Matt -

I agree, I'd love to see more racing at Hallett. Many years ago, we used to run three races per year there. Recently the driver population has been dwindling, and it's hard for the regions to justify losing money (eventhough the track rental there is very reasonable when compared to other places).

As to why the drivers are dwindling, there's many different reasons and theories. Being a volunteer in multiple specialties, I couldn't begin to understand all of those! If we had the funds, I'm sure my hubby would have a race car. LoL ...

Kelley Huxtable
"PLAY SAFE"
DMVR
 
KelleyHux":2oovd4ve said:
I agree, I'd love to see more racing at Hallett. Many years ago, we used to run three races per year there. Recently the driver population has been dwindling, and it's hard for the regions to justify losing money (eventhough the track rental there is very reasonable when compared to other places).

As to why the drivers are dwindling, there's many different reasons and theories. Being a volunteer in multiple specialties, I couldn't begin to understand all of those! If we had the funds, I'm sure my hubby would have a race car. LoL ...

Kelley Huxtable
"PLAY SAFE"
DMVR
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Understood there. can't afford to sanction a race for 30 cars a weekend! I'm just curious what the viability would be of another race- April and October would be great with my schedule. ;)
 
E Production: Matt Reynolds, Fair Oaks, Texas, Mazda Miata
F Production: Eric Prill, Topeka, Kan., Mazda Miata
H Production: Chris Albin, Maryland Heights, Mo., Volkswagen GTI
GT-Lite: Jesse Prather, Topeka, Kan., Toyota Tercel

Wonder who will get the official FP track record in Eric and Sam turned the same exact fastest lap based on Race Monitor.
 
Really fun weekend and it turned out to be a really fun track. Super high speeds as the "chicane" ended up being flat out, no lift. Had a great view of the FP race yesterday. Hopefully I can get some in car to post up. One of the most enjoyable races I've ever had. Roy's GTL car is a ball to drive and very fast. Hopefully I helped him for Daytona with some setup changes and tire testing. Great, great weekend. Full throttle for 30 seconds, I think my right leg is sore!
 
I agree with Jesse. The FP race was fantastic to watch. We had a great seat at turn 1. His seat was probably better - it looked like he backed out a little bit and decided to just follow/watch the race for most of the laps. Too bad Kevin couldn't make the tow from San Antonio. Although, in talking to a FF driver, the construction on I-35 in Texas was horrible and it took them way longer to get there than expected. So maybe it was a good choice. :)

KVRG did a great job putting this event together. We had a wonderful time, and the drivers that turned out put on a pretty good show. Good racing in classes other than Prod too. Weather was steamy on Saturday ... I'd forgotten how much "fun" it was to flag with a 105 degree heat index and minimal shade. Sunday was better, cooler temps but higher humidity. We did have a couple of rain showers to liven things up. It was the lightning I could have done without.

Kelley Huxtable
"PLAY SAFE"
DMVR
 
Great weekend, thanks to all in the KVRG that made it happen. Fast is an understatement. I was going so fast by start finish Sunday that I had a hard time getting into turn one, and that was my undoing. I did it just fine Saturday. Big thanks to Jesse, who made my little 12a hum!
 
What fun racing this weekend -- that's what it's all about!

I had a hectic start to my weekend and I wasn't even sure if I would be healthy enough to race, battling both a head cold and the flu, which was not helped by 4 airplanes from Thursday morning through Friday afternoon. There was a test day Friday afternoon that many people took part in, but none of the FP cars to my knowledge, which put us on equal footing, although Kent ran the MGA in a vintage race here last year.

The facility is as one would expect from an ISC oval that hosts NASCAR each year. Garages were only $50 so I enjoyed one of those for the first time. RV spots were separate but only $25, which was really nice to plug in with the AC for my family.

I think the common theme for everyone was trying to figure out the entry to Turn One. There is so much pavement it was hard to find the reference of where to brake and where to turn in. Miss it by a foot and you were pushing wide and screwing up your entire lap, go too conservative and you're leaving a lot of time on the table as the entry was as fast as I've ever run a car. In Saturday's lone qualifying, I was struggling a bit health wise and then I squared off a tire badly in Turn 6 (there'll be a theme here) and it was vibrating so badly that I parked it. The one lap I was able to run and get a tow from Sam was good enough for the class pole at a 1:34.1, which I was pleased with. It was very humid and warm for that session despite being before noon. Even doing 6 laps I had trouble getting out of the car--head thumping and I hadn't eaten much in a day because of the flu. Before the race, my biggest concern was if I would throw up in my helmet.

The cool shirt is a wonderful invention and got me through the race well. In fact, I felt better after the race than I had in days. Nothing like a good sweat. I realized on the pace lap that I didn't set my tire pressures. These were tires from Mid-Ohio's Saturday race so I had no idea what they were at--was just hoping none of them were at like 15psi! Car was a bit of a handful early, and I locked the RF tire again but not as bad, and it smoothed itself out, but still had a nice flat spot. Sam and I had a good battle early, back and forth until he had a big bobble coming out of the hairpin and lost my draft. Whether I caught him or Jesse backed off (our opinion probably differs ;), JP and I ran nose to tail the last handful of laps until my car began to stumble coming back on the banking. We were side by side to take the white flag and he outbroke me going into 1 with those awesome GTL brakes. Fun battle. Interestingly, Sam and I turned identical fast laps despite not running them together. I have a certificate and notation on the results, but we shared it that day -- 1:33.915.

Sunday was cooler with cloud cover and without the 15mph headwind on the front straight. Reynolds pulled away on lap 1 but left the top 3 FP cars (Prill, Henry, K Prather), top GTL car (JP) and second and third EP cars (blust and Paul P) in a bunch. I again locked the RF going into Turn 6 very early in the race and corded the tire--an unnerving feeling knowing how much the car leans on it in the banking--but it held up! We had a great race. Blust scooted away, Jesse dropped behind us all to watch and after a few laps we got around Paul. Sam, Kent and I all led at one point. That MGA is super slippery. Not sure it can lead the pack but it can sure slingshot around! Kent was struggling to get through the hairpin Turn 4 and went off at one point, which left Sam and me to battle it out. There was a point at which I wondered if I should let Sam around and practice my own drafting tactics (as he was) but there was a terribly dark cloud to our north and moving in. I saw lightning and figured the race could be called at any point so I tried to stay out front as much as I could. We still went side by side through Turns 1-3 and then the run from 4 to 5 several laps. Good stuff. The rain finally came, but it was patchy. The kind where you are never sure if one corner is suddenly going to be soaked or if it's try enough to run 100%. Progressively, the rain became more consistent and then the car started skating around and becoming challenged in the brake zones. The last 3 laps, rain got heavier and I wasnt sure how brave to be in the banking. We were at 120+ by NASCAR 4 in the dry, and I had backed it down 10+ mph, figuring if Sam wanted to be brave enough to go around the outside, he could have it. He had the same idea, preservation first. Jesse, on the other hand, used the downforce of the wings to sail by us both with 2 to go, which gave me a little sense of how wet the track was since I could see the spray from behind his car. That was it--didn't quite get to finish our epic battle the way we could have. But, I'll take it. I ran a 1:32.2 towing the train and figured somebody probably eclipsed that. Sure enough, Sam had a 1:31.7-- Nice lap!

Definitely would race at Kansas Speedway again. It gives every class the opportunity for a Formula Vee like race -- close, lots of passing and drafting. Great fun!

Video later this week.
 
EPrill":1z5jhzfp said:
Definitely would race at Kansas Speedway again. It gives every class the opportunity for a Spec Miata like race -- close, lots of passing and drafting. Great fun!
Video later this week.
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Nice write up, but it needed a little fixing. They rub less and less. :wink:
 
David Dewhurst":2gm6twec said:
EPrill":2gm6twec said:
Definitely would race at Kansas Speedway again. It gives every class the opportunity for a Spec Miata like race -- close, lots of passing and drafting. Great fun!
Video later this week.
Click to expand...

Nice write up, but it needed a little fixing. They rub less and less. :wink:
Click to expand...

David, SM has great racing for sure, but the drafting and 3-4 wide reminded me of a good, classic Vee race at racetracks across the country.
 
EPrill":10t8kn7e said:
David, SM has great racing for sure, but the drafting and 3-4 wide reminded me of a good, classic Vee race at racetracks across the country.
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Thanks Eric
Never viewed V's any more than nose to tail than when passing. Daytona will be, WOW, I'm sure for many classes.
 
was entertaining to watch on Race Monitor. Great job. Seemed like there was a lot of information here and easy to post, so here are partial results from Race-Monitor.
 
What a fun weekend! Yea, I know I didn't win :doh: , but it was possible, and that makes it like that one good golf shot...

Saturday, after a few laps in Eric's draft and a couple lead changes early on, I slipped in turn 4 and lost some ground. I thought I would get the draft back because you can get a whiff of the draft from waaaayyyyyyy back. However, with my slip also came a rotary passing me and that let the gap grow to a margin I couldn't recover from. Although, it was a hoot having that rotary pull me around the oval! After I cleared the RX7 (let by?), Jesse and Eric were hooked up and I couldn't do much with the gap. First time at the track, and I missed the gearing, but I suspect others didn't have the data they needed either. Jesse's speed in the GTL was just amazing! I think he's going to Roofie (sp?) Roy at Daytona!

Sunday was the most fun I have had racing in years! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: The track was easy to learn but fun too. The kink in the back straight needs to go as I think it's dangerous... :? A flipped up tire and an open car could be ugly. Also, I couldn't see the tires when tucked up in Prill's draft.

I had a good start, but the EP cars in front of me equalized it out and then pulled away. I was right behind Eric, so I didn't panic when we were being held up through turns 1-3. Eric and I had good drive out of 3 and it was clear he was going to out brake Blust as they were side by side with me a car length back into turn 4. After Saturday, there was 0% chance I was letting anyone between me and Prill, so I was deep into 4 to get by Blust too. Combine that with Prill slowing early to take a tight inside line and I popped Eric in the back bumper a few times in the brake zone. Hard enough that he couldn't get to the apex curb. :oops: I try not to touch anyone, but I knew this race could be great, and it wasn't going to get interrupted on lap 1! After that, I settled into a pace/draft for a few laps. The EP car cleared me and Eric on laps 1-3. Super friendly Paul (in another rotary) ran wide about that time and Jesse checked up to let me and Prill race it out... Well, turns out, I should have said me, Prill and Kent! Kent passed me on the tri oval, and I got him back exiting T4. That same lap, while in Prill's draft, Kent drafted past both of us! I could not believe it, and was thinking how cool is this! Me and Prill nose to tail at Miata top speeds and Kent reminds us who has 8 championships! The three of us have a great run for several laps. All this with Jesse hanging back (you know, about 12 feet) taking it all in. When I was in the FP back, I would leave the door open to get a big run etc. Jesse could have dove in several times and didn't so we could battle it out.

Kent's car is pushing and eventually he runs wide enough Prill and I break free. I play with the draft a bunch learning as much as I can about lagging and getting a run... side draft... etc... Prill's rear bumper had a tough weekend between me and the acura so I should have pushed him around as part of the experimenting, but I didn't.... Eric's recap of the race is pretty much the way I recall as well. Lot's of side by side, nose to tail, and then some rain to ruin the ending. I really think I could have just driven around him on the wet oval. I was 65% sure the car would have held, and those odds were just not good enough for me to try. Call me old and not wanting to build another race car! If the rain would have stayed away, I don't know who would have won. But I bet a fish sandwich it would have been by 18 inches or less. In the rain, Jesse reminded us who else has a few championships and down force. I couldn't believe the difference between GTL and FP grip when the track got wet. He just drove past us and went away...

I haven't looked at data yet, but from video, it looks like we were WOT for 44 seconds! I'll take the track record, knowing that any record at Kansas will require a draft...

Also a big big thanks to Chris Albin. Super aware of his mirrors. Eric and I caught him heading into the single file kink thing about 25 minutes in and he checked up big to let us both though. Nothing good would have come from him not lifting. Chris saw this developing and was aces (like always)...

We all forgot about Matt R. who was so far out front...

I know Eric and I both had front and rear cameras. Combine that with Jesse's and some video guy could make a neat video..

Thanks for listening.
 
Kansas Speedway was A LOT of fun.....having the garage sure did help with the intense heat.

This was our 1st time at the track, we were off a little with our transmission gearing and now know what we need to do for Daytona

I did not do the test day on Friday so Saturday was the first time on track, unfortunately we had some exhaust issues during the race, much thanks to Smith GT-1 race team for their assistance with welding.

Sunday was much better, we were able to get into the low 1:30's. Halfway through the race a bolt that held the transmission shifter mount together came loose and fell out making the shifting VERY sloppy and hard to find the correct gears, lap times suffered, then the rains came, I decided to back it way down and bring it home in one piece

Many thanks to the corner workers and the KVRG region.

Good to see Jesse, Kent, Jack, Eric and meet Paul P

Next stop High Plains....:)
 
If my math is right, there were 73 Majors entries, 71 Majors starters, and 10 IT cars.

Is this normal for this event, Conference, or time of year?

RJS
 
By my count, it was 90 for qualifying and Sat race. Down to 85 on Sun.
IT group was 10, but lost one on Sun.

Fathers day weekend and a week after the Sprints.
 
The official count of cars on track is 105 per the final results. Any car recorded by T&S counts. There were 10 in Group 7 (IT.)
 
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