Mid-Ohio Not Our Place To Shine
Oh Hey, Bert here-----

I can’t tell you about all the commotion, cheering and celebrating that went on at the Mid-Ohio race, because there wasn’t much. If you sit back while I tell you what happened here, you might drift -- so, please stay with me!

The track is 2.258 miles in length, with 15 turns.
46 cars entered the race and 40 qualified for the grid.
SRP; 6, SRPII; 4 AGT; 6, GTS; 6, and GT; 18. Of these 40 cars, we took position #24.

The good news is we have SUN. Now the crew chief and Matt have their usual conversation about the car’s preparedness. Matt tells chief, “The oil temp is 74, how’s the radio sound?” “Loud and clear, how are you doing?” Matt answers, “When the green drops, I’m ready!”

It’s 2:00 and we’re getting ready to roll now. Chief says, “10 minutes to start now -- warm it up before you zip it -- take as many laps as you need. You having vibration yet?” “Yes, chief.” “As it warms up, Matt, that should go away. How’s our rev limit?” Matt says, “Real good. Going to line up now.”

Chief calls to crew member, “Paul, turn to cannel 4 and direct Matt to the grid position. Matt, go all the way around to the start/finish at the back of the track. During the pace lap, firm up as best you can. I’ll call “green”.

“Green, Green. God job, Matt, keep the pressure on. Prototype behind you, nice lap. Keep it up -- great job”. On the third lap, Matt radios, “Chief, I just got hit. I think it’s not too bad, I’ve got control again.” “Good, there are more prototypes coming, you’ve got a good pace, keep it up.”

About 2:50, Chief says, “Matt, you are gaining on #4 --- looks like a lot are having trouble staying on track, your time is getting better.” “Chief, a prototype just hit the wall, they’re signaling a full course yellow.” Chief replies, “Copy that—also, turn #8 a car is blocking traffic. Stay with it and you will get back into your rhythm. You should have a clear lap.” Safety car pulls off. Then Chief says, “Keep running quickly and stay on track.”

Matt tells chief that car in front of him, just went into the sand trap. Chief says, “Copy that.” It’s another full course yellow and the chief uses the time to change drivers. Chief tells Matt. “Pit now, pit now…. loosen belts and watch speed. Look for the “lollypop” (sign in shape of a circle, on a long metal pole, that shows drivers where to find pit), no need to speed—great job. Make sure you’re straight.”

The driver change doesn’t go down as smoothly as usual. The seat belt is stuck. Chief radios, “I want you to be safe”. The belt, finally, co-operates and Darren is able to get in. Its 3:05 and the safety car pulls off the track, so “green” is called. Darren says, “There’s a lot of traffic out here.”

About 10 minutes later, Darren says, “Chief, I just got slammed---BIG TIME---on the right side. I will have to pit.” Chief tells crew, “ Check for alignment damage, change all for tires and take off the fender---lets go guys!!! OK, everything looks tight -- get him out!!!! Go, Go, Go...“

We end up in 17th place overall and #5 in GT class. If we were almost any other team, we would be pretty happy about our finish. It’s hard to explain why you do so great sometimes and not other times. Today was not our day to “shine”, even if the sun was. We’ve got a lot of work to do before our next race at Road America. Hope to see you there.