[DeTomaso] Asa Jay Passes Driving School

michael@michaelshortt.com michaelsavga at gmail.com
Mon Apr 5 10:38:58 EDT 2010


Great write up Asa,

Glad that you enjoyed your on track experience, and congrats on the
promotions while there, you must have made quirte an impression.

May I offer some quickee advice and a question?

But yourself a spare set of wheels that you don't car about and by a set I
mean 6 of them, ( spare front and spare rear ).
and use these for track days, etc. Even plain old steel wheels work fine
with the proper offset., try to find some worn out suitable tires with about
5/32"
of tread left on them and you'll be good to go, ( an electric impact wrench,
lightweight aluminum floor jack and a torque wrench will make the track side

or home based switch a 30 minute operation.

Now the question.


Did you instructors not cover downshifting as braking for turns?

Here are three acorns that I grew up believing to be true about racing and
they have served me well, although as the forum with soon prove, not
everybody agrees.

1) the only time that you truly have control of a car is under acceleration.

2) It is always better to come into a turn slower and exit faster.

3) smooth is faster, often the car that appears the smoothest and has less
abrupt actions ( squeals, chirps, etc. ) will have the best lap time ( esp
true at autocross events )

If you think about the contact patch of any car and breakdown the dynamics
of what occurs in those four square feet or less, it is mind boggling.

Glad that you are stoked and that the car survived with so little damage,
gravel traps can ruin your day.


Michael Shortt







On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 9:53 AM, Asa Jay Laughton <asajay at asajay.com> wrote:

> Thanks Mirril, having experienced instructors is the biggest key to
> these schools.  Especially those who are willing to take a spin in
> stride, work with you to understand why it happened and then take you
> around again.
>
> :)
> Asa Jay
>
> Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
> &  Shelley Marie
> Spokane, WA
> ******************************
> http://www.asajay.com   ***   http://www.teampanteraracing.com
>
>
>
>  On 4/5/2010 2:17 AM, Mirril M. McMullen wrote:
> > Asa,
> >
> > Congrats on a great school.
> >
> > I have done these since 98 and have been an instructor since 05.
> >
> > Glad your car held up and you kept the shiny side up!!
> >
> >
> > Mirril M. McMullen
> >
> > 98 E36 Track car
> > 74L PCar #6859
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com]
> On
> > Behalf Of Asa Jay Laughton
> > Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 12:09 AM
> > To: detomaso at realbig.com
> > Subject: [DeTomaso] Asa Jay Passes Driving School
> >
> > It wouldn't have been a good weekend without at least one good spin.
> > But two?   Well, it was a nice way to finish the day anyway.
> >
> > The story:
> > I attended a BMW CCA Driving School held in Spokane, WA this weekend at
> > the Spokane County Raceway.  Day one I was placed in group D, the very
> > beginners, novice, kiddie group.  It was my very first on-track
> > experience and I wasn't going to try and fool anyone.
> >
> > About 45 minutes of classroom then on the track with an instructor for
> > 25 minutes.  They drove first, showed us the line for three or four laps
> > and then let us drive with them as passenger.  Another 45 minutes of
> > classroom, another track session.  Break for lunch, then two more
> > driving sessions.  Sunday, only one classroom session, with four driving
> > sessions.
> >
> > I came into the line for this track pretty early, so by session three on
> > Saturday we were working on brake points, downshifting and increasing
> > speed.  Sunday I got a new instructor, more aggressive, someone who
> > really pushed both me -and- the car.  He didn't drive it once either
> > (like the instructor the day before), he just sat in the passenger seat
> > and gave me pointers.  In session three we we were really pushing the
> > limits.  I didn't get into the brake hard enough at the right time for
> > turn 2, ended up a little tight with some trailing throttle oversteer
> > and I spun it on the track; both feet down (clutch and brake) and the
> > spin ended up a 180 safely stopped.  Unfortunately that meant a
> > mandatory pit, but that was okay as it was pretty much the end of the
> > session.
> >
> > About an  hour later, the instructor comes to me at the end of the B
> > group.  I'm just shooting the breeze with other beginners waiting for C
> > group to go out and then we'll get ready.  He grabs a knife and cuts the
> > "D" off my window, replaces it with a "C," says you graduated, lets go.
> > ...   So who's to argue?  He's the instructor.
> >
> > By this time I've been really burning up the track.  In session 2 today
> > (Sunday), I passed everyone except the very last car to start, which was
> > a pretty quick Miata.  Two other cars (Subaru wagon and a sedan I think)
> > I've passed -twice-.  Session 3, I passed everyone and was rapidly
> > coming up on lapping the slow cars again.  That's when I spun in session
> > 3, near the end after having lapped the pack.  With the exception of
> > that one spin in session 3, I'm getting feedback that I'm doing really
> > well.
> >
> > To follow along, take a look at the track:
> > http://spokaneracewaypark.com/images/SRP-Aerial_big.jpg
> > I'm reaching the end of the straight at about 130 on my speedo and
> > lifting for turn one.  Turn 2 requires a firm brake just before entry,
> > feels tight but it's not, it's just really long, then back on the
> > throttle before the apex and I'm shifting back into fifth through the
> > soft turns 3 and 4 and approaching 5 at nearly 120.  (5 is where it
> > kinks nearly 90 degrees right)  Smooth and FIRM on the brakes just prior
> > to entry into turn 5, get into fourth and then get set up for another
> > hard brake and down into third for 6 and 7, then throttle up into fourth
> > and hard brake for 8, come around 9 and throttle back up through 10 and
> > hammer the straight again.  Repeat.
> >
> > So the instructor gets in the passenger seat of the Pantera after
> > upgrading me to C group.  He has one knee folded up and the other barely
> > under the dash.  At the beginning of the day we were working on turn 2,
> > and then 5-6-7.  I've got 5-6-7 down by now and 2 has been coming along
> > well, except for my spin during the prior session.
> >
> > We are the first and only car out for C group in session 4, and I'm not
> > about to baby it.  Others joined the party late (they weren't lined up
> > behind me when we started).  I'm probably three or four laps in and now
> > passing the pack that came in late.  I've passed nearly everyone in the
> > C group and have a 2005 generation Mustang on my tail.  It's a fast car
> > and I've committed to give him a point by in the next passing zone.
> >
> > Oh, did I mention this school allowed passing?  Yea.. I got to learn all
> > about that too, every session.
> >
> > So I've passed the rest of the pack and it's me and the Mustang, I'm not
> > proud so I'm going to give him a point by in the next passing zone, but
> > I'm going to make him work for it until we get there.  Well, that's when
> > it all unwound on me, or rather... I choked.
> >
> > I came into turn 2 really hot and didn't get firm enough on the brakes,
> > lifting early and turning in I got classic understeer, the wheels just
> > kept going straight.  So I backed off the throttle and made my
> > mistake... I tapped the brakes, and let me tell you it was nearly
> > instinctive that as fast as my foot hit that pedal I -knew- it was the
> > wrong thing to do and I even said as much to my instructor at the very
> > moment my foot hit the pedal.  Then it was both feet down, the car went
> > wide and into the gravel.  After the traffic passed, we drove right
> > out.  The gravel isn't shallow except in a couple of spots, luckily I
> > found one and didn't have to be towed out.
> >
> > So what happens when you hit gravel at nearly 70 miles an hour...
> sideways?
> > This:
> >
> http://www.teampanteraracing.com/index.php?option=com_g2bridge&view=gallery&
> > Itemid=57&g2_itemId=3374
> >
> > The wheels are now off the car and the air has been let out.  I'll be
> > taking them in tomorrow and having them cleaned up by the same guy who
> > originally mounted them.
> >
> > So let's recap.
> > I just took a 36 year old Pantera,
> > With stock Girling Brakes (Porterfield pads)
> > Stock 351C engine (new valve stem seals/keepers, water pump)
> >       One extra quart of oil and the oil pressure was -great- exiting
> > turn 2 at nearly 100 MPH.
> > Stock ZF transaxle (safety wired, new clutch)
> > Fluidyne radiator with sucker fans
> > Toyo Proxes R888 on Stock 7&  8 Campy wheels
> > and five point harnesses...
> >
> > out to the RACE track and HAD A BLAST!  For TWO DAYS!
> > Feedback after it was all done indicated many instructors were impressed
> > with my performance, how much I learned and appeared to -retain- and put
> > to good use.  They were very impressed with the performance of the
> > Pantera and said the guy driving it had really come a long way in just
> > two days.
> >
> > I met two or three other folks there who either owned or knew of
> > neighbors with Panteras.  I think this weekend was an eye-opener for
> > them.  I think the Pantera got a lot of good press "in the flesh" this
> > weekend and I had a -great- time with everyone there, despite my little
> > mishap.  :)
> >
> > Now.... I need some sleep.
> >
> > Asa Jay
> >
> > Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
> > &   Shelley Marie
> > Spokane, WA
> > ******************************
> > http://www.asajay.com   ***   http://www.teampanteraracing.com
> >
> >
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-- 







Michael L. Shortt
Savannah, Georgia
www.michaelshortt.com
michael at michaelshortt.com
912-232-9390


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