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SCCA The Sebring Turkey Trot...

Southeast Division South Atlantic Road Racing Championship – SARRC

Sebring International Raceway - November 24-25, 2001

Three separate races. Two regional races & one Southeast Atlantic Road Racing Championship (SARRC) race. The SARRC race points count toward the 2002 championship season.

The drive to Sebring takes us about four hours. We left Middleburg, Florida, which is about 20 miles south of Jacksonville, Florida about noon on Friday, November 23rd. Our route was SR-301 to the Florida Turnpike and then the rest of the way by SR-27. The weather was great and the trip was uneventful...thankfully!

We reached the track about 4:00 pm. Registration was not going to open until 6:00 pm, so we joined the line of trailers waiting to enter the track. I walked back to the Chateau Elan to register. The motel overlooks the Hairpin Turn and has a great view of the paddock area.

At 5:30 pm the gates to the track were opened and we started looking for a place to park the trailer. It was already getting dark and it was a chore to set up our tarp and unload the car from the trailer. We had a loaner generator so once it was unloaded from the trailer we had some light to help us see what we were doing. After covering the car with the tarp we headed for the motel.

Saturday morning was sunny and about 65 degrees. This would be Dave's first time to drive the "12 Hour" long course. Our 15 minute practice session was at 8:30 am. Michael Hooten was there to help with the car. Dave did about five laps before the session ended.

Lap times were not what we had hoped for and Dave complained the the new brake pads had not bedded in yet, causing the car to handle poorly. We knew the car was set up properly because it handled fine at Roebling, which is a similar track. We had to hope that the brakes would be better in the next session....Qualifying.

The qualifying session began about 11:30 am and lasted 20 minutes. The temperature had warmed up to the low 80's and it was a beautiful, sunny day. As I took lap times during the qualifying session, I noticed that Dave's times were dropping. I hoped that meant the brakes were beginning to work better. His last lap was his best lap (2:18.408) and earned him the 2nd position next to the Corvette of Phil Simms. Simms' time was 2:08.820 and it was obvious that the Corvette was very fast.

The first regional race was at 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday. It was shortened to a five lap race. Dave Rankin in the #04 Camaro was 3rd on the grid with Dave Berry's yellow #4 next to him. Gary Smith, who we had not raced against for several years, was also among the nine GT-1 competitors. Overall, 25 cars were in the race.

The Corvette took the lead on the green flag and pulled away from the pack. Dave, in 2nd, stayed with him a lap or so, but then the Vette was "gone". Rankin and Dave had a close race, but Dave held on for 2nd. The good news was that the brakes were working well and Dave's lap times had improved. We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and checking the car over in preparation for Sunday's races.

Sunday's first race was another 5 lap race, which counted for regional points. Our race started at 9:50 am. I wanted to try to take some pictures from the balcony of our motel, so Michael dropped me off and went back help Dave buckle in the car. Getting Dave all set in the car takes some time.

This event is the first time he has worn his new HANS device, which is a carbon-fiber molded brace that fits around the neck and over the shoulders and hooks to the helmet with straps on either side. The HANS is held in place by the seat belts. Its purpose is to keep the head from over-extending in the event of a crash.

Each time Dave gets in the car, he puts in his ear piece for radio communications, puts on his balaclava (fire retardant head covering), puts on the Hans, fastens his seat belts, dons the helmet, buckles it and fastens it to the HANS, gets two radio wires hooked to his helmet, puts on his glasses and gloves. Then we do a radio communications check and fasten the window net.

When we run in hot weather, Dave also has a cool suit that circulates ice water from a cooler through tubes in a special shirt. It is one more thing to hook up it up and get ice in the cooler at the last possible minute. Usually, I help Dave, but this time it was up to Michael. I had my radio, but until Dave was all hooked up in the car, I didn't have communication with him. It seemed like forever.

At last I heard Dave's "radio check" and we were set to go. The grid positions were the same for all the races. The view from the balcony was great, but I only had a few laps to get the pictures I wanted. It was also my responsibility to keep Dave informed of the number of laps left and where his competition was.

The task was difficult as I could only see about 1/2 mile of the course. I had no idea what was happening on the rest of the course or in the pits. I could not see the start/finish line either.

After the start, the Corvette came around in First Place. Rankin had gotten past Dave and was in 2nd with Dave in hot pursuit. The second lap, Rankin came by in First Place. I found out later that the Vette had pulled off with something broken, perhaps a U-joint. Dave was in 2nd, pushing Rankin hard.

It looked like the Camaro was faster on the straight. Dave would catch him under braking in the corners. The pressure worked! On the 4th lap, Rankin went in too deep before braking and spun the car. Dave went past for the lead and took the win. Gary Smith took 2nd. I didn't get to see the pass, but I did get to see some close action in the Safety Pin Turn (new revised Hairpin). I hurried to check out of the motel and get back to congratulate Dave and hear what happened.

We only had a few hours to get the car ready for the SARRC race. SARRC races are 30 minutes long. This race counts for the Southeast Division series championship. In 1998 Dave won the GT-1 SARRC championship.

Judging by lap times, I predicted the race would be about 14 laps and I was right on. Phil Simms had the Corvette fixed and was waiting on the grid when Dave arrived. Rankin had turned the #04 Camaro over to his co-driver, Hank, who had to start at the back of the pack since he didn't qualify the car. That put Dave Berry in the 3rd starting position.

The view of the race is even more limited from the pits than it was from the motel balcony. Simms, in the Corvette took an early lead. Berry went around Dave for 2nd on the first lap, but then Dave took the position back on the 2nd lap. Berry stayed a close 3rd for most of the race.

Mark Mattioli was the first to retire with oil pressure problems. Gary Smith pulled into the pits after five laps and was out of the race. Hank, in the #04 Camaro moved up to 5th position. On lap 11, Simms brought the Corvette into the pits and behind the wall. It smelled like an overheating problem. Dave was in the lead with three laps to go!

I radioed him with the news. I gave him the tentative "one lap to go" and "you're #1". That was lap 13 and the checkered didn't come out so the race went another lap. Dave had a healthy lead on the 2nd place Panoz of Scott Loftie. I did the usual yelling into the radio as Dave crossed the finishline taking the checkered flag. It wasn't until several turns later on the cool down lap that he radioed asking what place had he finished in.

To say the least, he was very excited to hear that he won. (I guess he doesn't listen to me?? Yeah, I know. He's busy in the car.) I think Hank may have had an "off", but due to attrition, finished 3rd. We took the car to impound where the top 4 finishers are weighed and held for 30 minutes pending any protests.

Of course, after the race, we do the reverse processes of getting Dave out of the car. This doesn't happen nearly as carefully as the "getting in" process. Ice water and cold towels are in order to help cool the drivers. Then the packing up starts and the long trip home.