So You Want to be a CART Racer? | |||
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We're back at Laguna Seca again for round 9 and 10 of the West Coast Formula Dodge series. Coming into this race I was a man on a mission - extremely determined to WIN. After the last race weekend where I made a couple mistakes that cost me, I wanted to come back strong.
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After all the races are done, they have a "free-for-all" no-points race that anyone can enter called a memorial race. There are always a few instructors joining in this race. Usually, I never run memorial races because I don't want to assume any unnecessary risks and chance car damage. But, in last months article I said at the very end how I really took a look at and scrutinized my racing program, and how I was going to make some changes. Well, one of these changes is running memorial races. I want to get as much experience dicing and swapping positions as I can, and since the instructors race in memorials, it's a great opportunity. The start of the race was inverted, meaning the fastest guys start in back. I had to start this race in a different unfamiliar car because the clutch master cylinder blew up on the car I won in, and the mechanics took it back for repairs. This was going to be interesting. Along with me sticking out in the memorial race was Roger Yasukawa (the fast guy I raced at Phoenix, who's been racing in England and is over here during the "off-season") and Mike Morris (another top competitor). Both, along with me, haven't done any memorial races this season. From the instructor side, Tom Woods (who's racing the Barber Dodge Pro series this year) and Mark Hamilton Peters (one of the head instructors and former Vauxhall winner) were going to put their hat into the ring. MHP does most the memorials, and was probably favored to win since he has won the last two. Unknown to us at the time, the other instructors and staff were making wagers on who would win! On the start, it was mayhem! A good mayhem though - everyone was clean, but we were going 3 wide over the front straight and into turn 2. Wow, this was wild! I had to back off the gas quite a bit, but I made a couple positions going around the outside of turn 2. After the field straightened out, we were cooking, and I was probably in something like 5th. A lap later, I see Roger in my mirrors right on my tail. The next lap he tried to make a pass under me in the corkscrew, but I wouldn't have any of that. We went down the corkscrew side by side, but I had a better drive and kept my position. Then, he took a look in T9, but I held the outside line solid and won that battle. However, on the next lap, I didn't drive a defensive enough line and Roger got right under me going into T9. We went side by side and going into T10, he had the advantage, and I tucked in behind him. "That's cool," I thought, "I'll follow Roger around a bit and play." On the next lap though, Roger was able to put a slower car between us (from the inverted start) at the corkscrew. Darn, this gave him a comfy second gap between us. Just when I think I can go into "hot pursuit" mode, I look in my mirror to see MHP very close. One guy passed me, I'd be damned if I were going to let another one by :-)! This was the start of the best dicing and racing I have ever had! MHP was on my tail for the next few laps, and we were going side by side at every possibility! He was a little better than I was off turn 4, so I'd protect the inside line, and he'd take the outside. We'd go through turn 5 side by side and then up to turn 6. We were side by side on the entry of T6, neither of us backing off until the very end - a serious game of chicken. Since I had the inside line, MHP would back out at the last possible second, and we would both slam on the brakes and go sideways through T6, a little slower than normal. That scenario happened just about ever lap. He also tried to make a move in T9 a couple times, and we went side by side both times, tires screaming in protest, cars sideways, but I held the outside line and had the advantage going into T10.
While MHP and I were having our battle royal, Woods and Yasukawa were having one of their own in front of us. At the very end, it was super close, but Yasukawa took a 0.1 second win with Woods right on his gearbox.
I have to say this was my best weekend yet! Two decisive wins by 15-seconds, and a memorial race that I spent more time side by side in the turns than nose to tail! Definitely my favorite weekend so far. Not quite the emotion of my first win at Phoenix, but this weekend brought a lot of clarity and unshakable confidence to my racing. Even thought I've done well all year, there was still a small question mark in my mind as to how good I really was. Now, there is no question whatsoever in my mind, I have my sights set on making a career change from software engineer to professional racecar driver.
A sobering thought that frequently goes through my head is, "If I don't find a sponsor by the end of this season in May, I don't race anymore." How's that for motivation! This year has taught me quite a bit, and I have been a sponge, soaking up as much racing knowledge as possible. I have really been blessed with an exponential learning curve at racing - having a great feel for a racecar and being able to post some of the top times at every track we've been to. My goals now are well defined. I will definitely run more Formula Dodge races across the country to learn a lot of the tracks like Mid-Ohio, Sebring, Road America, etc. I am also going to try and run as much Pro racing as possible in 1998 to learn car setup and get used to cars with wings and slicks. For this, I'm mainly looking at the Barber Dodge Pro series and the Formula Mazda series. Next year, in 1999, I plan to race the entire Barber Dodge Pro series - that is the main focus for my team. Any and all racing in 1998 is purely for preparation. The more practice I can get before the 1999 season, the better my 1999 results will be. With these plans and goals in place, now begins the great sponsor search. As we speak, I'm sending out sponsor proposals to prospective companies. I'm first starting with the "big ones". My hope is that they will welcome the opportunity to sponsor a rising talent to complement their current racing sponsorships. But, of course, I don't want to leave any stone unturned, so I will be sending proposals to just about every company I can think of that advertises nationally. Sponsorship is going to be the key in my competing further. As much as my family would love to help me, it isn't financially feasible for them. I've been racing off credit cards, and those need to get paid off in the not so distant future. I will just keep contacting companies, hoping for at least one "yes". I truly feel sponsorship is a good marketing/advertising investment for companies since every Barber Dodge Pro race is ran with CART, Trans-Am, Sports Car, etc. and is televised on ESPN2 with good time slots. Why fork out a few hundred thousand for a 30 second commercial that will air when I'm going to the fridge for a snack, when that same amount can run a car in the Barber Dodge Pro series for a year and a half! That's what I think is so great about motorsports sponsorship - the sponsors ARE the show, not a "bathroom break". With the rising popularity of motorsports, more and more sponsors are catching on. I hope one catches on with my racing so I can continue to write for you all and kick some butt at the next level of racing! Thanks everyone for the encouraging email (sorry I'm sometimes slow to respond, life's kinda hectic) - it makes all the time spent writing worth it to know you enjoy the articles :-)! Next on "You Want to be a CART Racer?":
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Special To SpeedCenter © 1998 Darrel Cherry and SpeedCenter
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