Had my first Chicago event of 2016 – haven’t been out here since mid 2014 so I was eager to see how I would do. There were a few targets I couldn’t catch back then – mainly, a turbo diesel VW – the driver of that car had switched to a Fiesta ST, staying in HS, so I knew I would have my hands full.

This time, I made sure I turned my camera off when setting it up. The Fiesta ST had the edge in the morning, and I wasn’t able to catch him or even put a clean run down in the afternoon. My fastest in the afternoon plus a cone would have won me the class, so I’m very pleased – I have definitely improved since 2014, but I still need to nail down some details.

After this very promising weekend, I realize that I need to do something to pass this verge of improvement I’m at. Either start taking data, codriving, or something. Once an event it seems, I get a “magic” run – clean or dirty – where I’m not sure what I do differently, but the time comes out several tenths faster than what I was expecting. Something is definitely there, I just need to grasp it.

For the next few events, I am going all out. I am having one of the top drivers in the region get some ride alongs with me for this weekend – then having a suspension guru drive it at that same event to see what he thinks of the shock settings and the setup in general. For spring nationals, I recruited a very fast friend to see if one of us could win the spring events. Stay tuned!

Index results here.
Class results here.

Things to work on (Mini):

• Tighter lines in a few spots
• Carry more speed!!
• More work on slower speed slaloms
• May need to start taking data or codriving

Notes (Mini):

• 1/9ths tank
• Ran 39/42
• Distance from 10th: 2.15s
• Pax Points: 9,441; 2.436s behind
• 2016 Runs: 28

2016 Run Count: 40 (+6 Mini)