Just wanted to say congrats to Todd for winning the championship this year (and to Scott and Wade for 2nd and 3rd)!

This weekend was perfect from the weather to the racing.

plus Todd set the new PTE lap record with a 2:17 something ( Scott recorded a 2:17 as well in the race)(FWIW both of them had done 2:17s at any earlier NASA event this year in qualifying, but due to traffic and track conditions hadn't pulled that off in the race.

Now the record is over a second lower than it was.

as for me, i was happy my car seems to have power again and i got down to personal best of 2:19.2 in my first ever session on new hoosiers.

Looking to get some more of those for next year and if the budget allows, maybe finally get a real LSD for this car after 7 seasons on a stock (non existent LSD).

Loooking forward to next year for more great racing with my PTE competitors

hey guys!

definitely the best weekend ever at VIR; by far the nicest weather i can remember -- not too hot, no real rain, not too sunny, not too cold. just right for the racecars and just right for the humans, too!!!!

i made alot of changes to the old Probenstien the week prior to this VIR race; i changed the ride height, the camber, and the toe. i built a custom 'ReidSpeed' cold air intake system and changed to a much colder range sparkplug. after loading up the car, i said a prayer and hoped the changes would help and not hurt....

i had a pair of clients to coach on friday, and i never drove it any further than out of the trailer and into it's paddock space (boy i wanted to take it out for 10 mins and see if it was going to GO !!).

saturday dawned very overcast and with a bit of sprinkley rain during our qualifying session (which was the qualifying to count for all three races). i almost put on my rains, but decided to stick with the RA-1s. i was second in line behind wade (who told me just to go around him immediately -- thanks wade! :biggthump ). i took off at the drop of the green and scott followed along with me; i laid down 2 laps and it started to sprinkle harder; i was watching in my rear view, and i thought that perhaps i'd been a touch faster than scott (if i was, it wasn't by a whole lot, though). i decided to save my brakepads and tires and came in on the third lap -- of course it stopped raining immediately, and i was worried to death back in my paddock spot as i watched everyone circulate around (it was a 20 min qualifying instead of the usual 15 mins). i was hoping that it wouldn't dry up very much!!!! as it turned out, i qualified first in PTE, second overall behind a very well driven, fast sports racer (peter krause). wade was right behind me (.2 behind, i think, and scott was right behind him, .1 slower. harper was a couple secs back, but he'd been bedding in tires and brakes, i believe).

by race #1 time, it was totally dry and the track was good. so, i was on the front row, on the outside next to the sports racer. scott and wade were right behind me in the 2nd row. i got a good start, and the sports racer flew away (he was about 15 secs a lap faster than us!). i slotted into first in PTE and scott was right behind me. we battled for a few laps, and then scott started to slip back (he was on older hoosiers for race #1). i gapped out a fairly comfortable margin, and the race ended with me in first place -- turned a best lap (and a new record) of 2:17.8. 2nd was scott, 3rd was wade, and 4th was harper. here's the race video (not particularly super interesting: http://www.vimeo.com/7023109

(BTW, i was an idiot and never checked the 'zoom setting' all weekend on the vid camera; it is about half way zoomed in, so you can't see much of the interior of the car, and the outside view is constricted somewhat)

the starting grid for race #2 was identical; pretty much got the same start, and it was me, scott, and wade and harper as the front running PTE'ers. this time, though, scott had installed his new hoosiers, and was ready to go! he got a good run on me on the first lap coming out of oak tree, and slowly inched past me up the hill on the back straight. we both braked late, but he had the edge and i left room and he slipped by me at the top. i followed him CLOSELY (lol) into hog pen and got a pretty good exit; then caught a draft and drove by on the outside. i outbroke him a bit, and stayed on the 'rimshot' for T1/T2. i had the line for T3 and he had to submit. from there we battled a bit, but my RA-1s had come in and i started to pull away little by little. eventually i had a nice lead (and i think scott's axle started fail, too; i can't remember if it was race #1 or race #2 that his CV joint started to shake real bad). i came home first again with a really nice laptime of 2:17.6; scott was 2nd, and i believe harper was 3rd and wade 4th. here's the vid of that one (a much more fun vid!): http://www.vimeo.com/7024135

sunday's race was scheduled to be a full hour long race; i inspected the Probenstien after the awards banquet on sat night; the tires looked good (those RA-1s last L-O-N-G time! i put them on the beginning of the year, and rotated them before this weekend; they still have 3 weekends worth of tread left on them!). i had installed new front brake pads at the beginning of the year, too, and sat's #2 race had finished the passenger side front pads; they were thinner than 1/32nd inch. the driver side still had 1/8" remaining (i can't for the life of me figure out why the passenger side ALWAYS wears out before the driver side?); anyway, i had some spare used driver side fronts from last year so i did a 'passenger side only' brake change. the angles were worn wrong, so i knew that the first few laps of the race i'd have a real low pedal, til the angles wore flat against the rotor, and then it would be OK. the disturbing thing i found was that i had spewed grease all over the driver side front wheel -- there was a tear in the outer boot, and i'd estimate that at least half or more of the grease had flown out. it was late at night (and our race was early on sun morning); i was feeling lazy, and after all it was a 'fun race', so i cleaned up the grease and put the wheel back on. the probe axles are strong, and this one was an Advance axle, which i put on in 2006, and it was guaranteed for life, so i reasoned that if i was going to return it, i wanted to return it grenaded, not just with a lil cut in the boot! :rofl:

for the 1 hour fun race, the sports racer decided not to attend. therefore, i was on the pole, with wade next to me (who had switched to worn out toyos), and scott right behind me (who had switched back onto his worn out hoosiers), and harper (on worn old tires) next to him (right guys? i'm pretty sure it was wade next to me, and not scott?). anyway, since i was setting the pace speed to the flag, i ran my 2nd gear up pretty high, so that the SE-Rs would be in between 2nd and third gear. the flag flew and i took the lead fairly easily. scott slotted in behind me, and wade/harper went to work on each other! it was immediately obvious that scott was on worse tires; it was not too hard for me to stay in front of him, even while conserving my car (i was short shifting and using 5th gear, too, in an effort to protect my tires and make sure that i would not starve for gas before the end of the race). i moved out to a decent comfortable lead and stayed there, with scott sometimes closing up once i got into heavy 944/miata traffic. we had an exciting view of Roper's SE-R spinning off at one point (yahoo! looked like a wild ride). about half way thru the race, there were some multiple collisions that brought out a FCY. it took them forever with a backhoe to pull out the miata and the tirewall; they finally restarted the race with about 5 mins to go, and everyone's tires were cold. i got a good restart, and was past a pack of miatas when i went into T1; i practically broadslid through, cause the rear tires were cold and the fronts were still warm! i remember thinking 'wow, i bet there will be some contact on this restart' and about 30 secs later we got another FCY, and finished under yellow. there had been another crash in the lower esses, and there wasn't time to clear it and restart. it ended up me, steve, scott, wade. here's the race clip (battery died sometime near the end of the FCY, just before the restart): http://www.vimeo.com/7037076

the changes that i made to the probe really worked; handling was great, and the power level is now back to great; scott barely can crawl around me up the back straight (draft and slingshot) and i can drive past him down the front straight (draft and slingshot). the ReidSpeed cold air induction kit really did its job, and definitely helped me nab the track record. i'm looking forward to next year too, and have a few changes planned for the probe (some new bodywork is #1 on the list! i'm tired of the 'wrinkly' look!).

i'm planning on going to the NJMP Thunderbolt at the end of the month with NASA NE; anyone else want to try racing at this world class facility? i've done one day on it, and i really liked it (drove my civic there).

Hey, Todd. Great season. I enjoyed your video your passing me after hogpen. If you notice, I exited hogpen faster but you drove by me like I wasn't even there. Hooray draft? Anyway, I had a great weekend. Thanks also to Wade and Steve for being great competitors and friends and for being there every single weekend. Hopefully everyone in the PTE group can hit more races next season. It would be nice to have 10 cars per race.

hi scott!!!

i just finished with uploading the sunday fun race, and put the clip into my orig post (damn camera battery died at the end of the first FCY, just before the exciting restart!!!).

and yeah, typically i am much faster coming down thru hog pen (watch the next couple of laps in the #2 race after i get back around you, while looking at the rear view mirror -- i typically get a great run down thru there and out onto the front straight and pull a margin on you.... that 1st lap, when you got around me up the back straight (good job!), i originally was going to try and 'cross' back around you in the inside of T14, but i couldn't do it.... then i had a good run down the rest of the way, and you REALLY surprised me when you hit the brakes entering the top of hogpen (i ALMOST hit your bumper! i mean, i think i might have just grazed it, even as i was slamming on the brake). i really jumped on the brakes there, way more than usual, cause there was not way i wanted to touch you and spin you (you guys know me well, and thats not the way i want to race/drive). our cars are a little loose there (watch the vid, and you can see your car dancing a bit; i know mine always does!!!). no WAY i was gonna touch and loop you! anyway, it surprised me and hurt my rhythm a tiny bit, but didn't really hurt my exit very much in T17. plus, i think my car is perfectly geared for that corner in 3rd; you can see in the clip that you have to shift earlier than i do; your car dips a little, and i can power out alot further in my 3rd, and i gain signifigantly at that time, and it puts me deep into your draft (which i can really feel! you guys cut a hole!!!!). i put it in 4th and firewalled it and i just walked right up to your bumper. at that point, i think you made the right choice, protecting the inside (if you hadn't, it would have been so much easier for me to pass you on the inside). i waited til the last microsecond to shift over (i was REALLY close to your bumper!) to take max advantage of the draft/slingshot, and was able to get around you and brake deeper than you into T1. then it was just a matter of not sliding off in the marbles, and doing the rimshot correctly, and holding the inside into T3 (i knew i had you by the time we got to the 'no-name' kink).

2009 was a great season for me -- to start with, i really had the handling working well with the Ksports. during the hot months, my power loss was a little upsetting to me, but i think i have that rectified now. the entire season, you guys (most especially you, scott!) got faster and tougher and better and better, making me have to drive my best, all the time (and sometimes it wasn't enough! congrats on those days, scott!). the entire time, we had good close racing, with practically zero contact!!! (and when you look at other series, this is not all that common! re: spece30, specmiata, spec944). you guys are all great drivers, and i trust all of you to run side-by-side, nose-to-tail, all over the track, thru every turn, and thru heavy traffic!!!!!!!!!! :thumbup:

awesome job guys!!! looking forward to 2010 racing season!!! (and for me, its not over yet; i'm almost 100% certain that i am going to go to NJMP Thunderbolt with NASA NE on oct 31-nov1st)..... darren is going in his PTE Integra, and i am going to see about maybe getting Drivegear to rent a spece30 and put it into PTE (going to see if whit wants to drive it!).....

i'm also gonna be at the Turkeybowl at Summit Point the end of november....... i love to race!

Having watched that video, i really think it illustrates that it would be in everyone's interst if everyone who regularly shows up in PTE dyno their car in the offseason. It wont answer all questions because we all won't be on the same dyno. But i think it might help answer questions that everyone has about the motors of those that ran races this year (meaning Todd, Scott and Darren)......not to say that Wade and I shouldn't dyno our cars either :biggthump

Especially since we dont have a regular dyno at the track and were unable to have PTE dynoed at the track this year.

hi scott!!!

i just finished with uploading the sunday fun race, and put the clip into my orig post (damn camera battery died at the end of the first FCY, just before the exciting restart!!!).

and yeah, typically i am much faster coming down thru hog pen (watch the next couple of laps in the #2 race after i get back around you, while looking at the rear view mirror -- i typically get a great run down thru there and out onto the front straight and pull a margin on you.... that 1st lap, when you got around me up the back straight (good job!), i originally was going to try and 'cross' back around you in the inside of T14, but i couldn't do it.... then i had a good run down the rest of the way, and you REALLY surprised me when you hit the brakes entering the top of hogpen (i ALMOST hit your bumper! i mean, i think i might have just grazed it, even as i was slamming on the brake). i really jumped on the brakes there, way more than usual, cause there was not way i wanted to touch you and spin you (you guys know me well, and thats not the way i want to race/drive). our cars are a little loose there (watch the vid, and you can see your car dancing a bit; i know mine always does!!!). no WAY i was gonna touch and loop you! anyway, it surprised me and hurt my rhythm a tiny bit, but didn't really hurt my exit very much in T17. plus, i think my car is perfectly geared for that corner in 3rd; you can see in the clip that you have to shift earlier than i do; your car dips a little, and i can power out alot further in my 3rd, and i gain signifigantly at that time, and it puts me deep into your draft (which i can really feel! you guys cut a hole!!!!). i put it in 4th and firewalled it and i just walked right up to your bumper. at that point, i think you made the right choice, protecting the inside (if you hadn't, it would have been so much easier for me to pass you on the inside). i waited til the last microsecond to shift over (i was REALLY close to your bumper!) to take max advantage of the draft/slingshot, and was able to get around you and brake deeper than you into T1. then it was just a matter of not sliding off in the marbles, and doing the rimshot correctly, and holding the inside into T3 (i knew i had you by the time we got to the 'no-name' kink).

2009 was a great season for me -- to start with, i really had the handling working well with the Ksports. during the hot months, my power loss was a little upsetting to me, but i think i have that rectified now. the entire season, you guys (most especially you, scott!) got faster and tougher and better and better, making me have to drive my best, all the time (and sometimes it wasn't enough! congrats on those days, scott!). the entire time, we had good close racing, with practically zero contact!!! (and when you look at other series, this is not all that common! re: spece30, specmiata, spec944). you guys are all great drivers, and i trust all of you to run side-by-side, nose-to-tail, all over the track, thru every turn, and thru heavy traffic!!!!!!!!!! :thumbup:

awesome job guys!!! looking forward to 2010 racing season!!! (and for me, its not over yet; i'm almost 100% certain that i am going to go to NJMP Thunderbolt with NASA NE on oct 31-nov1st)..... darren is going in his PTE Integra, and i am going to see about maybe getting Drivegear to rent a spece30 and put it into PTE (going to see if whit wants to drive it!).....

i'm also gonna be at the Turkeybowl at Summit Point the end of november....... i love to race!

i'm also gonna be at the Turkeybowl at Summit Point the end of november....... i love to race!

I thought Turkey bowl was a vintage event. I know it's a little old, but the probe is not vintage...

Hi, Todd. Great race report, by the way. I was only referring to the time that we went through hogpen together and you passed me. I was faster at the exit and I was pulling away and you still drove by me. In the later laps, I was slower in hogpen b/c my LF axle felt like it was going to explode and the steering wheel was about to vibrate out of my hands. I started the race running 2:17's and by the final lap I was running 2:24... and TRYING to go fast.

As for the dyno, I'm going to do mine in the offseason. I have a dynojet 5 min from my house now. I'd still like to see us dyno'd after a race or qualifying session on occasion.

As for the dyno, I'm going to do mine in the offseason. I have a dynojet 5 min from my house now. I'd still like to see us dyno'd after a race or qualifying session on occasion.

damn, within 5 mins? sheeesh! there are a few about an hour from me, but the one i prefer (at Sander's place; who tunes my honda civic) is about 2 hrs. and yes, i'd have LOVED us to all be dynoed in the afternoon on sat -- that would have been P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

re: turkey bowl. it's an awesome race weekend; there are two sides to the race weekend; there are vintage heat races (prewar, postwar under two litres; over two litres, and 'real fast' vintage). there are also heats for anyone else who is driving a 'more modern' racecar of any type -- they are open to anyone in pca, or bmwcca, or nasa, emra, scca. it is basically a 'free for all' in those heats -- and it is always a GREAT time! tons of track time for your $; almost too much time. all day practice on friday, and races on sat and a longer race on sun. all for a very low price! one of my 'try not to miss' weekends of the year!

http://www.vrgonline.org/EVENTS/TURK/TURK.html (looks like they haven't put up any schedule type info on the page yet)

PTE 'super shootout' anyone?????? :D

I agree that i'd like for us to be dynoed after race or qualifying on sat, in fact that is what i requested from tech when i make my request before the event for the last 4 or 5 race weekends. The reality is that it is difficult for NASA to get a dynojet operator to come to the event, big expense for dyno guy, not guarantee cheap racers will get car dynoed.

That is why i suggest/strongly encourage every PTE competitor to show up next feb with a dyno sheet. I have already written to Greg requested that for 2010 the rule be changeed to require a dyno sheet for PT competitors.

damn, within 5 mins? sheeesh! there are a few about an hour from me, but the one i prefer (at Sander's place; who tunes my honda civic) is about 2 hrs. and yes, i'd have LOVED us to all be dynoed in the afternoon on sat -- that would have been P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

re: turkey bowl. it's an awesome race weekend; there are two sides to the race weekend; there are vintage heat races (prewar, postwar under two litres; over two litres, and 'real fast' vintage). there are also heats for anyone else who is driving a 'more modern' racecar of any type -- they are open to anyone in pca, or bmwcca, or nasa, emra, scca. it is basically a 'free for all' in those heats -- and it is always a GREAT time! tons of track time for your $; almost too much time. all day practice on friday, and races on sat and a longer race on sun. all for a very low price! one of my 'try not to miss' weekends of the year!

http://www.vrgonline.org/EVENTS/TURK/TURK.html (looks like they haven't put up any schedule type info on the page yet)

PTE 'super shootout' anyone?????? :D

hey guys, looked like you all had a ton of fun out there. i really wanted to be there, but i had some unfortunate things in my life take place, and racing is now a back marker. hopefully with a lot of luck and some blessing from the big man, i can be out there next year, probably hyperfest at earliest.

for this weekend, i was planning on talking to the hpde'ers and try to persuade them to go into PTE to try and build up a good quantity in the class for the future. maybe you all can do that at the early events next year?

david, hope everything works out so you can get out there next year.:biggthump

PTE is growing, we had several new PTE'rs show up this year, with more to come next year.

as it stands, these are all the ones who showed this year

Myself,
Todd
Scott
Wade
Darren
Eric Roper
David
james slectha (300zx)
rx7 from this past weekend

there were a few more cars here in there i think but i forget at this point

for next year i expect all of the above back, plus maybe James's son in an indentical 300zx,

eric rosen should be back next year at everyweekend ;-), plus i am sure there are more i forgot about

we also need to talk to the guy in the H4 crx who races by himself and get him to come run with us.

with Rosen, we should have a minimum of 5 every weekend, if we can get Darren, Roper and David to be regulars we would look half-way respectable ;-)

hey guys, looked like you all had a ton of fun out there. i really wanted to be there, but i had some unfortunate things in my life take place, and racing is now a back marker. hopefully with a lot of luck and some blessing from the big man, i can be out there next year, probably hyperfest at earliest.

for this weekend, i was planning on talking to the hpde'ers and try to persuade them to go into PTE to try and build up a good quantity in the class for the future. maybe you all can do that at the early events next year?

thanks steve. if things go the best they could go for me, i'd be in san diego in december till may. then purchase a house, and hopefully racing will fit in there too.

+1 on the H4 crx driver.

hi scott!!!

i'm also gonna be at the Turkeybowl at Summit Point the end of november....... i love to race!

Todd, sold my pro6 no more Nissan for me. :(

But....

I now have a late model.
I would like to run it in the turkeybowl + if not a track day (NOV. nasa) prior.
Its just a grown up version of the pro6 on steriods.

Will they let me run this car if I put brake lights on it?

Will they let me run this car if I put brake lights on it?

hey joe!

the guy in charge of the 'modern cars' was Joe Blacker; i am about 99% sure that they will let you run in the 'modern cars' heat, as long as you have all the safety gear, etc, plus the brake lights on the car. tons of track time and tons of racing!

todd

Todd, email sent...
Thanks. I used you as a reference. Hope that's ok.
Pulled the rear out tonight. Now need to find a 4.??? it had a 7.?? in it.
Should be fun!
2" less tire + 300 more hp than my pro6!

david, hope everything works out so you can get out there next year.:biggthump

PTE is growing, we had several new PTE'rs show up this year, with more to come next year.

as it stands, these are all the ones who showed this year

Myself,
Todd
Scott
Wade
Darren
Eric Roper
David
james slectha (300zx)
rx7 from this past weekend

there were a few more cars here in there i think but i forget at this point

for next year i expect all of the above back, plus maybe James's son in an indentical 300zx,

eric rosen should be back next year at everyweekend ;-), plus i am sure there are more i forgot about

we also need to talk to the guy in the H4 crx who races by himself and get him to come run with us.

with Rosen, we should have a minimum of 5 every weekend, if we can get Darren, Roper and David to be regulars we would look half-way respectable ;-)

Yup, there was at least one more car out there, a 200SX I think.

Wonder if he will be back out next year :biggthump

Great video.

Hey Joelamite, how about some photos of the tube-frame Monte. As I recall that has a v-6 3.0L from an early Z??

Doug Arcidino told me that he would be in PTE next year. He competed in TTE this past season.

Great video.

Hey Joelamite, how about some photos of the tube-frame Monte. As I recall that has a v-6 3.0L from an early Z??

hey man! you gotta use the right terminology -- that car was the 'Death Racer'!!!!! :rofl:

here is an early clip of it racing at summit point; this was before it was repainted 'deathracer' black, and also it was still suffering from brake and/or handling maladies.... (it got mucho faster in the coming races):

http://www.vimeo.com/1954113 (i spend quite a few laps following it around!

at one point it had a 3 liter 300zx motor; i think in later iterations it had a 3.3 liter villager motor?

Sorry for the syntax error. How about some photos of "Death Racer"