[thstone]

I had a great weekend racing on the royal at the PCA/POC California Festival of Speed at AutoClub Speedway in Fontana, CA!

We had practice and qualifying on Friday, Sprint Race #1 (30 min) and the 70 min Enduro on Sat, and Sprint Race #2 on Sunday.

I qualified 11th of 20 overall and 9th of 14 in Spec Boxster using the same set of tires that I raced on at Buttonwillow which meant that the car was quite loose and struggling for grip in 2nd gear out of T4, T6 and T9. A new set of tires on Friday evening solved that problem.

Results:
Sprint Race #1: Started 11th of 20 overall and 9th of 14 in Spec Boxster. Finished 13th overall and 11th in Spec Box.

This was not my best race. I didn't get a great start and then with 3 laps to go, the low fuel light came on. I do some quick math in my head and decide that I'm not going to make it so I slow for 3 laps and then come into the pits before the checker.

Enduro Race: Started 19th of 24 overall and finished 16th overall. All of the race cars were grouped together for this race, so we had everything from 911R's and 911 GT-3 Cup cars to Spec Boxster's and 944's on track together. This requires paying a LOT of attention to your mirrors! Overall, I did well and spent the 70 mins of track time working on my line and technique. 70 mins might not sound like a long time to race, but I was beat at the end of that race.

Sprint Race #2: Started 11th of 16 overall and 9th of 12 in Spec Boxster. Finished 5th overall and 4th in Spec Box.

This was my best race of the weekend and I chalk it up to my improved fitness and getting 70 mins of practice during the enduro race to fine tune my driving. I had a great start and passed a few cars, then fell back a few positions, then made them back up.

There was an incident in this race so I edited that video first so the drivers involved could see what I saw.

As we come around NASCAR Turns 1 and 2, I see that the three cars ahead are all bunched up on the inside to protect any pass attempts, so I go wide to carry more speed through Turns 3 and 4 to try and make up some distance.

The #729 tries to go up the inside of the #318 and reportedly stepped on both the brake and the throttle at the same time. Thus, he was unable to slow and hits the #318 in the left rear quarter panel at the entry to Turn 3.

When this happens, I have already begun my turn towards the apex and have to quickly adjust my line to avoid the carnage and get by cleanly.

Full screen with sound for the best experience!