Da Groj

Another great event from FAST. Thanks to all and see you next month.

Great course and a blast as always. Another BIG thanks to Doug and Eva for getting to drive their Z. I hope I was able to show you two some good pointers that you can use for future events. I'm wiped, so I'll have to post pics later tonight, but most likely tomorrow. I haven't even had the energy to take anything out of the truck yet.

Wow, what an awesome event! 8) (and I'm not just saying that because I was the chairman...)

Thanks for hauling the trailer, Eric! And thanks to all of the unsung heroes who pitched in and got things done throughout the day.

Bigger thanks to my co-chair, Dave-O, an natural-born event chairman. Look for great events from him in the future, the man can run a show! He was organized, and on top of things to the extent that I literally didn't do much of anything other than tweak his/our course design and help with setup and tear-down. Want to learn how to do things right? Co-chair with Dave.

Couple of minor gripes/observations from the day while they're fresh in my mind:
1. Flip-flops. Not a good idea to drive in them, even worse idea to work course in them. Please don't. We don't want to have to do the paperwork when you trip and mangle your toe while chasing a cone, or crash your car because your flip-flop got stuck under a pedal. 'nuff said.
2. Speed in grid. A couple of people who should know better have a habit of flying WAY TOO FAST through the exit of the finish and into the grid. Don't be a bad example to the newbs. SLOW DOWN. Walking speed after you exit the course and anytime you're not on the active course. 'nuff said.
3. Bottles and cans. I'm sure most of what I picked up in the parking lot probably wasn't even ours... but we have to be good tenants of the facility. Please pick up your containers and other trash, as well as any stray trash you notice around your car when you're packing up. We should always leave the facility cleaner than we found it. Thanks!

LOST and FOUND:

LOST - one of our loaner helmets. Undoubtedly someone left it in their car and drove away. It's got a big FAST sticker on the back, and the size stenciled on the top. Can't miss it. Gray, white or red in color. Please plan to return it at the next event (or sooner if you'd like).

FOUND - Anthony Briody's bag of stuff. Loren has it.



I had a lot of fun today. Looks like E2 is gonna be some stiff competition, which I'm really looking forward to. If the computer times were right, there was less than 4 tenths between 1st and 4th. Sweet.

Native wrote:FOUND - Anthony Briody's bag of stuff. Loren has it.

I knew there was something else I was supposed to mention. Yeah, bag o' stuff is in my car. Lemme know if you want it before the next event.

Had a freaking blast today! After practically a year hiatus it was nice to finally get behind the wheel again on a closed course. It was a tight competition at the top of E1, couple tenths separated us. Mark, Carl, Kenny and I were swapping the top 4 spots all afternoon. Took me a couple runs to work out the cobwebs but I finally got the course down on the last run. Awesome course, loved every aspect it. Tight stuff yet good flow. Can't wait for the next one! This year should be a good one for E1.

Thanks for another fun event. Thanks to Eric for the pointers. Clean up duty was pretty brutal after a long day... Thanks to the extra people who stayed to help clean up. I can't believe the amount of time some of you hard core regulars put in. You get there early before everyone, and stay late to clean up and pack up long after all the fun is done. Thanks for all you do. Yellow_Colorz_PDT_28

By far not my best work out there today behind the camera today, but it was too damn hot to really get into it. I could edit them to make them a bit better, but I'm beat.
http://gwatdesigns.com/picture_library/fast20100911/

I would like to thank everyone for helping me make this another great "FAST" Event, I couldn't have done it with out everyone's help, Loren, for his guidance, Steve, Jamie and Chuck for things I missed. But especially, all the volunteers who step up to cover all the things needed to make these happen. This truely is a team effort when it comes to putting on and completing one of these events.

This was my first time at an event as "Co"-Chairman and I must say, it was thoroughly enjoyable. Whether you've been with us for a while, or today was your first time, I can tell you that being chairman is nothing to be afraid of, and I would recommend it to everyone. It's a great way to get to know everyone and see how eveything comes together to make a great event.

^^^ Well put, Dave. And since you said it, we do need event chairs for Nov. and Dec. etc...

Thanks for the pix, Eric!

Hey, something else I wanted to mention...

There have been events in the past where I spent a good portion of the day (pretty much anytime I wasn't driving) as the only "instructor", hopping non-stop from car-to-car all day long. I was very pleased today to see a bunch of folks out playing instructor throughout the day. Jeremy, Jack, Steve, Jamie, and probably a few other that aren't coming to mind at present were out there working the first-timers and novices with a vengeance! It was awesome!

I think this is one of the biggest things that sets our club apart. We take good care of our first-timers and try to ensure that they're having a good time and staying out of trouble. Most clubs "offer" instruction, as we do at our driver's meeting, but few follow it up with dedicated people who go and seek out the people who might need our help. It makes a difference.

We rock! Now... if Kenny would post the results... my day would be complete. Yellow_Colorz_PDT_02

Good, good times! Thanks, everybody!

Loren wrote:Hey, something else I wanted to mention...

There have been events in the past where I spent a good portion of the day (pretty much anytime I wasn't driving) as the only "instructor", hopping non-stop from car-to-car all day long. I was very pleased today to see a bunch of folks out playing instructor throughout the day. Jeremy, Jack, Steve, Jamie, and probably a few other that aren't coming to mind at present were out there working the first-timers and novices with a vengeance! It was awesome!

I think this is one of the biggest things that sets our club apart. We take good care of our first-timers and try to ensure that they're having a good time and staying out of trouble. Most clubs "offer" instruction, as we do at our driver's meeting, but few follow it up with dedicated people who go and seek out the people who might need our help. It makes a difference.

We rock! Now... if Kenny would post the results... my day would be complete. Yellow_Colorz_PDT_02

I second Loren. I had more than a couple individuals ask about expert guidance, and when I looked into a see of cars, I could always find one of you experts out there assisting, and willing to do more, to include Charles and Drew.

Here's my videos.

Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmbdxLKFLag" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Charles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0g20tyanxU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Great event!
The course was very fun.
I really enjoyed meeting a lot of new people and helping out some good friends also
Great job everone for such a smooth event!
See you all soon,
Hopefully some cooler weather this fall!

Jeremy17 wrote:Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmbdxLKFLag" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know if anyone mentions hand movements much, but this is a good example. It's one of the biggest improvements I've made to my driving. I've can tell when I'm looking ahead properly by my how I've moved my hands through the course. If I didn't move them much (just kept them at 9 and 3) then I wasn't looking ahead. If my hands were, for a lack of a better word, dancing around the steering wheel (consider it a waltz) I usually pulled one of my better times. Great vid and run there Jeremy!

Jeremy17 wrote:Here's my videos.

Nice runs!

I like that camera angle. Good view of the course, and you can see what the driver is doing.

The difference in hand position between you and Charles is interesting. Charles is a hardcore shuffler. You only reposition when absolutely necessary. You let your arms get crossed up in a couple places (which would make correction difficult if the car got loose in those turns). Something in between what you're doing and what Charles is doing would be ideal.

Makes me wonder just how much I move my hands. I bet I'm more like Charles.

Thank you to all the instructors with the patience to help me reduce my talents of getting lost and spinning. Steve, Loren, Jack, etc... the help was great!

Loren wrote:Makes me wonder just how much I move my hands. I bet I'm more like Charles.

I know from having other people watch me I shuffle alot, although not as much as I used to. When I went through the Phase I Evolution school, Jinx Jordan told me it's a tradeoff between speed (fewer movements necessary if you don't shuffle) and room to correct (not being crossed up). I've evolved to moving the "bottom" hand, so in some corners I'll be at 2 (crossed over the top) and 6...would be more difficult without power steering!

Fun course, fun day. The thermometer in Sam's car read 101 as we left...if there's an incentive to trailer the car, it's late Florida summer afternoons!

I really had a great time at this event. The course was a lot of fun and the event was extremely well organized. Thank you to those that made it all happen!

My new Kumho XS tires really lived up to their reputation. If anyone has ever recommended these tires to you…stop jacking around (pun intended Yellow_Colorz_PDT_01 ) and get them put on your car.

Unfortunately I do have a bit of a complaint. As many of us do, yesterday I backed into a parking space to unload everything out of my trunk and left it setting in my parking space. At the end of the day when I returned to my space I found that someone had accidentally ran over my personal belongings. I understand this was an accident and I don’t fault anyone for this mistake. The problem I have is that the person didn’t come find me and give me the chance to ensure they hadn’t destroyed anything valuable. Maybe they tried to find me and failed…that I don’t know. There were a few things that were permanently damaged but I can live with it. As I said, I was more upset that it was left for me to find on my own.

See you all in October!