Greg Cantwell

OWP June 2001

My First Real Road Race:

Spokane Raceway Park, Memorial Day Weekend2001

Maybe it's the heat. Maybe it's nerves. Probably both. I pull out onto pregrid and slowly pass the mixed looks of the senior racers I out-qualified. Paseo, MR2, Rabbits everywhere - bested by a '99 Honda Civic Si street car; I have all the required safety equipment, but no performance modifications. Some numbers slapped on the sides is all that makes mine appear different from the local high school kid's. The grid worker backs me into my prerace parking spot and I mull over the possible consequences of starting eleventh in a field of twenty-one cars. For my first event with experienced racers, maybe I should be starting at the back of the field, where it might be a little safer. But what fun would that be? I just better not wreck; I have to drive this thing eight hours to get home.

Wow it's hot in here. Two layer Nomex suit and gloves, balaclava, helmet. Here's the plan for the start: I'll hold my line. If I get passed, so be it. If someone's really slow, I'll pass, otherwise, I'll hold my line.

The one-minute whistle blows and soon we're off. It feels pretty crowded out here. The pole sitter slowly brings the field around the final turn and in a flash, the green flag drops and the rpm's soar. Screaming machines are everywhere. The MR2 behind me jumps up beside me. A SAAB steadily motors past. Crap. Passed by two cars on the start. Oh well, I need to get ready for turn one. Talk about crowded! Thankfully, we all make it through. Damn. Going into turn four, a Rabbit gets by. This sucks; he's cutting every corner short and throwing rocks on my beautiful metallic blue paint. No more Mr. Cautious. I really need to pass this guy. Coming up to turn four, I put the same move he put on me the previous lap and make it around him. He must not have liked that because he screams up behind me in turn five, tries to cut the corner too sharply and slides off the track behind me. A huge cloud of dust fills my mirrors, but I see him recover and rejoin the race after only losing two positions.

Now I'm in a really close group. The MR2 that passed me on the start is swapping positions with the two Rabbits ahead on every lap. On the straight, I manage to pass a Paseo, but she is faster than me in the corners and I can't shake her. I know I can run down these Rabbits and outbreak them into four, but that MR2 is insane. He's left, he's right, he's sideways, but he just won't spin out and go away. We all come out of turn six in a shower of glass as he misses a shift and the Rabbit behind rams its headlights into the MR2's bumper. Like everyone else, I have no choice but to drive through the glass and hope that all is well when I go into turn one at 120 mph.

As the thirty-minute race begins to wind down, I decide to try some things. I work on coming out of turn nine right on the tail of another car. A couple of times I caboose the train of two rabbits and we snake down the front straight inches from each other's bumpers. A lap or two later, I draft off the MR2 and finally pass him. He just tucks right back in on my bumper and drafts back buy me into turn one. Oh well, at least I was by him for a little while.

For sure, the end of the race is near and maybe I can draft by somebody right at the finish. All I have to do is stay real close to these guys. In turn two, I'm doing this when the rear of my car starts to lose grip. Instead of pressing the accelerator and pulling out of this, I make a rookie error, chicken out, and lift off the accelerator. Instantly, I'm sliding sideways down the track, then I'm going backwards staring at the Paseo with all four of its wheels locked to avoid clocking me nose to nose. I decide this is a bad spot to be, so I keep the spin going and take the car off the track backwards into the kitty litter. It takes what seems like forever to get the car refired and back onto the track. The leader of the race laps me and I follow him around to the checkered flag.

I'm glad it happened. I was getting a little cocky because the racing was fun and it all seemed too easy. I learned a big lesson getting sideways and will keep my foot in it next time. It was definitely a race to remember.