Heaven On Earth

 

"If there's a Heaven on earth, its VIR." - Paul Newman

Sorry Paul...

I'm going to have to disagree with that one. Certainly Virginia International Raceway has its moments though. In my own experience every trip to VIR has been punctuated with sideways rain, high winds, lack of highways, mud pits and attrition. This trip to the 2022 SCCA Runoffs had a few moments of beauty but largely the story of the week was the weather. Hurricane Ian was landing just as racing was to get underway making for a really interesting week.

I figured out I was going to runoffs a few days before the event while coaching a Track Night In America at Pitt with my buddies that were planning on going. It seemed like a great opportunity to give my new methodologies a real time try out in a high stakes scenario. I spent a lot time recently learning how to interpret data, work on the way I look at driving, and reading as many books from those with more knowledge than myself.  It would be my first time engineering for my endlessly cheerful friend Dan Dennehy- Rodriguez.

Dan is a phenomenal human being, full stop. He also works as the SCCA Partner Relationship Manager which meant his hands would be full the entire Runoffs week. 

I hitched a ride with my good friend Josh Reinard at about 10pm Monday night and we high tailed it down to VIR only to get there at 6am...an hour before registration opened. We hung out in the car for a little to get in the gate, then immediately got to work for the first qualifying day. No sleep in sight.

Revisiting Some Demons

2019 Was my first Runoffs push, and the entire 2019 season was really rough leading up to it. It was also at VIR so coming back for the first time since then was eerie in a way. The lead up felt all too similar- Getting there just before registration, having to sleep on my open trailer before Mike and I could get in and get set up. What was then the "Honda Paddock" was now our home base again for Dan's set up. It was kind of a trip coming back there. The race for me ended with a blown transmission after a really great restart, the possibility of a top 10 finish faded away with my 4th gear. It was one of the most disappointing days of my racing life at the time. All laid out on CBS Sports for the world to see. 

Mike, Joe and I worked so hard for that race, we deserved to see a checkered flag at the end of it that we never got. 

There is so much now, looking back, I would have done different. Its amazing how much you can learn and apply in three years time. Being at VIR now a little wiser and a little older meant I could help Dan to not make the same mistakes I did my first time. That really meant a lot to me. 

The "MisFit"

This year, Dan was running his 2nd generation Honda Fit. Just when I thought I was out of the Honda game I get pulled back in!

Josh and I upon arrival immediately got to work on the car, and boy did it need a lot. To say some of the things we found after the first qualifying bolt check were egregious is an understatement. I have to give full credit to Josh here for being so very thorough. I learned a lot from him throughout the week and I think we worked incredibly well together. We have this perfect flow balance between us that was really paying its dividends. Dan qualified 21st of 29 cars the first day, by day two after some data review, coaching and mechanical work Dan improved to 17th! Matt Phillips is another Steel Cities boy that brought his whole trailer and set up down to VIR to pitch in on Thursday. Matt is another person that I really admire in the way he works, has his things set up, and the way he treats his friends. Just an absolutely stand up guy.

With all of our powers combined, the third qualifying session Dan was up to 14th in the session. 

Just an incredible improvement, and I have to say the way Dan responded to the input we gave him made all the difference. Being that this was the man I had only a year before watched complete his drivers school...Its incredible how well he was driving this car. Truly with a little bit more car underneath him I think that Dan could very well be in the mix for top 10 if not a serious podium contender. I'm really excited to see what Dan has in store in the future once in a well sorted ride.

The Real Reason We Do This

The camaraderie thing gets tossed around a lot, but its really hard to describe just how much this family means to me. I wasn't even racing this week and I still have so many people to thank. From the first night JB from Hawk was kind enough to offer us a place to sleep, The next night I woke up in the Villas thanks to the SCCA National Crew, then thankfully Matt's trailer, and finally Dan's AirBNB. The Maximum Attack guys were fully ready to let me crash in their RV also.

Just that alone was such a huge deal. The fact I could actually sleep somewhere that wasn't a tent was monumental. I also cant thank Matt and Josh enough for carting me around to and from the event.

I have to always, continually thank the Broring camp for being such a huge helpful resource to me anywhere we go. If you want to talk about resilience; they are the shining examples. I couldn't think of two more kind people to have beside you at the track. 

The truth is, the week was tough. The weather sucked, early mornings, late nights, minimal food. Its never an easy time being gone at a race track for a full week even under the most ideal conditions, let alone in a hurricane.

All of that said, I would do it all over again in the blink of an eye because I absolutely love the people around me. The fact we get to unite with a common goal of watching your friend succeed is a feeling that most people will never get to know. In that aspect, we are the luckiest people I know. These are feelings that can't be manufactured and bonds that get forged in the hottest fires of hardship. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

By race day we had even more support from home. Chris, Nate, Sean and Ous all cruised the 7-8 hours down to VIR to catch the race and help out. 

The Day of Reckoning

Your first Runoffs start is always electric. I've been fortunate enough to do it twice and it was really a special moment to be able to watch Dan throughout race day. The car was as good as it could be, now it was just down to drive in somewhat intermediate conditions...which was a new hurdle in the week as all the qualifying days to date had been dry. 

We had a good radio situation set up finally which proved to be paramount in the race. We saw a car flipped on its lid, Dan hitting a good drift into south bend, and honestly some really great clean racing. 

It cant be understated how proud of Dan I am for this week. He absolutely drove the car as well as anyone could have and brought it home in P15...losing out on P14 to a friend by hundredths of a second when they decided to cross the finish line together.

The week was a complete success in my mind. I didn't want to come home and have any regrets about anything we could have done differently...and I don't have a single one. That alone is proof positive that what we did is on the right track, and the way I plan on running my own team from here on out is sound.

I'm proud, truly proud of the work all of us did for the week. I'm ready to get moving for next year already.

I know I've still skimmed the event here a bit but I think some of the moments and stories are best kept with the people who were there. We had quite the time.

Give and Take

The rest of the 2022 Runoffs I watched close friends win national championships, lose national championships on the last lap, flip a car on its roof, blow engines, everything you could imagine in the worst possible conditions to race in. Its such an emotional ride when you're watching these events, let alone being at them in person. Within an hour or two you can go from total elation to complete heartbreak. It takes its toll. 

The post race hangover is real for any event, even just a weekender. Coming down from Runoffs definitely takes some time. My usual coping mechanisms don't always work, I missed my Fiancé, I had a ton of time to just sit with my thoughts. Sleep and food deprivation, drinking more than usual, its a good recipe for a slump afterwards. 

This is another reason its so imperative to lean on your friends, take the whole ride together all the way. 

With that, I can say with no doubt I have the best friends in the world.