we got an app for that…

RAC has just introduced a new app for those who use either the iPhone or iPod Touch; The 2 Timer and 2 Timer Lite.

The 2 Timer allows gives you the ability to time two car’s lap times without carrying additional stop watches and clumsy clip boards. Easy never saw this one coming! Nothing to write down. Once you are done, just email it to whatever address you want  and its recorded. Its just that easy.

Initially you start the timer then as the first passes by you press “Car 1″ and when the second car passes by you press “Car 2.” As they come around each lap, you repeat the process. After you press car 2, the 2 Timer displays which car had the fastest lap and how much quicker they were. Crew Chiefs, fans and anyone else interested in motorsports will love this handy app….and the best thing is that its just 99 cents.

If you want to try it out, there is a less featured version available that just records the last two lap times, its the 2 Timer Lite. Its free! It doesn’t allow you to see all of your results nor does it allow you to email them but it will still allow you to use it as a timer and you can get the feel of the full version with all of its features.

We have had great success with the 2 Timer. So far its been downloaded in 26 counties. Click here to go to RAC and follow the link from our home page. If you like it, email us a let us know.

an interesting story…

Ever since we came out with the new look for our race car in 2008 we have gotten lots of compliments. As much as we would like to lay claim to the origin of the design, we have to confess that it wasn’t a result of our genius. It was rather the collaboration of 12 different designers working over a 12 week period. That may sound a bit over the top and hard to believe but the truth of the matter is it’s true and its interesting story of how it all came together.

It started as an idea that Michael Guthrie, a fellow Porsche owner and friend of RAC, had been discussing with us. We had talked about designing a look for the race car that promoted RAC and at the same time looked very professional. Michael, a designer by profession, was more than willing to help us. Finally in December of 2007, we said let’s do it and with that he got started.

What we didn’t discuss was the fact that Michael also taught a design class at a local university and he got the idea to make this a real world project for his class. As the semester started, he introduced the idea and got an enthusiastic buy-in from his students…and off to work they went.

A few weeks into the semester, we got a call from Michael. He told us they were ready to present their ideas. So we came to their class one evening and met with them as they presented their concepts and their thoughts behind them. It was a fascinating evening and there wasn’t one bad design in the bunch. We were blown away by what they had come up with. Instead of a couple of designs that we thought might stand out, we were drowning in a sea of great choices.

We now had to make a decision, so we took the concepts and began getting as much feedback as we could…asking all of our friends and anyone we could grab, which ones they liked the best and why? Believe it or not, we got as many answers as there were choices, but through that feedback we were able to narrow our choice down and finally pick one….but the work was not done.

Once we had a concept, they then returned to the drawing board and put their own personal interpretations to the concept we had chosen. We were excited because we knew whatever we were going to get in the end was going to be great.

After a few weeks, we met again with the class so they could present their work for the final look. The work they had done was fabulous and we came away with another 12 great looks.

We settled on a main design and incorporated a couple of elements from two of the other designs we liked as well. We wanted to thank the class and had intended to bring the car by so everyone could see it up close, but it was unavailable due to some work that we were getting done for the next race. Instead, we had a picture enlarged and had all of the designers sign it as a memento of the great work they did.

We want to thank Michael for leading this project and for making this project a success and his students for the great work they did.

The long season…

Due to some unavoidable circumstances we had to cut short our 2009 racing season. However, we are making plans to jump back in it in February when the team travels to Sebring to help kick off the 1st PCA Club Race of the year. That race proves to always be the biggest race of the year and we are excited to be making our first trip there.

After the event at Watkins Glen we had a few things to get fixed on the car. We discovered that our rear sway had become bound and locked up but we were able to get it loosened and reset. We had to have our clutch addressed and luckily it was nothing more than a broken pivot pin and we are ready to go. We also had to fix the rear fan belt pulley and were able to get that back up to spec. Since then we have discovered a fluid leak on our left rear caliper and so all four calipers will be undergoing a rebuild this winter. Also, we have some items to fix on the trailer. Its beginning to show its age and even though it still looks good, we will need to address those issues before we hit the road in February. Fortunately the winters here are not too harsh and so we have a lot of time to get those things done.

We just finished up a second Drivers Education here with the local Porsche Club and were able to meet a lot of good people, and last weekend we attended the 30th annual All Ford and Mustang Car Show in Nashville. In addition to the car show they also put on an open track day at the speedway. (Pictures can be seen on our facebook page) …By the way don’t forget to become a fan of the RAC Racing Team on Facebook!

Our Booth and Display at the Car Show

In December we are planning on attending the PRI show in Orlando, where we will be looking for additional products that will enhance the club racers experience at the track. Even though we have abbreviated our racing schedule for the remainder of 2009, we still have plenty of work to do and opportunities to take advantage of.

Oh, did we mention to be sure to become a fan of the RAC Racing Team on Facebook?

go west young man, go west…

Horace Greeley is credited with advising a young man to head west. That “west” represented opportunity. It represented challenges and growth…but it also represented the chance to fail.

What has that got to do with racing? Well nothing really, EXCEPT that in order to make gains you have to be willing to step out and feel uncomfortable for a moment. Whats that got to do with racing? Well nothing, EXCEPT how many of us racers do you think are just way too comfortable. Do we always go to the same tracks? Do we always drive the same line no matter what? Do we always make the same arguments for doing the same thing time after time? When is the last time we challenged ourselves to really consider something different? Do you think that some of us have become convinced that we are just as fast as our car or faster and there is no more time left on the track?

Remember the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. How many of us go to the track and do the same thing and yet have visions of that great pass on the last turn or late breaking into 10a at Atlanta to beat our competitor for the checkered flag? We all do and have. But if we haven’t accomplished that yet and haven’t tried something different to improve our position…doesn’t that make us…well, insane?

If we don’t step out and get outside our comfort zone, nothing new will ever become comfortable. If we don’t have have the losses we wont appreciate the wins. If we don’t try something different, then we will never improve. Read, ask questions, watch other racers, think. evaluate…experiment. Go west young man!

the competitive spirit will never die…

Recently the House passed its version of the latest energy bill nicknamed “Cap and Trade.” It is designed to impose an end to the America’s dependence on foreign and “dirty” energy or else pay through the nose for it. With all the emphasis on clean technology and automotive efficiency, you’ve got to wonder how this will affect the racing community.

Traditionally the competitive automotive world has only been worried about one thing…how to go faster or quicker. Little regard was paid to the efficiency or cleanliness of getting there. It just wasn’t part of the equation. Today, the community is changing its priorities. The ALMS has its Green Challenge, Indy cars are running on ethanol, Audi and Peugeot are racing (and winning) on diesel, and the Volkswagen  Jetta TDI Cup is promoting racing on bio diesel. There may be some die-hards out there thinking that this green thing is just a fad, but don’t under estimate the power of green. But no matter what happens, the eternal truth about racers is that they just want to race….the competitive spirit will never die!

Much like you can’t define the community of hot rodding simply within the boundaries of a certain type of car, you can’t limit racing to only those cars powered by gasoline, methanol, ethanol, diesel, or even jet fuel… (well maybe today you can, but tomorrow…). Any racer knows that once that helmet goes on and they are out on the track, it doesn’t matter what car you are in, or what’s in the tank, the focus is only on gaining the next position and that is fueled only by the desire to win.

As “green” technologies evolve, embrace it! Racers are famously known for being tinkerer’s. They are almost by the very definition fascinated by the technology that powers their machines and the science that allows them to go faster. As new technologies emerge and cleaner fuels are developed…view the opportunity…its wide open.

the summer break…

Its been a couple of weeks since we were at Watkins Glen and our next event is in September at Road America.

After we got back from Watkins Glen we were a little lazy and didn’t really look at the car all that closely. Once we started to break everything down we noticed that we have an oil leak that is not supposed to be there. Are there any that are? So we will take the car back to Pat Williams Racing for a closer inspection, and prep it for our next race. We still have to make more permanent the repairs we made between run sessions in NY, but over all the car is in good shape and we will be ready for the next race.

The RAC Racing team is a team composed of friends and we have rules. One of the rules is that we must be comfortable at the track. We get teased about that from time to time but our racing friends weren’t so quick to say anything at Atlanta this year when they all took cover from the rain in our trailer. We know the comfort rule sounds kind of  wimpy but think about it…we usually are away from home at least 8 hours or more and we will be there 3-4 days. In that 3-4 days we wont have all of the comforts of home. So who wants to work all day and be miserable? Not us, so we made it a rule. When there is down time we have to be comfortable…now that its a rule …we have to obey it.

We don’t have a TV and a satellite dish (yet)…and we don’t have an air conditioned lounge but we do have plenty of places to sit and relax. We have a fan to make sure that we have a cool breeze and also a microwave to heat up our lunches. We have plenty of food and drinks. We have music in the background and shade for us and our cars. Now does that sound too bad…does it?

What has that got to do with the summer break? Well…we also don’t race in the extreme heat of the summer either. that violates rule #1.

its been one week…

It didn’t take long to miss Watkins Glen. Watching the Rolex race on Saturday, we had a whole new perspective on the track that we didn’t have previously. This time we watched each line that each competitor took, where his turn in points were, how he exited each corner…comparing them with our memory of our weekend. Reviewing our race video from Sunday was excruciating. It really wasn’t that bad but what was actually 130 mph seemed like 65 as we viewed the video. Each corner seemed painfully slow and we kept wondering what could we have been thinking…get back on the gas!!!!! Imprecision seems rampant and we know we are our own worst critics when it comes to evaluating our driving. That just makes it all the more critical to get back on the track.

Next on the agenda is to undo all of the repairs we made at the track and make sure they get fixed right in the ideal conditions of the shop. We made a make shift adjustment of the clutch linkage that got us through the weekend. We didn’t have all of the shims for the fan belt adjustment but we had enough to make it back on the track. So we want to check the wheel bearings, brakes and rotors while we are getting it right.

We have posted one lap around Watkins Glen on our YouTube channel and have linked it here for your convenience. We have to work to get rid of that interference in the picture but that should not be that difficult. Enjoy!

Our next race will be on Labor Day Weekend where we will travel to Elkhart Lake WI to race Road America.

watkins glen summary…

We are back from NY and and still can’t wipe the smiles from our faces. Reviewing the video (which we will post later this week) it is both at times painful and at other times you just want to shout, “YES!” It was a great weekend. Going to a new track, you are forced to critically analyze it features and apply it reference points. Honestly we struggle with that but this weekend we were able to make great strides toward that objective.

Our enduro started at 10:15 after a 20 minute warm up session at 8:30. There was a quick drivers meeting at 9:45 in between. The run groups of Friday and Saturday were combined for the enduros on Sunday so we were racing with drivers we had not seen all weekend. The competition was fierce and the racing was fast. We have not seen the official results yet. Once the race was over we immediately started to pack up and head home for the 1000+ mile trip back to Memphis.

The track at Watkins Glen is a drivers track. It is unlike any track we have driven. All of the corners are banked, and the track was designed for drivers to go fast. It sits atop a hill as you can see from the picture below. It is in an absolutely gorgeous setting. The track at Barber is landscaped and is gorgeous but this is picturesque in a completely different way.

Look for our blog this weekend for video and more reflection about Watkins Glen.

what a day…

Yesterday we thought we had our problems licked as we were able to make the clutch operate properly, but today when we were warming up the car to check the oil we discovered that the fan belt was loose. It appeared that fate would once again try to end our weekend prematurely. As we quickly realized it was just not a simple matter of moving as bracket like on older American cars, part of the pulley had broken up and disintergrated due to old age. It seemed that the likely hood that someone would have the special tool to take the pulley apart would be slim let alone have the part that we needed replaced. As we went from trailer to trailer seekeing spare parts we were able to find the tool, find the pulley, a replacement belt and 4 of the 6 shims we needed to repair the damaged pulley. In what seemed a miracle, we were able to get the belt replaced, adjusted, and back in running condition. Now we were set for the rest of the day.

By the time we had the car back in running order we were only able to make our final sprint race of the day.

The final sprint race was a disappointment. Not having a previous time to grid with, we were gridded dead last. As the race started, it was evident that it was going to be rough. Having witnessed contact that wasnt reported or acknolwedged by either driver, it didnt take long before an incident occurred that would cause the race to be run mostly under the yellow flag. Two 944s made contact in the bus stop which required extensive cleanup and delays in the race. Finally the track was clear and 3 laps later the checkered was flown. Not having much time to make any advances we were able to improve our position slightly but not as significantly as we had hoped.

Tomrrow we have a warm up and then the 90 minute enduro. Once that is completed we pack up and begin our trip home.

friday, race day 1…

Today started out with the expected rain and at times it got unexpectedly heavy but thankfully just for a short while. As the morning grew late, the rain disappeared and the track dried out…then the laps times started to fall dramatically.

The practice sessions went without incident except that the shifting problems we started to experience yesterday came back. We were able to conclude that the clutch was not completely disengaging. That made it difficult to shift and that caused a incredible disraction on the track. We were able to find a work around by lengthening the rod from the clutch master cylinder pedal assembly to give a little extra pressure to operate the clutch. We know that we cannot put unlimited amounts of pressure on the hydraulic clutch system but we hope that the added pressure we have created won’t be so much that we cannnot finish our weekend. Without this we would not be able to have completed the weekend so the choice was obvious.

Our plan is now is to run the races without any qualifying times. That means we will start dead last and we will have our work cut out for us. Tomorrow we will have two sprint races. We will run the first race and the second if the car holds up. We will worry about Sunday on Sunday.

We will have more tomorrow night from Watkins Glen.