Good afternoon, from VIRginia International Raceway!
THURSDAY NOTES:
We hope you enjoy the coverage this weekend and please feel free to pop into the YouTube chat. Say Hi! to the announcers, Gregg and Brian, and root for Morgan! We have one practice session on Friday, scheduled just before lunch. On Saturday, we have two sessions. Qualifying is about 9 AM eastern and a 25-minute race scheduled for 3:15 PM eastern. Sunday, we have one 14 lap (or 35 minutes whichever comes first) that is scheduled for 2:45 PM eastern.
FRIDAY NOTES:
Practice: By the time Morgan’s group went out just before lunch, temps had come up to about 54 degrees and it is sunny today. That means pretty fast times are out there to catch if you can get enough heat in the tires to get them to stick. In a very strong field of competitors, Morgan set the 5th fastest time. We are looking forward to an afternoon of spectating some qualifying sessions and dinner made here. Catch them all on YouTube. We may even break out the campfire and toast some marshmallows.
End Of Day: Quesadillas for dinner! Chef John makes them with chicken, cheese, spinach, and refried beans. Tasty!! However, before the end of the practice day and before dinner, Morgan squeezed in a quick hardship lap. Right at the end of his practice session, he had contact with a car that slowed and moved suddenly and unpredictably coming down the Roller Coaster section of the track. The left front nose got crunched up and it punctured the tire. Morgan and the other driver had an understanding conversation about it and the other driver was quite apologetic. That meant we did a quick repair of the fiberglass nose this afternoon. We cut out the crunched part and grafted on a new section. It’s now grey on the left side instead of red. The suspension, fasteners and alignment were carefully checked to be sure all was satisfactory. The hardship lap confirmed that the car is race ready for tomorrow morning’s qualifying session. The stream starts about 8:30 and Morgan is due to go out about 9:00. Cheer him on for that one fast lap he needs! After that, Race 1 is scheduled for 3:15 pm.
SATURDAY NOTES:
Qualifying Result: Qualifying was good and bad. Good because Morgan set a fast time in the session and will start in 3rd for the race this afternoon. That’s a good spot, right behind Russ Turner and the two of them race well together. Not so good because another driver didn’t give Morgan racing room at the top of the Roller Coaster and pushed him off the course. The tire and alignment have been reset and everything once again checked over very carefully. Looking forward to a good race this afternoon, scheduled for 3:15. Watch it here.
Saturday Race Set-Up: We had a long wait between qualifying and the race. Once the car was all set, the crew had a chance to kick back and enjoy the sunshine. It is a beautiful day here at VIR! Leah Epting and I spent a couple sessions before lunch helping out in Timing and Scoring. The Spec Miata group is a tricky one to handle because there are so many of them and the extra hands for it are always helpful. Morgan’s afternoon race is imminent. He starts 3rd behind Russ Turner. This race is a timed race - however many laps they can manage to complete in 25 minutes. Pop into the YouTube chat and cheer him on!
Saturday Race Wrap: Morgan ran a very steady race today. The was a rather stout headwind coming down the back straight. He stayed in touch with the top two guys but slipped back in the second half of the race. Still, it was a very strong 3rd place finish and good points!
SUNDAY NOTES:
Race Set-Up: Everything that can be packed up is all packed up. We only need to put in the racecar and a few tools. The racing costume and hat are about to be donned in preparation for our last race of the weekend. We have had beautiful, clear, sunny weather. It’s a bit warmer and less windy, so it’s quite pleasant to sit outside in the last remaining chairs while we wait. Morgan has reviewed his notes, data and video. He is well rested, well fed and ready to go play one more time. Jump into the YouTube and watch. We are rooting right now for Rob Hines in T3.
Race Result: Morgan truly had a great race today. A third place podium finish feels a bit like a win. He pulled good points from this weekend indeed and the podium grape juice is especially good today. (Thanks to Shirley Thompson and Gayle Lorenz for making sure he gets the non-alcohol celebration!)
VIR was a jewel this weekend for the Super Tour. We had crystalline clear blue skies every day and not even hint of rain. A fairly stiff wind Saturday kept speeds on the back straight - Madison Avenue - from reaching the highest speeds. We all have the windburned faces to prove it too! Those clear skies made the temps bottom out pretty low - frost this morning! Fortunately, Mike’s trailer has some heat and we packed the right sleeping gear. We were mostly toasty warm. This was a fun weekend filled with friends, firelight, s’mores, laughter, and good races. As always, thank you for following along!
Many thanks to Mike Amy and DogGone Racing for a fantastic car, accommodations, and campfires, Sheila Cockey (Mom and Abuelita) for the hot showers, Josie White for her joyful presence and excellent photos, Doug Kinser for the crew support, Leah Epting for her cheerful support and pitching in with me in Timing and Scoring when they needed extra hands, and John for being chef, chauffeur, crew, and awesome Dad and hubby!
WHAT’S NEXT?
Morgan has run hard and done a lot between races. A couple weeks at home with a comfy warm bed will get him ready for the next event. Morgan’s next outing may be in the SRF3 at PittRace April 27-28.
UPDATE: The next event will be in an ITA Mazda Miata at our home track of Summit Point April 20-21.