Be an Optimist and look for the positives

Just trying to look at the positives and take the optimistic view, here are some thoughts. I was analyzing the week and came to the realization that after the first event we were in 6th place, higher in the standings than any of the ultimate overall top 10 finishers. After my run at Summit Point I think we were in about 16th place, which was right on track for our goal of a top 20 finish. Unfortunately, when I caught the Porsche in front of me it took a couple of corners to get around him and I lost a few seconds or we might have been another position or two better. At this point I was 20 points behind Scott in the overall scoring. Of course it all went south after that with the engine problem. Wait a minute, I said we were looking for positives. The early analysis shows a hole in the number 5 piston, at least it's not a fully blown engine. We suspect at this point that it may have been an injector that was working, but at less than 100%.

Scott Breneman's parents offered Rick and I a ride back to Mount Joy to pick up my other Corvette. We got home about 4:30 loaded the car, checked the oil, antifreeze and air pressure and were on our way by 5pm heading for South Carolina to catch up with the group. The 92 coupe has not been used as a track car for several years and is stock except for some Dynomax mufflers, but it was up to the task.

Another positive is that my transit driver Rick Stauffer worked out very well as a partner. After an initial getting used to the heavy clutch and cam in the yellow vette the highway miles went well. Rick has a very good awareness and comfort in traffic and from a personality standpoint we got along great.

My co-driver from the last two years, Scott Breneman meanwhile was doing great. After a slow start at the Wet Skid pad he started putting some good runs together and stayed in the 14th or better position for most of the week. After the Dry Skid pad was in the books he had finished the week in 13th position overall, his best finish ever. Congratulations to Scott and Nick.

Another positive is that we were at the closest point to home, only 2 1/2 hours away, and we were able to get a ride home with Scott Breneman's parents who had come down to see him run. We were the only team to get another vehicle after the first one failed and continue on, even though we stopped earning points.