I went to Friday's vintage practice & qualifying at Elkhart Lake - See pics. First time I've been there since 2000. I moved to New Mexico soon after that visit. Friday's trip had its share of drama. My friend, who had never been to Road America before, had offered to drive. I advised an early start since we would be driving through the rushiest part of Milwaukee's morning rush. The weather was grey and damp early, but over the years I had learned that no matter what the morning looked like, it was a crapshoot as to what would appear later in the day at the track. A misty drizzle started as we passed the Capitol Drive exit.
About a mile before the Mequon exit, my friend ran over a foreign object, unseen on the wet roadway, that punched a hole in her right rear tire. She wasn't sure what to do so I suggested coasting as far as possible and then taking it easy on the ramp. I told her to creep to the gas station on the other side of the X-way so I could change the tire in a large open parking lot.
No damage to the wheel, thankfully. Just before the puncture we had been talking about winter tires and she had told me tires for her 2000 Firebird were getting hard to find - 235/55R16 - and she was particular about what rims she put on that car. As I got the donut out, she did a phone search and found there was a Goodyear store right down the road. She said she would walk there and find out if they had a tire. I wondered about the walk but my task was changing the tire. In the rain. Rainy walk too.
By the time the donut had been mounted, removed and filled with air, and remounted, she returned and said they could order a tire and if the order was placed before 10AM the tire would arrive by 11:30. We drove over and placed the order. Rather than sit around, we left the rim and, on the donut, cruised the local area of Mequon. She bought me breakfast and as we sat, she told me this was the first ever blowout she had experienced. That explained the walk - she was coming off an adrenaline rush and a certain level of fearful emotional upset. Funny how things like that affect certain people. Having raced myself, to me the unexpected occurrence on the road is handled by simply doing the steps to promote a successful outcome without much of an emotional charge attached. I said if she wanted to, we could bail on the trip. She said she'd wait until the tire was on before deciding.
Tire mounted, she said "Let's go to Road America!" We arrived at 1 PM or so. She said "You're the tour guide, so wherever you want to go is fine." OK, directly into the paddock. With half the day gone I tried my best to restrain my drooling and keep it sort of short so she wouldn't get too bored with my eyeballing. We found some 60s Camaros, Corvettes, and Firebirds which kept her interested as I was looking at Ginettas, Elvas, Lotuses and various formula cars, all the cars I loved when they were new.
Friend scoping out 69 Z28:
I have one of these back home:
I cut it short and we walked to 5 to get a reasonably good close-up view of cars on the track, then over to the exit of 14 and I tried to get a handle on my newly-acquired point-and-shoot camera. I found out it sucks at on-track shots.
We drove around to the outside of 7 for a great vantage point of 6,7, and 8. My friend was extremely impressed with the facility. She had been to Rockford Speedway and State Fair Park (Milwaukee Mile) but was unprepared for the scope and breadth of Road America. I had told her it was like spending a day at a state park but noisy.
This guy was trying really hard, sliding the Firebird thru every corner. Sweet!
After a while at 7, we walked a new asphalt path along Thunder Valley to Canada Corner in time for the Atlantics and F/A/5000s.
Gus Hutchinson's old March brushed the wall just hard enough to end the driver's session:
Jerry Hansen's old T300. Isn't this the one that was run as a sprint car for a time?
Jerry Hansen's old car about to find the tire wall:
Then back up the hill to the dugout in front of the concession stand where we could see 5 on the right, and on the left the run into 14 from about the point where the Bill Mitchell Bridge used to be, and the pit straight to the top of the hill. My friend was so glad we made the trip after the morning challenges. I felt great introducing someone to a place I have loved for so much of my life.
Me & my friend l to r:
I came back to Wisconsin late in 2014 to care for my mother who was dying of cancer. She passed last month. While I'm here tying up the loose ends, I am going to enjoy what I can of this part of the country, as I may not get back here as often any more. I'm going back to New Mexico as soon as I get my mother's condo sold.
I grew up and lived most of my life in Wisconsin and went to the track as often as I could. I always considered Road America to be the best race track in North America, maybe in the world. I raced motorcycles in the 80s and what a thrill it was to race here over a number of years. This may have been my last visit to Road America and Elkhart Lake and, even though it was only half a day, I'm so happy I took the time. I got to see many of the cars I loved back on the track once again, and many great memories were stoked. And I helped create a new fan!
Chris
Edited by 10kDA, 20 July 2016 - 21:32.
