Getting up to speed at an unfamiliar track – Pacific Raceways, Kent, WA
After racing 6 years in SCCA, I decided it was time to venture out to different and unfamiliar tracks. I can’t believe it had taken this long to go racing at Pacific Raceways, which is just a short 3 hour drive North on I5, but my job and family commitments had limited my involvement in racing until this year, when I decided to run a full points schedule, which includes the opportunity for inclusion of points in one out-of-region race.
I’d actually taken a vintage racing school at Pacific Raceways offered by Proformance about 7 years ago. The school was just a one day school that featured about a half day of track time. I finished the school with a mock race, with me in my Mustang, an RS America and a bunch of rental Neons. The mock race was fun, but I guess the loud pipes on my Mustang intimidated the guy driving the RS America on the start, and I rocketed off in to the distance to win the one lap race. But the vintage school was 7 years ago, and I could barely remember the line, let alone correct gears for each corner, plus they had reconfigured turn 9 to increase safety since I’d been there last.
Pacific Raceways is a track that has remained essentially unchanged since the sixties. The track has a tremendous amount of racing history. As a regular stop for Trans Am racing in its early years, and the United States Road Racing Championship in 1963, this track has a lot of character.
Pacific Raceways can be best described as a technically challenging track, with a good combination of fast sweeping corners and slow corners mixed with a total of 125 feet of elevation change. It’s safe to say that this will be a tough track to master in just one racing weekend, but it was a double race weekend, so I was fairly confident I would get a good feel for the track by the end of the weekend.
Since this race was important to my out of region points, I would not just be satisfied with just a fun weekend, but that is always one of primary goals in racing. As the race date neared, I decided to prepare for my assault on Pacific Raceways by reviewing video from Andrew Caddell (SM national Champ) and Brian Towey (always one of the fastest on any race weekend), and AIM data from the Victory Lane Web site. Both Brian and Andrew had won at PR so I knew both the data and the video would be very valuable to this effort, with the video providing valuable visual clues for the proper racing line, braking, and shift points.
Practice Session
I suited up and readied myself for the first session of the weekend. I didn’t have my crew with me this time, and since I’ve become accustomed to hearing someone on the other end of the radio, I suddenly felt quite lonely. But on pregrid, I noticed Jim Boemler (not racing due to major contact at PIR early in the year) talking to Greg Bush on the radio. I had raced with both Greg and Jim at PIR, so I wasn’t too embarrassed to ask for help. I signaled Jim over to ask if he could convince Greg to let me follow for a few laps, and of course Greg obliged.
Greg did his best to drive slowly so I could keep up. Even with my well prepped Spec Miata, I was having a lot of trouble keeping up with Greg. He later told me he was driving half throttle most of the time. I knew this was going to be hard, but never thought I’d be the slowest car on track my first session. There were two fairly major offs by that time, and both cars had damage, so I’ll admit I was a bit timid.
So, I had a lot of work to do… My first laps in the practice session started in the 1:51’s, but by lap 12 I was able to pick up the pace by 5 seconds to a 1:46. Not bad for a first run, but the track record before this weekend was in the 1:41’s, so I had quite a lot of time to make up.
The first thing I noticed looking at my data, was my lap times were very erratic, which is not unusual for an unfamiliar track, so I needed to start driving a more consistent line. On some parts of the track, I felt lost, so I concentrated on finding those inconsistent segments in my data so I could mentally note those corners where I need more disciplined driving.
It wasn’t until later in my hotel when I decided to start overlaying Andrew Caddell’s date and see where I could get faster. I’ve noticed when looking at other folk’s data, that there are usually just a few places on a typical road racing track where you can gain a lot of time. Andrew’s data confirmed that suspicion. When I started comparing the traces, I determined that I needed to work on the faster turns and I was about 10 MPH slower in the turn 5a, 5b, and 6, a very difficult set of connected corners, but I also found that I was getting the slower 3a/3b corners about right, so I would not worry about them for now.
Race 1 Qualifying
For qualifying, I decided I needed to stick close to the experienced locals, as they were most familiar with the track and I just might be able to keep up with them. At the very least, I was determined to not be the slowest guy on track as a matter of pride. My initial goals were to get through the fast corners and work on my brake zones a bit. The following trace shows that I did get through the fast corners with much more speed, but I was still getting the 5a, 5b, and 6 turns all wrong. Good news though, as the trace is starting to look much closer to Andrew’s. My lap times had dropped to a fairly consistent 1:45’s so I was still making good progress, but still had a long way to go, but I did qualify 5th, one place higher than one of the fast locals.
Race 1
This is where the fun really starts, as my goals start to come together. The race gave me good experience driving the track in competition with other cars. I spent the previous night in the hotel strategizing defensive lines, since I didn’t want to get passed by everyone on the first few laps when we were all grouped together. The race was fairly innocuous, but I was able to hold my position throughout the race with a 5th place finish. The race also really helped my lap times, as I had now dropped to the low 1:44’s. But the race leaders were breaking 1:41’s, so I was still not satisfied. The following trace shows that I’m still losing time in the 5a, 5b, and 6 complex, so it was time to consult the guys getting into the low 1:40’s, queue Brian Towey, all around fast guy and one hell of a friend to have. Brian explains the 5/6 turn complex as best he can, and gives me a couple pointers to follow.
Race 2 Qualifying
Now with my new found speed and better knowledge of the track, I decide to line up on pregrid for qualifying behind Brian Towey in hopes of getting a flyer before he leaves me behind. Thankfully Brian saw my intentions and waved me to follow him as we left pregrid. Brian was patient as I followed him through the first few laps, but then he started letting it hang out a bit more as I stuck right on his bumper the whole time. All my track notes, tips from drivers intimately familiar with PR, and hours of data and video analysis came together in this one session, but the most important factor in getting up to speed was following a front runner around the track. My lap timer started showing mid 1:42’s during the session. I was able to hang with Brian the entire session, so I knew that I had placed well in qualifying, and was quite happy when pulling into impound. I was even more ecstatic to learn that Brian had earned the pole, and I qualified second. I received a lot of different reactions to my accomplishment, as I out-qualified quite a few fast drivers, who had driven for years at PR, but all were congratulatory.
Race 2
The final race of the weekend was nothing less than a good old Spec Miata blast. Qualifying on the front row was certainly satisfying, but what happened in the race just rounded out what I will always remember as a storybook weekend of racing with a podium finish behind two of the fastest SM drivers on the West coast. But what really made the race fun, was a spin on lap 2 caused by improperly bedded brakes, which put me at the back of the field. At that point, I was a little disappointed, but I know the number one rule in racing is never give up, and sure enough a full course caution was in the cards. At that point my motivation kicked into overdrive and I passed at least a dozen cars to eventually finish on the podium.
Getting results
Data
Use data acquisition data. It’s best to use the same system the fast guys use, so you can easily compare data side by side… Most of the fast guys use AIM Data Acquisition. The ultimate would be data that includes not only speed, but throttle position, steering position, and brake pressure. Be sure to remember that data is a sacred thing among drivers. You may not get the fastest drivers to share data even if you offer to pay them. So ask, trade, barter, or beg, but don’t be too disappointed if a lot of people say no, or don’t even respond. But if you do get someone to share data, NEVER give it to another driver unless you’ve explicitly asked permission.
Video
Use Video to get a feeling for the line. Look for the turn-in, apex and exit. Video with sound is especially good for giving clues on throttle and gear changes. It is also helpful to see where people are taking shortcuts or jumping the curbs regularly.
Fast Friends
The best way to get used to a track is find a new (or old) friend that is willing to give up part of their session to do a lead and follow. This is asking a lot, as most folks want to get fast as soon as they are on track. Finding someone who is willing to wait for you for a couple laps is truly the best way to get used to a track.
More faster Friends
Once you feel you’ve mastered the basics of a track, the next step is trying to follow the fastest drivers. If you grid at the right time, you could be the benefactor of a really good few laps. If you follow them throughout the entire session, they will quickly determine that next time you’re on your own, but that is, as they say, racing!
Bruce Wilson SM #68
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