<VV> My Day At Summit Point

[Tom Hughes]

I put a full write up of the day on my blog (click
here<http://corvairfleet.blogspot.com/2010/05/cpotd-98-no-std-for-me.html>).
To save bandwidth, I'll only put an excerpt detailing the most exciting part
of the event for me.

After lunch we all went out on the track again and a few laps later, I
decided to drive through turn 4 harder than I had before. The rear end came
out and I tried to catch it without lifting, but I overcorrected and ended
up in the mud on the right side of the track. As I’m trying to straighten
the car out and keep it off the tire wall, its rear end is wagging
back-and-forth. I remembered to put the clutch in as I’m sawing at the
wheel. Finally, the E-ticket ride came to an end when the car went into a
sideways slide, ran into the tire wall head on, and bounced back to a stop.
I remember three thoughts I had during the last few slow-motion seconds:” I
don’t want to call Loriann to tell her I wadded up my car,” “Wow, that tire
wall was REALLY soft,” and finally, “Where did all this mud come from?” At
that point the engine wasn’t running anymore and I noticed that only the
TEMP/PRESS idiot light was shining at me - no GEN/FAN. I unbuckled and
climbed out to survey the damage. The guy in the corner stand asked me if I
was alright and I yelled back yes. Other than a whole lot of mud on, and
even in, the car, I couldn’t find anything amiss. Mufflers were still in
place, all the wheels were pointed in the right direction, and nothing was
hanging from the underside. There weren’t even any dents in the front
sheetmetal - yes, that tire wall was really soft. I got in and tried to
start the car, but while the tired, old battery turned the engine for a few
rotations, it didn’t have juice enough to get her started. I climbed back
out and the corner worker asked me if I needed a tow, and again I yelled
back yes.

-- 
Tom in Baltimore
corvairfleet.blogspot.com