Communicator of the Day

Not the ideal way to get on television (even if he was wearing his 2008 Panic Motorsports' Petit Le Mans worker shirt), but CONGRATULATIONS to Panic course marshal John Brotbeck for being named IMSA's Communicator of the Day for getting right back on the phones after taking a direct hit on his stretch of catch fence from Scott Sharp's LMP car in Thursday's Petit Le Mans practice. Thank God everyone was OK!! In the video, you can see John on the far left side of the screen "hitting the deck"...he's the one wearing the headset. Thanks to the catch fence, shoulder restraints, helmet, the Hans device, etc. everyone, including Scott Sharp, walked away!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I361oZvBqYE

SCNG Air Ground Expo '09

The info is up, the schedule is set, and the racecar's been polished...join us in 3 weeks at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover, SC for an awesome air show! We are very honored to have been asked to display our #90 Spec Miata alongside the National Guard Nextel Cup Car.

Here's all the info:

http://www.scguardnow.net/

See you there! Unfortunately, however, this is also the same weekend as the SIC. Unfortunate for us that we can't be in two places at once, but exciting because we have several members who will be competing in this event. Let me know if you're going to be racing and/or working at the SIC at Roebling Road Raceway so I can keep track of your progress and bug you for pictures. ;)

Racing fun with cookies?

Yes, it's true...you too can now fashion your own Roebling Road Raceway, VIR, or Nurburgring replica out of chocolate chip cookie dough! Make your racecar while you're at it! With these simple cookie cutters, your favorite track can become your favorite dessert!

Mark your calendar!

Panic Motorsports has been invited by the SC Air National Guard to display the #90 Spec Miata at their air show at McEntire Air Base in Eastover, SC, 10-11 October. We hope to see you there!

Tail of the Dragon

Terry (on the left below) didn't have any fun in his neighbor's Cavallino this past weekend in North Carolina! :)

Web Updates

Our new cable lines (including that of my computer) will be installed this coming Friday, 10 July. Therefore, I won't be able to post any results or web updates until then.

Congratulations, however, go to Chip Bailey, Andrew Blaske, and Jason Owenby on their second place finish at Roebling on Sunday.

I also heard that Jessie had a great racing weekend, and Randy Pobst finished 4th on the Fourth. I'll get caught up ASAP. Until then, if anyone else has any results or upcoming races, send them my way! :) Thanks! ~Becca

Great racing for Panic!

Congratulations to Panic Motorsports' owner/director, Steve Bertok, on a win in Sunday's Carolina Cup Pro Series race (Spec Miata class) at Rockingham Speedway. Ben Hinson finished 2nd and Ess White 3rd. Other Panic drivers: Don Arns 5th, Steve Fricker 11th. Thanks so much to the crew work provided by Jonathan, Carlos, Corey, Beverly, and MariKate! Thanks also to Dianne and Danny Sellers for the use of their cabin for the weekend. The boys had fun fishing! :) Photos and results will be posted by the end of today, 29 June, on our home page at PanicMotorsports.com.

Kart Racing in the Midlands

If you're in to Kart racing, or want to be, here's a link to the latest Midlands Kart racing event. It seems to be a growing trend in this area! Although I would like to see more asphalt karting, this is still great news for the SCCA kids around town!!

http://www.midlandsbiz.com/news/around-columbia/396/

Ricardo Patrese and his wife

When you're a former F1 driver, entertaining your wife can be entertaining for the rest of us. I don't know what's funnier...her reaction or Ricardo's smug smile throughout. Check it out on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqUsrNIKzFo

Our friend Drew Ewing of Fandango Racing at Road Atlanta this past Sunday. Nice drive Drew! :)

NASA SE Sunday Thunder Race from Road Atlanta w/ driver's commentary. from Drew Ewing on Vimeo.

The New Panic Motorsports 90 SM

Thank you to Tracy Thornton of Race Engineering, Chris at CarboTech, Marco Specialties, and St. Andrews Express Paint and Body for helping pull the new car design together! :) She's missing a few things, but she'll be ready for Rockingham. Steve Bertok has done a beautiful job building this car!! Car design by Ahab Studios.

Welcome Javier!

Congratulations to Panic member Eric Soto and his wife Evie on the birth of their baby boy!

Le Mans 2009

Ugh! Has it really been 9 years since I went to Le Mans?! I was 19 then, still getting my feet wet in the politics of the SCCA and thrilled to be pulled out of the crowd by the Panoz boys...happy they were to hear a low-country accent, not too unlike some of their own. I was stationed on the Mulsanne straight with the two American workers I travelled with, Nancy and Jason, and several international teams from Holland, England, and France. We had a front row seat to the Cadillac fire; a lovely 3-story home offered by a kind family who fed us wonderful French food; late night parties and the unforgettable sound of sheer horsepower echoing off the trees. I was the only French speaker in my little group of Americans and was worn out of translating by the end of the week, but thrilled to use a skill I'd spent so much time on in school. The only wreck we worked all week was between two French citizens who collided when the officials turned the streets back over to the town between practices. It was simply a fender-bender, and no one was injured, though it was funny to see Benny and Arjen in their worker whites, with their marshal flags, directing traffic around a crumpled Ford and Peugeot. I still talk to my Dutch buddies, and sometimes in my sleep, I can still feel the ground rumble as the cars pass by just 10' away. I doubt I'll ever work at Le Mans again, but I will go back...2012 looks like a good year. I want Steve and MK to experience all of Le Mans' fun; the sounds, the parade, the camraderie, the cars, the racing!! Brotbeck's making plans, and I'm trying to dig through my records for how and when to apply to work. If anyone is interested in tagging along or has some more info, send me a note!

It's not the same as being there, but do tune in to the race this weekend and be sure to watch "Truth in 24" on Friday night. If you didn't see it the first time, it really is a wonderful program! Here's the Speed TV schedule for this weekend. If you need me, you'll know where to find me this weekend...packing boxes before the television, perhaps working on the trailer during commercial brakes, but really watching Le Mans with the family more than anything! :) We'll see you at Rockingham in two weeks, and don't forget about Father's Day! Check out our Panic Gear...it makes a great gift for the gear-head in your life! ;) Becca

NASCAR gets wet...

My apologies if you are a NASCAR fan, but being that we're involved in road racing, this was too funny not to pass along: racing in the rain.

We had fun at Racecar Driver Day!!!

Photos from E-Ticket Ride AT Roebling Road

An E-Ticket Ride at Roebling Road

A. Background

I started having brake problems last May. I changed to a higher temperature pad material and added cooling. It seemed OK, except at the end of a long straight at Sebring (heading into the esses). I checked the front pads before heading to Roebling Road (Savannah) and had sufficient pad thickness

B. Saturday

This weekend I was in Group 1, so we headed out on the track at 8:30 AM. It was in the 60's. I spun early with no brakes going into Turn 1 (which is at the end of a very long full throttle section that is maybe 1 mile long) and go stuck in the sand trap to the floor pan. My friend Jesse Trout and I repaired the damage from being pulled out. I went out for the race and was passing cars (that was fun)and brakes felt fine except a couple of spots. One time heading into Turn 1, I slid and slither my way through and did not spin. I was wondering if I had a sticky caliper, when I spun in Turn 5. I got back on the course, fishtailed until full throttle and spun. I pulled over the corner station and discovered I had a big oil leak and that the Accusump had not discharged. So, I parked it.

After I got back to the trailer, I thought about my brake problems. I believed that they were not getting up to their operating temperature. So, I taped over the cooling duct inlets.

C. Sunday

Qualifying 8:30, temperature in the 60's. I went out and the brakes were OK but often needed pumping to get them working. I came out of Turn 9 on the front straight like a bat out of hell. I even passed a RX7. It was great. I think I was over 120+mph. I was pumping the brakes at 500 ft from Turn 1, so I pumped the brakes at about 600 feet. Nothing happened. I pumped about 4-6 times. Still nothing. I tried make the turn and the car swapped ends. I was facing backwards. I knew I was going to hit the berm and it was going to hurt, but backwards was the way the way to do it.

I felt the hit, saw the grass, saw the sky and then my helmet hit the roll cage and I had long blink. I realized that I had not only hit the berm but went right over. I turned off the ignition and unbuckled. No pain, so I reached over and turned off the master switch. I knew the corner workers at Turn 1 were having heart attacks. So I ran up the 80 degree, 8 foot high (on the backside) berm to signal to them that I was not dead or seriously injured. I was out of breath when I reached the top and could not signal them. :-) When I caught my breath, I signaled them that I was OK. After the session, I was taken to medical.

D. The Car

The rear bumper was torn off. The right rear corner is damaged. The rear subframe is bent. The differential support arm is broken. The right rear fender is dinged. The front bumper is displaced. The radiator cowling is damaged. The left front wheel is bent. The left front tire is cut. The rear sway bar is bent. The frame is bent right behind the right rear bumper support.

E. My Condition

The EMT's did not find anything wrong with me, except for an elevated pulse and blood pressure. I had a little tenderness at my solar plexus from my belts. My left leg was a little sore that feels like I pressed really hard on the dead pedal. My back and neck were a little sore, which was from the physical effort to loading the car and other gear into the trailer, I think). By the following Wednesday, I was no longer sore anywhere.

F. The Other Stuff

I checked my helmet and there's a mark from the red duct tape that holds the hard foam on the rollcage and in its center are some surface cracks. So, I bought a new helmet the following weekend at Daytona.

That Sunday Susan (my wife) and I got the Miata out of the enclosed trailer with technical advice from Jay Griffin. It involved careful trailer driving, car dollies (borrow from Steve Martin - no not the comedian) and changing the left front tire while inside the trailer.

I am upset at myself. I should not have been out there with the marginal brakes. I should have known better. But, I know I am lucky to be alive, uninjured and without any pain.

I'll be back, so see you at the track.

Perry

Wolf Ridge Hillclimb

Head for the hills this weekend in Mars Hill, NC for the Wolf Ridge Hillclimb. To register to work, race, attend, etc. visit MyAutoEvents.com.

Racing swag and a long Panic weekend...

For all of you Tifosis out there, like me, I've found the perfect item to show off your Ferrari spirit...perfect for a wall in your home, the bottom of your pool, or the floor of your driveway:
http://www.unisourcestone.com/?page=products&productid=208
All hail the Cavallino! :)

Panic had 3 drivers at this weekend's Jim Stark Memorial SARRC: Chip Bailey in Spec Miata, Terry Whitlock in Spec Miata, and Perry Young in F-Production. Initial indications are that Chip did very well, Terry had a good drive, and Perry, well, he went over the berm at turn one after a brake failure...and I mean OVER the berm! Luckily, he's OK, though the car is rather torn up. Results will be posted as soon as I can sort them out. :) Becca

Facebook

Are you on Facebook? So are we! Go to the search feature, enter "Panic Motorsports", and become a fan! Share Panic with your friends!

Springtime in the South

Please, step into my office...

Racing in the Midlands

Out of the blue, the South Carolina Midlands has suddenly taken an interest in grassroots sports cars. Check out the April issue of Lake Murray-Columbia and Northeast-Columbia magazines for a big article on Carolina Motorsports Park. The Northeast-Columbia version even has CMP as its cover article! Hopefully this trend will continue.

Ah, I found it! Here's a link to the article: http://www.thestate.com/static/images/magazines/NortheastColumbia0409/

I am speed...

Check this out!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssqs4S4bRGM

Kermit Busts his Rear (aka. Terry's race report)

Well, the first race weekend of the year is in the books. The best part of the weekend was the weather (Mid-70's, nice breeze and clear blue skies) and the friends who came over to the track to root for us. Pam did a great job in her crew chief roll and only missed a couple of laps on the stop watch and proved to be very accurate on recording tire pressures. I think she is ready to hand back the crew chief role to my neighbor Bill who usually fills that role.

I towed the car over to Roebling late Friday afternoon in order to get through registration and the annual tech inspection. There were no problems and I headed home anticipating a fun weekend and hopefully some improved lap times over last year. We were running the new Toyo R-888 spec tire for the first time. Input suggested that others had found that the tire need to be run in the area of 35 lbs. hot. The previous spec RA-1 tire had a target hot pressure of 38-40, so this was a fairly significant change. I also made no camber change from last year even though others had suggested that these tires needed less camber than RA-1's. Here are the pressure numbers from the practice session.

LF RF
28/38 28/36

LR RR
28/37 29/34

After around 4-5 laps it felt like the tires got a bit greasy and the handling became a bit loose. It was still controllable, but did not have the grip level I had experienced with the RA-1. Since the pressures were higher than target, they may have caused the condition. Anyway, I had pretty open space and gradually pushed a little harder each lap. Our fast lap was a 1:27 flat, which was 4/10 quicker than our previous best I did not feel that I had pushed the car anywhere near the limit, so I was optimistic about more improvement in qualifying.

I dropped the tire pressure a bit more for qualifying with the exception of the RR which I increased to 30 lbs cold. During qualifying I found myself stuck behind a car that I have previously had trouble with. That particular car is very slow in the corners, but has always had me on straight line speed. To make matters worse, the car now has a brand new RE bullet with even more straight line speed. Anyway, I made the classic mistake of getting behind him and try very hard to get around by setting up a pass. After all these years, I know better than to waste those laps. I finally eased off for a lap and dropped back around 15 car lengths. Well, I still caught up to his rear bumper and lost any hope for a clean lap. I know, I should have pulled down pit lane and waited for a clear spot on the track for re entry. Qualifying was pretty much a disaster and my best lap was only a 1:28.7. I was disappointed, but still optimistic that Sunday would be quicker and I had a good shot at breaking in to the 1:26 range. I think there is a 1:25 in the car even without the pro motor. Top Cars are turning in the 1:22-1:23 area, but I had no illusions for being anywhere close to them with my current package.

Sunday was another beautiful day and hope again sprung eternal. The officials decided on a split start and moved the T-3, SSB and SSC classes to the front of the field. That took away the two SSC cars that would have been between me and the car/driver that I have had the previous problems with. Sure enough I got beat in to the first turn at the end of the straight on the start. Once again I was stuck behind the same car that messed up my qualifying. After a dozen laps of trying everything short of tapping him out of the way, I was able to get him to mess up his entry on to the straight while I got a really nice run that permitted me to get side by side with him into the braking zone of turn 1. I had inside position and this time I was through. Once past him I was able to open up some distance and began gaining on the next Miata. I was closing at around a second lap and felt that another position was within my grasp. However, for some time I had been feeling and hearing an ominous noise in the rear of the car. At first I thought I might have a wheel bearing problem as the noise and vibration was more prominent in right hand turns. Well on lap 17 it became obvious that the famous 1.6 diff failure had struck Kermit. Our race was done, but on the bright side we at least got credit for a finish since it was a 23 lap race. We dropped from what I believe could have been an 11th place finish to 14th. There were 16 Spec Miata class cars that started the race.

I had no tire pressures from the qualifying session as we were all impounded and the national SM compliance tech people conducted an extensive examination of all cars. They checked rim size, track, camber and were looking under the dash for electrical connection (piggy back wiring?) issues. All cars were also weighed. It was a little extreme as they were getting in to checking panel fit gaps/seams. I'm not sure but I thought we did this for fun. I know compliance is important in a spec class, but we may not have gone to the opposite extreme. At least I did not see any heads being pulled between qualifying and the race. I did not see the post race tech, but assume the whistlers were in play and restrictor plates were being measured.

For those trying to figure out the new tire equation, here were my post race numbers for reference:

LF RF
27/36 27/38

LR RR
27/35.5 30/37

I did not have the courage to start with any lower pressure, but if 35 is the right target, its pretty clear that I should have taken the cold pressures a bit lower. I have not had a chance to take the tires off of the car yet, but at first glance the wear seems pretty even and not as excessive as others have reported. Of course that could be because I am running so slow. My best race lap was also a flat 1:27, so I was inches away from getting in to my 1:26 weekend target. If the driver could get his act together, I still think there is a 1:25 in the car. Still a long way from the front, but probably realistic for the current equipment. I have a spare differential in the garage, so we should be getting things back together in plenty of time to enter the end of April double regional races at Roebling.

Congratulations to our Panic leader Steve Bertok on his win at VIR this past weekend. Nice start to the defense of your endurance series championship. Sorry I did not hold up my end, but we did give it a good go. Most importantly I managed to have fun.

Terry Whitlock

Home from VIR and Roebling

It was a mixed-success weekend for Panic...Terry left Roebling with a blown differential and Andrew ended up renting a car to a poor driver who's car blew up. Fricker and Garrett faired pretty well in the ECR's at V.I.R. and Fricker finally gets his licensed signed off. ;) Bertok won Sunday's CCPS Spec Miata race and Fricker finished 6th. And clearly, my mobile blog posting didn't work. haha! I had a nice race photo and everything, but oh well! I'll have pictures, race results, and everything posted this evening.

Trying something new...

So, I was forced into the 21st century about two weeks ago and was asked to get a Blackberry by my freelance account. One of the neat features, however, is that I can post to our blog using my Blackberry. I'll try it out this weekend at VIR to keep you abreast of the races. :) Hopefully, I can make it work. haha! ~Becca

Sebring, Florida - February 21-22, 2009

Well, I had work weekend. At least it seemed like I worked on my FP Miata all weekend.

I went out for Practice Saturday morning and found had uncharacteristic handling problems and the rear brakes were locking up. Afterwards, I found one arms for the rear anti-sway bar had come off and a plastic spacer was missing. The plastic spacer prevents the anit-sway bar from side-to-side. I used a hose clamp, the top of a Gatoraid bottle and some duct tape. The hose clamp prevented the side-to-side motion. The bottle top prevented metal-to-metal contact between the hose clamp and the support bearing. The duct tape was the backup for the whole mess.

I went out for Qualifying Saturday afternoon and everything felt great. Toward the end of the session, I finally found some clear track and was on a hot lap. On Turn 16, I got in too hot and spun. So much for a good grid position!

When I was prepping for my Sunday morning (8:00 a.m.) race, I found the right front tire flat. I took it off and found no damage to the tire. I took to my very friendly and helpful Goodyear tech. He found the leak to be between the tire and the wheel. He noticed the steel wheel wasn't round and suggested that I try to get it round and see if that helped. Well, after about an hour of pounding, it didn't. So, I took it back and he found sand between the tire and the wheel. After cleaning it, it still leaked, so he put some bead sealant on the area. And it worked! I took back and put it on the car. The next morning it still held pressure. Thanks Goodyear, Competition Tires South and Eric!!!

Sunday morning race started normal - I had my traditional bad start. I started regaining some places. I was approaching Turn 16 when the car lost all power. I parked it on the outside of Turn 16 and sat there. Then, a full course yellow came out and I couldn't believe I was in the "impact zone". Then, a black flag all came out. If this was for me, someone was over reacting. As it turned out, there was a bad crash at Turn 17. A SRF joined the infamous Bridge Club, whose membership is reserved for those who have crashed under the Turn 17 bridge. I don't know if the driver was hurt, but they transported him in one of the ambulances. Hopefully, he's OK. I got towed in during the hour long break to repair the tire wall. As it turned out, the race was further shortened when 3 SRFs got into each other in Turn 1. For that one, the rest of the ambulances were used. Hopefully, those drivers are OK as well.

I figured out that my master (cut-off) switch was bad. It was about 7 years old, so it was about time. I had to cut the lugs off the heavy cables because the studs turned in the switch. About 2 hours later, I had it replaced. Once I remembered the starter interlock (clutch) switch was acting up as it is 19 years old, I was able to start the engine.

The afternoon race was starte with my traditional bad start. I lost about 3 positions. I soon regained them and gapped the guys I passed. Unfortunately, my next fastest competitor had gapped me. On the next to the last lap, he made some kind of mistake or he had a problem. I closed on him, but it was too late. I finished 3 in class (2.4 seconds back) and 5th overall.

That's all for now and thanks for staying awake,
Perry Young

Racing Entertainment

I have been sent a few fun racing items in the past few days and thought I'd share them with you:

1. Interested in joining a local, Formula 1 Fantasy League? Log on to http://parcfermeleague.ning.com/ Administered by a friend in Simpsonville, SC, pit your drivers against others and vie for a share at the end of the year.

2. According to Panic driver Terry Whitlock, this is one of the best reads he's had in quite a while! I understand he was up until 2am just to finish this book. "The Art of Racing in the Rain", written by fellow Spec Miata driver Garth Stein, follows the life of Enzo (I like this book already!), the dog. Read a full review here: Book Review

3. Last but not least, check out these AWESOME, real carbon fiber pens that are handmade by Panic Members Barbara and Jimmy Watson's Cotton's Creations of Lexington, SC. Click on the photo to see a larger image. Buy them today off our web store!

Panic Motorsports will be represented at both Roebling Road Raceway (Pooler, GA) and Virginia International Raceway (Danville, VA) this weekend, 7-8 March. If you're in either area, look us up!!

RA-1's legal in SeDiv?

Before you drive your Spec Miata at VIR next weekend, 7-8 March, you should probably read up on what's going on with tires. The following comes from Estus White of E-Speed Motorsports, administrator of the Carolina Cup Pro Series (CCPS), concerning the current tire squabble going on in the SeDiv:


RA-1's ARE SM legal for CCPS, and the Nat. BoD voted to allow a RA-1 grace period for all regional races. I researched and posted the Nat. BoD Fastrack results to all of you that clearly show that the board voted this into the GCR. HOWEVER, all SM drivers need to read this thread on SM.com: http://forum.specmiata.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/8/1060.html . Seems that even thou the Nat BoD voted to allow RA-1's in all regional races, the SEDiv powers to be say that they will not be allowed in SARRC or ECR. Even the SEDiv SM Advisory Committee: Jason Holland and Gary Jenkins were both under the impression that there would be a change over grace period for RA-1's. Stay tuned. This has not been received well by the SM community, so things may still be changing. Since I sent you what I thought was valid documentation that RA-1's were legal for all regionals, I must now inform you that they may not be. I just don't want anybody to be deemed not legal.
Estus

Way to go Ess!

Have you seen the latest issue of SportsCar Magazine? Check out the "First Gear" article on Estus "Ess" White, IV. At only 16, Ess is an up and coming sports car driving phenom! Ess has been driving for the last 9 years and has been around the sport his whole life. Ess' family owns E-Street Motorsports of Gastonia, NC and his dad, Estus, is the administrator for the Carolina Cup Pro Series; of which, Ess finished second in the 2008 CCPS Spec Miata Championship...his first year driving Spec Miata! We expect good things from Ess in the coming years and wish him the best of luck in becoming a professional driver. Congratulations too on being named Central Carolina Region's Rookie of the Year for 2008. Ess, we look forward to seeing you soon and racing against you in 2009!

Atlantic Enduro Cup

The first leg of the new Atlantic Enduro Cup is this weekend, 21-22 February, at Road Atlanta. Click on the R.A. logo, left, to purchase tickets. If you're in the area, stop by to see Panic Motorsports in action! Panic's Steve Bertok, Andrew Blaske, and Chip Bailey will be competing in the six hour endurance race. Panic will have two cars represented in this event.

The Atlantic Enduro Cup then moves to Carolina Motorsports Park this Summer. We'll have plenty of other races between now and then, to include the Carolina Cup Pro Series, South Atlantic Road Racing Championship events, and much more! Stay tuned!

Course Marshals are still needed for this weekend's race. Contact Atlanta Region's flag chief, Bob McColl, if you're interested in working.

Quote of the Day

"Old boys have their playthings as well as young ones; the difference is only in the price."

~ Benjamin Franklin

Hello from frosty England

Despite having had snow on the ground for two weeks (we're only 40 miles from London) it's now less than one month to the start of the new racing season here. I hope everybody's preparations are going better than mine! Alan Tyson

Welcome!

Welcome to Panic Motorsports' new bench racing blog...here you will find information on our team, projects posted by our members, race and event announcements, product updates, and more!

THIS JUST IN...Panic Motorsports now offers a host of aftermarket products including Mishimoto Radiators. We are in the process of updating our web store and will have all those items available to you for on-line purchase by Sunday, 15 February. We will also have our new safety equipment line posted by then as well. We're growing and expanding our product lines to better serve you! If you don't see a product you're interested in, let us know!