Took Sparky out to play at Road America this weekend. This was a vintage racing weekend at the track. It really does attract a lot of nice racing machines from around the Midwest. It also is a magnet for all kinds of nice cars in general. You will see almost anything drive by if you just wait long enough. I had never seen a BMW M1 before and did not recognize it even after following it for 10 miles.

They run the cars that are equipped with starters about 3 miles into the town of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Friday night for a show in town. It is really neat to see the parade of racing cars on public streets. The big blocks (Cobras, Vettes, Shelbies) running without mufflers make themselves heard from a ways off. Many can be coaxed to light up the tires a little just for grins.

Well that was Friday and Sparky a had a reservation to run the next day. During the noon break they open the track up for touring. You pay your money and then get about 45 minutes of track time. There are some rules. Slow traffic to the right, no passing in corners and not over 70 on the front straight. Given that Vipers, Ferraris and assorted other screamers are out there with '50s MGs the speed rule makes sense. You would wind up with some major speed differentials otherwise.

First we had to go to the tech. inspection. They do try to weed out some of the nitwits but I thought that surely this was just a formality. Turns out I am missing my coolant resivoir cap so I failed. They did take pitty on me on and performed a duct tape repair on the spot. Fine deal. I am cleared to play.

Go to the car staging area and took a spot. The staging guys said I was the first Crossfire that they had ever had on the track. Had enough time to look at the other rides. The coolest was a gorgeous '53 Aston Martin. The baddest was a '67 427 Camaro. There was the usual assortment of Porches, Cobras, Vettes from a 63 split window forward, 4 XKE's and just all kinds of stuff. Of course there were a few butt ugly Subarus and a **** load of Mini Coopers. A real treat was watching a bunch of the other drivers walk right past a Testarossa to get a good look at Sparky. Kind of annoyed the Ferrari guy though.

Finally, on to the track. I am glad I have the automatic. I was busier than a 1 legged man at a butt kicking contest. The traffic would ebb and flow so there were times when I could run as hard as I was able. The only limitation I could find in this car was the driver. After what seemed like no time at all it was my buddies turn to take the wheel. Playing passenger did give more time to observe. Got really annoyed watching a gaggle of those Minis pushing the Aston Martin around. Don't those idiots have any sense of proportion. That Aston was worth a dump truck full Minis and I am not the least impressed that they could pass him. Although was amused to watch a Viper abuse them back later. And in the blink of an eye it was over. I just can't stop smiling. What a hoot.

I had my normal copilot taking pictures. If you look in my album you will get an idea of my day. The copilot was much bemused by the droolers. There was one bunch that even crawled under the car for a look. She had drained the camera battery by then so I don't have a picture of it. Wonder what they were looking for. I seem to have put the pictures in backwards so read them from the bottom up not the top down.

If you ever wanted to put your car on the track this is a fairly easy and safe way to do it. If you ever wondered why these little cars cost what they do, one lap on the track will answer it for you.

 

You lucky dog, I want to get mine out to a road course soon. I think it will do quite well.

 

Sounds like a great weekend, Uncle Al.

I got a dumb girl question tho...what keeps the cars from bumping and grinding? When you say that the Minis were pushing the Aston Martin around, what do you mean by that? I raced Hobby Stock NASCAR for a summer, and our old Mopar Mutt had a million dents and dings. I can't imagine taking my Crossfire out in any kind of crowd.

 

It may not be Road America but 16 Crossfires racing through the hills and around the curves of Latigo Canyon high above the Pacific Ocean last Saturday will also answer that question. Just ask any Malibu Canyon Hook-Up Survivor, they'll tell you. :wink:8):wink:

 

The short answer is common sense. About half of the cars were vintage and a good proportion of them were show quality. Most of the rest are new or nearly so. No one wants to bump and grind so most will observe a halo around others especially around the really choice ones. I would feel horrible if I dinged a vintage Jaguar. Most drivers felt and acted as I did. There were a few aggressive guys but you could have spotted them on the way out. It is always the ones with something to prove (Subarus, Mustang Cobras, Minis). So feed their egos and let them by or keep them from getting close.

Hey AZ - would have liked to go run with the group but it's a bit far for a weekend trip.

 

Wow! Now that would be tough...wanting to really race, but hating to ding another (as well as yourself) even more...and being thrown in altogether...sounds more like torture to me!

 

UncleAl, Thanks for posting the pictures. My Dad used to race his 1959 Formula Junior Stanguellini there and I always wondered what it looked like. This was one of the longer trips that I did not make with him and I surely regret not doing it now. Thanks for the pictures.
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