It may seem a little odd to
lead off with a photo of Margo behind the wheel of our originally configured
Corvette C6 Z51, but given how this was the very first time that Margo turned a
wheel on a road that only went in one direction and where there were no speed
limits, to say it was a moment filled with anxieties would be an understatement
as both she and I had no idea what to expect that very first time on track. It
was Willow Springs International Raceway, branded as the Fastest Road in the
West and that didn’t help at all. Surely, we knew how to go fast but being on
track was a world of experience away from a daily drive.
The photo depicts Margo
heading up a serious upward elevation shift towards what the track labels as
The Omega. A series of turns designed to challenge even the best of drivers. It
was much later that an instructor told us that the goal was to get through
these twists and turn safely as no race was ever won by passing any other
driver in The Omega. And yet, there it was, every lap. Curves that we simply
had no other option than to face and overcome. Looking back at this photo and
yes, I used it in the second post ever published to this blog, little did we
know that it would be more than cars and tracks that would throw us curves.
It turns out life has a way
of challenging you at every turn and facing these challenges oftentimes means
abandoning the course down which you thought you were heading. This post may
feature a number of references to our decade plus outings on road courses
scattered across the western states, but only to illustrate changes we have
encountered this year and as we look to 2024, handling these life curves
continues to be ongoing. All the same, I cannot help but write about them as in
its own way, its just another form of therapy that is a necessity at this time
in our lives. So, before you head for the exit, read all about the curve that was thrown at Margo and me!
While our first ever outing
was a track weekend at Willow Springs as referenced above, our second track
outing occurred at Buttonwillow. Located at the southern end of the San Joaquin
Valley itis an ideal place for beginner, wanna-be racers, to fine tune their
craft – there was nothing you could hit apart from a short concrete barrier
protecting those drivers who entered the pits. You could overcook your curves
and not hit anything. But what was a feature of this road course is that club
events could utilize many configurations the track afforded them even as clubs
could chose to circulate clockwise or counterclockwise.
The esses at Buttonwillow
were straight forward but even so, for beginners they represented yet one more
learning curve. Entering the esses may startle the novice but it was always
that last curve that was the one to properly apex. You could run wild over the
rumble strips but in the end, miss that last apex and your entry speed onto
that short straight (clockwise) or into the sweeper (counterclockwise) would be
compromised. Everyone wants to go fast on the straights but not by sacrificing
that last curve.
As joint proprietors of a
company, Pyalla Technologies, LLC., we have entered our fifteenth year of
business. Over the course of those years, we have rebuilt our client list several
times. That old adage of being only as good as your last posting runs true in
our profession and while I always shudder at the dismissive “it’s only content”
responses we sometimes get, the creative side of me still looks to write that
perfect post. And so it is that same seat-of-the-pants sensation you get when
you successfully negotiate the Buttonwillow esses and unleash the full power of
your car occurs when you do get to come out of a technology curve to post an
article or column that strikes a positive chord with your community.
It was many years of track
outings before we heard about a road course near our Colorado home. Having
spend many years trailering in our car to the west coast who knew we could
spend days on track less than a hundred miles from home. Colorado’s’ High
Plains Raceway, just outside the township of Byers and paralleling US Highway
36, was a true surprise. More than two miles long and taking full advantage of
the contours of the undulating hills, very quickly we recognized that the
designers had incorporated sequences we had encountered on other tracks.
Danny’s Turn (turn 6) required a very late apex in order to avoid going off
track at the exit reminded us of turn 9 at Big Willow. However, it was the
esses “To Hell on a Bobsled” that proved to be the true challenge.
Drivers had to make a
choice. Was it similar to the Omega at Willow Springs to simply be negotiated
or was it an opportunity to truly attack the track? Entering these esses
required an over the shoulder look as you aggressively rotated the car through
the entry hairpin that was turn 8 but then it was all downhill and a rapid
descent it happened to be. At the bottom of these esses you had a short braking
zone before a savage right hand turn where the exit was practically in the
dirt. Miss that apex or run off the track and you lost any possible advantage
for full acceleration along the short straight that followed. Once again, this
sequence called for a full ration of courage otherwise known as a gut-check as
that initial hairpin gave you no indication of what was to follow. With
experience this became a timing situation where you brain counted down to a
very late turn in at the top of the hill.
2023 called for a very big
gut-check on the part of Margo and me. Coming out of her second bout of Covid
late 2022, Margo struggled with the elevation where we lived. With less than
one full atmosphere, normal breathing became problematic. Friends and family
have become aware of our situation and this curve ball so late in our lives
truly put us off pursuing our daily lives. Just as you cannot see through the
hairpin at the top of the Bobsled esses it is fair to say we didn’t see it
coming. To work our way through the curves that followed and to set up for the
straight that followed, we are looking to move to sea level. This is not an
easy decision to make as there is one more curve we have to address that being
our grandkids where it is making such decisions hard to accomplish. We have
plans to secure a smaller residence near to family but our longer term goal is
to be by the seashore but don’t ask us where exactly as this will be the main
focus of the coming year.
Perhaps there is no other
track more challenging that Sonoma. At one time it was called Sear’s Point
Raceway while at another time Infineon. It has played host to many famous races
from NASCAR to Indy and it was where we witnessed the very first on-track Indy
experience of our friend Brian and Jan Kenny’s 18-year-old grandson, Colton
Herta, make his first appearance. It was also the location of my outing with
Mario Andretti in the Indy two-seater that remains a highlight of my times on
track.
However, it was also the
only time I put our track car into the wall. Making my way down through the
esses I missed the entry apex badly such that as I approached the final ess
(turn 8) there was no room left and our Corvette snapped-spun on me, rear-ending
the wall. Limping back to the pits I knew our weekend was done and yes, we
blessed our souls that of late we had elected to trailer our car to track
weekends, but ultimately after inspection, the damage was only a minor crack in
the energy-absorbing Styrofoam backing behind the rear bumper. Yes, while your
seat-of-the-pants indicator can tell you when you made a good pass of the esses
so it can quickly communicate that you are truly in trouble.
This is not to say that we
aren’t entirely out of the woods but rather to note in passing that 2024 will
be a year where many decisions need to be made. While it would be foolish to
suggest we will get all of them right, just knowing that it is inevitable that
we haven’t seen all possible developments just yet. Who knows how interest
rates will affect everyone and who can tell how likely our Windsor home will sell
in a timely manner. And who can say where we will wind up living. The only
thing we can say with any certainty is that we have no intention of leaving the
US, but whether it is west coast or east coast, it may take all year before
that question is addressed.
Five years ago, we travelled
to Australia for an extended stay. We have plans to do this again shortly but
for a shorter period of time. I am looking forward to catching up with family,
in particular with my daughter Lisa. Having said that and conscious of the
coverage I have given to the esses of west coast road courses it would be
remiss of me not to mention perhaps the most famous road course in the world.
The venue for the annual Great Race. That’s right, the circuit on top of Mt
Panorama located just outside of Bathurst. On my last trip down under, my
brother Greg somewhat reluctantly and yet understandably as I hadn’t driven a
right-hand vehicle in quite some time, gave me the keys to his Lexus for a
parade lap around the course. It was back in October 1974 that I drove my own
Holden Torana SLR5000 for a couple of laps around the circuit early on the
Sunday morning of the race. Not sure if you can still do that but it was a
different times all those years ago.
As I pulled onto the track my brother’s apprehension seemed fully justified as
I immediately dropped two wheels onto the grass. But within minutes, the
circuit took on a more familiar appearance. Around Hell Corner, up the Mountain
Straight, past Griffins Bend on upwards through the cutting. The narrow track
surrounded by concrete barriers was intimidation enough but then it was across
Skyline and into the sharp descent of the esses. With only that one lap there
was not time to think about lines through the esses correct or otherwise but
rather more or less a flashback to the Omega at Willow Springs. Just get
through the esses in one piece and no more grass-cutting excursions in my
brother’s car!
The energy that goes into
the daily creative aspects of writing and the nagging but ever-present concerns
over the future not just of work but family life are never far from my
thoughts. However, what curves, turns and the esses have so often highlighted
(and our seats-of-the-pants experiences reinforced) is that keeping an eye
focused on the exit no matter how far away is all that is required to
successfully negotiate entry into the straight that will clear you from the
potential havoc residing just behind you. 2024 is still a matter of being weeks
away but getting through the curves of 2023 have set us up for the challenges
we just have to face and, in many ways, I can put that down to knowing that
Margo and I continue to face them together.
Comments