2021 VIR North race results

[Bill Strong]

official results 

Saturday 

https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1941133

 

Sunday

https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1941450

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wallyb]

We are getting the Dodge Stratus figured out. thank you to Champ Car staff and safety crews, VIR track and support. P4 Saturday. we had a few tweaks during the day. but the guys kept the hotrod in the hunt.

We are grass roots as its my son Allen Becker and his friend Jon Morse wheelman and this old man fumbles around keeping the gas jugs full and manage pit the best I can. Thank you to the wives Shelby and Cherie keeping us fed and putting up with the noise and us.

It was sure nice to get "atta boys" from the fellow racers.

RVA guys calls it "the worldsfastest Stratus"

I hope everyone had a great time and a safe trip home.

We don't work this hard for money...

[mcoppola]

^^^This is what ChampCar is all about. Glad you guys had a successful weekend to add to the fun you have out there.

[roadracer4life]

The Stratus is awesome.. I have been impressed with your performance at AMP and knew you guys would have a strong car at a track with some longer straights. Glad to see someone pushing something more unique than the easy way.. Keep it up

 

-Sam 

[Hugh Jass]

I wanted to share a picture of our car right before it crossed the line. Had a great time racing on Sunday with my co-driver @Rapido . We were as surprised as everyone else to be running P6 at the end. Would have been cool to park the 1.6 on stands after the race but we will check that box at a race next year after our winter upgrades.  

 

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Hugh Jass

[Bill Strong]

What a fun weekend.

I have raced in 2 of the last 3 ChampCar events. Both races have been in the Bliss Racing Camaros. George and Jeff Bliss do this for fun. Their fun is way more relaxed than when I fielded cars or with other teams I have raced with. It really goes back to how ChampCar was in the early days before the influx of money, and smart people / engineers. You know. You took a car, put a roll cage in, pointed the tires forward, got some friends together, and went racing on a few bucks. 

Pit stops are not hurried. No strategy. Just stay out of trouble and have fun.

They are not concerned with overall wins. But they do look forward to that D-Class win. That's a focus. And it keeps them coming back.

 

My seat time was limited at AMP because of a faulty oil pressure sending unit. But that was fixed for VIR. I also felt a lot better with driving these big American V8 car.  Plus being back on my home track of VIR was a treat.

 

Bliss Racing brought two cars. Both Mid-80s Camaro Z28 s.  I started stint 3 in the green one on Saturday.  I quickly remembered how the track went and how to drive it. My Aim Solo.failed to start up in race mode.  so I was a bit lost on my driving times.  I really need one of those to help me with sorting out how to drive the track in a car. I was able to click off many 1:49s.  Especially after I figured hour that when the car would start to understeer onto a corner, just add more fuel and it would then go to neutral handling and fly through the corner. I cut off two seconds a lap by doing that, which allowed me to get under 1:50.  

I have a bad history with Hog pen. A bad 2013 VIR24 crash, brain bleed, and a concussion which took me away from racing for 6 months was still in my thoughts Everytime I went into roller coaster. The same happened to me when I was racing for Visceral at the 2020 VIR24. 

I was not doing well Saturday with Hog pen. and that slowed me.

 

After a night's sleep and reflection of my Saturday seat time, I decided to send it through roller coaster and hog pen and to stop being a pussy.  

 

it worked.  I was the first driver in the green car for the first 2 hours on Sunday. I was under 1:50 consistently. and into the 1:47s. I was able to get into the 1:46 when I really pushed the car through roller coaster.  The old used tires were pretty much at their limit. But I think a more skilled driver can get this car into the high 1:44s. and with a set of the newer wider sticky rubber, 1:42s.could be had.

 

The car was a lot of fun to drive.  I could really put it out on the edge and when I was out past that edge, it would come back with a wee bit of throttle and a lot of steering. FUN!

 

10 gallons an hour was our limiting factor.  I think some fixes can help us extend out past an hour and fifteen. 

 

But the fun doesn't need fixed.  the team was really fun to race with, and put together some pretty solid cars. 

 

The white car ended Saturday with me taking two "holy shit this car is fast" laps. A short in the ignition system which also caused the starter to engage at race speed caused other issues that could not be fixed at the track. So the team piled into the green car for Sunday. 

Our race was going super well. We kept waiting for the D-Class leader Freddy Mercury to hookup. But that failed to happen. We on the other hand had  clutch system failure that we were not able to fix. But we still finished top 20 overall and 2nd in class D.

 

Awesome weekend.  and I had an awesome time racing a bunch of you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chbright]

3 hours ago, wallyb said:

We are getting the Dodge Stratus figured out. thank you to Champ Car staff and safety crews, VIR track and support. P4 Saturday. we had a few tweaks during the day. but the guys kept the hotrod in the hunt.

We are grass roots as its my son Allen Becker and his friend Jon Morse wheelman and this old man fumbles around keeping the gas jugs full and manage pit the best I can. Thank you to the wives Shelby and Cherie keeping us fed and putting up with the noise and us.

It was sure nice to get "atta boys" from the fellow racers.

RVA guys calls it "the worldsfastest Stratus"

I hope everyone had a great time and a safe trip home.

We don't work this hard for money...

 

that stratus was bad fast. loved that it was arguably the fastest car on track for stretches of saturday. the whole "only xyz cars can be competitive" moto is busted by yall. so close saturday and sunday. awesome car, and fun to watch hauling arse thru the corners. that thing wasnt just a missile down the straights, it can corner as well as anything that was at VIR this weekend. that thing was eating people all saturday thru the corners.

 

hats off to a great build/crew/drivers for dang sure.

[jakks]

1 hour ago, chbright said:

 

that stratus was bad fast. loved that it was arguably the fastest car on track for stretches of saturday. the whole "only xyz cars can be competitive" moto is busted by yall. so close saturday and sunday. awesome car, and fun to watch hauling arse thru the corners. that thing wasnt just a missile down the straights, it can corner as well as anything that was at VIR this weekend. that thing was eating people all saturday thru the corners.

 

hats off to a great build/crew/drivers for dang sure.

It was verified as the fastest car down the front straight at least this weekend. Guy using the radar gun says he’s only seen two cars that were faster during CC races on that straight.

[Clifford Beisler]

NLS Racing had a tough weekend full report to come. Here's the Cliff notes.  

 

3 hours into Saturday our 300zx motor blew up.  Our 240sx was leading and hit the oil from the 300 motor.  The 240 hit the wall hard enough to total it.  We swapped in a junkyard motor Saturday afternoon and finished 9th Sunday with the 300.  

[Mikelly]

23 hours ago, Clifford Beisler said:

NLS Racing had a tough weekend full report to come. Here's the Cliff notes.  

 

3 hours into Saturday our 300zx motor blew up.  Our 240sx was leading and hit the oil from the 300 motor.  The 240 hit the wall hard enough to total it.  We swapped in a junkyard motor Saturday afternoon and finished 9th Sunday with the 300.  

I don’t know who was in your 300ZX between 1130-1PM on Sunday, but they inspired me to stay in the car for 38 laps.  I loved racing y’all and swapping position.

 

Mike Kelly

#828 BMW E30

Team - Finishing is Bliss

[macheesy]

I heard a rumor this hood is still rolling down the front straight

 

 

[Chummy]

On 12/6/2021 at 7:28 PM, Clifford Beisler said:

NLS Racing had a tough weekend full report to come. Here's the Cliff notes.  

 

3 hours into Saturday our 300zx motor blew up.  Our 240sx was leading and hit the oil from the 300 motor.  The 240 hit the wall hard enough to total it.  We swapped in a junkyard motor Saturday afternoon and finished 9th Sunday with the 300.  

the cliff notes... haha   very funny CLIFFord

[Chummy]

12 hours ago, Mikelly said:

I don’t know who was in your 300ZX between 1130-1PM on Sunday, but they inspired me to stay in the car for 38 laps.  I loved racing y’all and swapping position.

 

Mike Kelly

#828 BMW E30

Team - Finishing is Bliss

that would be Kevin.  he put down some very consistent clean laps

[BMW_CEMETERY]

Anyone have any video from the final two hours Sunday? 

[kevinatfms]

We had a total blast in our first race ever. Car made it all 15 hours/883 miles on track and so did we. All of us are already talking about next year and how to make the car better. 

HUGE thanks to the Champ Car crew, VIR crew and our fellow racers for giving us all the advice, tips, tricks and the occasional warning/slap on the wrist. 




Oh and sorry if we got in anyones way. We tried to go fast but you guys FLY. I think i pointed by the entire field the first day. 

[Rapido]

This was the final event of 2021 for Team Hugh Jass, and we had a blast. Race report below.

 

Saturday - This was an opportunity for us to give drivers from our iRacing development pool some racing experience. Two of them had only one previous ChampCar stint under their belts and the other two were experiencing real world wheel-to-wheel racing for the first time. All performed admirably, getting up to a decent speed fairly quickly and dealing with traffic (both passing and being passed) in a sensible manner with (relatively) few lock-ups or off-track excursions. The most exciting moment of the day was after our final stop when the hood pins were not correctly latched and our hood subsequently went on an adventure around T5 on the out-lap. The driver dealt with it very calmly and we finished the day with advanced engine cooling but no major damage. Final result was 16th overall and 5th of the Miatas.

 

Sunday - All our rookies had enjoyed their Saturday experience, so for Sunday we decided to go tryhard with just myself and my buddy @Hugh Jass driving alternate stints. The 7 hour format gives us a chance to be a bit more flexible on strategy and we were able to time our first two stops with caution periods. The final two stints were some of the best driving either of us have done, with plenty of open track meaning we we were able to push our little 1.6 Miata to the limit. Final result was 6th overall and 2nd in A class, our best finish in ChampCar since we started in 2017. We've got some upgrades planned for the car over the winter and are excited to return to the track in 2022.

 

Thank you to all ChampCar staff and competitors - I thought this event was really well run and driven. Special mention also to the VIR workers; the flagging was on point all weekend. Was great to catch up with some of our friends in the paddock, see you all next year!

 

[Hurljohn]

45 minutes ago, Rapido said:

This was the final event of 2021 for Team Hugh Jass, and we had a blast. Race report below.

 

Saturday - This was an opportunity for us to give drivers from our iRacing development pool some racing experience. Two of them had only one previous ChampCar stint under their belts and the other two were experiencing real world wheel-to-wheel racing for the first time. All performed admirably, getting up to a decent speed fairly quickly and dealing with traffic (both passing and being passed) in a sensible manner with (relatively) few lock-ups or off-track excursions. The most exciting moment of the day was after our final stop when the hood pins were not correctly latched and our hood subsequently went on an adventure around T5 on the out-lap. The driver dealt with it very calmly and we finished the day with advanced engine cooling but no major damage. Final result was 16th overall and 5th of the Miatas.

 

Sunday - All our rookies had enjoyed their Saturday experience, so for Sunday we decided to go tryhard with just myself and my buddy @Hugh Jass driving alternate stints. The 7 hour format gives us a chance to be a bit more flexible on strategy and we were able to time our first two stops with caution periods. The final two stints were some of the best driving either of us have done, with plenty of open track meaning we we were able to push our little 1.6 Miata to the limit. Final result was 6th overall and 2nd in A class, our best finish in ChampCar since we started in 2017. We've got some upgrades planned for the car over the winter and are excited to return to the track in 2022.

 

Thank you to all ChampCar staff and competitors - I thought this event was really well run and driven. Special mention also to the VIR workers; the flagging was on point all weekend. Was great to catch up with some of our friends in the paddock, see you all next year!

 

Nice job...but who got rookie FTD? Thomas or Alex on Sunday?  Haha

[Hugh Jass]

2 minutes ago, Hurljohn said:

Nice job...but who got rookie FTD? Thomas or Alex on Sunday?  Haha

 

Alex the Rookie and Alex the old Dude had FTDs.

[Rapido]

1 minute ago, Hurljohn said:

Nice job...but who got rookie FTD? Thomas or Alex on Sunday?  Haha

 

Rookie FTD was Alex Koffard, but him, Shane, and Justin were all within a second or so - impressive consistency for the noobs.

 

On Sunday, Alex had me by about a second, which I will attribute to the fact that this was my first time racing on this track config. Next year I reckon I'll be a bit closer ;).

[Hurljohn]

4 minutes ago, Hugh Jass said:

 

Alex the Rookie and Alex the old Dude had FTDs.

Way to many dudes named alex on the team over the weekend!

[Hurljohn]

3 minutes ago, Rapido said:

 

Rookie FTD was Alex Koffard, but him, Shane, and Justin were all within a second or so - impressive consistency for the noobs.

 

On Sunday, Alex had me by about a second, which I will attribute to the fact that this was my first time racing on this track config. Next year I reckon I'll be a bit closer ;).

We will get @chip to give you his special driver coaching during your stint next time!

[Hugh Jass]

6 minutes ago, Hurljohn said:

Way to many dudes named alex on the team over the weekend!

 

We had only 3 on-site this weekend, we have more in reserve.  Crew Chief Alex was in attendance as well.  

Edited December 9, 2021 by Hugh Jass

[chip]

14 minutes ago, Hurljohn said:

We will get @chip to give you his special driver coaching during your stint next time!

I was in communication with @Hugh Jassduring the entire last stint giving him some advice on driver coaching...

I tried....

[Alex Koffard]

Yeah we probably need a Battle Royale to decide which of the Alexs gets to stay. 

I had a blast in my first time w2w. Locked them up real good into T1 once, but other than that was fully in control, and felt comfortable passing, and being passed. 

Props to Alex for answering my 200 questions before the race, but between that and a lot of sim prep, I felt as ready as possible for a rookie. Code 35's were the devil during my stint, felt like I was sucking down the tailpipe of the cars in front of me. 

FTD felt good, but bringing it home and having the team there was even better. Can't wait to hop in the next one.

[bigyellow]

NLS Racing VIR-North Race Report

Just over a month ago, we came off our best race weekend ever, a 3rd and a win and solid running from the 2nd car at AMP. So naturally, we were fired up for this one. We showed up as prepared as we have ever been. Unloaded and just kicked back to wait for the action to start.
With perfect weather on the horizon, the race started and we wasted no time moving up through the pack with our 240. After the first round of pitstops, we found ourselves in P1 and ready to hammer down some consistent laps. The racing gods had other plans for us. The engine in our sister car, the 300ZX, decided it had enough and let go. Oiling down the track pretty good. About the time our driver radioed in about the engine, we looked up to our live stream and see our main car skating through the grass and into the wall. As fate would have it, our 240SX was only 20secs behind. With almost no time to alert our driver, he hit the oil and our day was done with both cars. What a kick in the you know what.

A quick look at the carnage and we knew there was no way to get it back on track with either car. Pack up and go home right? Nope, one of our rental drivers had the best idea of the weekend. "What about the engine in that car?" as he points to our rusty old parts car. We had no idea about the condition of that engine or if it even turned over. But what do we got to lose? We dug in and got to work. Shortly after 6pm, we fired it up and had a running 300ZX. A huge thanks to the guys that loaned us the engine hoist. We owe you some beers. I also believe you guys got the Sportsmanship award, well done. Another big thanks to the crew at Charlie Graingers BBQ in Hickory, NC for the awesome spread of food. It gave us that boost we needed to push through.

 

Sunday's focus was to make sure all our rental drivers got seat time and enjoyed themselves. The new engine ran well but was a bit down on power compared to the other. All our guys turned in some respectable lap times given the circumstances. By the end of the day, we made our way up to the top 10. Finishing 9th overall. All things considered, a pretty good result.

Another race, another "what could've been" at VIR. We really want that P1 at VIR that has eluded us for years. We'll regroup and assess the damage to see if the 240 can be saved. Or do we back up and punt and build a better, lighter, faster car? Time will tell. We will be back.

 

And as always, a big thanks to all our family and friends that make this possible. We couldn't do it without your support. A big thank you to our rental drivers, Lou, Ryan, Kevin, and Justin. You guys did awesome. Thanks to all the track workers, safety crew, fellow competitors, and of course Champcar for putting on the show and letting us take part in the fun. One way or another, we're still shooting for a return at Road Atlanta or possibly VIR-South with at least 1 car, but maybe both.