Technical Advisory Committee Andrew D Johnson Posted September 6, 2011 Technical Advisory Committee Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 We were running the road course at the Chumpionship, and a car passed me right after a yellow came out. They pulled up next to me and waived me by because they passed me under yellow. I gave them thumbs up and took my spot back. A corner worker must have saw me take my position back and radioed in that I passed under yellow. I come around the next lap and I think they are black flagging me. I instantly think....oh no I am going to get the lemons flag...and I didn't do anything wrong....well maybe they are flagging the guy behind me. I come around the next lap and I see the flag again...I say to myself, this can't be....I am getting screwed....if I get the flag one more time, it is definitely for me and I will have to pit or be penalized. I come around again, and no more flag. It ends up that the car that passed me under yellow and then returned my spot saw they were wrongly black flagging me, radioed his pits and explained what happened. His pits went to an official, and got the situation straitened out for me. I cannot remember what car this was, but I want to thank that team for being great Chumps! This is why running this series is so much fun. These guys went out of their way to make sure a competitor was not wrongfully penalized. I just can't say enough about this! THANKS! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinParcher Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Way cool. It's stuff like the scenario you described that makes me proud to race with real Chumps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayhem Racing Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Andrew,That was us, Mayhem Racing, and I was driving at the time. The yellow lights has gone off and then come back on right away as I was passing you. After I waved you around and then saw you were getting the black flag I knew what had happened and wanted to do whatever we could to make sure you didn't get penalized for the situation. I'm glad it worked out.Mark Utecht Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jer Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 sweet. nice job Mayhem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forestdweller37 Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Sounds like good old fashioned sportsmanship to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rallyimprezive Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 I noticed one team's car/driver pushing another's car in effort to bump-start it. British American Racing kindly lent our team a tool when we did not have it handy at the pits, and a few teams that I had "contacted" on the track were happy to come over and sign their name on the dents they left on my car. Generally, despite the competitive nature of this particular race, folks were friendly, happy to help, and respectful. You are all a good group to race with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mphouli83 Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 After our second meeting with the wall eggboy loaned us a caster camber gauge and free candy loaned us toe plates thanks to both. This is a great series with great people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mphouli83 Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 I forgot to mention Chump change guys from Florida. What an outstanding bunch of guys they opened up their play book to us. You won't find that in other types of racing. I can't thank them enough. Hopefully we can take their advice and actually run an entire race without rebuilding half the car @ the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr6driver Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Major Kudos to Team Fugu (I think I got that right) for helping us with fuel/fire extinguisher when we ran out of gas right at the end at the OTHER end of the pits from where we were...didn't even pause, just gave us a full gas can, gloves, helmet & extinguisher! TERRIFIC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csadn Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 WE'RE GETTIN' RETRO! BACK TO THE SIXTIES!*That* explains the clouds of smoke over every event.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChumpStang Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I remembered seeing the yellow/green/yellow incident causing a few problems and it's cool to know that teams would do that for each other. Although dangerous, my favorite move of the weekend was the #54 Porsche coming to a stop on the front straight, the Chevette pulling up next to him, asking him if he wanted a push (I was standing near pit-out and could actually hear the drivers yell), backing up, and pushing the 944 to get it restarted (even though it killed the Chevette a few times to do so). A class move, although never recommended to back up on course. That's what racing should be about. The fun, and the comradery, not the corporate BS. I believe that this is the main draw to Chump. The idea of being able to race on a budget is a big part, but to have the true spirit of racing without all the riff-raff...err...well...you know what I mean (my apologies to Lacey and crew) is really what it's about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpmskinny Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 You are exactly right, that's what racing is all about. A mutual respect for other competitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinParcher Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 In this same spirit, I have a pair of stories to tell. In our first event as a team with a fresh car, we were experiencing starting issues. The car ran for a year before our first event without any problems. On the warmup/transponder laps, the car shut off on track, and had to be towed in. We worked for about an hour recrimping battery cable connections, retightening kill switch terminals, etc. but the car still wasn't getting voltage. Eventually we got it figured out, and the car left the pit under it's own power. The guys and gals in the next pit stall over from us started cheering and applauding. Perplexed, my mother turned to me and asked "are they clapping for you, because you fixed the car?" I told her they were. She was delightfully surprised by the response. It was such a good feeling to get the car going, even after an hour in the pit, and the show of excitement from our fellow teams made it that much more of a relief.The problems outlined above continued through the race in the form of a starting problem. The car would crank just fast enough to start when it was cold, but after heat soaking the starter, and with a weak battery, it was simply too bogged down to crank it fast enough. We got towed in once after a spin when the car wouldn't restart. The crew was not expecting the car, and the tow truck took the car to the end of the pits, when our box was at the other end. We ran down through the paddock to go push start the car. Upon arriving at the spot where the car had been, was an empty spot. We looked around perplexed, and asked the team nearest to that spot if they had seen our car leave. "Oh yeah, it wouldn't start, so we gave him a push to get it going." Naturally, we were won over with this gesture of help and kindness.Moral of the stories are this: the positive spirit of competition and cooperation that ChumpCar strives to promote is alive and well amongst those who compete in this series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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