Great story. In a humorous light, I'm reminded of the joke about a redneck's last words as he hands his beer to a friend, "watch this.". Seriously I used to go through a mental process envisioning my starts, and I inevitably made up multiple positions at the starts off my races.
Im often surprised by racers who take a lap or two to get going in local club sprint races. They say you can’t win the race in the first lap, thats true. It does however set the tone for the rest of the race and the start might be your only chance to make the pass. An early lead can often be held for the rest of the race and vice versa.
Exactly! I always started races well, and I think it came from believing that I would. I told myself that skills learned on the dragstrip as a teen would help me at the start of road races. I can't say if that was due those skills or to my belief in them, but it worked!
I understand the concern for safety at the start. I remember “When the green flag drops the BS stops”! As a senior racer, some sort of competition license since 1974, I think most spectators go to a race to see the Joy of the Competition, like Steve Kerr’s, GS Warriors, Joy of the Game. I do not like parades, sorry, not Macy’s, not Mardi Gras, but especially not IN a car race. I can’t imagine one spectator going to a motocross race if it started as a parade line. How do we get back to “The race starts the millisecond the green flag drops”?? How did waiting get into our race vocabulary? There are about 787.7 car lengths on a 2.52 mile track like Sonoma, so just imagine if the 18th starter, a budget guy like me, must “wait” until every car in front of him must pass the S/F line before he/she can go WOT. You know how many car lengths the top five starters have covered, at only 60mph they are covering 5.18/second, while the “also rans” are waiting to see the S/F line. Green should mean go for the entire field!!
Words to live by, Ross. Also applicable to other pursuits in professional life. I am finding lots of opportunities to apply race driver mindset in different contexts.
Ross, your shining armor is tarnished. My belief system is based upon gaining success within the rules, not by flaunting disregard for them. OK, so you gain an advantage by jumping the start. Then if you know that your car will be weighed only at its annual tech inspection, take out the ballast afterward. Next if you know that there is never a post race teardown make sure you’ve got plenty of extra displacement. Result: you win, but have you really “Won”. Cheating to win would give me no satisfaction. And shame on you too Peter Krause, effective but not “Awesome”. I have admired you guys.
I like your perspective, Gary, and agree on performing within the rules. I should have made it clear that what I did was not against the rules. I was in my assigned grid position when the green flag fell - I was just moving a few MPH faster than the cars around me, and I wasn't able to pass anyone before the Start line. With today's rules, I would have been penalized because now you can't even move out of the column or line of the cars in front of you until you cross the Start line - I had moved to the far left to take advantage of the momentum I had and set up for passing cars heading into Turn 1. But that was not a rule back then in IMSA. Every driver tries to get the best start they can in any race (or, at least they should, otherwise they're not race drivers), and that's what I did, and I did that within the rules that were in place at the time.
A side note: I had been racing in Indy cars for a few years previous to moving to IMSA. There was a huge difference in intensity and assertiveness between Indy and sports car drivers then. In Indy cars, it was a hardcore race to beat every driver and prove a point in every session - even the first practice session of a weekend. I was surprised when I first showed up to do an IMSA just how relaxed drivers were. There seemed to be a "Hey, this is a long race, I'll take my time getting up to speed" mindset, and it was different from what I was used to. If you watch IMSA today, drivers are just like Indy car drivers - they're "out to kill" (I say that respectfully) from the instant every session goes green.
Also, "jumping the start" is a phrase used to describe getting on the throttle a fraction of a second before the Starter begins the motion of waving the green flag. When I say "fraction," that's what I mean. It may be a fraction of a second or so. If a driver waits until they see the flag, and then reacts, they'll get swallowed up by cars around them. It's the difference between anticipating and reacting.
Finally, if I hadn't thought about how to gain advantage in every scenario of racing, I would not have been a paid professional race driver. That was my job. Yes, within the rules, but if there was not a rule saying I couldn't do something, my job was to explore that opportunity.
OK, I unfairly judged you. I will polish your armor, as needed. What you describe is great. In vintage racing we are similar to IMSA, stay in line and at pace car speed until the green flag, but many blatantly jump the start and are not black flagged. It is especially a problem at Road America with large fields where my little 948 Bugeye has no hope of keeping up at the back of the pack. On the pace lap I’m flat out from Canada Corner and falling farther and farther behind before I can even get up the hill and see the starter. But really it doesn’t matter. I’m racing, and I’m going as fast as I can, and it is great especially at an iconic track like Road America, Laguna Seca, and COTA.
Hey, maybe you should jump the start in your Bugeye when exiting the Carousel. That'll give you enough momentum to pass some cars before Turn One! (Sorry, I'm joking... I used to own a Bugeye, so I know what you're talking about). :)
This thread keys me into the realm of the "unfair advantage". The idea is to massage the rules set to your definite "advantage" while being on the edge, but not over the line. What Ross is describing is an art form, which as he shows is also a head game with your competitors. I imagine very difficult to do as a pro, but lots of room to do as an amateur, which I learned over my 45 years on track, and so much fun while it is happening!
As I read this I realized I somewhat do the same thing ~ I don't race but I certainly -DO- enjoy driving my Auld Crates as quickly as they'll go safely .
I hear a lot of tail gate talk B.S. about "watch Nate, he's _really_ fast !" when it isn't so . I'm simply careful and consistent ~ this alone makes me usually the first to stop for lunch or fuel at the pre set locations when I'm out with a bunch of old guys many of whom I know, raced in their younger years .
Great story. In a humorous light, I'm reminded of the joke about a redneck's last words as he hands his beer to a friend, "watch this.". Seriously I used to go through a mental process envisioning my starts, and I inevitably made up multiple positions at the starts off my races.
Yeah, I have thought about that joke, too. :)
Im often surprised by racers who take a lap or two to get going in local club sprint races. They say you can’t win the race in the first lap, thats true. It does however set the tone for the rest of the race and the start might be your only chance to make the pass. An early lead can often be held for the rest of the race and vice versa.
Exactly! I always started races well, and I think it came from believing that I would. I told myself that skills learned on the dragstrip as a teen would help me at the start of road races. I can't say if that was due those skills or to my belief in them, but it worked!
"Big Daddy John"! :)
I understand the concern for safety at the start. I remember “When the green flag drops the BS stops”! As a senior racer, some sort of competition license since 1974, I think most spectators go to a race to see the Joy of the Competition, like Steve Kerr’s, GS Warriors, Joy of the Game. I do not like parades, sorry, not Macy’s, not Mardi Gras, but especially not IN a car race. I can’t imagine one spectator going to a motocross race if it started as a parade line. How do we get back to “The race starts the millisecond the green flag drops”?? How did waiting get into our race vocabulary? There are about 787.7 car lengths on a 2.52 mile track like Sonoma, so just imagine if the 18th starter, a budget guy like me, must “wait” until every car in front of him must pass the S/F line before he/she can go WOT. You know how many car lengths the top five starters have covered, at only 60mph they are covering 5.18/second, while the “also rans” are waiting to see the S/F line. Green should mean go for the entire field!!
Words to live by, Ross. Also applicable to other pursuits in professional life. I am finding lots of opportunities to apply race driver mindset in different contexts.
Ross, your shining armor is tarnished. My belief system is based upon gaining success within the rules, not by flaunting disregard for them. OK, so you gain an advantage by jumping the start. Then if you know that your car will be weighed only at its annual tech inspection, take out the ballast afterward. Next if you know that there is never a post race teardown make sure you’ve got plenty of extra displacement. Result: you win, but have you really “Won”. Cheating to win would give me no satisfaction. And shame on you too Peter Krause, effective but not “Awesome”. I have admired you guys.
I like your perspective, Gary, and agree on performing within the rules. I should have made it clear that what I did was not against the rules. I was in my assigned grid position when the green flag fell - I was just moving a few MPH faster than the cars around me, and I wasn't able to pass anyone before the Start line. With today's rules, I would have been penalized because now you can't even move out of the column or line of the cars in front of you until you cross the Start line - I had moved to the far left to take advantage of the momentum I had and set up for passing cars heading into Turn 1. But that was not a rule back then in IMSA. Every driver tries to get the best start they can in any race (or, at least they should, otherwise they're not race drivers), and that's what I did, and I did that within the rules that were in place at the time.
A side note: I had been racing in Indy cars for a few years previous to moving to IMSA. There was a huge difference in intensity and assertiveness between Indy and sports car drivers then. In Indy cars, it was a hardcore race to beat every driver and prove a point in every session - even the first practice session of a weekend. I was surprised when I first showed up to do an IMSA just how relaxed drivers were. There seemed to be a "Hey, this is a long race, I'll take my time getting up to speed" mindset, and it was different from what I was used to. If you watch IMSA today, drivers are just like Indy car drivers - they're "out to kill" (I say that respectfully) from the instant every session goes green.
Also, "jumping the start" is a phrase used to describe getting on the throttle a fraction of a second before the Starter begins the motion of waving the green flag. When I say "fraction," that's what I mean. It may be a fraction of a second or so. If a driver waits until they see the flag, and then reacts, they'll get swallowed up by cars around them. It's the difference between anticipating and reacting.
Finally, if I hadn't thought about how to gain advantage in every scenario of racing, I would not have been a paid professional race driver. That was my job. Yes, within the rules, but if there was not a rule saying I couldn't do something, my job was to explore that opportunity.
OK, I unfairly judged you. I will polish your armor, as needed. What you describe is great. In vintage racing we are similar to IMSA, stay in line and at pace car speed until the green flag, but many blatantly jump the start and are not black flagged. It is especially a problem at Road America with large fields where my little 948 Bugeye has no hope of keeping up at the back of the pack. On the pace lap I’m flat out from Canada Corner and falling farther and farther behind before I can even get up the hill and see the starter. But really it doesn’t matter. I’m racing, and I’m going as fast as I can, and it is great especially at an iconic track like Road America, Laguna Seca, and COTA.
Hey, maybe you should jump the start in your Bugeye when exiting the Carousel. That'll give you enough momentum to pass some cars before Turn One! (Sorry, I'm joking... I used to own a Bugeye, so I know what you're talking about). :)
This thread keys me into the realm of the "unfair advantage". The idea is to massage the rules set to your definite "advantage" while being on the edge, but not over the line. What Ross is describing is an art form, which as he shows is also a head game with your competitors. I imagine very difficult to do as a pro, but lots of room to do as an amateur, which I learned over my 45 years on track, and so much fun while it is happening!
Awesome, and effective!
Well done Sir ! .
As I read this I realized I somewhat do the same thing ~ I don't race but I certainly -DO- enjoy driving my Auld Crates as quickly as they'll go safely .
I hear a lot of tail gate talk B.S. about "watch Nate, he's _really_ fast !" when it isn't so . I'm simply careful and consistent ~ this alone makes me usually the first to stop for lunch or fuel at the pre set locations when I'm out with a bunch of old guys many of whom I know, raced in their younger years .
-Nate