Remember the old joke "What is the difference between Corvette owners
and porcupines? With a porcupine the pricks are on the outside". Well that certainly held true out at Race City last night. I normally run
with a pretty good group of guys out there - mindful, respectful,
experienced. We were lapping last night - only ten cars in my group -
alternating with NOOB school at 20 minute intervals. In our second run, a 911 x50 had some kind of trouble and had to pull
off onto the grass on the front straight, leading to a full course yellow. I
see the whole thing happen so I ease up into the corners and onto the
back straight. Just as I am leaving the back straight I see two Vettes
smoking it up the back straight - must not have seen the yellow I figure.
Anyways, jump ahead to the next lap, still yellow, still just cruising. At
the end of the back straight there is a hard braking zone, followed by a
hard left, and a corner worker right there with a yellow flag. The Vettes
are right up my ass by now and then WTF both of them pass me, under
the yellow, looking right at the corner worker.
After the session, I had a little chat with the boys. They said the saw the
yellow, but they thought it was OK to pass as the worker at the beginning
of the straight had pulled the yellow flag as they came by. I asked them
if they saw the worker at the danger zone at the end of the straight with
his flag still up. One said no, the other just shrugged. I said " Why do
you think I was granny-driving along at 75 mph in front of you?" One of
them just stared, the other said "We don't know your car" and just kind
of smirked that Vette-owner-I-am-fast smirk. In my fantasy life, I smashed the smaller one in the face with
my fist while simultaneously cold-cocking the larger one with my helmet.
When they regained consciousness, they had been black flagged and
banished from the track forever.
In real life, I said, "Wake up guys - that kind of mistake makes it
dangerous for all of us". They actually agreed (but consistent with the
Vette owner's handbook did not apologize). I did get my satisfaction in the next session. I went out right in front of
both of them. Try as they might, they could not get by. They could gain
some ground in the corners, but I could pull on them on the straights
such that they did not get by during the ten or so laps. When a pulled
off, a z06 owner and instructor, that is also a buddy of mine, said "Your
car is deceivingly quick down the straight once the boost kicks in" and
we laughed. He had seen the whole thing with the other Vettes and kind
of got a kick out of the boys being pissed at not getting by the Jap-Crap
(their term).
 
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