wheels

2021 Charlotte ProSolo

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Finally had a chance to get photos from the 2021 Charlotte Pro posted. Was a busy, crazy, hectic, short weekend. But we crammed a birthday in to all of it.

Spring Nats 2019

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Haven’t been to Spring Nats in a while. Seemed a worthy note to make here.

The Pro

Overall, I’m pleased with the results. I managed to hang in the trophies in an impossibly competitive class. About .6 from first after just two dry sessions.

After Saturday’s runs, I had a good margin on both Chris and JJ.  We reviewed video and data and even with my margin, JJ had me by .347 in one corner. It was clear the answer was to brake early and less to set up for it.

I had two pops at it and overcooked on one run and improved on the other but had a bobble in the prior corner that negated the improvement. While I’m bummed I couldn’t take advantage of the data my co-drivers had given me, overall I’m still happy with what I learned and how I drove.

The Champ Tour

First day’s course was the more technical of the two. Not my usual wheelhouse, but when we were finished driving , I was fifth about .7 from first. Lots of opportunity to move up on Day Two—even with the prospect of drying conditions giving an obvious advantage to second drivers.

As expected, Day 2 started wet and then went to drying. The car was disaster in a way I hadn’t seen since Cherry Point. It was the first time, in a long time, that I managed to come back from a run with no idea what I could do to improve things behind the wheel.

What I know now is when that happens, I need to throw some changes at the car. Running shocks full soft? Go full stiff—or at least add some. That would turn out to be the answer after a G.H. Sharp shared some information as we waited for results. The progressive springs in the rear of the SSC cars are largely useless at the top of travel. Throwing some rebound at the rear helps keep the car from being a rocking horse.

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Art Deco Car Show

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Art Deco Car Show

Favorite shots from the North Carolina Museum of Art's Rolling Sculptures exhibit.

 

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NCMA: Porsche by Design

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Last year Laura treated me to spending far too much time in the Porsche by Design exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Since they were allowed, of course I dragged my camera with me.

I'm not sure what the final exposure count was to yield these 10, but it was up there. Turns out, I married a very patient woman.

In hindsight, I think I fell into the trap of shooting against what I was working with. Instead of working so hard to isolate the objects on display, maybe I should have worked to include the audience. It'd have yielded a very different set.

I'm goint to chalk that up to not shooting as often as I'd like and the rust that comes along with that.

7 Year Itch

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I'll go to my first SCCA National Tour of the 2013 season this month. I'm lucky to have two of the best people you could think of as co-drivers. So this month, I decided I'd toss this shot of the car that got me started competing nationally. Sort of ran into this image tucked away in some folder it didn't belong in and it seemed to fit. So here's to another season of doing stupid stuff in cars.