Race Day XL

Two races today--2nd Mazda and Porsche Enduro

After every race, Nick and Stone (Chris--not to be confused with Chris Shaeffer) rewatch the race

from Nick's cockpit view to debrief and give coaching.

Since our VRBO had a big-screen TV in the basement, we all watched together--

Marty, Erin, Me, Camille, Dan, Nick and Chris, cozy on the sectional with popcorn and chocolate pretzels.

Nick said, "I could watch cockpit video all day."

It's so fun how much he loves racing and learning about racing and analyzing racing.

Yesterday, a bunch of kids were really excited about Nick's Tiger car.

We're in Bengal territory, after all.

He let them touch the car and sit inside, which made their day.

Within the first few laps, Nick got hit and spun off the track so it was

an anticlimcatic race. He was still able to catch three cars running in the back and pass them, 

so that was fun.

But the day wasn't over. He and Jared had a four-hour Michelin Pilot Challenge.

The race strategy was Jared to take the first stint.

(He qualified 2nd yesterday!)

Then Nick double stint and Jared finish the final.

Also, trying to go for as long as possible to use as much gas as possible because the tire guys are new

and the team boss wanted to maximize filling up so slow tire changes didn't hold up getting back on the track. In the end, the last 10 cars finished within seconds of each other, 

so even five seconds can make a huge difference.

Nick suited up and ready to jump in the car when Jared comes into pit.

After the first 1:10, Jared was running in 3rd place. 

A McClaren was in first, easily, but it took them forever in their first pit and they lost of three laps!

Meanwhile, our tire guys beat the gas, so they did awesome.

Nick kept the lead for a while, but pretty soon, he was being overtaken.

The top 10 were all pros who've been racing this series for ten years

(Stone had raced many of them, back in the day),

and Nick discovered how quick they really were. One mistake 

and two would overtake him. 

But he hung in there in 10th place, keeping right up with the pack and had a blast,

but he was happy to swap out early and put Jared back in the car to fight.

Jared gained a few positions over the next couple hours,

thought he'd finish in 5th/6th but a couple of cars didn't come in for a splash of gas

like everyone else did and they actually were able to finish!

(One ran out of gas on the lap after the finish.)

In the last minutes, Jared slid on his worn-down tires and a couple cars got past him,

but he finished in 10th!

It's so surprising how fast the four hours go by! 
Marty and I listened to the race on Peacock(!) while watching live;

Camille and I hurried to the pits when it was time for driver changes,

and for the rest of the time we had a nice set-up with a shade tent and camp chairs

on a grassy hill (and snacks)!

Pretty cool to see Carol's BeReal with F1 on the big screen

and Nick's race on the computer!

But the day's excitement didn't end with the full race day.

We flew home and noticed the pilot was flipping through the plane's manual.

Pretty soon he came back to tell us the plane didn't have brakes.

They'd reset the circuit, but it didn't stick.

Dan asked a bunch of questions about thrusters and knew the runway in SLC was long,

so wasn't worried. Neither was the pilot. Said they practiced it all the time.

Just didn't want us to be alarmed when we saw the emergency vehicles on landing.

The landing was as smooth as it ever was and I'd never even know there was an issue,

(Except for the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles and having to get towed to the gate.)

What a day!

I've loved going to every race to cheer on Nick and also be part of the action.

The other people on the team and their families are super nice,

the track had lots of grass and was so lovely to spend time at, Ohio is beautiful,

and it was really fun being with Marty and Erin. 

It was so nice of them to want to come!