Good Mid-October HTA fans and readers! I assume that if you are a consistent reader of Hittin' The Apex then that makes you a fan, but you know what they say about assumptions right? They can't be wrong. As I stand to write this, yes I have a stand up desk and no I don't care if you think that's weird, I recently returned from beautiful southern Virginia watching three days of fantastic racing at the 2019 SCCA National Championship Runoffs, held this year at Virginia International Raceway (VIR for those in the know). This beautiful renown track is located almost literally on the Virginia border it shares with North Carolina, right in the middle of the lateral line of the state. When I say beautiful, I mean beautiful. Small, dense patches of trees, trackside condos and even hotel rooms outline the course that features elevation changes and multiple turns both fast and challenging. Taking a quick lap around the track, the hairpin that makes up turns one and two put you into a short chute to dual left turns separated by the shortest of straights known as "Nascar", followed by a quick right that has you heading uphill through some elongated esses before you hit a large right-handed hairpin turn known as "Oak Tree Bend". This was named for the gigantic oak tree that the turns bent around that of which sadly fell 6 years ago. Once clear of the late apex there you are headed back down hill into a corkscrew style turn known as " The Rollercoaster". This off camber series of turns twists you right then left, and points you towards " Hogpen" an elongated right hand turn that sets you up for the long front straight, back to turns one and two and around again. Fourteen laps around this 3.27 mile course is what six hundred plus drivers from all over the US, parts of Canada and even Puerto Rico showed ready to drive in twenty four different winner take all races that crown a National Champion in twenty eight classes. I have been to many of these end of the year events at four of the eight different tracks they have been to over the years, twenty to be exact, and this year proved to be a new experience for me. Never before have so many cars been in the lead of the race, many running away from the rest of the pack, either break down or spin out by their own doing. Out of all twenty four races, ten of them had this happen, with only one person managing to retake the lead and claim champion. One race had two leaders break on the exact same spot of the track on the same lap! it was crazy! This spectacular and unusual display of error and futility was a first for this prestigious event and that had me reflecting on the nine hour ride home. I have eluded to this before, motorsports is a rollercoaster of emotion. You can experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows within even one two minute lap. That is one of the things I love about racing, it is a gamble! All the prep work, everything done leading up to getting the car on the grid goes out the window when the green flag flies. Debris on the track, overzealous competitors and mental errors are just some of the things that can derail weeks and months of prep and effort. I myself have experienced this rollercoaster, and no matter how low the lows of blowing a tire or getting caught up in someone else's wreck was, it is and will always be worth it to experience the highest of highs, taking that victory lap after a hard earned win.
The Runoffs weekend signals not only the end of the SCCA racing season, but also the end of the season for me attending any track events or really caring about other events that still happening, as I am laser focused on SCCA specifically. It is now time for me to focus on my projects at home both house and race car related, and look forward to the 2020 season. We will see what next year holds for me but as always I am anxious to find out! Join me next month, and every month after for thoughts, musings, rants and stories and even more detailed laps around some of my favorite tracks as I did VIR today.
Until next time,
Nick
