The front of the grid starts to bunch up as we approach turn 9. I feel the car next to me, a second generation RX7, driven by Kirk Dohne, moving over towards me. I’ve been told he’s a very good starter and loves to play the ’racing game’. He’s obviously taking this opportunity to pressure the new guy. As we head up the hill to the bridge the front cars are slowing the pace to pack up the grid for the start. Kirk is still making a point of moving over the middle line. I decide the best thing to do is to apply a little pressure of my own and I move ahead of his car and cross over the center line. We’re now heading through turn 10 and waiting for the green flag. There are a few lurches before we finally get the green and everyone goes full throttle and races to turn 1. As we approach turn 1, the polesitter, Ed York, locks up his front inside tire trying to hold off an RX7 and Porsche 944 from getting by on the outside. I’m on the inside and go into turn 1 through the cloud of smoke.

I arrived at the track early Friday morning. Mike Wendell and I had arranged to get our annual tech inspections done Friday afternoon and I had a few things left to do to the car to get ready. Once the cars were ready, Mike and I started setting up our paddock area for the weekend. By the time we had all the canopies up and the paddock space laid out our appointment with the tech inspector was due. Because both cars had annuals done late last year for the SCCA Drivers School, they made it through inspection without any trouble. The cars were now ready for the race weekend We arrived at the track at 8:00 Saturday morning. I was in group 8, the second to last group. This meant we had plenty of time to get the car ready for the first qualifying session. I had already done the valve adjustment and replaced the right side tie rod on friday, so we had plenty of time to do what we needed to. Since the car hadn’t been raced since last November, we had some maintenance issues to take care of. We had to put all new brake pads on the car and bleed the brake system. We also had to do a quick alignment, since I had replaced one of the tie rod ends the day before. After that, my crew chief, Bruce Robertson, went over the entire car checking all the nuts and bolts. We had put a new motor in the car just a few weeks earlier so a check of all the important points was in order. We were now down to washing the windows and filling the gas tank.

For the first race of the season we had decided to run Hoosier race tires. We needed every advantage possible if we were to run with the front runners in ITS. I had just picked up the new tires and rims a few days earlier, so this meant that we were going out in the first session with brand new tires and new brake pads. This session was going to be a throw away, as I would have to use it to bed in the new pads and heat cycle the new Hoosiers. I told my crew to grid me near the back of the pack so I wouldn’t slow any of the fast cars down.

The first few laps were taken at a slow pace to get the tires up to temperature and to make a few hard stops with the new pads. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to think about lap times during this session at all until the last few laps. To heat cycle the tires properly the last few laps were taken at full race speed. As soon as the session ended, I brought the car back to the pits where we put the car up and removed the tires to allow them to cure.

I knew after the last few laps of the first qualifying session that the new Hoosiers were going to be worth the money as long as I got a few race weekends out of them. They felt wonderfully sticky. I couldn’t wait to actually race on them. The only problem was I knew I was going to have to qualify on an older set of Toyos for the race now. I was hoping for a top 10 qualifying position. I figured that way at least I could make up a few positions during the race and finish in the top 7 or 8.

Mike Fennell, a friend and paddock mate driving a SRX7, was the last one of us to qualify during the morning and once he had come in we all stopped for lunch. We had all made it through our qualifying sessions and our cars were still in one piece. We were all pleased.

After lunch everyone had another opportunity to qualify for Sunday’s race. Saturday afternoon’s procedure is slightly different though. The qualifying sessions are races. You are gridded for the race from your qualifying time that morning. Surprisingly I had qualified 8th in ITS for this race. I was getting a little nervous by this time knowing that this race was going to set the grid for tomorrow’s main race.

As we headed out on the track for the pace lap I realized that I had a big problem. My Toyos, which had worn very well over the last few events, were horribly out of balance. I wasn’t sure what I was going to be able to do with them, but I had to make the best of it.

As we came out of turn 10 we got the green flag and the field raced down to turn 1. I was surprised how fast the other cars were compared to me. Going into turn 1 a 944 from behind made a lunge down the middle past me. I thought he was going to take out about 3 cars, but he got it under control after getting a little sideways and made it through the turn okay. My position remained the same through the rest of the first lap.

As we came into turn 1, on the second lap, a friend and NCC member, Rick Ricker, made a nice move down the inside for the position. He came out of turn 1 ahead of me and was now behind Kirk Dohne in his RX7. We were all behind the 944 that made the move on lap one. As we approached turn 5 there was a large cloud of smoke as the 944 over cooked 5 and spun to the inside of the track. The three of us went wide and passed him going into 6. The car was still shaking horribly, but I was determined to get a decent qualifying time out of the Toyos. The rest of the session went as planned, no contact and I kept it on the black part of the track. I had passed Rick back with a few laps to go and turned a decent lap somewhere near the end of the session. A 1:29.5 would qualify me 7th in class and 8th overall. I felt pretty good knowing the Hoosiers were going to be good for around a second a lap over the Toyos and that would put me in the top 5 if I could keep it clean.

The whole crew went out for dinner that night and talked about what might happen tomorrow. It was the first MARRS race for 3 of us and we were a bit anxious.

We arrived early at the track again on Sunday. My race wouldn’t be until the afternoon, but half of racing is being at the track. Matt Yip and Mike Wendell’s races were before lunch and we all went up on the hill by the stewards tower to watch their races. Just knowing it was going to be me in a short while started to get me worked up. My first MARRS race was quickly approaching and I couldn’t wait. Matt and Mike both did very well in their races improving from their starting positions and finishing strong.

We had gotten the car ready for the race during the morning. The brakes were bled again, all fluids were checked, the fuel tank was filled and the car was put on the scales at the tech shed. We were going to be right above minimum weight after the race starting with a full tank. Tire pressures were checked, wheels were torqued and re-torqued, fender wells were even banged in with a hammer where the new wider Hoosiers were found to be rubbing. The car was ready.

With about 30 minutes to go before my race, I walked off by myself to run the track a few times in my head. It’s like taking a few practice laps before you go out. I was a little tense at this point, but I was still excited.

The group 7 race was underway and it was time to grid the car. My wife Lucy got in the car and took the car to the grid, a job I think she enjoys doing. I had a quick talk with 2 National level racer friends of mine, Grant Carter and Rob Hines. Both told me to have fun and race hard. They said I was well prepared and that I would do fine. It helped to hear it, but I wasn’t convinced yet.

With 5 minutes to go I got buckled in. I like to get in the car early so I’m not rushing to get ready. When the 1 minute whistle blew I was ready.

As I was saying, I go into turn 1 through a cloud of smoke with Kirk Dohne on my door. He has just outrun me down the front straight on the start and I’m worried he will drive past me into turn 3. As we come out of turn 1 everyone is bunched up and I don’t have any opportunity to carry any speed through 2 and Kirk takes advantage of this and drives up next to me out of 2. Aryan Azarsa, in a 944, is directly in front of me and as Kirk drives by me on the left he slots in next to Aryan for turn 2. I duck in behind him and think about taking turn 3 with him under Aryan. Looking back it probably would have worked, but it would have been a bummer to have my first race weekend end there, so I backed off and let Aryan cut across my nose through 3. The only thing running through my mind is I’ve already lost a position and I need to figure out a way to get it back.

The whole front pack goes down the chute in line with everyone braking early. I’m looking for a way to make a move out of it, but decide that if I try to go wide I may hang myself out and actually lose a position, so I stay in line. I’ve had many racing friends tell me that patience can win races, within the first 4 turns of this race I have seen this to be true twice. As we leave turn 7, I see Aryan looking to the inside of Kirk into turn 9. He doesn’t attempt a move, but he has lost momentum as Kirk cuts across at the apex of 9. I pull Aryan out of 9 and slide to the inside. We drag race down to turn 10 and I make the inside pass going into 10. I have the position back.

In the early portion of the race it is very hard to not pay too much attention to what is going on behind you. As hard as I was trying to get by Aryan and Kirk, people were trying to get by me. It became very apparent early on that my car was slightly down on power, but had great brakes and cornered well. Cornering had also been greatly improved with the new Hoosiers. Where the car used to push and I would have to correct by rotating the car, it now just simply turned in. I REALLY liked these tires.

The race continued for many laps with me slowing catching up to Kirk as I had made a gap behind me and was able to focus on what was ahead. As we approached halfway, I was able to start categorizing some of my competitors weaknesses. I saw that the Rx7s had to brake over the crest before the chute and then well before me going into 5. This will be a place for future passes, but today it was simply a place to gain a lot of time on the car in front of me. For the next few laps, every time we came into turn 5 I was a little closer to Kirk. I was going to be able to make a move very soon. Even better was the fact that I was not only catching Kirk in his Rx7, but I was also reeling in the RX7 in front of him. This had me very excited. Maybe too excited.

As we go through turn 10, I’ve gotten right up behind Kirk and I’m hoping to stay close enough behind him so that I can attempt a late braking move into turn 1. As we approach turn 1, there’s a yellow flag as someone has gone off in the gravel trap in 1. I stay behind Kirk as we pass the yellow. After the yellow, my attention is focused on passing Kirk again. We race the following lap nose-to-tail. As we come in to turn 10 I get a great run on him. He sees it and moves to the center of the track. I pull right in behind him knowing his speed will increase and he will hardly hold me up at all. I draft him all the way down the front straight, thinking about nothing but the pass I’m going to make going into turn 1. As we approach turn 1, Kirk moves back over to the outside and brakes early. I pull out and slide by well before turn 1. What I have forgotten is that there was a yellow flag there a lap ago and I did not know whether it was still there or not.

As we make it to station 4, there is now a double yellow being displayed. Two things come to mind. One, this will give me a chance to bunch up behind the cars in front of me and two, this will give Kirk another shot at out-dragging me again on the restart. The pace car picks us up and we circulate the track under yellow for 4 laps. Knowing we’re going to get the restart coming out of turn 10, and considering that I’m sandwiched between two RX7s, I’m trying to calculate how I can get to turn 1 without losing any positions.

As we come out of turn 9, I can see up ahead that the pace car has pulled off and I can hear the engines getting louder up ahead of me. I decide that my chance is in a good drive out of 10, so I leave a small gap between me and the RX7 going into turn 10. As I approach the turn in, I roll the power on and get a good shot through turn 10. The cars in front are slightly bunched and the RX7 in front pulls to the middle trying to gain clear track. I immediately get right up behind the RX7 and follow him closely down past the timing and scoring building. At that point, Kirk comes up beside me on the outside. They both pull away slightly down into one. I catch them again under braking, but they pull again out of turn 2 and beat me to turn 3. Going into turn 3 though, they go in side by side and allow me to pull right up behind them. They run side by side down into 4 where the inside car takes the corner and we line up for turn 5. As we come out of turn 10, I have a great pull out of the corner and get up next to Kirk before Timing and scoring. I have both RX7s in front of me and I know I can get one, if not both, under braking for turn 1. Then I notice that the T1 Viper that started from the back of the pack is coming up very fast on me on the inside. He blows by me on the inside and gets between me and the RX7s. It’s at this point that I learn a very valuable lesson from Kirk. Kirk also sees the Viper and pulls all the way across the track, looking as if he wants to pass the other RX7. What he’s really doing is blocking the Viper because he knows it will put a car out of class between him and the car in class behind him. We go into 1 and the Viper slows to a crawl. I can’t believe it as I watch the RX7s pull away through the corner. If what Kirk did going into turn 1 was good, what he did next was brilliant. The Viper is screaming out of turn 2, they’re very fast in a straight line, and catching the two RX7s very fast when Kirk again pulls out as if to pass the car in front of him after turn 3. He blocks the Viper from getting through at turn 3 and he falls right back in line behind the car that was in front of him. As we approach turn 4 and 5, I am right up behind the Viper. The Viper brakes for the chute and then brakes very early for turn 5, forcing me to lockup my front tire as to not hit him. I kept telling myself, "don’t hit the Viper, don’t hit the Viper". As we go through the carousel, I watch the two RX7s pull away from me and the Viper. I realize that Kirk knew what was going to happen if he got caught behind the Viper and he did everything he could to not make that happen. Clearly the type of thing you learn from experience on the track.

We get to the front straightaway and the Viper finally screams off into the distance catching and passing both RX7s, which are now quite a ways ahead.

We approach turn1 again and I catch up to Kirk again under braking. As we head out of turn 2, we pass Brian Zalner’s 944. He has gone off and is not at full speed again yet. Brian had been in second place until this point, so I knew I just picked up another position. By the time we approach turn 5, I’m close. I calculate that I’ll get a good drive out of turn 10 and out-brake him into turn 1 for the pass. I get a good run out of 10 and I’m right behind him, as I look up at the Timing and scoring station I see the checkered flag. I’ve run out of laps.

All I can think about during the cool-down lap is what I can do differently next time. I finish in fifth place and can’t help but think I could have been third. Not bad for my first race. I’m very happy.

I pull into the pits where I’m black flagged. I’m told I have to go to the Stewards tower for an explanation. At this point, I’m not aware of the pass under yellow. At the tower I’m informed of my infraction and penalized 15 seconds. I drop from 5th in ITS to 17th in ITS and 18th overall. I’ve lost my points, my finishing position and my trophy. Boy, does that hurt.

So, the race is over, the car is in one piece and I’ve made a very costly mistake. But, we proved that we were fast and I’m still very happy to be so close to the front of the pack. I’m really looking forward to this season.

I’d like to thank everyone who had something to do with our success that weekend. My crew chief, Bruce Robertson, my wife Lucy, who comes to all my track events and is always a huge help and Brett Anderson, who is Mike Wendell's crew chief, but is glad to help out when needed.

I’d also like to invite all our members to come out to the races and watch the National Capital Chapter members who race in the MARRS series. Our next race at Summit Point is July 17-18. Stop by the paddock and say hi.

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A Long Time Coming.

by Rich Beebe

photos by
Roz Rosintoski
and Ken Brown

originally published in the

BMW Car Club of America,
National Capital Chapter newsletter magazine called 'der Bayerische'

See also Lucy Beebe's Article