Submitted
by Bob D'Amore
23-Jul-2007
Hi,
I thought I had seen it all since I first began racing in 1952, but
Rose Valley was an eye-opening education. Perfect weather and a wonderful,
fast course with a little bit of everything from tight hairpins to a
1/3 mile long straightaway that features an Ascutney type steep crown.
Put a wheel on the crown and it pulls you across and down the other
side like a powerful electro-magnet. Quite a few dicovered this the
hard way, but we still managed to get in 7 runs on Saturday.
At this point I should advise that the steep crown makes ground effect
cars very scary and if a non-ground effect car was to win an event,
it was this one. The full undertray sports racers were fast, but none
got under the magic minute.
Rose Valley is 1.2 miles long and climbs up only 541 feet, making for
a fast ride. The hill is 417 miles from Arlington, MA. and almost as
far from everywhere else -- thus attendance was a paltry 60 entrants.
It is considered fast to get under a minute -- which 4 of us did, but
more on that later. The start is longer than most drag strips to include
their shut down areas. It undulates like riding in 3 foot waves and
there's always that damned crown waiting for you -- but the bravest
are rewarded with 120+ mph going into the first left hand kink which
is banked so steeply you don't have to brake. But all good things must
come to an end and a rising, tight 90 degree Burke-type right awaits
just beyond. I go from 4th gear into 2d (assuming I get 4th, which I
did not all day Saturday) and stay on it through a wild set of banked
esses that just about put me through the side of the car. Another set
of esses guard the tighest hairpin outside of the state of Vermont,
and then its NHRA time (full 1/4 mile) through another set of very fast
esses leading into a sweeping left hander where the biggest crowds gather
to watch the mayhem. I eventually tached 100 mph around this turn, but
must admit without a wing I would not have done 75 there. Once through
the left hander one accelerates through a gentle right hand bend to
about 120 mph across the finish line, only to discover one cannot stop
in time to make the turn into turn-around. Have you ever seen an entire
volunteer fire company run for their lives? They man the top of the
course and quickly learned that when they heard the McKee's unique exhaust
bellow (no mufflers in PA. events) they all found something to do behind
their fire trucks.
Saturday and Sunday saw men and women try just about every conceivable
way to destroy cars. It seemed like every fourth car up the hill was
the wrecker -- and of course the fire trucks would boom down from the
top to see what was going on. Cars crashed everywhere and one was bad
enough to send the driver to the hospital. Happily he was back on the
hill in time for the trophies. I think they actually called in two alarms
when a turbo Mazda caught fire because fire trucks descended on us from
all directions. One check point reported a wheel going by, but could
not find a car to go with it. It was hidden in tall grass, otherwise
unhurt.
Sunday morning I learned how to drive my car and began making all my
shifts without incident. As if by magic my time dropped by 9 seconds
and I was only 4/10 behind the leader, Jim Kuzo in his Jerry Driscoll
replica, at the lunch break. I was pretty sure I was going to beat him
as his engine was misfiring and his times were well off his Saturday
FTD time. If they had run under NEHA rules, excluding Saturday times,
I would have won the event. As it was, sensing I was on a roll, he went
up the hill and blew his supercharged engine all over the place, oiling
down one-third of the course from turn 5 to turn 8. The ensuing cleanup
took two hours, leaving us only one more run. Still, I was confident
I could easily make up the missing 4/10 and took off on a very fast
run -- everything was perfect until I came out of turn 5 and flew into
the esses at over 100 mph and found some of Kuzo's oil. From there until
turn 8 God and the wing took over the driving, and somehow I stayed
on the pavement, right side up. As it was I still turned a 60 flat,
suggesting I had been on a 55 second run until encountering the oil.
I'd like to think I was out maneuvered, not out driven.
Shades of Jim Larsen -- the third place car was only a few thousanths
behind me. Mark Aubele's Mustang was unbelievable. My daughter said
he dirt tracked the long left hand sweeper so wildly, everyone thought
he was out of control and would crash -- except he did it run after
run. I think he has a great talent, as he was 10 seconds faster than
the hill record holder who was driving a similar Mustang this year,
instead of his Indy Lola.
Unfortunately Butch was unable to make the event. He usually keeps me
honest and paces me. If you recall, 3 years ago we tore the place up,
beating all but 4 winged open wheeled cars with the Blazer and Kellison.
It was a great, well run event. The fire company that sponsors the event
was wonderful and put on a great pary and dinner for all entrants and
crews. One landowner on whose field I had parked, sent his son over
with a portable gen-set to act as my pit crew when he learned I was
having battery problems.
Darryl Danko, the hill record holder graciously came over and showed
me how to drive the crown -- saving me a lot of white knuckle experimentation.
I must admit it was a long twelve tow returning home, but I'd do it
again in a minute. The people down there are so wonderful and the spectators
are so appreciative -- and the hill -- it is just so much fun once you
begin to learn it. Can you imagine driving 1.2 miles through 8 turns
and only having to tap the brakes twice, when entering the hairpins?
Otherwise its just banking and guts countering centrifugal force. One
feels like a real race driver no matter what times one turns -- it's
that kind of track.
Best to everyone,
Bob D'Amore
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