After a fitful sleep, disturbed by dreams of being chased by murderous lowlifes, I blinked awake before dawn. I found myself in the crappiest motel room the La Vale Best Western had, right next to the vending machines and an entrance door, reeking of stale cigarettes and tawdry liasions. Peeking through the stained curtains, I saw gloom and steady rain. Crap. Flipping on the set, the Weather Channel radar showed a big glop of precipitation hovering over Cumberland, but clear air to the West, and the forecast predicted a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms all day. But what would a Cumberland weekend be without rain or the threat of rain? I rode out to the airport in Chipper’s Suburban with Wade and him, his diminutive set of Snot Rocket street tires piled four high in the seat next to me. We arrived to discover that the cover had blown off the BDC during the night, dampening the driver’s side Kirkey seat cushion. As we lingered over breakfast at the Airport Café, slowly the sky to the West lightened, and the rain tapered off.
The PA crackled to life, as Greg Honeycutt, flush from the previous day’s clutch FTD triumph, announced that the course was open for walking. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to rub it in, he announced that it could be walked in 49 seconds, although it would probably take Wade Chamberlain 50. As we walked the course, it was immediately obvious that the whining the day before about my sore arms to Boggs had paid off. Sunday’s course retained the long straight stretches of the day before, but Mark had opened up both the tight front section, and the terminal turnaround considerably. There is always a price, though, because Boggs, displaying Mephistopholean sensibilities, had changed the kink subtly. The right hander coming off the balls out wide open straight seemed tighter, increasingly the likelihood of spins by high horsepower cars entering the kink at speed. At John Felten’s urging, he punctuated this by placing a wall of cones marking the outside edge of the turn, assuring a run killing multicone penalty for any hapless tailhappy car that did not keep on the line through the turn. Ever the wag, he reinforced this point by chalking a directional arrow with the words “Cobras Go This Way” in the gate. Still, as the emerging sun chased away the fleeting clouds and baked the standing water off what promised to be a much faster course, the day was shaping up.
The Back Straight Into the Kink
What Passes for Humor at CBEWe had a new addition in the paddock. Yet another FFR Daytona Coupe had arrived to join the party, this one built, owned and driven by Terry Holstein (Cone Basher on FFCobra), who trailered in all the way from Ohio. CBE would see not less than three Type 65s driven in anger this day.
Fred and Shelby Check out the Holstein Coupe; Glad this One's FinishedAt the driver’s meeting it was announced that there would be six runs. Always a blessing and a curse.
Working the course in first heat action, we could tell right away that the course was indeed fast. Chris Fritz, in his traditional first car off slot, hammered through the kink in his 2008 Sti Subie, lifting his outside rear wheel in salute as he passed. Eric Barnett in his black Z06, after going off the first run, dialed it in, and logged a quick 47.8. Herb Smith in Doug’s Superformance, picking up the pace dramatically from the day before, posted a 48.5 on his sixth run. Another highlight was KC Strawmyre screaming a beautifully restored bone stock 1965 Corvette ‘vert hard around on skinny bias ply tires, proving that the classics were born to earn their keep by running, not standing around a car show looking shiny. The first also saw the return of the LS-1 V8 powered Ebrahimi Lotus clone, driven in the first by Arya. Also, we chuckled to the improvisational stylings of the Fluffer, ever the shameless extrovert, as he ably handled the announcing chores for the first heat.
As the first wound up, and I walked off the course, I snapped another picture of Bogg’s graffiti, now marked by Corvette skid marks pointing the way Cobras were not to go.
Corvette Points the Way As expected, the limbo bar was lowered quite a lot in the second heat, as a number of fast drivers used their heaping helpings of six runs to drive down their times. Mike Moran, again driving Hubbell’s blown FFR, was troubled by traction and cones, but over the course of his six, found the ragged edge and set the pace for the day on his final run with a 44.7. It was registered with mild disapproval in the Book of Life that Mike had a rider along on that fateful last run; a borrowed white helmet and T-shirt with sleeves not disguising that it was none other than Barneymobile owner Shortpipe Hubbell, who had yet to run in the fourth heat. The consolation is that the course went by so fast, he probably did not absorb much of it.
Matt Felten, stinging from yesterday’s rebuke, left nothing to chance. He was in the 44s by his second run, and methodically worked his Reynard down to finish with a 43.7. Shawn Pfieffer’s Crossle could not match that pace and finished with a best lap of 47.3. Jen Moran, again piloting the family Suxass Subie, took over second place in XP class with her 47.5. Native Bearer went head to head against another VW R32, and emerged victorious, with his 52.35 good enough for a double D Stock class win for the weekend.
As the smoke from the second heat cleared, the stage was set just about the same as the day before: Mike Moran in Hubbell’s FFR in a strong position in XP, Matt Felten in line for FTD and class victory, with Honeycutt, Big John Felten, Duncan, Hughes, Jake Moran, and the bulk of the Cobras yet to run. We would all know very soon whether the younger Felten’s mid-43 would hold up, or whether his hopes would again be dashed by Honeycutt’s hot streak, or some other third or fourth heat pest. The good weather was holding, it was well established by now that the path to victory on this course lay in hanging it out, and third heat drivers did exactly that. Chamberlain, Casey and Jake Moran opened the bidding with recon runs in the 45s, Wade’s marred by a cone, while Kelley and Doug Smith anted up with 46s, as did Tink (but he ate two pylons), and Jim Harris. In the mod world, Duncan started with a 46, and Chipper’s Snot Rocket blew its nose on not less than three cones, while John Felten logged a solid 45.9 as his opening bid. Honeycutt hung tough, telling the world he was still in it with a solid 45.3 with five full passes to come.
As the heat wore on, those times dropped precipitously, but cones and crowd pleasing wipeouts in the kink and crossover increased. Wade laid down his best pass on his fourth lap, a smoking 44.48, but looped at speed chasing Honeycutt (by then deep into the 44s) on his last two runs. This would earn him his second XP class win for the weekend, and fifth in the all important raw time standings. Mr. Personality Casey, whose radiator fan quit, ate it bad on his third run, but stayed in the hunt anyway, mustering a 44.96 best on his fourth run, not good enough to edge interloper Mike Moran out of second and into third in XP, and pacing Larry 7th place overall. Doug Smith made it into the exclusive 44 second club on his fifth run, but could not make it stick because he picked up a cone, and had to settle for a solid 45 flat pass on his last, snaring fourth in XP and 8th overall, a double top ten finish for the Sizzler. Jake Moran ran Suxass very consistently in the 45s all day, ending the day with a best lap of 45.1, good for 5th in XP and 9th overall. Fast Freddie ran his time steadily down to a 45.3 on his last lap, earning 6th in XP, but putting him just outside the top ten in 11th overall. Tink’s Daytona proved a cone magnet, but he finally posted a clean 46.2 his last run. Brother Craig Smith found the sweet spot on his second run, posting a 48.6. All the Smiths made it into the top twenty five Sunday, demonstrating some real family values.
Needing all the help I could get in this crowd, Mike Moran, having run his race, joined me as an instructor for some of my runs, including my best fourth lap, a respectable 47.5. Unfortunately I booted a cone in the front slalom, and had to settle for a less respectable 48.8.
I did, however, win a bet with Larry. At breakfast, watching Terry Holstein’s Roush 408 powered Daytona go through tech from the restaurant window with trepidation, I impulsively bet Casey $10, sight unseen, that the BDC would beat the rival coupe. Before our coursework, I nervously listened as Gary and Wade elicited details about Terry’s build (bigger motor than my 347 stroker) and driving experience (SCCA autocrosser, driving since the ‘70s). The navy blue Coupe ran in the fourth heat, and I was relieved to learn that I somehow got past Terry by a couple of ticks.
Jim Harris smoothly sailed to a top ten finish and doubleheader SS class victory with his 45.1. Hubbell’s shot in the fourth heat was cut short after his second run with a fried coil; and it is no wonder given how hard he and Mike were pushing that poor old purple dinosaur. He posted a 45.6 before his day ended. John reported that in true Cumberland style, he was inundated with help. Greg Honeycutt, gracious in victory, loaned John a coil, Larry stuck around to help, and John Felten gamely offered John a tow home if needed, which, fortunately was not required. Still, we admire and appreciate the generous and selfless spirit of our brother racers, and salute you here for that. On any given day, anyone could need help, and it is nice to know we can count on each other.
Paul the Fluffer wisely gave up his aging underpowered Beemer to borrow Chris Fritz’s spanky new hot AWD Subie STI, and was rewarded with a really solid 48.7, good enough to take me by a tenth (good for you, Paul, happy now?), and a podium 3rd place class finish, but not good enough to best the S 2000s of Pete Harrison and Robert Kilmer, who took 1st and 2d in A Stock with their 48.4 and 48.5s respectively.
But the day really belonged to the mod cars. Honeycutt sealed the fate of all on his fifth run, a spectacular 43.6, slipping by Reynard rival Matt Felten by a scant tenth, and besting John Felten’s 44.36 decisively. This marked a double FTD and B Mod class win for Greg, a great accomplishment in a very tough neighborhood, populated by any number of open wheel racecars, purpose built snakes, Lotus clones, hot ‘Vettes, all wheel drive monsters and barely legal street cars. Duncan drove his D Mod Ultralite to an excellent 44.2 finish. Hughes wrapped up the weekend with a 45.4, another uncontested class win and 12th overall. Larry Casey, preparing for next week's Polish Mountain Hillclimb, where he will co-drive Dave Williams' 944, ran it in the fourth heat. Continuing a trend set by Mike Moran, he beat Dave in his own car.
In the end, the top four berths of the top ten were occupied by mod class cars: Honeycutt, Felten, Duncan and Felten. The next four were stuffed with Cobras. This left room only for Jake Moran’s Subie and Smooth Jim’s Z06. As on the day before, nine Cobras made it into the top twenty five.
The stage is now well set for the next CBE event: the Devil’s Duel in mid-August, where CACC’s Cobras will square off against an as yet unknown roster of all star drivers. As Dave Williams put it during Sunday’s driver’s meeting, the identity of the opposite team will be determined by two criteria: (1) have you been consistently fast and (2) do you want to beat those insufferable Cobra guys? Do you feel lucky punk? Well, do ya? Of course you do. . . .
