Mark Smith turns pro

[Al Fernandez]

Sorry to report Mark slid off and into the tire wall but he is ok. The damage appears cosmetic, though substantial to he right quarter and the nose.

[michaelmosty]

Yikes, sounds like a pretty crazy way to get the first "scuff" on the car.
I hope he can get it back out there, it looked like he was doing excellent!! I saw qualifying times in the low 1:36's. Not even 2 seconds off the front "Pro's" and right on pace with the local hot shots of Robin and TJ.
Keep it up Mark!!!

[AllZWay]

Good luck Mark getting it back together...sorry to hear the damage.

[BlueFirePony]

Get out there Mark...the S197 is a tough beast..tire wall be damned ;)

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish Michael Stacy and Alec Udell luck as well...don't believe I've met them and AFAIK they don't frequent the forums but they are listed as Texas Region and I am nothing if not a "homer". I know Grizwald is in a cake walk as usual but nice to see someone from Texas mixing it up in AIX. Go team ? ;)

[marshall_mosty]

Good luck to all the NASA TX racers!!

Mike Stacey
Alec Udel
Mark Smith
Dan Allford

[BryanL]

Alright mark. Now that you popped your cars cherry you can give it hell in the rain! Good luck and hope the car is back together.
Hope the scoring feed comes back online by race time too

[Al Fernandez]

Mark is out in this mornings warmup :)

[GlennCMC70]

I gotta say I'm inmpressed. Good showing for a rookie and good job getting back out there.

[BryanL]

Yep. To get out in the wet and have a good showing is great. Now it's dans turn to turn the wick up!

[cobra132]

Outstanding!!

[Casey_SS]

Outstanding!!

Ditto. Awesome job Mark!

[smitty328]

Thanks everybody.

It was an awesome experience (would have been better without the wall.) It is a really fun track and I think I could have gotten little faster, never figured out turns 1 and 9.

After going into the wall, I was terrified to go back out in the rain. I REALLY didn’t want to run the championship race, but Ford Racing gave me the parts (I’m still at a loss of words for that) to get the car back out on track. And the guys at Motorsports Development Group busted their asses until 1:00 am getting the car ready.

I let everyone pass me on the start and drove the first 20 min. like my Grandmother. I finally got some nerve back and settled into some “ok” driving. I’m little disappointed with the way I drove in the final race, but the overall experience was awesome!! My best showing was 10th in the first qualifying race; technically it was 9th after a dsq.

I can’t say enough about the generosity from Ford Racing (Mark Wilson.) Without their support, I wouldn’t be racing until next season.

http://i.imgur.com/uAuBIl.jpg (http://imgur.com/uAuBI)
http://i.imgur.com/DEHlHl.jpg (http://imgur.com/DEHlH)
http://i.imgur.com/VjCjdl.jpg (http://imgur.com/VjCjd)
http://i.imgur.com/mEU6fl.jpg (http://imgur.com/mEU6f)
http://i.imgur.com/WsPGJl.jpg (http://imgur.com/WsPGJ)
http://i.imgur.com/KROoBl.jpg (http://imgur.com/KROoB)

[kbrewmr2]

that sealer they use on the dry line is like ice in the wet - rain line is VERY dramatically different there. Good to hear you got back on the horse and got back out there after all that adversity! :)

[AllZWay]

That is pretty cool Mark. Nice to have that level of support. Sorry to see the car beat up.

[ShadowBolt]

WOW! What great support.


JJ

[GlennCMC70]

Great job Ford!

I learned that track in the wet. I was scared shitless. Once the dry weather showed, I felt like Superman. It is a fun track and is very rewarding when you figure it out. Lots of gut check sections and turns there.

[smitty328]

Here are a couple of videos.

Qualifying Race 1 thursday


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxZvzejuIhU&feature=g-all-lik

The last few minutes of QR 2 Friday


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd32m4-AxrU

My hands are all over the place!

[Crumpacker]

Wow, those vids were intense! Awesome Driving Mark! ..except for that one part It didn't look like you did anything wrong, your car just wanted to play driftos. It looked really slick out there, is that normal for Mid-O?



I'm still cringing from the end of QR2... :(

[BlueFirePony]

Great job Mark and sorry you hit the wall. Looked/sounded like the tires started spinning just as you came off the corner and got back to throttle...seemed to be a fair amount of sealer there.

[Al Fernandez]

Great videos!

[GlennCMC70]

Looks like you gave less left input on the wheel at the crest that lap than the laps before. I only watched in once. Could be wrong.

Thing is Mark, for such a new driver, you are doing very well. Nothing to hang your head over. Mike Patterson told me stories about cars left for dead at the track from hitting the wall on your left before they moved it back 10ft.

[smitty328]

Thanks Glenn,

I agree. After watching it several times, I could have put in a little more left input and been a little quicker about it. But I also could have gone to far left and ended up in the real wall. I was really bummed about it (duh) but looking back, It could have been much worse. Also, I couldn't have picked a better time to do it, Ford was there! I still can't believe what they (Mark Wilson) did for me.

[smitty328]

Wow, those vids were intense! Awesome Driving Mark! ..except for that one part It didn't look like you did anything wrong, your car just wanted to play driftos. It looked really slick out there, is that normal for Mid-O?



I'm still cringing from the end of QR2... :(

Thanks

I can't tell you what normal is, it was my fist time there. It's a tough turn though. The car gets pretty light as you come over the top, and then there's a little negative camber.

[rpoz27]

Sorry to see that happen to a nice car. My $0.02 of input is that the tires were going away. You could see Poe and the white car entering that turn with a LOT of yaw on them just before you did. The formula you guys are running with the higher power and 3400-3600lb cars are killing the toyos after about 10 minutes. You could see it in race one as the rear was all over the place after about 12 minutes. Too much power and too much weight going through a 275 tire. I always tell Patterson I will just make him drive the tires off his car but since he drives it sideways, it's sometimes hard to pass him! Weight and big HP is killer on the tires. I'd also say you were having to brake WAY too early before T4 (used to be T7)? Too much weight to get whoa'd down and it's a great passing zone.

What were the tire pressures HOT? I realize the 18" is going to be a little different than the 17" but if you are over 31 hot, the tires get greasy as hell and with the 18" being much less forgiving, especially how stiff the 302S cars are sprung, it leaves VERY little room for error especially at ol' turn 11. Many things to think about for improvement, but kudos for being there and not giving up.