<VV> Corvair Olympix

[Rick Norris]

Yeow!
What a great event!
Three days of flogging Corvairs in the middle Indiana corn fields and the hot Indiana sun and humidity!
It don't git no better'niss!
No rain, sunny skies and the extended family.
Hot motors, cold beer and no fist fights!

To me that is what this event was really about. Yes, I looked forward to running my car amongst others of it's kind but, I most enjoyed seeing all the familiar faces and talking with everyone. It filled the void of not attending the National Convention.
No matter how tired I was, I looked forward to the impromptu lawn chair meetings and some cool adult beverages in the parking lot after each event.

Putnam Park Road Course is in a beautiful pastoral setting and is well maintained. The staff were very professional  and personable. I think they liked Corvairs.
My car ran well but, Just after I stated it hasn't thrown a belt it did. Actually ripped it in half so the silicone spray came out and the belt problems went away.
During practice I got out of control in turn 10 but stayed on track and ended up headed the right way with no caution flag. However, a few laps later I decided the grass in that area needed some trimming. I didn't do a 180, just slid nicely off track and motored smoothly back on and to the pits for a look see then, back out. Hey, as Parnelli Jones said, "If you aren't out of control you aren't driving fast enough"!
 After practice for some reason unknown to me I decided to lower the tire pressures. Wrong move! During my timed runs the car was not handling as well as it did in practice. After looking at my tires it was obvious they did not like the lower pressures. At least I know what NOT to do now. It's a learning process and like all racers I'm sure I could have knocked several more seconds off my time if I had not done this or had done that but, I was pleased overall with everything. Some small personal goals were obtained.

Muncie Dragstrip is located amongst several corn fields, imagine that! It's an old but decent facility. I did not enter the drag event but went as a spectator and took pictures. It was another warm sunny day and the ice cream sandwiches at the snack bar were a tasty treat.
I think the folks there enjoyed seeing the Corvairs go down the strip. It was a treat to watch those of our brethren that regularly drag race Corvairs in they're environment. Especially fun was watching Billy Bruce in his black early model with a turbo and automatic running in the 12 second range! Also fun was watching Brian Sibenick do burn outs in the water box. 
Of course, Seth ran his rental car too!  We were expecting John Farce to show up in his Corvair funny car but he developed an oil leak!

Saturday was the autocross which was held at old Bush Stadium in downtown Indy. At least it was a short drive from the host abode compared to the 60 mile hike to both Putnam Park and Muncie. There was nothing there to change my dislike for big cities and all the traffic problems but, all the events started early which avoided most of the traffic.
The lot was decent and the layout was Corvair friendly. Plenty of shade could be had and the cold water was free. It was certainly needed.
I worked a corner of the "peanut section" during the first round with Dave Edsinger, Barry Ellison and Ned Madsen. Unfortunately for them they were a captive audience and I did my best to entertain them. GGG!
We had five timed runs and my best time was on my last run. The first run I got lost and the second run I crashed through the garage cones. I finally settled down on my next two runs and got clean times. Like everyone else I was tired so I decided I was not going to run the fifth time but, the ever large and in charge OIC or "Officer In Charge" his high holiness El Supremo Brian O'Neill convinced me that if I paid for five runs You will take five runs! That last run turned out to be my best one, even though my left rear shock had come adrift as the bottom bolt was missing! I did not know this until Chuck Sadek mentioned it back in the parking lot.
When we got home and I unloaded the car I checked it out. No real damaged done other than paint being scraped off so I replaced the missing bolt.

Again, a big THANK YOU to the Indy group, the NECC and everybody involved in putting this event on and making it a success.
I'm already signed up and paid for the Summit Point gig in October! 

R.A. "Rick" Norris
Piping Design/Checker
Tech Advisor
Augusta Eng. & Design
So. Chas. WV
304-744-9000