04-21-02  

Jeff, Lori and TJ & Chela go to Laguna Seca with Tracquest

Tracquest is a driving club that rents out various tracks around USA and this weekend we were at Laguna Seca.  It's a great venue for people new to driving at high speeds on a racetrack to learn car control. 
My wife Lori and TJ both drove the Porsche C2 and I drove the Racecar. 
I also got to instruct at this event which was both a blessing and a curse. 
After the first run session, I felt like the little girl in The Omen  who spewed green guacamole all over the place.  After a Dramamine, I was much better, especially after riding with TJ
(just kidding TJ!! You drove like my grama used to drive, so I was fine).

Although we didn't get any pictures of Lori in the car, this was her first event driving on the big track. 
After supporting me for the last 7 years and coming to all the events, she decided she wanted to get in on the fun.  She had a great time and did a great job in the car.  She even put up with me instructing her on the track!  Hopefully the bug has bitten her and she'll want to do more events. 
She's asking me for driving gloves for her birthday so I take that as a  good sign!

Jeff the proud father of the new Bushwacker Racing Car with TJ, motorcycle racer turned Porsche wannabe racer!  The Bushwacker Racecar was the fastest car at the event by far.  I drove it in the instructor group called the Red group and after about the 2nd session, everyone that thought they were "racers" were cowering in fear, and once they saw me in their rear view mirrors, moved over immediately to avoid being devoured by the new Logo which screems "Get the Fu.. Outta My Way"!

The women and children better run for cover :)

Somehow TJ looks right at home here.  The C2 performed great the first day out. 
Both Lori and TJ had a great time and learned a lot from their awesome (although quite carsick) instructor.

The second day, we had a bit of a problem with a huge oil leak in the Porsche, so I had to retire it for the event.  So... I went looking for a substitute vehicle for him to drive.  This is what I came up with.

It certainly had the right name, right logo and the right color, and screamed "manhandle me" quite loudly. 
This had to be TJ's new ride:

 

The tires looked like they had plenty of tread on them and it shifted just like his Ducatti race bike. 
TJ will be right at home on this thing going thru the Corkscrew... 
This picture actually was taken at Laguna Seca that day by my wife who tells me that this will
be my next racecar if I dont let her race mine!

Once I showed the new "Wacker" ride to him, he wasn't impresed. 
It didn't have BMW or Porsche or Ducatti on the name emblem. 
So, TJ improvised and took his lovely bride for a hell ride in her BMW Z3. 
Isn't it great that we buy our spouses really cool, high-performance toys for them to enjoy all by themselves?

Getting quite bored with low speeds, TJ now wanted to UPGRADE.  Great. 
I knew what that meant.  Hand the keys to the Bushwacker Racecar over to this guy?  Am I nuts?

And that's exactly what I did.  It must have been the Dramamine in my system.

Ok, studly, this aint your father's Oldsmobile... 
After a couple of sessions, I must say I was quite impressed with his driving ability. 
He'd already proven himself in the C2 as one of the smoothest drivers on the track I've ever seen. 
In the racecar, it was no different.  In fact, I was on his butt constantly to push it harder. 

I bet he has nightmares of coming off the straight at 150MPH into turn 2 me screeming "Ok, Brake.  BRAKE Harder.  BRAKE HARDER!!! "  You see, this kind of vehicle attains higher speeds just a little bit faster than other cars.  After we made it successfully around turn 2, I was again on him to "NAIL THE THROTTLE.  ALL THE WAY!"  By the end of the 2nd session in the car, he was pulling off 1:53 lap times which is impressive by any measure, especially for NEVER having driven on a racetrack in a Car, much less in a Racecar!

This picture about sums it up.  It was a great weekend, great weather and we all had a blast. 
Now its off to Las Vegas for the Porsche Club of America Club Race for Bushwacker Racing!

BUSHWACKER RACING
www.bushwacker-racing.com