You can search Youtube for "lanier speedway" and filter by upload date to see some crummy video of the mayhem.
Well, I'm happy to say the ol' Saturn did pretty well on Saturday. The first event up was the Enduro. I think we started around 12 cars for this race, four or five wide. I started on the outside front row. Even though this is a round track, they decided to do a standing start. Now, keep in mind of all the cars out there, only three of us had any previous racing experience. At the line, I left the Saturn in Drive, since there was no way to select 1st gear on the slushbox. The green flag fell, I punched it, and had the lead going into turn 1. My buddy in the Prelude Si I had sourced for him spun the tires at the start, and fell in behind me. I led the first 6 out of the 20 lap race, but the Saturn was no match for the Prelude. Shortly after taking the lead he was pinned behind some crashing cars and I got back by, but ultimately I had to settle for second. The other regular racer (in a '91 Accord EX) in the field wound up third after being taken out by other cars twice during the race. The two cars I had thought would contend, a '90's BMW 535i and a 2000ish Maxima, were never contenders.
I also took part in the skid race. I went out there with the attitude that I would show these boys how it was done. And I did. I showed them how to crash. A lot. I think we started around 12-13 cars in this event too, with myself once again on the outside front row. Keep in mind, there was ZERO practice in these things. With metal skids replacing the rear tires, there was a serious lack of rear grip. One more standing start. One more time the Saturn zooms to the lead. But this time, in turn #1, I did an instantaneous 270 spin. The end result was a six-car pileup, and the right door of the Saturn knocked almost two feet inward. It even bent the roof! Still, once the car was straight, I kept on going.... and this time drove it into the wall. After a few laps I finally got the hang of it and let it scrub off speed in the turns, and picked up spots. I finished this one in either 3rd or 5th depending on which scoring sheet you pic. By the end of this one, I figured it would be much safer to let the Plastic Wonder sit out the rest of the night. No rollcage + plastic body + thin metal doorshells = danger, and I had pushed my luck far enough. I already can't wait for the next one to come around. Too bad that's about nine months from now :(
Mike
PS. This was written at near 1AM. Hopefully it makes sense.......
