Practice Report: CRCRC Midwest Winter Championships

0 Jan. 14, 2011, 2:27 p.m.

January 14, 2011

Jeffersonville, Ohio -- Practice is finally over here at the CRCRC Midwest WinterChampionships. The heats are being sorted, the track is being watered anddrivers are heading out to dinner after a long day of work.

The track has been a topic of conversation throughout thepits, as it is at pretty much any race. This year’s course is reallyfast-paced, but not as smooth as it looks. Upon closer inspection, you willfind Bobcat tracks left over from the build all over. These bumps have beencausing cars to become unsettled in many sections of the track. Then, considerthe high-speed nature of the layout, mixed with the aforementioned bumps, andyou can see where problems may exist.

Throughout practice, drivers have been testing tirecombinations like crazy. Since the facility is new, most people are exhaustingtheir supplies of tires and then some in an effort to find the best combinationfor the new surface.

There have been lots of mixed opinions in the pits as towhether treaded front tires or ribs work best in 2WD. At the end of the day,though, it seems most drivers have settled on treaded fronts.

Another thing drivers have had mixed opinions on, is whetherto run tires with new pins, or to ‘scrub’ them in beforehand. As you canimagine, as the day went on and the surface dried up, drivers began to migratetoward the full-pin tires. But even when the track dried out, worn in tiresstill worked.

The timing system was running throughout practice, butsheets were not printed. Based on the ‘pit talk’ we’ve been hearing, all of theusual suspects are running fast. We’ll know more about fast guys who may be offthe pace or unknowns who are running fast tomorrow once we get some moredetailed results. We’ll report back then!