#AER RACE MID OHIO GAWKER MEDIA SENIOR DRIVER#
#AER RACE MID OHIO GAWKER MEDIA SENIOR FULL#

Matt and I sprinted up from our pitlane spot to the paddock where we saw Jack rolling in under the power of inertia. Then, just a moment later: “PADDOCK! PADDOCK! Water all over the windshield!”

#AER RACE MID OHIO GAWKER MEDIA SENIOR DRIVER#

Nevertheless, we continued to hold a comfortable second position for the first hour of the race and we were just preparing for a driver change to get me into the car when we heard Jack’s voice over the radio. We held the lead for the first fifteen laps or so, only relinquishing it as top qualifier and racing coach Kyle Tilley finally made his way up through the field from the back. The next time they came by, Jack had established a lead of nearly two seconds over the field. In other words, they’d be doing all the important driving and I’d be filling up some of the time inbetween.Īs the Hellcat finished the second pace lap and entered the pits, I held our radio channel open and, the minute the flagman waved, screamed “GREEN GREEN GREEN.” Jack got a great jump on the start and ended up being even with the leader’s E36 as they climbed the hill toward Turn One. The plan was to take advantage of the mandatory five pit stops by cycling through our three-man team, allowing Jack to take the green flag and Matt to take the checkered. We placed Jack in the car to start the race. Despite our vociferous protests (not really), that meant we were placed in the top of the three classes – named “Daytona,” “Sebring,” and “Indy” and we were gridded second for the start of the race because one of the top two cars was late to grid. The Jalopnik team broke the clutch on their car early on, so they switched to a backup E36 BMW and qualified sixth. Period.ĭuring qualifying, Jack and Matt both posted nearly identical times of 1:18.4, which meant that we were third out of forty-one cars. Dollar for dollar, AER is the best value in amateur racing. You get two nine-hour races: one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

#AER RACE MID OHIO GAWKER MEDIA SENIOR FULL#

Oh, yeah, that reminds me – they also have a full day of practice and qualifying, which no other budget-minded endurance series offers.

They class you appropriately and simply – not based on arbitrary rules or points, but on qualifying times. You can bring just about any car you want, provided it’s fully caged and wearing 200 treadwear tires. They have the skinniest rule book in racing. They compete on world-class racing circuits. What better way to stick it to the man than kicking Travis squarely in the ass of his too-tight jeans and showing those Jalops you can’t just buy your way to the top in endurance racing.ĭespite the fact that they allowed the Jalops to put their logo on the trophies, American Endurance Racing just gets it right in so many ways. What the hell, guys? Don’t you know that imported coupes with GM motors is kinda our thing? Oh, and they also brought an LS-powered BMW, too. As a result, we would all be competing for the “Jalopnik Cup of Excellence.” Not only THAT, they brought a film crew, an RV, Supreme Leader Matt Hardigree, and approximately fourteen press cars to the race. Jalopnik’s Travis Okulski had thrown down the virtual gauntlet by convincing the powers-that-be at Gawker Media to sponsor the race and actually rename the trophy after themselves. There was only one thing standing in the way of TTAC having the best journalistic racing team in the history of the internet itself: I felt confident I would be the best “slow guy” anybody would have on their team. We also, of course, had TTAC’s legendary racer, Jack Baruth, as a wheelman. Not only is he a master sheet metal worker and welder, Matt can also drive the wheels off of his Frankenstein. Matt had done a round of testing at Mid-Ohio earlier in the year and reported back the car felt faster and better than ever before. Matt Johnston’s mighty GM-powered FC RX-7 had been dialed up a few notches during its hibernation and was now putting over sixty more horses to the wheels. Our small but determined racing team had designs on a big win to start the year. After my first experience running with the fledgling American Endurance Racing organization last fall, I spent many long, snowy winter weeks in Kentucky, counting the days until this season’s debut race at New Jersey Motorsports Park’s Lightning Raceway. I asked myself that question over and over again this winter.

Aer race mid ohio gawker media senior