New cafepress shop opened up. All proceeds go to support the website and my drinking habit!
http://www.cafepress.com/teamziptie
Short and long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops, hats, teddy bears (really), pet clothing (Sally YES), license plate frames, clocks, mugs, intimate apparel* and other crap in a variety of styles and colors.
*Intimate apparel doesn’t increase your chances of being intimate.
This is the same system we ran as last year with one slight alteration, but as we have some newbs and some old, forgetful folks, I’ll rehash.
We run a 10 point system.
First in PAX will get 10 points, second will get 9, third gets 8, so on and so forth.
We will be dropping your four lowest scoring days.
You can’t make it to an event, it won’t count against you. If it rains and you weren’t on the right tires, it won’t count against you.
All events will count.
Last year we didn’t count the last day, but why not throw in another event for those who have spotty schedules?
We will be rewarding poor performance.
If you are the person with the most cones on the day, and you didn’t rank in our first place (on the day) position, you will earn 2 bonus points. That’s right… Drive like shit and cone a lot, and you might only get 5 points. But if you get more cones than anyone else, you get 7. Go ahead, take out that wall of cones… we’ll let the corner workers know what you’re doing.
Results will be posted here: TZT 2010 Standings
Rob Robeson has solemnly sworn to:
1. Dance if I want to, but not leave my friends behind,
2. Accept zip-ties as not only a way of life, but as an approved method of birth control,
3. Avoid anything orange and pointy,
4. If orange and pointy can’t be avoided, I pledge to make it much less orange and pointy,
5. Defend the canopy with my life,
6. Defend the cooler with a knife,
7. Buy my next car sans-sunroof,
8. Share the secret of the magic spinning triangles,
9. Go in slow,
10. Come out fast or backwards!
Do you, Andy “Second Hand” Thomas has solemnly sworn to:
1. Dance if I want to, but not leave my friends behind,
2. Accept zip-ties as not only a way of life, but as an approved method of birth control,
3. Avoid anything orange and pointy,
4. If orange and pointy can’t be avoided, I pledge to make it much less orange and pointy,
5. Defend the canopy with my life,
6. Defend the cooler with a knife,
7. Sell my accent back to Gimp when I can no longer handle it,
8. Turn the world on with my smile,
9. Go in slow,
10. Come out fast or backwards!
So the 2009 racing season in Cumberland is officially over with the running of the Pumpkin Carve. This year saw some great battles, and this final weekend was no exception.
Going into the weekend, I lead Mustang Boy by just 0.6666667 points for the cup. I knew I couldn’t beat him on talent, so I needed a miracle. Upon waking up Saturday morning, things were looking good (for me). ”Yes Jesus, rain will do. I’ll get you back later man. Holla!”
All through setup and the drivers meeting, it was rain. Miserable, cold, wonderful rain. See, Mustangs are afraid of water, and BMWs love it so much they routinely let it in through their seals. I could best Mustang Boy on a wet course. To keep things even, we both decided to run the same heat, but by the end of the drivers’ meeting the rain had disappeared along with my hopes of winning the cup. Long story short, he won. So that’s enough about that. Kate, on the other hand, did as expected and took home the TZT Cone Award. BMW parts would like to thank you for all the fog lights, fog light delete pates, brake ducts, bumper clips, fender liners, and under-body trays you have helped them sell this past year.
CCAC Writeup – None But the Brave
To add further insult to injury, Kate and I, running in STX on Saturday, were forced to take a 2-3 finish to the evil Eagle Talon of Slem Kraus, who bested my 51.929 by almost three and half seconds (maybe it was all the dirt in and around my car that slowed me down… oops). Slem Kraus; even that name sounds evil. Mustang Boy took first place over a field of four with a very fast 49.264. Rich landed squarely in the middle of BSP with a 52.651, only 4 seconds off the season leader, Steve Hotchkiss. Doug won DSP with a 50.837, showing me and Kate what we’d be in for the next day. Patrick was the only Geraghty that day, and won ASP with his 54.203.
Sunday brought us a beautiful fall day in Cumberland, with sunny but cool weather for us to race in. With the pressure of the Cup off, Kate and I had planned on running in DSP, but I played “car whore” again and instead drove Rob Robeson’s RX8 in B-Stock, where I got my clock cleaned (52.283, 2.944 back from first) by Shawn Roberts, Chike Dellimore, and Katie Orgler, all visiting from the D.C. area. Thanks a lot for stopping by… Doug, Andy Thomas (in our BMW), and Kate all competed in DSP that day, with everyone taking a hit from the freakishly fast Integra of Miro Valent and the BMW of Brian Launer. This was record attendance for DSP this year, with a total of 6 entrants. Doug finished up in third witha 52.041, Andy in fourth with a 54.923, and Kate in fifth with a 55.852. Rich moved up a spot to second in BSP. His 52.932 only about two and a half seconds off the leader, Steve Hotchkiss. Patrick got knocked down a few pegs to third in ASP, but still put down a solid 55.395. Mustang Boy, if anyone cares, won ESP again with a 50.857.
Thomas and family did stop by the bar Saturday night and it was great to see them. We’ve missed them this year and hope they can come out and play next year.
The last race of the year is always sad. Sure, there are other events in our area, but nothing is quite like Cumberland. Despite the close and exciting racing, it’s the people that really make the difference. There is no better way to surround yourself with good people than coming up to a CBE race.
Kate and I took a ton of pictures this last time, and you can view them here – http://picasaweb.google.com/kate.mewhiney/PumpkinCarve09#
Thanks again for another great year, and stay tuned for team updates, including the new class of 2010!
Final Team Standings
1. Mustang Boy (70 points)
2. Gimp (69.66666667 points)
3. Doug (60 points)
4. Rich (53 points)
5. Kate (51 points)
6. Patrick (16 points)
7. Bill (11 points)
8. Thomas (0 points)
do do do do, do do do dee dee, do do do do, do do do dee dee, do do, do do, do do, do do dee dee, deeeeeee!
Sorry about that… We are down to the wire with one day (not event) left to decide the winner in the TZT Cup. Current standings, with the point drops can be seen here:
So I went to the old post where I had updated the rules for this year, and I noticed something fun. I had been assuming a “drop two” style scoring, but, per Thomas’s request, it was made into a “drop four” style.
Newer Year, Newer Rules, and soon, Newer Blood
To steal from Wade, the magenta cells indicate the “drop four” scores and will be adjusted as necessary.
It breaks down like this:
1. Gimp (60.66666667 points)
2. Mustang Boy (60 points)
3. Doug (52 points)
4. Rich (46 points)
5. Kate (45 points)
6. Bill (11 points)
7. Patrick (11 points)
8. Thomas (0 points)
Only .666666667 points separate the lead, but many other battles are there for the taking. Will Kate top Rich? Which Geraghty will reign supreme? Will Thomas show up? If so, will he remember to bring the Cone Award to share with the 2009 winner?
…long distance relationships are so hard.
So to update things, Golf is now mine. Unfortunately in the process someone unknown to me borrowed my trucks tailgate…
Any way, here are the pictures:
Something is missing here…
Still down on TZT Members, but not on fun or action, we awoke from our July slumber for the National Road Autosport Summer Sizzler.
Doug, Rich, Mustang Boy, Kate and I all made our return to the airport this weekend to face-off against much faster cars, better drivers, and nicer people.
Saturday brought hot, sticky weather, a tight course, and a smaller than normal group of competitors. Despite the lower attendance, the racing was just as tight as ever. Kate and I drove the 318ti against a large (for Cumberland) ST field, including friends Steve Mcgrnange and Chris “It’s a girl” Wallmark in their 1991 AWD BMW. I managed to pull off a first place finish, while Kate beat out Chris, but lost 3rd place to Steve by 0.324 seconds. We also learned, by beating the crap out of the car, that we had a broken motor mount – figures, considering the massive levels of power. Mustang Boy continued his ESP domination, beating fellow “Stang” driver Buddy Haines by more than 8 seconds. Rich nailed a solid 3rd place in BSP, showing he continues to get better and better as the season goes on. Doug invited his Audi friends with him, and those friends showed their true colors leaving him in last place in DSP (a class Kate and I were considering running in until Steve Wade decided he liked it there).
We awoke Sunday morning and looked out our window to see hallway the hotel door to see rain falling on the ground. Luckily, the rain moved out of the area well before the morning’s course walk to provide a nice, dry day for us to enjoy. Andy Thomas brought my old Hyundai to race on Sunday, and after a quick internal debate, I decided to ask him if I could borrow my old ride. As I approached him on the morning course walk, I shouted out “Hey man, mind if I borrow your car.” Before he could answer, Chris Fritz spoke up enthusiastically and said “Sure!” So just like that, I found myself behind the wheel of an A-Stock 2008 Subaru STI…. nice. Another pleasant surprise was the return of Bill Geraghty, but he would not be racing this day.
I drove Chris’s car like it wasn’t mine (which was surprisingly easy) and would up in a solid 3rd place in AS, beating Chris’s best time, and only missing out on the top spot by 0.323 seconds.
Me driving the STI
Kate finished up in a strong second place (out of two) in ST. Showing the true luck of the Irish, Kate not only had her fastest run stolen away by an angry orange dwarf, but noticed only after the car was retired for the day that she had been running with the A/C on – quite the drag on our tiny little motor. I’m now being forced to try to borrow more cars for future autocrosses in order to save myself the embarrassment when things finally click. Mustang Boy did what he does best – played with himself (in ESP), but still put up a very strong time. Rich fell back a spot in BSP, but closed the overall gap towards the lead. Doug sent his friends (and Steve Wade) literally packing, but still couldn’t best the SRT4 of Lee Watson and was forced to settle with second place in DSP.
For those of you interested in the courses, or for those who prefer to read better written autocross prose, please head over to the CACC website, as is now customary in my lazy form of writing:
Saturday
Sunday
Team Zip-Tie Cup Standings
Saturday (82 Entrants)
10 – Mustang Boy (20th in PAX)
9 – Gimp (27th in PAX)
8 – Rich (50th in PAX)
7 – Doug (52nd in PAX)
6 + 2 – Kate (56th in PAX – Cone Award winner with 3 cones)
Sunday (75 Entrants)
10 – Mustang Boy (16th in PAX)
9 – Gimp (19th in PAX)
8 – Rich (45th in PAX)
7 – Doug (52nd in PAX)
6 + 2 – Kate (54th in PAX – Cone Award winner with 2 cones)
6 – Bill (1 point for showing up, 5 for staying in-state)
Current Team Standings
1. Gimp (58 points)
2. Mustang Boy (57 points)
3. Doug (47 points)
4. Rich (45 points)
5. Kate (43 points)
6. Bill (6 points)
7. Patrick (5 points)
8. Thomas (0 points)
Remember, these totals still contain the lowest four scores. The lowest four will only be dropped at the very end.
You can track the team standings on Google. View the spreadsheet here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rwr3T8ikb1HSYvAwc0ltrJw
… Engaged
Now get off my ass about the Camaro not being done.
http://www.cafepress.com/teamziptie
Short and long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops, hats, teddy bears (really), pet clothing (Sally YES), license plate frames, clocks, mugs, intimate apparel* and other crap in a variety of styles and colors.
*Intimate apparel doesn’t increase your chances of being intimate.
