Willow Springs Raceway, November 23-24, 2002

This was amazing. The emotions that I went through on Sunday were unbelievable. But first to Saturday.

The aim for this race weekend was to return to the SR class and try to take 3rd place in the championship. I had already won 1st place in SRX and there was no competition. Jared had a 5 point lead on me, and knowing how fast he drives, I had an up hill battle. Moreover, Sheening, the best driver among all of us was running for the first time. I was hopeful, but apprehensive.

Jude and I arrive early Saturday. For some reason, I do not sleep well before a track event no matter how early I go to bed. Since October Jude and I have done some changes to the car.

We installed the Quaife in a 95 5K mile fresh tranny and I upped the spring rate in the rear to 450 in/lb from the 400 that I ran previously. I was *very* concerned with the tranny. It was our first such install and we were hoping for the best.

I already had the car set-up to run when we unload it. I spend my Fridays seting up the suspension at home and loading all the crap in the truck. I head out to practice and I was feeling the car out trying not to push too hard. The car felt really good. I was pulling consistant 1:39.xx w/o much effort. I knew that the car could be better, but I was pleased by what Jude and I had done.

Qualifying comes around and I decide to let it all hang. I wanted to take pole, knowing that this is the only chance I had to secure a win. I had to finish before Jared in both races. I pull a 1:38.49, the fastest I had done on the track up to that day. Alas, Sheening, the master of all SE-R drivers, takes pole. I come in 2nd, and Jared 3rd. I do not remember how the rest of the SE-Rs qualified, but we all were very close to each other.

The race comes and we all grid and start. I get a good start and I am right behind Sheening. On lap 2 or 3 I got on his outside on turn 2. I love passing through there since my car grips that corner like Mike's cat when it pulls on his wife's hair :-) This corner also sets me up to have the inside on turn 3. Sheening and I are door to door and I have a bit of an edge going into turn 3. He backs off and I pass him. But I could not hold on to first place. Sheening is the better driver and he passes me later on and after that I am content holding on to 2nd place in the race. I kept my eyes in the mirrors for Jared and all i could see was Paul Godutti in a 240Z trying to catch me. Later on he tells me that he ran out of tires trying to catch me. But he did start from the end of the field and made it all the way up the field.

I finish in 2nd place. I was happy since now I was tied with Jared for 3rd place. I was happier that the tranny was holding together even with the intense heat generated by the Quaife unit.

On Sunday Jude and I came bright and early to take tire temps and adjust the suspension. Mike told me on Sat that If my car was bumpy in Omega, then I might want to reduce the front compression. That is exactly what the car felt like. So I reduce the front compression by 2 clicks and I head out driving behind Don Mock to learn a better line through Omega. The temp was
cold and the car took a long time to heat up. After 4-5 laps Don goes to the pits and I keep going. The conditions were so good that I pulled the fastest lap ever on that track, a 1:37.15. "If I did that in practice, I can do even better in qualifying," I said to myself.

During Qualifying I literally sucked. I did not get many clean laps. First there was a pro-truck that was loose all over the place and I was stuck behind it. Then there was a supercharged civic that was a real pain. He kept harrassing us. then after he passed us his engine blew up in turn 2. Don mock spun in his oil. Sheening hit the brakes hard and I was right behind Sheening. I did the same and the car almost did not stop. I almost rear ended the NX. Yikes!!! I end up pulling 1:39.37, before last on the list of SE-Rs. I was dejected. How in the hell am I going to pass all the SE-Rs and then pass Jared who was in 2nd? Mission impossible.

We grid for the race and we are off on the warm up lap and I see Sheening's car sitting there at the top of the grid and not moving!!! What happened? Apparently his car broke the clutch cable and there was no time to repair it.

On the start, I think I saw the flag wave and I make a jump, but Paule waves his finger at me and I tuck quickly back behind him to avoid a wave off. That mistake screwed me up becuase when the real green came I was not ready for it. Mike K. passes me and I was dead last before turn 1. Things were looking grim. So now it is Jared in the lead, followed by Phil, Kojima, and Paule.

I line up next to Paule coming out of turn 2 and I out brake him going into turn 3 and I make the pass as we exit turn three. Next in line was Phil. I catch him on turn 2 on the outside, and just like Mike's cat, the car grips and shoot out at the end of two. Two down, two more to go. I catch Mike the next lap around and I come on the inside before turn 3. I force him to the outside of turn three and I am now in 2nd place.

By now Jared had a significant lead. I started pushing and I was keeping the same distance between us. But going out of turn 9 I see Jared slow down. Apparently, he had blown his engine due to the loss of coolant. All of a sudden I am in 1st. I am sure that had Sheening started and Jared did not lose his engine, I would have finished 3rd. After that Don mock comes up behind me after turn 9 and I did not put up a fight. I knew that if I fight him the rest of the SE-Rs will catch up. There was no point in battling a superior driver.

Towards the end the car was begining to get low on gas. The yellow light was coming on almost all the time. It was a flashback to the first race I had with Paule, shit. So I slow down and start short shifting into 5th. I knew that if I preserved my gas and my tires I can put up a fight by the time the SE-Rs caught up. Luckily for me they ran out of time. White flag comes on and I am still ahead by a good 5 second margin. I take the checkered and the "fist of victory and defiance" comes pumping out of the window. I was stocked. I was yelling and screaming in the car.

Jude and I had achieved what we wanted. We won 1st place in SRX and now 3rd place in SR. We trophied in two classes. It was even better than I had expected. The emotions that I went through from being dead last at the start of the race to winning the race were priceless.

I would like to thank all of you for making this my second most memorable race weekend. I want to thank Jim for all his hard work. You made this series and you deserve credit for it. I know I argue with you, but I do REALLY appreciate the hard work. I want to thank Mike for being such an honest no BS guy. I want to thank Paule for being such a pain, I love you man. I want to thank Rob and Phil for teaching perseverance to the rest of us. I want to thank Jared for his calm demeanor and Sheening for his
humility. I wish I can be like you guys, but I wear my emotions (good and bad) on my sleeve.

Finally, I want to thank my GREAT brother. You have been by my side every step of the way, not only with building and racing the car but my whole life. We have been through so much together and this is just another chapter in a very long book. Dad would have been proud of us.

Team Dahi, 1st in SRX, 3rd in SR