July 23, 2009
Chicago Trip Day One:
Today began with a blaring alarm clock and major concern in regards to my trip to Chicago. Wondering if I packed everything I was going to need, the typical last minute jitters anybody gets before their going somewhere on business had set in. My mother was not helping the situation what so ever on the way to the airport. Upon arriving I found that our initial look at the amount of passengers on United flights from San Francisco to Chicago had drastically changed from the night before. I listed myself the day before at 9am and from there the load list went crazy. However it was the card I was dealt and lead to actually being some time that I could just clear my head and get food in my system. I spent most of the time enjoying posts on FML mainly because I guess my day wasn’t so bad after all you know.
Thanks to a very nice gate worker named Olga, I ended up on a plane after nearly 11 hours in the airport. She handed me my boarding pass and I walked down the ramp towards my working vacation. Shortly after takeoff the announcement came over the intercom that we were on time and hopefully Air Force One’s arrival into Chicago wont cause too much of a delay.
Of course my bag was the last bag off the carousel, so after a long wait I headed over to the info kiosk and started looking at hotels my mother suggested for the evening. Found the Holiday Inn Express was willing to forward me a discount that my mother gets when she stays there. Talk about fantastic a king bed, breakfast, and free WiFi for $75 in Chicago, Beat that Price line. On my way to the airport I solved one mans life dilemma as to why his phone was not working. Turns out he left it in airplane mode. From there got on the bus to the hotel and saw the after math of our Presidents arrival. To add to my headache list, I learned that a taxi cab had ran over a pedestrian or two. But on the way I saw Air Force One and the C5 Galaxy that no doubt transported the President’s motorcade. Never the less seeing Air Force One for the first time was a unique feeling a mix of excitement, amazement, and awe. You wonder how just seeing a plane could be exciting at all but then again I have loved aircraft since I was a child so I know what is under that white and blue aluminum skin of that 747. Of course I will remain Gods comic relief till the day I die because after seeing Air Force One the bus pulls into the hotel and in the parking lot sits the Oscarmeyer Weiner mobile. Yet another veicle I have never seen in real life before and im not totally sure, but pretty positive that God is laughing with me. Finally checked into the hotel and ordered some pizza Chicago style. And I have to say after it arrived an hour later was not impressed with it. Sorry Chicago, California pizza is far superior then what you guys have. Cleaned up and enjoyed a relaxed evening with an early bedtime. All and all it was a good day. It’s always nice to end a day feeling better then you did when the day started.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Heading to Chicago
Hey Everyone,
I am getting ready to head out to Autobahn Country Clubnear Chicago for my next Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race weekend. It is an incredible 21 turn, 3 and a ½ mile facility. I can't wait!
For the past few days, I have been reviewing video and trying to get my body in sync with Chicago time. I feel I've learned from the mistakes I made out at Mid Ohio and am expecting a successful and fun weekend in Chicago. Hopefully I will be able to keep you all updated as the weekend progresses. I leave Thursday and plan to get some news out starting Friday.
Cheers,
Perry
I am getting ready to head out to Autobahn Country Clubnear Chicago for my next Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup race weekend. It is an incredible 21 turn, 3 and a ½ mile facility. I can't wait!
For the past few days, I have been reviewing video and trying to get my body in sync with Chicago time. I feel I've learned from the mistakes I made out at Mid Ohio and am expecting a successful and fun weekend in Chicago. Hopefully I will be able to keep you all updated as the weekend progresses. I leave Thursday and plan to get some news out starting Friday.
Cheers,
Perry
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Weekend so far
As Perry's new director of marketing and PR I thought I would add a little bit of update from our weekend so far! Mike Hennessy has done an amazing job putting on Hot San Jose Nights and letting Perry, as well as myself appear with the cars. This entire weekend has been a great way for us to get Perry's name out there!! We have met so many interested, kind, fun people and this whole experience has been a great start to a wonderful business partnership! Tomorrow is our last day there, so if you haven't come down to check out the event yet, get on it! It is definitely worth seeing!!
Morgan
Morgan
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Hot San Jose Nights
If anyone is going to be in the Bay Area this weekend, I will be appearing at Hot San Jose Nights. I am bringing two different types of cars including a Stohr DSR as well as a Pro-Mazda. This will be a very exciting event that goes throughout the weekend, Thursday July 9th-Sunday July 12th. If you are in the area, come down and check it out! Just look for a guy in a Volkswagen Jetta Tdi Cup racing suit!
The event schedule as well as directions can be found on there website click on the link:
http://www.hotsanjosenights.com/
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Ohio Roundup
Hey Everyone,
I have finished my trip out at the Ohio Sports Car Course, an amazing facility in Columbus. Here is a quick recap of the events:
As David Arkin a San Francisco Region SCCA member as well as driving coach and I walked off the plane we got hit with a wave of unexpected. We turned the air conditioning on full blast and kept it that way for the hour drive to our hotel.
The next morning we drove to the course which was 20 minutes away through some wonderful hilly two lane roads. After arriving I found the APR tent and began talking to Josh Hurley about the racetrack. After chatting with Josh, Dave and I began wandering the racetrack looking at the turns watching for bumps and inconsistencies. After a while we wandered over to the hospitality tent and began checking in with everybody from Volkswagen.
Unfortunately a heavy downpour of rain that night made our meticulous inspection of the track somewhat irrelevant. We decided to use slick tires, which led to the most interesting session on track I have ever had. While we were on course we managed to drive in and out of impressive downpours. For half a lap you wouldn’t get a drop on your windscreen and as soon as you think it might be letting up a wall of water would just cover your windshield. Fortunately all drivers made it through the session intact even though there were some cars including mine sliding around. I was rather happy with my driving despite the rain.
The afternoon brought qualifying. I can’t say that it was my best qualifying effort. I was overemphasizing managing the tires and not overcooking them like most of us had in Utah. So I spent more time trying to find space rather than running laps and that is what led to a rather unimpressive 17th spot on the grid. Even though I never got a good lap in I just thought “heck with it. I will make it up in the race.”
Race day had a few surprises in store for me. The start was chaotic due to a mess up in procedure. So off the bat it was a bit of a mess and I was able to jump two spots in the first lap. The second lap found me right behind Jake Thomson and our guest driver Mark Gillis. Another lap and a half went by before I took turn 5 too early. My car became unstable and I lifted off 3 wheels and for a brief moment was only driving on the right front. My only thought was to get the car back down on all fours and acted impulsively. I turned back across the racetrack not realizing that I had dropped a wheel off when I settled the car back down. The rear right tire got hooked on the edge of the racetrack and caused my car to go into a slide and ended up shooting me a cross the racetrack and had me kiss the tire wall. It was a very unfortunate end to the race but I still took a lot from the weekend. I made great improvements in my breaking and realized that I need to work on making sure I never “follow” another car and just drive my own line to make sure mishaps like this don’t happen again. Next, I am off on to Chicago! Updates to come!
Perry
I have finished my trip out at the Ohio Sports Car Course, an amazing facility in Columbus. Here is a quick recap of the events:
As David Arkin a San Francisco Region SCCA member as well as driving coach and I walked off the plane we got hit with a wave of unexpected. We turned the air conditioning on full blast and kept it that way for the hour drive to our hotel.
The next morning we drove to the course which was 20 minutes away through some wonderful hilly two lane roads. After arriving I found the APR tent and began talking to Josh Hurley about the racetrack. After chatting with Josh, Dave and I began wandering the racetrack looking at the turns watching for bumps and inconsistencies. After a while we wandered over to the hospitality tent and began checking in with everybody from Volkswagen.
Unfortunately a heavy downpour of rain that night made our meticulous inspection of the track somewhat irrelevant. We decided to use slick tires, which led to the most interesting session on track I have ever had. While we were on course we managed to drive in and out of impressive downpours. For half a lap you wouldn’t get a drop on your windscreen and as soon as you think it might be letting up a wall of water would just cover your windshield. Fortunately all drivers made it through the session intact even though there were some cars including mine sliding around. I was rather happy with my driving despite the rain.
The afternoon brought qualifying. I can’t say that it was my best qualifying effort. I was overemphasizing managing the tires and not overcooking them like most of us had in Utah. So I spent more time trying to find space rather than running laps and that is what led to a rather unimpressive 17th spot on the grid. Even though I never got a good lap in I just thought “heck with it. I will make it up in the race.”
Race day had a few surprises in store for me. The start was chaotic due to a mess up in procedure. So off the bat it was a bit of a mess and I was able to jump two spots in the first lap. The second lap found me right behind Jake Thomson and our guest driver Mark Gillis. Another lap and a half went by before I took turn 5 too early. My car became unstable and I lifted off 3 wheels and for a brief moment was only driving on the right front. My only thought was to get the car back down on all fours and acted impulsively. I turned back across the racetrack not realizing that I had dropped a wheel off when I settled the car back down. The rear right tire got hooked on the edge of the racetrack and caused my car to go into a slide and ended up shooting me a cross the racetrack and had me kiss the tire wall. It was a very unfortunate end to the race but I still took a lot from the weekend. I made great improvements in my breaking and realized that I need to work on making sure I never “follow” another car and just drive my own line to make sure mishaps like this don’t happen again. Next, I am off on to Chicago! Updates to come!
Perry
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Utah Results!
Hey Everybody,
Thank you for all of your support last weekend for the third round race of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup! Here is a recap of the weekend:
I arrived in Salt Lake City late Thursday night and went to bed as quickly as I could. The next morning everything got started early. I had a the opportunity to speak with Matt Chapman - a master at helping people in each situation of their lives. (http://www.matt-chapman.com/) - before heading to the track that morning. After our conversation, my mind felt sharp and my spirits were high. The optimism stuck with me the length of the weekend.
After talking to Matt, I headed out to Tooele, Utah, to get a look at Miller Motorsports Park for the first time this year. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to walk the track Friday but I did get to check in with some of people that make the TDI Cup happen.
On Saturday the curtain went up on the TDI weekend with a morning track walk with lead driving instructor Jan Heylen, a former Champ Car driver. Shortly after that we did our first session on track. I ended up 19th fastest in the practice session and I was stoked because I noticed I already had a better feel for the car’s grip levels. After analyzing at the data, however, I had a chance to identify ways of improving my time and during the qualifying session I managed to go two seconds faster with a 1:42.800 sec lap. This was considerably better then my earlier practice time and was good enough to put me ninth on the grid.
After the qualifying session, all of the drivers had a chance to listen to Patrick Long, one of the current Flying Lizard drivers, speak about his racing experiences. He emphasized the importance of managing public appearances and on-track conduct. Mindful of this advice, I went directly to bed filled with thoughts of the racing ahead.
The race started at 9:30AM Sunday so it was an early morning. Nonetheless, I found time to clean my car and revisit my data before I started visualizing my race. As we moved out to pre grid, I had a brief moment to enjoy sitting in the driver’s seat of my Jetta while the American Le Mans series was finishing practice. It was a surreal and very motivating listening to the Acura and Mazda powered prototypes along with the Porsche, Panoz, and Ferrari powered GT class cars flying down the main strait next to me.
Soon enough, the mechanics told the TDI Cup drivers to get ready to go. So I finished putting on my gloves, helmet, and defender neck brace and proceeded to strap in. After the warm up laps we lined up for our standing start. As the lights turned green, I was immediately pinched to the inside which allowed Joey Atterbury and Devin Cates to pass off the start. After the first few laps, the racers settled into positions and I found myself in 13th spot, monitoring the group in front of me while Ryan Ellis closed in from behind.
Through turn nine I slipped up and Ryan was able to pass me, but I didn’t loose sight of him. By turn four of the following lap, I was under his rear bumper. Right as we were approaching the breaking zone for turn 5 I poked out from the draft and Ryan missed his breaking zone, giving me my position back. After breaking away from Ryan for good, I caught back up with Devin and passed him after he overshot turn seven.
When the last lap was shown, some drivers began getting frantic for last minute positions. Sure enough in second to last turn I watched two cars in front of me come together in the breaking zone. Thankfully, they slid to the outside of the turn and I snuck inside of them to take two spots at the last minute and finish in 10th position.
After doing some driver appearances towards the end of the day we sat in the classroom and listen to Miller Motorsports Park owner Bryan Miller (the son of the late Larry Miller) speak about his life and what he has learned about the motorsports business since he began his involvement earlier this decade as well as some life lessons he has realized since the passing of his father. After speaking to Mr. Miller, the weekend was officially closed and I was left with the task of returning to California for some much needed sleep.
Til next time!
Perry
Thank you for all of your support last weekend for the third round race of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup! Here is a recap of the weekend:
I arrived in Salt Lake City late Thursday night and went to bed as quickly as I could. The next morning everything got started early. I had a the opportunity to speak with Matt Chapman - a master at helping people in each situation of their lives. (http://www.matt-chapman.com/) - before heading to the track that morning. After our conversation, my mind felt sharp and my spirits were high. The optimism stuck with me the length of the weekend.
After talking to Matt, I headed out to Tooele, Utah, to get a look at Miller Motorsports Park for the first time this year. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to walk the track Friday but I did get to check in with some of people that make the TDI Cup happen.
On Saturday the curtain went up on the TDI weekend with a morning track walk with lead driving instructor Jan Heylen, a former Champ Car driver. Shortly after that we did our first session on track. I ended up 19th fastest in the practice session and I was stoked because I noticed I already had a better feel for the car’s grip levels. After analyzing at the data, however, I had a chance to identify ways of improving my time and during the qualifying session I managed to go two seconds faster with a 1:42.800 sec lap. This was considerably better then my earlier practice time and was good enough to put me ninth on the grid.
After the qualifying session, all of the drivers had a chance to listen to Patrick Long, one of the current Flying Lizard drivers, speak about his racing experiences. He emphasized the importance of managing public appearances and on-track conduct. Mindful of this advice, I went directly to bed filled with thoughts of the racing ahead.
The race started at 9:30AM Sunday so it was an early morning. Nonetheless, I found time to clean my car and revisit my data before I started visualizing my race. As we moved out to pre grid, I had a brief moment to enjoy sitting in the driver’s seat of my Jetta while the American Le Mans series was finishing practice. It was a surreal and very motivating listening to the Acura and Mazda powered prototypes along with the Porsche, Panoz, and Ferrari powered GT class cars flying down the main strait next to me.
Soon enough, the mechanics told the TDI Cup drivers to get ready to go. So I finished putting on my gloves, helmet, and defender neck brace and proceeded to strap in. After the warm up laps we lined up for our standing start. As the lights turned green, I was immediately pinched to the inside which allowed Joey Atterbury and Devin Cates to pass off the start. After the first few laps, the racers settled into positions and I found myself in 13th spot, monitoring the group in front of me while Ryan Ellis closed in from behind.
Through turn nine I slipped up and Ryan was able to pass me, but I didn’t loose sight of him. By turn four of the following lap, I was under his rear bumper. Right as we were approaching the breaking zone for turn 5 I poked out from the draft and Ryan missed his breaking zone, giving me my position back. After breaking away from Ryan for good, I caught back up with Devin and passed him after he overshot turn seven.
When the last lap was shown, some drivers began getting frantic for last minute positions. Sure enough in second to last turn I watched two cars in front of me come together in the breaking zone. Thankfully, they slid to the outside of the turn and I snuck inside of them to take two spots at the last minute and finish in 10th position.
After doing some driver appearances towards the end of the day we sat in the classroom and listen to Miller Motorsports Park owner Bryan Miller (the son of the late Larry Miller) speak about his life and what he has learned about the motorsports business since he began his involvement earlier this decade as well as some life lessons he has realized since the passing of his father. After speaking to Mr. Miller, the weekend was officially closed and I was left with the task of returning to California for some much needed sleep.
Til next time!
Perry
Friday, May 15, 2009
Studly Photo of Perry
Check out these promotional photos of Perry for the VW Jetta TDI Cup! If you'd like one to pin up on your wall send us an email - richardsonracing32@gmail.com.
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