Goals 2021

[Thundermoose]

2020 was a bit of a bust.  I lost a bit of pace, but saw some rays of hope in the last part of the season.  I stayed healthy and still have a job although my track budget took a hit.

The following goals are a bit of stretch but just to throw something out there, here goes:

1. At least 2 days of coaching
2. 3rd place or better for Texas TT3 Regional Championship
3. Podium at Nationals OR sub 2:00 at WGI - I will only be able to do 1 of these events this year
4. 1:17 at MSR-C
5. 1:59 at ECR
6. 1:33 at Barber
7. 2:24 at COTA
8. 1:19 at Hallett

 

Last Years Goals

1. Get 4 days of coaching - Got 2 days in
2. Break 2:00 at WGI - Never made it up there due to COVID
3. Break 1:33 at Road Atlanta - Did get a 1:32 
4. Break TT3 track record at Mid Ohio - Never made it back
5. Podium in NASA Mid Atlantic Region - Only drove 1 weekend

[Matt93SE]

My goals are just to get my ass out on track more.  I made 3 races last year. ?

Dropped my car off at the dyno shop Dec 18- after waiting since labor day to get back in there.  the guy called at 7pm on NYE and refused to dyno the car because he said the axles were bad and he didn't want them to blow up on the dyno.   I guess the race abuse from the last race completely ruined them and now they're unsafe to put on a dyno with no shock loads............

so now sitting here on new years day looking for axles and everyone closed.   don't think I'm gonna make the race at MSRH tomorrow. ?

[hornetball]

My goal is to get both the '64 'Vette and '69 Lotus finished and on track!  Should be fun -- I just need to better control the demands of my "real" job.

[bigjae1976]

Had a good 2020. Finished most of my car build goals. Didn't get to finish a fully sorted front splitter, dyno tune, make a carbon hood. Didn't get to run NASA TT (scheduling/covid). I did get the suspension dialed in, made my lap time goals, aero mostly done, oil/water temps under control, built a 3.73 LSD, finished wire harness thinning.

2021 Goals

1. Run time trials 

2. Get car to 2500lbs (at 2595lbs) so I can put in a cage with 1.5x.095 tubing (carbon hood, carbon roof, lithium battery, remove dash, muffler delete)

3. Get front splitter right - more durable mounting, quick release, reinforce corners to prevent flex

4. Lap time goals on NT01s - MSR-H 1:40s (at 1:42.8), MSR-C 3.1 2:20s (at 2:22.9), COTA 2:28 (at 2:33) 

5. Get car prepped for racing (fire suppression, new seat, window nets

[hornetball]

14 minutes ago, bigjae1976 said:

so I can put in a cage with 1.5x.095 tubing

Yes!

[Thundermoose]

On 1/2/2021 at 11:32 AM, bigjae1976 said:

Had a good 2020. Finished most of my car build goals. Didn't get to finish a fully sorted front splitter, dyno tune, make a carbon hood. Didn't get to run NASA TT (scheduling/covid). I did get the suspension dialed in, made my lap time goals, aero mostly done, oil/water temps under control, built a 3.73 LSD, finished wire harness thinning.

2021 Goals

1. Run time trials 

2. Get car to 2500lbs (at 2595lbs) so I can put in a cage with 1.5x.095 tubing (carbon hood, carbon roof, lithium battery, remove dash, muffler delete)

3. Get front splitter right - more durable mounting, quick release, reinforce corners to prevent flex

4. Lap time goals on NT01s - MSR-H 1:40s (at 1:42.8), MSR-C 3.1 2:20s (at 2:22.9), COTA 2:28 (at 2:33) 

5. Get car prepped for racing (fire suppression, new seat, window nets

here you go:  https://www.nasaproracing.com/events/3497

[robertcope]

My only goal for 2021 is to become employed again. After that, I may start looking for a Ferrari 308 or something similar. Oh, and I want to finally start an engine build for the Lexus. And maybe get the S2K painted. Track related, I'd like to use my trailer more... get back to ECR, maybe try getting to Barber again. But all of this demands an income stream first, lol.

[Kidney Grille]

I feel your pain. Got a voluntary separation package from Concho this summer and thought it best to take it. Turns out now that ConocoPhillips is buying them it was the right decision. But i need income to afford this sport.

[Matt93SE]

6 minutes ago, Kidney Grille said:

I feel your pain. Got a voluntary separation package from Concho this summer and thought it best to take it. Turns out now that ConocoPhillips is buying them it was the right decision. But i need income to afford this sport.

Just curious (and sorry for drifting off topic), do these voluntary plans come with the ability to file unemployment later if you can't find work?  My wife took one several years ago when she was a teacher, but she was 7mo pregnant at the time and not planning to return to the workforce after the baby.. so it was easy to take a final check and quit.  but I heard a rumor somewhere that if you 'voluntarily separate', you are then ineligibleligable for unemployment if you need it later.. ????

Given the way our project backlog is going (none!!!) and the fact there are only 2 engineers left in the group when there were 9 a year ago, I can see this being an issue in my life soon.

[robertcope]

In my case, I can (and have) filed for unemployment. Every case is going to be different, of course. In my case, I took a severance package, but it was contingent on signing an agreement, which (as I understand it) allows me to collect unemployment. Unemployment isn't that amazing, really, up to $535 or so a week. Slows the burn, though.

[Matt93SE]

2 hours ago, robertcope said:

In my case, I can (and have) filed for unemployment. Every case is going to be different, of course. In my case, I took a severance package, but it was contingent on signing an agreement, which (as I understand it) allows me to collect unemployment. Unemployment isn't that amazing, really, up to $535 or so a week. Slows the burn, though.

That's why I was curious..  "severance package" and "voluntary separation package"  can/could/will/do??? have different legal connotations.  I am unaware of what those are.  And ya, $535/wk isn't a ton, but it's not chump change either.  it would pay my mortgage, utilities, property tax, enough food for us to survive, and still have a few hundred left each month.  It would keep a roof over our heads while I was out of a job, but I would certainly have to stop doing car things.

[Kidney Grille]

My VSP agreement said I would not be eligible for unemployment, at least for 2020. Maybe I can for 2021 I hope.

[El_Tortuga]

2020 was such a crazy year. Work went nuts first, then Covid hit, managed to keep my oilfield job, then the wife spent 4 months caring for her mom. With Covid and living as a bachelor I went nuts. 28 track days. Most of those instructing too. With lead-follow I ended up with 1582 laps/3456 miles on track in 2020.

Needless to say, I'm kinda burnt out, especially with coaching. Did a bunch of free data analysis for friends and others. Lead-follow has its plusses, but its minuses too. Either bored to death turning endless slow laps for novices, or costing myself considerable money with wear and tear for fast inters/advanced. Or some mix in between. Mostly I'm weary of working on the car. 3 sets of fluids changes (oil, trans, diff). 8 pairs of brakes. Rebuilt diff. Swapped springs and sways three times. Shock swap. Flushed brakes twice. Unknown number of bleeds. Paid for new clutch and motor mounts. who knows how many times the wheels have been off and on the car?, etc.  

So this is probably going to be a make or break year for me. Initial plan is to be much more selective on how much coaching I do, and for who. Too often the ask is too high, so I'm going to dial back the number of events dramatically and make damn sure I get plenty of "me" time. So likely to be a paying customer more. 

1) Have more fun. If it means paying for days fine. I'm not going to keep pounding myself to death.

2) Fix some bad habits. I experimented with Hawk brakes and it has messed with my head/confidence and my trailbraking isn't where it needs to be. Kickback has been terrible as I'm an apex curb hopping fool now to straighten the tight stuff. Just need some focused time.

3) Race school. Got to get it done to make move towards W2W goal.

4) 2 or more road trips. Ozark and Hallet for sure. Another crack at COTA if I get to liking my brakes again.

5) Firm up dedicated track car plan. My head is full of options, and void of plans. 

 

 

 

[Matt93SE]

1 hour ago, Kidney Grille said:

My VSP agreement said I would not be eligible for unemployment, at least for 2020. Maybe I can for 2021 I hope.

I'm hoping you find a job soon enough you don't need it.   good luck.  Wish I knew anyone hiring anything since a large number of friends are looking.

[Captain Buddha]

12 hours ago, El_Tortuga said:

3) Race school. Got to get it done to make move towards W2W goal.

Excellent!! ECR will be starting its own...soon...very soon...!!

[Captain Buddha]

For the folks on the hunt for new opportunities...can you give a quick summary of what you're looking for / current skillsets, location (or desired location), etc? You'd be surprised at how small of a world it is and a connection may pan out...

[Hollywood]

20 hours ago, El_Tortuga said:

1) Have more fun. If it means paying for days fine. I'm not going to keep pounding myself to death.

This. The amount of shit we deal with both financially and logistically to get to the point of enjoying some track time, and how rare that can come sometimes -- working for a org negated the entire purpose of the weekend, ie. carefree fun (or focusing on race prep). You're sacrificing your time or your students time to do either well - someone is getting the shaft.

[hornetball]

I dunno'.  I usually enjoy instructing.  But I keep my instructing load reasonable (i.e., usually no more than one weekend per month) so I don't get burned out.

[Hollywood]

46 minutes ago, hornetball said:

I dunno'.  I usually enjoy instructing.  But I keep my instructing load reasonable (i.e., usually no more than one weekend per month) so I don't get burned out.

For sure. I know a few that pull just as much satisfaction from instructing as driving in some cases. I guess for me personally, the load balancing while trying to prioritize racing or seat time at an away track burned me out bad. That and a few close calls over the years including two fires, one of which in a shitcan rx7 with a roll bar across the passenger compartment preventing fast egress.

Back to his original point, I think paid days now and then is a nice reprieve to prioritize the fun, worth a shot.

[cabowabo]

Keeping it simple:

Finish building racecar.

Race said racecar.

[robertcope]

I used to enjoy instructing, when my time was free and plentiful. As soon as it wasn't, then the day or weekend needed to be all about me, which is just not possible while instructing. I do wish there was a way to give back without that heavy of a commitment.

@Captain Buddha I'm an IT Architect. Really, I've done just about everything in my 20+ year career... programmer, networks, servers, storage... but today, I would say that I like to focus on web-based application delivery, as ultimately that is what I've done my entire career, in some form. If I was willing to move to Austin, I'd have a lot easier time finding work, but we're not real interested in that. We like it here in Houston, but would probably be open to moving for the right opportunity to the right location.

[Matt93SE]

13 hours ago, Hollywood said:

For sure. I know a few that pull just as much satisfaction from instructing as driving in some cases. I guess for me personally, the load balancing while trying to prioritize racing or seat time at an away track burned me out bad. That and a few close calls over the years including two fires, one of which in a shitcan rx7 with a roll bar across the passenger compartment preventing fast egress.

Back to his original point, I think paid days now and then is a nice reprieve to prioritize the fun, worth a shot.

Basically same.  I took great satisfaction in helping others develop and learn.  But when I started racing and wound up spending more time under the car than in it, my priority for a weekend changed.  now throw in kids that race karts, and I am instructing two hard-headed kids 2-3 weekends a month instead of softer-shelled adults.  the panache of free track time is gone. 

[Captain Buddha]

2 hours ago, robertcope said:

I used to enjoy instructing, when my time was free and plentiful. As soon as it wasn't, then the day or weekend needed to be all about me, which is just not possible while instructing. I do wish there was a way to give back without that heavy of a commitment.

@Captain Buddha I'm an IT Architect. Really, I've done just about everything in my 20+ year career... programmer, networks, servers, storage... but today, I would say that I like to focus on web-based application delivery, as ultimately that is what I've done my entire career, in some form. If I was willing to move to Austin, I'd have a lot easier time finding work, but we're not real interested in that. We like it here in Houston, but would probably be open to moving for the right opportunity to the right location.

Copy that - yeah, Austin would be a perfect place to call home, I'm sure! Will keep my eyes/ears open, as I'm sure our fellow TJ'ers will do too!

Regarding instructing - I still like to do it to give back and help folks get interested in the sport, but I don't like to use my own equipment to do it. And I don't like to mix instructing and dealing with race car on the same day...too much / overload - from both a physical and mental perspective - at least for me.

[Matt93SE]

56 minutes ago, Captain Buddha said:

Copy that - yeah, Austin would be a perfect place to call home, I'm sure! Will keep my eyes/ears open, as I'm sure our fellow TJ'ers will do too!

Regarding instructing - I still like to do it to give back and help folks get interested in the sport, but I don't like to use my own equipment to do it. And I don't like to mix instructing and dealing with race car on the same day...too much / overload - from both a physical and mental perspective - at least for me.

I'm sure that would overload you (and me!) physically to climb in and out of typical student cars more than a couple times a day.

 

[himself]

2021 Goals:

• Storm the capitol building.

I'm basically done.

-td