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GRAND-AM
IN THE COCKPIT: Ricky Taylor, Barber
It was a really tough weekend at Barber but I think we learned a lot about our new Corvette and can build on that for the rest of the season...
SunTrust Racing's Ricky Taylor soldiered through a challenging weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. (Photo: Jamey Price/LAT)
Dirt trackin’ it! That basically sums up my past week. From a difficult weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, where it actually felt like “dirt trackin’” at times, to my most recent experience in a Super Late Model for Team Dillon Racing. It was a really tough weekend at Barber but I think we learned a lot about our new Corvette and can build on that for the rest of the season. Although I did not expect any correlation, I actually learned quite a lot on the dirt that could be applied to road racing and, today, I’ll try to connect the dots as to how and why.
Our weekend at Barber started off with a promoter test day, which is quite new for us. We get an extra day of testing, which is separate from the race weekend, and also three sets of tires for the day that cannot be carried over into the race weekend. We started practice and immediately struggled, tried many changes over the next two days but nothing really stood out and transformed the car.
Although the car was still not ideal, we were learning a direction that we will need to move in with the car. But, unfortunately, we just ran out of practice time before the qualifying session came. We made some changes for qualifying that were specifically for single-lap speed and not intended for the race. With the way these tires are, they drop off very quickly and I was expecting the best lap to be one of the first two laps during qualifying.
I went out and, on my first flying lap, spun the car into the gravel trap, ending our session, which meant we would have to start at the rear of the field.
The race started and our car was quite good in clean air and we were able to get up into the top-five but got stuck behind Memo Rojas and absolutely destroyed the tires trying to get around him. After pitting from P5, Max got in the car and had two great stints. He was running in P3 when the final caution came out.
There would be three to go when the green came out. Max did the best he could on old tires, but Pruett put on fresh ones on the final stop and cruised right by. There was nothing Max could do.
Considering the difficult weekend and our past finishes at Barber, the top-five finish is not too bad.
This Wednesday, I had my first opportunity do drive on dirt. I tested a 750-horsepower Super Late Model with Team Dillon Racing at Boyd’s Speedway in North Georgia. The team is at the very top level in Late Models with its main driver Dale McDowell as my instructor for the day. Dale was an incredible teacher. He really helped me to get acclimatized to the car very quickly and learn what I needed to do to get around the tiny 1/3-mile dirt oval without embarrassing the entire road-racing world!
The first thing I realized is how precise the driver has to be in one of those cars. I think many people believe car control is a driver’s ability to drive the car sideways. But what I learned at the dirt track is that car control goes much deeper. It is about manipulating the attitude of the car in very specific areas to get the car to do what you want it to. Sometimes that may mean getting sideways but, for the most part, dirt racing was surprisingly smooth.
One thing I really learned a lot about is how sensitive the car is to its attitude throughout the corner. I learned a very good feel for the brake pedal and how to get the feel for the car just before it gets sideways and how to anticipate that and not lose time. I’m definitely hooked. I had such a great time, and spending time with all the NASCAR boys was a totally different experience and I learned an incredible amount.
Up next for our SunTrust Corvette DP will be the Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead at the end of the month. Homestead is notorious for tire wear and traction issues, so we may have to refer back to some of that dirt track experience!
~Ricky
Ricky Taylor, 22-year-old son of three-time sports car champion and team owner Wayne Taylor, embarks on his third full season co-driving with veteran Max Angelelli in the No. 10 SunTrust Corvette Dallara of Wayne Taylor Racing. Follow him on Twitter: @RickyTaylor10 or at http://www.suntrustracing.com
Our weekend at Barber started off with a promoter test day, which is quite new for us. We get an extra day of testing, which is separate from the race weekend, and also three sets of tires for the day that cannot be carried over into the race weekend. We started practice and immediately struggled, tried many changes over the next two days but nothing really stood out and transformed the car.
Although the car was still not ideal, we were learning a direction that we will need to move in with the car. But, unfortunately, we just ran out of practice time before the qualifying session came. We made some changes for qualifying that were specifically for single-lap speed and not intended for the race. With the way these tires are, they drop off very quickly and I was expecting the best lap to be one of the first two laps during qualifying.
I went out and, on my first flying lap, spun the car into the gravel trap, ending our session, which meant we would have to start at the rear of the field.
The race started and our car was quite good in clean air and we were able to get up into the top-five but got stuck behind Memo Rojas and absolutely destroyed the tires trying to get around him. After pitting from P5, Max got in the car and had two great stints. He was running in P3 when the final caution came out.
There would be three to go when the green came out. Max did the best he could on old tires, but Pruett put on fresh ones on the final stop and cruised right by. There was nothing Max could do.
Considering the difficult weekend and our past finishes at Barber, the top-five finish is not too bad.
This Wednesday, I had my first opportunity do drive on dirt. I tested a 750-horsepower Super Late Model with Team Dillon Racing at Boyd’s Speedway in North Georgia. The team is at the very top level in Late Models with its main driver Dale McDowell as my instructor for the day. Dale was an incredible teacher. He really helped me to get acclimatized to the car very quickly and learn what I needed to do to get around the tiny 1/3-mile dirt oval without embarrassing the entire road-racing world!
The first thing I realized is how precise the driver has to be in one of those cars. I think many people believe car control is a driver’s ability to drive the car sideways. But what I learned at the dirt track is that car control goes much deeper. It is about manipulating the attitude of the car in very specific areas to get the car to do what you want it to. Sometimes that may mean getting sideways but, for the most part, dirt racing was surprisingly smooth.
One thing I really learned a lot about is how sensitive the car is to its attitude throughout the corner. I learned a very good feel for the brake pedal and how to get the feel for the car just before it gets sideways and how to anticipate that and not lose time. I’m definitely hooked. I had such a great time, and spending time with all the NASCAR boys was a totally different experience and I learned an incredible amount.
Up next for our SunTrust Corvette DP will be the Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead at the end of the month. Homestead is notorious for tire wear and traction issues, so we may have to refer back to some of that dirt track experience!
~Ricky
Ricky Taylor, 22-year-old son of three-time sports car champion and team owner Wayne Taylor, embarks on his third full season co-driving with veteran Max Angelelli in the No. 10 SunTrust Corvette Dallara of Wayne Taylor Racing. Follow him on Twitter: @RickyTaylor10 or at http://www.suntrustracing.com
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