Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/408388
November / December 2014 34 wheels instead of 18 wheels. I was not happy with the handling on my car with the 15's and blamed them for my off last year. Of course I have to blame something. I had thrown the towel in on the 15's, and they were already up for sale. As they still had some tread on the tires I figured I would burn them up in the warm-up and then switch to my 18" race rubber. Everything started great, the car was running fantastic. The 15's on the other hand were feeling squirmy. Luckily I ended the session with the 2nd fastest time. Typically times improve over the weekend. I was just where I wanted to be, i.e. near the front - and something left in the bag of tricks. My typical gear shift point is right around 6,000RPM or less. Suddenly the engine would go flat at 5800RPM, so started to shift earlier. The problem got worse and the car had lost its punch. I was going slower, and backwards on the grid. I looked for boost leaks, changed computers and boost pressure control valve but nothing seemed to work. There was also another sign that things were not all well in the Bennett camp. I found my lucky Pilotti race shoes were delaminating. Heck one of the soles was almost completely off. I was hoping they would last, just like my tires, but it was not to be. It was a very painful time as I put them in the trash, and shed a tear. On to the first race of the weekend, and still on the 15" rubber. A quick inspection revealed they still had some life left, at least on the outside. I start from 7th on the grid. My start is horrible as I am surrounded by a swarm of buzzing 911's. I get the timing right, but I just don't have the power. I lose some ground and the leaders race off in to the distance. As I get into the groove, I start to close the gaps and a double yellow helps. I am running 5th and I am in visual range of 3rd and 4th. I continue to gain on the 911's through the turns and over the beach, but then lose out on the straights and braking, but overall I have about ½ second a lap advantage. I am in range to pass for 4th and give it my all over the beach turn. With no power I have not needed to lift here, and over the top I go, right foot planted. The rear starts to slide left as the car goes light and then the front snaps to the left and I do a 180 onto the grass. Once you're on the grass, all bets are off and you're along for the ride and boy is it a fast one. I was carrying a lot of speed as the car rotated. I am now going backwards, and downhill. Now it's a question of whether the car will dig in and roll, or continue to rotate and glance or even miss the foam and tire wall. A lot of cars have seen the tires in the beach turn and, as a result they have added a foam wall to help absorb the energy. I neither roll nor glance, but instead go in straight backwards at