Originally posted by SSB
Few winning drivers think they are cheating death and/or dismemberment. Few would do it if they thought they were bound to get hurt. In fact, hearth rate monitors on these drivers show them to be very calm while racing.

How about it Mitchell, Cortez, Pearson?


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SSB-you are completely right but everyone probably experiences racing in their own way(mentally), which is likely a natural thing for us humans since none of us are identical. Best to you, Mitchell, Cortez and Pearson.

My .02 on this whole deal.For me all I ever wanted to do since an early age was race.I was fortunate to have lived off Mul and really it was the first place I turned a wheel in anger.I can remember at age fifteen pushing my mom's 72 Gran Torino wagon out of the garage late at night and heading up there for my babtism by fire.The first time I went through the identicals both hubcaps went pinwheeling off the edge and I spent an hour hunting for them in the brush with a flashlight.(After that night I would routinely pull over at the top of Deep Cyn and pry them off before getting into character:))

I recentely drove through the "course "on the way to that book signing at the Petersen,for old times sake.Hadn't been up there in decades,and it struck me how tight the place really is.Now that's based on my frame of reference,and it's not perhaps that of others based on there experiences since those days.

For me,it was place to learn the dynamics of car control,nothing more. My goal was get on a track asap,but I suppose you could interpret it as racing,but not in the classic sense.There was no start/finish line,rules,and most noteably absent no overtaking involved. The was no accurate way to measure yourself against you fellow competitor(s)Everybody that went up there drove fast,but that's a relative term also again based on frame of reference.In real racing there are lot's of people that can pull a quick lap out of their ass in qualifying,but one quick lap does not a racer make.There was damn little if any momentum up there,and no way to practice racecraft on a consistent basis.Think about it,how much could you really concentrate on entry/exit speed all the while wondering if there''s a car in the blind pocket oncoming and your committed? Every time I went into a corner up there I always allowed a margin for error..always visualized where the car would end up if I had to spin it backwards to avoid a head on, how much apron I had to work with,where the mountain was,how soft or steep the shoulderwas etc..and that has served me greatly in decison making to this day.When I went to Jim Russell I was a lot further along than others because of my time on the Mul.Racing school can only teach you the technique of driving a race car,racecraft is learned by seat time duirng actual competition if ya catch my "drift";)

This might piss off some of the romantic slobs(of which I am one) but I don't hold Charlie (and anyone who was considered fast back then) in reverence- all my heroes died on the race course ,and they were my freinds. There used to be a plaque on the wall at OMS in the drivers lounge that was the first thing you saw when you went to school and it stated quite simply:

"To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with ones ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone."
Bruce McLaren

Originally posted by LateBrakeU2
"To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with ones ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone."
Bruce McLaren


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Awesome quote, thanks Mark.

Mark isn't kidding about applying his knowledge of Mulholland to the race track. Below is a photo I have posted before of Mark. This is after winning the National Showroom Stock A class. Is that right Mark or was it another race day? Mulholland was key to your success in pro racing, wasn't it? We are all proud of you and all the others that made it in professional racing like the ones from the CRE, MRA, and more.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176145890.jpg

"Few winning drivers think they are cheating death and/or dismemberment. Few would do it if they thought they were bound to get hurt. In fact, hearth rate monitors on these drivers show them to be very calm while racing." SSB

Hear! Hear!
You should hear me giggling on the radio while I'm ripping off laps during an enduro- its sheer joy of driving and accomplishment!

Chris,
That actually is a NASCAR feathelrlite southwest tour car,photo taken at the L.A. Sreet race.Won a few divisional championships in SSGT and T1, but never a national champ in SCCA-

However Mr SSB is a NATIONAL CHAMPION! in the class the his alias eludes to! -that's a very tough feat (even in a Gary Brown twisted car-jez kiddin Vic!)

http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/...s/beerchug.gif

... until something goes very very wrong.

There is an ennerving silence in between hits with the ground as a car endo's and barrel rolls for seemingly an endless amount of time. Time seems to slow down to a snail's pace. So many thoughts are compressed into just a few seconds that you feel like you're in the Twilight Zone. There is plenty of time while in the air upside down for the thought "I could die doing this!".

Things that street racer's don't have:

1) All traffic moving the same direction.
2) Runoff area designed in to the track.
3) Flaggers
4) Emergency vehicles on site
5) Paramedics and doctors
6) Required safety equipment

Vic earned his wings. Credit given- credit due.

I have this image of the French Connection in my mind.
Way to go Vic!

Pat,
Agreed on that one.My worst was in open wheel,old turn two at Laguna.. nose to gearbox seven times ended up drivers right at the rail turn three. Skull fracture,broken nose,disc,all that happy stuff..the only thing I remember before the first endo (while being upside down twenty feet off the ground backwards at around 110mph) was how pleasantly quiet it was up there at that point..

Mike Hull was our crew Chief that weekend,he's head of Ganassi IRL racing now-

So that's what happened to that car?!!

The brain is funny at times like those. My first serious accident I rolled my Plymouth side to side 5 times. Some people say their life flashes before their eyes, I remembered every time I had raised my voice to my mother!

Few winning drivers think they are cheating death and/or dismemberment. Few would do it if they thought they were bound to get hurt. In fact, hearth rate monitors on these drivers show them to be very calm while racing.

How about it Mitchell, Cortez, Pearson? [/B][/QUOTE]

I PERSONALLY DO NOT KNOW ONE SINGLE 'RACE DRIVER' THAT
THINKS HE/SHE IS AT RISK ON THE TRACK. OR ON THE STREET FOR THAT MATTER. ONCE ONE BEGINS TO THINK OF HIS/HER MORTALITY THEY SLOW DOWN.

RACE DRIVING DONE WELL IS A CRAFT. THE 'BEST DRIVERS' OPERATE IN A ZONE OF COMPLETE CONFIDENCE. ALL OF US LIVE TO GET BACK INTO THIS 'ZONE'. IT IS A FEELING THAT YOU ARE THE TOTAL MASTER OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT, IN CONTOL OF NOT ONLY YOUR FATE, BUT VERY OFTEN THE FATE OF THE OTHER DRIVER.
(EXAMPLE: THIS PAST WEEKENDS F-1 EVENT WHERE NEW KID HAMILTON 'SCHOOLED' MASA TWICE IN BRAKING! THUS HAMILTON WAS NOT ONLY CONTROLLING HIS FATE BUT THAT OF HIS COMPETITOR AS WELL. AND I GUARANTEE YOU NOT ONCE FOR A NANO-SECOND DID HAMILTON CONSIDER HIS ACTION TO BE A RISKY ONE. HE WAS IN THE ZONE.

THUS THE OFTEN QUOTED FACT THAT THEIR HEART RATE ACTUALLY GOES DOWN. ANOTHER CLUE IS HOW CALM THEY ARE OVER THE RADIO. THOSE THAT SOUND AS IF THEY'RE HAVING HAIR REMOVED BY WAX ARE NEVER THE GOOD DRIVERS. IT'S THE ONES THAT ARE CALM AND COLLECTED TO THE POINT OF SOUNDING BORED OR HALF ASLEEP THAT ARE THE QUICKEST.

I NEVER THOUGHT WHAT I DID ON MULHOLLAND WAS RISKY. I LIKE M.M. NEARLY ALWAYS LEFT SOME ROOM AS A 'FUDGE FACTOR' TO COMPENSATE FOR THE UNKNOWN. I.E. WATER, DIRT, ETC ON THE SURFACE, UNFORSEEN TREE LIMB OR ON COMING CAR, OTHER DRIVER'S MISTAKE. I HAD COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILTY AND WHAT MY CAR WAS CAPABLE OF WITHIN IT'S OWN LIMITS. I FELT THE SAME ABOUT NEARLY 100% OF MY MULHOLLAND ASSOCIATES. CONFIDENCE WHICH IS BORN OUT BY THEIR TRACK RECORDS ON THE STREET AS WELL AS ON THE RACE TRACK.

CAN I RUN MULHOLLAND AS FAST AS I DID 30 YEARS AGO. NO. NOR WOULD I. IT IS NOT THE SAME ROAD AS IT WAS 30 YEARS AGO. THERE IS TOO MUCH TRAFFIC, TOO MANY HOUSES THAT CAN HEAR YOU RUNNING AND EVEN THOSE NUTTY BICYCLE DUDES HOGGING THE ROAD. BASICALLY, THE ERA HAS PASSED AND WE HAD OUR FUN. DO I STILL DRIVE FAST ON OPEN MOUNTIAN ROADS. YES. BUT, THEY ARE DIFFERENT ROADS SOME 400 MILES FORM MULHOLLAND AND WITH NO HOUSES AND VERY, VERY FEW CARS.

YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT IN THE 60'S, 70'S THE MOUNTAIN ROADS WERE THE ONLY PLACE WE COULD PRACTICE OUR RACE DRIVING CRAFT. UNLIKE TODAY WHEN ANYONE WITH A HELMENT AND A CAR CAN JOIN A MULTITUDE OF 'TRACK DAY' EVENTS SUCH AS NASA AND ENJOY A ROMP AT SAY WILLOW SPRINGS, OR LAGUNA SECA. MAN WHAT WE HAVE GIVEN TO DRIVE FAST ON RIVERSIDE (BEFORE WE GOT OUR RACE LICENCES). WE DID IN FACT CHEAT AND DROVE ON WILLOW SPRINGS RACEWAY TWICE BEFORE GETTING OUR RACE LICENSES. THE FIRST TIME WAS ABOUT MIDNIGHT! IN THOSE DAYS YOU HAD TO PURCHASE A REAL RACE CAR (EXPENSIVE) TRAILER AND GEAR TO GET TO RUN ON WILLOW SPRINGS OR RIVERSIDE. NOW, JUST SHOW UP WITH MONEY A CAR AND A HELMENT.

CRE

For me,it was place to learn the dynamics of car control,nothing more. My goal was get on a track asap,but I suppose you could interpret it as racing,but not in the classic sense.There was no start/finish line,rules,and most noteably absent no overtaking involved. The was no accurate way to measure yourself against you fellow competitor(s)Everybody that went up there drove fast,but that's a relative term also again based on frame of reference.In real racing there are lot's of people that can pull a quick lap out of their ass in qualifying,but one quick lap does not a racer make.There was damn little if any momentum up there,and no way to practice racecraft on a consistent basis.Think about it,how much could you really concentrate on entry/exit speed all the while wondering if there''s a car in the blind pocket oncoming and your committed? Every time I went into a corner up there I always allowed a margin for error..always visualized where the car would end up if I had to spin it backwards to avoid a head on, how much apron I had to work with,where the mountain was,how soft or steep the shoulderwas etc..and that has served me greatly in decison making to this day.When I went to Jim Russell I was a lot further along than others because of my time on the Mul.Racing school can only teach you the technique of driving a race car,racecraft is learned by seat time duirng actual competition if ya catch my "drift";)

MARK DROVE RATHER LARGE CARS ON MULHOLLAND FOR THE MOST PART. IF HE HAD USED SMALLER CARS AS MOST OF US HE WOULD HAVE REALIZED THE WIDTH OF THE SAME ROAD BEING A BIT WIDER WHICH WOULD ALLOW FOR PASSING. I'LL ADMIT IT WAS VERY HARD TO PASS AND IF THE CARS WERE EQUAL IMPOSSIBLE. HOWEVER IF THEY WERE OF DIFFERENT SPEED OR DRIVING ABILITY ONE COULD PASS.

WE RAN OUR CONTESTS AS THE DRIFTERS DO TODAY. ONE CAR WOULD START BEHIND THE OTHER. IF THE LEAD CAR COULD PULL OUT A 'LEAD' OVER THE 2ND CAR HE 'WON' THAT CONTEST. THEY WOULD THEN SWITCH PLACES FOR THE SECOND 'RUN' AND REPEAT THE CONTEST. IF THE SECOND CAR, WHO HAD PULLED A LEAD ON THE FIRST RUN COULD STAY ON THE BUMPER OF THE NOW LEAD CAR HE COULD BE CLASSIFIED AS THE 'WINNER'. NO PASSING WAS NECESSARY TO BE CONSIDERED THE 'WINNER'. HOWEVER, IF THE SECOND CAR COULD ACTUALLY PASS THE LEAD CAR, WELL...
CONTEST OVER. THE WINNER WAS OBVIOUS TO ALL.

CRE

My first taste of organized competition. (3rd from the right).
Don't laugh because seven and eight year olds take this very seriously. When they lose they stomp at the dirt and cry.
The big kid on the left won that day. I was not happy.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176164432.jpg
A few races later with a broken rear brake linkage and a 20cc smaller engine I won out of (coined by Dave) "sheer joy of riding and accomplishment". Maybe it had something to do with that broken brake linkage that effectivly made me unstoppable.
I also raced ATC's for a couple of years and did quite well competing. Later in Junior High I raced BMX bicycles at the Teen Center on Victory Blvd in Van Nuys.

Other than a few AutoX stints in the 80's, Ego Challenges, Bug-Ins, Street Stock events at OCIR I have never participated as a driver in a "official SCCA road course event". At the time I did not have the financial means to do so. The passion and determination were present but my pockets did not support it. If you do not have deep pockets or sponsorship you will go broke as race cars are a proverbial money pit. I have been fortunate to drive many cars and motorcycles at Willow and Saugus Speedway for testing on rental time. I have driven a dual engined McCullough powered Enduro Kart at Ontario Motor Speedway at 130 mph. I have walked Riverside.

I have wrenched, constructed and crewed for others. I built and maintained a very sucessfully campaigned duo of Yamaha RD400's for a good friend along with his Racing Karts. The spoils of a winning season went to me.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176168196.jpg

By no means was I a fence sitter or a civilian spectator because I never officially sat in the driver seat for a sanctioned road course event. I provided service to others so they could race. The passion and determination to win and be the best was always inside me. I far exceeded my goals. These accomplishments were not even my day job.

My day jobs were briefly in Aerospace where I learned aluminum fabrication, welding and machining then 16 years in Collision & Restoration. I am now in Insurance which is a thankless job but pays well.

Racing on Mulholland is what it was. It was a lot of things for me. It was a release for me where I felt at home. It was just fun. I do not condone it now but my thought processes and priorities 25 years ago were very different as many others were too. It was a large part of my life and I do not regret my past. When we are young we think we are invincible and do not consider what we have to lose. I lived for the moment back then. Risk is a part of youth. Without risk or taking a chance life is boring. I have too much to lose now. Mulholland and cars kept me away from a lot of negative influences in the 70's,80's, and 90's. Driving fast on the hill kept me out of bigger trouble's in a strange way.

If I channeled the talent and energy as a driver to the track I know I would have succeeded. I did not and its water under the bridge now. No regrets.

A competitive spirit is alive on this thread. We are brothers in arms because we share the shear exhilleration of driving and the passion for automobiles. Professional Drivers or not we all share one thing- we have lived.

Nice thoughts Jeff. You have a good perspective.

Originally posted by LateBrakeU2
Chris,
That actually is a NASCAR feathelrlite southwest tour car,photo taken at the L.A. Sreet race.Won a few divisional championships in SSGT and T1, but never a national champ in SCCA-

However Mr SSB is a NATIONAL CHAMPION! in the class the his alias eludes to! -that's a very tough feat (even in a Gary Brown twisted car-jez kiddin Vic!)


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Wow Victor, a National Champion. My hats off to you! Quite an accomplishment. How much fun was it to achieve this goal? I would imagine it must have been a blast. You must have lots of good memories. Way to go.

You have me beat on broken bones but when I got punted off at the old turn three at Laguna (they emasculated that track when they put in the infield section), I started with two endo's, followed by eight barrel rolls, and ending with two more endo's. Cortez saw the whole thing from the best seat in the house (his race car). The tire guys in the pits saw my car flying clear above the motorhomes in the infield. They jokingly said later that I had enough flight time that it should apply towards my pilot license. I cut the roll cage out of the wreck and installed it in the new shell in time to make the next west coast race. That was after the previously mentioned thought about the possibility of dying doing this..I never listened to my mother, so why should I listen to the voices in my head?

Hmmmm, I alway thought Pearson had the altitude record at Laguna. Maybe Mitchell does?

I tried to knock down the tire wall at "old" 4 in the Reno Cup race. aka Salinas off ramp. First lap, I dive to the inside, find Joe Vardi's oil (how come everybody knew that but me?) Went straight into the tire wall, pirouetted and came back down, put into gear and took off up the hill. The corner worker called it in as a "roll & continue" because from his vantage point across the track, he saw the cars top and bottom..

So, lets see, turns 2, 3 & 4. Anybody ugly up the corkscrew??

I'll be you know Carpenter's friend Bill Henry. He raced RD400's also (then again, maybe everybody did back then?)

I also spent some 10 years with Insurance. Service Contracts actually (I know, I know, Magnuson Moss decision, what ever)

And now for everyone viewing pleasure a photo I just took at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Palm Beach.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176220488.jpg

Wow, talk about a beautiful body, incredible finish.
Thanks for posting Vic.