While I had already been signed up for the NASA event on Memorial Day weekend, I had signed up for HPDE Group 4 (which is NASA’a advanced group). But, after thinking about it, I had the feeling that John was never going to allow me back into the advanced group because it wasn’t really about driving skill – it was about the people that he wanted to run on track with, and I wasn’t one of them. But, of course, he wasn’t about to say that, so he had to continually point to the quality of my driving.
So, I decided to see if I could pass NASA’s road test for a Competition Racing License. My thought was that if I passed, then it would be compelling evidence that I should be allowed to return to the advanced group – or, he could just give up and admit that it was a clique, something I was pretty sure he would NEVER do.
But that meant I had some extra things to do, and in a hurry. First, I had to change my registration for one of the days from Group 4 to “Comp License Eval” and pay the extra fee. Next, I had to get an appointment with my doctor and get a full physical exam – a sane prerequisite, though since I pass a pilot medical every year, I didn’t figure passing would be a problem. But, my doctor often gets busy and pushes out routine exams in favor of more pressing issues. And, I needed to have my completed form back to NASA 10 days before the on-track test. It was tight, but fortunately I got right in to see my doctor, and things went without a hitch.
It turns out, NASA does Comp Evals in the Group 4 sessions, so you can get some practice beforehand in a familiar environment. On Saturday, my chosen day, there was one other person also doing a Comp Eval – a kid about 15 years old (NASA will allow racing participation down to 13, with significant prior karting experience). I had wanted to do my eval in the third session, figuring that would give me two warm up sessions, but I wouldn’t be “end of day” tired yet. However, the instructor gave first choice to the kid. He chose the last session. Bingo. I chose third. He asked me what kind of car I had, and I replied “A blue/green Miata” and he said he would come find me in the pre-grid (the staging area to make track entry more efficient) before the session.
An important thing to realize is that if, anytime during the day of your eval, you spin, put 2 or 4 wheels off track, or have any contact with another car, you fail – even if it’s not during your evaluation. Anytime – the WHOLE DAY. So, my practice sessions were on my best behavior. Two sessions. No screw-ups. WHEW!!
Session 3 – I go to the pre-grid, and wait for Donny (the person evaluating me) . He doesn’t show up. I ask one of the workers there if they had seen him, and they said he had been there recently, but he wasn’t there now. As they started letting people onto the track, still no Donny. So, I did a loop around the paddock looking for him. No joy. I did come across the NASA Regional Director (who has PA system access) and told him my problem. He said he would find Donny and get him to pre-grid. So, I returned there.
Waiting. No Donny. Finally, I was told that I might as well go out on the track and use the rest of my session. CRAP! So, I did. After the first run, I was black-flagged at Start/Finish (a black flag is given to someone who does something wrong, and is a signal to come into the pit on the next lap to find out what you did) DOUBLE CRAP!! Now, not only did I not get an eval, I apparently screwed up in some undetermined way that will keep me from getting my Comp License. TRIPLE CRAP!!! The thing is… I don’t even know what I did. Every other time I’ve received a black flag, I knew what I did (spun, wheels off, …) – this time, no clue. But, I’ve got an entire lap to sweat about it since Start/Finish is just past the entry to the pit lane.
As I come into the pit lane, I see the pit worker at the far end gesticulating wildly for me to hurry up. As I get closer, I see someone on the right pit wall, helmet in hand. As I get closer – it’s Donny. He climbs in and says, “Let’s go!” This was the best black flag I’ve ever gotten.
We run the rest of the session without saying anything, and as we pull into the paddock, he says, “You did great.”
I passed.
YIPEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
I have my Provisional Competition Racing License.
Sunday was just a very fun day at the track, having already accomplished what I needed to for the weekend.