The Lady At The Track

**ttruckinon** · 05-17-2009, 01:08 PM

Last Monday I hooked up my trailer and headed to the track (Grattan Raceway in Mi) with my bike. It was a mixed day with both bikes and cars running, in seperate sessions of course.

I did the morning sessions on my bike and did well.....meaning I kept it on two wheels all morning! In the afternoon I took The Lady out to play and she loved it.

Here are a few pics.

My two wheeled toy, a Suzuki GSXR 750:

Some of the cars that ran. The White one is the one I am chasing in the vid:

And a bike that had a bad day. The rider was not injured:

The SRT8 Challenger was my first target of the day and in my first session I ran him down and he was my first "kill".

<Note> Passing at this event was by "wave bye" only. When you see a car close up on you and you know he is faster you give him room and a "wave bye". This is what the Chally driver did.

I tryed several times to do a video and it was in the last session I finally got it right. I was chasing the Infinity (Q35 I think) and it was great fun. In the second session I caught him and he waved me bye. In the 3rd one when I caught him he decided to play and it was a LOT of fun! I was surprised how well I was able to stay with him on the back side of the course and even more surprised how fast he was down the front straight.

My GPS reading at the end of the long front straight:

And here is the vid I shot. It was from a fixed mount so it might make you a bit sea sick! LOL:

When I came into the pits after the last run my brakes were smoking, my left front tire was toast and I had a grin on my face that lasted all week! It is the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

**1SRT8-2NV** · 05-17-2009, 01:47 PM

Wow I don't see how you drive a car on that track. That is way to tight for my taste! But looks great and thanks for the video.

**CentralNJRT** · 05-17-2009, 01:57 PM

The Infiniti was a G35. The Q is the huge SUV. :-P Just wanted to clear that up.

**ttruckinon** · 05-17-2009, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by CentralNJRT

The Infiniti was a G35. The Q is the huge SUV. :-P Just wanted to clear that up.

Thanks. I knew it was a 35 I just couldn't remember the letter!

**MattRobertson** · 05-17-2009, 02:03 PM

Dang that almost looked like an autocross it was so tight. How long was the track?

**ttruckinon** · 05-17-2009, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by Matt Robertson

Dang that almost looked like an autocross it was so tight. How long was the track?

It's a two mile track but with a long front straight the rest of the course is very tight and technical. Lot's of blind and or off camber turns. A real challenging course. My best lap time on my bike was 1.44 and my best in the Charger was 1.41. I was shocked that I was quicker in the car than I was on my bike.

**HoonLo** · 05-17-2009, 03:26 PM

Strange how you can run faster in a 2 ton land barge...I was watching some program one day comparing a viper to a top of the line honda bike (cbr1000rr) and the same thing. Bike had it in spades for acceleration and braking but the viper had the best lap time!

**ttruckinon** · 05-17-2009, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by HoonLo

Strange how you can run faster in a 2 ton land barge...I was watching some program one day comparing a viper to a top of the line honda bike (cbr1000rr) and the same thing. Bike had it in spades for acceleration and braking but the viper had the best lap time!

Yea, having 4 big contact patches is very confidence inspiring! I was steering with the throttle on many of the corners. On the bike even a little bit of sliding is very scary. It would be fun to have some good brakes and some sticky rubber on the Charger, the petal was going almost to the floor by the end and I was still braking later than the G35!

**CT-MSRT** · 05-17-2009, 09:58 PM

sounds like a great time. The music in the video had me laughin harder the longer i listened to it!

**ttruckinon** · 05-17-2009, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by CT-MSRT

sounds like a great time. The music in the video had me laughin harder the longer i listened to it!

Foggy Mountain Breakdown by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. If you ever watch the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" it's the music played during one of the chase scenes.

Flat and Scruggs also did the theme from "The Beverly Hillbillies"

**ttruckinon** · 05-17-2009, 11:04 PM

Here is another vid shot from a bike. Fantastic angle!

http://www.vimeo.com/4674062

**TTMR** · 05-18-2009, 11:28 AM

Got a photo of your time? Odds are you are the fastest LX at that track!

**Meathammer** · 05-18-2009, 11:40 AM

Well he's probably been one of the very few LXs to run at Grattan. Wish I would have known you were there, I'd have come out. Grattan is only about a 30 minute leisurely drive for me. I used to work corners there during the summer for fun. I'll have to check out the pics and vids once I get home since they are blocked here at work.