*MY* convention writeup (part 2 - there's more)

[KIERAN A. LAVIN]

My second session out I decided to bump myself up to Group 2 (next down
from instructor) and wound up much more comfortable and much more evenly
matched with the cars around me.  I went out with Larry Weeks following to
show him the line since he hadn't taken the first session.  Larry was
behind me for a lap before Shell Black came out of the pits right ahead of
me.  I got by Shell on the straight but Larry did not.  I lost Larry after
that.  After that, the session was eventless.  I did not gain ground on
anyone nor did anyone else gain any ground on me.  I had tons of room
around me and the same car was going into the turn at the end of the
straight as I entered the straight each and every lap.

The second beginner session, I figured Dave would be ok on his own but
decided to go for the ride just to be sure.  Dave did great and I really
didn't have to correct him much.  Just as I started to open my mouth, Dave
knew what the problem was and corrected it.  He still seemed to be
cautious at places but it was his very first time on the track!  He was
braking early for some turns (especially with the brakepads he had) but
that was ok.

My third session out I took Matt Ostlund for a ride.  Again, the whole
session was eventless and everyone was very evenly spaced.  It really
seemed like I was the only one on the track.  I think Matt enjoyed himself
as I pushed the car more and more with each lap.  I really learned a few
places where the car was great at trail braking into turns and I was able
to get the car to drift without losing much speed.  I'm sure I wound up
losing some speed... but hey, it looked cool ;)

My fourth session out was right after lunch.  Toward the middle of the
session, I saw a black classic and a white (ivory) G20 gaining on me very
slowly.  I was feeling very full and fatigued from lunch so I decided to
relax for a lap and let them catch me so that they could pass me.  I let
them by (it was Greg Vogel and Davin Hashiba - I believe?) and decided to
try to keep up.  Well, after about 2 or 3 laps both my tires and my brain
went.  I started taking turns too fast, braking late, and being just plain
stupid.  Not to mention the fact that my tires were getting real
greasy.  After a few laps trying to keep up, I decided to really take it
easy and dropped back for some cool-down laps.  The rest of the session
went well as I was basically on my own.

My fifth session I took Joe DiMinno for a ride.  Somehow we wound up
catching up to a black classic and a whitish G20.  Guess what?  Same two
guys again.  As we got closer, Joe mentioned that it looked like Carlos
Gutierrez was driving Greg's car.  I realized it was and said something
like "let's go harass the shit out of Carlos!"  I got up and right on
Carlos' ass.  Carlos started watching his mirrors too much and started to
get squirrely in turns and braking late.  He was getting nervous.  I think
at one point, we went down the straight and into the braking zone with me
about 5 feet off Carlos' bumper as we braked for the turn around the 200
foot mark.  After about 3 or 4 laps of this, they gave Carlos the blue
flag and he let me by.  As we went by, Joe and I gave Carlos the finger as
he and (I think) Dave Allen gave us the finger back.  During the second
lap with Carlos glued to my ass, I went way too deep at the end of the
straight (guess I was too occupied with my mirrors).  I slowed down so
much that the car downshifted to first gear.  Well, the tires spun like
crazy and I left Carlos in a cloud of smoke!  I looked in my rearview to
see a cloud with Carlos emerging out of it.  I think the next lap by I let
Carlos go.  My tires were really starting to get greasy again anyway.  Joe
and I both commented on how much fun we had.  Off the track, Carlos had
comments that were very similar.  That was really the most fun I've ever
had on the track.  It was awesome!

Joe, Ray, and I left for the airport to drop their cars off.  After
dropping off the cars, we headed back to the hotel.  We went down to meet
up with the others at the patio for free drinks.  The group just kept
growing and growing as time went by.  The three of us took turns taking
showers as the others sat outside and drank.  Leslie (Jorge's wife) gave
me the mission of getting Mike Kojima drunk for the night.  Well, Erin
(Frank Orozco's girlfriend) and Sarah (a friend of all the San Diego
guys) were there egging Mike on.  Sarah even challenged Mike that she was
going to drink him under the table)  Well, Sarah got a very early start on
Mike and she wound up retiring early.  At one point, Erin went to hand
Mike a shot but Mike's hands were full with a drink in each hand.  I
grabbed the shot and poured it down Mike's throat.  I think this only
happened twice despite Mike saying that I kept doing it and that I was
prying his jaw open!  Psst, I wasn't drunk yet Mike.

Well, without going into great detail (you had to be there for all the
fun!  ie I'm not going to tell the *FULL* story to protect some people
from humiliation) we wound up having a really good time.  Mike and Boonie
were probably two of the more memorable drunks that night.  We did wind up
back in two rooms upstairs with the party overflowing out onto the
balcony.  Mike kept commenting on how drunk he was as well as how he had
outdrank Sarah.  "She's sleeping and I'm still drinking.  She sucks"  We
were in one room and I think I pushed Mike on one of the beds and yelled
for a pile-on.  I managed to keep my Guinness upright three or four
times.  The fourth or fifth time, Dave Allen jumped into my arm and
spilled my Guinness all over myself and Greg Vogel (sorry again
Greg).  The party spilled onto the balcony and a beer bottle was
broken.  We were being extremely loud and roudy so I'm surprised we
weren't approached by the management.  After the second beer bottle was
broken, I decided it was over.  I went to bed at that point.  Early, but I
had been drinking for several hours and was done!  .......

kieran
kieranlavin.com