Koger Race Report

Sebring International

by Trish Koger

"Oval, anyone?" Rick Koger was quoted as saying after the conclusion of the May 31st Legends Cars of Florida feature race at Sebring International Raceway.

Sebring? That's a new one, isn't it? Oh, yes, it is... in more ways in one. Have you ever tried writing with your "other" hand or climbing into a British car and driving a car on the "wrong" side of the road?

Well, if you have done either, you have probably experienced some of the same sensations that I had during my first trip to Sebring. No, Sebring, Florida, is not some strange land that forces you to do the opposite of whatever you may be used to... it's simply a town with one huge oddity to a gal who's used to racing in circles -- it has a ROAD COURSE.

Now, for those of you who are still new to the whole racing scene, the term "road course" is used whenever a racing venue includes both left and right hand turns. Another similar term that you may have seen or heard is "Grand Prix"... these are normally "road courses" run on actual streets of a city or town (ex: Miami Grand Prix).

The entire course is blocked off from normal traffic for the duration of the event -- yet, sometimes I'm not exactly sure why, since most of us experience our own Small Town Grand Prix every day come rush hour!

Unlike a Grand Prix, the world-famous Sebring International Raceway is a dedicated road course facility. Far from any metropolis, this track has both a 3.6-mile and 1.8-mile course winding over what remains of a deserted WWII military training airport.

Our early summer trip to Sebring gave me one small hint as to why the military might have deserted it -- the HEAT! Race crew survival kits included cases of bottled water, large EZ-Up covers, high-powered fans, overfilled coolers, and overloaded generators. And no matter what the Weather Channel might tell you, don't expect the typical Florida afternoon shower to cool you down... it just doubles the already-saturated humidity level!

But, hey, we were there to RACE! And so on with the race report... The TK Racing Crew had an additional member this particular Saturday -- Rick's mom, Ethel, was down from D.C., and it was her first race EVER.

After spending most of the month of May at Indy, I felt like I could relate. I was definitely going through a severe case of race car driver withdrawal, and I needed to get behind the wheel in a bad way! But, first I'd have to wait.

Our racing was graciously included as part of the Central Florida Chapter of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) weekend event... but that meant that we were the last to hit the track for the day. Once all the other SCCA divisions concluded their races, the 26 Legends drivers on hand had a quick briefing on the do's and don'ts of road course racing from the track officials.

Then we were off to our cars for practice laps... okay, all ten minutes of it... but what a rush! Obviously, I would have liked to have spent more time getting familiar with the course... but I also wanted to have an operable car by the time I left the track.

The 1.8-mile course is rather brutal to Legends Cars. In a normal 20-lap feature race at a relatively "large" 3/8-mile track, we run a total of 7.5 miles. The 10-lap feature at Sebring, alone, was 18 miles long. Add in a 6-lap feature and about 10 laps of practice, and you begin to have a tired race car.

To minimize the amount of over-rev on our engines, two of the longer straightaways were split up by "chicanes" -- in other words, tire stacks and traffic cones were set in place to create a zig-zag in the middle of each stretch. Manuevering through the chicanes forces the drivers to slow down -- and down-shift.

Remember how I mentioned that Sebring was new for more than one reason? Well, down-shifting while racing was another new twist for me. Normally, on most Legends oval track racing, you shift up through the gears during each start/restart... and downshifting usually only occurs when a caution flag is waved.

Depending on the track, you figure out the right gear / rear-end combination to allow you to run at full speed without shifting. This road course business was a different story. It made for a really fun and challenging race... but it did tend to wear on the adapted Yamaha motorcycle transmission that we run in the Legends Cars.

You definitely had to keep track of exactly which gear you were in since the in-line shifting pattern (push forward to go down in gear and pull back to go up) could get you in trouble if you accidently shifted the wrong way. The engine's rev-limiter works only when you are accelerating... pop your engine into a lower gear earlier than it's ready for and you may be looking at a rebuilt engine earlier than you're ready for!

My stated goal for the weekend, therefore, was to roll away from Sebring with everything -- driver, car, engine, gearbox, crew chief, and mother-in-law -- intact. And I successfully accomplished that mission... many others did not.

The #90 Florida Online Legends Car survived Sebring with a 14th place finish, however, I certainly did not walk away feeling like I had mastered the course -- but I did minimize the amount of work that Rick will need to put in to get ready for our next outing at Hialeah Speedway on Saturday, June 14th. He will still have to completely change the setup on the car since a road course requires an almost neutrally balanced car versus one that is prepared to only make left-hand turns.

Ah... I'm looking forward to that sensation again! I know that it has been a while, so I hope you are looking forward to it, too! This recent time away from my racing, however, was worth every minute. I want to thank Lyn St. James for asking me to return as a team member for her sixth consecutive year at the Indy 500. Working with Lyn, Deb Turner, Ron Hemelgarn, our crew chief, Walter Gerber, and the entire Hemelgarn Racing crew was truly a magnificent experience... and one that I will never forget!!

Now, however, I am ready to strap myself in again... and go turn left... Thanks for your continued support. We'll see you at the track! Best regards,

--Trish Koger #90

To send a letter to Trish, email to koger@thunval.com

Check out the Distant Thunder archives for other articles by women drivers.