We set out to go to Watkins Glen this morning.  We got all the way down there to discover they closed the trail  on November 9th.  We saw a little bit of the fall you can see from the parking lot, so we then went to Montour Falls and She-Qua-Ga Falls (they are road-side attractions).

Nathaniel at Watkins Glen

We made our way to Ithaca and started hiking up the Buttermilk Falls Gorge.  I’m glad we did.  It was a tough hike up some pretty steep stairs, but the views were spectacular.

Buttermilk Falls

Upper Falls at Buttermilk Falls

The trail was pretty rough, but it didn’t phase Nathaniel.  Rebecca and I on the other hand were a little exhausted by the time we made it to the top.

Top of the Trail

We stopped at an Arby’s in Ithaca.  Nathaniel ate all his sandwich which earned him some cookies.

Two-fisted Cookie Eater

On the way back we explored around an abandoned house…

Outhouse behind abandoned house

It was a fun day.  We also made stops at the Hill Cumorah and the Peter Whitmer Farm House.  So, Rebecca and Nathaniel got quite a tour of the region.

Rebecca and Nathaniel atop Hill Cumorah

2008 CA Celebration FOR the Turkeys

Originally uploaded by Farm Sanctuary

Looking for something positive and animal-friendly to commemorate Thanksgiving this year? Consider attending the Celebration for the Turkeys on November 21st at Farm Sanctuary. They write:

Farm Sanctuary is hosting coast-to-coast benefits to protect innocent turkeys and promote compassionate Thanksgiving traditions everywhere. Farm Sanctuary’s Celebrations FOR the Turkeys: Benefits for Our Feathered Friends — held in three locations this year — will feature decadent, gourmet vegan holiday feasts, inspirational guest presentations, and silent auctions that benefit the animals and provide for all your holiday shopping needs! Guests at our farm events will also have the opportunity to spend quality time with rescued animals and participate in our unique “Feeding of the Turkeys” ceremonies, in which the sanctuary turkeys are the guests of honor and get to feast on their favorite treats: squash, pumpkin pie and cranberries!

Here’s info on the event at the Watkins Glen shelter, which includes an appearance by Tom Regan!

Also, consider sponsoring a rescued turkey living at Farm Sanctuary, through their Adopt-a-Turkey Project.

For more ideas about how to make your Thanksgiving a compassionate one, and for delicious recipes, visit FARM (Farm Animal Rights Movement)’s Gentle Thanksgiving – and don’t forget to sign their petition asking President Obama to pardon all turkeys this year – not just one.

Clearly, I’m catching up (finally) on posts and pictures. Several of you have asked to see pics of our life in New York, so I’ll start with my parent’s visit a few weeks ago. My Mom and Dad flew all the way from Aspen, Colorado to visit us! How nice! We spent the week showing them around town, eating out, visiting Greg’s campus, and touring the area. My parents are EXTREMELY active people, so when on the way to meet my cousin, we went to Watkins Glen state park for a ‘little’ hike. Basically, turned out to be the **BEST** hike since we’ve lived here! The leaves were amazing, the waterfalls were stunning, and by the end of the hike, the sun came out! Thanks for visiting, Mom and Dad!

ps My Dad works for the City of Aspen as the Director of Capital Assets
My Mom works for Christian Dior

Watkins Glen SP, NY

Watkins Glen State Park.  Perhaps the most stunning example of the effects of cyclic glacial activity in the general Finger Lakes region.  Following the last glacial retreat some 10,000 years ago, Glen Creek has been cutting through the relatively soft shale in this area on its way to the southern end of Seneca Lake.  Over the course of roughly 2 miles, the creek drops some 400 feet across 19 waterfalls (the highest about 60 feet), leaving a gorge with 200 foot cliffs.  The gorge is so narrow in some areas that even during the summer months precious little sunlight actually makes it to the bottom of the chasm.  It’s a cool, damp, dark world.

And such a wonderful metaphor for so many things.  Like the search for “objective reality”.

In two recent posts (Hearing the Light and A Light Influence),  Cedric – the author of Plop – started a philosophical discussion about the nature of things, their inherent essence or “isness”.  In it, he suggested that when captured in a photograph, this “isness” could be shared by both photographer and viewer.  That is, both would “see” or feel essentially the same thing, even if they could not verbally express exactly what that “thing” was .  But at some level, both would experience the same truth or objective reality.

In two comments, I respectfully questioned this assertion (while admitting that I certainly didn’t know the answer).  Philosophical questions are like that, I think.  Nobody ever really knows the answer, at least not with absolute certainty.  Kind of like religious questions.  Lots of people think they know what religious ”truth” is, but none of them can provide any hard evidence.  Without actual evidence, “objective reality” is forever stuck in the realm of philosophic conjecture.  What I “see” or believe depends largely on all of the things I’ve seen or experienced up to that point.

In his second post, Cedric used photographic examples to demonstrate that viewers can, in fact, respond the same way to the same stimulus.  Images of the horrors of war, human tragedy, and, to an extent, human triumph do trigger the same visceral reactions in most of us.  The image of the doomed passenger jet an instant before striking the second tower on 9/11 is clear evidence that, as humans, we react the same way in many situations.  We all feel the same horror, knowing that this was the last second of life for all those on board.  We see this and know that it could have been us.  The image touches our most basic instinct – survival.   It also serves to remind us that we’re not always in control, that the “reality” of our very existence is something of a crap shoot.

So where does that leave “objective reality”?  In a response to Cedric’s second post, Andreas Manessinger (http://manessinger.com/) states that he believes in objective reality (Andreas is actually the one who triggered Cedric’s second post).  I agree with that.  As an old TV show used to proclaim, “The Truth is Out There”.  But knowing that it exists is not much help in determining its nature.  It’s like the old problem solving metaphor of “peeling back the onion”.  Problems are generally multi-layered.  What you see on the outside isn’t the problem itself.  Rather, it’s a consequence of the problem, a symptom.  To solve the problem, you have to peel away the layers until you’re left with the core which, hopefully, is the “essence” of the problem. 

At least that’s the idea.  You could use the waterfall in the same way.  The water will eventually cut through the softer layers until it reaches some kind of bedrock (maybe limestone or sandstone or even granite).  In that metaphor, the harder bedrock is, of course, objective reality.  Once reached, the “true” nature of the gorge will be revealed.

Or will it?  How do we know that the water won’t cut even deeper?  Maybe there’s something that’s harder underneath, something that’s even closer to the true nature of this land.  Heck, the rock at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is about 2 billion years old in places, and still the Colorado River cuts through it.

Well, maybe that’s a bad analogy.  As I said, I don’t know the answer.  But while I believe that what Cedric calls objective reality, or “truth”, actually exists, I also believe that for us, it’s both unknown and unknowable.  We may catch brief glimpses of it from time to time, but we can never capture it.

So whether we’re looking at an Ansell Adams photograph or discussing the nature of God, we will never completely agree.  Most of the time, we will disagree.  That’s who we are.  And that is both our greatest strength and our most profound weakness.

I met up with my old missionary companion, Paul O’Donnell, and he, his daughter Bethany and son Justin, and Bethany’s friend Ashley and I went hiking at Watkins Glen.  Ashley looked so much like my daughter Natalie, it was astonishing.  Not only that, she acted like Natalie.

Ashley - Not Natalie

They say everyone has their twin out there.  In this case, Natalie’s twin has a twin sister too. 

It was a beautiful day to hike up the canyon.  The colors against those dark cliffs really pop out.

Maple Leaf

Watkins Glen

Bethany

I hope you all enjoy this recounting of Karl’s hunt for that elusive professional racing championship.  If you enjoy this telling tale of a brand and a dream, please rate/comment and pay it forward by sharing it.

My Thoughts Enclosed…Rb

2003 – The Birth of a Brand

2004 – The Up-Start Crew

2005 – Building Upon a Dream

2006 – A Partnership of Sorts

2007 – A Hard Fought Year

2008 – A Change of Focus

The success of 2007 proved to the team that a championship was truly reachable. With this success in mind, Compass360 and Karl’s branding efforts took center stage again. The three car team was entered again simply as Compass360 Racing.  It was then that Karl also started using the acronym C360R for the team.

Ray Lee and his team stayed on in a continued partnership with Karl. The cars now featured a black livery, with a car specific colour scheme, as hinted to last year. The entire team was also sporting tailored and expensive team gear and racing suits. This marked a noticeable departure to the penny shy Karl, but the additional exposure made it mandatory and timely.

Photo by Robert Lavigne

The season brought a driver lineup to the team that would make the entire field salivate. The defending series champions left Turner Motorsports to join their past season rival. Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood signed a one-year contract to drive the #74 Acura TSX with sponsorship by Fishcher Skis.

Travis Walker returned to the team, he truly loved, and paired up with Karl Thomson in the #76. Karl would provide much guidance off the track for Travis. In return, Travis would bring his natural talent and speed on the track. This was a great opportunity for the seemingly maturing driver.

New driver Christian Miller joined the team and would co-drive with a returning Kevin York. Their #75 Acura TSX sported promotional material for the book The Art Of Racing In The Rain by Kevin’s friend Garth Stein. The GoEnzo.com marketing campaign was a brilliant tie-in and Compass360 fully endorsed the book.

I am very fortunate to have a signed copy by both Kevin and Garth. It is a brilliant book and I highly recommend it to anyone reading this.  Go to your favourite online bookstore and order it now. Fellow Grand-Am driver Patrick Dempsey (yes, McDreamy himself) is slated to produce and star in an upcoming movie based on the book.

(In Canada: Indigo, Amazon)

Fresh From Florida 200 (January 24 – 25, 2008)

Once again, the season would start with a trip to Daytona. My annual trip for the Rolex 24 at Daytona is the closest thing I have to a yearly routine. After last year’s win, I was eager to see how Daytona would treat Karl this year. Added exposure meant added expectations, but Karl was going into this season with confidence and hope.

You could tell by the sight of the crew, that much had improved during their championship challenging year. This was a much larger and far more professional team than in past years. This little startup was no longer supported only by a van and a few friends. This was a team whose driver lineup included both the series champions and runner-up.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

With over 100 cars entered for the race, Adam Burrows in the #74 started sixteenth. Trevor Hopwood brought the car into fifth going into a caution. At the restart, in an attempt to avoid contact, Trevor passed before the start finish line incurring a dubious penalty. This was in direct contradiction to what the officials mentioned during the driver’s meeting. Not only was it evasive action on his part, but Trevor had given back the spot right away. The #74 found itself relegated to fourteenth after the penalty. After three hours of racing, the defending champions would finish a frustrating ninth.

(2008 Fresh From Florida 200 #74 Blog)

Starting near the back (25th), Kevin brought the #75 up quickly into fifteenth going into a perfectly timed caution. The team opted to do a full three car service and driver change. Christian Miller would set out in a very familiar car albeit an unfamiliar team. Christian ran with a rival TSX team the previous year. Getting the #75 up from the back to fifth, must have been too much. With very little brakes left, Christian finished his first race with the Compass360 Racing in a defining sixth.

(2008 Fresh From Florida 200 #75 Blog)

Karl started the race with a team leading qualifying position of sixth. By the third corner, Karl was up to second and fought in the top three for his full stint. Travis, now behind the wheel of the #76, was enjoying plenty of TV coverage. The enhanced branding work by Compass360 was getting plenty of exposure. While in second, Travis was passed by the greatest Honda/Acura driver of all time Peter “PD” Cunningham.

Shortly after, the final yellow of the race would be flagged quickly followed by the checkered.  Travis finally saw a podium with Compass360 Racing having finished third. Pairing with Karl for the season was the right decision for Travis. The early results already spoke for themselves.

Post race inspections removed first and second from the points due to technical infractions. Daytona had teased Karl with a potential win as Grand-Am does not amend the podium nor its trophies.

Photo by Robert Lavigne

(2008 Fresh From Florida 200 #76 Blog)

In the first race of the season, the team had all three Acura TSX in the top ten with a third (#76) , a sixth (#75), and a ninth (#74). On paper, Karl was once again leading the championship leaving Daytona.  Last year had started slightly different from this year yet with similar results.  The team was hoping this year would end slightly different from last year as well.  The rest of the field had to take note that Compass360 wanted the championship badly.

(2008 Fresh From Florida 200 Results)

With a huge gap between the first and second race of the season, Karl was able to refocus his efforts on Compass360.  Karl leveraged his branding and graphic design work in Motorports with his “Type-R: Good Design and Racing Cars” presentation.

(Karl’s Blog)

The 2007 championship fighting #75 Acura would join the #95 BMW as the showcased cars for the Koni Challenge souvenir t-shirt.  Karl used to brand his karting swag with his Compass360 brand (I have a closet full).  Now his Compass360 brand was prominently displayed along side that of Grand-Am.  Karl was also asked by Grand-Am to blog his adventures on their fan-friendly site joining the likes of Nic Jonsson and racing legend Hurley Haywood.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

(Karl’s Blog)

K&N Filters would step up their technical support program with Compass360 Racing.  This new partnership would bring additional expertise and exposure for Compass360.  K&N featured the team in numerous street tuner magazines and advertising programs.

I remember sitting with Karl, in the Daytona Media Room, the night of the Rolex 24.  While I was busy warming up to “borrowed” coffee, Karl was hard at work making graphic edits to the pictures that would eventually grace the campaign.  Even in his off time off the track, Karl was always on and on track when it came to Compass360 Racing.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

(Karl’s Blog)

Lime Rock Park (May 23 – 26, 2008)

Four months later, the next race took place at Lime Rock Park.  The team went into the Memorial Day race weekend well rested and the three TSX fully prepped.  The time away from the track would bring many announcements from Compass360 Racing.

Lime Rock now had four cars being fielded under the Compass360 Racing banner.  The team had been working hard behind the scenes on their new car program. Lime Rock was the inaugural event for the team’s new Honda Civic Si.  Karl had been working on this new entry in the series since the season finale. Karl was now racing a Honda Civic Si with Travis Walker retaining the #76.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

(Karl’s Blog)

The third Acura TSX would now be raced by Kenny Wilden and Jeremy Willard as the #73.  Kenny was no stranger to the series having won championships in both of their previous incarnations: Firehawk (1992) and Motorola Cup (1994). He was recently racing Daytona Prototypes proving both his skill and speed.

(Karl’s Blog)

With four cars in his stable, Karl and Compass36o Racing were by far the largest team in Koni Challenge.  Not bad when you consider all this started with a beat up BMW Z3 on a flatbed.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood consider Lime Rock Park to be their home track.  Compass360 Racing was hoping for a good showing by the defending series champions for their local fans.  An electrical problem put the #74 at the back of the field for the start of the race.

This was made worse by the fact that 46 cars took the green flag for the Street Tuner split-race that weekend.  Now in fifteenth after 50 laps, Hopwood would pass the car over to Burrows.  On Lap 72, Adam would be in the top five.  With the tires wearing thin, Burrows would finish the race a respectable seventh.

(2008 Lime Rock Park #74 Blog)

With such a large field, Kevin York would start mid-pack (18th) in the #75.  After an hour of defensive racing and some new tires, Christian Miller would take over from Kevin having maintained their spot.  Miller would take the car as far as fifth by Lap 118.

In a repeat of the season opener, he struggled to secure the position in the closing laps and finished 6th.  Kevin York was now contending for the MESCO Building for the Future Rookie of the Year Award.

(2008 Lime Rock Park #75 Blog)

The #76 Civic, having been field tested at Mosport, qualified a dismal 43rd.  Being so far back in such a large field would make for a hazardous fight to the front.  The three trailing Compass360 Racing cars (#74, #76, and #75) were moving up the field in unison.  They were following Trevor’s track expertise to wedge them through the traffic.  Coming up on a lapped car and fighting hard for position, Karl found himself being shunted off the track.

On Lap 44, Karl would barrel roll five times destroying the new Honda Civic Si. Having been safely pulled out the car by the safety crew, Karl signaled to the team what happened on his way to the Medical Center.  After the race, Karl would have vivid memories of only the last four of those five rolls.  Karl would DNF with a 27th with Travis earning no points having never raced the Honda.

(2008 Lime Rock Park #76 Blog and Karl’s Blog)

Willard started the race 36th in his first race with the team. Early contact and hanging part saw him black flagged.  Lengthy body repairs made for an extended pit stop.  Midway through the race, he would hand the #73 over to Wilden.  Struggling with the car and tight traffic, Ken would finish 22th in his first race with Compass360 Racing.

Christian Miller and Kevin York were now second in the Championship with Burrows and Hopwood in third.  Karl fell out of the top ten in the championship having just led it. The team left Lime Rock scrambling to find a new Honda.  The team also needed a car for Karl and Travis for the next race in two weeks.

(2008 Lime Rock Park Blog and Results)

Mosport International Raceway (June 13 – 14, 2008)

Mosport saw the return of the old yet faithful Acura RSX-S with the Honda Civic Si having been buried so young.   Karl always looks forward to racing at Mosport and cherishes the years it is on the schedule.  It is a special track and not just to those who call it home.  The track is regarded highly by racers worldwide.  Corner Two brings respect and Corner Five brings frustration to anyone daring to challenge it.

Karl would have the honour of being invited to the media sessions for the event.  He would join one of his friends and racing idols Scott Maxwell on the panel of drivers.

(Karl’s Blog)

I always find it funny to hear Karl talk about Scott and other established drivers.  I guess it is one of those rare moments, where the racing fan in Karl shines brighter than usual.  One day soon, Karl would fully realize that he now shared the track with so many of his racing idols and future champions.

During second practice, the #75 Acura TSX was involved in a major crash coming out of corner one.  Let it be known, that if you crash in one at Mosport, it will likely be a major crash.  In one of my first spectator races at Mosport, I witnessed a Trans-Am driver die in that very corner.

(Mike Gagliardo R.I.P.)

With trepidation, I tracked my own Porsche 951 over the resulting oil spill the weekend following Gagliardo’s death.  I have driven behind a 911 losing both their front and rear in that corner.  Corner one at Mosport is not the place you want to have an accident.  It is a fast, downhill blind corner from days gone by.  You are very much in harms way until the field goes by safely.  Racers love this corner and rightfully so.

Kevin York had been enjoying a great weekend having his friend Garth Stein on site promoting “The Art Of Racing In The Rain“.  All that joy was before the accident in corner one.  This marked the second car in two weeks destroyed in spectacular fashion.  Kevin, clearly in pain from the accident, would not drive that weekend.  He showed the Harper Collins representatives on hand, how true to life Denny Swift really was (order the book to find out why). Kevin lost valuable points towards his Rookie of the Year award that weekend.  Christian Miller, on the other hand, would take over from Karl in the #76.

(Karl’s Blog)

Karl was always smart when it came to vacating his racing seat.  Christian was third in the championship and every point counted.  Karl had effectively lost his championship hunt after the accident at Lime Rock and indirectly this one Mosport.  The decision to step aside was not an easy one to make.  Christian was very fortunate to race for a Team Principal, who put the success of the team ahead of his own personal ambitions.  Karl had very much been looking to race again at Mosport for Compass360 Racing.

The defending champions were also looking forward to Mosport.  Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood in the #74 wanted to vindicate their last-lap loss the previous year.  They were now driving for the team in the very car that won that race the year before.  With only mere seconds separating the field, they were not alone in wanting a win at Mosport.

Adam Burrows raced the car from eight to third by Lap 15.  A well timed caution emerged on Lap 37.  A botched call on the part of track officials allowed some teams to pit before others.  This completely changed the race outcome as the #74 had to wait an extra lap to pit.  Coming back out in tenth and a lap down, Hopwood would make a final charge and finish the race in fifth.

(2008 Mosport International Raceway #74 Blog)

With the Acura RSX-S out of retirement, Christian took the field in a car he didn’t know very well.  His unfamiliarity with the RSX-S saw him qualify an uncharacteristic 23rd.  On Lap 62, Travis Walker had the #76 RSX-S runnng in ninth.  Following the #74 of Hopwood past the finish line, Travis Walker in the #76 finished sixth.

Kenny Wilden has as many more competitive laps around Mosport than most professional racers.  During practice Ken was in the top five driving faster laps that Burrows.  The #73 TSX would be in good hands, but would start the race in 26th.  Contact at the beginning of the race would break a rim and affect the car’s handling.  Ken Wilden ended up finishing eighteenth in the #73 at his home track.

By not penalizing the cars who pitted out of sequence, the officials put a large part of the field down a lap early in the race.  A fifth and a sixth did not make up for the team’s destroyed TSX.  Karl’s familiarity of the track would have likely seen the #76 RSX-X on the podium.  Scott Maxwell went on to win Mosport overall that weekend with muted delight from Karl.

(2008 Mosport International Raceway Results and Blog)

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (June 20 – 22, 2008)

The team made their way to Mid-Ohio seemingly losing a car every race weekend.  Mid-Ohio would be kinder perhaps and it would be, somewhat.  It only claimed a few engines and clutches before the start of the race.  Being a Street Tuner only race this year, a field count of 46 cars took the grid for the race.

Kevin York was now driving a Fountain Motorsports BMW with Compass360 Racing and GoEnzo.com livery.  The BMW took on the #75 keeping it in contention for the Team Championship.  However, the u-joint and transmission gave out on the BMW on the pace lap ending Kevin’s race before it began.  The season was not being kind to Kevin.  Thankfully, the book was selling well, thanks in part to his promotional efforts for GoEnzo.com.

Adam Burrows qualified the #74 TSX on the front row at Mid-Ohio.  Keeping his qualifying pace, Adam kept the TSX in second for his stint. After the driver change on Lap 24, Hopwood received some unwanted television coverage. The left rear wheel on the #74 became suddenly dislodged from the car.  This would cause the entire rear hub to be launched into the nearby forest. Trevor was able to bring the car safely back to the pits to affect repairs.

With the rear hub repaired, the #74 TSX returned to the track in last place.  Through rain and fierce competition, Trevor Burrows crossed the finish line in 29th.  This would hurt their championship season dropping them to tenth in points.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

(2008 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course #74 Blog)

Jeremy Willard was taking advantage of Mid-Ohio to continue to improve his familiarity with the TSX and road racing in general.  When a Mazda hit the #73 hard, the handling was severely affected.  Jeremy would spend the rest of the race driving and learning.  When the rain came down, Jeremy saw it as a perfect opportunity to learn more about “The Art Of Racing In The Rain” (another shameless plug I know ).  The #73 would eventually cross the line in 25th.  Jeremy was getting more confident racing the TSX every race.

Billy Johnson returned to take over from Travis Walker that weekend in the #76.  Travis had some off-track problems and needed to return to Toronto immediately.  With rain coming down, Christian turned the car over to Billy and some rain tires.  Billy proved that he was still very fast in an Acura running in fourth by Lap 43.  He secured a sixth place at the line.

With four consecutive sixth-place finishes, Christian Miller was continuing to do well in the championship. Karl’s sacrifice was paying off for the team.  He was patiently awaiting a new Honda Civic Si and a return to driving.

(2008 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Blog and Results)

Watkins Glen International (July 3 – 5, 2008)

The defending champs left for Watkins Glen still searching for their first win of the season.  From a qualified third, Adam Burrows started the race.  On Lap 10, Adam was leading the race.  Having brought the car into the lead, he turned the #74 over to Hopwood.  Trevor would hold off a determined Shane Lewis looking to make up for last years second place finish.  In a passing attempt, Shane would put his Accord (running its final race) into the gravel trap.  With mere laps to, Trevor was leading the field.  The #74 passed the finish line and gave the defending champions their first win ever in the series.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

(2008 Watkins Glen International #74 Blog)

Kevin again raced the #75 BMW having been repaired since the last race.  The rear-wheel BMW 330 was a totally different car than the TSX he had been racing prior to the Mosport accident.  He finished the race in 15th and more importantly in one piece.  This made Kevin’s pocket book much happier than recent races.

Christian Miller paired up with returning driver Beau Buisson.  Beau took on driving duties for a now departed Travis Walker.  Karl had also listed himself as a driver in the hopes of getting some racing laps in.  Christian and Beau finished 23rd and on the lead lap in a damaged #76 RSX-S.

During warmup, Kenny Wilden set the fifth fastest lap-time.  At one point, he was running as fast as third.  During the opening laps of the race, Jeremy would hit the tire wall and damage the right rear.  Twenty laps later, the #73 returned to the track out of contention.  The #73 of Wilden and Willard had another disappointing finish in 32nd.

(2008 Watkins Glen International Results)

This win made up for the three other team finishes.  The same Acura TSX had won The Glen in two consecutive years.  The win was also the first for Compass360 Racing without Karl at the wheel.  Karl had won five of the team’s six wins.  This was a surreal moment for Karl, who was reevaluating his role in the team.

The win at The Glen occurred during the Indy Racing League (IRL) weekend prompting additional team exposure.  Honda of America was once again impressed with Compass360 Racing and much paddock talk ensued.  They were very interested in Karl’s Honda program.

(2008 Watkins Glen International Blog)

Iowa Speedway (August 9 – 10, 2008)

The team left for Iowa fueled by their win at the Glen.  With his eye on the leaderboards, Karl shuffled the deck going into the race weekend.  Trevor and Adam would now be running in the #76 TSX.  Kenny Wilden was now running the #75 TSX.  The new Honda Civic Si was to make its debut that weekend.

Adam Burrows qualified the TSX in fourth.  Within a few laps, the #76 was up front racing for first.  Adam would hold onto second going into the driver change.  Trevor would experience a drive shaft failure thankfully not while on the oval.  The transition from the infield to the oval had taken its toll on the TSX.  It would DNF in seventeenth.

Christian Miller would spend the rest of the season in the new Honda.  The Honda Civic Si was experiencing teething problems early on.  A last minute adjustment had the Honda now racing as the #74. Perhaps Karl had something larger in mind with all the number changes.

A problematic driver change cost the #74 Civic two laps.  A frustrated Miller pushed the new Honda to its limits making up a lap.  Turning lap times faster than the leader, the new Civic finished its first race in eight.  Christian was very impressed with the new Honda platform.  He looked forward to fine-tuning the car over the rest of the season.

In his new TSX, Jeremy Willard qualified tenth in a testament driver coach and co-driver Kenny Wilden . Willard is an exceptional athlete with only six professional races to his credit, all with Compass360 Racing.  Clearly, he was getting comfortable with the TSX and learning fast.  In ninth, he came into the pits for a driver change.

(Karl’s Blog)

With Wilden now behind the wheel, the #75 TSX was in seventh.  The pain of past races pushed Kenny further up the leaderboard.  With the checkered in the mirror, Kenny and Willard defied all critics with their first podium finish.  The #75 finished a very satisfying third.  This was Jeremy’s first professional racing podium in only his sixth car race. Now bad for the rookie, not bad indeed.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

(2008 Iowa Speedway Results and Blog)

Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres (August 15 – 17, 2008)

The race in Trois-Rivieres was a family affair for Toronto-based Compass360/Racing.  Karl would have his wife and kids join him for the weekend.  The rest of the team would have family in tow as well.  The weekend is exceptional due to its passionate community and track-side culture.  This would make two events in a row that Compass360/Racing raced in front of over 10,000 racing fanatics.  It is no wonder that Compass360 Racing loves to race at this closed-street circuit.

(Karl’s Blog)

The defending champion would once again qualify on the outside pole.  Taking the lead early in the race, Hopwood turned the TSX over to Burrows.  This was a change in driving order for the teammates and it was showing dividends.  A ten-second lead evaporated with the raising of a yellow flag.  Adam Burrows would eventually win the race by over a second.  This was now two wins for the normally win-deprived Burrows and Hopwood.  Their decision to move to Compass360 Racing was proving wise.

Cristian Miller qualified the Honda thirteenth. Wilden qualified the TSX #75 in 17th.  Billy Johnson and Kevin York both returned to the team for the race.  Kevin started in 30th in the Acura RSX-S now sporting the #73. The significant changes in car number assignments would hopefully give the team its best changes for a championship.

At the drop of the green flag, Kevin York in the #73 RSX-S started tearing through the field. A short-stinting Kevin would hand the RSX-S over to Billy Johnson. Billy would continue the charge of the #73 RSX-S. While in racing in seventh, the car suffered a axle shaft failure and would DNF.  Their working strategy towards a podium finish was over.

Jeremy driving the #75 incurred a stop-an-go penalty for avoidable contact on Lap 12.  Christian, driving the Honda, was penalized five-seconds for blending the line coming out of the pits.  On Lap 36, Kenny started going slower and slower eventually retiring with a busted transmission.

Christian Miller secured yet another sixth place finish in the #74.  Billy and Kevin finished a distant 28th in their return.  After their success in Iowa, Kenny and Jeremy were once again finishing at the back in thirtieth.

With over thirty years of racing, the annual race weekend had seen its fair share of winners.  This year Compass360 Racing dominated the field and the #76 won the race.  Karl sat out yet another race weekend.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

(2008 Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres Results and Blog)

New Jersey Motorsports Park (August 29 – 31, 2008)

From Trois-Revieres to New Jersey, the team was back in the States.  Being a new track, over 70 cars showed up for the inaugural race.  During opening practice, the reigning champions looked to be out of a drive having blown the engine of their #76 TSX.  With hard work by the team, they were able to qualify for the race.  Starting in 25th, Hopwood was progressing through the field.

The #76 was assessed a stop-and-go penalty for jumping the restart while avoiding contact with another car. This was not the first time this happened to Trevor.  This was the same call and similar circumstances as Daytona.  Clearly, the officials were making a point.  Sadly, nobody really knew what it was.  Should you be penalized for not taking out the field on a restart?

The reigning champions used this frustration to their advantage.  Taking over the #76 TSX, Adam waited patiently for the last twenty minutes of the race to make his moves.  A trip through a cloud of dust would make racing interesting.  With a final burst of vengeance, the #76 crossed the line in seventh.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R)

Kevin York started the race and was running great times in the RSX-S.  The increasingly dirty track blew dust everywhere.  Grand-Am struggled to keep track of what was going on. Karl took over from Kevin and finished mid pack in nineteenth.  Wilden and Willard finished 27th in the #75 TSX.  After 16 laps, Christian Miller had the #74 Honda in the top five. The race went backwards from there.  The new Honda finished 33rd.

(2008 New Jersey Motorsports Park Results and Blog)

Since its inception in 1999, Grand-Am has been closely followed by NASCAR.  In Daytona, they share office space very close to each other.  I have gone to pick up my credentials only to be standing in line behind NASCAR Sprint Cup teams and drivers. Numerous NASCAR drivers have driven in Grand-Am over the years.  To celebrate almost a decade of success, NASCAR made a formal intent to acquire Grand-Am.  Karl and Compass360 Racing were now racing in a NASCAR series.  The NASCAR marketing budget could propel Grand-Am to even further heights.

(Karl’s Blog)

Inside Track Magazine featured Karl and Compass360 Racing in a two page spread in their September 2008 issue.  Karl’s branding efforts had already generated K&N magazine ads and local newspaper coverage.   Now a major racing magazine was interested in Karl’s efforts.  Karl started putting down hints to the future aspirations of Compass360 Racing.

Courtesy Compass360 Racing (C360R) – Click to Read Full Article

Still wearing his Compass360 Racing suit, Billy Johnson was tearing up the field in Grand Sport with another team.  He made impressions with his six lap back and forth battle with past-champion Craig Stanton in New Jersey.  Even the best BMW driver in North American Bill Auberlen was tired of seeing Billy’s bumpers.  I have respected Craig Stanton and Bill Auberlen’s racing talent for years now.  It was quite pleasant to see Billy taking it to some of my favourite drivers.  Billy would be on the podium in GS in the last three races.  The speed he showed with Compass360 Racing allowed him to move up in the ladder series.

The Honda Civic program was coming along nicely since its maiden crash.  So confident in the Honda, Karl planned on retiring the Acura TSX program at the end of this season.  However, the RSX-S showed Karl was always willing to reach back to drive the team forward.  The Compass360 Racing #76 was the most successful Acura TSX the series ever saw.  If he needed the points, he knew what he would go to in a clutch.  Going into Miller, the team would have two upgraded Acura TSX, a new engine in the RSX-S, and the Honda Civic Si still being tweeked.

(Karl’s Blog)

Miller Motorsports Park (September 19 – 21, 2008)

Trevor Hopwood qualified his TSX third at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.  At an altitude of 4400 feet, he would quickly fall prey to the forced induction cars.  Managing to keep the car in fifth, he turned the car over to Burrows.  Finding himself now further back after the driver change, Adam knew what direction he needed to go and fast.  With its aspirated engine, The #76 struggled to pass the faster cars going into the straights.  Adam would have to earn his spots by passing them in the corners.  Keeping momentum through the corners and making full use of the brakes, the #76 TSX crossed the finish line in sixth.

(2008 Miller Motorsports Park #76 Blog)

Jeremy started near the back in 27th. He had not yet mastered the art of qualifying. He clearly had learned though, how to race through the field.  He drove the #75 Acura swiftly up the field into seventh.  With Wilden now at the wheel, the car came in ninth.  This result was no small feat at this track.

After only 30 minutes of racing, the team changed drivers in the Honda and sent Christian out to challenge the field. The early driver change strategy may earn the Civic its first podium. Running in third for most of the race, the new Honda was seeing plenty of television coverage.  The aggressive fuel strategy was met however with aggression on the track. Contact from behind would send the #74 Civic backwards in the field to finish 22th.

Kevin York was also showing signs of race speed.  He recently rejoined the Speed Secrets coaching team.  Did Kevin finally figure out something he had missed with the RSX-S? He must have, as he ran the fastest lap time during the race.  The #73 RSX-S finished behind the team’s Honda Civic in 23rd.

(2008 Miller Motorsports Park Results)

Miller Motorsport Park clearly favoured the force-induction cars.  Grand-Am needed to consider competitive adjustments for future races.  Two top-ten finishes was the most Compass360 Racing could really hope for leaving Utah  For the fifth time in five races, Compass360 Racing brought in top points among all the Acura entrants.  Compass360 Racing had become the class of the Street Tuner paddock as far as Manufacturer’s were concerned.

(2008 Miller Motorsports Park Blog)

Bosch Engineering Twin Six Hours (October 3 – 5, 2008)

The Virginia race marked the return to competition by series driver Jason Workman.  Jason was involved in a freak accident while in an Ariel Atom the previous year (Top Gear Ariel Atom Review).  A gust of wind flung a 55 gallon anchoring bucket into open cockpit car and hit Jason firmly on the head.  Jason was in an induced coma for six week with possible brain damage.  Months of physical therapy would see him repair 16 broken bones with no signs of brain damage.  Jason was truly lucky to survive that day and it was a pleasure to see him racing a car again.

Ken Wilden in the #75 was the first to break the 2:12:00 lap time in practice at VIR.  Trevor Hopwood would follow suit in the #76.  The #74 driven by Beau Buisson was not far behind in speed.  All the TSX looked good during practice.

The #76 TSX qualified sixth.  The #74 Honda was further back in 21st.  Wilden and Willart qualified 29nd.  The #73 RSX-S was behind them in 30th.

Virgina was a split race.  The Street Tuner entries had the track to themselves. A total of 37 cars passed the green flag for this six hour race.

On Lap 4, Beau Buisson in the #74 would make contact with another car.  The contact must have affected the electronics as Beau shortly went behind the wall.  Beau later reported handling problems by Lap 10.  During his run, Beau had his share of offs and ons.  This was not the way to start a six hour race.

Adam Burrows was running in fifth.  A charging Jamie Holtom would pass both Adam and Karl taking away fourth. On Lap 30, Karl would pit out of sequence and be given a stop-and-go penalty.

Adam was pacing himself while trying to hold onto top five. He was not treated kindly in this quest and contact ensued. Trevor would take over from Adam on Lap 44.

Trevor was showing similar pace running back to fifth after the driver change.  A fight for third would emerge between Trevor Hopwood and Zach Arnold, who had raced with Compass360 Racing in the past.  Now in eighth and on Lap 83, Trevor would push forward to fifth by Lap 88.  Third pace quickly followed on Lap 92.

With Adam now driving in the #76, the car was still running in the top-five.  On Lap 108, Christian Miller served a collection of penalties dropping the #74 back.  A full course caution would come out on Lap 113.  Ken Wilden in the #75 was stopped in Turn 14.

On the restart, Adam Burrows took over the lead coming out of the first corners.  On Lap 132, a Cobalt would pass Adam for the lead.  One lap later, Adam would reclaim his spot at the front.  With the clock ticking down, Adam would lose first again.  He finish second after six hours of racing with Holtom in 3rd. This was hardly enough to keep Jamie from winning the Driver Championship.

The rest of the team didn’t finish as well as the championship hopefuls.  Miller in the #74 Honda finished 15th and three laps down.  Wilden and Willard would end their season in a familiar 27th.  The old RSX-S lasted 41 laps before saying enough.

(2008 Bosch Engineering Twin Six Hours Results and Blog)

2007 Season Enclosed Thoughts

The turbo-charged Cobalt of Jamie Holtom would be too much for the Acura TSX that year. Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood won twice with Compass360 Racing.  Two seemed to be the theme for Adam’s season.  Standing on the second step at VIR, Adam Burrows was also second in the Driver Championship.

Trevor Hopwood couldn’t share in the standings due to an official improperly attributing his points for his Trois Riviere win.  Bad officiating and cloudy regulations would again haunt Trevor’s 2008 season.  How can two drivers getting the same results all year not have the same points?  It turned out to be a matter of twenty seconds of missing seat time.

(Karl’s Blog)

In his debut season with the team, Christian Miller impressed everyone with his top ten standing.  He had a total of six top 10s in the season. What would the season have been like for Christian if he had some car and Co-Driver stability .  With a partial season feeling out the Honda Civic Si, Christian and Compass360 Racing were feeling out 2009.

(Karl’s Blog)

Compass360 Racing would earn second in the Team Championship. Karl having hardly raced all year would rank a distant sixtieth in the Driver Championship have finished second the year before. The destroyed Honda and Travis’ departure affected so many decisions that year. A year showing such promise ended yet again with second place results.

(Standings – Driver Points 2008)

2008 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge Trophies and Contributions

• 2nd in Driver Championship – C360R Driver Adam Burrows
• 2nd in Team Championship – Compass360 Racing (C360R)
• Wins – Watkins Glen International – Long Course, Circuit Trois-Rivières

The story of Karl’s quest continues in 2009 – A True Champion and Brand Leader.

2009 – A True Champion and Brand Leader

]]> http://rlavigne42.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/a-brand-and-a-dream-a-hard-fought-year-2007-grand-am-koni-sports-car-challenge/ Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:06:15 +0000 rlavigne42 http://rlavigne42.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/a-brand-and-a-dream-a-hard-fought-year-2007-grand-am-koni-sports-car-challenge/

I hope you all enjoy this recounting of Karl’s hunt for that elusive professional racing championship.  If you enjoy this telling tale of a brand and a dream, please rate/comment and pay it forward by sharing it.

My Thoughts Enclosed…Rb

2003 – The Birth of a Brand

2004 – The Up-Start Crew

2005 – Building Upon a Dream

2006 – A Partnership of Sorts

2007 – A Hard Fought Year

2007 would mark a breakout year for Compass360 now running under the banner Kensai Racing with Compass360/Racing. The racing season started off with the announcement of an extended partnership between the two teams. Skunk2 engineering would provide the engines and mechanical backbone to their Acura program.

Karl had found his ultimate Crew Chief in Ray Lee and he wanted to build upon that foundation. Together, they would be fielding two new Acura TSX with last years RSX-S making a return appearance. Having helped Acura win the Manufacturer’s Championship and showing much promise in 2006, they set their goals high for the year.

Karl paired up with Billy Johnson in the #76 for a full season schedule. This brought Karl his much sought after consistency with his weekend pairing. Travis Walker continued to run the #75 and was joined by equally fast Beau Buisson. Last year’s RSX-S would now sport the #74 with rookie Matt Pritiko at the wheel.

Matt Pritiko is a World Karting Association Champion.  Matt was part of Ron Fellows’ Team Sunoco Ultra 94 Formula 2000 team in 2005.   Finishing second in the Championship he turned to Touring cars and Compass360 Racing to further his career.  Prior to his race at Daytona, he never raced a closed cockpit race car.

The series saw a name change to the KONI Challenge. Despite the name change, it was still run by Grand-Am and sanctioned indirectly by NASCAR.

Fresh from Florida 200 (January 25 – 26, 2007)

As with every year, the series kicked off supporting the Rolex 24 at Daytona. I made my way down to Daytona looking forward to seeing the new cars and the improved driver lineup challenge the field. Daytona was never kind to Karl and after missing last year, he was looking forward to seeing the green flag. I was very fortunate to spend the race in the pits with the team. Watching a race unfold surrounded by the energy of the team beats watching from the grounds anyday.

Qualifying saw Beau Buisson land pole position in the #75. With much fanfare, Karl qualified the #76 in second spot. Kensai Racing with Compass360 would be starting the race on the front row. Matt Pritiko found himself in twelfth in the RSX-S in his debut race.

Sadly, as is the case with Daytona and Karl, a front row start was not to be. Post qualifying inspection would send him to the back of the field due to an infraction on the trunk lid of his #76. He would once again start Daytona from the rear of the field.

This was starting to be a recurring situation for Karl and he was getting tired of it. Karl had learned over the years to take the fight to the track and not with the race officials. After the first hour, Karl had brought the #76 from last to third with Beau still leading the field.

Matt in the RSX-S showed increased familiarity with the car and brought the car up to fifth. However, numerous race contacts would see him lose ground going into the driver changes.

With Travis and Billy now driving the #75 and #76, we witnessed a spectacular four way fight at the front of the pack for the lead. This great battle made for great TV coverage and Speed TV did not disappoint with their coverage of the teams cars. Karl’s branding efforts for Compass360 was starting to see some serious television exposure. Such aggressive battles tend to leave the cars the worse for wear.

With only three laps to go, Travis Walker in the #75 experienced a race ending drive shaft failure. The pain on Travis’ face was clear to see as he was forced to watch his teammates battle for the lead from the pits. Travis had seen numerous missed opportunities disappear due to mechanical issues with Kensai Racing and this was starting to take its toll on him. When a teammate DNF so close to a podium, it leaves the entire team feeling their pain. As I was consoling Travis, the team had to stay focused on the real story of the day.

Billy was behind the wheel of the #76 and Karl was chewing his nails in the pits. The laps drew to a close and the checkered flag was being shown. Normally, this would see the team start to pack up their gear and make their way back to the garage. However, Daytona decided that day to reward Karl for all his hard work since 2003. Billy Johnson would take the checkered flag in first place with less than a second separating first, second and third. Karl not only got to reach the podium at Daytona, but would be standing on its figurative top step.

Seeing Karl on the podium of Daytona was an emotional moment for me and without a doubt for him as well. I had seen Karl fail to start 2003, trying valiantly in 2004, and failing to race in 2005. Seeing someone achieve their dream finish at Daytona is quite rewarding. I was glad I was there to see it having missed his first win at VIR.

Karl fully immersed himself in the moment and flung a flurry of podium hats to the crowd in celebration. Getting to watch Karl being interviewed in the same media room as past Daytona winners was a surreal experience. Last year’s RSX-S finished nineteenth. The #75 finished a heartbreaking 24th.

(2007 Fresh from Florida 200 Results)

Homestead-Miami Speedway (April 13 – 14, 2007)

Homestead saw rookie Matt Pritiko beat out the two Kensai Racing TSX in qualifying with a stunning 10th place in his RSX-S. In an early driver change, Karl passed the driving duties over to Billy in the #76. Billy brought the car up to second going into their final fuel stop. Travis, now driving the #75, was leading the race much to his joy. However, contact would see his tire deflate leaving him stranded on the track unable to finish yet again. The #75 would register a 21st and Travis would once again feel the pain of mechanical woes. Contact by another car caused the #74 RSX-S to struggle, but finish an impressive 9th. Karl and Billy left Miami still leading the championship having finished 4th.

(2007 Homestead-Miami Speedway Results)

Away from the race track, Karl won the Ontario Indoor Karting Championship. Karl had also won the series back in 2006 and was a constant presence in the series history. The karting also brought the addition of “racing in the dark” events much to the delight of the drivers. I have only karted in the dark once and it was quite a memorable experience.

Karl was now off to Iowa with over 10,000 fans gracing the stands. The team would be hounded at the hotel for autographs.

The cars showed promise in practice and Travis qualified the #75 second. Karl and Matt qualified twelfth and thirteenth respectively in the #76 and #74.

In the first corner, Travis was taken out of the race by an overzealous driver trying to pass seemingly the entire field. Another great race for Travis ended with in another DNF (24th).

Still in Homestead, Karl found himself dealing with a deteriorating driveshaft, which explained his lackluster qualifying attempt. With Billy now behind the wheel of the #76, the car soldiered on cautiously to finish ninth.

Iowa Speedway (April 20 – 22, 2007)

Matt was showing his improved skill in the #74 RSX-S by having the car in fourth. Sadly, additional mechanical problems led it to fall down to eighteenth by the end of the race. That weekend, Karl lost his lead in the championship.

(2007 Iowa Speedway Results)

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (May 17 – 20, 2007)

A trip to Laguna Seca clearly would make up for Iowa. With track specialist Billy Johnson behind the wheel, nothing would stop Karl and the #76. Handing over the car in seventh to Billy, the #76 made good use of Billy’s knowledge of the track. Billy is also a Skip Barber instructor at the track and the ease at which he navigates the track is a sight to see.

With a strategy that put them very low on fuel at the end of the race, Billy was balancing aggression with conservation. With second and third on his heels, Billy crossed the finish line first earning Karl his second victory of the season.

Matt took the #74 RSX-S from seventeenth at the driver change to a well deserved 9th. The #74 finished 17th with Taz Harvey filling in for Travis Walker. Travis’ frustration with reliability issues led to him moving to Blackforest Motorsports to drive their #5 Mustang.

(2007 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Results)

Lime Rock Park (May 25 – 28, 2007)

With a victory at Laguna Seca, the team made their way to Lime Rock with high hopes. Qualifying would see one of the teams worse outings much to the surprise of the team.

The #75 qualified a team leading fourteenth. Karl in the #76 put the other TSX in seventeenth. Last years RSX-S was a distant 21st. This dismal qualifying session followed them throughout the race weekend.

Lime Rock would not be kind to the two Acura TSX. Early driver changes for both the #76 and the #75 had the two cars racing each other for position. With close quarters bringing close calls, the two TSX made contact with each other. This would lead to the #75 ending the race with a damaged radiator (27th). The contact also led later to an overheating engine in the #76 due to a cracked header.

This marked Karl’s first DNF (21st) of the season in the #76. Rookie Matt Pritiko continued to show promise during the race by finishing eight.

(2007 Lime Rock Park Results)

Mosport International Raceway (June 15 – 17, 2009)

With the disappointment of Lime Rock behind them, the team traveled back to their home track Mosport.  Karl had performed numerous laps around Mosport.

I was unable to attend the race that weekend. I did however drop by on the way to Ottawa on the Friday. It is quite a shame really as Karl and Mosport work so well together. The Toronto Star shared my insight and wrote an article on Karl and Compass360.

With the championship taking form at the midway mark, it looked like it would come down to a close fight between Karl and Billy in the #76 and Trevor Hopwood and Adam Burrows in last years championship winning Turner Motorsports. Mosport would prove how true this was to become.

Karl would bring in the #76 for a driver change in fifth. An off, in world famous Corner Two, by Billy would see him fall back to fifteenth during the race.

With passion in his eyes, Billy would overtake one car followed by another until he was in second. With a last lap pass, Billy Johnson overtook Trevor Hopwood for first. This would give Karl and Billy their third win of the year. This put them within one point of the championship lead.

Beau Buisson in the #75 finally finished a race with the team in fifth. This was admirable considering the car had a major accident in practice requiring quite a bit of repair.

Matt and Dave Ciekiewicz would pilot the #74 RSX-S to eleventh after a green flagged pitstop. The weekend would mark all three Kensai Racing with Compass360 cars finishing the race for the first time this season.

(2007 Mosport International Raceway Results)

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (June 21 – 24, 2007)

The racing gods must have been vexed with Kensai Racing with Compass360 recent success going into Mid-Ohio. The weekend started well with the #75 qualifying on the front row and the #76 of Karl in sixth. The RSX-S however qualified at the back of the field in 22nd.

Very quickly the #75 took the lead with both the #76 and the #74 making up ground. Going into the keyhole, Karl was squeezed off track by another car and ran afoul of the #95 BMW.  Contact between the two championship rivals would see Karl’s suspension collapse on impact. After much work on the part of the team, Billy was sent out with a misaligned #76 to secure valuable championship points. While in 29th, a failed driveshaft ended the weekend for Karl.

David would bring the RSX-S from the back to seventh going into his driver change. Matt got tangled with another car later in the race and would slam the tire wall ending the race in 31st.

Beau in the #75 was involved with a Roar Racing RX-8 in the carousel causing damage to the front left hub. After forging on, the #75 finally failed on Lap 54 finishing 28th.

From zero DNF in the last race to three DNF, the team was happy to see Mid-Ohio in their rear view mirror.  The anger of Mid-Ohio would be wrought upon Watkins Glen.

(2007 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Results)

Watkins Glen International (July 6 – 7, 2007)

After their collision at Mid-Ohio, the race would see Turner Motorsports and Karl fighting for every corner. Billy once again performed a last lap pass for the lead. A fourth win in one season showed the racing community a much improved team. Watkins Glen saw Karl and the team retake the championship lead.

Matt brought the #74 up to fourth when the car started to lose horsepower. His Co-Driver for the weekend would manage to keep the car in the top ten with a ninth.

Another front row start by the #75 would see the TSX be pulled mid-race with a failing engine giving it an eighteenth.

(2007 Watkins Glen International Results)

Barber Motorsports Park (July 19 – 22, 2007)

A trip south to Alabama would start badly and end with the team scrambling again for the championship lead. In practice at Barber, Karl hit the wall missing out on valuable setup time. An all green-flag race would make Karl thirteenth qualifying position problematic.

Billy was up to the challenge and was outpacing the leaders in his hunt for much needed points. Billy would almost reach sixth, but would have to settle for seventh. This was no small feat seeing Billy was also racing in another car that same weekend.

Beau Buisson in the #75 finished ninth. Matt who had outqualified both TSX brought the car up to third going into the driver change. However, Matt would have to settle for 12th when the race was over.

(2007 Barber Motorsports Park Results)

Le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres (August 17 – 19, 2007)

Trois Rivieres is a special track for both Kensai Racing and Compass360. It is considered the teams second home track. Karl was now also sporting a new orange on black livery on the #76 giving hint to next year’s plans. Karl and the team headed into the race weekend with the goal of reclaiming their lead in the championship.

Benoit Theetge, a local favourite, qualified the #75 TSX fourth. Karl again qualified the #76 thirteenth with only one second effectively separating the top 15 cars, which happened to be the #74.

The championship rivals fought pace for pace and strategy for strategy that weekend. Karl however would edge them out by finishing second. This was not enough to reclaim the championship lead.

Matt continued to impress in his rookie season by earning 4th. A broken rear hub would see the #75 end the race missing a wheel in thirteenth.

(2007 Le Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres Results)

Miller Motorsports Park (September 12 – 15 , 2007)

With only two races left in the season and four points behind Turner Motorsports, the team headed to Miller Motorsport Park. The higher altitude of Utah always prove difficult when tuning normally aspirated race cars. The very long 23 corner track tends to reward turbos and superchargers. The cars would qualify surprisingly well with the #75 fourth, the #76 fifth, and the #74 eight.

With a failed ABS, Karl would pit early turning the car over to Billy. Matt in the #74 would DNF with another broken drive shaft (24th). Billy would spend the race hounding Hopwood in the #95 Turner BMW. By running a different strategy, the #75 led for a lap going into a caution. With a last dash of fuel, the #76 and the #95 returned to the track seconds apart. The race ended with Johnson in seventh just behind their championship rivals. The #75 would be in eight with the RSX-S ending in 24th with another failed drive shaft.

(2007 Miller Motorsports Park Results)

VIR Twin 6 Hour Enduros (October 5 – 7, 2007)

Trailing the driver’s championship by only five points, Karl had much on his mind. VIR had shown him a great weekend with his first professional win. It also suffered him horrible weekends. What kind on weekend did VIR have in mind for Kensai Racing with Compass360.

Daytona had been finally conquered. Both drivers won their home tracks (Laguna Seca and Mosport). Even The Glen bowed down to the #76 of Karl Thomson and Billy Johnson. Yet as racing luck would leave it, they were still the underdogs of the championships going into the series finale at VIR.

Billy was running second at the beginning of the race. The #76 started dropping fluid and put it back. Adam Burrows, in the #95, was now running fifth position with Billy in front of him. The RSX-S pulled off course while leading the race. Billy was now in fifth with the #95 in third. A rare mistake by Burrows allowed Billy to pass him for fourth. Billy was now spraying fuel onto the windshield of the #95. The team begged their case for an overflow and a black flag was avoided.

Aaron Povoledo reported that the #74 could no longer can turn right, while on a caution lap. On Lap 39, Billy took charge for the lead. Guy Cosmo proceeded to take it right back. Shane Lewis storming from the back past both of them. With some repairs, the RSX-S returned from the pits only to drop fuel on the track.

Lap 55 saw both teams make driver changes putting Karl in the #76. The #69 Mazda made contact with Karl at the two and half hour mark. With the Turner BMW now in first and Karl in third, the hunt for the championship would have to be earned lap for lap. After 100 laps of racing, the #75 was leading the race with the Turner car in second. The #95 was now followed by Matt Plumb now racing the #76. Two laps later, Matt would be in the pits with a leaking brake system.

After six laps of repairs, Billy returned to the track in seventh. The #75 was still leading the race at the hands of Beau Buisson. The #74 was still suffering from fuel leakage and spent more time in the pits. The Turner BMW started falling backwards in the field. Things were looking up for the #76 now in fourteenth.

The six hour race came to an end and so did Karl’s quest for the championship. Karl and the #76 TSX would end the race in twelfth  The #95 fought back to finish the year on the podium in third.

The #75 would cross the line in seventh having fought all year for respect.The tired RSX-S would end the race in 23rd. Perhaps to old for its young aspiring driver lineup. The #74 saw quite the rookie talent behind the wheel that year.

(2007 VIR Twin 6 Hour Enduros Results)

2006 Season Enclosed Thoughts

Early contact with aggressive drivers early in the season would hurt Karl the most that year.  Mid-Ohio would prove to be the point of no return for his quest for a championship. The track schedule favoured the front-wheeled Acura early in the season. The second half of the season would reward the rear-wheeled BMW.  Sixteen points defined the season.

Adam Burrows and Trevor Hopwood were crowned the 2007 Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series Driver Co-Champions. Turner Motorsport won the Team Championship. Karl and Billy’s wins would bring Acura yet another Manufacturer’s Championship.

That year, Karl Thomson and Billy Johnson won more races than any other duo or team in the series. Yet, their valiant wins were not enough to secure the championship. Only sixteen points Karl wanted the top podiums at the races and at the banquet. He had to feel somewhat compensated securing second in the Championship in only his three full season of competition.

Of equal note, the manufacturers had to thank Karl for three back to back championships years (2005 BMW, 2006 Acura, 2007 Acura). In Las Vegas for the Banquet, a particular manufacturer would listen more attentively to Karl.

(Standings – Driver Points 2007)

2007 Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge Trophies and Contributions

• 2nd in Driver Championship – C360R Drivers Karl Thomson and Billy Johnson
• 2nd in Team Championship – Kensai Racing with Compass360
• Manufacturer’s Championship – Acura
• Wins – Daytona International Speedway, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Mosport International Raceway, Watkins Glen International – Long Course

The story of Karl’s quest continues in 2008 – A Change of Focus.

2008 – A Change of Focus

My huge thanks to Kensai Racing with Compass360 driver Beau Buisson for editing and uploading the above race footage onto YouTube (please thank him by subscribing).

Rainbow Falls, Watkins Glen SP, NY

I just returned from a very short visit to New York’s Finger Lakes region (I had a doctor’s appointment down there and it seemed like a good opportunity to visit a few of the outstanding state parks in the area).  We managed to “hit” Taughannock Falls, Buttermilk Falls, Robert Treman, and Watkins Glen state parks.  In case I haven’t mentioned it recently, these places are under-advertised and under-appreciated within the state.  On any given day, you’re more likely to see people who don’t live in NY than people who do.  That’s too bad, because some of them are real gems.

But I digress.  What I really wanted to comment on concerns one of the strengths, I think, of the Canon 5D Mark II.  And that is it’s performance at high ISO’s.  I am genuinely impressed, to put it mildly.

The image above was taken at one of my favorite spots in Watkins Glen SP called Rainbow Falls.   I’ve posted images of it previously as well, so forgive me if this looks very familiar.

On this particular visit, however, I was unable to use my tripod (I need an L – bracket that fits the battery grip for the 5D MK II  – the bracket on the old 5D doesn’t fit).  Anyway, it meant that everything would be “handheld”.  Which further meant that I needed exposure times that were at least 1/20 second for the lens I was using.  Well, for spots like this one that include deep shadows, the only hope was to use a high ISO.

For this image, that meant going to ISO 3200.  On my old 5D, I’d tried 3200 a couple of times but always had to deal with at least a little noise, especially in the shadows.  So I was a little nervous about pushing it that much, but I really had no choice.

I can find no noise in this photograph.  None.  I’ve looked at it at the pixel level and I’ve printed it.  There just isn’t any there.  As I said, I’m really, really impressed.

Actually, I’ve made very few adjustments to this image.  I added a little “fill light” to unblock some of the deep shadows and I pushed the “clarity” slider just a bit, but little else.  I made no contrast adjustments, no luminosity adjustments, and no saturation adjustments.  Fundamentally, it’s what came out of the camera.

Have I mentioned that I’m impressed?

Friend of ours showing how it’s done at Watkins Glen. Nice driving!

- Gyro

Some friends came to visit, so I took them to the mystical Watkins Glen waterfalls, and couldn’t resist snapping a few awe of nature shots. It’s always impossibly dark in there, so it was a bit of a challenge, but here’s one of the better results.

Photographed by omniNate

#137 – 1965 Shelby GT350 (295cid)
Chuck Bentley
Dayville, CT

– License

I took my first trip to Watkins Glen today.  I did not quite know what to expect, but thought my monopod and grip head would come in handy.  I had my 5D with a 24-105mm f4 lens, and my G10, as well as plenty of SD and CF cards.

As we started up the canyon, it started getting dark pretty quickly.  I was glad I had my monopod/walking stick.  (This is a custom made walnut walking stick with a threaded head that will accept a tripod head.)  When using a walking stick or mono pod, make sure the foot of it has a solid place to rest.  Then, placing your feet far apart, lean into it so your body and the monopod create a tripod.  This will provide for a solid footing.

At ISO 320, it was dark enough at f11 to get a slow enough speed to blur the motion of the water.  (The next time I go, I am taking a tripod, and my 15mm lens.  24mm (full frame, true 24mm) was just too narrow of a view for many parts of the canyon.) 

Here are some samples:

(If you are wondering about this last one, it is the backside of Rainbow Falls.)

I will be conducting some workshops with trips to Watkins Glen.  If that is of interest, let me know and I will inform you of the dates and times.

I took my old friend Paul to Watkins Glen.  I had never been and we had been looking for an excuse to go hiking.

Watkins Glen is south-east of here about a 90 minute drive.  It is at the south end of Seneca Lake.  The drive from here to there is absolutely beautiful.  You drive through farm country and grape vineyards.  It makes Napa Valley, California, look small.

Vineyards Above Seneca Lake

We arrived at Watkins Glen, and right there in the parking lot, you see the start of this wonderful canyon.

Excited to Start Hiking

It was a fun hike, and I can hardly wait to return when all the leaves have changed colors.

I’ll post more photos on my photo blog, along with some tips about Watkins Glen photography.  http://dbwalton.wordpress.com

Wow.  I guess you don’t realize how much you really get done over the weekend until you don’t do anything for a weekend.  I plan on putting out a couple of posts about my trip to Farm Sanctuary, but for today, lets just focus on the beauty of the area with pictures from Watkins Glen State Park.  Enjoy!

So we took a two day mini road trip up to New York on our way to Boston to move me in. We visited a few state parks/waterfalls and found out that the roads in New York severely hate us.
After many detours, some signed, some unsigned, and a blocked road or ten we made it to Watkins Glen State Park.

The front of the Park.
Through a little cave,up some stairs and across a bridge.

The first waterfall right after the bridge

Some stairs

Some flowers

Tallest waterfall in the park

You could walk under it

More stairs

Scott watching the water

This was one of the smaller falls there but I think it was one of my favorites, I want to climb over and sit on the rocks there.

More Stairs. I think in the whole two days we climbed up 800 stairs and then back down those same 800 stairs. It was insane.

Near the front

More photos of our road trip will be posted soon

Sick goat found wandering around NYC’s Bronx

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — It’s another case of the wandering goat in New York City.

Officials say an emaciated-looking Nubian goat wandered onto the property of a nursing home in the Bronx, where two other goats were discovered in July.

Animal shelter officials said the male goat was found Tuesday. He was feverish and suffering from pneumonia.

He has joined the other two goats, nicknamed Duncan and Isadora, at the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Animal Care and Control spokesman Richard Gentles speculates the animals could have escaped from someone’s backyard, a farm or market where they would have been slaughtered for meat.

Source

I love Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen. I brought busloads of kids there when I worked at Cornell University, both my own age and high schoolers, volunteered there with my partner, and know that those visits have played a pivotal role in my veganism going from something I was “trying out” to something I can’t wait to teach to my future children! There’s something special about meeting the animals that being vegan is benefiting. You can know abstractly that being vegan is helping, but it makes that benefit vastly more visible and real when you go and actually hang out with the chickens and cows and turkeys and pigs and other beautiful, sweet animals running around at Farm Sanctuary.

You can visit the Farm, and sponsor an animal or adopt one. On their website you can donate, find action alerts and volunteer opportunities, and get access to the many educational resources and factory farming photos and videos that they offer.

This goat pictured here is either Isadora or Duncan (I’m not sure who, sorry!), one of two goats who escaped from a live market in NYC. You can read their story here.

Anyone have a favorite memory from a visit to Farm Sanctuary, or an experience adopting or fostering? Please post a comment.

Cavern Falls in Watkins Glen SP, NY

The other day, while trying to read a book and watch some news at the same time (my version of multitasking), I heard some guy compare geologic epochs to human history.  The world’s natural history, of course, is divided into epochs or time periods  lasting millions of years each and characterized by differences in climate, life forms, and geologic activity.  Two of the more recent designations, for example, are the Paleozoic and Mesozoic periods. 

But the guy wasn’t talking about old rocks.  He was talking about us.  And one of the things that he said really caught my attention.  To paraphrase, he said that at some point in the future historians would look back at us and say, “oh yes, that was the tribal period” (the emphasis is mine).  That assumes, of course, that we survive as a species long enough for there to be future historians.

Honestly, I think the guy nailed it (I wish I remembered his name, but I don’t).  What passes for “discourse” these days is, in reality, nothing more than “tribal” conflict and posturing.  The notions of consensus and majority rule are fast becoming endangered species, soon to go the way of the dodo bird.  Everybody seems to have their own little niche, their own piece of turf that they seem willing to defend to the death.  Searching for common ground and compromise is dead – long live anarchy and the cult of “me”.

Even within the normally quiet, unprovocative, staid, laid back community of photographers – especially those with their own little bully pulpits – temperatures are rising.  The nasty side of politics (believe it or not, there is a “good” side) is making serious inroads.  If you don’t agree with what I say, I’ll simply resort to name calling and other means of character assassination.  I’ll verbally beat you to a bloody pulp for no other reason than “my dick is bigger than yours”.  Rational debate is for sissies and the weak minded.  If I’m the last dick standing (or shouting), then I win.

Now, most photographic blogs, at least the ones that I frequent, are not like this.  Most photographers that I know are not like this.  I’ve always thought that as a group, photographers were by and large intelligent, reflective, thoughtful, and verbally nonviolent.  As a group, we tend to be observers.  We see things and then we mull them over.  We explore different angles and different perspectives.  We  know that the world is not pure black or pure white.  Rather, it’s infinite shades of gray.  It’s nuanced.  It’s complex.  There is never just one “correct” point of view.

Of course, we all fall off the wagon from time to time.  None of us are immune to knee jerk reactions or allowing our mouths  to get way out in front of our brains.  Especially in today’s highly charged atmosphere.  We all say things we wish we could take back.  It’s part of being human.  But more than anyone else on the planet, I think, photographers are students.  The world is a classroom.  We are the ones who should be asking the questions, not pontificating.  If we already know all the answers, then what’s the point in using a camera at all?  There’s nothing left to learn.

We are often hard on Grand Am. We should be – Its a ridiculous series no one really asked for based on the 24 Hours of Daytona, which nobody goes to. But the racing does have its moments. One of those moments was this past weekend at Watkins Glen as a Friday support race for the Cup guys. Sure, no one turned out to watch what was a surprisingly good performance for the Krohn Lola (take that, Riley chassis!) as Ricardo Zonta yet again took home a W, but there were some really solid battles in GT and in the Daytona Prototypes alike. Also: Not too many ridiculous full course cautions! At least there’s an improvement there.

Seriously though, the decision to make this a DP/GT3 combined race was a huge benefit. Hopefully that continues next year.

Recapping the Sprint Cup Race

Michael Schlee

It was like taking all the presents out from under the tree on December 25th and putting them back in your closet. That is the closest way I can describe the crushing disappointment felt when a NASCAR race is called off due to rain roughly 2 minutes from the start. To further this disappointment, imagine being 5 hours from home and knowing that there is no way you can stay an extra day to watch the race Monday.

#88 National Guard Chevrolet

Well that is exactly what happened to several of us during the pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen. And judging by the number of solemn faces wearing NASCAR t-shirts I past by during my trip back to Canada, there were plenty.

I was at the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen this weekend. I was in my seat watching the pre race festivities when a very intense storm cell descended over the fans and started pandemonium. Luckily everyone cleared out before the heaviest of the rains came. Two hours later the official one day suspension of the race came and the unfortunate 9-5ers like me had to head home.

Storm Descending

Too bad because it was an amazing race.

The race was rescheduled for August 10, 2009 at noon EST. I was able to watch Tony Stewart in the #14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala SS win the race, albeit on television. He was able to get around Kyle Busch in the #18 M&Ms Toyota Camry on lap 67 and hold off a late charge by Saturday’s Nationwide winner Marcus Ambrose in the #47 Little Debbie/Kingsford/Clorox Toyota Camry.

The Canadians did not fair too well as Ron Fellows finished 29th in the #09 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming Chevrolet Impala SS after losing 6 laps in the garage for a broken starter. The other Canadian in the race was Patrick Carpentier subbing for Michael Waltrip in the #55 NAPA Toyota Camry. He had a few spins and wound up several laps down in 33rd position.

#55 NAPA Toyota

The biggest action of the day occurred on lap 62 when Sam Hornish Jr. and Kasey Kahne got together sending Hornish Jr into the wall hard. The impact caused Hornish Jr. to careen back onto the track right in front of Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon who hit him hard. All 3 vehicles were total wrecks and the race was red flagged for 20 minutes. Joey Logano and Andy Lally were also involved in the incident.

After Stewart and Ambrose, Carl Edwards in the #99 Aflac Ford Fusion came 3rd with Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle rounding out the top five.

Click here for the full details.

I think it was well worth the wait! The "Heluva Good! at The Glen" was a Heluva good race, even though most will not have seen it, because it was on TSN2, and also the terrible coverage by ESPN. Quite a few blogs were blasting off the screen with condemnation of the poor reporting, and total disregard for what was actually happening in the race! Even missing Marcos Ambrose last pit stop, after building him up, and having a half dozen cameras on the car. (Check comments on dalyplanet.blogspot.com and his COMMENT PAGE.)
The thing that will stick in the mind of most, aside from the coverage, was the vicious wrecks! I can’t remember when THAT MANY cars were tore up at a road course! I thought it was bad enough when Hornish got squeezed by Kasey, and hit the tire barrier a ton, but then he bounce back on the track, and Jeff had no where to go! And they never really covered the HIT that Jeff Burton took, hitting Jeff Gordon head on.
Of course, Kyle Busch was not satisfied with 4th, and had to whine about it! Kudos to Max Papis for a top 10 run in the Geico machine! Finally luck was on his side!
Atleast Marcos made it to the checkered flag in the Nationwide race! Even though Kyle didn’t like the PASS! Go figure!

Michigan next Sunday! See what the SHOOT OUT STYLE restarts do there!

I think it was well worth the wait! The "Heluva Good! at The Glen" was a Heluva good race, even though most will not have seen it, because it was on TSN2, and also the terrible coverage by ESPN. Quite a few blogs were blasting off the screen with condemnation of the poor reporting, and total disregard for what was actually happening in the race! Even missing Marcos Ambrose last pit stop, after building him up, and having a half dozen cameras on the car. (Check comments on dalyplanet.blogspot.com and his COMMENT PAGE.)
The thing that will stick in the mind of most, aside from the coverage, was the vicious wrecks! I can’t remember when THAT MANY cars were tore up at a road course! I thought it was bad enough when Hornish got squeezed by Kasey, and hit the tire barrier a ton, but then he bounce back on the track, and Jeff had no where to go! And they never really covered the HIT that Jeff Burton took, hitting Jeff Gordon head on.
Of course, Kyle Busch was not satisfied with 4th, and had to whine about it! Kudos to Max Papis for a top 10 run in the Geico machine! Finally luck was on his side!
Atleast Marcos made it to the checkered flag in the Nationwide race! Even though Kyle didn’t like the PASS! Go figure!

Michigan next Sunday! See what the SHOOT OUT STYLE restarts do there!

Gratuitous post here.

Yep, after a rain out on Sunday, my favorite race car driver, Tony Stewart, went on to win the Helluva Good at Watkins Glen on Monday!  I’m so happy!  I knew he would!

However, do the naysayers say, “Oh, Tony Stewart has this championship!  It’s his year!” 

No!  And that has me mad enough to spit nails.  Everyone has practically given it to Jimmie Johnson.

All I have to say is, “Tony Stewart, it is time to make them all liars.  Are you ready?”

So, they raced on Monday and we got a show. Tony Stewart wins yet another race on a road course, Marcos Ambrose makes me look pretty smart by finishing second, and good showings throughout much of the field by ringers (Max Papis) and regulars alike (Jimmy Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya).

Not a surprise: A big ‘ol wreck that collected pretty much everyone in its wake. Also not a surprise: Junior doesn’t manage the brakes and goes headlong into the wall in the last two corners. This weekend, its off to Michigan, who’s entry list is already up. Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte are looking for past champ provisionals, while Brad Keselowski looks to get back into Cup action.