10/4/2015
Cabot Bigham
The Real MVP: My Team
On the last weekend of September, I hit the track, specifically Sonoma Raceway. I was experiencing gearbox problems all day. No matter what the guys in the garage did, the gears did not want to shift at speed. Thanks to the fantastic feedback from Neil Alberico and the talent from Brent Katusha and Brian Keck, we had our issues resolved come session 3/4. I only had a total of 75 minutes in the car on Friday, which is far less than what I am accustomed to, but my team had me smiling all day. The positive vibe in the paddock took my mind off of this, and allowed me to focus strictly on making the car faster.
Saturday Race #1: I started the day off several tenths of a second ahead of my competitors. Despite this, I knew that come qualifying we would all be running very similar times. I tried not to let myself get too confident. I kept repeating, 'stay calm, be smooth and calm in the car'. Unfortunately I was just a little 'too calm' and under drove the car in qualifying. I had left lots of time out on track, and unfortunately my rolling lap was ruined by nobody other than myself. I misjudged the distance between the car in front of me and the apex of turn 11, causing me to catch lap traffic and slowing me down. I started third non-the-less, and after a very inspirational talk with my driver coach, Neil Alberico, the team was smiling and ready to continue on once again. Come the race, I gridded up in third place and when I saw the flagger I mashed the throttle. My car began to gain speed and right as I went to pull second gear, the motor started to blow up. For those who have never felt this, a blown motor feels sluggish and as you apply more throttle RPM drops more and more. I dropped back to fifth place and had to pit the next lap, which ended my race.
Sunday Race #2: After Saturday's unfortunate events, the team spent all night swapping motors. Huge thanks to Pickett Racing and Patrick O'Neil for lending me a spare motor. By 4:00am the motor was running and my team hit the sack for 3 hours. Morning warmup and qualifying were great, we were the fastest in both. Come the race I was ready for my shot at redemption, I saw the flagger twitch and before I knew it I was hauling into turn 2. The race was rather uneventful and I began to walk the competition. Hunter was close behind until he ran just a little too wide and dropped a tire. My left front became flat spotted around the half way point. Lack of braking efficiency slowed my lap times drastically, but I managed to build enough of a lead to take home the win.
Bottom Line: I could not have won on Sunday without the generous help from the racing community. Specifically those mentioned above: Brian Keck, Brent Katusha, Neil Alberico, Pickett Racing, Patrick O'Neil and many more. Now it is time to train for the season finale in Fontana, time to hit the banks!
-Cabot Bigham
Submitted By: Cabot Bigham
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