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den 9 juni 2004
The test
Dear friends,
Finally I made my way back to the drivers seat. It’s not as an easy thing as one might think. It was a lot of stuff that the team and myself had to do before a test could be executed.
For example we built a seat during the last week of the Indy 500 preparations. I also went through all the medical and physical tests and finally the insurance work so apart from being involved in the daily running on the track and playing a rock show on Carb Day, that week was pretty busy.
It’s an even bigger undertaking for the team since we did the test right after the Indy 500. All the team members had already been on the road for nearly a month straight.
So to say the least, all team members really worked hard to make it happen. However, I am pretty sure that it helped not only coming back from Indianapolis with all three cars intact but also with the biggest prize of them all, a victory in the Indy 500.
So speaking of that, first thing’s first.
It was a pretty interesting time for me being at a race not driving a car. I tried to bring some additional information to the team and drivers to consider in the daily running. I am not sure it helped that much but it was quite interesting looking in from the other side so to speak.
During the race my part definitely was over and I was helping out commentating the race on radio.
Suddenly it started to rain and the race got red flagged only 20 or so laps into it. I went to the motor home and sat there chatting with Dave Letterman. Nobody knew whether the race was going to continue that same day or not. But suddenly I heard engine noise and I said “you know I think they are going to go green again” and sure enough soon the race were on the way.
All three cars ran very competitive and any one of them was fast enough to be up front but as always, only one had all the pieces fall into place. This year is was Buddy Rice’s day and I feel very happy for him and the team to be able to pull it off. The month could not have gone much better for the team and drivers, pole, pit stop competition champions, victory in the race and all three cars in the top ten.
Now of course Buddy is on the national tour of PR so I am sure he will be pretty tired by the time Texas comes around this weekend so maybe Vitor Meira can take advantage of that. One thing for sure is that the cars are really good so I expect them to be somewhere near the front.
When we got home last week we finalized the cockpit on my car and then we went to the most physically challenging track we race on, Richmond, Virginia for a scheduled test Friday the 4th of June.
At speed a driver is exposed to side-forces of over 5 g’s through the corners there, and there are no real straightaway to get any rest. Just to steer the car feels like driving a truck without power steering. Add to that the g-forces, and you have yourself quite a torture chamber. You can argue why go to such a track when driving the car for the first time in 7 month after such an accident. Well, we could have gone to another track that’s physically easier but I think its best to expose yourself to the toughest possible situation to really find out how your condition is.
Of course it rained all day and all night Friday so to run was impossible.
I spent the whole Friday in my hotel room at a nice quiet little resort just outside Richmond. I had a lot of time alone and I could not help to think about what I was going to find out about myself when the rain stopped.
I will admit that I was a little apprehensive about the test. “How will I feel when I am in the car, will my body have any recollections about the accident that all of a sudden pops up, will I even remember where all switches are inside the car and what they do, and most of all will I be able to go fast?”
In the end I concluded, “what will be will be.”
As it turned out, none of this was an issue.
Saturday morning it had stopped raining and I got in the car.
Within 25 laps I was faster than I qualified last year. Within the next hour and a half I set a time that was only about 1 tenth slower than the fastest ever lap around the track. We were very happy with this performance to say the least. The car is obviously very good, as we’ve seen in many races this year. We only made two chock changes before being happy with the balance and that’s unusual when going to a track for the first time with a new car.
In fact I am pretty sure we could have improved the time even more.
The challenge was that after 160, or so, laps I was quite tired in my shoulders and arms and therefore we decided to stop early. But the team and myself already had the answers we were looking for from this test. Behind the wheel it seems I am back to normal.
Now the next step is that I have to feel that my body is “race-ready” for every situation. This includes being able to withstand the substantial forces that occurs in normal oval racing incidents, because its not a question if, it’s a matter of when you will hit the wall when you race hard wheel to wheel, thousands of laps each season. You simply have to be prepared finding yourself in that situation a couple of times a year.
I do believe that the chance to have another accident like the one I had in October is very small. But still, because of the nature of this type of racing, with no run off areas and really high speeds, even a “normal” accident will expose the driver of very violent forces.
In the past I’ve always felt like a “cat” in this regard. Throw me out of a window from the third floor and I have a good chance of making it, because I am strong and limber enough in my body and will land on my feet. Right now I don’t feel my back and ankles are quite there yet.
Will they ever be? I don’t know, but not until I feel they are am I ready to race this type of racing.
The plan for the near future is to continue workouts and try to improve these areas and then evaluate again in due time.
This does not mean I will go on vacation. I still will be closely involved in the team and be at most tests and races.
My Rock band also has a few shows booked throughout the summer in various states, and we are going in a studio to record some of our own stuff in the next three weeks.
I am also sure Karma will keep me busy. She is growing and wants to play more and more.
Talk to you soon,
Kenny
kennybrack.com
KB
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