Jack Roush to drive at VIR

[Roger Davis]

Jack Roush JR. that is.

Jack Roush, Jr. to make sports car debut at VIR in - what else? - a Mustang
The Associated Press
Jack Roush, Jr., is getting ready to take a big step in his racing career, moving up to a Grand-Am Cup Series car for the six-hour season finale Saturday at Virginia International Raceway.

The 33-year-old son of NASCAR team owner Jack Roush will make his sports car debut in a Ford Mustang co-driven by Dean Martin and Ray Mason, a pair of Grand-Am veterans. The younger Roush said he plans to use this event to gain experience for a full-time ride in the Grand American Road Racing Association in 2007.

“I am really nervous and really excited at the same time about this race” Roush said. “I don’t quite know what to expect, but I do know that (road racing) is something that I have really wanted to do for a while now. So this is sort of the fulfillment of a dream.”

Roush has extensive experience in go-karts, where he used to race against his father, and also has competed in drag racing.

In preparation for Saturday, Roush has participated in a couple of test sessions at VIR, including one working with road racing ace Boris Said.

“I have a ton of experience in driving a light kart through the turns, but that is very different than taking a nose-heavy Mustang out on a road course,” Roush said. “Boris helped me to learn the correct ways to enter and exit the turns, braking points, throttle control and so much more.

“Our few hours together were incredibly valuable and I will be thinking about all the things he taught me the entire time I am behind the wheel during the race.”:bowdown:

 

[ShelbyGuy]

Wasnt he just at Gingerman with us??

 

[r82of250]

Nothin' like have Boris Said as your instructor!!

 

[BlackBolt9]

Wasnt he just at Gingerman with us??

Yeah he ran in the AV8SS race. Placed 4th in the first heat and 2nd in the second heat getting 3rd overall I believe. Our very own Bruce Almighty placed 2nd and 3rd respectively so he beat out JRJ for 2nd overall IIRC.

:rockon:

 

[Flying Fred]

The race Roger refers to was already run last Saturday. They finished 16th - weather was pretty lousy all weekend.

And yes, Jack Jr drove at Gingerman. I had a chance to drive the car he used (#52). It is set up well, but does not have more power nor necessarily handle better than Bruce's. Therefore I suggest avoiding invalid "comparison comments" based on result finishes.

 

[ac427cobra]

The race Roger refers to was already run last Saturday. They finished 16th - weather was pretty lousy all weekend.

And yes, Jack Jr drove at Gingerman. I had a chance to drive the car he used (#52). It is set up well, but does not have more power nor necessarily handle better than Bruce's. Therefore I suggest avoiding invalid "comparison comments" based on result finishes.

In all fairness to Jack Jr. I believe it was his first time at the track. I have been there several times. So yes, I was cheating! ;-)

Jack's qualifying time on Saturday was 1:35:3 and his best lap in race one was 1:33:7. His best lap in race two was 1:32:6. So you can see he was improving immensely as his seat time at the track increased. Probably also due to his comfort level in the car.

Gingerman IMHO is kind of a tricky track to get a good handle on the line?

It was definitely a learning experience for me.

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

 

[Flying Fred]

Excellent comments Bruce and I agree that Jack improved throughout the weekend.

I admit I am reading too much into BlackBolt9's comments, but that aside people read/hear things and sometimes get the wrong impression that one driver is better than another. Given my scientific background I am cautious to accept comparisons because of multiple uncontrolled variables (driver skills, different cars, track conditions, etc). IMHO to get a true measure of driving skills two people (or more) need to drive the same car under basically the same conditions. For example, at Autobahn Jeremy's best lap was a half second faster than mine (same car). Is he a faster driver? Damn straight.... or at least he has the skill to drive the car faster. Then again if one is faster, but drives so hard or on the edge that he breaks, goes off or wrecks more frequently, that doesn't necessailry make them better.

OK, now it's time for me to tell myself to lighten up!:lol:
:beer:

 

[scottmartin]

gingerman av8ss

Hi, I think all Tom was trying to say was that all the guys in the race, specifically Bruce did a great job. Running against GAC cars and drivers is a big challenge. For Bruce, Fred, Ken etc, running a production built car they did a hell of a job. I would like to see the same guys on the same course on a dry track. Scott

 

[Roger Davis]

Jack Jr.

Can you imagine the choice Jr. has to make when Sr. opens the garage door and says"which one do you want to take for a spin son"?epper: :banana:

 

[Flying Fred]

Not that there is any family feud, but from what I heard at Gingerman it seems he wants to mostly do this on his own.

 

[BlackBolt9]

Yeah sorry for the controversy guys, I was just throwing that out there. I just remembered watching those two because they were towards the front and showing us all a good race. Dean was boring to watch because he just pulled away from everyone :shrug: :rollseyes :-D I was no way trying to make any comparison between Bruce and Jack Jr. The cars are completely different and I thought I had heard it was Jack Jr.'s first time at the track as well. Maybe I need to be a little more liberal in my use of the smileys.
Congrats to all you guys that ran in that race, you all did extremely as evidenced by the lack of incidents on track :-D epper: :banana: :beer: :thumbsup:

 

[Flying Fred]

Yeah sorry for the controversy guys, I was just throwing that out there.

No need to aplogize Tom - you did nothing wrong and did not say anything controversial. I admittedly used it to climb into the pulpit and preach that people shouldn't judge drivers or their skills based on how a car does on the track. Your post did not say someone is a better driver because they finished higher, but I have heard others say stupid things like that over the years. My view is that you can have mediocre drivers in great cars who look impressive because they pass a lot of cars on track (hey Bruce, in your opinion would many Z06s fit that description? LOL!). The opposite is that you can have great drivers in mediocre cars (underpowered, poor handling, whatever) who get passed a lot. NASA has fantastic racing in Spec Miata and I'm impressed at how those guys can race side by side for several laps. My comments were just to educate people that the driver in a slower car may be far better than the one in a faster car.

I admittedly used Tom's post to stray off topic (wow, there's a first!) and stir the pot (hey, another first.... but without Kevin somebody has to do it or this will become a very boring forum!). Hopefully I didn't offend anyone and for the record they were made as general comments; not specifically about either Bruce or Jack Jr. IMHO they both had great cars (for Mustangs) that were set up and driven well.
:thumbsup:

 

[ac427cobra]

(hey Bruce, in your opinion would many Z06s fit that description? LOL!)

Yeah, no kidding Freddy! And now that Jeremy has a Corvette, I have to modify my saying now regarding "99 out of 100 Corvette drivers"!! From now on I have to change it to "98 out of 100". ;-) :lol:

 

[BlackBolt9]

Holy triple post Batman!!! :lol:

No need to aplogize Tom - you did nothing wrong and did not say anything controversial. I admittedly used it to climb into the pulpit and preach that people shouldn't judge drivers or their skills based on how a car does on the track. Your post did not say someone is a better driver because they finished higher, but I have heard others say stupid things like that over the years. My view is that you can have mediocre drivers in great cars who look impressive because they pass a lot of cars on track (hey Bruce, in your opinion would many Z06s fit that description? LOL!). The opposite is that you can have great drivers in mediocre cars (underpowered, poor handling, whatever) who get passed a lot. NASA has fantastic racing in Spec Miata and I'm impressed at how those guys can race side by side for several laps. My comments were just to educate people that the driver in a slower car may be far better than the one in a faster car.

I admittedly used Tom's post to stray off topic (wow, there's a first!) and stir the pot (hey, another first.... but without Kevin somebody has to do it or this will become a very boring forum!). Hopefully I didn't offend anyone and for the record they were made as general comments; not specifically about either Bruce or Jack Jr. IMHO they both had great cars (for Mustangs) that were set up and driven well.
:thumbsup:

Cool, and I agree with you. The main reason for the apology is because I am an admitted newbie that didn't want to give the wrong impression as to how I judge a good driver. By the way, keep stirring that pot, it tends to bring out new information for us new guys to learn from :thumbsup: :beer:

 

[Cobra R Man]

Burning The Soup.....

Holy triple post Batman!!! :lol:



Cool, and I agree with you. The main reason for the apology is because I am an admitted newbie that didn't want to give the wrong impression as to how I judge a good driver. By the way, keep stirring that pot, it tends to bring out new information for us new guys to learn from :thumbsup: :beer:

Hey! I think the "pot" needs stirring every now and then, or every day(Kev). ;-)

Add a little epper: :beer: What ever works.:rockon: