Photo is from Flickr.com. The car is similar to the Porsche 911 RSR I raced for fourteen years.
Sure, plenty of wrecks, a couple of concussions. That’s part of it.
My finest moment was a spectator race at Waterford, a suburb of Detroit.
Properly-prepared Porsches are balanced, with tires, brakes, suspension, and oil cooling in perfect harmony with the engine’s power.
It was a very hot day, and my car was ready! Everyone else was overheating with engines losing power and tires losing grip.
But not me!!!
I kept my lap times consistent while everyone else was slowing down.
Running fifth on the last lap, for some reason the track announcer focused on me making a run for the lead. I had no idea. In the car, the only thing one focuses on is the track ahead. One cannot hear anything because of the ferocious sound of the engine.
Anyway, I start passing everyone because they’re slowing down, but the announcer is telling the crowd that I’m turning it on. I pass the car in fourth position easily, as the poor guy lost tire grip and power due to the heat.
I take a Corvette in a turn. He puts up a little defense, but he also has lost grip. I get buy him easily.
Then I come up on my buddy Bruce in a Porsche and I see in front of him is the leading Corvette. Now I’m excited, as I realize I’m running third. I don’t think I have a chance, as Bruce’s car is expertly prepared, but why am I gaining on him?
In a tight turn before the race to the finish line, I go side-by-side with Bruce, just behind the leading Corvette. Like everyone else, Bruce collapses with heat problems. As he positions himself to stand on it exiting the turn, his engine fails to deliver the needed power to stay ahead of me. Plus, he’s having trouble keeping the car on the racing line as his tires are melting. I pass him like he’s standing still.
Now I’m running just behind the leading car. I didn’t realize it, but the announcer has the crowd going bananas over my charge from fifth on the last lap to a chance for the win.
The announcer is whipping up the crowd as I come up on the leading Corvette in the final turn. The crowd is going wild as I put my nose next to the Corvette’s door.
Because I’m sticking and the Corvette isn’t, I’m able to get on the gas much earlier than the Corvette exiting the turn. It looks like I am out-powering the monster big block, but I was just on the gas much earlier. As we exit, the smaller-engined Porsche is out-accelerating the Corvette!
The crowd is going nuts!
I continue to move up on the Corvette. Now my nose is past his door and I’m moving up to being fully side-by-side with him.
But we hit the finish line.
Another twenty feet and I would have gotten past the Corvette! I ended up second and a hair from winning. The crowd went wild!
Taking the flag for the victory lap with the first and third cars, I wondered why the crowd is screaming at me and pointing at me. I had no idea how the announcer had made me the come-from-behind hero.
Coming in from the victory lap, I was surprised that the crowd stood up as a body and applauded as I drove slowly by the stands. I gave a little wave just in case they were applauding me, but I couldn’t believe it was for me!
Hitting the pits, teenage boys (unfortunately, no girls) lined up for my autograph, and I couldn’t believe it. As I sign the photo of my car in the program, I couldn’t help but write “Mad Dog Mike”.
“Mad Dog Seneca” just didn’t have the same ring!
