Slipstream - January 2005

Blastin’ the Bayou Club Race
by Nitro Mueller (aka Bill Miller)
It was wet and dreary as local Maverick Club Racers
packed up and headed to Louisiana and the November
21 Blastin’ the Bayou Club Race. A year earlier several
Mavericks had run at No Problem Raceway and the word
spread of the terrific track and warm hospitality of the
Mardi Gras Region.
... a combination of “whoohoo” high speed
turns after the main straight...
Most of us arrived on Thursday to unpack and
settle in before the sun went down. Daylight arrival is
especially important at NPR because this is a place that
is not easy to find. It’s nestled between swamps and oil
refineries outside Baton Rouge. We unpacked in the
drizzle, got our cars into the garages and hoped for a
clearing in the weather.
We got the reprieve from rain we wanted on Friday.
That meant good weather for open track sessions and,
for rookies like me, a chance to learn the track. The 1.8-
mile circuit is virtually flat but with a combination of
“whoohoo” high-speed turns after the main straight and
technical low speed sequences on the backside that keep
it constantly interesting. After a day of driving we
tucked into a trackside spread of tasty Cajun food and a
live band that got even those of us with two left feet
(better for braking, I’m told) on the dance floor. The
Mardi Gras Region definitely knows how to throw a
party.
On Saturday the rain came back. We spent the day
huddled in the garages and under trailer awnings while
the rain alternated between showers and periods of outright
deluge. I went out for just one afternoon session
and found a combination of standing water and mud
dragged on the track by cars that had made off-road
excursions. The conditions got so bad that the Mardi
Gras folks wisely closed the track early. We all headed
Photo by Bill Miller
for dinner and another evening of Mardi Gras Region
hospitality and fun.
On Sunday the rain turned to intermittent drizzle
and we were able to drive. Qualifying was in the morning
followed by two types of races. The first was a Sprint
Race and the second was a Feature Race in what’s called
a Formula Libre format. The Sprint uses a rolling start
led by a pace car and your grid position is determined
by your qualifying time. The Formula Libre is a handicapped
format that starts each car individually in
reverse order of its qualifying time. The car with the
slowest qualifying time goes out first. The fastest qualifier
goes out last and, in theory, if every car ran like it
qualified, we’d all cross the finish line together.
The racing was exciting and the Mavericks made a
good showing, but the best thing about a Club Race
weekend is the people. It’s a chance to spend time with
friends and meet racers from other regions. The Mardi
Gras Region deserves kudos for the hard work that went
into 2004 Blastin’ the Bayou, for its volunteers and
workers who braved the elements, its Cajun hospitality,
Photo by Bill Miller
Photo by Bill Miller
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