[quote name='Eric_K' date='Sep 25 2006, 03:38 PM']Did you get a count of how many cars you passed on the first lap? What tires were you using? Hoosier Wets? You didn't seem to have much problems with traction - considering the conditions.[/quote]
Thanks. According to mylaps.com I passed 18 cars on the first lap. There were probably another 4 or 5 that I passed before the start finish line when the green came out. Yes, I was on Hoosier Wets, and I'd estimate that only about 1/3 of the field had them in that race. They were definitely the tire to have, and that's one of the reasons why I was able to pass so easily.
The other was knowing where the grip was on the track. Up until they repaved the track this year, driving Mid Ohio in the rain was all about the concrete patches. In the past Mid Ohio's many concrete patches were always much slipperier than the asphalt in the wet, so the classic Mid Ohio rain line was simply to avoid the concrete. However in 2004 they brushed and grooved the concrete patches making them ultra grippy in the wet. That changed the best rain line to one of driving ON the concrete wherever possible. A lot of drivers in that race hadn't yet figured that out. A lot of them were sliding around on the asphalt, leaving me plenty of room to plant my tires firmly on the concrete.
