Lemons Season 4: Next Race on 29 November

[spooble]

Scroll through the channels, it might be between the highest and lowest channel.

Trust me. I tried everything. Even unplugged the LodgeNet box that was hooked to the back of the TV. I then talked to the front desk about it and they said they're under a contract with LodgeNet which sells gaming services, so no outside inputs are allowed. But I looked online and usually the TV will still switch to those inputs if the right signal is sent (hence the universal remote).

We'll see.

 

[diabolicwyvern]

You're running 1'37s with only engine1? Damn...nice!

Yes...but between my pits my average will be 1'39s just so I can maintain my tires. The 1'37 was an incredibly ridiculous hot lap and 1 that I could not duplicate. After that my best lap was just under 1'38 and than a lot of low 1'39.xxx. With a consistent draft partner...everyone aside from the leader can gain a second just on the first sector. My time differences are all in the first checkpoint. If I take the first corner at 89+ MPH...I'm gravy. Once I slip below 85 my car will gain no speed until after I am through the tunnel.

I love Tuesday...such anticipation!

 

[pyxen]

89 is what...around 145 kph ? I have the same thing..gotta slide it around that corner that fast tho, and definitely risk running wide into the wall.

 

[BTK]

Sorry, just got home. Going to put parts on now. Send list soon

 

[TrackBound7]

I want to apologize to all in the league tonight. That was the most embarrassing display of driving I have ever had. I was trying to take it easy riding with Bowtie up front. By being conservative I missed my turn in and hit the dang wall. That required me to head to the pits (like lap 2). Then I just over drove on the next lap or whatever to try and make up time and drove over my head, hitting the wall again. Pitted a 2nd time within the first 5 laps. At that point I was beyond upset with myself. I was bound to just run what I could and see who I might have a shot at catching. My driving was just atrocious tonight, hit the wall a 3rd time. I was going to become menace to the rest of the drivers. Sorry for quitting out, my driving just wasn't there at all tonight.

 

[Vol Jbolaz]

I've updated the spreadsheet.

I qualified fifth. I was off my pace at the beginning of the race. I couldn't figure it out. I think I was just trying not to wreck so I was just going too slow. I tried to get back on my regular pace.

I wrecked. Three times.

 

[Cujo 940]

Well we can already see the ABSOLUTE FAILURE this reward system is. Look at the top four..... Look at the winnings!!! Are you ******* kidding me. Talk about a structure that promotes sandbagging. I've gotta start and park twice to fall low enough to get cash! Other crappy drivers would finish lower but I have to make sure I'm last... So will diabolic and so will dabney..... Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous

 

[Vol Jbolaz]

Well we can already see the ABSOLUTE FAILURE this reward system is. Look at the top four..... Look at the winnings!!! Are you ******* kidding me. Talk about a structure that promotes sandbagging. I've gotta start and park twice to fall low enough to get cash! Other crappy drivers would finish lower but I have to make sure I'm last... So will diabolic and so will dabney..... Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous

Very constructive there.

I think the system was thrown off by four drivers missing the first race. I also think that a change in point structure may make this award system work better.

Don't forget to share cars, everyone.

 

[dabneyd]

Well we can already see the ABSOLUTE FAILURE this reward system is. Look at the top four..... Look at the winnings!!! Are you ******* kidding me. Talk about a structure that promotes sandbagging. I've gotta start and park twice to fall low enough to get cash! Other crappy drivers would finish lower but I have to make sure I'm last... So will diabolic and so will dabney..... Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous

Dude, yell at Diabolic; it was his idea.

 

[pyxen]

my car is pretty much maxed out right now...so all I can change is my tranny for speed (which does seem to work really nicely btw). We'll see where I fall next race - I might just try and stay 2nd so that I get another grand and can complete my power package (only missing the filter/cat).. Anything else is gravy (eg: drivetrain parts...the clutch would really be nice to have...and an LSD).

Not sure how bad I need to be to do that tho - that'll take some interesting math S'pose that proves Cujo's point, right ?

Dude, yell at Diabolic; it was his idea.

That's true!

...PS: I don't think I'll bother sandbagging, now that I think about it...

 

[dabneyd]

I don't think I'll bother sandbagging, now that I think about it...

Nut up and race!

 

[leadbedr]

Can someone explain the point/cash system.
I have no idea how it works.
Give an example please
thanks

 

[TrackBound7]

I would like to hear a more constructive response from Cujo in terms of what is wrong with the points/cash system.

 

[morbo]

i can't believe what happened last night

lap 30, i'm rolling along, 6th place or so, catching leadbedr with every lap

then my controller loses all power and i hit the wall!

i'm usually plugged in for races, but this time, for whatever reason, it was out, and low on juice

my own fault for not doing all safety checks prior to the race

so disappointed

$#!+

good race everyone

sorry if i made poor decisions out there (leadbedr i could have been more conservative early on in the race when i was trying to pass you)

BTK, when i exited the pits around lap 31, could or should i have done something differently so that you wouldn't have had to go wide like that, without me having to stop before turn 1 to let you pass along your preferred line?

 

[BTK]

BTK, when i exited the pits around lap 31, could or should i have done something differently so that you wouldn't have had to go wide like that, without me having to stop before turn 1 to let you pass along your preferred line?

Nope, you done an excellent job actually, I didn't mean to scare you like that, I wasn't paying much attention and by the time I hit the apex of the corner you were in my screen. No big deal, but it was my fault, this tracks pit exit sucks anyways.

As for last night:

Awesome race! I should have went with a no pit strategy but I crashed, oh well, still finished in third. I was also extremely happy to lead for half of the race, IKEA elite had a great showing. It was sad just watching my 10 minute lead disappear with pyxen whose little van (beat all to hell btw) raped me.

How many segments we doing next week?

 

[chuyler1]

About the point system...

I saw this coming a mile away. My original plan was to sandbag race 1 to get 20k. There is no other strategy that could possibly win the championship. Placing well the first race will mean you have to wait for everyone else to build up their cars before you get money to spend...and by the time that happens, the season will be over.

The system was not broken by having drivers fail to show up. This would have happened regardless.

I'm also wondering why BTK and Garris have the same championship points yet BTK gets 15k this week and Garris gets 17.5k. Shouldn't they both get 15k?

As for the race last night. It was tons of fun for the first 15 laps. I picked up damage in traffic on lap 2 (i will have to review the replay to figure out what happened) but I powered through and raced the whole race with front suspension damage. I raced with almost everyone at one point or another and I apologize for being aggressive through the turns. I didn't have much straight line speed (i blame my 4 speed tranny) so my only passing option was to squeeze inside along the back stretch. I only attempted passes when lap times dropped below my solo times. Otherwise I was perfectly happy drafting others around the track. The whole night I couldn't hit below 1:40. Even when I nailed turn 1 at 91 mph my car wouldn't accelerate up the hill.

 

[dabneyd]

I'm also wondering why BTK and Garris have the same championship points yet BTK gets 15k this week and Garris gets 17.5k. Shouldn't they both get 15k?

I think the way he's calculating things takes into account the total amount of reward money as well as championship points.

Also,

About the point system...
I saw this coming a mile away.

Why not say something? Why did we have all of this preseason discussion?

 

[BTK]

I think the way he's calculating things takes into account the total amount of reward money as well as championship points.

Also,



Why not say something? Why did we have all of this preseason discussion?

For bowtie and diabolic to suggest about 15 ideas, and have people ignore them.

 

[dabneyd]

For bowtie and diabolic to suggest about 15 ideas, and have people ignore them.

This was Diabolic's idea, as I've said.

 

[diabolicwyvern]

My weather predicting machine usually picks up freak October Nor'easters...

 

[BTK]

This was Diabolic's idea, as I've said.

I know, I was talking about other suggestions.

Yes diabolic, we love snow in Kentucky. Crank it up!

 

[chuyler1]

Why not say something? Why did we have all of this preseason discussion?

I did, or at least I tried to. I would have preferred to see forced induction outlawed after the preseason and then just stick with the old reward system but maybe drop the max rewards to 10k.

I think the start of last night's race was pretty fair when it came to skill vs performance. The only exception was Bowtie but that's because he chose the CVT car that we all knew would be quick. Everyone was on top of one another pushing hard for every position. It took several laps to sort things out and unfortunately some drivers got damage in the process...but that's racing. I don't think we will have that many cars so close together again this season.

 

[Diabolical_J]

I had a rough night right from the start. When the screen went black right before the race started, it took longer than usual. When I finally loaded onto the track, it said "START" right away with no countdown, and everyone was already at turn 1. Also, I think that since everyone had already crossed the starting line before my game said "START", it was showing me as in first place for almost the entire race until I got lapped and when the race ended, it showed me in 5th. It was extremely annoying as I had no idea what place I was in the entire race. I was also having a very difficult time with consistency. I'd run a few laps in the 1:40's, slip up and hit a wall, run a few laps in the 1:45's, pit, and repeat.

 

[Cujo 940]

I would like to hear a more constructive response from Cujo in terms of what is wrong with the points/cash system.

Nothing is wrong for folks at the bottom with bona of cash, but dab and I are screwwd for now and will definitely have to sandbag. And the easiest way to show why its screwed up. Someone finishing 2, then 10 would have far less money than someone who finished 10 then 2. It's penalizing those of US who did well in the first race. Now even with my 11th place and a slow car I still get practically no money. Another race outside the top ten is a must and even then my average will put me just low enough to maybe get a turbo. But ill be tumbling down the leaderboard. And take my situation and double it for dabney. He's so far out front with this new scoring that he will need to take off two weeks. Luckily due to the rewards his car will be so slow it doesn't matter. The whole idea is level things out but this is just ridiculous. Just look seasons past and this one....you are forcing people to sandbag, not to win, just to maintain. I can't see how anyone can see otherwise.

 

[chuyler1]

I think that about sums it up. Given the current standings, the following is true:

Scenario 1: 10th + 1st = 33pts and 21,000 cr for race 3.
Scenario 2: 1st + 10th = 33pts and 1,000 cr for race 3.

From there, it will take several sandbagged races for the scenario 2 driver to get enough credits to be competitive again.

 

[pyxen]

I don't know if the situation is as dire as you say, Cujo...I'm not a bad driver, but last week I had a horribly slow van, so got last and the cash to match...since I can hold my own (until I hold up a wall), now that I have a VAN OF AWESOME, I've jumped up the leaderboard and will hopefully stay there for a while.

I think that if Huyler, WiiFreak, and BTK were there last week, that Dabney might not have won, or at least not by as much..and others would have been lower in the standings. Those racers who just happened to have a quick enough car to place mid-pack (or 2nd/3rd) last week are kind of suffering now..

Dunno...there's a few ways to slice this one, I think. You guys seem to be taking the driver out of the equation - cars don't win races (other than maybe a super turbo Talon at Monza, or a stupid fast Civic at Daytona). It's as easy to push someone unskilled into binning their car into a wall, as it is to drive a consistent amount, finish mid-pack, and get some cash to bring yourself back up...again..dunno.

I do agree that it's strange...but now that I'm 2nd, why would I complain?

Nut up and race!

Yes sir!

 

[dabneyd]

Is it too late to switch to the old rewards system? I don't really care either way, but it had to be asked.

 

[Vol Jbolaz]

Dunno...there's a few ways to slice this one, I think. You guys seem to be taking the driver out of the equation - cars don't win races (other than maybe a super turbo Talon at Monza, or a stupid fast Civic at Daytona). It's as easy to push someone unskilled into binning their car into a wall, as it is to drive a consistent amount, finish mid-pack, and get some cash to bring yourself back up...again..dunno.

I do want to second this a bit. I had, and should've finished second in the first race. Mind you, if the four drivers that missed the race had been there, then the best I could've had was fourth. As it turned out, I finished lower than that.

I qualified fifth this week. I finished quite a bit lower than that.

And yes, my super turbo Talon came very close to not winning Monza. Actually, I think it beat the odds by winning Monza.

I think there is a lot of focus on the injustices, and not enough focus on how to fix it. The old system was no good. I'm not leading another season with the old system. I do not want drivers planning their sandbagging.

Yes, the current system needs to be fixed. But again, I think there are those that are focused on how to game the system and win. And yes, this is racing, and we all want to win. But my goals are simple, I want the racing close, and I don't want it predictable. I don't know how to fix it.

The only thought I have so far is: there is an incentive to win, in that drivers are awarded points; there is an incentive to lose, in that drivers are awarded cash. Perhaps the incentive to win should be increased so it out ways the incentive to lose. Perhaps the cash system can be changed so it is no longer a incentive to lose, but perhaps truly what it was meant to be,something to level and tighten the field.

 

[leadbedr]

I think that about sums it up. Given the current standings, the following is true:

Scenario 1: 10th + 1st = 33pts and 21,000 cr for race 3.
Scenario 2: 1st + 10th = 33pts and 1,000 cr for race 3.

From there, it will take several sandbagged races for the scenario 2 driver to get enough credits to be competitive again.

This is what I cant seem to grasp.
If the point totals are the same for the season, why is the money different?

 

[leadbedr]

Yes, the current system needs to be fixed. But again, I think there are those that are focused on how to game the system and win. And yes, this is racing, and we all want to win. But my goals are simple, I want the racing close, and I don't want it predictable. I don't know how to fix it.

The only thought I have so far is: there is an incentive to win, in that drivers are awarded points; there is an incentive to lose, in that drivers are awarded cash. Perhaps the incentive to win should be increased so it out ways the incentive to lose. Perhaps the cash system can be changed so it is no longer a incentive to lose, but perhaps truly what it was meant to be,something to level and tighten the field.

I think the cash needs to be less.
20k for 10-16 is too much.

Maybe make the points gap bigger and the cash lower.
Example

1st 50 pts
2nd 42
3rd 36
4th 28
5th 22
an so on

that way if you sandbag youre in a big whole for the season.
no one should get 20k for a single race. It should be about 10k tops.