continued from above
We had beautiful, sunny weather on Sunday, which meant that Session 1 might have been the golden attempt. Ambient temps and track temps were up in TT Session 2, so Mike blew off going out in this one (he knew he had already seen the fastest session of the day). This meant I was gridded in P1, so I set the pace on the out lap at about 50 mph, and we had some stragglers but they finally caught up. I got in a good first lap and dropped a whopping tenth, down to a 1:50.675, for the new TT3 lap record (TT2 is a 1:50.2, but I couldn't get there in the growing heat). The car felt better than that, but the ambient temps were rising and times were slowing down to match. It is common for many TT racers on gumball tires set their fastest runs on the first Sunday TT sessions, once they have learned the track, as this can be the best track and tire temperatures. I tried another hot lap after my first but it slowed down a lot, then I started catching the back of the field. I took a cool down and came in.
Today my times were closer to where they needed to be. This 1:50.675 ended up being the winning time in class and the new TT3 track record, but I wouldn't know that until the end of the day. I felt like total crap so we loaded the car up before the 3rd TT session (after lunch) and headed back to Dallas by 2 pm. With the splitting migraine and other symptoms, I felt like I was coming down with something and didn't want to be out on track with my body nowhere near 100%. Leaving early put us home by 5:30 pm and we took a relaxing evening to eat, rest and catch up on TV shows and the like. We did, however, watch the MyLaps Race Monitor app during the TT session 3 and 4 on our drive back to Dallas, and as the temperatures rose the lap times did indeed slow down, and my time was safe.
Whew!
New TT3 racer Jeremy Johnson (E46 M3 shown above) was fast and he is one to watch in 2014 in this class in Texas, as is John Robert's LS1 Miata (he's supposed to have his newest chassis built and ready for ECR). This was Jeremy's first weekend in TT, after his check ride on Saturday, and I'm sure he will get faster once he learns the "TT tricks". He still can add aero, A6s and more. Very clean car, well done cage, Motion Control double adjustable dampers with remotes, etc.
Aero Improvements Worked
The ease at which the car cornered at the handful of higher speed corners (T1, T2, T7 and T12) at TWS means that the aero changes we made after Miller worked. Lopping four inches off the front of the splitter brought the front to rear downforce balance to a perfect feel, once I got the car onto decent tires. The brakes, tires, motor, trans, and everything else worked perfectly. This was the car's 7th TT3 track record for the year, but I could have driven better both days and felt like I left that 1:49 lap out there.
Big thanks to Amy for coming and supporting me and the car on this race weekend, and to Matteucci for helping lend a hand on Saturday. I didn't ask Ryan or Brandon or any of our crew to come down to TWS, due to the lack of hotel rooms and recent haul to SLC for the big race. So the pictures are just ones Amy shot with our Nikon, and not Brandon's normal high end photo work. We also lacked the tuning help of Ryan, but I fumbled along well enough for the win.
Once I woke up that next Monday morning I was showing all of the symptoms of the flu-like thing that had been going around, and I was sick for a solid week, but luckily not enough to miss any work. This bug went around our shop and I was one of the last ones to finally get it. Everyone that went to Miller from Vorshlag got sick, so that explains the weird headache and nausea on Sunday. I did manage to take a day off the following Sunday, not going to the shop once, and took care of some long overdue home improvement projects and a bit of a lazy afternoon. With the racing season
starting to wind down I can hopefully recharge my batteries for next season, which starts in January. Well, after about 3 more autocrosses, one more NASA Texas race weekend, and a couple of HPDE events planned in November and December.
For some of you that know me and/or are from NASA Texas specifically, there is a big topic stemming from events after this TWS that is obviously missing from this write-up, which I have written but decided to keep out of this build thread. It involves the track management at TWS, but I'm saving that for another time - this thread doesn't need any more drama. I'm hoping some people come to their senses, act like adults, and these issues can be resolved privately.
What's Next?
We're still trying to sell the 2013 GT, and have removed the AST 4200RR coilover remote reservoir shocks and the 18x10" wheels. And before you ask, THE SHOCKS ARE ALREADY SOLD. Removing these two "big ticket" parts makes it a more affordable Mustang, but it still has the upgraded 14" front Brembo brakes, the custom front brake ducting, the Whiteline adjustable Panhard Bar, and Whiteline rear relocation brackets. We've re-installed the OEM shocks and top mounts but added Ford Racing 5300-K lowering springs, and installed the OEM 19x9" wheels and Pirelli tires from our red 2011 GT, since the stock 18x8" wheels won't fit over the bigger front brakes. The price dropped from $35K to
$29.5K, and the ad is linked below.
FFS, somebody please buy this car. If we can move this one I
might be able to keep the red 2011 GT, which we would continue to use to develop more S197 parts. There's still a long list of parts we'd like to tackle, which having a car on hand would help with. I really need your help here, so please spread the word. Beautiful car, low miles, some covert track upgrades, great price. Thanks.
Other events that are upcoming (some already completed) include:
- Camaro vs Mustang Battle Autocross - this was the event we put on October 5th, and my write-up is coming soon.
- Goodguys All American Sunday Autocross - October 6th at TMS, also working on this write-up
- SCCA @ TMS Road Course Autocross - Oct 13th. Amy and I are signed up and will be racing the TT3 Mustang in this annual "road course" autocross event. Lots of fun, and we'll be giving rides on every run
- NASA @ ECR - Nov 2-3. I am already signed up and Amy will drive as well. This is our home track and I am hoping to clinch our final track record of the year here, but it won't be easy! TT3 clas sis hugely popular and it is anyone's guess who will win that class on this weekend. We have a ton of new TT and new to HPDE drivers we've prodded into entering this event, so it should be a blast.
Stay tuned and we'll have more racing action coverage of the TT3 Mustang soon, more S197 parts development, and other interesting bits chronicled in this thread.
Thanks for reading,