Finger Lakes, NY

Event: SCCA Finger Lakes Championship Tour
Location: Seneca Army Depot- Romulus, NY
Results: 4/7 (in ESP open- not Ladies), Clint was 1/7
Best beer of the weekend: Non-Stop Hop Onslaught: Good Nature Brewing

 

And now, back to my irregularly scheduled, six week old Championship tour updates! We left off with a dead car at Lincoln, and a last minute fix, just in time for this event! Huge props to Clint for spending all of two weeks digging through the car to find that it needed new fuel injectors and a fuel pressure relief valve, rather than a full motor rebuild! What a relief!

My journey to The Finger Lakes Champ Tour began on Thursday afternoon in St Louis, with a bus, to a train, to a plane to Detroit, where Clint picked me up from the airport to begin our real adventure! We decided to get on the road at 11pm after picking up the trailer from his house, rather than getting 3-4 hours of sleep before embarking. We continued on through Ontario Canada (our first international travel together), and passed through Niagara Falls just in time to see the sunrise together! Another two hours into New York from there, and we found ourselves setting up at the site by 9am.

After negotiating for a brief nap on an air mattress in the trailer, We started this weekend out on the test and tune course. After suspecting the motor needed to be rebuilt two weekends ago at Lincoln, we were super nervous to see if it would hold. Clint had spent two solid weeks of diagnosing and digging around to identify the potential culprit as faulty fuel injectors, rather than damaged ringlands.

Clint took it on its first run... The car worked!!! It was a very tight course, and on asphalt nonetheless (typically asphalt is more "slippery" than concrete), so it was difficult to get a great feel for it. But we verified the car was ready for the event, and I focused on looking ahead using the techniques taught to me in my Phase 2 Evolution Driving School a few weeks prior. (I'll post about that soon!)

I was also determined to get back on my launch control game, after dropping the clutch and nearly blowing the transfer case on my last attempt at Lincoln. I again (like at the Test and Tune event earlier this year), found that giving the pedal a quick stab, before planting it on the floor settled it at the 3500 rpm launch control setting. Once assuring it caught that (I've had problems with it bumping all the way up to 5500 RPMs!, I just needed to be very actively aware of slipping the clutch slowly once it starts to catch. This increases clutch wear quite a bit, but it's a racecar, after all! Clint will probably want to try a different clutch before this one needs to be replaced anyway. LOL!


Settling in before my runs on day 1, I decided I needed to change my outlook to settle my nerves. Number one priority should be to have fun! And conveniently, fast is fun. It's just another autocross, after all! Except... with one big difference from local events. You only get 3 runs each, on two different courses, on two different days, and your fastest time from each day is added together to determine final standings. So the fastest of your 3 runs on day 1 (including 2-second cone penalties), added to the fastest of your 3 runs on day 2 on a different course (also with those cone penalties, if applicable), equals your total time for the event.

We finished our night off with a MUCH needed dinner at a wonderful little lakeside restaurant. From there, it was straight to the campsite, where we set up our tent, showered, and crashed HARD after over 40 hours without any meaningful sleep. That was the best night of sleep either of us had ever had in a tent, lol. In fact, we slept through two alarms the next morning! Thankfully, the third one got us up so we could head to the site for some last minute course walks before the event got started. I've assigned myself more course walks as a general goal for the year. You can never be too familiar with a course, especially when you only get 3 runs!


When it came time to drive, I kept a clean run with a good line on my first run. And in fact, I was 0.2 seconds ahead of Clint for a brief while! However, when I returned to our grid spot, we were told that the car read at 100.5dB on the sound meter during my run. That's 0.5dB over the 100.0dB limit, and we had to make a modification to alleviate some of that. Clint had a little exhaust baffle that he bolted into the end of the exhaust pipe (which is cut off and turned down just behind the driver's seat- the shortest it's allowed to be per the class rules). Hopefully that fixes the issue, or I wouldn't be allowed to make any more runs for the event. My second run I focused on looking ahead and using less brakes. It felt great and I kept it clean, but apparently I also used less gas, and it ended up being 1 second slower. So for my last run, I decided to just go for it! I drove HARD. Reminded myself to be confident, but not cocky. I was using the brakes harder and later, I used more gas, I modulated where I needed to throttle back a bit, and I kept the car wide while carrying good speed. In trying to get a better feel for braking zones, Clint had suggested turning in earlier and cutting distance if I found myself going too slow too soon, so I can get back on the gas sooner. Well, I did just that in one place on that last run- but, as expected, I turned in too early and ran right over a cone. If not for that cone penalty, I would have been 0.5 seconds ahead of Clint!

Overall, I was feeling good! I finished day one off just 0.25 seconds behind 2nd, and 1 second behind Clint. It was an interesting site and fun course, making great use of the strange layout.




On day two, we ran the same course backwards. It was still just as fun and maybe just a hair faster! With all that the car was capable of on day one, my main goal for day to was to push the car harder on all 3 runs in braking and acceleration, but still drive wide, and conservatively on the first run to assure I get a clean run in the books.

My first run, driven conservatively, was 0.2 seconds ahead of clint's first, with a really clean line. Unfortunately, I later found out that I barely nudged a cone and got a penalty in the first, giant slalom. Oh, and also that I blew off a hunk of the exhaust pipe at the starting line, and the rear differential was cutting power intermittently throughout the run (aka... the car became front wheel drive, rather than all wheel drive). Upon further inspection, we found that the exhaust ripped out the wires for the rear differential as it blew off the car, which proceeded to melt together and short out.

It's like the car is inventing new, exciting, and spectacular ways to break now.



We took a 15 minute mechanical delay before our next run and frantically worked at rewiring the melty mess, and re-securing the exhaust. It was to no avail. I channeled my inner front wheel drive skills and took my last two runs, pretending like I was just driving my Mazdaspeed3 on Hoosiers. I did manage to make a 0.6 second improvement from my first run (since it had that +2 second cone penalty), but that wasn't quite enough to defend my 2nd place position. My third run was wild and I ended up driving "off-course" (I cut a corner short because I just wasn't looking ahead), so that wasn't any help. Clint didn't bother taking his last run, since he laid down a competitive time on his first run while we still had all wheel drive, and likely wouldn't have improved on it with the car in front wheel drive mode.


At the end of the day, Clint managed to keep his lead and took 1st in our class, and 21st overall! Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to make up enough time to keep my trophy position, and was pushed back to forth in our class (of seven). I would've snagged second with that first run, had I not hit the cone. I'm really disappointed by that, but I feel like I drove well, and would've easily had 2nd, if only the car had stayed together. Plus, if I would've just stopped hitting a cone on each of my best runs, I was running faster times than Clint, both days (aka, I had a faster "scratch time")! That's a huge improvement for me, regardless!







Next event's goal: Don't hit cones (especially ones that I don't need to be near anyway)!!! Remember how quickly the car turns in- especially at slower speeds, and stay aware of the cones around me while I'm looking ahead. This last tip for not hitting cones is key, since this has been a recurring problem for me.

An Engaging Weekend of Racing

Event: Indianapolis Region Points Event #2, #3
Location: Peru, IN
Results: 2/113, 1/108
Best beer of the weekend: Gamma Deluxe from Jolly Pumpkin

So when I started this blog, I told myself I was only going to write posts about National events, but this particular weekend at Grissom Air Force Base in Peru, Indiana is getting an honorable mention. It's also posted out of order, because I think it needs to be shared with the world!

It was a Friday afternoon and I was leaving work early to make the 5 hour drive. I always get frustrated when we stay so close to this site because I already lose an hour due to a time change on my way up, so it's hard for me to get there before 8 or 8:30 p.m. This particular Friday was no different. I kept hitting traffic and slow downs, and was passing my frustrations along to Clint. He reminded me that we'd see each other in only a few short hours, but that was only mildly soothing because I still had a few "short hours" of driving to do.

I ended up making it to the hotel right around 8pm- nearly an hour after he arrived. It was really too late for us to go out and do anything, and we both had brought beers anyway, so we flipped on the TV and started sharing some beers that he brought. The first was tangerine IPA from New Holland brewery- "Tangerine Space Machine." It was pretty good, but the tangerine was a bit overwhelming. We finished that and he asked if I was ready for the next beer. I replied with something like, "do you know me? I'm always ready for another beer!"

So I was laying on the bed, watching The Simpsons and thinking about getting my Mazdaspeed3 ready for the event my friend was driving it in at Bristol Tennessee the following week, when he brought out the next beer, poured from the bomber (750mL bottle) into the little clear plastic cups provided in the hotel room. It was "Gamma Deluxe" from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, a sour farmhouse IPA. He carried both glasses over, one in each hand, and standing at the side of the bed asked which one I wanted. I struggled with this question- one of them was filled with about half head and the other one was a perfect pour. I started to go to the Perfect Pour, and then fumbled, deciding to take the one with more head so that he could enjoy the other sooner.

He stopped me, and told me to take the other one. Well okay, I guess. When I pulled the cup with the Perfect Pour out of his hand, behind it, he was holding my mom's engagement ring (which had been decommissioned when she passed in 1996). My heart fell to my stomach and my eyes started to well up. I don't exactly remember what happened next... I don't think I said it, but I at least thought "are you serious?!"  But like, for real?!? I looked at him and look at the ring, and looked at him and smiled and laughed. "Will you marry me?" He asked in a stately sort of way. "Of course I will!" I replied, as I leaned in and squeezed him tight.

He did it! Just a week after our 5 year anniversary, we are finally engaged! Better yet, he managed to catch me completely off-guard, and bring me a ring that I know he must've spent an entire day-his only free weekend day year to date- to retrieve from my father. It was all I've ever wanted, and he (finally) did it. I'm sure at that moment, and still, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life.

The next hour or two was spent trying to take a good picture, texting and calling family, and soaking it all in. By the time we finally got to sleep we only had 5 hours before we had to be up again for the next day's autocross. Thankfully, it was a local event, so there weren't any big contingencies or awards on the line.

Funny how much less stressful local events are, once you start competing nationally. The next day came, and I was really feeling it. Our good friend Johnathan and his girlfriend came down from Chicago to spend the day with us and race his Mazdaspeed6 alongside ours. 

We were also testing out a new front splitter that Clint had fabricated. We swapped the front bumper (one had a splitter mounted and one did not) halfway through our runs to see if we could feel a difference. For me, it was immediate. All of a sudden I had a new found confidence in the car's ability to rotate and point where I wanted it to, when I wanted it to. It was all about balancing the aerodynamics. Clint added the (rear) spoiler at that first test and tune event out at Grissom a month ago, and the car hasn't been quite as eager to rotate ever since. Adding the splitter below the front bumper of the car prevents air from flowing under the car as much, thus decreasing lift under the front end of the car, and shifting the traction bias back towards the front tires. That means the front tires end up having more grip and balancing out the rear spoiler (which effectively reduces lift over the rear of the car, meaning more downforce over the back tires, resulting in more traction). If you're wondering what I mean by "rotate," I'm referring to how "tail-happy" the car is. You certainly don't want your car to be unpredictable and spin out every time you let your guard down, but when properly balanced, rotation of the rear end around corners can help a car corner much more efficiently and transition from left to right in slaloms better.


Fast forward to the end of the day, and I finished 0.012 seconds behind Clint, and we were first and second place out of the 112 drivers, overall! Maybe tomorrow will finally be my chance to beat him...

That evening, with Johnathan and his girlfriend in town, we went back to the brewery I mentioned several posts ago- Tin Man Brewing. We had some beers, ordered some Mexican food for delivery, and played some bags before heading back for the night, us to our hotel, and Johnathan to Chicago. It was great to have a night out with friends in this busy season. Plus, he took that awesome engagement photo (up top) for us!

On day two of the local event, my sister stopped by with her kids to watch and congratulate us.

I found my comfort and familiarity with the car in its newest form continued to grow. On my third run, I made my way around the first corner and came across a cone that had been knocked over and not reset. I stopped and pointed it out, and earned myself a re-run! Re-runs are usually nice, as you get an extra look at the course. I let the car sit for the assigned 5 minute cool-down between the two runs, and then took it back out, laying down a time that dropped me into first place!

Shortly after returning from that run, I was spraying the front passenger tire with water to cool it off between our runs, and noticed it was unbearably hot near that wheel well. Clint checked it out and realized the cooling fan on that side wasn't running, and our coolant was boiling over! We shut off the car and started spraying the radiator, rather than the tires, to cool it. We weren't certain if we'd get to finish the day out, on only one fan...

But by the time it came back to Clint's turn, he decided to give it a try. He knocked his time down to 0.14 seconds behind me. We kept the car cool, and I took my last victory lap (even though I had already secured my win). I managed to drop another 0.3 seconds, but hit a cone early on, so I didn't end up making an improvement. It didn't matter, I had done it! I beat my fiance, and took first at the event, after losing by only a very narrow margin the previous day!

I'm putting this one down as one of the best weekends of my life.

Lincoln Chump Tour

I had been in Lincoln for a few days on my own (well, with Zara), taking a driver's school and competing in Prosolo, before Clint joined me. After driving my front wheel drive Mazdaspeed3 in the school and a rear wheel drive Miata in the Prosolo, I had never been so happy to see the all wheel drive Mazdaspeed6 come off the trailer! I actually think I probably ran up and gave it hug... right after Clint, of course...

We took it over to the test course to check in on everything shortly after lunch. I think I took it out for a run on the test course first. It was so nice to be back in my game, after a mediocre performance at Prosolo in a car I was unfamiliar with. I flew off the line, around there first few tight turns and headed through the long straight into the back slalom. But in the long straight, it didn't feel quite right. It was having some power (actually fuel) cuts at full throttle. Strange, but, not something we're unfamiliar with. So after my run, we switched seats, and Clint drove it. It did the same thing for him. Not good... so we pulled the car back over to our paddock spot to investigate.

First thing to check for: boost leaks. Any coupler on the air piping that's loose, could cause unexpected air loss and result in fuel cut by the ECU. We investigated every coupler and checked for any defects in the piping itself. Heck, I think we even took it all off the car to investigate! Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, we resecured it and took it for another test run.

Same thing.

Next on the list, was spark plugs. Those are easy enough to swap, and Clint had an extra set with him. So we replace all 4 spark plugs and hit the test course again. Still breaking up at Full Throttle.

So now, we move down the list of diagnostics to wondering if it's fuel-related. We pull it back over to the trailer and swap in our extra fuel pump.

Did I mention that our extra fuel pump was the one that was installed on my car? At least we know it works!

At this point, this was essentially our last idea of what could cause the problem and still be fixed easily on site, so we were really hoping for the best this time. We had run the car low on fuel at the last event, so we were wondering if we may have damaged the fuel pump at that time.We finished the swap and headed back out to the test course. Huge bummer- it's still running poorly.

With most hope now lost, we head back to our Paddock spot and pull the spark plugs again to check in on them. Typically, if there's a problem with combustion, you can see different signs of that from looking at your spark plugs. What we found on our spark plugs, was fluid. Probably oil. That's not good. I mean, that's not "we're not running this event," bad... That's more like "we're not running this season," bad. If indeed there is oil in the cylinders where the spark plugs sit, that means our motor is damaged and will need to be pulled out, disassembled, and fully serviced (rebuilt).

I don't even have words for how big of a let-down that was. This was supposed to be my year. I got the scholarship, and I'm sure I'll never have the chance to do this many events again. And now, we don't have our car to drive, and we are at a loss for what to do. This was just the first event for the car out of 7 on the books.

As far as the Lincoln champ tour goes, that was that. After that discovery, we just didn't have it in us to try and find co-drives for the weekend (though I'm sure we could have). Plus, I was looking for the confidence boost in driving a car that I'm familiar with, after driving the Miata the days prior. We stuck around for the first day of competition to hang out with, and cheer on our local competitors that were there. We left early on their day two to get started home. Clint had driven the truck and trailer almost 14 hours from Detroit, just to find out the car was broken.

We tried to make the best of it anyway, but it really was quite disappointing.

Following this event, two things happened.

First, I made the decision to move forward with de-modifying my Mazdaspeed3 to align it with a class where it will be competitive (STH). I bought it with a larger, aftermarket turbo installed. It made good power and it was certainly fun, but not ideal for autocross- my motorsport of choice. Bigger turbos such as that, take longer to spool up and provide extra boost and power to your motor. At autocross, you typically want that power available as soon as possible, having a smaller turbo is actually advantageous. Also, it put me in a ridiculous class that I would never be fully prepared for in it.

Second, 10 days later, after copious amounts of diagnostics, Clint eventually identified the fluid sitting on the pistons in the cylinders as fuel, and diagnosed the problem as leaky fuel injectors. He ordered new injectors, installed them, and had a fully functional race car ready again and, still two days before our next scheduled national event at that!

Next up will be Finger Lakes, NY. Regardless of how we and the car perform there, that trip should be full of Adventure. I'm flying up to Detroit so that Clint and I can drive together through Canada to get there. It will be our first international travel together! And, a lot more fun than driving to these events on our own.

I have one goal for the next event. Don't. Break. And if I can sneak driving well in there too, that would be even better!