ROUND 2 - REDLINE TIME ATTACK - RACE RECAP

Written by Scott VanderHeide — Motorsports Director at Fontana Nissan/NissanRaceShop.com

Round 2 of the Redline Time Attack was held at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, CA. After missing Round 1 at Buttonwillow, we were relieved that we were able to be ready for Round 2.

There were countless hours put in before this event, and I’d like to thank in particular Andy Turlo of Robispec for all of his late nights and time away from his family to prepare the Aerodynamics for Project SHART. For this race, we came back with a full Aero package including a front splitter with canards, and rear aero including an adjustable rear diffuser…all hand fabricated by Andy Turlo. I’d also like to thank Reggie Youmans of OSR Dyno in Fontana, CA for getting the motor ready and tuned for this event. We still have a lot of work to do, as well as some improvements to make…but this was a good shake down for the car before the big changes to come.

Hopefully by Round 3, we should have about a 150whp bump in power over the current setup. With the addition of a Turbo by Garrett GTX3067 turbocharger, we should be in the ballpark of 450-500whp. We will also be upgrading to DOT slicks (Toyo Proxes RR) we will need things to allow us to put the power to the ground!

The first few sessions of the day were not exactly what we were hoping for…plagued with oil leaks, water leaks, and slipping clutch, we had our hands full. The car seemed to handle quite well, but Saturday was definately a day full of troubleshooting and making onsite repairs.

The best part of coming to these events is the people you get to meet and the connections you make. We welcome guests to come hang out with us and talk shop. I can’t tell you how many friends I’ve made at the track…but i can tell you this…I met my girlfriend of five years at a Redline Time Attack at Buttonwillow.

Tires and wheels…yeah we usually brings extras. Old tires for practice sessions, and the new ones for the Time Attack Sessions. Our choice for this weekend…Toyo R888’s of course!

Back out making runs…testing out the changes made in the pits. The best part of the weekend was the amount of seat time I was able to get. Its been a while and I needed to tighten up that loose nut behind the wheel!

Several times during the practice sessions, I would bring the car in just to make sure everything still looked good. I look to my Crew Chief, Robert Krencik to tell me if its safe to go back out, or if I need to bring it in for repairs. As a driver, I put my safety in the hands of my crew chief.

There is always 10 times more work put in off track than ever put on it. Having a solid pit crew is crucial to any drivers success. Without them, the driver is nothing. Special thanks to you guys that donated your time, sweat, and blood into making it a successful weekend. Robert Krencik, Aaron Singh, Albert Castaneda, and Chris Heimburg…I am grateful to have your support!

At the end of the day on Saturday, we were able to diagnose the oil leaking issue. A bad rear main seal was the culprit. It has also leaked oil onto the clutch which was the cause of the slipping under boost. The guys worked into the night to drop the transmission, replace the rear main seal, and soak the clutch disc in alcohol to clean off the oil.

The sun came up and the guys were already putting the car back together. It was cold…very cold. But there was work to do. We only had two hours before the first practice session and we still had to re-install the starter, intercooler and piping, axle, oil and trans coolers, and anything else that was taken apart the night before

Before the first session, we put on a fresh set of Toyo R888’s to scrub them in before the official Time Attack Session. I had practiced the day before in an old set of tires, and wow was there a difference. Grip was not a problem today!

We went out for our first practice session to see how the car was going to hold up. The oil and water leaks were completely gone. Although the issue with the clutch slipping was still there. Anything above 15 pounds of boost resulted in the clutch slipping. The intercooler piping ended up popping off, resulting in boost dropping down to 3 psi. On a good note, I could put the hammer down without the clutch slipping!

After each session, the guys would immediately jump under the hood to make the necessary changes before the next session. Each time out on track, things improved…and that there is part of racing. Things don’t always go your way, and not every team gets the opportunity to run a perfect weekend…but a successful team will continue to go even when you want to just give up and go home. My team is what makes us successful…and for that, I thank you guys!

In addition to the Time Attack sessions…there is also an opportunity to earn extra season points by competing in whats called the Super Session. The Super Session is basically a wheel to wheel race at the end of the day between the Modified and Unlimited class drivers. We were called to the pits for a quick meeting before the Super Session started. Being that we missed the first race of the season, it was very important that we ran during the Super Session for the extra points.

The grid us according to lap times. Fastest cars up front. These are typically the more race prepped of the Time Attack cars. A six point cage is required and eliminates the majority of drivers from the day.

Every Race Car Driver got’s that edge. The feeling of wanting to go out and race no matter what, it’s in those moments that only a True Race Car Driver can be the only person he wants to be therefore they will do everything in their power just to Live in that moment. — Motolyric

This race is always fun from a spectator’s position as it is a wheel to wheel race and you’ll never know what will happen out there! Luckily for all of us, there were zero issues and we all finished the race in one piece. I was passed by the Civic behind me and was able to hold the position for the rest of the race.

Despite all of the challenges we had faced, I’d still say we had a pretty successful weekend. We learned a lot about the car, I was able to get in lots of needed seat time, and we drove the car back onto the trailer at the end of the weekend. Once again, I’d like to thank my crew for everything they do. I couldn’t have done it without you!

I’d like to also thank my Valuable Sponsors:

Fontana Nissan/NissanRaceShop.com

OSR Dyno

Robispec

Toyo Tires

AEM Electronics

Team Dynamics

KSport

Whiteline USA

Turbosmart USA

APR Performance

Sparco USA