2009 Redline Time Attack series – Blog Update – CMP
Prelude to CMP - The mere two weeks since the Nashville RTA event were packed full of fun and excitement for the WindSpeed Motorsports team. A noise/vibration was noted during the final TA session in
The day of reckoning – With the new parts on the car we felt confident as we unloaded at CMP on Saturday. The car ran so smoothly after the install we didn’t even go for a test drive before loading up to head out to CMP… in hindsight that could have been a mistake! A very BIG one!?!
Taking to the track for our first practice session of the weekend, it took about 200 yards to notice that the clutch was slipping a substantial amount, and would need a gentle touch to make it through the weekend. The car was performing fabulous with the exception of the aged clutch finally beginning to wave the white flag. It would have been a less harsh lesson had we not just reinstalled it 3 days prior and saying “It looks fine… Let’s put it back in” (not a good way to describe a modular clutch, because unless it explodes, they all look “fine”).
While taking extra caution to not over rev the car on corner exit which only made the slippage that much more noticeable, I was able to lay down a few good practice laps and got into the top 3 on the grid for the first Time Attack session and top 5 for the second TA session. As the day was getting hotter and the clutch was getting worse, we were happy to see those times hold up to claim our third Street FWD Class victory in the 2009 Redline Time Attack series.
The new set-up(s) on the car and running at a familiar track for the first time this year, we were able to finally get some comparison data to previous outings. With the clutch situation as it was, we were never able to capitalize on the new found power of the Forced Performance “Green” turbo system we installed earlier in the year. We were however fortunate to be running the new Continental Extreme DW tires we began using in
A good result with a car that was not nearly 100% shows us the potential that is laying-in-wait for the next event at
During the award ceremony, we got a couple nice “surprises”. First were my competitors, good-natured ribbings as they announced that not only had I won the Street FWD Class for the third time this year; but I did it on my 40th birthday. For our second surprise we were approached by the Redline filming crew and asked if we would stay to do an interview for posting on the Time Attack website. We were happy to oblige. (See link below)
Time to get back to work on the car as arrival of the new clutch system from SPEC Clutches is due any day and the teardown and rebuild needs to be done in time for an extensive test drive of the car before heading off to NJ (Yes…. I learned my lesson).
I would really like to thank all my sponsors for helping to make the car better than ever in 2009:
SPEC Clutches for coming up with an amazing solution to hold the extreme HP levels of the WindSpeed SRT-4. Can't wait to try it out in NJ!
Continental Tires for coming through with their NEW Continental ExtremeContact DW tires that are doing an awesome job and surprising a lot of people.
Forced Performance who built and excellent turbo that really makes the car come alive.
DeatschWerks for providing us with the right injectors to perfectly match the requirements of our new turbo.
TCE Performance Products for always coming through with all the braking products I need to keep it on the track.
Maxx Fabrications for one heck of an exhaust system and hands down the best customer service in this or any industry!
Thank You from the entire WindSpeed MotorSports team!
http://redlinetrackevents.com/Round5Assets/times/sun/StreetTAFinal.pdf
(Final Results)
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Redline-Time-Attack-Round_701472.htm
(Interview starts about 12:30)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI-f5nj7rBE
(in-car video)
2009 Redline Time Attack series – Blog Update – Autobahn Country Club
Well after a difficult start to the competition year for the Windspeed Motorsports team, the long hours and hard work have begun to pay-off. After missing out on the One Lap of America with a last second failure of the transmission, we focused our attention on the next event,
Sunday got off to a good start, with times similar to Saturday afternoon. The car was running strong and smooth until the one part not in the spares bin decided to let go… The crankshaft!
Fast-forward 3 weeks and the car has a new motor, new turbo systems, new PCM, new injectors rebuilt head and a thick layer of dust from being in the shop for 3 weeks. All the installation was completed on Wednesday and with 13 miles of “break-in” the car was loaded onto the trailer for the 750 mile drive to the suburbs of
Having only had 3 prior laps of competition on the track (OLA-2007) I knew there was a lot to learn and wanted to get as much track time as possible before the Time Attack sessions on Sunday afternoon.
Of course the first few laps were a bit of a nervous time since the car hadn’t been tested since I installed the new motor and having done it on a tight timetable, there is always that lingering question in the back of your mind, “Did I get it all right”? Well, patience and attention to detail paid off as the car was running flawlessly, and that meant not going home with my tail between my legs before ever getting in a single time attack session (not that I would have given up that easily)….but I digress.
The minor detail of a failed connection on the oil pressure sensor, and the matter of a small puddle of fresh Synthetic motor oil (which was promptly cleaned up and properly disposed of…LOL) was discovered shortly after coming off track from the first practice session. This was quickly repaired and the car headed back out onto the track for another round of practice.
Times were already ahead of out 2007 times from One Lap of America and steadily dropping. The car was experiencing a spark issue and after cycling through the usual suspects; coil, plugs, wires, blinker fluid, etc…. it was discovered that a plug wire had an internal break and required a replacement. After two more practice sessions with an intermittent miss-fire caused by the plug wire, I was amazed how fast the car continued to be and even with the issue, we were in the top 10 times for all Street Class cars.
Off to Autozone after dinner for a quick fix before the AM sessions got underway the next morning. With the problem fixed and behind us it was time to concentrate on laying down a respectable time prior to the Time Attack session so that we would be running with cars more in line with the cars abilities than were showing on the timesheets from the previous runs. The first TA session had us gridding 8th overall and behind a fast Evo 8. Having raced several times with this competitor, I knew he would be smooth and consistent and not slow me down, should I pick up a good bit of time with the newly revived car.
Well as luck would have it I passed both Alex (Evo 8) and another Evo in the same ½ lap but both were smooth and did not impede my progress or slow my lap times much if at all. After all was said and done I picked up almost 3 full seconds from my grid time to my T.A. time, and finished 1st in Street FWD and 2nd Overall in the “Buddy Club” Street Class.
The second T.A. session had most people improving their times just slightly, while I slowed a bit with the recurrence of my spark problem. Upon returning to the paddock and lifting the hood, the cause was evident; my new plug wire had decided to lift off the #3 cylinder and was sitting about an inch higher than its intended position. No real loss, as my times held up from the first TA session and I had officially clinched the Street FWD class win with a time of 1:39.321, bettering the time of “semi-local” and 2008 Redline Time Attack Street FWD Champion by a bit more than 1.1 seconds. I am also proud to say that we finished ahead of 8 of the 18 competitors in the Modified Class and would have finished on the podium in the Mod FWD division with the times run in street class “trim”.
The new and improved SRT-4 for 2009 is off to a strong start in the Redline Time Attack series. Next stop is Nashville Speedway were the SRT should really be able to stretch its legs and run away from some of the lighter and more nimble FWD cars in the class.
I would really like to thank all my sponsors for helping to make the car better than ever in 2009:
Forced Performance who built and excellent turbo that really makes the car come alive.
DeatschWerks for providing us with the right injectors to perfectly match the requirements of our new turbo.
Continental Tires for coming through with their Continental SportContact3 tires that are doing a great job and surprising a lot of people.
TCE Performance Products for always coming through with all the braking products I need to keep it on the track.
Maxx Fabrications for one heck of an exhaust system and hands down the best customer service in this or any industry!
Kudos to you all and Thank You from the entire WindSpeed MotorSports team!
http://timeattackblog.com/2009/06/22/preliminary-results-from-autobahn/#more-248
http://www.redlinetimeattack.com/Article/Details/34
