I plan to be there this weekend running in CAM-S (stupid wheelbase rule). I've been driving mine a couple times a week since the Optima Event. I need to check it over tomorrow and put on a new O2 sensor and it should be ready to race.

79 camaro
 

Duston,
looking forward to running there.. might give me a little
practice for Fontana later this year. Texas Pantera boys
have posted videos before... There is a full race Pantera
that runs there and hits 182 in fourth gear (5 speed car)
at 8800 rpm... most of the other Panteras that have run
there hit 175... should be fun

Bob

Corvette, Cobra, Maverick - makes sense? Gotta love SCCA sometimes..see you Sunday!

Big boy stuff! I'll have to look up some video of that - 126ish is terrifying enough.

Congrats on posting the fastest American Muscle time. I watched a couple of your runs and the car looked great. Being in the first heat sucks. I picked up a lot of ideas watching you guys in the later sessions.

Seth said you did great in the autoX Dustin! The car running as good as ever? I haven't done anything with mine since USCA- how said is that! I'm signed up with the BMW club this weekend and then for the mirror cross at the end of the month with ER.

Chris - How are the Nittos doing?

Greg

Thanks Chris, it was good seeing you out there. The Maverick was looking and sounding good, too - congrats on the win in S! Sorry I didn't get to talk much, running two cars keeps both mine and my dad's heads spinning pretty much all day long.

The early run group definitely has disadvantages, but once it's hot I don't mind it because I'm normally zapped by the time the last group is up.

Other than replacing a few exhaust bolts that vibrated out Sunday of Optima, ours hadn't been touched either, so you're not alone! Still got a list of things to do on the suspension, but it's just getting more fun every time we take it out.


Texas SCCA Pro-touring Challenge

I was the only car entered in CAM-T, and I ended up taking it on the chin from the C guys during trophies for not getting more pro-touring cars out. So I'm putting the call out now for the June 21st event - come out and have some fun with the largest autocross series in the area!

(If you stick around for trophies, they even have free beer - who can turn that down?!)

Texas SCCA info: http://www.texasscca.org/soloautocross

Sunday stuff

Only managed to get one pic and one video during the day, and of course the video was the run after the quickest one. It was the one with the hellacious spin at least:


This is what happens when you try to find a second where you should be looking for a tenth.

Brake changes


We'll be making some changes on the brakes in the near future, too, stepping down the size of the master cylinder for the fronts in search of a bit more pedal travel and easier modulation. Right now the fronts are kind of an on/off switch, with a very, very fine line between too little and lockup. I'll post updates on the new setup and how everything works out as we go along.

Big thanks again to Mike from Wilwood for his help and knowledge both during and since the Optima event!

I heard there were 150 cars there on Sunday, How many runs did you get and how much time did you spend there? That's the trouble I have with the SCCA events - the number of cars! I am interested in the Pro Solo event the SCCA is putting on in Mineral Wells on June 5-7. There will surely be a lot of cars there as well but, the format sounds really fun.

I've kind of always thought the same thing on their events, but there are some advantages.

Total was 162 cars. We got 5 runs each, and I was out of there around 5:30 after trophies. If you run and work in earlier groups you can get out much earlier than that. Their events are very well run, hardly any downtime during the day for issues.

One cool thing is you have two of the four heats off, which gives a lot of time to hop in with people and also opens them up to be able to ride with you and share tips.

It's definitely a different deal than the smaller clubs like ER and NTAXS where you'll get 6-8 runs, but it's also cool to run with that many people - a lot of them nationally competitive and former champions - and see where you stack up in the PAX times at the end of the day.

Still on the fence about the Pro, depending on if the weather dries up the next few weeks we may (hopefully) be in the middle of finishing up building a shop by then.

I've jumped ship on the Pro-Solo event. Instead, Im going to do the ER Auto-x School. Camp out that night and then do the Mirrored Cross on Sunday. I should get lots of practice runs that way so hopefully I can get a little closer to you guys' times at the 6/21 event.

When you were taking it on the chin from the C guys for winning CAM-T did you happen to throw it back at them when the announcement came out that your time beat all of theres? LOL

Im not a fan of the length of time spent at the SCCA events either. Basically you are there from 730 - 530 being active for 3 hrs and hanging out the rest. I do however like the larger run groups. It gives plenty of time for the car to cool down and to make changes to the setup. Im not a fan of hot lapping the car and always having to keep the line moving like at some other events.

I would like to run in all the races! I would also like a faster car with better brakes to keep up with you guys.... I just don't have the money to fund all these races.

I get your point about riding with other talented drivers and riding in different cars, I wonder if a better use of time would be to go to an event without driving and just ride- no worker duties and no driving responsibilities, just pick cars to ride in and have fun. I know Seth really enjoys that.

I'm signed up to run with the BMW club this Sat- 10 laps and they will be done around 3....

I mentioned something about maybe running with them (C is technically 78-on, but ours gets pushed back with the early second gens into T). Jon, who won C, said he wouldn't allow it for that express reason, haha. They have a big, pretty closely matched group of cars in that class right now, it's pretty cool.

You'll enjoy their event - lots of seat time. 10 runs at Mineral Wells is a lot of miles - hopefully the weather forecast takes a turn for the better before the weekend.

As for just going and riding, it could be beneficial to get out without worrying about the car and driving and everything. To me, though, being able to see something from the passenger seat then go out and try it the same day would be the ideal situation, though.

Sound level logs from the SCCA event were posted - guess it's a good thing we ditched the side dumped 3" SpinTechs in favor of Magnaflows that dump under the car, huh?!


Luckily, none of the sites we run at regularly are sound restricted.

Just read this whole thread, all I can say is WOW. At first I was like this thing is just a drag car but You made it work. And coming from a 350Z and learning how to drive and make this car impressive is a accomplishment.

I remember running at Pennington Field the first time wondering if I was going to get flagged. I was just under the 99db limit. At this event I was running I think it was 96.3.

It's Monday, and it feels like a good time for an update, so here we go!

So, what's new? In our bid to never take the car to an event the same way twice, we've made another gear change!


Leading up to, and during the Optima event, we had a ridiculously loud gear whine coming from somewhere in the drivetrain (you can hear it in the road course video from Optima). We had assumed it was coming from the transmission based on the nature of it - really only started in 3rd gear, didn't come in and out with loading and unloading while driving.

It turned out to be the rear end. The 4.11s we had installed last are over 20 years old, and have been installed in at least 4 different rear ends, including the car one other time, and my truck, and had been setup/torn down countless times.

Long story short, they were beyond their useful life, and had begun the gradual process of self-digestion. Lash had opened up substantially, and gear marking compound barely produced a pattern on either side of the tooth. The housing was also filled with glitter. Close call..


New Richmond 3.70s are in now, opening up a bit more top-end in 1st and 2nd gear (from 46 up to 51 in first, and 70 up to 78 mph in 2nd). This should make things better both on tight Optima/Goodguys type courses and our usual free-flowing Texas region layouts.

And, you no longer need earplugs going down the road. Win-win.

While that was going on, I also addressed an unfinished item from the original thrash earlier this year - getting some paint on the non-stainless bits of the exhaust. The tips were finish welded, and VHT flat black went on all the mild steel parts. Minor issue, but one that had been bugging me nonetheless.


Our other project for the year has been a new shop, as we outgrew our current setup a while ago. Rocked right along on it the past few weekends since it finally quit raining, and should be able to start doing finish work inside over the next few weeks. Super excited to get going in there.


Finally, this past weekend we got ready for the SCCA Texas Region event this weekend (happy Father's Day dad!).

It was fun running the car with the full Optima decal pack on it for an event or two, but the time had come for it to go. Can't just throw it away, though, so we cut down some scrap splash board and made two garage art pieces.


Back rolling low-key. Well, as low-key as you can be in such a car...


After a quick wash, we're all set to go get it dirty again. Anxious to see how the new gears work - still feels plenty frisky running down the road, hopefully that will translate on track.

The car screams "all business". I like that.

Nice work. See you Sunday.

Thanks, Trey!

Good to see you again, Chris - hopefully the weather will cooperate better next time..

---

Sunday was fun, but kind of a mixed bag. We had some competition in CAM-T this time, which was cool. 4 car field consisting of us, a 68 Camaro prepped by Dusold Designs and packed to the gills with go-fast parts, a Falcon, and a Model T (this class really makes no sense when you break it down :confused18: )

I also managed a lucky draw on my run group, and got pretty much a fully dry session between showers.

Managed to get the win by a little over a second, and took fastest CAM time of the day with the big caveat that the C guys got rained/lightninged out after their 1st or 2nd runs.

Not as good news: the 3.70s made for several awkward spots speed-wise, as you'll see in the video. With an overly fat carburetor that still had a cool weather tune in it, there were multiple spots that were too fast for 1st, but way down low out of the 'happy range' in 2nd.

My driving in it is still pretty sloppy, but forgoing smooth and steady for the dive bomb/stab and pray method seems to be the way to go with the current combo. Here's video of the quickest run..

Here's the outside view of the run above courtesy of the crew chief/girlfriend. Found it on my phone last night and couldn't stop giggling at it :P


And a couple pics, because why not?


And, I got to do a little daily driving with it this week. Nothing like wearing khakis and five points at the same time..

Nice job! You were really moving!

Time for a little bit of an update, I guess. The car has been pretty well static aside from the gear change back in June, which leaves the work to be done on my end.

We're a year in to running the car, and I've been sneaking up on finding the limits while mostly leaving all the settings alone.

This event was also notable because it was the first one I've driven the car too, which felt pretty good aside from forgetting to back the shocks down for the trip over.


The last couple trips I wanted to focus on reigning everything in a bit. In the last videos I posted, it was a spray and pray, dive bomb everything and figure it out later approach. This time the focus was to keep speeds in check and be tighter on the cones.


I managed to be much more controlled in most areas, and way tighter on the cones - to the point of only having one clean run out of 5 :knock: This one, incidentally the first, was thankfully enough for the class win and top CAM time, but 28th overall PAX (class and PAX results). Progress, but I was still pretty frustrated with the cones.

A brief intermission..

Fast forward to two weeks ago, and a back to back weekend between two different clubs, NTAXS and Equipe Rapide. In late July. In Texas.

NTAXS runs a slightly different format, with each car taking all their runs of the session back to back. This leaves only a couple of minutes between each, which isn't very Camaro friendly even in moderate weather. Enter the Z!

This paid off in two ways, giving me a chance to drive it in anger again for the first time in months, and to instruct my dad in back to back sessions with us co-driving. He's coming along great over the last few events, and really having a blast. It's been good fun watching him progress, and has helped my driving as well.

His best run:


And mine (where's my 200 extra horsepower, 50mm more tire, and 3.5 degrees of camber up front?!)


Even on worn out tires and bone stock suspension, it's such a fun car to throw around. We ended up the day 3rd (I coned away a time good enough for 2nd, ugh) and 11th in a pretty big class of 24.

Back to regularly scheduled programming

The next day it was back to the big lot at Lone Star Park for some wide open, gravel slinging, hill climbing fun. Already a little beat from the heat the day before, I trudged out bright and early Sunday morning (this time I remembered to back the shocks off 3 clicks all around, at least).

I was sweating before I even got to the track, and things just got hotter from there.


The course was big, and fast, with an optional crossover that you could really fly into and out of.

The first run cost me a 6 and a CAM class magnet off the driver's side, both of which were returned, thankfully. I brought a new run log sheet to keep track of tire and brake temps, but there just wasn't enough time between runs to keep this up after the first since I was by myself.

What I did see was pretty promising, with only a few degrees difference from the outside to the inside of the fronts, and brake temps being pretty close front to rear as well. Not bad for a complete shot in the dark on alignment, and word of mouth from Mike at Wilwood on tire pressure settings.


Due to some confusion during the event on classing, I ended up with the win in CAM-C, rather than CAM-T, over Aaron Sockwell in the DuSold 6G Mustang, with the only clean run I had in the morning.


While the grip isn't great, and the gravel is wreaking total havoc on our paint, I LOVE this place. Nothing like topping the hill at nearly 70 mph then jamming the brakes into a deeply downhill off-camber turn. Not your typical autocross, for sure.

This was a fun trip, but man was I beat by the time I got home. The car did great, handling the heat like a champ (it was 114 in the driver's seat when I climbed in to drive home).


Maintenance and other miscellany

After 2/3rds of a season, I'm extremely happy with the Falkens. We've run a lot, including USCA, and a decent amount of street driving, and they still look good and fat all around.

That being said, the, uh, rears are showing a bit more wear than the fronts (go figure?).


Got them rotated front to rear, and did a general once-over to make sure nothing looks like it's going to fall off. Only found one issue, which has plagued us since we started all this last year.


It looks like our plans for the winter are going to include building a floater 9-inch for it. It has eaten regular Timken bearings (literally spit the inside out of one), and is now leaking around a Moser o-ring'd bearing. Frustrating, but nothing we can't fix.

If anyone has an idea of what we're missing that is simpler than building a new rear end, I'm all ears.

Finally, two of our local clubs have a contingency program with Discount Tire. I got signed up last weekend, and hastily threw on the stickers before running, so they needed to be redone. Looking more racey now, but.. I like a chance at free tires, and we love Discount either way, so I'm happy to run them.


Up next

Boy, this got long again. Next up for us is another trip to Lone Star Park, at an event originally billed as the North Texas Camaro Club autocross, but is now a come one, come all and have fun type deal. Excited to fly the Camaro flag and try and get after some very fast drivers in a range of cars.

Big time thanks to Greg (Gscherer78ta) for putting everything together! Should be a lot of runs, a lot of friends, and a great opportunity for testing and tuning.

And drinking water. Lots, and lots of water.

Great write up Dusty! I hope the event tomorrow is a lot of fun and that we all learn some things- I did my best to ensure we could have a lot of seat time- I think there will be some that get ~20 laps!

I would really like to know how you go those big meats under your fenders? I think we should swap our wheels tomorrow to give me at least a snowballs chance in TX of catching your times- sound like a plan?
You've been driving great and it's very apparent that you've been getting some good seat time and it's paying off. I really like running in the same group as you but, I also like riding with you to see what you're doing so I can get some tips.

Drink lots of water tonight and rest up for tomorrow!

Greg

That first picture with you and Chris with his Maverick is great.

As for the bearings, are you running the Set20 tapered bearings? They are the big 3.150 diameter bearings. They are supposed to hold up to cornering abuse versus the normal roller bearing. At least I really hope they do. I have them on the ten bolt that's waiting to go in the car.

Glad to hear of your continued success Duston. Keep it up!

Man, Saturday was a blast! Thanks again for putting everything together - my dad got 17 runs, there was brake dust literally falling out of all the wheels on the Z when I swapped them back out, haha.

Thanks, Trey! We're just running the standard bearings right now, not tapered, and after doing some reading that is definitely the problem. I think we're going to look at changing the ends on our current housing and try those before we go all in on a floater..

August autocross in Texas, and other signs you may be a masochist

A little update from the weekend. I've been fighting with a little hesitation coming off the corners since it's been hot. Coming into the year, the carburetor still had the same basic setup from our drag racing stuff, and from much cooler weather at that. About a month ago, I stepped down a bit on the jets front and rear, and it was happier but still not all the way there.

The biggest problem was a little hesitation out of corners, particularly when just hammering it at lower RPM. The first thing on the list was squirter size, as we were pretty sure it was still rich and just loading it up at the hit. Stepped down from a 42 to a 35 up front, and things came ALIVE.


It was obvious from the first hit of the throttle that we were much, much happier.

Since putting the 315s on, it's never wanted to really just lay waste to the tires, but it was doing it. Hazing them at 60+ mph in 2nd gear? No problem at all. All this, combined with a lack of food and sleep, and it being unmercifully hot (driver excuse generator ACTIVATE!), made for an interesting first session, as shown above.

At least it puts on a show? :lol:

All in all, we were able to get what we needed to accomplished. The bearing leak on the rear end has gotten bad again, so the planning will have to start on that soon. It's always something..

Looking great out on the course!! Love that you get to beat on your car so many times a season.

You don't have to switch axle ends to upgrade to the tapered bearing setup, but you will need new axles as the ID of the A20 bearings is a bit larger than the radial bearings. I did this upgrade last winter and so far **knocking on wood** my rear axle bearings have held up good.

Several times this weekend past, I'd stand up from checking tire air pressures or something and get woozy a bit...then head directly to the cooler and get another water to chug. Have no idea how many bottles of water I downed this weekend, but it was a lot. Keeping hydrated is very important at events like this as well as sunscreen.

Thanks, Lance, we are very lucky around here - between 4 different clubs, we can run nearly every weekend Mar-Nov with events that are an hour or less away. Not that we really want to right now..it was 108 here yesterday.

After some more investigation, you're right on the bearings. I was thinking we had the smaller diameter bearings, but they are the 3.150s. After everything our axles have been through, a fresh set probably wouldn't be a bad thing, anyway.

EDIT: Just found all of your trials with this in your thread - it's like reading the same book we've been living since last fall :headspin:

Looks like the Challenge was a blast, we may have to try to make it up for that next year.

Think we found the problem :lol:


I noticed a bit of a leak before the Camaro Club event (mentioned in my post on the 7th). Before what I was planning to be my last run anyway, I noticed the barrel of the wheel was shiny. Climbed under and noticed a drip of oil on the bottom of the rotor, and a pretty moist housing end.

The last time we rode this merry-go-round, it had just shucked the inner seal piece on the bearing. We're never ones to let up, though, and I think we got all of it this time. New Moser axles with tapered rollers came in yesterday, and dad got them swapped out last night.


We'll put them to the test Sunday, as we're heading right back to Lone Star Park, where I assume the last one got broken.

I've also noticed some pretty significant brake pad kickback the last few trips out, I'm hoping this will help in that area, too. Nothing like having a manual pedal that requires a ton of pressure, but not being sure if the free travel is going to be nothing or an inch or two as you're approaching a turn..

Thanks again for the tips, Lance, that simplified this process greatly.

---

As the end of summer approaches, I've started a winter 'to-do' list. This year was always a "work on me, get on the level of the car" campaign in my mind, and I'd like to travel a bit and hit it hard with some improvements next year. Right now it includes:

Needs:
- Adapters to use a standard coilover spring up front so we can bump the rates; possible bump in rear rate as well, need to put pen to paper to see
- Install the new brake and clutch master cylinders we already received from Wilwood. This includes a size change for the fronts to get a little more travel and lighter pressure requirement at the pedal, and hopefully a much better feel overall
- Bigger, dual-pass radiator to help with summertime and road course running; ducting to the grill openings and blockoffs around the rad to clean up airflow up there
- Airbox that fits to the cowl to keep the heat off the carburetor

Wants:
- Stiffer front swaybar (likely a splined Speedway unit or something similar of our own design)
- Adjustability for the rear bar - right now it's fixed and way too stiff for everything else in our current combo. Either way, being able to tune it is a must in my book
- Fuel injection (big ? at this point)
- Air dam/splitter
- Stock look fiberglass dash and some more interior pieces including an insulated headliner to (a) chase a few more points at Optima events and (b) not roast quite so bad in the summer

And I'm sure there will be more..

Dustin,

Now that you have track time on your wheel & tire setup.Do you think you can lower it a bit more or do you think its going to rub.

Since the initial trip out, where we had to hammer the fender lips some more, we haven't had any rubbing issues other than on the swaybar at full lock, even in full compression.

I intend to drop it another 1/2" or so once we get our front spring situation sorted out - it's bottomed out on the adjustment right now. With the QA1 ProCoils, we're limited to using a big block spring to get up to a 650 lb rate, and it's way too tall for our setup.

Dustin,

Keith at customworks.com has coilover conversion you might be interested in.I'm interested to see how the 315s work up front because I want to do the same thing on my Camaro.If its not too much trouble since you have the inner wheel wells out.Can you snap some pics with the wheels at full lock to see how close wheels are coming to everything?It will be greatly appreciated.

Mike,

Sure thing, I'll grab a few pics under the hood this weekend. The only thing that's really close is the swaybar, from what I remember.

I hadn't seen that Customworks kit before. It looks pretty much like what I have in mind, but since we cut off the stock control arm mounts it would still require a lot of work for us to make it work..nothing off the shelf just works on this car :lol:

Ideally, we'd go to an outboard mounted shock and spring tied to the cage downbar, like what Hobaugh and many of the other CP guys run, but with stock length control arms it's extremely tight in there and would need a pretty hefty chunk removed out of the frame.

Dustin,

Thanks!That will awesome.

Mike,

D'oh, I completely spaced on this Sunday for reasons apparent below - still on my list, I should be able to get some this weekend.

-------

SCCA Event #6

Sunday was the first trip out with the new axles and bearings, and I was looking forward to getting back in the car with my head screwed on straight after the debacle that was the last trip.


The course was fairly technical this time as opposed to the wide open flowing elements we typically have at LSP, which was actually a nice change. Got things started off on a weird note, as it was pointed in tech out that the Z had lost a screw in the undertray on the trip over, and it was nearly dragging the ground.


A few zipties got everything back in order, and we set back to the regular morning routine.

I noticed the night before that the CP Camaro of Jeff Stroh and Todd Farris (of http://www.oversteergarage.com) was entered, and we ended up parked right next to them. Regular routine: derailed.


We talked for a bit, they had a look at our car, and soon it was off for drivers meeting and first heat. Things worked out perfectly, as I was off this heat and they were running, so I begged a couple rides, tried to help where I could (provided a little muscle helping to push it), and mostly tried to stay out of the way while they did their thing.


What. A. Ride. They had to fight a pretty dirty course going out first, and a setup that was geared for the grippy concrete of Lincoln rather than the course asphalt, and it was still a MONSTER. Hopefully we cross paths again, it's a joy to watch, listen to, and ride in.

Back to the normal program, running last heat gives you plenty of time to roam around, catch rides with friends, stare at the sky and ponder life, etc. The temps were moderate, in the mid-90s, but the Houston-esque humidity made it just about as tough as the last few 100+ degree events.


I took the 3rd heat to make a sandwich and cool off in the truck before heading out in an effort to not repeat the sins of the Camaro club event. Grabbed rides with my dad and Jon in his CAM-C Mustang to re-remember the course, and it was time to saddle up.


Things went much better this time, with a reasonable calm, controlled 52.8 right off the bat. Right around what I was expecting, but with a couple cones. A 52.211 followed, which was good for the top overall CAM time and would be my best of the day thanks to a rash of cones that wiped out a 51.678 on the fourth run - class results.

Speaking of that fourth run, about a 1/3rd of the way into that one I noticed a fairly loud whine from somewhere in the driveline after letting off the throttle into a turn. The first section out of the start felt pretty messy, and the noise sealed the deal on a slow 52.5. Looking back at it on the logger, it was actually quicker until letting it push wide about 2/3rds of the way through.

The second, fully charged GoPro battery eluded both of us, so we didn't get video of my session. I was able to use the tablet between runs to compare lines, which proved to be pretty helpful.


We pretty much always say distance is king, and that was the case. This corner, the tightest on the course, seemed like a good opportunity to drive in deep and go for a late apex, getting back to the throttle quicker for the next fairly straight section.


In the session before, I actually discussed this with Jon as he 'pinched' it, and we both agreed that the late apex option should be better. It even felt better in the car..but the numbers don't lie. I entered the section with a .162 lead, and left it basically dead even. The exit speed was nearly 2 mph higher, but this didn't translate into any gain through the next section, either.

Distance. Is. King. Good stuff, and I can't recommend SoloStorm from Petrel Data Systems enough.

We haven't gotten to investigate the noise yet (hopefully it's just in my head?), but it was a great day overall.

On to the next one!

Looks fun and looks like you did well Dustin! Good job! I was out at LSP on Sat with the BMW club and had a blast, they laid out a really fast course! I was getting 75+mph in several places.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks Greg - I really need to get out for one of their events, they always look like wide-open fun.

----

One more bit of Optima Wrap-up


Friday night was about as much fun as I've had sitting in front of the TV in forever. It was Optima Texas night on MAVTV, and it didn't disappoint.

Bangshift Chad, Kevin Mooney, and their entire team work their butts off at these events, and we spent a good chunk of time with cameras strapped on the car throughout the weekend. The show featured great coverage of many of our local guys and shops that contribute to the scene here, and it was great going "Hey, there's X" as they each got their respective segments.

Fairly early on, during a short montage of newcomers to the event, BAM there we are! Complete with a buzz up past 7,000 audible in the background. Ok, I'm good now, anything else from here is gravy :lol:

Backstory: Drag Week 09

A little bit of background with us on doing these events with media coverage - when we did Drag Week, we had two main goals, and a third slightly less important goal. The two main ones were to (1) finish the week, and (2) get a 10 second timeslip. Done, and done. The third was to appear in Hot Rod Magazine, even if it was just in the background of a picture. We 'Long Hauled' two Power Tours in 03 and 04 and never made it in, so we had to have better odds with a lower car count, right?

A few months after the event, the mag came in the mail and the event coverage consisted of around 30 cars from the week, and that was it. Long story short, we were a little bummed, but we knew running 11s in a car like ours it was a long shot anyway.

Back to Optima


My big long wrapup posts intentionally overlooked a fairly big part of the weekend for us: shooting a segment with Mike from Wilwood. We felt pretty sure it would make the show, but didn't want to look like jackasses if we talked it up and it ended up on the cutting room floor. About 45 minutes into the show, I saw the image above coming out of the break and let out an "OH S..."


Early in the day Sunday, we found ourselves in the garage during a fairly quiet time, and caught Chad walking through. After some pleasantries, I told him we had talked to him on Drag Week in 09, and he lit up and remembered the car. We bench raced for a bit, and he brought up the idea of shooting a feature for Wilwood highlighting the multi-purpose nature of the car and the different braking demands of an event like this vs the drag strip.

A bit later, Mike from Wilwood came back over and went through the plan with us, which was to shoot the car going into the braking zone at turn 1 from both on-board and outside, then shoot a segment in the garage discussing the braking performance and potential upgrades after coming in.


I may be biased, but I felt like it turned out great. So many shows put sponsor copy in the host's hands and just shoehorn these types of things in there, but this felt much more natural. In our case, we went with Wilwood from the start and recommend them to our customers, so there wasn't a need for a prompt for me to speak well of them.

The cherry on top of the whole deal was wrapping up the segment showing Smitty going back out for an extra session to improve his road course time in response to our best lap. We had no idea we were anywhere close to him until after things wrapped - I was just having a blast flogging the car on the road course for the first time.

All in all, a very cool way to wrap up one of the most fun events we've ever done and set the hook hard for us to get back at it next year. Huge, huge thanks again to Chad and Mike - my dad and I were still giggling about it hanging out at the lake this weekend.

And I'll say it one more time - if you have the capability at all, get your car out to one of these events!

Bring on 2016!

Here Here to Friday night being the best time I've had in front of a TV in FOREVER! It was great to see all the guys I race with on the weekends, that I know work on their own stuff and swap ideas with during the down time at races! It was awesome to see Dustin, Mike, Chris, Amy and Gary and brought back really fond memories of the most fun event I've entered- I'm a little biased because I got some air time too!

I think my rear drum brakes scarred the Willwood guys away!

I thought you were great Dustin and I too look forward to making minor changes going into 2016!!!!

Little update time - we got back on the road course!


..they just stuck a bunch of cones on it first :headspin:

Every year Texas SCCA does one autocross event on the infield road course. It's a lot more open than their typical courses, and stretched 2nd gear pretty good.


Looking at the video, I'm thinking I could have shifted 3rd and probably gained a little time, but the downshift into that hard braking zone would have made things interesting. As it was, I 'backed into' that section a few times, with the rear getting very antsy under braking.


Didn't get video of my fastest two runs, but this one was pretty close. I was able to clean up the last group of offsets a decent amount to find some time.

We've probably got a few events left this year, then we'll start evaluating the to-do list and the calendar (this time of year always gets crazy), and getting to work.

ALSO..I started a new job a few weeks ago, and I'm loving it already. Exhibit A: if you're going to SEMA, come see me at the Traxxas booth!

That's awesome. So you are the guy jumping the remote control truck in the half-pipe all day? haha Always have to stop by that booth and checkout the trucks. For my son of course... :)

Congrats on the new gig, Duston. What are you doing for Traxxas now?

Seth told me you recently changed jobs- Congrats! I hope you like what you are doing!

I might be down for the year - tires are shot! have to wait for the funds to build back up to put some Bridgestones or Rivals on it.

You had a great season Dusty, man you tightened down the loose nut behind the wheel a bunch! That's a lot of work. It's always fun seeing you at events and trying to come close to your times. I recall not that long ago I could keep up with you, not a chance now.

Greg