5 Tracks in 5 Days to determine who really is the fastest driver/car/team
One Day before
the Competition begins
April 17th, 2004
The Test Day in Las Vegas
5 Tracks in 5 Days to determine who really is the fastest
driver/car/team
Autowave is maintaining and tuning the Flamemobile\
This is not the "Official OTC"
page. It is my "unbiased" (heh) interpretation of the events
prior to the Open Track Challenge, and a diary of what happened during the
event.
April 17th. The Test Day
We get to the track about 9:00 a.m., just in time for the
driver's meeting. NASA was able to secure this test day, which allows us
to make sure our cars work, and to get some practice on the track. There are two run groups, an HPDE group, and an OTC test
group today.
The new Vegas track is a really fun track! Only problem is that portions of it are new, with slurry seal on portions of it, so my ABS is kicking in a lot. The ABS system on the NSX is antiquated. Someone was telling me the ABS on the new Honda Civics are faster responding and better.
Autowave installed the AEM, and tuned it for the OTC. We got 409 RWHP on
their dyno!
I go out with Wayne in session one in his EVO to check out the track. I keep telling him to go faster and faster, apex later, give it more gas, etc, like an asshole backseat driver. I succeed in making him spin into the rocks at the end of the straightaway. Ooops!
Dyno chart of the NSX from the previous week. (Date on graph is wrong)
We get some bets going. I tell Dearing that it is between him, his co-driver Ken Haney in an WSR car, and my NSX for overall champ of this year's OTC. Dearing and I bet 10 bucks per track on our laptimes. And we are figuring out a bet for Erik in my NSX vs Ken in the WSR car. A DNF means you lose 10 bucks per track. We shake on it. Then Dearing comes by and shows me his new Goodyear slicks. DAMN! He never runs slicks. Nice Cheating Bastard move, I shoulda seen that coming.
I am trying to get all my camera stuff dialed in. I bought a Chase Cam from Randy Chase at the BW Time Attack event last week. This camera seems cool, it plugs into a Sony Camcorder. Cost is pretty cheap, I told him to raise his prices. He's got some super cool shit coming up in the near future. I think Randy has some ideas to revolutionize video acquisition equipment for all of us on the Go-Fast Crack Pipe. Stay tuned for details!
I bought a lipstick Chase Cam at the BW Time Attack last week
The next session, I fire up the NSX. The plan is to run new slicks, do 3 slow laps, and one or two hot laps to scrub them in for the next couple of days. Adam follows me in his CMC Mustang to check out the driving line, or at least what I think is the driving line. After a few laps, I get into the throttle, and haul ass to a 2:01ish laptime, very sloppy. Car is running strong, motor feels good. I only have a 3.0 motor with the five speed, if I had a 3.2 motor and a six speed, it could even be faster.
Ryan's Vette before the stickers are applied
Since the Derek Daly track has added another mile or so of track, no one knows what a good laptime is. On the next lap, I smell a little smoke, and there is some smoke in the passenger compartment. Hummm....better pit. As I am pitting, the timing and scoring people can see a foot high flame on the rear of the car. Uh....the car is on fire! In the ffing test session! I pull in, and someone hits it with a fire extinguisher. The bumper is melted. Damn.
I look at the fire area closer, and it appears that I uh....didn't empty the oil catch can after our test day at Willow. Shit. It overflowed, oil dripped onto the exhaust, which caught fire, and then the plastic bumper started melting. At least the motor didn't catch fire, it it just the bumper. I empty the catch can into a Snapple bottle, and everything seems okay. Hopefully.
Dearing comes running by with a hot dog on a stick for a photo opp!
The bumper is already melted, so I had Brent tie wrap a hotdog to the bumper.
I had the wife cook enough spaghetti sauce and noodles to make about 30 plates of spaghetti, so we will be eating like kings in the RV, trying to eat enough food to get us through this week long Go-Fast Crack Pipe binge that we are embarking on.
We will check it with a pyrometer later on in the week
After lunch, I buzz the NSX around on the other set of tires for five laps, I run another sloppy hot lap, but I am down to 1:58.13. I had Brent standing by the pit wall with the fire extinguisher just in case. No fire this time! Car is running good. I call Erik and tell him I took 3 lbs of weight off the car using the Fire Method, but car is fast, handles great, and it could be a winner!
Rylan's S2000 seems to having some motor problems. Hopefully they can fix it, but it is gonna be tough. Not sure what is wrong, could be a bearing.
Rylan's motor is making funny sounds
1:30 p.m. I park the NSX. No need for more testing, I think we are good for the start of the OTC!
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. - Carrol Shelby Reception
We get to go to the Shelby Museum which is by the race track to check out the
cars and schmooze with the builders of the Shelby Cobra.
Nice cars at the Shelby Museum in Las Vegas
LATE UPDATE: 7:00 p.m.
Looks like Rylan's S2000 has a bad main motor bearing. He has lots of
spare parts with him, but no motor. We go through the iterations:
1. Trailer his car to my shop 280 miles away. Take what bearings are out of my motor, and throw them into his motor. Only problem is that the consensus is that swapping main bearings is not a good idea due to wear patterns, and he might blow up the motor. He could blow up in the motor going 130 into turn 8 at Willow, which would be disastrous, Or worse, crash into a wall if the motor seized up.
2. Strike(Aaron) said that they could use his S2000 motor if they trailer down to the San Fernando Valley (probably 280 miles), and swap out Aaron's motor into Rylan's car, and then after the event, reswap it back. Only problem is they there might not be enough time to trailer, swap, trailer back to Vegas, and throw down some fast laps before 3:30 p.m. Monday.
My Dad coulda bought one of these back in 1965, but instead got a regular
Mustang
3. Someone flies from Vegas to S.F. Valley, picks up Aaron's car, and then drives it back. This is feasible thought, an airline search is started.
4. Messley is 24 hours late in getting to Vegas. We have Messley drive it to Vegas. Problem is that we are depending on Messley to finish the Z-car that has been at his shop for 3 weeks. We immediately cancel that idea, as Messley will probably not sleep tonight, and drive straight to Vegas in the morning for his run group.
5. Messley calls back, and says that Coffey/Lampe haven't left yet. They are Rylan's arch enemy in U3. We call Coffey, and tell him that if he wants some competition in U3, he needs to drive Aaron's car down to Vegas. This is the current plan: Coffey or Lampe drives Aaron's S2000 to Vegas, while Rylan/Kennedy/Eric/Randy/etc start dropping the motor out of Rylan's car in the parking lot. Rylan's crew is working out of my trailer. Hopefully things will work out for them.
Me, I'm heading out to win some more cash at the blackjack tables.....
Dearing's Viper has a good shot at becoming the OTC King
LATEST UPDATE: 11:40 p.m.
Rylan's motor is out of his car. Aaron is driving the car down to Las
Vegas! Rylan might still be able to duke it out against the ROD (Rusty Old
Datsun, aka the Coffey 240Z with the 25k motor in it. That's 25k dollars,
not miles), and the Vishnu Evo, which is rumored to have Ken Dobson driving it.
Rylan and the S2000 guys worked late into the night pulling the motor at the
track
Motor swap will happen very early in the morning. Rylan's team needs to be able to throw down some quick laps at least by session 4 in the afternoon.
I get spanked at the blackjack table. Damn......they took most of my winnings last night. Those bastards!
This Toyota WSR car could be king. I don't think I can beat it, but Messley might
Performance Parts by Comptech USA