Yaw Moment Racing Newsletter - August 2016

My latest newsletter has been sent. Email me at yawmomentracing@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the mailing list. Thanks!

Wilmington ProSolo This Weekend

I am doing the old arrive-and-drive this weekend showing up with helmet bag in hand. I will be co-driving with my Dad in his C-Street FR-S. The only differences between our cars are the dampers (I've got the pimp shocks....) and the color. He is locked and loaded and in Wilmington while I head to the airport.

My Dad's FR-S loaded up for Wilmington

We have 12 drivers in C-Street and is should be a good battle:

Follow along here: 

Live Timing: http://sololive.scca.com/PS/index.php

Live Audio here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/SCCASolo

We are in Group 2 and start Saturday morning at 9am.

Yaw Moment Racing Newsletter - July 2016

I just sent out the first Yaw Moment Racing newsletter last night. The goal with the newsletter is to keep family, friends, supporters, and sponsors up to date on my racing activities directly to your inbox in an straightforward summary. It is easy to get lost in all the different forms of social media, but this keeps it more direct and personal with an email. My plan is to send one newsletter per month during the racing season and about bi-monthly during the off-season, so expect 8-10 newsletters per year. If you are interested in being on the newsletter mailing list, shoot me an email (see email contact button on the right!). Thanks.

Registered for the 2016 SCCA National Championship Runoffs!

The T4 entry list is looking strong so far with 31 drivers and numerous former champs. Can't wait for September!

Link here: http://www.scca.com/events/1980938-2016-scca-runoffs-presented-by-garmin-virb/entry_list

Got to drive an MX5 Cup car on Sunday

Track: MSR Cresson 1.3 CCW
Car: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Cup
Lap Timer: 1:08.5
Tires: Scrubbed BFG R1-S

This is onboard video from a quick test session I did in a 2006 Mazda MX-5 Cup car this past Sunday at MSR Cresson. This may be a car I transfer to SCCA T4 road racing for the 2017 Season. Thanks to MER for the chance to drive!

I know...that camera is too low.  Got to get it up higher next time!

Now Qualified for the Runoffs!

I have officially qualified for the Runoffs, which are September 19^th – 25^th at Mid-Ohio, through the Majors Tour path. I have six race finishes over three weekends to meet the requirements - technically my Sunday race at NOLA where the engine failed counts as a finish because it happened with two laps to go. 

With 2^nd and 3^rd place finishes at the High Plains Major, I am also now good to go for points as well. With the pace of the RX8 in the first races at NOLA, qualifying this year would not have been a problem. However, it has been quite the scramble replace the broken RX8 and get the Corolla on track in time to qualify. I finished 4^th in the Mid-States Conference Majors points standings in T4 with 115 points. Next year, the goal will be to win the championship!

It doesn't always go as planned!

Ali, Koni the dog and I went to Harris Hill Road yesterday for some testing in the T4 Corolla. The goal was to test rear spring rates and damper settings. Per the Touring 4 class rules, I have to run a non-adjustable damper. I have a set of adjustable Koni dampers from ProPartsUSA on the car for testing. The plan was to fix the damper settings and then send the dampers back to ProParts to get the adjuster disabled before the Runoffs. That plan will be on hold for now because the test day did not go as planned. I had a failure in the rear suspension in my first couple of laps. Luckily it can be fixed fairly easily and it didn't cause a crash, but it did end the test day.

In actuality, the rear suspension issue didn't change the day's result. Unfortunately, Harris Hill has gotten too bumpy to be used to setup a racecar in my opinion. It was definitely bumpy in December when I visited in the RX-8, but it has gotten worse and I am convinced I would have destroyed the car if I had run my whole test plan Saturday. On the lap before the suspension failed, I had pretty much decided that I was putting the car back on the trailer instead of running through any spring/damper changes. It really is unfortunate...H2R has a fun layout and is run by great people. I really enjoy driving the track and the track management is so easy-going and fantastic to work with. There are still many things that the track can be used for, but, for me, setting up a racecar with 2.3+hz natural frequency suspension front and rear isn't one of them.

Good morning weather at H2R

Discussing the rear suspension problem with One Lap, autocross and GRM superstar Andy Hollis

Final SCCA Majors Race of the Mid-States Season at High Plains Raceway

Since the Pueblo Major over Memorial Day, I took about 60lbs out of the car (including some "up-high" weight like the moonroof), went to 16x7 wheels (max allowed) up from 16x6.5, added a stiffer rear ARB, a front strut bar, a baffled oil pan, and a ProParts custom damper setup with ride height adjustment. Big thanks to Jeff Wong and ProParts for getting me the dampers in time for the race weekend! With the ride height adjustment, I was able to get the car down over 2 inches from stock which looked more like a minivan than a racecar!. I focused on weight, wheel and suspension changes for High Plains. I wanted as much time as possible to dial in the suspension before the Runoffs. I am confident in my ability to drive down a straight and click through the gears, so I know I'll find some pace with more horsepower.

At High Plains, we had three drivers in class, both of whom I raced against at Pueblo. The main goal for the weekend was to see if I picked up enough pace relative to the other guys where it would even be worth it to make the trek to the Runoffs. Overall, I clawed back enough pace from Jeff Jensen, who won both Sunday races at Pueblo and High Plains, to make the Runoffs a possibility this year. At Pueblo, I was 4s back from Jeff J on a 1:50s lap (comparing fast race laps from Sunday). For the High Plains Sunday feature race, I was 1.2s back on a 2m10 lap.

I finished 2nd behind Jeff on Saturday in the rain. He was on rains while I was on slicks, but he had more pace anyway. I came in 3rd behind Jeff and Stan Czacki on Sunday, but it was much, much closer than Pueblo. I crossed the line 2s behind Stan. It was a big learning experience to have a full green 35min race to really push and see how the pace/balance changed over the run. My last lap was within 1s of my fastest lap even with some oil on the turn 6 line. 

Turn 1 in Sunday's race

Mixing it up with an EP RX8

Saturday's Podium

The second goal for the weekend was to qualify for the runoffs. With the 2nd and 3rd place finishes at High Plains, I am now officially qualified - more details on this process later. I'm very much looking forward to my first Runoffs start in September!

There is still much development to go on driver and car before the Runoffs, but I am looking forward to making this econobox as fast as I can. The engine is bone stock, and I still have the open factory diff. By dropping more weight (about 60lbs to meet the min weight) and further suspension development, there should be much pace left to gain overall. 

Thanks to my parents and Ali for helping me thrash on the car over the race weekend and to the Eisele clan and James D for making the trek out to High Plains to watch. Also, thanks to Lane Borg and Stefan Waller for helping me get the car together the week before the race. Also congrats to Jeff Jensen for the double win at High Plains and for Stan Czacki picking up the Mid-States Conference T4 Championship!

Apparently I talk with my hands a lot....

Onboard video from Saturday's race: 

Onboard video from Sunday qualifying:

I had an issue with the GoPro Camera during Sunday's race so I have no onboard video. Next up I have a test session this Saturday at Harris Hill Road for suspension testing. My next race is at the end of July for the Wilmington ProSolo event. I'll be co-driving with my Dad in his C-Street FRS.

Edited Onboard Video from my NOLA Majors Win in the RX8

I went back and edited the onboard video from NOLA Motorsports Park back in February. This is highlights from the win in Saturday's 25min race. In Group 5, we had E Production, F Production, STL T3 and T4 with 41 total cars.

Onboard Video from Saturday's Wet Race at High Plains

Wet grid at High Plains Raceway

This is the start and finish of the 25 minute Saturday race at the 2016 SCCA Majors tour at High Plains Raceway. I started 2nd and finished 2nd in Touring 4 class. It rained for about 2 hours Saturday morning stopping 30 minutes before the race start. I didn't have rain tires with me so I ran on the BFG R1-S dry race tires. It was a bit dicey for the first 15min but the track came in with about 5 min to go. I had the fastest race lap in T4 on the final lap but was already well behind the 1st place Acura RSX that started on rain tires.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBrBHpZ3PCY&feature=youtu.be

High Plains SCCA Majors Qualifying - Onboard Video

The T4 Corolla in Turn 1

We finished up the Mid-States Conference US Majors Tour this weekend at High Plains. I competed in my 2005 Toyota Corolla XRS that I am developing for T4. Here is some onboard video from Sunday's qualifying session which was our first dry session of the weekend. Unfortunately, I had a camera problem and don't have any video of the Sunday feature race. More details and photos from the race later in the week!

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3DPMD18E6s

My Chariot to Qualify for the Runoffs

I've been busy the past two months figuring out a plan to qualify for and make it to the Runoffs this year after the engine issues I've had with the RX8.

This was the solution - the price was right and it is reliable:

Right now, it is in Showroom Stock C trim. More details to follow as I prep it for T4 and make progress with the setup.

Runoffs Updates

The schedule for the 2016 SCCA Runoffs has been released. I will have four qualifying sessions on Monday (9/19) through Thursday (9/22) at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The Touring 4 race is scheduled for 5:10pm on Friday (9/23) and will be 40 minutes or 23 laps - whichever comes first.

I will post live timing info as we get closer to the event. I need one more race weekend on the SCCA US Majors Tour to qualify for the Runoffs. More details on that later!

Also released is the paddock map which shows just how many parking spots is needed to house the SCCA's biggest club racing event. I've heard rumors that this may be the biggest entry count in the history of the Runoffs....we shall see. When the reservation system opens up later this month, I will hopefully be getting a paved spot - need to be quick on the mouse click I think. Grass is fine until it rains...

The draft test day schedule has also been released by the SCCA. Damn, the first two days are expensive! I don't have nearly enough vacation/dough to make that happen but will likely run the Sunday session to get dialed in before the quali session on Monday the 19th.

New Yaw Moment Racing Logo!

My very talented and creative wife drafted me up a new logo as you can see above in the blog title. We've been talking about this for a long time and I'm stoked to see it come out this way. I'm looking forward to seeing how it looks on some t-shirts and in vinyl. Thanks Ali!

I will be making some changes to my blog (and actually posting....) and social media over the next few weeks so stay tuned for some updates.

Onboard Video from the Mineral Wells ProSolo

Here is onboard video from my quickest runs on each side of the 2016 Mineral Wells ProSolo event a few weeks ago. Cliffnotes - fun weekend with the family, finished 2nd in a 15 car C-Street field, NDs may be tough to beat at Pros or maybe I need to run Bridgestones or maybe just find some more speed.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8jqL_qCV6w&feature=youtu.be

Results:

Onboard Video - T4 RX-8 NOLA Pole Lap 1:58.4

A full recap of the my first Majors race weekend is on the way (spoiler alert....broken engine), but here is onboard video from Sunday's qualifying session.

Speedway Motors 2015 Solo Nationals Music Video

Speedway Motors released their always anticipated music video highlights of the Solo Nationals. Thee 2015 version did not disappoint. I made the video for the first time with a quick cameo at 1:32 getting a fist bump from D Whitener. Some cool footage and definitely shows the variety of cars we see on the Lincoln concrete each year. Thanks Speedway!

In NOLA This Weekend for the SCCA Majors Tour

 We are in Nawlins this weekend for the first round of the Mid-States Conference US Majors Tour. The car is back together and running well. Yesterday I picked up my first pole, led every lap and took home the win in Touring 4 class. I run in Group 5 which has a large mixed field (40+cars) with 9 different classes including some cars on DOT race tires and some casrs on full slicks.

 

 Saturday's race was 25min and today's race is 18 laps or 35min (whichever comes first). Right now, Jim Drago has pipped me for Sunday's pole with a faster race lap yesterday (1:59.2) but I have a chance to re-claim the pole in qualifying today. A 35min race will actually be the longest stint/race of my career and certainly a bit different than autocross!

Qualifying today is 10:10am and the race is at 3:10pm. 

You can follow along here: www.scca.com/live

Search for a Champion Contest 2016 Update

The voting round to select the 15 finalist from the Advanced entries has come to a close. Thanks to everybody who has voted! The finalists will be announced on February 16th at Champion's website.

Over the past month, I posted a few promo clips to my various social media accounts. Here they are:

T4 RX8 Update - Car is in pieces now

It's been radio silence here for the past few weeks. I've been busy in the shop since my first race weekend at MSR Cresson three weeks ago. Despite the frigid weather that weekend, it started reasonably on Saturday morning. I was the only T4 car there (small field overall, non-points early season race) and there is no data/times for T4 cars on this Cresson configuration to go on so I didn't really know where the car's pace should be. My goal was to push, feel how it performed over a race distance, and generally "get used to" club racing on a practice weekend. The RX8 felt great under braking and had a good balance. I'm till having an issue with the trans popping out of 3rd with any throttle lift, so I was mostly driving one-handed. Not ideal but I can work around it. I bought a spare 2009 transmission which will be going in the car, and I will rebuild the current trans.

It all went to hell in qualifying though.....I ran 3 flyers and got my lap time in a range I thought was decent and then had a slight miss in 4th gear on the double apex left. I ran around 2 more laps trying to diagnose the problem (intermittent anywhere on track vs. only in corners vs. only in that corner, etc.) when the motor took a dump. Darin George at MER (Mazda Enterprises Racing) was nice and towed me over to their shop. He did a compression test which showed great compression on Rotor #2 and zero compression on Rotor #1. Basically, something broke and I needed a rebuild.

I got my motor to MER the following Friday and they tore it down. The side seals on Rotor #1 had burned up. Rotor # 1 needed to be replaced, but luckily the rotor housing was OK. The engine failure was actually a blessing in disguise because we found several "potential rules issues" with the engine that was in the car. In the end, MER brokered a deal with Texas Autosports to purchase my original engine and I purchased a freshly rebuilt, fully factory spec RX-8 engine. I will be able to pick the motor up next Thursday the 11th and then I can get started on getting the car back driveable. I will take the car back to MER on the 20th for engine tuning prior to my first race.

My next race on the schedule was supposed February 13th-14th at TWS. TWS regional is out now, so my next race will be the first Mid-States Conference Major at NOLA Motorsports Park. I was really hoping to have the regional races to practice before NOLA, but I will go ahead and throw myself into the deep end with a Majors weekend. No time like the present to find out if I'll be competitive or not this year.

Registered for my first race in the T4 RX-8

The entry is small (only 27 cars total) given that it's an early season non-points race, but I wanted to get some practice in before the US Majors season starts. This will basically be a practice session and a weekend to get comfortable running SCCA weekends as this will actually be my first SCCA Club Race ever! Right now, I will be running with 7 cars in the "Closed Wheel" race group which will be myself, STL, STU, SM, SRX7 - and a GT1 car which should be ridiculous. Hopefully a few more cars register....