High Plains Raceway - 1:57.6 SRF3 Qualifying Lap

This was my fastest qualifying lap in my SRF3 from the August 2018 SCCA Majors race at High Plains Raceway in Colorado. It is my quickest lap around HPR to date (despite the missed shift) and put me on pole for both races over the weekend. The data between the July and August races was interesting - I mainly gained speed from a better exit from Turn 2 onto the back straight and also seemed to have a bit more straight-line speed - could be from the engine breaking in more or from alignment changes I made before the August race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSKgFCx75wo

2018 Racing Schedule!

Spec Racer Ford onboard video from the Lone Star Majors race at Texas World Speedway

This was my fastest lap (1:55.632) of the Sunday qualifying session at the SCCA Lone Star Majors race at Texas World Speedway during Memorial Day weekend 2017. I was on pole position for both races over the weekend. This was my first trip to TWS. It is a fast and fun layout. I hope it stays around!

SCCA Majors Race at MSR Houston - Qualifying Onboard

This is my fastest qualifying lap (1:44.742) from the 2017 SCCA Majors race at MSR Houston which was good enough for pole position in class. We ran the 2.38 CCW Track and I am driving my Spec Racer Ford (Gen 2).

Highlights from Sunday's Spec Racer Ford Race at COTA

COTA Super Tour Qualifying - Onboard Video

This is my fastest lap from Spec Racer Ford qualifying at the 2017 SCCA Hoosier Super Tour event at the Circuit of the Americas. This was my first race weekend in a Spec Racer Ford and it was pretty darn fun to drive at COTA despite the low engine power. I qualified 5th in class with a 2:37.274 which put me about 0.8s off the Pole. 

2017 Racing Schedule

I updated my racing schedule in the tab above. Here is what Yaw Moment Racing has planned for 2017:

Road Racing:

March 19th Testing in the Spec Racer Ford - MSR Cresson - Cresson, TX

March 24-26 SCCA Hoosier Tire Super Tour - Circuit of the Americas - Austin, TX

April 29-30 SCCA US Majors Tour - MSR Houston - Angleton, TX

May 27 - 28 SCCA US Majors Tour - Texas World Speedway - College Station, TX

Sept 25 - Oct 1 SCCA National Championship Runoffs - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, IN

Autocross:

June 3-4 SCCA Mineral Wells ProSolo - Mineral Wells, TX

June 10-11 SCCA Pikes Peak Championship Tour - Fountain, CO

June 17-18 SCCA Mineral Wells CAM Challenge - Mineral Wells, TX

Sept 7 - 8 SCCA Solo National Championships - Lincoln, NE

Triathlon:

June 24 - Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon - Lubbock, TX

July 15 - XTERRA Magnolia Hill - Navasota, TX

Yaw Moment Racing Newsletter - October 2016

I'm a bit late posting this to the website but this was last newsletter I sent out recapping Solo Nats and the Runoffs. I will have a new newsletter coming out shortly with 2017 plans.  Email me at yawmomentracing@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the mailing list. Thanks!

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.

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

First Hurdle for Runoffs 2016

My first hurdle for my goal of the Runoffs in 2016 has been passed - Full SCCA Competition License.....Check. I am planning my first race to be MSR Cresson in January.

Something New for 2016

A quick jaunt over to Phoenix this weekend and I have a new racecar sitting in the shop for next year. More details to follow. Should be exciting.

Inside Look at the life of Joey Hand

Short, but good video on the life of American BMW Factory Driver and one of my favorite road racers - Joey Hand.

PORTRAIT JOEY HAND // BMW WORKS DRIVER from Toussaint on Vimeo.

In-Car Video from BCRS Race 2 and 3 from last Sunday

This is in-car video from Races 2 and 3 of last weekend's BCRS Formula Mazda races. I had to split each race up due to Blogger's upload limit.

September BCRS Race 2 (1st 5 laps)

September BCRS Race 2 (Last 6 laps)

September BCRS Race 3 (1st 5 laps)

September BCRS Race 3 (Last 5 laps)

Dave Ogburn Wraps up the BCRS Race Weekend with 2 2nd Place Finishes

Getting focused in the garage before Race 3

After an exciting Day 1 of the BCRS weekend and taking home the victory in Race 1, I tried to focus on really improving my formula car driving on Day 2 and do my best in Races 2 and 3 while staying clean and bringing the car home intact. We qualified for Race 2 on Sunday morning during a wind storm that brought debris and sand all over the 2.5 miles track. This made quick laps risky and difficult and I was struggling with rear grip in my #14 Formula Mazda. I made a rear anti-roll bar change before the session, but it was not enough so I continued to soften the rear bar for Race 2 and Race 3 to compensate for tire degradation and track conditions. I qualified 3rd for Race 2 and was disappointed with my pace, but I knew I had the racecraft and speed to pass Ayrton Triolo, who qualified 2nd in the #17 car, during the race.

At the start of Race 2, I settled into P3 and stayed with the leaders for opening stint of the race. After Lap 5, #17 started to make some mistakes and have braking issues with his Mazda so I closed the gap, got on his gearbox, and waited for him to make another mistake. On lap 8, Ayrton spun in Turn 4 and I was able to get by unscathed despite having a close call with the sand outside of turn 4. I stayed in P2 for the last few laps and cruised to a 2nd place finish.

Dave Ogburn in the #14 in the Pits before Race 3

This put me 2nd on the grid for Race 3 with Matt Maddox in the #6 FM on the pole. Matt won Race 2 so we were tied for the weekend overall lead with Race 3 deciding the victor. I tucked in behind Maddox at the start and pushed to stay close with him. However, Ayrton in the #17 was fast and pressuring me from behind. He went for the pass on the entry to Turn 4 on Lap 3, but I was able to pull an over/under move on him and retake 2nd place at the exit. Our battle for 2nd place let Maddox check out to a 4sec. lead. I pushed hard for the next 8 laps and was able to maintain 2nd position, but could not challenge Matt for the lead. This gave Matt Maddox the overall victory with 2 wins and 1 2nd place finish to my 1 win and 2 2nd place finishes. Congrats to Matt on the win!

Podium Ceremony on Sunday

Overall, I was very pleased with my first race weekend in Formula Mazdas. From the advice of Alan Rudolph (BCRS series director and stud karter/racing driver), I switched from right-foot braking and using the clutch on downshifts to left-foot braking and clutchless upshifts and downshifts on Sunday. I started the new braking/shifting technique in Sunday morning practice and stuck with it for the remainder of the race weekend. I was able to keep running similar laptimes with the technique change, but still need to work on my smoothness with clutchless shifts. I learned a ton about driving and racing formula cars and feel much better prepared for the Bondurant Driver Search Shootout next week. Thanks to the Bondurant staff, mechanics, and instructors for making the BCRS a great experience!

I will post some more in-car video when I have time after the shootout.

Dave Ogburn Takes Pole Position, Leads Every Lap, and Wins Today in the Bondurant Championship Race Series

Today was Day 1 of my Bondurant Championship Race Series weekend in Chandler, Arizona. Running our races with ASA Road Racing, we had two 15-minute qualifying sessions, one 15-min. qualifying session, and a 20-min. race on the schedule. My pre-race preparation paid off and I was instantly quick in the 1st practice sessions. By getting to the know the track well beforehand, I was able to focus on improving my driving in the Bondurant Formula Mazdas instead of working on the line and where the track went. This helped me get a good start on the weekend and a jump on the drivers who also had not raced on the Bondurant tracks before. I was in the top 2 for both practice sessions with a fast lap of 1:57.916 in the 2nd practice. Top practice time was set by Matt Maddox, a competitor in last year's Bondurant series, with a 1:57.234. I knew I was giving time up in several corners and was confident I could make the time up in qualifying. However, Maddox missed the qualifying session so that boded well for me grabbing pole and possibly a race win.

Qualifying went smoothly and I ran clean laps without traffic for the full 15-minutes. I really improved my driving in this session and corrected some of my errors from practice. This helped me qualify in Pole Position for Race 1. From our morning practice sessions to the afternoon qualifying, the track and ambient temperatures rose causing our Formula Mazda slow down with the engines making less power and tires struggling with the increasingly greasy track. My qualifying time was a 1:58.701 which was 0.6s ahead ahead of Ayrton Triolo in P2. Ayrton is a 16-year old Formula Ford and kart racer from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in Canada.

My plan for the race was to lead into the first corner and then push hard to build a gap on the field in the opening laps. Maddox was the only driver who could match my pace today, but he was starting back in 5th place. I knew if I could build up a gap while he fought through traffic, I would have a good shot at the win. At the start, Ayrton in P2 got a jump on me and led into turn 1. I was able to get by him in turn 11 on lap 1 and take the lead. I then put the hammer down and worked hard to build up a lead on the field. Behind me on lap 2, two drivers got together in turn 9 and then Maddox started to get open track after he moved up to P2. After the first 2 laps, I had built up a 3 sec. lead, but then Maddox started to slowly reel me in and finally caught me on Lap 6. We battled for the next three laps swapping position several times on the long drag strip straightaway. The key moment of the race came on lap 8 as Maddox and I approached a lapped car. I decided to make an aggressive pass on the lapped car in turn14 because I knew Maddox would not be able to follow me past the lapper. This strategy worked and helped me to build a 1 sec gap that I was able to hold onto for the final few laps. In the end, I crossed the finish line 0.214s ahead of Matt Maddox and almost 35s ahead of 3rd place.

In-Car Video from the Formula Mazda Race Today

Today's race was my first wheel-to-wheel race in anything other than a kart so I was very pleased with the result. Despite picking up the win, I made plenty of mistakes that I can learn from to improve my race driving, racecraft, and race starts. Tomorrow, we have one practice session, one qualifying session, and two 20-min. races. I have several different corners that I know I can make up significant time in and will be experimenting more with left-foot braking, so it should be a fun battle tomorrow with Maddox and Ayrton.

Dave Ogburn racing in the Bondurant Championship Race Series and the Bondurant Driver Search Shootout over next two weekends

Back in August when I attended the Bondurant 4-day racing school, I applied for the 2010 Bondurant Driver Search Shootout which is a competition for 20 young drivers to compete for a full-ride in the 18-race 2011 Bondurant Championship Race Series (BCRS). The BCRS is a feeder Formula series using the Bondurant Formula Mazda racecars and is run at the 4 Firebird/Bondurant complex tracks in Chandler, Arizona.

Bondurant Driver Search

Bondurant Driver Search Article on EFCN.com

Bondurant Championship Race Series

I was selected for the shootout soon after I applied and I have been working hard to prepare myself for the competition since. My main preparation goal was to get seat time in a Formula Mazda before the shootout. To accomplish this, I have entered a one-off (not part of the 2010 championship) BCRS race this weekend September 25th and 26th. I will get 4 sessions each day including 1 race on Saturday and 2 races on Sunday. We will be competing on a combined circuit comprised of the Bondurant School track and the Firebird Main track. This is the first time this combination has been used for racing in over 8 years. It will be a new track for every driver which should make things more interesting!

I fly out this Friday morning to Phoenix to start an exciting two weekends of racing. I will update my blog with in-car video and race recaps as much as possible during the Formula Mazda BCRS race weekend and the shootout. The shootout could be a huge step in my racing career, so I am working my hardest to prepare and maximize this opportunity.

Bondurant/Firebird Combined Track Map

CTSCC Mid-Ohio Race with Euro Motorworks Racing Recap

I made the trek to Mid-Ohio to be the race engineer for Euro Motor Racing for the June 19th Conti Challenge Race. For the first time in team history, we had a pro driver in the seat with team owner Terry Heat so we had high hopes for the weekend. After working with Bryan throughout the weekend, I can say I was thoroughly impressed with his driver coaching, quickness, teamwork, and attitude. Terry was a competitive CTSCC driver before, but Bryan still managed to improve his fast lap at Mid-Ohio by 1.5s. Our fast lap from 2009 was a 1:36.2 and Terry qualified this year with a 1:34.005 to qualify in our best starting position yet, P9 out of the 32 car GS field. In Grand-Am, the driver who qualifies must start the race. Our basic strategy was to run a 2-stop race getting Bryan in the car within the first 40 minutes of the 2.5 hour race and then making a splash n' go pit stop later in the race.

Terry had a great opening stint picking up 1 spot at the start and moving up to P6 by lap 20 when we caught a yellow and made our 1st pit stop. Bryan hopped in the car after we dropped back to P19 due to the pit stop and immediately started charging through the field. We were back up to P10 by lap 35 and were the quickest car on track, but things started to go wrong on lap 38 when the yellow flag flew. Our pit window opened up on Lap 47 so we decided not to make our 2nd pit stop because we didn't want to gamble on yellows later in the race. This proved to be a mistake because all of the leaders made pit stops and ended up getting the yellows to make it to the end on fuel. However, this moved us to P1 where we stayed for the next 10 laps. Bryan continued to be fast and we had a 7 second lead on the field before we made our 2nd pit stop under yellow on lap 49. After the stop, we rejoined the field in P17. After we worked our way back up to P11 in a few laps, 4th gear in the transmission broke and this killed our progress. We struggled for the rest of the race with 3rd to 5th shifts and brought it home in 12th place.

While 12th place is still in the money and not bad considering we lost 4th gear in the middle of the race, the finish was very disappointing. We had the car, driver, and team to finish on the podium had we made the right strategy call on lap 40 and had the transmission stayed together. Hey at least we did bring home fast race lap and new track record with a 1:33.274!

Here are a few photos of the 07 from the race courtesy of ColdTrackDays.com:

Conti Challenge Race at Mid-Ohio This Weekend

I leave for Mid-Ohio tomorrow to crew for the #07 Euro Motorworks Racing Porsche for this Saturday's Grand-Am CTSCC race. I planned the race strategy for the team and will be the race engineer and rear tire changer for the race this weekend. I've been working on strategy with the team during the season, but this will be my first and only Grand-Am race of this season. It will be good to be back at a big race track.

Team-owner Terry Heath and Bryan Sellers will be driving for EMR this weekend. Bryan is the first pro we've had race with us so he should be the quickest driver we've had in the #07. With Terry's experience at Mid-Ohio and Bryan's pace, we have high-hopes for this weekend. Currently 63 cars are registered for the combined GS/ST race, so it should be an exciting race with that many cars on a narrow, difficult-to-pass track like Mid-Ohio.

http://www.grand-am.com/schedule/event.cfm?series=k&eid=1507

Grand-Am CTSCC - I shouldn't root for teams

Well, both of the teams I was rooting for at VIR had misfortunes before the race even started. Team Euro Motorworks who I still work for crashed in the promoter practice on Thursday before the event. With significant bodywork, exhaust damage, and frame damage, the car was taken back to the shop in Indianapolis for repairs.

#07 Team Euro Motoworks Porsche 997

The HART #93 Civic grenaded an engine at the entrance to the Climbing Esses in Friday practice. A connecting rod let go and shot through the oil pan. The engine bay caught fire and was apparently shooting flames out from under the car enough to melt the rear bumber. Luckily, driver Chad Gilsinger was able to get out safely with no injuries. The car is repairable to they should be ready for their next race, Watkins Glen.

HART ST Civic Si