HOW TO GO FASTER: The Party Switch.......

I will have to give the credit for this to my good friend Mike Bobbitt who is a highly-talented NASCAR Aero engineer and a member of the Team Rusty Hood Racing LeMons team from last Fall. It was his idea to add a "Party Switch" to our LeMons racetruck and it could not have worked better. Since I like to go fast, I decided to add a party switch to my new shifter kart. The party switch has two basic modes (as you can see below): "PARTY OFF" and "PARTY ON!".

PARTY OFF

PARTY ON!

The party switch should not be overused and should be treated not like a push-to-pass button, but more like a constant of nitrous to help you beat everybody else you are racing against when needed. Here are some appropriate scenarios:

1) Flip it on the last lap of a race and you need to make a pass for the win
2) Flip it as the sun rises on the 2nd day of a 24+ hour endurance race
3) Flip it right after somebody hits you on track and you need a revenge pass - time to party, not get mad
4) Flip it when you are racing a car with more power than you have talent - time to party, not crash
5) Flip it the 1st time you drive a car at the Nürburgring - hopefully the car has a party switch!
6) Flip it when you overcook it into a corner and run out of talent. You will be sure to save it with the part switch in the "ON!" position.
7) Flip it on the victory lap after a race win, etc.

To install a party switch on your racecar, take the following steps: 1) Buy a SPST toggle switch (like the ones here: http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/switch.htm) 2) Cut a hole in your dash or some similar mounting area 3) Tighten the toggle switch in the hole you made 4) Make and attached a "Party" label 5) Win races. If someone decides to install a party switch on their car, please let me know and post a picture. I'd love to see it.

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

Conti Challenge Race at VIR - Team Euro Motorworks Strategy

This weekend the Continental Tire Sports Car Challange will race at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, VA. As with the Homestead round, I calculated race and fuel strategy for Team Euro Motorworks, but will not be crewing at VIR. I will most likely only be able to attend 1 or 2 of the Conti Challenge races this year instead of 5 or 6 likes years past. For VIR, Team Euro Motorworks' drivers will be team-owner Terry Heath and Rene Robichaud.

For this race, I recommended a 2-stop strategy to Team EM for the following reasons: 1) VIR has tons of run-off especially compared to Rovals like Homestead, so it is less likely for an off to become a yellow situation 2) We have experience at VIR so we are more likely to be on-pace 3) VIR is a long track so as long as we don't pit under green, we should be able to stay on the lead lap. Obviously, the team needs to stay on the lead lap to compete for a podium spot. I think a 1-stop strategy presents too much risk for being hung out pitting on green lap. My 2-pit strategy gives us the following pit windows:

1st Pit Window
Open: 11
Close: 30

2nd Pit Window
Open: 42
Close: 61
These pit windows are assumming no yellow flag laps.


The car count is up to 63 cars so the 2.5 hours combined GS and ST race should be exciting. It broacasts on Speed on May 1st at 1PM. I will be rooting for Team Euro Motorworks and the #93 HART Civic driven by Chad Gilsinger and John Schmitt.

http://www.grand-am.com/schedule/event.cfm?series=k&eid=1504

Newest addition to the team: GoPro HD

I purchased a GoPro HD from G7 Motorsports two weeks ago. I haven't been to the track yet with it, but I am pumped to be able to take wide-angle HD in-kart videos this season. This will be a big upgrade over the standard-def GoPro that I used last season.

G7 Motorsports is owned by my good friend Chad Gilsinger. He recently formed the business to do driver coaching, build and prep racecars, and to sell items like GoPro Cameras and Traqmate data acquisition systems. Check it out: http://www.g7motorsports.com/

Saturday 4/3: Kart Testing & Chaparral Racecars

My Dad and I went to Midland, TX this past weekend to visit the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum because they have a permanent gallery full of Chaparral racecars, to get pre-season testing in on the stock moto kart, and to broaden my Dad's driving horizon by setting him off in a shifter kart for the first time.

The Chaparral exhibit was simply awesome. It was unreal to be surrounded by 7 of the most famous cars in racing history. The gallery had a video on Chaparral's history, info on each of the 7 cars displayed, a garage modeled after the original Chaparral shop where they maintain the cars, tons of memorabillia and trophies, and small wind-tunnel displays showing the theory behind Chaparral's aerodynamic breakthroughs. Each of the cars in the gallery is fully functioning and they are driven once every few months around the museum. I need to make it up for one of these events and see these cars in action. Here is a link to the museum page: http://www.petroleummuseum.org/. My Dad and I took a ton of photos. Here are a few below.




After the museum, we drove 10 minutes to Rimrock Raceway. This is the closest track to me in San Angelo (about 2 hours away) and will be my main testing track. Rimrock was built in 1957 by a doctor in Midland whose son was a national-level karter. At that time, the karting national championship race was at a track in California. Rimrock was built as an exact copy of that track to give his son an advantage at the championship. The track is even oriented in the exact same direction; both straightaways go southwest. Overall, tt is pretty smooth and very fun to drive.

The testing session was very productive, despite not getting any flyer lap times. I learned a lot about the new kart, and feel much more comfortable with the new engine and chassis package. My Honda engine is having fuel delivery issues which hampered me all day. I was having trouble revving over 10K RPM (normal shift point is 12.5K) and could not go to WOT quickly. I had to slowly roll into the throttle to avoid hesitation in the motor - it felt like hitting a rev limiter. During the few hours at the track, I tried 5 or 6 different fixes, but the problem persisted. When I drove my kart in my neighborhood 2 weeks ago it was fine, so something changed/broke during my first session. I have some troubleshooting to do (mainly replacing all fuel lines and inspecting fuel pump and carb internals), but should be able to get it fixed quickly. I am going back to Midland either this weekend or the next for more testing.

Here are some pictures from Rimrock. I took GoPro video, but it's not worth watching since I was having motor problems.

In-Kart shot from a GoPro HD

My Dad trying out the shifter

Karting and Chaparral Cars on Saturday

My parents flew in today from Virginia to visit for the week. My Dad has always wanted to drive a shifter kart, so we are heading to Rimrock Raceway in Midland, TX on Saturday. Should be fun and a good time to set some baseline testing times before the season ramps up. This will be my first time at the track. It is fast 0.5 sprint track with a track record of something in the 33 second range set by an 80cc shifter. I'll be shooting for a 32 of course. We shall see.

Aerial Pictures of Rimrock



























My Dad and I are also going to visit the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. I am usually not a big fan of museums, but this museums houses a permanent display of 5+ Chaparral racecars designed and tested by Jim Hall's team back in the day. We may also try to the abandoned Chaparral test track, Rattlesnake Raceway....

http://petroleummuseum.org/Gallery/CarsonDisplay.html

Speed Secrets by Ross Bentley Review

I just finished Ross Bentley's Speed Secrets: Professional Driving Techniques. I really enjoyed the book and it has helped me to think critically about my driving at work and on the racetrack. I find it very helpful to hear seasoned pros like Ross Bentley and James Weaver give insight into what allowed them to achieve what they have in racing. They fine detail at which Ross approaches driving is amazing and has inspired me to try and raise my game.

http://www.amazon.com/Speed-Secrets-Professional-Driving-Techniques/dp/0760305188/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269622451&sr=8-1

As an engineer and driver, I appreciate and understand the science behind driving at the limit, but I enjoyed this book for the simple, easy way that Ross describes top-notch driving technique and theory. At about 150 pages, it was a pretty quick read compared to most "textbook-style teaching books" which makes it effective in my opinion. I believe it is a book that anybody who aspires to driver better can pick up, read, understand, and apply to whatever driving they are doing.

Speed Secrets will be a reference to me throughout my racing and driving career. I have already re-read parts of it to make sure it was fresh in my mind. Most of the "Speed Secrets" documented throughout the book are relatively basic, but you can't apply the harder techniques without mastering the basics. At times the book is repetitive, but I think it helps to have some of the lessons re-iterated throughout the book.

Overall, I recommend this book to anybody who wants to get faster in a racecar.

Testing thwarted by mother nature

My karting plans for the weekend at Rimrock Raceway in Midland, TX had to be cancelled this weekend due to the stellar weather outside. It rained/snowed most of the morning with a high of 45 degrees and sustained winds of 20+ MPH. Not the best karting weather and crazy for March in West Texas!

I had planned on going to Midland today for an all day practice to get myself up-to-speed with the new kart, stay the night in Midland, and then race with the West Texas Kart Association tomorrow. The weather should be good tomorrow, but the practice today was much more important the small amount of track time I would have gotten tomorrow so I decided to save money and practice another weekend. Instead, I relaxed and watched the 12 Hours of Sebring rooting for the Rahal BMWs.

Finally have a garage I can work in.....+ karting update

My Garage

Since moving into my new townhouse in San Angelo, Texas last month, my girlfriend and I have worked hard on getting the house in order so we can get back to normal, everday life. Well last night, I finally got the garage "in-order enough" to work on the kart and start race season. My townhouse has a single-car attached garage and space in front of the garage for me to park my trailer. This means both my Miata and our truck are on the street, but it's worth it to have room for the racing gear.

My overall plan for the garage is to have one side set up as a "race shop" with a work table and toolboxes dedicated to working on the kart and the other side will be my "fab shop" where I will have my welder, welding table, etc. Here is my list to accomplish this list:

1) Organize and put-away mess from moving - Done
2) Buy 2 sets of large shelves for kart parts, dirt bike equip. etc. and assemble - done
3) Buy/build small shed for dirt bikes to get them out of the garage - Work in progress
4) Setup kart work table and toolboxes - Done except for organizing tools
5) Build welding table - Need to do
6) Setup welder - Need to do
7) Put posters on the wall so it feels like a race shop - Work in progress

Race Shop side of the garage

Other side needs some work and the bikes to be gone

As you can see, I have some work to do still in the garage, but my "race shop" part of the garage is complete (minus tidying up) and therefore I can do anything I need to with the kart. The "fab shop" area is not critical to have for race season, but I'll try to get it done as quick as possible. It will be for small projects, brackets for the kart, possible future racecar projects, and my girlfriends metal art projects.

New Kart Pics

After my engine flooding issues at the track two weeks ago, I was able to get the engine started last night without much trouble. Everything is in good working order and I am very pleased with the shape the kart is in. I am going to Rimrock Raceway in Midland, TX this weekend for practice. The track is open for practice on Saturday and the West Texas Karting Association is hosting a race on Sunday. I'm planning on practicing Saturday and running the race on Sunday just for practice and to meet people. Since this will be my main practice track, I'd like to meet some regulars that I can practice with. I'm heading to Midland Saturday morning and will be returning Sunday night with some good video and pictures to share.

One last pic...no garage is complete without an Ex-Lemons triple element wing.

Favorite Racing Video of the Week - 10

Another week, more great racing videos. This week's videos are inspiration for an aspiring test driver and impressive display of car control.

Since racing season is starting, I'm going to scale back the racing videos to once a month, but I promise they'll still be top-notch.