Race Weekend at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex

Hey there fellow trackhounds!

I realize that I just posted a blog for some of our June events that didn't include anything about our race weekend June 25-27!  We had an awesome weekend filled with adventure and quite a bit of drama (more so than I would have liked but that's racing...), so I thought that this topic deserved it's own post.  Our most recent stop on the racing schedule brought us to BeaveRun Motorsports Complex in Wampum, PA (about 40 minutes north of Pittsburgh, PA - my hometown!).  The 12-turn winding road course is a challenging circuit filled with sweeping curves, tight corners, and two straights long enough to get some serious speed.  Turn 9 is a high speed corner and can be taken flat out for those with "large attachments" (stealing a quote from David Hobbs).  I had never driven this track so it was was fun learning a new circuit, but made for added work to prepare for racing.  One thing working in my favor was that NASA GreatLakes has not raced at BeaveRun in 4 years so the track would be new to many (but not all) of my competitors.

IARG's Doug Livingston (crew chief) and Geoff Eaton (crew and data) made the trip, providing excellent support and camaraderie for the race weekend.  Things got off to a bit of a bumpy start.  Pulling out of Indy we were rear-ended while sitting at a stop light less that a quarter mile from the I465.  Fortunately it was a low speed impact.  The rear trailer door sustained some damage which was not cool, but the trailer contents were unharmed.  It was hot waiting for the police and the incident report.  In the end we lost 2 hours getting underway which was bogus.  Regardless, Doug managed good time to Beaver Falls, PA.  We pulled in with plenty of time to get checked into our hotel and get a good night's sleep.

 Friday was a testing day for the #09 IARG/Project 6 Racing BMW Z3 M-Coupe.  NASA had not rented the track for Friday testing.  Instead we hooked up with John Wojnar and the Viper Club of Ohio that were hosting an open lapping day.  Great group of folks who play well in traffic.  :-)  The day was productive working on car setup and learning the fast way around the track.  As this was my first trip to BeaveRun I was on a steep learning curve.  Many thanks to John for introducing me to Grand Am driver Jim and Kathy Stout.  Jim took me for a ride in one of the Stout's Competition Viper Coupes.  Just a few laps with Jim greatly accelerated my preparation for the race weekend.  One thing that did crop up on Friday was an electrical gremlin that caused sporadic misfiring.  Doug made a quick fix that kept us on the track, but this issue would resurface later in the weekend.

Overall we were quick, improving our lap time by over 12 sec through the course of the day.  We finished the day with a track walk to better scope out track/corner conditions and discuss race strategy.  This is the time when Doug and I really get to the details of a race.  To anyone doing track events (whether HPDE, open lapping, time trial or racing) the "track walk" is a key part of driver preparation.  Think of it like this; you would study before taking a test when you were in school right?  So why would you not study when preparing to race?  Much can be gained (visual markers, surface condition, camber, elevation, etc...) by standing on the track looking at all aspects of a corner, something you can't do driving the corner at speed.  With some helpful nuggets of knowledge from our walk we headed out for a well deserved beer and dinner.  It was during this time that the NASA group began to roll in and assemble.  The scene is kinda like when a concert or the circus comes to town...  :-)

Saturday we arrived at the track and quickly got prepared for our race day.  Given the results of Friday I was confident that we would race well, but being a newcomer to the GTS-3 classification I still didn't have a good index of where we stood versus the competition.  Doug did an excellent job and had the car prepared perfectly.  We were scheduled to race in the Thunder Race Group, which consisted of the Super Touring (ST) , American Iron/American Iron Extreme (AI/AIX), Camero-Mustang Challenge (CMC), Factory Five (FF), and German Touring Series Challenge (GTS) race series.  Following a morning practice checking track conditions, and testing the extra nuggets from the track walk, we were set to qualify.  With a set of sticker Hoosier A6 tires we qualified 4th in class and 16th overall in heavy traffic with a total field of 30 cars.

The race proved to be one for the archives.  Doug called an excellent race!  With the exception of one mistake (a mis-shift), I drove the best race of my life.  At one point I put the #09 IARG/P6 car to the front, leading the GTS-3 classification.  Unfortunately our electrical gremlin (possibly a sensor or ECU issue as the stock engine temp gauge was pegged while our oil temp, oil pressure and water temp gauges all read normal) caused engine overheating and made me back off a bit resulting in losing 2 positions.  To make matters far worse as I was battling to maintain 3rd position in class a GTS-4 Porsche decided to get racey with me on the final lap of the race.  The guy put his nose in too deep and hot into Turn 1, lost it and hit me.  The impact sent the Porsche off track and out of the race, but left me with an injured car (some body panel damage and knocked the toe out on the left side rear wheel) to pilot for the remainder of the lap all while being hounded by a GTS-3 BMW M3 (the white/blue one pictured in 3rd place above).  The car and rear wheel (the left rear tire sidewall was cut into the cords from the body panel rubbing) held together long enough for me to bring it across the finish line.  You can check out the race video by following these links:  Part 1 (start and mid race) and Part 2 (close battles and finish)

When the race was over we had finished 3rd in class and 6th overall!  Getting a podium under these conditions was an excellent result for the team!  I must say I was really proud of the work that Doug and Geoff had done giving me a car that I could drive to the front!  The results told us and everyone that we were a team to keep an eye on.  Making the podium was SWEET, especially considering our performance at Putnam Park just 4 weeks prior.  Unfortunately, Doug and Geoff had no time for celebration and worked hard to get the body work and the rear suspension repaired in time to race on Sunday.  Worse yet, the overheating issue crept up again on Sunday during qualifying and the car simply shut down and would not re-fire (no the motor did not go kurblamo!).  We packed up and headed home high on confidence about the our race performance, but concerned as to what was broken in the car.

So that is about it.  Currently Doug is working to diagnose and fix the car to get it ready for our race weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Park the end of July.  I am confident that Doug will get the car repaired and ready to do battle!  I am excited to repeat our performance from BeaveRun this time at Mid-Ohio.  Our biggest problem remains financial.  If you like what you see and read consider sponsoring our program.  Visit our website today and pledge your support!  You will get a team shirt and proceeds will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  Your support will keep us racing and go to finding a cure for diabetes!  Many thanks to all that have joined our effort this season!

Until the next post...

Cheers!
Michael S.

A busy June for IARG/P6 Racing!

Well folks June continued to heat up both with ambient temperatures climbing and with our race program!

Most recently our on-track adventure has taken us back to Putnam Park Road Course for a day of testing on June 18th.  The format was a Friday "open lapping" day with instructors for the Bluegrass Chapter of the BMWCCA.  Really a great group of people out of the great state of KY.  The focus of the day was on suspension setup.  It was crazy hot that day with a heat index of 96F which tested both the car and my fitness.  Fortunately the off-season training prepared me physically for being in the car for extended periods of time in high temperatures.  The experience also taught me about how important mental conditioning is as well, since it was stifling hot which made even breathing difficult much less driving a race car at speed.  I was able to spend more than 2 continuous hours in the car without exiting before lunch.  During the lunch break Doug, Calvin and Geoff adjusted the rear by changing to a softer set of springs and made a few adjustments to the front camber and shock settings all around.  Through the course of the day we made numerous runs and made significant progress in getting the car set up.  Indeed, we were by far the fastest car on track.  Here is a small clip of the action (note the helmet hook as an ad hoc gyroscope).

We left the track overheated and exhausted but with a good feeling about the progress that we had made during the day.  Most importantly we had gained a lot of confidence heading into our next race weekend at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex.  The car setup was working well, the motor had great power, and I was able to drive the car hard with confidence.  Again a great job by International AutoSport Racing Group for making such big improvements in such a short timeframe to get us ready to race.

 Next on the weekend schedule was a benefit fund raiser sponsored by IARG/Project6 Racing for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).  The event was held at Sun King Brewing in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday June 19th and featured a pork barbecue from Ron Harris of Locally Grown Gardens, beer from Sun King Brewing and music from recording artist Cari Ray.  First, I must say that our sponsorship supporters really went all out for this event.  After a day of intense track time just 24 hours earlier, International AutoSport Racing got the car cleaned, shipped and prepared for the event in all of its glory.  Sarah from the JDRF and a few volunteers explained to the crowd the mission of the JDRF, and the racing sponsorship program.  Clay and the guys at Sun King Brewing had some awesome beers on tap.  Given that temperatures were again around 90F nothing was better than a nice cold Osiris Pale Ale (which is available locally in Indianapolis in cans from retail distributors).  This brew matched perfectly with the awesome pulled pork shoulder barbecue.  It was food and drink that was good for the body and soul...

 In preparation for racing in the high temperatures and humidity of the midwest, I have been training with Abby Fox (owner of Abby Fox Fitness) who is regarded as one of the best personal trainers in the Indianapolis area. Abby was on location at the Sun King Brewery concert event showing her support for me and the racing program signing autographs and pictures for the fans.  She has a tremendous amount of positive energy and generates a lot of attention wherever she goes (which is understandable...). 

We had a nice crowd given the high heat index, although with fund raisers there can never be enough people in attendance.  Several people joined our effort and bought signature decals.  Remember that the checkerboard hood is not just a design, but it’s so much more than that.  Each of those squares is a space available for anyone’s name who pledges or makes a donation to the JDRF through our organization. So far we’ve had a great response, but we’re always looking for more. It couldn’t go towards a more noble cause. You can find more information on securing your spot on the hood for upcoming races at our website or by attending one of our upcoming benefit concerts.  So listen people follow our website posts for events and get out there and show your support!  We can't do it alone!

But I digress...  As I was saying, Cari and her band got the music jamming around 5:30 pm and played two sets.  Cari Ray has been featured on radio stations throughout the Midwest and has been compared to the likes of Sheryl Crow. She put on an awesome show and really capped off the event.  Her bluesy/alt country version of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" caught a lot of attention from those in attendance that were unfamiliar with her work and opened the door exposing these new fans to her original music.  The band's sound was great and all that one could see were feet tapping and rear ends shaking.  ;-)  Everyone that attended had a great time and said that they could not wait until our next event.  Incidentally we are targeting a date sometime in August.  Stay tuned for more info...  So that wrapped up a crazy busy weekend with both on- and off-track activities for the race team.  It was fun, but we had to quickly refocus our efforts for the following race weekend...  Yes, June wrapped up with a race weekend!  This time we traveled to BeaveRun Motorsports Complex located about 40 minutes north of Pittsburgh, PA (my hometown!).  But that is the topic of the next blog...  :-)

All the best to you!  Cheers!
Michael S