SCCA ProSolo Round 4 - New Jersey

It was finally time for first big event of the year. No major changes to speak of other than slapping on the tires I ran at Nationals last year with only 6 runs on them and adding fuel to avoid the fuel starvation Hez and I ran into the week before. I arrived on site on Friday morning since I had to work the gate that afternoon. Perfect warm sunny day to start the weekend off.

NJ ProSolo - 5/8/2015

NJ ProSolo - 5/8/2015

I decided earlier in the year that I'd invite Dave Roberts from the Kentucky region to come out and codrive Bumblestook with me for this event. He's developing his own BSP S2000 (Blackie) and I thought it would be good for him to get a reference ride in a S2000 that's been in development for 2 years now. He arrived that afternoon and we were able to get our practice starts out of the way. Nothing too surprising here but we wanted to dial in our launch RPM. We both agreed that a hair under 7000rpm would give us the best launch performance while getting enough wheel spin to protect the diff.

NJ ProSolo - 5/9/2015
Driver: Dave Roberts

Since Dave and I were the only two driver in BSP we got bumped into B2 bump class along with DSP, HS, DS and FSP on day 1. The DSP cars would be tough to compete against. Not only are they fast but PAX favored them. Dave and I put down respectable runs on day 1 and ended that day with me in 3rd and Dave in 5th. It was clear looking at our video that we weren't tackling the tight stuff of the course properly and the key to dropping times would be to minimize distance and set up properly to get behind those cones.

B2 Grid - NJ ProSolo - 5/10/2015

Day 2 came rolling in and we had a pretty good strategy to try and keep the fight going. The shocker though was that CAM class was also added to our B2 bump class and we only found out at that day. Steve Farkas of SJF performance had put down some very nice runs on day 1 in his CAM Mustang and ended up slotting into 2nd place in B2 so we all got shifted down. That didn't change our general plan for tackling the course. Unfortunately, I was having trouble executing on the plan and kept overshooting the entry to beginning of the tight section and found no additional time. Dave on the other hand was able find the right line and find time on both the left and right courses. Dave was able snag a trophy spot in 4th and I stumbled down to 7th. 

BSP S2000 vs DSP RX8
NJ ProSolo - 5/10/2015

Overall it was still a fun event. Bumblestook handled great, we just couldn't capitalize on her speed. This is going to be her last event on the AP2 tranny. The AP1 tranny arrived and we'll be swapping that in later this month so we can hit 70mph in 2nd gear. Can't wait!

Our fast runs from the NJ ProSolo - 5/9-10/2015

Getting her purdy before the Pro

With only a week left before the NJ Pro, it's important to finally scrub off the grime from last year and make her pretty again. The only problem is that Bumblestook is stored in a location where there's no running water. She's also not street legal so driving her to a car wash is impossible. To keep things simple, I started looking into alternative cleaning options and stumbled upon the Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine. A friend told me about this years ago but I never got around to trying it. You can pick up a 32oz bottle from Amazon for under $18 (good for 32 washes)!

Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine - 5-2-2015

I went over to the Rad's (Tatis Racing) home base so we could clean our race cars. Despite having access to a hose there, I decided to try this method anyway to see if I could get away with cleaning my car at events. The instructions are simple, take one ounce of the cleaner (about a cap full) and add 2 gallons of water in a bucket. In order to not keep washing the car with dirty water, take a bunch of clean microfiber cloths and dump them into the bucket. Taking one cloth at time, fold it into quarters then work on one panel at a time, drying it with a clean dry microfiber cloth as soon as you wipe off the panel. Fold the micro fiber cloth around so that you use a clean portion for each part of a panel you're "washing". Using this method, none of the dirt works it's way back into the bucket. What you're left with is a clean, streak free finish...and yes, no rinsing was required.

Before and after - 5-2-2015

It does a good job. It even got rid of most of the cone marks and bugs that got onto the car. I'd say it's about as clean as it would get if you washed the car with soap, rinsed it, dried it except it takes a lot less time and very little water. No water marks or streaks were left except for swirl marks that unfortunately have been on the black panels of the car for a while now. That will require some proper polishing to get rid off. I had a few hard cone marks that were a bit stubborn. A quick rub with polisher took care of those. I even had enough left in the bucket to wash the Touareg. Finished both vehicles in about one hour taking my sweet time. Put it this way, I got both car clean before Rad was done changing his diff fluid. I'd say it's a success and I look forward to being able to having a clean car before every big event going forward.

Bumblestook and the Egg all cleaned up - 5-2-2015

Only a few days left before the first big event of the year for us. Racing on my home turf and being able to sleep on my own bed is definitely always welcome.

Final practice before NJ ProSolo - Bumblestook showing her stinger

Yesterday we got the car all sorted and I put the tune and suspension settings back to where it was from when I won the DC ProSolo last year. Today's shake down was among 178 other drivers, many of whom were traveling to NJ to get their cars set up for the Pro as well. This time I decided to have a friend, Hez, hop in as my codriver. I've always knows him to be a smooth driver with lots of potential and boy did he deliver.

Top off and ready to go
NNJR SCCA Autox - 4-26-2015

Hez getting amped for his first run
NNJR SCCA Autox - 4-26-2015

Not only was Bumblestook showing perfect form today but with very little effort we were putting down some very competitive times. All this despite running on old 100+ run tires and being down on power by running pump 93 instead of C85 ethanol. We did a low fuel run and finally discovered the infamous fuel starve S2k issue at 4 bars of fuel. I'm going to have to make sure we're running at least half tank for all future events. I guess I was just lucky all these years to never encounter it. Hez put down this flyer run (see video below) which would've been good for 2nd place in PAX but it was incorrectly recorded as DNF. He did this even though he fuel starved mid-run so a top PAX finish was well within Bumblestook's capacity. Unfortunately for my runs, I just kept hitting cones and when I did clean it up, I think I started overdriving to compensate and just kept getting slower with every run. It doesn't matter though. Today brought the fun back to autocrossing and it was incredible to see Bumblestook show her stinger and put a shocker in some really good drivers. Two weeks left before the ProSolo...can't wait!

Hez's fast run

NNJR SCCA Autocross - 4/26/2015

My fast run (dirty)

Longer than usual to include some funny banter before and after the run

NNJR SCCA Autocross - 4/26/2015

Shaking off cobwebs for 2015

Winter was finally over (well mostly) and it was time to put the wheels back on the car and take her out for her first event with the NNJR Porsche Club. Despite the strong winds and cooler temperatures I was glad to see that everything was working just fine despite being on jackstands all winter and switching to pump gas instead of sweet smelling ethanol. Bumblestook drove strong and remained composed as always and it was a blast to finally get out there and burn rubber again. I was definitely rusty but I had that unmistakable grin inside the helmet is what it's all about!

NNJR PCA Autocross - 4/4/2015

A few weeks later, it was time to get her back to SJF performance for a real pre-season check. We had to verify and adjust the alignment, change the engine oil, tranny and diff fluid. We also put the exhaust I ran earlier last year back on since I kept blowing sound with the shortened exhaust. Tomorrow we give her one last shake down before our first big event of the year, the NJ ProSolo.

Fluid change
SJF Performance - 4/25/2015

Old exhaust back on
SJF Performance - 4/25/2015

Old exhaust back on
SJF Performance - 4/25/2015

Alignment time
SJF Performance - 4/25/2015

SCCA SOLO National Championship 2014

It was finally time for the big show...the big race we've all been practicing and testing for the entire season. I left Bumblestook loaded on the trailer at SJF Performance after the alignment so I could easily just hook up the trailer to make the drive out to Lincoln.

Ready to head to Lincoln - SJF Performance- 9/1/2014

In general, the 1500 mile drive out was uneventful except for that one fuel stop where a pickup truck almost backed into the Touareg and missed it by two inches (NY reflexes FTW). We arrived there on Tuesday early evening just as the sun was setting, perfect for quick unload before heading to the hotel for some much needed grub and shut eye.

Arriving at Lincoln - 9/2/2014

The next day I finished registering and picked up the sweet 2014 Nationals jacket you could pre-order. I thought it was funny ordering a jacket considering how hot Lincoln gets this time of year but it would come in very useful a few days later when the temps dipped drastically into the mid-50s/low-60s. We also got tech inspection out of the way before heading out to the practice course to check for the car's balance on the Lincoln concrete. She felt a tad pushy so I cranked the rear bar up to about 50% and she was much more neutral.

2014 SCCA SOLO Nationals jacket - 9/3/2014

Tech inspection complete - Lincoln, NE - 9/3/20214

Practice Course - Linconln, NE - 9/3/2014
Photo By: Tomomi Uetani

We then went out for dinner and came back as the sun was setting before doing the course walks. Mostly, this was to escape the heat but with most people out to attend the banquet from the previous two days of racing, there weren't a lot of people to contend with to get a nice look at the course which made it extra nice.

Sunset course walk - Lincoln, NE - 9/3/2014
Photo By: Tomomi Uetani

The next day was day 1 of competition. The east course had some very fast sections and I knew I'd run out of gearing. I decided to try 3rd gear in a few spots but I really lost to much time bobbling the downshifts so I opted to just stay in 2nd for my last run to put in my fastest time. I definitely need to address this gearing issue next year. I also just put on the sticker Hoosiers and on the first run the mold release was really affecting grip. I wish I had scrubbed them in at the test course the day before. She was also very pushy and I had to crank up the rear bar to full stiff and decrease the front pressures by 1 PSI to get better balance. After day 1, we had toppled in the rankings just shy of the last trophy spot but with the west course looking like a much better course for Bumblestook's gearing, I was hopeful to jump a few spots on day 2. It was also a blistering hot 94 degrees that day but clear skies all around.

BSP Day 1 Grid - East Course - Lincoln, NE - 9/4/2014

On day 2, the temps had dropped overnight to the low 50s and just above 60 before our first runs. I put in a decent first run but coned it away then the bad news came. I blew sound at 103dB so I popped in the silencer I had put together in Wilmington to try and quiet her down. On the next run, I pushed harder, a bit too hard and spun out. I decided to stay off the throttle passing the sound station this time since I didn't want to use up my last warning in an otherwise throw away run. Before the last run, the skies had opened up and it started to rain. The ground was getting damp. I went out for the last run and lifted slightly by sound just to be sure. I went a tad slower and hit 2 cones anyway in the process and unfortunately was later told I still blew sound at 101dB. My understanding is that if I had tried to go full speed I would had the run disqualified anyway so in the end there really wasn't anything I could do in day 2 to move up and we found ourselves all the way down in 10th spot without a single clean run. Regardless of this though, I have to say the Lee Piccione designed West Course was by far the most fun SOLO course I had ever driven to date!

BSP Day 2 Grid - West Course - Lincoln, NE - 9/5/2014

Bumblestook on West Course - Lincoln, NE - 9/5/2014
Photo By: Tomomi Uetani

When all was said and done, I still had a great time at this year's Nationals. It's unfortunate we couldn't do better but my take away is that I plan on addressing these issues next season:

• The old exhaust is going back in. Not dealing with sound issues any further.
• AP1 Transmission is going in. We need the gearing..stop being stubborn!!!
• I need to stop hitting cones

2014 SCCA SOLO Nationals Done - Lincoln, NE - 9/6/2014

SCCA SOLO National Champsionship 2014

Lincoln, NE - 9/4-9/5/2014

She's a great car with lots of potential and as a driver I have plenty left to grow before I can deem myself worthy of such a beast. Now that the season is over I want to thank everyone who supported me this seasons. Evans Tuning for making this dream of a car a reality over the winter, Steve Farkas at SJF Performance for the countless alignments and suspension advice all season long, Dave Corsaro (now the new 2014 SCCA F-Street Champion) for his superb corner balancing work, Karcepts for the diff and suspension parts, ANZE suspension for the shock rebuild and setup, JoeFis Racing for the aero, Hoosier Racing Tire for the purple crack, Honda for what will always be in my mind the most amazing roadster ever built, my NESTR peeps for making racing more about the people than the cars and lastly to my girlfriend Tomomi for convincing me to stay with it and see the season through to the end when I was mentally just stretched to the limit and on the verge of throwing in the towel. Racing is far from being a single person sport and we wouldn't have accomplished what have we to date without such awesome people supporting us in our endeavors. Looking forward to what 2015 will have in store and hopefully bring home more hardware.

Final Prep for Nationals 2014

Bumblestook remained parked after coming back from both Wilmington events but it was time to get her out again and make her ready for the big show. I was supposed to get everything done two weeks ago but forgetting both the storage and car keys at home made it impossible to actually get her to the scheduled alignment on time. Steve at SJF Performance was able to carve out some time for me this weekend and he mounted the competition sticker Hoosiers to the other set of wheels and we rechecked the alignment.

Sticker Hoosiers for Nats - SJF Performance - 8/30/2014

Sure enough, all that grip in Ohio caused the little tabs holding the alignment washer in place to bend again and she was showing 0.5" of toe in at the rear when it should be no more than 1/16" total (no wonder I had to crank up the rear bar for the Wilmington Championship Tour). The front alignment remained perfect and didn't need to be touched. Steve reset the rear back to where it should be so hopefully we'll be all set this time around.

Final alignment of the season - SJF Performance - 8/30/2014

We also did a bit more fender massaging since I still managed to catch the driver side fender during the Wilmington Tour. We probably added another 1/8" of clearance so hopefully that's all we need to finally not hit the fender at all. She's all loaded and ready for Nats now.

Ready for Nats - SJF Performance - 8/30/2014

It's been one crazy year and looking back she's already surpassed my hopes for the season. Hoping for a solid performance at nationals against the other 15 drivers in BSP this year and bring home some hardware.

"Bumblestook is my race car. There is nothing like it and this one is mine. My race car is my best friend. It is my life. I must master my race car as I must master my life. My race car, without me, is useless. Without my race car, I am useless. I must drive my race car hard. I must negotiate corners faster than my competition trying to beat me. I must reach the finish before they finish. I will!"

Wilmington Championship Tour

I stayed in Wilmington after the ProSolo because the Championship Tour was the following weekend. I had to take care of one thing before the event. I blew sound at 101.3dB during the ProSolo and while sound rules made it impossible to really get disqualified for sound during a ProSolo, I knew I'd have to come up with a solution if I wanted to not have any issues during the Champ Tour. Bumblestook and the trailer were being stored at Full Throttle Indoor Karting in Cincinnati thanks to Joe O'Gorman who offered up an inexpensive storage solution for those of us wanting to keep our cars in a safe place for the week in between the events. I asked Joe if he knew anyone who could help me weld in a cone silencer into new 3" exhaust tip and I got pointed to Turn in Concepts in Cincinnati. I picked up a Dynatech Vortex 3" cone silencer at Jeg's in Columbus during the week then brought it over to them. They welded it into 3" piping which I planned to then swap into my exhaust if I blew sound again during the Tour.

Dynatech Vortex 3" Cone silencer

Turn in Concepts welded 3" piping with cone silencer exhaust tip - 7/31/2014

On Thursday night, my friend Rad flew in as he was going to codrive with me for the weekend. We arrived on site on Friday after picking up Bumblestook from storage. The first thing I did was work on fitting the silencer just to make sure everything fit right and found that while the piping was the right diameter, I had given then incorrect dimensions so the tip was too long and was hitting the axle. I reinstalled the normal turndown and we did a few runs on the TnT course to make sure the car was feeling balanced. She felt a hair pushy at the ProSolo so I cranked up the rear bar to half stiff and felt an immediate improvement on the practice course.

Practice Course - Wilmington, OH - 8/1/2014

After practice, we stopped by a muffler shop in town and had them chop off a good 3 inches from the back of the silenced tip and it finally fit with no clearance issues. It turned out to sound really good but without knowing how much power the silencer would rob, I opted to leave the normal turn down in unless I got tagged for sound again but this time I was going to at the very least angle the turndown away from the mic.

Shorter silenced tip - Wilmington, OH - 8/1/2014

Saturday was day 1 of competition. There was a 50% chance of rain forecasted for Saturday and sure enough an hour before we were about to run while putting the cars in grid, the skies opened up with lightning and thunder everywhere and they had to temporarily halt the event to let the storm go through the area. This worked in our favor because sure enough as soon as the rain clouds moved on, the sun came out and we started to enter drying conditions before our first runs.

Starting to dry up after the rain - Day 1 - Wilmington Champ Tour - 8/2/2014

BSP Grid - Day 1 - Wilmington Champ Tour - 8/2/2014

Unfortunately, day 1 didn't turn out too well for us. I managed to cone every single run so I was stuck in 4th place, out of trophies, 1.5 seconds off my codriver in 3rd. My head just wasn't in it and I was making plans to skip nationals if we couldn't put in a competitive time on day 2. Day 2 came around and I was mentally much better and more focused. I really didn't have anything to lose and most of my cones from day 1 were due to me hesitating and not trusting Bumblestook completely to stay in it. After second runs I was closing the gap on Rad's combined time but had another coned run. Rad found another 0.1 seconds on his last run but coned it away. On the last run, I went all out and put together a good run. I had managed to get within a couple of tenth's off Mike Lane's time (who went back from a day 1 deficit to win BSP for the event) and we both were able to raw time SSR that day. It also pushed me ahead of Rad, slotting me in for the last podium spot by a scant 0.015 seconds. The course was great, the grip of the lot was fantastic and Bumblestook survived the brutal back to back events on the grippy concrete. With the solid time in the books, Bumblestook made it known that she wanted to go to Nats so we're back on track to go to Lincoln, NE in a few weeks for the Championship. Also, I never went past 96dB during this event without the silencer so I ended up never using the silenced tip anyway.

Wilmington Champsionship Tour - 3rd Place BSP

Wilmington, OH - 8/3/2014