Last Chance SCCA Double National

[dmuramoto]

This past weekend was pretty spectacular in terms of racing action for project T2 350Z. Racing at High Plains Raceway (HPR) in eastern Colorado, the 2.5 mile road course held a variety of surprises. The first came during Saturday's qualifying. I'd left the same, very stiff setup on the car that I'd used at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah and it very nearly bit me. Exiting the fast, third gear 'Stairway to Heaven', the Z's tail came around and I countersteered to correct the slide. It caught and came around violently the other direction. Both feet in, I caught my backwards progress about 20' off track before I really got into trouble.

Back at the pits, I softened the max rebound I'd dialed into the shocks and took out two clicks on bounce as well. That helped during the race, as I had manageable oversteer while I chased the two BMW Z4 M coupes that were leading. Halfway through the race, I encountered something quite unexpected: a soft brake pedal. The Brembo brake option is allowed under SCCA Touring 2 rules and are usually one of the most reliable strengths of the 350Z.

But testing a new pad material in the front dual piston calipers meant an unpleasant surprise when my brake pedal went abruptly to the floor. That it happened at the '2' marker on the back straight left me with a 120+ MPH problem. As I pumped the Z's brake pedal furiously as there was only a split second to decide if I could make the next turn. I was already at the entrance and drifting to scrub off speed when I straightened out the car and took it straight into the runoff area. Plowing through soft grasslandgave me the chance to get the Z slowed down. Turning around, I took my now dusty Z back onto the track after the corner crew gave me the 'OK' to reenter the course.

The rest of the race was spent trying to figure out a way around my brake problems and I had several 'moments' when I carried too much entry speed and drifted wildly. Still, the 350Z is a very managable car and I kept it (mostly) on the track the rest of the way. Back in the pits, I was bitterly disappointed at my finish, but determined to do better the following day. After checking and bleeding the system, I elected to swap pads on both front and rear to make certain I had a solid machine to race hard for the next National race. I again qualified behind the two BMWs, but lowered my lap times by a full second.

Starts are always a bit nerve wracking, but balancing aggression with enough caution not to make a mistake is always key. No hero moves, but a solid start saw me behind a GT2 240Z, with the BMWs just a bit ahead. Both Zs had equal top end, but the S30 had full slicks and was slowly edging away in the hilly, twisty sections of the track. Then, he slowed abruptly with mechanical troubles and I flashed past. Big raindrops began splattering against the windshield and the thought flashed through my mind: WILD CARD. Rain began falling in buckets and I was confident I could close on the BMWs in those type of conditions. Soon the pavement glistened with sheeting rain and the trick was not to fall off the ice-like surface and get stuck in the ensuing mud. On a downhill section I did a half spin myself, but power slid back the right way and kept closing on the next BMW.

Suddenly, the black flag came out and we all headed for the pits. Officials decided it was too dangerous to continue and gave us 15 minutes to swap to rain tires. This meant a mad dash back to the trailer and a tire change before heading back to the grid. Unfortunately, thunder and lightening meant the SCCA race officials decided it was too dangerous for the corner crews to remain on course, so another delay ensued. Almost 45 minutes lapsed before we headed back to race and by now HPR was rapidly drying. Rats! The two BMW Z4s hooked up once again as the green flag fell and try as I might, I had nothing for them. Still, the Z handled well enough in the slippery conditions, and I ended up third overall as the checkered flag fell. It was the sort of race (and weekend) that held all sorts of possibilities. From disaster to redemption and meeting danger with skill, it's the sort of serious fun that you just can't get in a computer game.