Race Report: May 2016 NASA @ Auto Club Speedway
OK this was my first time heading to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
This is a Roval with speeds over 150mph on the banking (some members here without aero have hit 160+!!) and a flat infield track with a number of concrete and tire barriers.
I was one of the few who had not run here before; during my first practice session I was about 10 seconds off of the next fastest car's time in-class, I made that all up and then some in qualifying about an hour later. My fastest times of the weekend were on R7s instead of A7s, but a lot of that had to do with caution flags being thrown or traffic being in the way.
Here is my best lap from the weekend:
The local SoCal guys were basically eating our lunch all weekend long, but those of us that made the trip from Arizona had similar laptimes and were mainly racing each other (out-of-class). Here is a video from Saturday dicing it up with my buddy's PWC Maserati. We spent about half of this race under full-course-caution due to crashes or breakdowns.
On Sunday my transmission got noticeably difficult to shift into 4th, 5th and reverse, and downshifts into third were becoming a total grind-fest. The transmission managed to hold together for the remainder of the weekend, but either the slave is failing or I have bent forks/missing pads in the trans. I did get a spare while I was out there, so that will be going in along with a fresh slave before the August TMO event.
Here is Sunday's race. I was cautious at the start and was catching up to the other cars in my class during the race, but I got trapped behind lap traffic when they threw a local caution on the banking. The rest of my class left me in the dust as I was stuck behind the slower car
Overall it was a very intimidating track. I would like to go back because I think there is definitely more to learn, but I wouldn't put this track on anyone's Bucket List.
The car was great (other than the transmission issues). The Brembo/PAE/FTBR race brake setup was unflappable and had no problem hauling the car down from 140+ lap after lap after lap, and hardly any pad was consumed front or rear. I couldn't necessarily tell a difference w/ the Blowfish MC brace installed, but my pedal was always firm and consistent. The engine was great and no issues with oiling (lowest pressure was 70psi) even with the extended cornering or banking, and no issues with oil or engine cooling. Lots of time spent above 7000 RPM.
I managed to beat my AZ competitor on Saturday, but he beat me on Sunday. As a result, I'm still in the lead for my regional championship in AZ, but still at tight margin of only 10 points separates us (465 vs. 455).
It's going to be a fight to the finish this year--but I should have some other cars in class for the last race of the season that will help even that spread out in my favor.
See you all in August at Sonoma and Thunderhill!!