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Chuckwalla Valley Raceway February 18th and 19th

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ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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Pretty smooth, Grant! I was impressed that everyone at the event looked like they knew what they were doing on-track, there were no "rolling chicanes" to contend with. Everyone was moving right along :)
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
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Blair, Nebraska
ArizonaGT,

Nice lines and appreciated you filming the run. Have to admit I was a bit surprised by the speeds on the track , as my buddy who ran there sure gave me an idea the speeds were higher. Nice to see video of actual speeds , as afraid he might have succumbed to the ghost of races past --- really doubt he ever saw 135 anywhere.

Looks like it was fairly technical as mentioned , but not quite as fast as I had envisioned. Looks like all had a great time from the photos, and hope some wander up to Hastings, Nebraska for the Mustang/Ford Roundup in September - actually found out the other day , George Anderson scheduled a Mustang/Mini weekend the middle week of June, so there are two events in Hastings this year.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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Arizona, USA
The 1hz GPS of my iPhone doesn't accurately reflect the speeds in real-time, for example the bowl it shows exiting at 35mph...no way. But the speed at the end of the straight was accurate around 112mph. The track is pretty fast and fluid.

However I have heard that running the opposite direction (CCW) the track is a bit faster as more of the corners are increasing radius that way. I still don't know about 135mph though.
 
fuhrius said:
would love to hear more about prep on the cars and what we might be able to take away / learn from what they've done. sounds like the cars might not have been as 'race-prepped' as one could have hoped for...but anything interesting about suspension / brake setups? and what kind of safety gear was in the car?
Big tip. Replace brake pads BEFORE they wear down to the backing plates. :)

I'll update later but the radiator they are using looks to be a winner.
 
NFSBOSS said:
Big tip. Replace brake pads BEFORE they wear down to the backing plates. :)

I'll update later but the radiator they are using looks to be a winner.

sounds like the guys are working out the kinks in trying to keep a fleet of school cars going. still would have preferred to be working them out with you guys then pulled into crap I had to be doing over the last few days.

did you guys end up getting to make use of the car I didn't use? hope it helped in some way.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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Arizona, USA
Keavdog said:
I don't recall speeds but ccw you run the 1320' back stretch down hill right into the 8 9 10 turns.

Considering you can carry 75-80mph into the turn on the exit of the back straight going CW, I'm assuming you can at least enter the straight around 70mph going CCW. Maybe that plus the downhill gets you to 135mph; that would be an interesting brake zone with the now hairpin 8-9-10 complex in reverse...if that makes sense
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
ArizonaGT said:
Considering you can carry 75-80mph into the turn on the exit of the back straight going CW, I'm assuming you can at least enter the straight around 70mph going CCW. Maybe that plus the downhill gets you to 135mph; that would be an interesting brake zone with the now hairpin 8-9-10 complex in reverse...if that makes sense
Exactly what I was thinking coming off that back straight since it's faster than the straight before 8. Would eat a lot more brakes that way.


ArizonaGT said:
Pretty smooth, Grant! I was impressed that everyone at the event looked like they knew what they were doing on-track, there were no "rolling chicanes" to contend with. Everyone was moving right along :)

Thanks...based on the fast times, most would need *at least* another 12 laps to pass me twice!


Just cleared it with my wife...I'm going back in March. :)
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
I didn't like that the center caps were still on. I couldn't tell, but I doubt that they're hub centric. The issue could just be over-torque as Gary mentioned.

NFSBOSS said:
Chuckwalla is the Thunderhill of SoCal with lots of run off area and not much to hit. Perfect for beginners like me. I really liked the stretch starting with the exit from 10 through 15. Several fast corners that were fun for me.

Agreed. Wish I made more use of the Bowl. That's another reason I could have used the course instruction. If somebody told me I could mat it through there...I'd just do it and not over think it.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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Arizona, USA
Grant 302 said:
Just cleared it with my wife...I'm going back in March. :)

If you are going with SpeedVentures, you will probably see some of my fellow track rats from AZ! I am not going to make that event, however :(
 
NFSBOSS said:
Nice photos. Holy brake dive. John are you still on stock springs?

You can paste those links in between the IMG tags or I'll fix them later when I get home.

Think I got them linked correctly, thanks. A couple of the cars have that crazy brake dive...I was guessing stock springs. I will post some video from my car later today.
 

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