The July NASA event was back at CMP, which made this my third time out on this particular track. In preparation for the event, my father put a larger heat exchanger from Steeda on the cobra to help alleviate the issue from Barber where the supercharger cut out the last session of each day.

He also put a different computer program in from Steeda that boosted the engine approximately 30hp.

When the weekend schedule was posted online, I tried to see if I could be switched to the run group that leaves earliest on Sunday in order to help out with my long drive home.

A small mix-up occurred, so I ended up missing my first session of the weekend. Everything got straightened out with plenty of time for me to run in the 2^nd session.

Friday night I had driven up to South Carolina after work and didn’t get in to the hotel until about 2:30am. When I got out on track for what was everyone else’s second run of the day, I was somewhat sleep deprived and had already spent a good deal of my very short energy supply on resolving that mix-up- I drove absolutely horribly! Something about the car did not feel correct as I drove and I couldn’t figure out if it was the new program or if the tires were just not holding up. After mentioning the issue to my instructor (James Ray, who I had my first time at CMP and at Road Atlanta), he said that the track was extremely slick in the earlier run groups which was probably the problem I was having. Someone else mentioned that there was a car dripping coolant in an earlier run group which explains why it was so slick. Even with knowing that the car not sticking was a track issue rather than equipment, I still know that my driving itself was just poor. My lap time was right around 2:20 that session. Afterwards, I made sure I caught naps at every break I got in order to improve my alertness before my next time on track.

The next run on Saturday I had gotten a nap or two in and the track had regained some of its traction. I was able to find most of my lines around the track with the exception of Turn 7, 8, and 14. Turn 7 I was able to find my turn in point at a black patch of asphalt on the pavement. I also realized that I was often carrying too much speed into Turns 11 and 14. After talking to James about my options on those turns, I also realized that in hopes of being “smooth”, I was not braking as quickly and firmly as I needed to be. My goal at the end of the session was to get on the brakes to a point where I could feel ABS working- something I had not previously done. James and I also discussed that I should wait until the 6,000-6,500 rpm range before shifting. That meant I only needed to shift to 4^th after Turn 8 and back to 3^rd at Turn 11. I was running 2:08 by the end of that session.

My last session of the day, I really noticed an improvement on both shortening my braking zone and being at a proper turn-in speed. My speed overall picked up dramatically and the only person who came up behind me to pass the entire session was a race car. Towards the end of the session the supercharger cut out. I decided to continue driving without it, but the motor began surging. I ended up shifting to 5^th and driving very conservatively for one lap to help the engine get back to normal and then I decided to pit. I wasn’t sure if it was the new computer program or a heat issue, but after talking it over with my father we decided to restore the stock program and see if that took care of the problem.

In between each of my sessions my father had run to the NAPA store in Kershaw and found many surprising products there such as cobra rotors, brake duct that he had previously had to special order online (the brake ducts currently installed had holes in them), and small plastic motors that he could put in the brake ducts to help cool. After that first run to the store, installation began on the left brake duct. During the installation we realized he forgot one of the parts at the store, and the guy actually drove it out to the track for us. After a bit of trial and error, the new duct and fans were installed with a switch wired under the hood near the battery. I would have working blowers for my brakes beginning with my first run on Sunday.

I continued to improve on Sunday, although the same issue happened with the supercharger and motor halfway through my first session. That confirmed it was not a computer program issue, so we set the car back to the program from Steeda. After my second run, I had drastically and consistently decreased my braking zone even though my speeds were higher. I dropped another 11 seconds off my lap time since Saturday. James and I discussed whether I should sign off to Group 2, although we both felt that it was not the best idea with Road Atlanta next month. He did, however, recommend me going out solo for a session. We agreed that I would go solo for my third session, then drive as a passenger in his car in an HPDE 3/4 group to discuss the braking/acceleration technique through the carousel, and then he would drive with me again for the last session. I was pretty nervous about my first session alone in a car so I didn’t want to try my first solo session at the last run on Sunday as that is the most dangerous time on the track when everyone has a lot of confidence but has lost a decent amount of energy and focus throughout the weekend. My solo session went extremely well. I was quite satisfied with my overall speed, lines, and braking. I ran a 1:59 halfway through the session right before the supercharger cut out. I was able to really focus on what I was doing without worrying about communicating with anyone else.

I am looking forward to Road Atlanta except for the excruciating heat of the summer. I am curious to see if it will be completely foreign to me or if I’ll be able within the first session or two to refamiliarize myself with the track. To prepare for Road Atlanta, I will have a new set of tires for the track and a larger radiator to alleviate the heating issue.