Showing posts with label Solo Nationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Solo Nationals. Show all posts

Monday, November 20, 2017

Solo Nationals Onboard Video

This is my fastest run from Day 2 of the 2017 Solo Nationals on the West Course - 61.554s. It was good enough for 2nd quick on the day and moved me up from 14th to 6th in class after a slower than normal Day 1 result.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Yaw Moment Racing Newsletter - October 2016

I'm a bit late posting this to the website but this was last newsletter I sent out recapping Solo Nats and the Runoffs. I will have a new newsletter coming out shortly with 2017 plans.  Email me at yawmomentracing@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the mailing list. Thanks!






Thursday, March 3, 2016

Speedway Motors 2015 Solo Nationals Music Video


Speedway Motors released their always anticipated music video highlights of the Solo Nationals. Thee 2015 version did not disappoint. I made the video for the first time with a quick cameo at 1:32 getting a fist bump from D Whitener. Some cool footage and definitely shows the variety of cars we see on the Lincoln concrete each year. Thanks Speedway!

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Solo Nationals Article in SportsCar Magazine

Once again, SportsCar did a great job recapping the SCCA Solo Nationals. Here is the C-Street write-up in this year's magazine. Thanks Buck for the nice words!


New hardware for the trophy cabinet




Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Who Will Win...part 2

The polls predict I will finish 2nd at the Solo Nats this year.....but all the real candidates were not necessarily included. Either way, it never hurts to have extra motivation to take home the win.


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

SportsCar's "Who Will Win" at the 2015 SCCA Solo Nationals



Chris Fenter is the pick in C-Street for 2015, but I got a mention in this year's article. We have a huge class so it will be a battle to see who can try to prove SportsCar wrong.


Monday, September 16, 2013

2013 Solo Nationals Recap


The 2013 SCCA Solo Nationals are in the books. Man, it was a long week in Lincoln....it felt like I didn't have a moment during the week to just relax and enjoy the car show and party that is the Solo Nationals paddock. As I reported in the ProSolo Finale recap, the first part of the week was spent racing, sleeping, and working on the car. There didn't seem to be time for much else. On the Monday after the Finale, a new master cylinder was swapped in with the help of Courtney Cormier, we did two test n' tune sessions, and then we immediately drove to Omaha so I could catch a flight back to San Angelo. Given that ESP ran on Thursday/Friday of the Solo Nats week, I didn't have enough vacation to hang out in Lincoln for the two days in between, so I flew back to work for two days. It was really weird not being there while my friends were racing and competing for jackets, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

In Grid on the West Course (photo credit Vitek Boruvka)
On to the results, ESP ran 2nd heat on Thursday on the West Course. This was a medium-speed single-track 0.8mi course that didn't have any sections that were too quick or too slow. It was all about speed maintenance and not making any big mistakes. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of my most frustrating days of autocrossing at the National level. Two-time B-Stock champion Jadrice Toussaint set the pace early with a 54.002s run which ended up being the fastest time of the day. Every driver, including myself, really struggled to match their first run pace on the 2nd the 3rd tries. My first run was on pace with a 54.015s time, but I hit the 2nd cone of the 1st slalom. I got a little bit of understeer passed the first cone and didn't make enough of an adjustment as I passed he 2nd cone which I hit with the right front tire. This time would have put me in 2nd place by 0.013s, but instead I had to sit on my 54.927 3rd run. At the time, I was really surprised that I couldn't gain pace on the last two runs; they both felt good but the time was not there. We were running in sunny mid-90s conditions and the track got greasy during our heat so it was not to be.

West Course On-Board Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Kt9SMR-t4

That night, it was a little tough to deal with the fact that I thought I had already thrown away my opportunity to win my first ESP jacket. 0.013s is a lot easier to overcome than 9 tenths! It turns out than none of the RWD cars would have an answer for the Greg McCance's pace in his 2002 Subaru WRX on Day 2's East Course. He dropped in a ridiculously fast 72.285s run on his final run to take the win over the ESP King Mark Madarash who held a 0.019 lead (or something like that) after his 73.057s 3rd run. I finished with a 73.826s run on the Sam Strano designed East Course. This was good enough for 3rd quickest on the day and moved me into 4th place overall. The cone on the West Course cost me 3rd place, but I was happy with my pace on the East Course and to be one of only four cars running sub-74s times.

East Course Onboard Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3LSFH-s8Ls

My Dad had his best finish at Nationals with 19th place out of the 34 ESP drivers. He was only 1.5s out of the trophies and capped off a season of big improvements with his best event. He continues to get better and better with each event. Trouble is he only gets to drive the Camaro at a few events per year and then drives his STX Mini Cooper at locals back home in Virginia. We are looking to correct this with co-drives in RWD cars for locals next year. So those of you out there in the VMSC with RWD Mustangs, Vettes, etc., please help a brother out and offer a co-drive!

Full Final Results Here
Final ESP Results
My 3rd Trophy at Nationals out of 4 trips to Lincoln


Ali ran her first autocross ever in STSL class at the Solo Nationals co-driving with Kim Whitener who won her third consecutive STSL National Championship. Ali had practiced twice before in the Whitener CRX. She did really really well her first event - she didn't get lost, only spun once, and came home in 4th place.
Racecar Driver!

And now for the most important part, I have many people to thank:
  • My parents for continuing to support me and for an epic last second drive to Kansas City for a new master cylinder.
  • Ali for always helping out and keeping things fun even with the stress of running her first autocross. She always makes sure I don't forget the most important part of racing....Fun.
  • Sam Strano for the continued support of my racing, talking shop between sessions, and for the private trackwalk on the East Course.
  • Courtney Cormier for helping with the master cylinder swap and for continuing to be the nicest guy I've met in racing.
  • Mark Madarash for helping me troubleshoot my braking issue
  • Lane Borg and Josh Pu'u for helping make the Camaro faster throughout this season.

 For another inside look at the Solo Nationals, check out the Oversteer Garage recap of their efforts in CP: http://oversteergarage.com/2013/09/08/2013-solo-nationals/



Thursday, September 5, 2013

Solo Nats Day 1 in the books - On to Day 2

Day 1 for ESP started on the West Course. I finished in 6th place 0.9s out of 1st which is not where I wanted to be headed into the 2nd day. I coned my first and fastest raw time run in one of the opening slaloms. This 54.015 run would have put me in 2nd only 0.013 out of 1st....but there's nothing I can do now but push push push and have a killer time tomorrow. My Dad and I reviewed data, tweaked the car and are ready to rock tomorrow.

You can follow along live tomorrow here:

Video & Audio: www.ustream.tv/channel/solo-nationals-east 

We run in the 2nd heat which should start around 9:30 AM. On to tomorrow!

Friday, August 30, 2013

Mentioned in SportsCar's "Who Will Win"



I was mentioned by SportsCar magazine in their annual "Who Will Win" article in which they attempt to predict who will win each class at the SCCA Solo Nationals. As expected, they went with 8-time champ Mark Madarash. Here is the blurb on ESP:


Monday, February 25, 2013

2012 - Pictorial Year in Review

Before we move full-bore into 2013, I wanted to take a step back and look at 2012. It was a busy year with quite a few good memories!


In chronological order:

Jan 2012 - I was shipped a pile of tires to destroy 
Feb 2012 - Almost didn't make it back from my Bachelor Party at Mardi Gras
Feb 2012 - Picked up a new tow vehicle and trailer for the ESP Camaro
Mar 2012 - Finished P2 in ESP at my first National Tour event in the Camaro
Mar 2012 - I blew up the ring and pinion gear in the Camaro
Apr 2012 - I did some donuts
Apr 2012 - I got married to a special lady
Apr 2012 - Pura Vida in Costa Rica for my honeymoon
May 2012 - Our pit bike was featured in GRM
May 2012 - Feature Race winner with the West Texas Karting Association
May 2012 - Engine trouble led to a disappointing P5 finish out of 18 in ESP at the Spring Nats
June 2012 - P2 finish at the Summer Nationals in Blytheville including the fastest ESP time for Day 2

June 2012 - Podium finish in 125 Shifter class at the 6/23 WTKA Club Race
July 2012 - Ali and I bought land and started building our first house

July 2012 - The ESP Camaro gets a Spoiler
July 2012 - Out with the Miata, in the FRS
Aug 2012 - The ESP Camaro gets a new look

Sep 2012 - P3 finish out of 30+ drivers at the 2012 SCCA Solo Nationals
Sep 2012 - Lots o' laps and drifting Vettes at the Bondurant School
Oct 2012 - My first track day in the FRS at Harris Hill Road
Nov 2012 - Formula 1 at the newly built COTA
Dec 2012 - I got to be one of the first people to drive COTA with the Cadillac V-Series Performance Lab

Dec 2012 - We moved into our new house and race shop









Tuesday, January 8, 2013

2012 Solo Nationals Recap in SportsCar & Official Results



In November, the 2012 SCCA Solo Nationals official results book and SportsCar Magazine's annual feature on the Solo Nationals showed up in the mail. Finishing 3rd in ESP, I got a mention on our class's writeup. I've got a lot of work to do to make up the 1.2s to Mark Madarash, but racing wouldn't be fun if it was easy!

ESP and ESPL feature - Congrats on Number  8 Mark
ESP Summary - Part 1
ESP Summary - Part 2
Lane had an exciting year in A Stock capping it off with his first National Championship
Official ESP Results - Looking to improve on P3 in 2013!











Sunday, October 28, 2012

Speedway Motors 2012 SCCA Solo National Championships Music Video

I didn't hit a cone or spin at the 2012 Solo Nats so the Goodyear Eagle RS / StranoParts.com Camaro didn't have much of a chance to the video....but it is still worth a watch. Some of our good friends made the video which is good to see!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Podium Finish at the 2012 SCCA Solo Nationals


Team Goodyear!
The 2012 SCCA Solo Nationals wrapped up three weeks ago in Lincoln, Nebraska. Life has been busy since Ali and I got back. This is the first chance I've had to write up a blog post and edit video so I apologize for the delay. Ali and I arrived in Lincoln on Saturday September 1st - a few days early in order to setup camp and run a few test and tune sessions. I was very optimistic going into the event since I was very quick in my last National Event (June Blytheville Tour) and I thought I had gained some pace from the testing I did
back in July. 

Our Paddock Setup

For the first test and tune session, I ran some baseline laps for a balance check and then settled on a slightly higher rear spring rate to help the car rotate. The Nationals TNT course is not always a good indicator of balance/pace on the race day courses, but it is the only option for last-minute tuning. My Dad ran two sessions in the car to get more seat time. He has made some big strides throughout the year as it is hard to get comfortable with a race-tire-shod 350HP RWD racecar when your normal autocross car is an STX class Mini Cooper and you only drive the Camaro a few times per season.

2012 Solo Nationals Course Maps

Lined up on the Day 1 Starting Line
ESP ran in Heat 3 of the Tuesday/Wednesday group and we started on the West Course. The West Course was fairly straightforward meaning there was not an excess of cones and purposeful "tricky" visual elements that are typical of National courses. Heat 3 started in the heat of the day with ambient temperatures around 95 degrees. There was two heats worth of rubber laid down on the track which should have made for decent conditions. To my surprise (and many of my competitors), it was hard to make the front tires work in these conditions and I struggled with understeer on each of my 3 runs. My first run clocked in at a 59.289 which was good enough for P3 in class - 0.1s behind 2nd and 0.6s behind Mark Madarash in 1st place. Mark laid down a quick first run (58.8s), but was then one of only a few drivers to pick up time on his 2nd and 3rd runs. He finished with a class-leading time of 58.691s. One of the keys to his was his mid-session ARB adjustment - an option I did not have with my non-adjustable front and rear ARBs fitted to the Camaro. This is something to improve on next year - quick, in-session balance adjustments.

Tire blankets on trying to keep the Goodyears hot!

Madarash making adjustment for the understeer-balanced track conditions
Me tipping into a corner on the Day 1 course
Going into Day 2, my goal was to at least match Mark's time and to move into 2nd place. I knew Mark would be hard to catch for the win, but I never gave up hope there either. The Day course was about 10s longer than Day 1 and had more technical elements that tested your vision and "course-reading" ability. To improve the understeer issues from Day 1, I removed the spoiler and increased the rear spring rate. The understeer from Day 1 was especially bad in high-speed corners and it felt like the rears were over-driving the fronts. The change worked and it was easier to make the car rotate, but unfortunately, 2nd place was not to be had. After two runs, I had moved into P2 over Britt Dollmeyer in his 2006 Ford Mustang GT by  two tenths. On his third run, he threw down a very quick 68.641 which moved him back into 2nd place by over a half second. I needed 6 tenths on my last run, but was only able to come up with a 4 tenth improvement (68.711s). I finished 3rd in class and cleared 4th place by 0.5s. In the end, I was happy to keep the final step on the podium! I have lots of room for improvement on the Camaro and we will be back next year to contend for the ESP National Championship. Congrats to Mark Madarash on extending his winning streak and taking home the 2012 ESP title.

Getting my 3rd Place trophy


Video of my fast Day 1 and Day 2 Runs:



My Dad and faithful co-driver had a great time at his 2nd trip to the Solo Nationals. The 33-car ESP field was very tough and he finished in the 28th position. He had a great Day 1 and was closer to myself and Mark than he had been all year. This put him somewhere around 20th, but he struggled a little bit on the Day 2 course and dropped down to 28th. He is always getting faster and continues to be a great student! I just hope he enjoys racing with me as much as I do with him!
My Dad pulling over a 1G on Day 1

I have many people to thank, but let me start with a big congrats to Lane Borg for winning his first National Championship this year in his bright yellow C5 A-Stock Corvette. This was also the first National Championship for the Goodyear Eagle RS brand! He came back on his last run on Day 2 to win by less than a tenth over Tony Savini who also drove great all week. Watching those two battle was a lot of fun.
Lane Borg on the way to his first National Championship
I also have to congratulate one of my autocross mentors and now sponsors - Sam Strano - on winning the prestigious Driver of Eminence award. Congrats Sammy!

Sam accepting the driver of eminence award

2012 was a very successful year finishing off with a podium finish at the Solo Nationals. I would to extend a big THANK YOU to the following people and companies for their support this year:

  • Goodyear - for providing the very fast Eagle RS(AC) tires fitted to my ESP Camaro
  • Strano Parts - for always helping me make the Camaro go quicker around the cones
  • My Dad - for being a great co-driver and co-team-owner
  • My Mom - for travelling with us to all of the National races and cooking great food
  • My Wife Ali - for being the best racing wife a guy could ask for
  • Lane Borg - for being my residential GM expert and helping me wrench/tune the Camaro
  • Josh Pu'u  - for slugging it out many hot days and long nights making the Camaro faster