2013 Race & Event Schedule Announced!

Visit the Schedule page for updated version.

SOHO 350Z at Atlanta Motorsports Park

   With SOHO Motorsports located in Charlotte, NC we get to enjoy certain luxuries. Nearly a dozen of world class tracks all withing a few hours of us and also South Eastern weather is pretty damn nice. These two things combined makes for a very happy racer, allowing for track days to go late into the year, making the proverbial offseason nearly non existent. The last such track day on our schedule was the iTrack Motorsports Santa Run 2012 Toys for Tots event at the brand new Formula 1 deisgned 16 turn roller coaster of a track that is Atlanta Motorsports Park. Hidden deep in the rolling hills of civil war land Georgia, this gem of a road course is planted in the middle of a beautiful forrest and upon opening on 2012 became one of the best road courses in America. Designed by Formula 1 track designer Tilton, AMP is a sprawling track with every type of turn possible all while making the driver keep his momentum through the massive elevation changes and varying 16 turns. I have had the pleasure to race around some of the best tracks on the east coast in the past two years and this one just might be on of my favorites. Nik said it reminded him of the F1 Abu Dhabi circuit that is famous in its own right. Either way AMP's awesome layout combined with the perfect Georgia December weather of 75 degrees and sunny and it makes for a perfect track day to showcase how amazing the SOHO Turbo Kit is on the SOHO Mule 350Z, driven by a very ready to tear shit up me haha.

  After tracking the SOHO 350Z around and IndyCar course at Barber Motorsports Park a few months back for Z Nationals, I knew the Z was quick but handled like a pig. So in preparation of the demanding course that AMP is known to be, we borrowed a few parts from the #44 Time Attack G35, currently down for maintenance. The Z is stock other than the SOHO VQ Premium Single Turbo Kit and KW Suspension V3 coilovers (setup from the stance event the weeks before.) With not quite enough time to put a full track setup and alignment on the car we tossed on the Volk TE37 SL's wrapped with sticky 305' Toyo R888's and also the Stillen sway bars and SPL Suspension end links off the G as well. With the added grip and the sway bars helping keep the car tidy around the corners the SOHO Mule 350Z was ready for track duty, but ther was one issue. The offset of the G wheels on the Z didn't quite match up perfect so we had to add a bunch of camber into the rear, reducing the contact patch size but limiting rub on the sidewall. Even after the first session we nearly killed the tires and had to bring it in and raise the car as high as it could go and even then it still rubbed a bit. Either way we fought through the rub and the day ended up being an epic track day around an epic track. The turbo kit was amazing again and the track was perfectly suited for it. From sun up to sun down and then some, the SOHO Motorsports VQ Single Turbo Kit held its own and was badass alllll day long! Check out the video above and below and also the KPR Youtube Channel!

Great Day at SOHO Open House!

   On Saturday Novemeber 24th we had our first SOHO Motorsports Open House at the shop, opening our doors to the public for the first time. We originally wanted to have the event to be a small meet at the shop for locals with the SOHO cars on the lifts and on display, grill out, raffle, friends and some of the areas best cars.

   Trying to keep the event to 'locals only' in an effort to fit the cars in our small lot we were every happy with the amount of cars that showed up, just enough to keep the lot full but without having to use the overflow lot. Based on the raffle tickets I gave out we had just around the perfect amount of 50 cars throughout the day. It was a relaxing Saturday at the shop, eating some of the free food off the grill and hanging out with some good friend and beautiful cars, and even Stella pup came out and said hi haha.

   We had what seemed to be 75% Nissan/Infiniti's which of course we were happy to see as that is definitely our niche but there was a good mix of other cars too from BMW's to Mustangs and everything in between. Everyone got a good look around the shop and got to see the SOHO Turbo Kit and the #44 Time Attack G35 up close and personal on the lifts. Everyone seemed to be very impressed with what we have been working on lately and it was nice to open the doors and share our passion with everyone. We will absolutely be doing these open house / grill out events more often when it begins to get warmer again next year. I wish I could spend every Saturday, not at the track, like that. The SOHO Open House truly was a fun day.

For more photos from the event check out the SOHO Open House Facebook Photo Album

Reppin' The New Sponsors!

TurboSmart Blow Off Valve & Wastegate!

Thanks to our most newest sponsor TurboSmart for the hook up on their blow off valve and waste gate to be run on the #44 Time Attack G35. Cant wait to put them on the car.

New Apparel! G & Z Thang Shirts for 2013!

Introducing the new KPR G Thang and Z Thang t-shirts for pre order today! You guys kept asking for a Z version to go along with the G one so here it is! Ill be printing a limited number of these shirts so make sure you buy yours today! http://kparlettracing.blogspot.com/p/store.html

Mishimoto Sponsor Page

One of my newest sponsors treats their drivers very well, check out my own driver info page on their website! Pretty cool if I dont say so myself. KPR / Mishimoto Driver Page

2013 Livery for the #44 SOHO Motorsports Time Attack G35

New Sponsors for 2013 - Mishimoto, TurboSmart & Phantasm!

   The tumultuous year that has been 2012 is coming to an end that means one thing; time to prepare for the 2013 season and begin the annual scavenge to get sponsorship help for the next long year of battles on track. And with our goals and ambitions at an all time high, 2013 is going to be a big year for the #44 SOHO Motorsports Time Attack G35 as we plan to run the full Global Time Attack season across America and win the overall Limited Class Championship! With expectations like that we need more help than our small operation can handle, and that's where our amazing sponsors save the day!

   With the beginning of the annual race to get sponsors during the offseason November has been a good month so far the #44 G35. We are proud to announce three new sponsors. Mishimoto Automotive for our radiators and oil coolers. TurboSmart for our blow off valve, waste gate and possibly eBoost boost controller. And Phantasm for the vinyl on the car for the year. These three companies are a great addition to the #44 G35 team and we are excited to represent them throughout the 2013 season and beyond! Make sure you check out each of their website's on the link bar to the right of the page or on the sponsors page.

SOHO Motorsports First Open House!

Come out to the SOHO Motorsports Open House from 12pm-4pm on Saturday November 24th for a laid back day of SOHO cars on the lifts and on display, some of the best local cars, good friends, raffle and some food on the grill! We will have the doors open and the cars on the lift, for an up close look at our shop and everything we have been working on lately. From our new SOHO VQ35DE Single Turbo Kit on our shop 350Z to our newly rebuilt #44 Time Attack G35. So come out and enjoy a lazy Saturday at the shop and enjoy one of the last shindigs of the season! Parking is limited so we are trying to keep this thing more of a local crowd, although all are welcome from in or out of town.

Check out the event link on Facebook - www.facebook.com/events/382275691854032/

Or for more info on SOHO Motorsports visit our website - www.sohomotorsports.com

East Coast Fitment Festival & Metal In Motion

   Charlotte, NC seems to be the epicenter of not only NASCAR but also a drifting and stance car mecca of sorts. Our local drifting scene is absolutely amazing thanks to Brian and Todd Phillips from Streetwise Drift. They run an awesome Formula Drift Pro Am series in the southeast and many events here in Charlotte. I have known these guys since I moved here and have watched their series grow from some small events into a miniature drift empire and it couldn't happen to better guys. Who know maybe ill go drift in an event or two in between grip races. But as for the stance scene, I have seen many different car cultures in different area and none seem to match the quality, enthusiasm and sheer number of massive events as I see in Charlotte. And the best part is that with the close proximity to nearly every where in the southeast we get all of the best cars from the entire region at all of our events, which makes for huge turnouts. Obviously i'm a little more submersed in the car culture these days thanks to the whole racing thing and working at SOHO Motorsports, but it still blows my mind when Charlotte does a car event they do it huge!

Video taken by person at event -

   This year we had one particular event that seemed to be one everyone marked on the calendar. Streetwise Drift, Stance Nation and Insane Stance & Offset all teamed of for one colossal event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the East Coast Fitment Festival & Metal In Motion Drift Event. With an event this big we obviously had to be there and represent SOHO Motorsports and show off our new SOHO Single Turbo Kit. But with my freshly broken leg, at home in Maryland two days away from the event, it wasn't going to be an easy task to make the event on Saturday after my appointment on Thursday and with no one to drive but myself, with my broken driving foot (right). So after icing my foot Friday morning I took the 6 hour drive using my pounding foot on the throttle the whole way, straight to CMS to set up the booth. Thankfully Tony Parrish from Outside the Garage was there to help me unload the tent and seats and everything else for our vendor booth. Exhausted and in serious pain I drove home and crash, on my bed, to wake up early the next morning and go to the event.

   Bright and early we got to Charlotte Motors Speedway as the sun was rising and passed the long lines by flashing the always helpful vendor pass and got to setting up. Knowing it would be a very long day and my foot killing me from the drive needles to say I took my pain pills to get through the day and I was in rare form haha. We got right to work setting up the vendor booth, product table organized and the shop EvoX, shop Turbo 350Z and our buddy Javier's 370Z all lined up around the tent we were finally good to go and I sat back with my foot elevated with Nik, Javier, Sid and Tony all hanging out shooting the shit. We had our new SOHO Hoodies for sale and they sold out quick, but luckily we have more now, so order yours today! 

   The event was a huge success! We sold a ton of product and got to see a lot of good old friends and made plenty of new ones. I couldn't get around to see much because of my obvious limited walking abilities, crouches, and also because there was always a ton of people out our tent, which was great! There were thousands of beautiful cars of every single type all high quality and right next to them was another amazing Streetwise Drift Metal In Motion event with some of the best drifters in the region. It was an awesome day for any gear head and well worth my 6 hour drive. We look forward to this event next year and even more so to the next event in the area, our SOHO Open House on November 24th!

Video from Slidewaze - 

http://vimeo.com/53088460

Dale Earnhardt Sr. Broke My Damn Foot!

Thats right, Dale Earnhardt Sr. posthumously broke the tip of my fibula and tore ligaments in my ankle. Now im sure you have some questions at this point so let me explain the absurdly stupid story that made this all happen. As any broke race car driver can tell you, for Halloween the easiest thing to be is, well, a race car driver. So with the assistance of my fake 80's mustache, old school open face helmet, fire suit and racing shoes (which were new and wasnt a fan of). With that image in your head let me supply you with the much funnier actual version -

Anyway back to my stupidity. Dressed as Dale Earnhardt Sr. for my brothers Halloween party we were playing some late night corn-hole (thats right corn-hole) and when my buddy went to throw his last shot I jumped up approximately 3 inches haha and when I came down the new racing shoes rolled and my ankle hit the ground... Hurting immediately and terribly bad, we took a very late night trip to the E.R. and after some xrays and pain pills I was told it was the tip of my fibula broken and torn ligaments in my ankle. According to my orthopedic specialist I should be down for 4-6 weeks. Im about 2 weeks in now and things are starting to look good along with physical therapy I should be good to go in time for our scheduled test day of December 2nd at the brand new Atlanta Motorsports Park. Wish me luck, im gonna need it haha.

2012 Z Nationals at Z1 & Barber!

The G in all her glory!!!

Me driving the SOHO 350Z around Barber Motorsports Park -

   Burning what was left of the midnight oil we left the shop at 11pm and drove late into the night, with race cars in tow, on the 5 hour journey that was Charlotte, NC to Z1 Motorsports, just outside of Atlanta, GA. Hopped up on more energy drinks than any one human should consume in a 24 hour period, we finally arrived in town around 4:30am, just in time for a shower and hour of sleep at the hotel before waking up bright and early to set up the SOHO Motorsports tent at the Z Nationals car show. 

   We were a sponsor of the event and when we got there and realized we were placed right next to the main stage we were pretty ecstatic about our location. We had our normal setup and display but this was the first time we had both the race G and the shop Z at the same event in over a year. It was a very proud and awesome moment to step back and look at what we had achieved in such a short amount of time. It was a lot of blood, sweat and tear and it took non stop work by so many people who helped in the process, and we cant thank them all enough!

The G's new engine bay and turbo system. Need to lower the rad now. 

   It was a perfect Georgia morning for the 2012 Z Nationals car show and the SOHO tent was buzzing with people coming to finally see the G and Z unveiled for the first time with the new SOHO Motorsports Turbo kit on both cars. We got to see a lot of old friends and meet a ton of great new people, many of whom happened to be fans from facebook so it was really cool to put a face to peoples names. 

   Thanks to everyone who came up to us over the weekend and gave us a pat on the back or complimented our work, its people like you that make all of this worth while for us. Well that and the track days of course haha but thats coming up soon. The cars were a huge hit and I dont think there was a moment all day where I wasnt talking to someone and answering questions or just shooting the shit with old friends. It really was a great day and the best part hadnt even come yet...

The G is beautiful in blue! Look at those new fenders and aero!

The Z is all decked out in gold & matching vinyl. Looks amazing!

The G's new seat, fenders and side skirts are all functionals and beautiful!

   Saturday's at Z Nationals always consist of the awesome car show with hundreds of beautiful Z's and G's of all ages, beautiful women, awesome companies on display and last but certainly not least, and most of the time the best part is the dyno comp. We were all eager to strap the Z down on the dyno in front of everyone to show the whole Z/G community the awesome turbo kit we have all worked so hard to create over the past few months. This would be the first time the public would see it in action and there was a lot of anticipation our parts and a good part of the crowd as well. 

   When the time came I could tell Nik was nervous so I told him "dont worry about it we have done enough testing and we know it will do great", and a few minutes and a dyno pull later he was all smiles. The Z did great running right around the 400hp/400tq range exactly where we wanted it for the stock block, and did it all 3 pulls in a row. Everyone seemed impressed and we were happy as can be, and ready for the track day on Sunday to show the effectiveness of the kit even more. But first was the awards banquet where I have to mention the food was damn good and congrats to our very very good friend Todd from Assaultech Performance for winning Best G35 and also Highest HP VQ35 on the dyno comp, the only car to beat us haha. Way to cheat Todd! In all seriousness though the guys from Assaultech are great guys and we were very happy for them to do as well as they did! After stuffing our faces we were off to bed in preparation for the track the next day. We were exhausted to say the least.

The Z doing work on the Z1 Dyno with a nice crowd around it.

There was a constant stream of people checking out the SOHO booth.

   Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! "Oh shit its 8:30 wake up! We are two hours late guys, lets go!" is the first thing I screamed when my sleep deprived body opened its eyes Sunday morning. To my horror we were very late to the day I had been waiting a very long time for. We were in Carrolton, GA and the track day was in the next time zone in Birmingham, AL nearly 100 miles away. Needless to say we robbed the hotel breakfast buffet quickly and then booked it all the way there, avoiding the police for the pre-Talladega traffic (which was awesome to see that huge track!) all while being perplexed as to where/when exactly the time zone changed and astonished to see it was literally on the border, I think haha. Either way we got to Barber Motorsports Park and registered and teched and all of that fun stuff by about 11am, just in time to wait for our last session at 1:30. 

   While waiting I hitched a ride with our pal Steve Ruyan around Barber in his session to help me learn the track quicker, and wow what a track! So many elevation changes, so many different styles of turns, so many different places where the car weight can be unbalanced! What an awesome track, I could instantly tell it would be a track where the "track drives the car, rather than the car drive the track". This would be one of those good ones that putting the car in the proper spot would be a matter of being smooth and letting the car flow and keep balance at all times. I couldnt wait to track the Z but there was one problem...

Steve Ruyan's 350Z with me riding shotty learning the course.

   The Z was out at Z Nationals to do one thing, show off the turbo kit at the show, on the dyno and on the track. And it looked amazing for the show, put down great numbers on the dyno and was as fast as all hell on the straight aways on track.... but the brakes were non existent. We unfortunately left the stock compound of Akebono brakes on the Z and I knew from the get go the braking power would be limited in not only stoping power but no one knew how many laps they would last. Which meant very terrible and slow cornering, just to be safe on the car and brakes. 

   Either way we started out in the "Pro Group" session, and me being back on a road course for the first time since the accident had a nice little bit of nervousness in me as I followed out a factory race Nissan 370Z Racecar. I was by no means what I would consider a "pro" haha. I figured oh well time to push it at least I get to follow a real pro and learn his line. With Danny from Assaultech in the passenger seat with me I figured out the course in a few laps and the brakes held up well, but my god that turbo kit was quick to spool and fun to drive!

Me pointing by the faster GTR as I learn the track.

   After figuring out the course and how the car handled (first time racing the Z as well) we began to cycle passengers in and out every 3 laps or so. Luckily after the session that was alloted to us the guys at Z1, who were eager for a ride in the Z, allowed us to hop into the next group and then the next group after that as well! As the one driving the car im not gonna lie, it was an absolute blast to drive the Z around such a badass course giving rides to nearly a dozen people and getting to do a full three sessions in a row over 24 laps! 

   What an awesome experience, I felt like the Stig haha. Everyone seemed to be impressed by my driving (which was good for my bruised ego) but the real star was the SOHO Motorsports Single Turbo kit! Man that thing was amazing. Aside from the literally smoking hot and on fire brakes at the end of the day the car ran perfect for a solid hour and a half straight with zero issues. Check out the video attached to this post of me piloting the G around. I believe the lap has Sean the owner of SPL Suspension riding shotty with me. Enjoy, I know I did!

Track finally learned and digging hard!

   Z Nationals 2012 was another awesome event and I cant forward till next years event. But I must comment on something that happened on the way home. I was driving the truck and trailer, exhausted from no sleep and racing all day, and began to have a nice thought to myself as I drove past Talladega Superspeedway just as the NASCAR race finished. As I smiled ear to ear thinking about the weekend and seeing the NASCAR track my thought was that I love these weekends and the weeks that build up to these weekends. I dont just love them, I live for them. I live for the deadline that seems impossible, the amount of work to be done that seems imense and never ending, the pressure of trying to make sure everything is perfect even when you cant control it all and everything else. 

   Racing is my life and will forever be my life. Passing that NASCAR track after tracking all day, it made me think about my dreams of racing and it I had a moment of clarity and renewed vigor. Nothing beats lapping a car around a race track at speed and my dream has always been to get better and better and rise in the series and rankings. When I wrecked that car at the highest stage of time attack, a piece of me stayed in that tire wall and bent body pieces and I had been searching for it for months, all while un sure of whether I could really do this. But after an amazing day on track and the amazing support from everyone from fans to team to family over the past few month, I drove past that huge pinacle of racing achievement that is Talladega and I knew that I hadnt lost anything, I was displaced, but now im back, and im hungrier than I have ever been. More driven than I have ever been and I can not wait for the next race no matter how big or small. And I cant wait for 2013, we will race, and we will win, a lot! Here's to looking forward!

G Done!?!? Countdown to Z Nationals!

   Wow what a crazy month it has been, but this past week has easily been one of the longest and hardest weeks we have ever experienced trying to get two cars ready in time for an event. And this was no normal event, this was the 2012 Z Nationals hosted by Z1 Motorsports every year, and the one event we have circled on our calendar every season. The G and Z made it in time, but barely and with no sleep on our ends haha.

The new tubular NASCAR front end thanks to Bingz Customz!

   The G finally came back to us after Jason from Bingz, who busted his ass getting the new body finished with the new fenders and side skirts and also the tubular front and rear end. The moment we got the car off the trailer we immediately installed everything back in the car as much as we could and then it was off to the fab shop for the new turbo setup. Thanks to the handy work and long hours of Doug, the new turbo system was fabricated in a matter of days! The new setup is designed just like the new SOHO Motorsports turbo kit, for street cars, with the Garrett GTX 3582R turbo. The only exception is we had to route a few pipes differently on the race car due to the new tubular NASCAR style front end.

The new turbo setup being mocked up by Doug!

   The G's body work was finished on Saturday, the new forced induction system was finished on Tuesday, the car was started for the first time on Wednesday and then wrapped in Phenomenal Vinyl's Matte Metallic Blue Azul vinyl on a 24 hour stint Wednesday night with the help of Jason from 7pm-7am. Thanks to Brett and Matt from Phenomenal Vinyl but more importantly I cant thank Jason enough for spending a delirious night with me wrapping the G. With all of that craziness done and sleep non existent, we used Thursday to button up the last few things on the already built SOHO 350Z "Mule" car and the last few wiring and engine things on the G Thursday night in preparation for the dyno Friday morning and the 5 hour trek from our shop to the Z Nationals in GA.

The G stripped of the old logos and prepped for the new blue vinyl!

   Going to sleep for the 3 hours we all got Thursday night, the anticipation for the weekend and more importantly the morning dyno session loomed over all of us and made sleep near impossible. We hadn't run the G nearly at all yet and the dyno session the following morning would be the first test as too how the engine held up in the accident, outside of the few things we could do outside of the car of course.

   Bright and early the next morning, Friday, we strapped it on the dyno and Nik went to town on the Dyno Jet doing gentle pulls and watching the data feverishly, while I sat next to the car putting the finishing vinyl and logo touches to the now very blue G35. It all came together visually with the new SOHO logo's and Global Time Attack number placards, it finally looked like what I had envisioned it would looked like, and it was a long time coming.

The G all finished and about to be loaded on the trailer!

   Back to reality though, just as I finished placing the last #44 placard Nik shut the car off and explained we had a problem with the timing not adjusting. At this point we scrambled to swap out all of the sensors that could have been going bad and after swapping and testing everything we could the ems still wouldn't allow timing adjustments and was stuck at running a high timing number so we shut the car down and began to brainstorm. After trying to source one last sensor late in the evening, way past our scheduled departure we finally gave up and decided that we would load the car on the trailer since it was visually done but leave the tracking up to the SOHO Mule Z. It was 11pm and we were finally off on our 5 hour journey in the middle of the night to the 2012 Z Nationals. Check the next post for the next installment.

SOHO Motorsports 350Z/G35 Turbo Kit!

   After months of hard work the SOHO Motorsports Single Turbo Kit for Nissan 350Z's and Infiniti G35's is finally released for sale to the public! Check it out on the SOHO Site or Store today!

G35 Rebuild Part 3: Almost Done!

   The #44 SOHO Motorsports Time Attack G35 is back in the shop with all of the body work done and the mad scramble to get the new turbo system and everything else back together in time for Z Nationals begins! Here are a few sneak peak photos of the new fenders and tubular front end. There is so much more room in the engine bay now that George can stand in it haha. Also say goodbye to the old vinyl and the black color. New livery is coming soon for the G! Bye bye black!