"On The Road" to Super Lap Battle 2013

Jack Kerouac is one of the most prolific authors of the American Beat Generation and is famous for his classic novel "On The Road" depicting his epic journey from coast to coast in post WWII America. His Americana masterpiece is a must read and quite possibly one of my favorite books. I begin this post about my 5,000 mile plus journey from Charlotte, NC to Buttonwillow, CA and back for the biggest Time Attack event on this side of the globe, with a brief summary of Jack Kerouac because anything I write about my epic journey would never be as profound as the words written by him. Im not the greatest racer and i'm certainly not the greatest writer so I will let Jack do some of the talking for me as he so eloquently describes things that couldn't be more perfectly parallel to my own experiences. This trip is something I will never forget as long as I live. Driving cross country is truly something everyone should do at least once in their lives, but you most likely wont want to do it again... at least not for a long time. Now on with the story...


“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.” 

-- Jack Kerouac, On The Road



SuperLap Battle is the premier Time Attack event in North America. Hosted by SORC Interlink Media (Super Street Magazine, Import Tuner, Modified Magazine etc.) and run by Global Time Attack this year would be the 10th annual event being held at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in the middle of absolutely nowhere Buttonwillow, CA. For the last ten years this tight, technical and undulating track in the middle of a dry field / desert nightmare has been the battleground for the best Time Attack cars on this side of the globe. When I decided to build my InfinitiG35 many years ago for TA it was with a long term dream of one day being one of the cars I saw in the magazines competing at the highest level at SLB. Fast forward to January 2013 and in the spirit of that same dream I was crazy enough to put SLB on my schedule and tell my sponsors I would be there, essentially forcing myself to go no matter what (still having no clue how I would get there). And boy am I glad I followed through, the result wasn’t what we wanted but the journey made it worth while.

It was a tough 2013 season leading up to the event but with all of the issues that plagued the beginning of our season finally solved, we believed the #44 G35 would be more than capable of going to California and showing what the East coast has to offer. With help from all of our sponsors we were able to make the trek cross country and back to compete in the Limited RWD class. We appreciate all of our sponsors equally but this specific event wouldn't have happened without the over the top support from Turbo By Garrett, SOHOMotorsports, Computech and everyone else who played an integral part in making it happen. Also I have an extra special shout-out to my family for supporting me through it all and especially my good friend Tim Seigh who made the whole trip possible by riding shotgun and keeping me sane on the verrrrrry long adventure that is driving coast to coast in America.



“...the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars...”  
- Jack Kerouac, On The Road



SuperLap Battle for some odd reason is held on a Thursday every year (maybe to help with the long travel). This year it was held on Thursday, November 14th, and that was fine by me because it allowed the trip for us East coast guys to be a Sunday to Sunday thing. Unfortunately for me that Sunday to Sunday thing went out the window quickly. I originally had multiple people committed to come with me on the trip but at the very last minute they disappointingly backed out and left me without a solution. I almost didn’t have someone to go with me until at the very last second at midnight Monday morning with the race less than 72 hours away and a 37+hour drive ahead, my good buddy Tim showed up all the way from the most eastern part of NC; the Outer Banks, just to come to California with me. I will owe him for this for a very long time and was glad he was the one who came.

With the G35 loaded on the trailer and the Chevy Silverado 2500 fueled and packed to the brim with tools, ramps, supplies, race fuel and luggage we were finally On The Road. With the event only 72 hours away and wanting to get there with enough time to relax before the event I knew that I would have to jam in a lot of driving hours and ignore sleep completely. Fueled by 5 Hour Energy and Monster my first driving stint was nearly 24 hours straight with a 1 hour nap at a rest stop somewhere in the middle. In the first day alone we went through North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia in the dark of early morning. Through Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma during the perfect autumn day and into what is quite possibly the most miserable place on earth at night (and in the day, who am I kidding); North Texas.

The drive from NC to OK was pretty straight forward and somewhat familiar. I had driven as far as Alabama for events a Barber Motorsports Park and although this was further it was still a smooth and easy drive. Either way the weather was great, and it seemed as though we were watching the leaves change color as we drove through each state from the rolling hills of Bama into the flat farm lands in the heart of America. Along with the scenery there was very little traffic due to the Monday holiday of Veterans Day making the drive fast, very fast. All of that easy sailing changed almost immediately as the sun went down somewhere in North East Texas. We knew the weather was going to get a bit worse but what was coming neither Tim nor I could have expected. Within minutes of doing our usual 80+mph cruise on the Interstate the Texas weather decided it was going to take out its anger on me for being a Redskins fan and decided to whip up 30mph cross winds across its baron flat surface for miles and miles along with sideways rain, sleet and freezing weather. Driving past tractor trailer after tractor trailer at 80mph to maintain pace all while having not slept for nearly two days was quite possibly the most terrifying experience in my life. The weather, tractor trailers and I were battling for hours and hours and it might have been my finest piece of driving ever, whether on or off track. I wish I had GoPro video of how much I was sawing at the wheel every time the 30mph+ cross wind would slam into me upon passing a truck. I tried for as long as I could to maintain my sanity and safety until I finally decided I could risk our lives no longer and we settled for the night at a terrible motel in Vega, Texas.

But before I could settle in for some well deserved sleep I had a problem; the weather and freezing rain had frozen the entire front end of the G35 and with antifreeze not allowed at race tracks we had a water mixture in the engine cooling system that was susceptible to freezing and possibly cracking the engine block and/or radiator core. I had to go out in the ice storm and drain the coolant mixture in the parking lot of the motel at 3am while it sat on the trailer, freezing to death. I did it just in time too considering there was already ice chunks in the radiator filler neck. With that worry out of my mind I hit the hay way later than I wanted only to wake up before the sun rose in just a few hours.


“Texas is undeniable...We were already almost out of America and yet definitely in it and in the middle of where it's maddest.” 

-- Jack Kerouac, On The Road

With an early Texas start we were back on the road, braving the wind once again but without the sleet. It was still as cold as can be but at least we could see in front of us and we actually had traction. Texas seemed like it took forever just to go through the Northern tip so I can only imagine what going through the heartland is like. If they could make a bridge over Texas I would be the first to take it, yes TX is that bad haha but I knew the best part of the journey was just a few hours ahead. I had always wanted to see the beautiful rock formations of New Mexico and Arizona but I wasn’t prepared for how impressive it actually was. Pictures really don’t do this place justice. I was just going down I-40 and no where near the best tourist viewing spots like the Grand Canyon and yet I was still blown away by the natural painting that kept refreshing in front of us with every bend of the highway. It was nothing short of spectacular and the best of what America has to offer. Along with the better views the weather also began to get warmer the further west we got. We drove through the day from Texas all the way to Barstow, CA. The sunset behind the plateaus of Arizona and the rolling peaks of California was quite possibly one of the most impressive sites I have ever had the privilege of seeing with my own eyes. I tried taking photos but nothing could ever capture the red and gold glow of the sunset over the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada’s. Its crazy how a simple view can put life into perspective. 

“I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future, and maybe that's why it happened right there and then, that strange red afternoon.” 

-- Jack Kerouac, On The Road

The next morning we slept in a bit and finished out the relatively short drive from Barstow to Buttonwillow, CA to find a track placed in just like everyone described; the middle of absolutely nowhere. There is no grass, no trees, no nothing. Just pavement and dirt. 18 technical turns of concrete and tons upon tons of slippery dust for as far as the eye can see. After signing in and unloading the G we got her all cleaned up, put on the bumper, replaced the coolant and got her ready for battle which was now less than 18 hours away. With not much else to do and a wallet not deep enough to buy into the $650 test day we hung out with some fellow drivers and teams discussing the track and later began the pre race festivities with some good friends and sponsors that we hadn’t seen since Road Atlanta earlier in the year (sponsored by the Yuengling I brought for the West coast guys who love it but cant get it out there). After setup was complete and the cooler was empty we ventured over to the infamous Willow Ranch Restaurant for dinner and then settled in for a good night sleep before the big race the next day. I was ecstatic to finally be at our destination and I was ready to race at my very first Super Lap Battle. I may have been running on zero energy but the adrenaline was keeping me alive and ready to go racing. It was time to finally fulfill my 5 year journey to Super Lap Battle!

Race morning came quickly and we got to the track at sunrise to find that dozens of teams had arrived overnight. It was obvious there was a bit more than the 60 cars who were pre-registered and it was shaping up to be one of the biggest SLB's yet with the competition in our class, Limited RWD, looking to be the toughest out of all the classes with 11 drivers in the field. Super Lap Battle was limited to 60 cars and three classes per drivetrain including Unlimited, Limited and Street. We were in the middle level class and on rules mandate 80 tread wear street tires but with the likes of Platte Forme AG's insanely fast BMW driven by Tyler McQuarie in my class along with a ton of other drivers and teams who knew the course like the back of their hand, we knew it was going to be a tough battle for our first time at such a tricky track. Even with all that adversity we still thought we could stand a fighting chance at making the podium.

After a quick driver's meeting and some warm up laps to seed us in the three run groups the 2013 Super Lap Battle at Buttonwillow Raceway was finally underway! I would be lying if I didn’t say I was pretty damn nervous/anxious. I was running on zero sleep, just drove 2600 miles across the country, was at the biggest race i've ever been to and at a track thats about as tricky as i've ever seen and covered in dust to make it even worse. The odds were certainly stacked against us for our first time at Buttonwillow and the learning curve was a steep one we had to climb but literally on my first hot lap that all went out the window and it became even harder. In the first session on my first hot lap I had an innocent spin after going into Cotton Corner a bit too fast as I was still trying to feel out the course. With no help from the worthless, on that day at least, corner marshals I got back on track cleanly after checking my mirrors over and over. After getting back up to speed and multiple cars checking up and safely passing the dust cloud that was my G without incident I became to pick up speed and head into Club Corner. Unfortunately upon entry I got hit from behind going into turn by someone trying to shoot the gap that wasn’t there, jump the curbing and run into my right rear fender and diffuser. It was a bit of both our faults as I shouldn’t have been in the spot I was but he also should have checked up like every other driver would have done in that situation, it would have saved us both some headache. Sadly I did check my mirrors multiple times right before it happened as I can see in the on board video but unfortunately he was right in a blind spot, but he certainly could see me! After some handy work with a hammer, some video tape review with the GTA crew and a damage check on both cars we were soon back out on track in the next session.

With SLB being only a one day event and having zero experience there, each session was huge for me to learn the track and figure out what the car needed. It would be hard to do it on a normal two day race let alone only 4 sessions in just a few hours, one of which had already gone down the drain. With the 2nd session I knew I had to forget about the drama of the first session and push as hard as I could to learn the track and sort the car out to make sure there was no damage from the contact. After a few good laps of learning the flow of the track I quickly realized that a sway bar adjustment in the rear would be needed to help the car roll some more in an effort to keep the rear Hankook Ventus TD's from sliding all over the dust covered racing surface on the undulating tight turns. I finished the session carefully and came into the pits to make the adjustments and focus on the remaining two sessions which was sure to be the fastest of the day.

With half of the race day over and without having put down a decent lap yet I knew it was make or break time in session 3. The track was starting to go away a bit from the sun beating down on it and the massive amounts of dirt on it from people pushing a bit to hard like I had in session 1. But luckily in this session I got to start in the front and didn’t see much traffic and began to get into the swing of things going faster and faster each lap until I pushed a bit to hard again, this time going into the front straight I got 4 wheels off at a pretty good pace but instead of spinning, I just kept my foot in it and got back on track and kept on going. It certainly wasn’t the fastest way to finish out the session but it sure made for a good video intro as you can see from the video above haha. With finally having a decent session under my belt and becoming comfortable with the track I was anxious for the last session and hoping to find a ton of time that I knew was still out there and hopefully be in the top 5 since I was currently in a pretty pathetic 8th place.

After a short break, fuel up and tire pressure adjustment I was back on track for the fourth and final session of the day, ready to give Buttonwillow all I had and all that the car would give me. At this point it was pretty obvious to me that the car's suspension setup that was fast around the flowing east coast tracks I love was not going to cut it at the technical CW13. And no matter how much I could have learned in one day it probably wasn’t going to be enough to get below the infamous 2 minute mark. With my head held high and as focused as ive ever been I set out on my last session at SLB with the intentions of getting my fastest time under the worst track conditions of the day and hopefully salvaging what had been a pretty rough day at the track. Usually I take my hot lap on the 2nd lap and then cool down on the third but in this session I decided after a decent 2nd lap to go even harder on the 3rd lap and 4th lap to give her all I had since I had already come this far. With a few slides here and there I was making what I thought to be a good lap time until I caught up with some traffic at the end of the lap and crossed the finish line in a pretty dismal but fastest time of the day for me at 2:03xx. I had picked up over 2 seconds on the last session alone, showing me that the time was there and I just needed more experience at Buttonwillow and the car needs a slightly different setup.

Raceday was finally a wrap and the awards ceremony over we ended up placing 7th out of 12 in Limited RWD at the 2013 Super Lap Battle in Buttonwillow, California. It wasn’t anywhere near the position I wanted to place and far from the podium but at the end of the day we came 2,600 miles and drove 37 hours each way to come to the biggest Time Attack race in North America, that alone was a huge success! We may not have won a trophy but we had certainly won in our own way. It had been a long time coming and the journey to my first cross country race is something I will never forget for as long as I live. Im proud of myself even for that dismal 7th place finish and i'm proud of the car and team for getting me this far. I cant wait until the 2014 Super Lap Battle event to redeem myself and if you are reading this then you know damn well we will take everything we have learned from this outing and will be back and ready to go faster than ever!

“I had traveled eight thousand miles around the American continent and I was back on Times Square; and right in the middle of a rush hour, too, seeing with my innocent road-eyes the absolute madness and fantastic hoorair of New York with its millions and millions hustling forever for a buck among themselves, the mad dream-grabbing, taking, giving, sighing, dying, just so they could be buried in those awful cemetery cities beyond Long Island City.” 

-- Jack Kerouac, On The Road

The journey to the track and raceday was only two-third's of the whole adventure. We were on just as tight of a schedule getting back to the east coast. My co-pilot for the week, Tim, had to be back at his hometown in the Outerbanks, NC on the Atlantic Ocean by Sunday night for work the next day. Friday morning with a sense of fulfilled accomplishment, a bit of dissapointment, a slight hangover and a brighter outlook on life we began the 2,600 mile journey back to good ole Carolina. This write up has been long enough already so I wont go on to long about the return except to note that the entire way back it was 30mph winds and torrential downpours making the drive back even more miserable than our westward drive through Texas. Luckily we got back mid day Sunday after making insane time and without me sleeping barely at all. We were both happy to be back and fulfilled knowing what we had just accomplished. It was an amazing experience driving cross country for a race and back in under 7 days but certainly not something I look forward to doing again anytime soon haha. I think a cargo trailer and a plane ticket are in order for next year. To make things even better the second I got back I made plans to go to Florida to race for the NARRA USTT Finale at Sebring Raceway just 5 days later, in an effort to help make up for the poor performance in California, so be on the look out for that soon. Until then please check out the video from the event above and also view the facebook photo album here.

New Aerodynamics from Bingz Customz!

In preparation of competing in the biggest Time Attack event on this side of the planet, Super Lap Battle, I finally followed up on my original build vision for the car and got Jason from Bingz Customz in Denver, NC to complete the aero package to make the car much more aero efficient. Super Lap Battle / Global Time Attack along with SORC Media (SuperStreet Magazine, Modified Magazine etc...) will be holding their 10th annual premier TA event at Buttonwillow Raceway in the middle of nowhere California this year and with the help of our awesome sponsor Turbo By Garrett we will be trailering the #44 G35 cross country to compete for the title. As always we will be competing in the Limited RWD class with a field stacked with unbelievably impressive cars and drivers with tons of experience around the Buttonwillow CW13 track configuration.

Having never been around the track and with no clue what setup will be needed we figured it was as good a time as any to add our aero package, especially at a track we are told is very aero dependent. Along with never having been ther we are easily in the most competitive class of Limited RWD and will be up against teams that have just recently shattered track records during testing. To help in any way we can to make the car faster Jason added some front bumper canards to help keep the front end planted around the turns and a rear diffuser that finally allows the undercarriage air to travel out of the rear end of the car more efficiently (before the rear bumper was acting like a parachute) allowing for faster straight away speeds and hopefully lower lap times. We will see how it does and I will report back, but until then enjoy how beautiful it all is! For mote photos check out the FB Gallery.

Charlotte Showdown 2013 | East vs West

The 2nd Annual Charlotte Showdown | East vs West - Dyno Duel and Car Show presented by SOHO Motorsports and CES Motorsport last weekend was a huge success! For the last two years I have run this event from top to bottom. I do everything from invite everyone to create the designs to run the event day of and literally everything else. It's a lot of work to make it go smoothly but boy has it turned into a staple for the area, bringing out some of the best vehicles the region has to offer. The rest of this post is taken from what I wrote on the SOHO Motorsports website for the event recap, hence why its written from the perspective of SOHO:This year we moved the event date back to mid October instead of early summer like the previous year in order to get some cooler weather and hopefully some high numbers on the dyno board. Luckily for us and the tons of people who showed up for the event the weather was perfect for great horsepower with sunny skies and temps in the high sixties. 

This year we were expecting a large turnout for the dyno competition with much more impressive vehicles to lay down some impressive numbers, but even we were blown away by the nearly 50 cars that were strapped down and the the thousands and thousand of horsepower / torque we saw throughout the day. Not only that but our inaugural car show was a hit with some impressive cars of its own. The 2013 Charlotte Showdown truly was a showcase for the best vehicles in the area on the dyno and in the show with nearly every make and model represented from Corvette's to M6's to GTR's to Lambo's to Supra's and Mustang's and even our Time Attack Infiniti G35. The diversity of the different vehicles, which was in the hundreds throughout the day, was very impressive and any auto enthusiast would have certainly found something to drool over.

As usual with the dyno and car show we had our raffle that left many people smiling at the end of the day thanks to our associate sponsors for the event including TurboSmart USA, Assaultech Performance, Motivated Eyewear, Driven Steering Wheels, Sneed Speedshop, Computech and of course ourselves and CES put up some good prizes to make it even better!  Along with that the CES shop was open with display vehicles from CES Motorsport and SOHO Motorsports showcasing some of the things we have been working on. Combine all of that with Monster Energy giving out their delicious drinks, DJ Thanasti playing great music all day, food on site and the absolute best vehicles this area has to offer and you can see why this year's Charlotte Showdown was quite possibly one of the best events of the year!

Now with the general summation done its time to get down to the good stuff... who won!? East (Asian Vehicles) or West (Euro / American Vehicles)? Before I get to the Dyno Duel I have to thank those who were a part of our first car show from those who hard parked all day and gave us some beautiful scenery to look at. And of course we have to give a shout out to this year's winners! Best in Show went to Jonathan O'Brien in his Lamborghini LP-560, Best of the West went to Dung Nguyen in his BMW 328i and Best of the East went to Corey Sanders' Nissan 350Z!

There were tons of impressive vehicles in the parking lot but a whole different event was going on in the shop that required more brawn than beauty. At the first annual event in 2012 the East won by a pretty good margin leaving the West to think about the bitter loss for over a year. This gave them plenty of time to recruit their friends and in the hopes of taking it to the East at this years event. And anyone who attended knows they did not disappoint!

Starting at 10 am and averaging a car nearly every 10 minutes the event crew ended up having 49 different vehicles compete in the Dyno Duel, shattering the high number of 34 we had the year before. It was astonishing how many cars wanted to compete but even more so the quality of cars that this years event had brought out. If you're not familiar with the format of our unique dyno competition we take the top 5 highest combined hp and tq vehicles from each side and cumulate the totals together in a team style dyno competition pitting East (Asian made vehicles) vs West (American/European made vehicles). This year's top 5 from each side was unbelievably competitive with nearly every car having a combined 1,000 hp/tq, it was quite a show to see.

The East got out to an early lead and maintained it by a slim margin for most of the day getting there hopes up for a 2nd straight win. Until late in the afternoon on literally the last car of the entire event the West pulled their wildcard via Jimmy Bacogeorge's 98' BMW E36 and saved their best for last. With the competition on the line Jimmy turned up the boost for the first time on his new Turbo By Garrett GTX40 setup and laid down a very, very impressive pull of 682hp / 599tq!!! Good enough to not only push the West ahead of the East for the overall victory but also crown Jimmy and his BMW as the King of the Dyno! This year's team totals were astronomically high with the winning West tally at 5,500 hp/tq to the equally impressive but losing East total of 5,293 hp/tq!!!

The 2nd Annual Charlotte Showdown | East vs West seemed to be well received by everyone in attendance. We know we had a blast and sure hope everyone who came out did as well! We look forward to hosting this event again next year and making it bigger and bigger every year, so do us a favor and share this article, tell your friends and be on the lookout for the next event! Also be sure to check back to the post often as we will be uploading our video in the coming weeks from the event.

For more photo's please visit our Facebook Gallery!

2013 Z Nationals Done Right!

  

  Every year there are two Z/G enthusiast events everyone looks forward to: Z Dayz in the Spring and Z Nationals in the Fall. Just as every other year the 9th Annual Z Nationals was a three part event consisting of the car show and dyno competition on Saturday at Z1 Motorsports in Carrolton, Georgia and the track day on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. This year we did not set up a sponsor booth like previous years but we did have a total of four SOHO cars this year instead of the usual two including the #44 G35, shop turbo 350Z, #88 350Z and a customer's stroked and boosted high hp G35.

   Without a true car show entered in the car show we didn't care much about that but we did have the SOHO Motorsports 350Z and the #44 G35 entered into the dyno competition on Saturday at Z1. The Z unfortunately ran into an issue on the dyno and was down on its usual power level of 420 rwhp. We later fixed this issue in the parking lot of the hotel (old fouled plugs lowered the power). The #44 G35 however laid down a solid 550 rwhp in front of the huge crowd and sounded amazing in the process, drawing lots of smiles and plenty of videos on social media. The show and dyno comp brought out the nicest G and Z's in the country from old to new and everything in between but all awesome in their own respect. It was great getting to talk to fans of the car and answer any questions along with putting faces to names, seeing old friends and making new ones. We always enjoy seeing the Z/G family and this weekend was no different.

   After a long day in the sun we all gathered for the awards banquet and enjoyed a great meal with friends. The banquet was not only to give out the awards for everyone who had won the car show and dyno competition but also for the endless number of raffle giveaways provided by the sponsors. Z1 did an amazing job as always and after a delicious dinner we were pleased to be announced as the winner for the highest powered 350Z / G35 for the 2013 Z Nationals Dyno Competition.We weren't positive if the 550 rwhp was good enough to win the 350Z / G35 class but sure enough when the award was announced the SOHO name was called! We were very happy to add it to our other Z/G specific awards from this year. With Saturday being such a success we looked forward to the track day early the next morning an hour and a half away in Birmingham, Alabama.

   This year not only was I tracking the G for the first time around Barber Motorsports Park (last year I was driving the Z) but I would also be instructing for the first time in my life. There were 4 run groups for the day and I was instructing in 3 of them and driving in one, so to say the least I had a very busy day. Barber is a very technical course with many different types of turns along with numerous elevation changes and blind turns. Barber host's many different racing series from motorcycles and local groups all the way up to Indycars and offers a challenging high speed course for any driver from beginner to professional. Needless to say I was excited to track the G around Barber and put the Hankook Ventus TD tires to work for one of the first times in the dry weather this year.

   The #44 SOHO Motorsports Infiniti G35 was on rails and absolutely blistering fast around the 2.38 miles and 15 turns that is Barber Motorsports Park. The Turbo by Garrett GTX3582R turbo was screaming via the SOHO Motorsports Turbo Kit down the long straights and hitting hard as hell out of the turns. The video attached to this post shows just how amazing the car sounded hauling ass around the track with a new and interesting in car view of me that I have never used before but might be my favorite. With the G running great I then focused most of the day on getting my student drivers to drive faster and faster. I must say as satisfying as it is to track a fast car like the G it is equally as satisfying to help someone else go faster just by sitting in the passenger seat and giving them notes on what to do through a headset (although the lack of control is concerning at times haha). I learned a lot from riding along with them and was happy to see them all improve throughout the day. It was a blast and I look forward to instructing again soon and especially at next year's Z Nats track day.

   The 2013 Z Nationals was a great one. All of the SOHO cars came out and did great at the show, dyno and even the track day. Be sure to check out our facebook page for more photos and be sure to visit ZNationals.com for info on next years event! See you all in the spring at Z Dayz!

New Sponsor: Driven Steering Wheels

   Driven Steering Wheels based in Concord, NC is now the newest sponsor of the #44 SOHO Motorsports Time Attack Infiniti G35. Driven offers various style wheels for every type of motorsport from Nascar to Global Rally Cross to Formula Drift and now Time Attack. We are using there 12.5 inch flat road race wheel and absolutely love its suede design over our previous Sparco wheel. Be sure to check out there website at www.DrivenSteering.com

Global RallyCross Charlotte

   Normally I only post things of me racing personally but I had the privilege of joining the guys from Driven Steering at this years Global RallyCross race at The Dirt Track Charlotte and I cant help but share some of the photos I took. Driven Steering was sponsoring the new and debuting Chevy Sonic car from Pat Moro Racing so I was out to enjoy the event and also get some good shots of the car and race action. From taking photos essentially on track at practice and then hanging out with the Chevy team and the vip suites during race day we had an awesome time! Unfortunately the PMR Chevy Sonic didn't win but it was a hell of a race weekend either way. I look forward to seeing those guys again and something tells me I will very soon. Here are some of my favorite photos from the weekend and a link to the FB Album with all of them.

FlatOut With SuperCars @ Roebling Road

   Its not very often when our #44 SOHO Motorsports Time Attack G35 is on track with anything other than track cars these days so when we get a chance to attend an event like a Flat Out Motorsports Track Day we never say no. Flat Out offers tons of track time at some of the best road courses in the south east at one of the best costs out there. But to make it even better the entry list is usually limited to a very small number of about 40-60 cars total and most of those cars are supercars. I don't use that word lightly either but damn if most of the car's tracking alongside us weren't true supercars. From multiple Audi R8's and Vipers to a full fleet of race prepped Porsche Cup cars and even some fully built Lamborghini's. Walking through the paddock on Saturday morning was pretty damn impressive and the group of guys running were all great fun and true automotive enthusiasts.

   This Flat Out event was in Savannah, GA at Roebling Road Raceway which is actually pretty close to us here in Charlotte, NC at only about a 4 hour drive. With the new additions to the car after NJMP we knew we needed a quality test weekend to make sure the car's overheating problem was fixed and also use the track time to further dial in the G35 since we have had limited quality track time this season. Unfortunately just as in NJMP the weather gods did not want to cooperate and nearly all day Saturday it was raining. Not to let that ruin our test weekend we went ahead and tracked all day anyway and had a blast doing it. With plenty of wide open track thanks to the small run groups we quickly realized that our mid season adjustments had fixed all of our problems and I could say for the first time all season the #44 G35 was at 100%. Unfortunately on Sunday we did end up having an issue with a power steering pump failure at the end of the straight away around 150mph but no damage was done and the pump which was still the 8 year old original was replaced with a new one. We had a blast at the event and look forward to future Flat Out events next year.

Mid Season Mods at Parlett Laboratories!

   After leaving NJMP with the car still having overheating issues I decided to visit home in Maryland for some family time and also to put the #44 G35 in the Parlett Laboratories garage (dad's garage where he used to build blown alcohol dragsters) and address the issues that had been haunting the cooling system making us overheat just a few laps into each race. With the help of my mechanical wizard father and fabrication genius Eddie Vines from Waldorf Stainless we brainstormed a plan that would allow more air to each cooling component. Our theory was that with the new front end setup the Mishimoto radiator was not getting enough clean air because the inter cooler and oil cooler were in front of about 50% of its surface area. Combine that 50% of pre-heated air before it touches the radiator along with the 20% reduction in width from our previous radiator setup (new one was smaller in width to allow for new turbo config) we quickly realized what we needed to do and got to work.

   Our first decision was to move the oil cooler from the front grille opening to the bottom passenger side bumper opening which happened to be the perfect size. Placing the oil cooler here we sacrificed our ability to use brake ducts on this side of the car but with our Stoptech Trophy Series brakes and our time attack strategy of only a few laps a time we found the ducts unnecessary on our last few outings. With placing the oil cooler here it gave the radiator 30+ sq. in. of extra surface area in front of the radiator allowing more direct cold air in. Along with this simple adjustment we changed the grille shroud and made the block off plate around the edges an inch thinner all the way around allowing for another 30+ sq. in. of clean air throughout.

   Next we raised the radiator as much as possible to get it away from the intercooler and into more clean air. But with low hood clearances on the G35 we were only able to gain about 1.5 inches total but that little bit gave us over 25+ sq. in. more undisturbed air to the top of the radiator. At this point in the process every inch of gave us a mile of cleaner air. Along with raising it we pushed the radiator back toward the engine another inch or two in an effort to leave room for us to add block off plates to channel the air to the entirety of the radiator while also deflecting the hot air that has already passed through the intercooler below. After placing the radiator in the optimal position we gave it even more room by repositioning the intercooler about 2 inches lower along with tilting the top side of the intercooler forward by about 30 degrees.

   With the radiator now located higher and further back and the intercooler lower and tilted forward we gained a ton of room in front of the radiator. Now all we had to do is methodically figure out the best way to channel the air from the front grille openings to the appropriate cooling component using aluminum diversion panels. First we placed a panel on the left and right side of the wider grille opening that tapers directly to the edges of the radiator core while also blocking the air from escaping around the turbo system.

   Along with diverting the air from the sides we placed a large panel from the bottom edge of the grille to the bottom edge of the radiator core utilizing the extra room we gained from tilting and lowering the intercooler. Lastly we placed a flat diversion panel from the top of the grille to the top of the radiator. These four panels on each side of the radiator create a huge sealed air box from the grille directly to the entire surface area of the radiator, supplying massive amounts of undisturbed cold air to the radiator all while diverting the hot air that has already passed through the intercooler away from the engine compartment and under the car. Eddie had outdone himself on everything but the panels took the cake and the final result was nothing short of amazing. With the new positioning of cooling components and the absolutely awesome new diversion panel setup we knew that the overheating problem would no longer be an issue.



   Now that the cooling system issues were seemingly fixed we addressed the next issue on the car; the wiring. When we rebuilt the car we rushed through some of the wiring organization and never got time in our race schedule to reorganize everything. In our Parlett family OCD way's my brother Matt, from Computech, and I re-wired the entire Computech Datamaxx Data Acquisition System and all of its dozens of sensors along with addressing the factory harness in the engine bay and under the dash. After nearly a full week of electrical work of taking out the old and re-wiring and organizing the results were amazing. We had simplified the factory harness a ton by removing nearly all of the unneeded wires saving weight  (nearly 8 lbs haha) and most importantly cleaning up the under dash/hood mess that drove me nuts. But the shining gem of that week of electrical work is the stunning organization of every wire on the car from the engine bay to under the dash to even the data system under the center console. Everything is labeled, bundled, secured, organized and placed to perfection and its a shame that the wire loom in the engine bay and center console inside cover all of that beautiful work by Matt. Along with the re-wiring we changed the switch panel setup to feature a few new things and also installed our newly supplied eBoost 2 Boost Controller from our awesome sponsor TurboSmart and I also put in a newly updated version of the Computech LCD Dash.



   With the main stuff done we also addressed a few more issues. We replaced our old and seemingly forever slow leaking fuel cell (still cant find the leak) with a brand new ATL Fuel Cell and custom caged in surround. Created a new intake for our Turbo By Garret GTX3582R turbo featuring a K&N reverse cone filter. Added a new Moroso oil catch can and a much larger custom coolant reservoir with a pressure release line on the window cowl (similar to NASCAR) so if the car does over heat it stops spraying dangerously on the front right tire and rather on the side of the car and visible to me while driving. And lastly but certainly not least the engine bay and trunk were repainted and all of the old lines and hoses on the car were replaced to stay ahead of the curve on degrading OEM parts just like the 5 P's of Racing suggest: Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Okay maybe that was 6 P's haha.

   The result of the three weeks of work from everyone involved left us very satisfied upon completion not only because it all looked amazing but when we tested the car a few weeks later at Roebling Road in Savannah, GA all of our issues seem to be resolved! Everyone that helped fix the car I cant thank enough, it was absolutely amazing to finally work on the G with my family just like we used to on dragsters when I was a child, in fact we renamed the shop Parlett Laboratories in the process haha. I learned a ton, had a blast doing it, enjoyed spending time with family and to make it even sweeter the car now runs perfect. Bring on the next race day!

For more info on the parts and components we run on our #44 G35 please visit The Car page.

Super Street and Modified Oh My!

   That's right! I can proudly say that I have now had my car in the three biggest car magazines in the country. The #44 G35 was featured in DSport Magazine in early 2012 in a six page article and now thanks to our great sponsor Turbo By Garrett I can also say that the G has been in Super Street Magazine and Modified Magazine! Garrett used an image they took of the #44 G racing at the Global Time Attack Road Atlanta race this spring and made a badass full page ad supporting the team, driver, GTA series and amazing Garrett GTX3582R turbo we use in our race car.

   Be sure to go out to your local news stand or grocery store and get the most recent August 2013 issues of both magazines on page 15 in Modified Magazine and on page 71 in Super Street Magazine. We are proud to be a member of the 2013 Garrett team and would like to thank them for choosing our car as the vehicle feature for their ads and thank them for making such an awesome product! Be on the lookout for an upcoming Whiteline Suspension ad featuring the #44 G35 as well, more details later.

Update!: The Whiteline Suspension Ad has just been released as well and can be found in PASMAG, DSPORT Magazine and Grassroots Motorsports upcoming issues. Here is one of the few different versions that will be featured.

Introducing FourtyFour Apparel

 

   That' Brand new company and brand new design, the FourtyFour apparel line is officialy launched as a branch off of KPR in an effort to bring automotive apparel to the world. Our first product are these FourtyFour Summer 13' Hat! Made from high quality Flexfit 210 flat bill hats featuring embroidered FourtyFour logo on front and KPR logo on rear. Available in two flexfit sizes that will fit any head from huge to small. These things are badass and only made in a limited quantity, so get yours today by visiting the KPR Store!

Hot, Wet and Dirty in New Jersey

   This season along with running Global Time Attack, NASA events and our normal schedule of Z and G specialty events through SOHO Motorsports we also have decided to run another series; The NARRA US Time Trial Series. NARRA runs all over the country and each race weekend is a double header with one race being Saturday and the other Sunday. Unfortunately our schedule has conflicted with running the NARRA series until now half way through the season at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

   It would be the first time we raced at New Jersey Motorsports Park and the car was still relatively untested since we fixed the issues we had after Road Atlanta so I was inevitably anxious about the race. On top of the car concerns NARRA has a slightly different set of rules that doesn't limit tire type for any of there classes and is mostly based on power to weight ratio. This was good for us as we had a perfect 6.25:1 ratio for the TT1 class but it was also bad because everyone was running on slicks whereas we would be on our sponsored Hankook Ventus TD 80 tread wear tires. We knew having success in NARRA would be difficult but to sweeten the deal and make the long trek worth while we also had a third race that same weekend with Real Time Attack running simultaneously on Saturday. With RTA the rules are much more similar to GTA's rules and our car fit perfectly in the Modified RWD class. With three races in one weekend and a weather forecast full of rain we knew it would be an interesting weekend.

   Along with a new track and new series it would also be the first time my parents would be at a race to watch. On my way north from NC I stopped at home in MD and we made the final leg of the journey to NJ in the terrible weather left over from a tropical storm moving through the region. If the insane rain on the way up was any indication of the weekend we knew we were in for a crazy one. From the moment we left to the time we woke up Saturday morning it was raining cats and dogs. Either way I was ready to race, my dad was ready to crew chief and I was just glad to have them there.

   After the drivers meeting and by the time the first session of TT started the rain had gone from a downpour to a heavy drizzle but the damage from the rain had already left its mark on the race course. On our warm up lap it was obvious the NJMP Lightning course had some drainage issues and there were rivers of flowing water on nearly half of the turns and not a dry spot on the racing surface. My initial thought was; "Well i'm glad I don't have slicks like everyone else". My second thought was how awesome of a course this was and I couldn't wait to get around it at speed no matter what the condition. With the first lap nearly over and everyone stacking up for the group start (yup NARRA makes us group up on the starts for some reason)  it became very obvious this was going to be an interesting few sessions of action.

The green flag quickly flew and some of the 25+ fastest time trial cars in the region ripped down the soaking front stretch and once we all got to turn 1 the trouble began. With the way all of the cars are  grouped up on the start and the conditions of the track immediately cars ran out of room and tires ran out of traction and from the first turn and two following laps there was nearly 4 spun cars and a few wrecks all over the track, not to mention horrible traffic for those of us starting in the middle of the pack. The session was quickly ended by race officials and the cars were cleaned off the track and in good time because my over heating issues from Road Atl seemed to be haunting me again. With a few quick pit fixes of the cooling system, tire pressure and sway bar adjustments we were ready for the second session and hoping the problem was fixed.

   Carnage from the first session had everyone a little bit more patient and spaced out on the start of the second session but accidents due to the rain and traffic still remained an issue. Stuck behind some lower classed cars two wide by two wide it made it difficult to get a clean lap but the one we did only had a few turns were we were held up leaving us with not the best time but something decent for the weather. With the conditions I was happy to get anything I can, unfortunately after the first real lap we got in the #44 G35 the engine began to over heat to 220 again and much to my dismay another red flag on the track because of another accident in a precarious position.

   Frustrated with the weather, traffic and possibility of damaging the engine I came in from the session and parked the car and began the long process of addressing the issues we had with the cooling system (but thats a whole story in itself). With issues on the car that could be catastrophic if gone unchecked we decided to call our weekend early and hope that the one semi-clean lap we had would be a decent enough result to get us on the podium some where. In NARRA TT we came in 4th in TT1 for Saturday and in Real Time Attack we were lucky enough to have gotten 1st place in Modified RWD. Be sure to check out the photos and video from this event and be sure to read the follow up article about the solution to our overheating problems.