First off, I'd like to thank my partners at Deft Motion, SujaOne Motoring, Papaya Motorsports, Grams Performance & Design, and Menchie's Frozen Yogurt. My S2000 wouldn't be where it is today without their support.
I went down to NOLA Motorsports Park last weekend to run with the NASA NOLA Region on the 2.75 mile full course. I decided to bump up 2 classes (TT3) from where my car is classed (TTC) since there were 7 cars. TTC only had 2 cars registered.
Saturday warm up went well and my time already had me in the number one position. However, the car was very loose so I adjusted my suspension before the next session. The car was set the same as last time I ran NOLA but the handling was drastically different. My dampers have been leaking all year, so I have to constantly adjust them to get the balance back. I'll send them in for a rebuild this winter.
During the first timed session I was able to lay down my fastest time of the event - 1:53.730 on old Hoosier scrubs from 2014. I was surprised the tires still had that much pace in them. I had a 0.9 second gap between me and P2. This time also beat my TTC Track Record of 1:54.1. Of course it does not count as a new record since I'm running in TT3.
The other 2 sessions of the day were in the later afternoon hours. The track got hotter and the times got slower. I was also having brake issues during the last session of the day. The pedal was a bit spongy and the car pulled to one side under threshold braking. Thanks to Dan Brown for helping me bleed the brakes. That fixed the spongy pedal.
I mounted some fresher tires for Sunday's race in hopes of dropping down into the 1:52's but the car was still pulling under braking. My left front brake pad had worn to the backing plate. I didn't get to improve on yesterday's time. I packed up early and was done for the day. Dale Lambert ended up beating me with a 1:54.5 to my 1:55.0 on Sunday. It was great racing and we both went home with 3 Hoosier tires and $150 in Hawk Bucks. I also won $350 in AST credit. Big thanks to the companies that support NASA racers with their generous contingencies.