Dallas Fort Worth 5.0 Mustang Club - View Single Post - Vorshlag 2011 Mustang 5.0 GT

Fair · 03-20-2014, 05:16 PM

continued from above

Ya see, back in October I didn't take the Goodguys autocross that seriously because I didn't realize they had such good prizes for the winner. I lost that event by two hundredths and only after the event was over did I realize that there was a free set of BFGoodrich tires on the line. So for this March 2014 Goodguys I came better prepared, with a fresh set of BFGoodrich Rivals and more serious driving attitude.

We luckily knew the entire "Goodguys event" drill this time. Since we weren't allowed to bring our truck and trailer inside the Speedway on Sunday we got to the race hotel at 7:20 am to register (for the Sunday autocross event you have to sign up the day of, or become a Goodguys member and sign up about 3 weeks in advance), got to the TMS assigned trailer parking area outside the Speedway, and quickly unloaded the car from the trailer. Yes, it was on street tires and we still trailered the car, but mostly because we are trying to keep these BFG Rivals FRESH and avoid unnecessary heat cycles on them. The more times you drive on any set of tires - where they start out cold and then get hot and then cool off again - the more heat cycles they take. Heat cycles can "age out" a set of competitive tires before the tread is gone, even these Rivals. And at $1300 a set I'm going to SAVE THESE TIRES. Not to mention that Texas Motor Speedway is also about an hour away from our shop, and we had no spare tire.

The weather started out in the low 50s when we left the house, but a cold front had swept in the day before (and brought MASSIVE winds and rain that night), and temps were dropping into the lower 40s and the wind was BRUTAL. The winds was blowing so hard that everything was flying out of the trailer - pieces of wood (which we use with the trailer ramps), papers, and anything not bolted down. This did not bode well for the rest of the day. We bundled up in several coats, tossed our helmets (didn't need em!) plus an air gauge in the trunk, and we drove to the Speedway entrance. Once we got inside to the area where the autocross is held we got in line and I went to walk the course.

I realized quickly that this was the same course we ran in October. Exactly the same, really, but one of the Pro drivers (the Fri-day-Saturday group is broken up into groups and the shops and drivers that go to most of the Goodguys events and do well get assigned into the "Pro" category) said it was different by a couple of feet here and there. Regardless, having run this strange layout in October was a big help, since I knew I wouldn't get lost this time like so many did at that event. I walked it one time and got back into the Mustang to stay warm!

When the event finally got underway around 8 :30 am the Pro class drivers went first, which they are allowed to do. They park by the announcer and put on a good show for the crowd, but they aren't competing in that day's events. Many of the 1972-older domestics that ran Friday-Saturday also take runs throughout the Sunday, but they also aren't in competition - just making fun runs. A little frustrating for those of us that are competing in the All American Sunday (1973-newer) event, but they paid their money and they get their runs. It makes the day more interesting, as just late models autocrossing can be boring for this crowd of spectators - which was a surprisingly full crowd all day, considering the weather.

I had one of my student's from Sunday's SCCA Solo School where Amy and I instructed who was at this event, Lloyd in the red Boss302. His son was with him and he wanted to get a ride in our car, so I took a rider on my first run - and only on this run. Last October I took riders on all of my Goodguys runs, but when you lose by .02 seconds you begin to get paranoid. I knew this first run would suck, and it did. The BFG's still had visible decals and mold release and it felt like driving on ice. He had fun and I got that awful run out of the way. You can see in these pictures that we were wearing helmets, which I'm so used to doing, but nobody else was because it isn't required at Goodguys.

And while the course ran very near fences and concrete barriers it doesn't seem to phase anyone at these events, so I just went with the flow and drove my laps. My first lap was a 77 second run, which was terrible... but after the first round of runs it was in 1st place somehow. Then I made a second run of a 74.4 second run, which was painfully slow and I had wheelspin everywhere, and now I was 4 seconds in the lead. Huh?

The lines were heavy and growing all day and it was taking about an hour between runs, but I was used to this from the October event. By the time I got to the line for my third run it was around 11 am, and they said they'd pick the fastest time run by 11:30 and call them the winner. I pulled up to stage and the guy is plastering decals on the car for "Autocross Winner", and I hadn't even made my last run. "Nobody is close" he said, and then I was told to report to the timing tent after my last run, shown below.

That run felt a little better, and I made all of my 1st gear downshifts shifts smoothly. The wheelspin was more controlled than my other two runs but there was still VERY little grip on this still wet asphalt in these crazy cold conditions. The BFG Rivals apparently don't do as well as the Falkens in cold temps, and Brian Hobaugh was stupid fast on Falkens in his gorgeous orange 2nd gen Camaro, running several seconds quicker that day than me. But he and the rest of the Pro class drivers were in the 1972-older series and luckily their runs didn't get compared or counted with ours'. Next weekend at USCA those cars are in the same class as me, so I am hoping with warmer temps and better driving I can get closer.

AAS...Terry Fair............2011 Ford Mustang............74.124
AAS...Bryan Mills...........1994 Ford Mustang............76.059
AAS...Lloyd Collins.........2012 Ford Mustang............76.684
AAS...Greg Scherer........2002 Pontiac Firehawk........77.788

I copied the first 4 results from the 23 entered in the "AAS" class and it turns out there were two driver's that improved a lot on their last runs and got within 2 seconds of my final time, including my student from the Solo school the day before (nice driving, Lloyd!). Didn't know until the results were posted earlier today.

continued below

03-20-2014, 05:16 PM	#302
Fair Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 333	continued from above Ya see, back in October I didn't take the Goodguys autocross that seriously because I didn't realize they had such good prizes for the winner. I lost that event by two hundredths and only after the event was over did I realize that there was a free set of BFGoodrich tires on the line. So for this March 2014 Goodguys I came better prepared, with a fresh set of BFGoodrich Rivals and more serious driving attitude. We luckily knew the entire "Goodguys event" drill this time. Since we weren't allowed to bring our truck and trailer inside the Speedway on Sunday we got to the race hotel at 7:20 am to register (for the Sunday autocross event you have to sign up the day of, or become a Goodguys member and sign up about 3 weeks in advance), got to the TMS assigned trailer parking area outside the Speedway, and quickly unloaded the car from the trailer. Yes, it was on street tires and we still trailered the car, but mostly because we are trying to keep these BFG Rivals FRESH and avoid unnecessary heat cycles on them. The more times you drive on any set of tires - where they start out cold and then get hot and then cool off again - the more heat cycles they take. Heat cycles can "age out" a set of competitive tires before the tread is gone, even these Rivals. And at $1300 a set I'm going to SAVE THESE TIRES. Not to mention that Texas Motor Speedway is also about an hour away from our shop, and we had no spare tire. The weather started out in the low 50s when we left the house, but a cold front had swept in the day before (and brought MASSIVE winds and rain that night), and temps were dropping into the lower 40s and the wind was BRUTAL. The winds was blowing so hard that everything was flying out of the trailer - pieces of wood (which we use with the trailer ramps), papers, and anything not bolted down. This did not bode well for the rest of the day. We bundled up in several coats, tossed our helmets (didn't need em!) plus an air gauge in the trunk, and we drove to the Speedway entrance. Once we got inside to the area where the autocross is held we got in line and I went to walk the course. I realized quickly that this was the same course we ran in October. Exactly the same, really, but one of the Pro drivers (the Fri-day-Saturday group is broken up into groups and the shops and drivers that go to most of the Goodguys events and do well get assigned into the "Pro" category) said it was different by a couple of feet here and there. Regardless, having run this strange layout in October was a big help, since I knew I wouldn't get lost this time like so many did at that event. I walked it one time and got back into the Mustang to stay warm! When the event finally got underway around 8 :30 am the Pro class drivers went first, which they are allowed to do. They park by the announcer and put on a good show for the crowd, but they aren't competing in that day's events. Many of the 1972-older domestics that ran Friday-Saturday also take runs throughout the Sunday, but they also aren't in competition - just making fun runs. A little frustrating for those of us that are competing in the All American Sunday (1973-newer) event, but they paid their money and they get their runs. It makes the day more interesting, as just late models autocrossing can be boring for this crowd of spectators - which was a surprisingly full crowd all day, considering the weather. I had one of my student's from Sunday's SCCA Solo School where Amy and I instructed who was at this event, Lloyd in the red Boss302. His son was with him and he wanted to get a ride in our car, so I took a rider on my first run - and only on this run. Last October I took riders on all of my Goodguys runs, but when you lose by .02 seconds you begin to get paranoid. I knew this first run would suck, and it did. The BFG's still had visible decals and mold release and it felt like driving on ice. He had fun and I got that awful run out of the way. You can see in these pictures that we were wearing helmets, which I'm so used to doing, but nobody else was because it isn't required at Goodguys. And while the course ran very near fences and concrete barriers it doesn't seem to phase anyone at these events, so I just went with the flow and drove my laps. My first lap was a 77 second run, which was terrible... but after the first round of runs it was in 1st place somehow. Then I made a second run of a 74.4 second run, which was painfully slow and I had wheelspin everywhere, and now I was 4 seconds in the lead. Huh? The lines were heavy and growing all day and it was taking about an hour between runs, but I was used to this from the October event. By the time I got to the line for my third run it was around 11 am, and they said they'd pick the fastest time run by 11:30 and call them the winner. I pulled up to stage and the guy is plastering decals on the car for "Autocross Winner", and I hadn't even made my last run. "Nobody is close" he said, and then I was told to report to the timing tent after my last run, shown below. That run felt a little better, and I made all of my 1st gear downshifts shifts smoothly. The wheelspin was more controlled than my other two runs but there was still VERY little grip on this still wet asphalt in these crazy cold conditions. The BFG Rivals apparently don't do as well as the Falkens in cold temps, and Brian Hobaugh was stupid fast on Falkens in his gorgeous orange 2nd gen Camaro, running several seconds quicker that day than me. But he and the rest of the Pro class drivers were in the 1972-older series and luckily their runs didn't get compared or counted with ours'. Next weekend at USCA those cars are in the same class as me, so I am hoping with warmer temps and better driving I can get closer. AAS...Terry Fair............2011 Ford Mustang............74.124 AAS...Bryan Mills...........1994 Ford Mustang............76.059 AAS...Lloyd Collins.........2012 Ford Mustang............76.684 AAS...Greg Scherer........2002 Pontiac Firehawk........77.788 I copied the first 4 results from the 23 entered in the "AAS" class and it turns out there were two driver's that improved a lot on their last runs and got within 2 seconds of my final time, including my student from the Solo school the day before (nice driving, Lloyd!). Didn't know until the results were posted earlier today. continued below