With an even more stacked lineup featuring the addition of two RX7s, anticipation for thrilling racing reached its peak.

After a lengthy 5-hour drive to the track, which unexpectedly extended to 7 hours due to heavy traffic and congested gas stops, I finally arrived before sunset and joined fellow racers at the campsite.

Saturday began with instructor assignments, and this time I was tasked with mentoring a student, a responsibility I embraced knowing it was part of earning my entry fee waiver. Following the instructor meeting, I geared up for practice, starting with tire pressures set at 26psi cold, my usual hot target being 32-33psi.

By the end of practice, I noticed the rear tire pressure had unexpectedly spiked to 36psi, leading me to investigate concerns of sticking rear calipers. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case, but it prompted me to realize that spinning tires on corner exits were generating excessive heat, causing the pressure increase. This revelation hinted at potential issues with my factory LSD, prompting thoughts of upgrading after three seasons.

Armed with this insight, I adjusted my throttle input in problematic corners, resulting in a qualifying position of 3rd. Confirming my suspicions, tire pressures remained at a consistent 32psi hot, indicating the need for smoother throttle control to compensate for the LSD’s deteriorating performance.

Race 1 witnessed fierce competition for 2nd and 3rd place, allowing the leader to stretch ahead. Despite holding onto 2nd until a near-end mistake, a thrilling finish ended in a photo-finish defeat by a mere .04 seconds. With me finishing in 3rd place.

Race 2 grid was more fun. We all decided to do a reverse start. Meaning the last place car would be pole. Now you have to work you way up instead of “racers just falling into place” Lots of action here. I traded paint with Kevin in the RX7 going 3 wide into turn 1 and 2. Going 3 wide Kevin was squeezed by Carlos. So I was squeezed by Keven placing more then 3/4 of my car into the dirt, and trading paint. Racing incident, and it happens especially competing for the same real estate. Later on, I was getting a bump draft from Tony who allowed us to catch the number 1 and 2 cars. Later on Tony was in 1st place, but then the last couple of laps Tony got into a incident. Hunter (2nd place) in the lime green Miata braked deep into turn 1, and went sideways. Hunter tried to control the drift, but unfortunately lost it and hit Tony on the passenger door. Seeing the incident unfold in front of me, I was able to take the lead briefly. Tony did end up passing me taking 1st and me grabbing 2nd place.

The next day is race 3 and was the long 40 minute race. My student I had yesterday never showed up but I had be backup for the instructors. When they didn’t need the extra help, I was doubling checking the car make sure its ready for the 40 min race. The race was in the afternoon, and I set my tire pressure a bit lower at 24psi cold. I know my weakness is I tend to over drive, thus overheating the tires near the end of the race. Setting the tire pressures lower allowed me an extra cushion to reduce the chance of me overheating the tires.

Race 3 was the normal grid start, and I grid 3rd since it race 3 is based of your fastest overall time. 2nd place Hunter was just 0.1 quicker then me. This would be a close battle. I’m actually prefer 3rd vs 2nd because having the inside corner places you at an advantage into turn 1. The first laps was a close battle for 2nd, till Kevin spun out and Hunter wasn’t able to close the gap and catch up to me. I knew I had to be consistent in my times and still push hard. I didn’t want to make the same mistake in race 1. Hunter and I had same lap times, but since I was about 4 seconds ahead he couldn’t close the gap. Johnathan, the 1st driver was 1 second faster then me but, likewise he had about a 5 second gap. I couldn’t close it, unless he made a mistake but didn’t. race 3 was a well deserved 2nd place.

Race weekend ended with a high. Knowing I’m the lowest horsepower with 2-3yr old Hoosier take offs, felt good to place podium in all 3 races. Looking forward to the next race in Colorado!

Riding on the highs of the Cresson race weekend. I was hyped and ready for ECR. But before I could just load the car on the trailer, I had to make sure I did my post track inspection.

The welds on the trumpet number 1 broke off. After 3 seasons the welds gave up, and the flange split. Happens with racing. At least I can improve the ITBs. I sent my ITBs to my friend Nelson who welds professionally for oil and gas. So he knows a thing or to about welding.

We redid all the trumpets even though it was just one that failed. Granted it was only a matter of time before the others failed.

Nelson made new flanges and used a stronger aluminum with tungsten for the welds. Hopefully this should last longer then 3 seasons. I joked about next time I should just cnc mill trumpets out of a single piece of aluminum instead. Nelson is down for that. Glad for friends that share the same passion.

I destroyed my 3rd bumper on the race, and I needed another bumper. The old one I had was a cheap fiberglass aftermarket bumper with a 3″ lip. I think it was a Goodline replica. It was nice, but I wanted to go the OEM route to avoid the lip penalty. I didn’t think the 3″ lip did much to me go faster. I was actually faster without that bumper.

Lenard had a zenki bumper lying around, and was able to work out a deal. I’ll get the bumper in exchange for installing taller 5th gear in this t50 transmission. Fair trade. I had the kouki bumper brackets so I had to make a custom one. Travis at the shop had some scrap metal and was able to save money from buying another mount. Super cheap!

ECR is very hard on the brake system. I ordered fresh pads from Porterfield and got the R4 compound. The R4 compound last an entire season which I think is very good value. I had about 40% left on the old R4 pads so those will be spares. The rotors I had for 3 seasons, and showing signs of fatigue. I bought solid vented rotors for the front for $55 shipped. I sure love cheap maintenance.