07/02/2021
Here is our race recap for the Teardown in Tennessee at Adventure Offroad Park in South Pittsburgh Tennessee.
Of course every trip starts with loading the race trailer. This is by far the worse part of racing. After about 7 hours of loading we were done. We planned to bring the 2020 RZR proXP we had out at Hammers to pre run but the packaging in the trailer was just not going to work. We had a pretty long drive, around 16 hours of driving without stops. I don’t like driving too much at night so we broke it up into two days.
We arrived to AOP a day early to have plenty of time to set up and explore. We went out on Thursday with a small group to get some pre running in. After only about 5 mins on the trail my car overheated and blew the radiator fluid out of the cap. My car uses a smart PDM system to control things like fans for coolers and radiators. I’ve never really had to touch them. Well, I don’t know why but the fans never turned on to cool the radiator fluid. This was a mistake on my part. I will never let this happen again. The screen I would normally use on the Holley dash did not really show me the temps like it should. It was simply blocked by my steering wheel. I’ve since found a different layout that helps me keep an eye on things better. Needless to say the issue never happened again and the cooler fans came on and off as needed for the rest of the week. We still don’t know why they didn’t come on and let the engine overheat. After returning we cleaned the car up and inspected it for any issues. As far as we can see there were none.
Qualifying seams to be my biggest issue. My mindset has been to save the car and not worry about my starting position. I’m now realizing that is a mistake. I don’t push this car at all. I’ve never really seen it’s limits. I am getting more comfortable in driving it and know what it will do but I’m still not confident to drive it to its edge. The next two races are go fast races and I plan to really get on it. The car is currently at Tribe16 getting a full race prep as well as getting some much needed upgrades and changes.
Qualifying did not go well. I walked the entire course and knew what to do and felt confident…before it changed. After the change in the course I did not go back and run the short 40 foot change and that’s where I got hung up. It cost me over 2 minutes and put me near the rear for the start. We calculated I would have ended up top 8 if not for that mistake. I am going to start really pre running hard and making sure I memorize the course to ensure I can full send in qualifying.
It’s now race day and I can’t stop thinking about killing tires. Last year Tennessee was my first race in my new car and it did not go well. Cv issues and I killed 4 tires in 4 laps and actually ran out of spares. This year I brought 8 spares to ensure I had plenty. So the flag drops and boom I’m in race mode. God I love this car!!! I take off and start really focusing on keeping the car together and not getting flats early. I was probably being a little too cautious when looking back but it was my plan. I saw many cars broke or flat in the first lap or two and that made me feel even more cautious. This race does not draw the big west coast teams but believe me when I say this course is brutal. After lap one then two then three with no flats I started feeling better. My goal was simply to finish the race. So after every lap I stopped in the pits to give the car a good looking over. Wasted a lot of time doing this but it gave me some peace of mind. Around lap 3-4 I also stopped to help a fellow racer which took about 10-15 minutes away. I was not racing for 1st and did not really focus on where I finished. Looking back I wish I picked up my pace more and did not make so many stops. I was able to race til the finish and not kill one tire. Mentally this was really good for me. It showed me I can focus on the course and not make mistakes. I honestly can’t wait to race this course again next year. My game plan is changing from this point forward. I will no longer focus on saving the car by not using it. I will start putting in the time to pre run and get my LeadNav dialed in to where I can really push. I will make sure I bring my RZR to pre run as well. I’ve also got lots of spares and need to realize that. If something happens that can’t be repaired I’ll live with it. My car is more than capable of getting a podium finish. I simply need to let my talent catch up. That will never happen driving too cautiously. At the end of the race I get the checkered flag and Dave comes and tells me I finished 10th. I was happy to know I finished but exhausted.
This bring up another secret. Racing is exhausting in a single seat car. My car beats me up too much. Tribe16 is working on all kinds of changes to make me more comfortable. My seat is too low, my feet don’t have a box to sit in so they move around. My brake pedal is too far forward and I have to lift my leg to get to it. All these things combined make racing hard for a guy my size. When these things are fixed I know my confidence will sky rocket.
My physical conditioning has also been an eye opener. This year at KOH I was beat. I was exhausted to the point changing a tire winded me. A few months ago I realized if I don’t get in better shape I will never be a competitive driver. Every single day I spend at least 2 hours in the gym getting in better shape. It’s working. I’ve went from 18% body fat down to 11.2% in about 2 1/2 months. My muscle is coming back fast and my mind is focused on getting down to 5%. Racing for me is more serious than people understand. I want to win. I will do anything to win. I’m just know it won’t happen overnight. I am blessed to have support from the companies I do and most of them know the plan. This is just the beginning of the story.
Vpracingfuels
King Shocks
Raceline Wheels
XPEL
Nitto Tire USA
Sparco
Thompson Motorsports of TEXAS
Baja Designs
Spidertrax Off-Road
Factory 55
Tribe16
Jimmy's Outback 4x4
Photo credits to Alan Johnson and Curtis Paglusch
