Thursday.
We arrived to the track with already wet conditions; with high hopes of getting some dry practice in we got the car ready and just went out to turn some laps in the wet/dry track. I got in 2 laps of patchy wet/dry conditions before the skies opened up and dropped some rain on us making the track 100% soaked and super slick. We cut first practice early to diagnose a stalling issue with the car that ended up being an issue with our cam sensor loosing sigal, Luckily we were able to get it all sorted before the second practice session of the day. The track had actually started to dry out and was about 80% dry for my first 2 laps and getting into the last 2 laps of the day the track was 100% dry and I really got to start pushing a bit on this new to me venue. I must say I didn’t expect to like the Wall track so much just due to the fact that it is known to write off cars. But since I come from Orlando with OSW as my home track I’m very used to banked tracks and actually got comfortable and enjoyed the track very much. After practice we had some tires to change and were ready for Friday practice and qualifying.
Friday.
Friday started out looking gloomy like Thursday but despite the forecast saying rain would happen we lucked out with a 100% dry practice as well as qualifying. I was able to turn in 6 more laps to dial in my line and was feeling good going into qualifying. First pass I entered decently high on the bank and maintained it the entire way. (I didn’t want to push to high and risk a crash on the first run so I figured I would take a safe pass to get a score.) Coming off the bank Im tight on all the marks and fill the rear zones before finishing off strong. Now I’ve personally never had an issue with FD Scoring or Judging but was a bit surprised when I was given only 77 points for my first run. But not to be bothered by it I watched the others go and waited for my second pass to try and better my first score. Back at the line I set off and did a big flick entry into the bank, I ran a bit higher line this time and wanted to really wow the judges so coming off the bank I threw big angle through the first clip and transitioned into the rear zone on the steering stops, Unfortunately I got on throttle just a hair to early and built up too much wheel speed that kept the rear of the car rotating around the front and would cause me to loop it in the lower bank. This would be the end of my run and I would bow out before completing the course accepting my 77 score from my first pass to give me a 26th place qualifier. Drivers meeting confirmed my fate of battling Vaughn Gitten Jr. in the top 32 tomorrow which I was excited for since I know he is a great driver.
Saturday.
With nearly no rain in the forecast we went into tandem practice with high hopes it would stay dry for the day. I got in a few good lead and follow passes with quite a few different drivers and was really enjoying the track. Moving into battles it wasn’t long before it was time for Vaughn and I to get to the line. Vaughn being the higher qualifier was up to lead first, I knew his car was fast on the run up so I did my best to leave the light a bit early but it just wasn’t enough. Vaughn left the gate like a rocket and as soon as he up-shifted he put a gap on me. I did my best to try and keep up with him on the run up but knew it just wasn’t going to happen. I entered a bit lower on the bank behind Vaughn in order to try and cut the line a bit and make up some extra ground. I only gained a few feet by the end of the bank but kept on the tighter line to keep reeling him in, He took out the first inner clip making it easy for me to stay on the tight line behind him and make a dive going into the rear zone. Gaining a few feet at a time I was able to get closer and finally reel him in by the final turn. Switching places I was once again in the position to do or die. I left the line and gave the run up my all with a big flick entry into the bank on the high line. I ran a much better line on the bank in the lead position and was on all my marks for the clipping points and rear zones, Vaughn nearly mimicking my every move had a few mistakes of his own but was much more composed than I was in the chase. After the smoke settled the Judges awarded the win to Vaughn for having the better of the runs in both the lead and follow positions ending my weekend on track.
Huge thanks to everyone who came out and showed support and love this weekend, I was able to chat with quite a few fans both old and new and had a great time getting to learn the track that I thought I would hate. As always huge shout out to the crew for keeping the car going and me hydrated, it ended up being rather hot on Saturday surprisingly and they kept the bottles of water flowing. I’m super excited for the break here now before Seattle as we have our 3.2l RB just about ready to go in so we will get that in, tuned and some testing in and come out to FDSEA swinging!
Thanks for checking out my post! See you all in Seattle!
Kevin is running Konig Dekagram in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.
