BSM
Yes, the month of June had Bud & Steve on the road and on the track once again. It was fun to be “back in the saddle”, traveling across country, visiting race-friends, and doing some “Whoop-Ass” at the track.
We flew to Phoenix (where we keep the toys in the winter) and picked-up the truck, trailer, and cars. Our destination was 750 miles to Infineon Raceway at Sears Point CA, where NASCAR and just run the weekend before us. We arrived at Infineon before noon Friday, just in time to get the perfect pit location, close to grid (for watching the grid-girls) and right next to Time Trial Central. We spent the afternoon doing some basic maintenance on the cars, making sure they were ready for action.
Infineon is without question one of the most technical tracks to drive in the U.S. Most road-race tracks have at least one, and typically two “straights” where you can take a glance at your gauges, flex your hands, pause your brain, etc. That does not exist at Infineon. You are constantly either preparing for a corner, in a corner, or recovering from a corner. And most of the corners have some unique issues such as declining radius, off-camber exit, blind hill-crests, and of course a couple of cement walls right up to the edge of the pavement. Yes, very intense !!
The BS boys (Bud & Steve) were racing guys that run Infineon at least a couple of times per year, meaning they had track familiarity on us. This was our third visit to Infineon in as many years, so we were only 80% comfortable with the fast-line. The first two sessions Saturday we were a couple of seconds off the top pace. The fast guys were at 1:53 and we were in the 1:55’s. Steve was still getting comfortable with his car, and Bud was running an old worn-out set of Hoosier tires.
In the Saturday afternoon sessions Bud decided it was time to break-out the larger/fresher Kumho tires and get some BS Respect going. He got down into the 1:52’s and had Time Trial Central thinking they were re-living their frustration last summer in Reno. Side note: When BSM went to Reno in 2006 it was a new track for all attending due to new track expansion. Bud and Steve “spanked” the Nor-Cal gang and became known and respected as the Corvette Twins.
Sunday brought another beautiful sunny day and the “Return of Raeder”. Steve has been carefully breaking-in his new car this spring and getting comfortable with what the car is capable of. Even though it’s the same chassis as before, the horsepower, torque, and balance is totally different. Infineon is a difficult track, so being cautious was smart. By Sunday it was time to “take the gloves off”. Steve got down to the low 1:51’s, with Bud only three tenths of a second behind. Once again, BSM was on the podium (both Saturday and Sunday), and frustrating the locals. We’ve been chastised in both California regions of “coming in from out of town and taking the trophies”. It’s a tough life, but someone has to do it J
By the way, Jim Shierk also made the trip to Infineon, driving his Z06 down from Tacoma, spending two days on the track, and driving home. Sounds like something I used to do. Jim was started in HPDE 1 because he had not been to Infineon before. He was passed-up to HPDE 2 on Sunday and really started enjoying himself on the track.
We have the cars at home in the Northwest for the next two or three months and attended the TCC-Bret Pacific Raceway track day the first week of July. It was really fun for us to spend some time on the track with “the home crowd”. We both have some maintenance work that needs done (Oh Mr. Tumia, are you available J) BSM will being going to Thunderhill (Redding CA) the weekend of August 11-12. More of you should consider driving down and getting some track time. If nothing else, make it part of a trip to Napa Valley, you would be within a few miles. All you need is a helmet to drive in HPDE. NASA provides a very safe and controlled opportunity to drive your car at speed.
Best Regards . . . BS Motorsports -Bud & Steve J