Come play with us. 2014 Redline Time Attack June Willowsprings
Author Archives: AtT
Suspension Prep for Redline Time Attack
New entrants in RTA prepare their cars with help from fellow competitors. This 05 STi is getting Feal 441 coilovers, Eibach sway bars, Kartboy bushings, Swift springs, Cusco trailing arms, a corner balance and alignment. Even on the off weekends we’re having beers at the house, competing on sim rigs and drinking an adult beverage or 10.
Redline is Back
This season we’ve cooked up all sorts of new ways to goof around in the pits. 
RTA Round 1 Ride Along with Ken Kasitz – 1:57.9
Here is some footage from Ken Kasitz from this weekend’s Redline Time Attack Round 1 2014 at Buttonwillow Raceway. Make sure to contact Ken (aka Koherent Chassis Workz) if you are looking to setup your car. Ken put this lap down in his unassuming WRX bugeye on street tires with no aero.
In typical, understated, Kasitz fashion his only comments about the video were:
“My Hot lap during the first RTA session. Good enough for first in AWD and Enthusiast Overall. I believe its a RTA Enthusiast class record at Buttonwillow as well. 1:57.994. The end is just some fun during my other hot lap.”
Back in action
2 days of Big Willow action all ending with success!
The car not only looked good but goes like hell!
Big splitter and a Big Wang… I mean wing.
AWD Enthusiast: The Race to Second Place
When we last left our hero’s, Lux Surge and Steve, they were in a 3 way tie for 2nd place. That was from their best 6 of 7 events so far, based on the “best 6 of 8 events for Championship” format that is used for scoring. This allows participants to choose their schedule around other commitments (as if there is life outside the track!).
Round 8 was at the aforementioned world famous Buttonwillow Raceway Park, utilizing the Time Attack benchmark #13CW circuit. If you’ll recall, Lux and Steve had both done an event here earlier in the year (Round 2), in which Lux won 2:16 to 2:18 (Surge had as of yet not experienced the technical driver’s mecca that is BRP 13CW).
The racer’s arrived to freezing temps of 29*, hardly ideal for any sort of street/competitive tire to find traction. With this in mind all knew they had the morning to work some heat into the tires, before putting in the hot laps later that afternoon.
Session 3 was the first shot at solid hot laps, with Surge setting the fastest lap time of 2:12.022 to Lux’s 2:14.388 and Steve’s 2.13.214. Based on this ranking, that placed Surge of LSL Motorsports squarely into 2nd place for the Championship (not to mention 1st place to win 4 NITTO NT-05’s for the event)! But the day was not over yet…
Session 4 seemed to be the one where everyone’s best last chance remained, as the winter sun was getting low on the horizon, signifying the return of frozen tarmac. Surge ran into mechanical problems and had to bow out, leaving it a dog fight between Lux and Steve. Here is where things get really interesting, based on the best 6 of 8 scoring:
Lux is going to drop his 0 and 7 point events for the Championship (lowest 2)
Surge and Steve are both going to drop two 0’s
That means if Steve could beat Surge and be no worse than 1 place behind, he could win 2nd place for the 2013 Championship! 1.19 second was no large margin and seemed feasible, but Lux still had some fight left in him, Steve had his work cut out for him
At the end of the session Steve went to check his times…2:11.754, he had done it! He beat both Surge and Lux…wait, wait Lux had dropped 4.5 second off his prior session, to an eye popping 2:09.919!! This placed Lux squarely in 1st for the day, with 4 NT-05’s, and Steve in 2nd with 2 NT-05’s.
There was 1 last session right as the sun was setting. Lux and Surge had packed it in as the temps were again falling fast…but Steve wanted one last shot at it (there were 2 additional NT-05’s on the line after all)! Double checking his tire pressures and adjusting the rear strut dampening, Steve headed out for what he hoped would be a shot at glory.
While it felt faster, he just wasn’t sure it was enough. He only got 3 laps, all with sporadic traffic, but hoped the cold weather would help with straight line speeds…..2:10.998, another ¾ second faster, but still 1 second behind Lux.
Final ranking for Round 8 at BRP 13CW:
Lux in 1st2:09.9196.23 seconds faster than R2
Steve in 2nd2:10.9987.02 seconds faster than R2
Surge in 3rd2:12.022future benchmark
But more importantly to our 2013 Championship, Steve had beat Surge and placed no worse than 1 spot behind Lux, winning 2nd place and the Eibach gift card as well!
A huge thank you to the 2013 AWD Competition Sponsors: NITTO Tires, Infamous Performance, Eibach Springs and Road Race Engineering
Massimo Power GTA/SLB Street Class Champions with a new Overall Record
Well our road to Superlap began in the beginning of October. Our Silver Car from last year decided to give up and throw a rod out the front of the block ending its life spilling its guts out all over Craig Peyrons wind screen.. lol
Our silver car, which we set the record with last year, was dead and the Owner did not want to continue with the project. So at the last minute we decided to bring my white car back to life. It had mods which did not fit within street rules so we had to mix and match parts from the Silver Car to the White car to make the best package possible. A week and a half later we were ready to test out at Willow Springs.
First time out at WSIR we ran a 1:29.0 which our Qstarz counted as a 1:28.8. It was amazing considering the fact that our turbo gasket failed during practice and were only pushing about 22psi ( 28psi is our Tune ). With the data gathered from testing we were able to estimate some times for Buttonwillow and were extremely pleased with what we saw.
So we went out for 3 test days at Buttonwillow with nothing but testing and tuning in mind. Each practice, our driver, Brian Bengali, became more comfortable with the car. Every day was a different story as far as trial and error but by the Final practice day we were on record pace and ready to defend our record.
Superlap Battle:
Throughout the weeks between the moment we chose to run Superlap and the day we finally did, our eyes were solely on Mr. Mark Jager. He was the man to watch. We had as best possible surveillance on him as we could. Every track event he went to we made sure we had someone watching his every move as well as the components on his car. We made sure to know who he was and what he was running. If we had the budget, we would have a satellite tracking his times as well as a drone with spyshots when the car would be worked on.. LOL
Of course during this time we were all being secretive. We went as far as to delete and block him on popular social media. This was nothing personal its just the way things need to be when in competition. Did it pay off? We don’t know. But its funny to know these things later on when the dust is all settled.
Our Morning practice session went by very quickly but we were able to scrub in our new tires and set a respectable time to be on grid in a favorable spot. First Time Attack Session we were able to reset the Street Tire AWD and Overall Street Record to 1:53.068. We had nothing but smiles and we began with the high fives and hugs….. Our Celebration was cut short when one of us saw Mark Jager Pass the Finish line with an extremely close 1:53.100 on our Stopwatch. The time was so close we needed to go to the Timing Station and verify what just happened. Up in the Timing Station was both Mark and Paul waiting to see what they ran. It took about 4-5 minutes to get the time sheet however the anticipation made it feel like 3 hours. Once we saw our official times, we knew the battle was ON. All this around 10:30am. The whole day ahead of us was nothing but seriousness and trying to improve. Next session we went out and could not run faster than a 1:53.5 or so. The track temps were rising so we weren’t sure if it was possible to go any faster. Mark’s time did not improve either so it was a small sigh of relief. After lunch we decided to sit out our 3rd Time Attack Session because track temps were now in the 100 degree area. When the session was gridding we all went up to the pit wall with our stop watches ready to see what Mark can do. As they came around after their Warmup lap, Mark was not at time attack speed but slowing down and limping back to the pits. We didn’t know what was going on but thought possibly his intercooler pipe may have popped or something minor which can easily be fixed. When we didn’t see him come back out we were a little confused but the day went on. As we adjusted wing angle and some alignment we heard a rumor that Mark may have broken his Tranny. Not being the one for rumors we just brushed it off and focused on the last and final session. About 10 minutes before going into the final Session Mark and his Tuner Paul show up at our pit to congratulate us on our victory. They Confirmed that they were having some kind of Drivetrain problems that they could not fix. They were nothing but humble about everything and expressed their congratulations towards us very respectably. With that we felt the victory ever closer. Once our last session was over, we did not improve. With the track temp at 107 degrees it was not possible to get the grip we had in the AM. Once it was all over and the Champagne was sprayed it sunk in that we now have the fastest car and driver that has ever been around Buttonwillow CW13 on Street Tires. No one has ever been this fast in this class. More so than all, we were extremely impressed with Mark and his Team and his accomplishments this year. We ourselves were amazed to be able to stop the Freight Train that was Mark Jager of 2013.
Written by:
Mauricio of Massimo Power
XS AWD Competition Enthusiast class coming down to the end
Throughout the 2013 Extreme Speed AWD Competition, Enthusiast class has been home to both bitter rivalry and intense competition. The basic premise is bolt-on’s and a 91 tune, making this truly and ‘every day car’ class. As we head into the final event of the 2013 Year, Enthusiast class has a 3-way tie for 2nd place and another competitor barely behind by 2 points. With this level of competition it is clear why Enthusiast class is by far the largest class in the competition, signifying a great accomplishment when you are able to come out on top. These top competitors pushing for the 2nd spot are Chris Hain, Steven Steck, Surge Dee, and Lux of LSL Motorsports.
In round #1 LSL Motorsports in his Evo X was able edge out Steven in his Ralliart at Streets of Willow CCW with a time of 1:32.14 to Steven’s 1:35.6. Both competitors were just getting started in the inaugural round of the AWD Comp and were excited at the possibilities that their cars possessed. With a tough bit of luck Steven found himself on the outs after he went in too hot to a corner and wound up in the dirt…on the first lap (pace yourself buddy, you got 7 more event to go!). Quickly replacing the blown tire, Steven was able get in a couple laps; but unbeknownst to him the front driver’s control arm was bent, which would play a pivotal role in round #2.
Round #2 we went to the Time Attack mecca of North America, Buttonwillow Raceway Park, where once again LSL Motorsports and his Evo X go head to head with Steven and his Ralliart. But alas with Steven’s suspension not at 100% he is only able to run a 2:18.02 and once again gets taken down by LSL Motorsports with a time of 2:16.15 (despite battling car issues of his own).
Round #3 took us to the infamous Willow Springs International Raceway where 3 of our competitors were ready to do battle. Steven and his Ralliart take an astounding 2nd place in enthusiast class (after replacing the broken control arm) with a time of 1:43.87, beating out Chris Hain taking 3rd in his Subaru WRX by less than a second (1:44.66) and claiming his first victory over LSL Motorsports (1:44.87) of the season by a full second. These close times reflect how intense the competition is, and how every tenth is truly earned. This was also the first event our compardres were they able to win NITTO NT-05’s (2 for Steven in 2nd and 1 for Chris in 3rd)
Round #4 took many of us to a new track, Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, where the summer heat would be upon us and take many of us to new extremes (and for a few unlucky souls new lows, in the +110* heat). New contender Surge Dee arrived and promptly placed 3rd his first event, ahead of both Chris and LSL, respectively. Steven was not able to run that weekend, and some minor bearing issues were slowing down Lux noticeable.
For Round #5 we then headed back to Streets of Willow, but this time during Extreme Speeds’ Twilight event, making the course that much more treacherous for the competitors. In the end we saw 2 great battles, the first between newcomer Surge Dee in his Evo X and Steven in his Ralliart and the second between LSL Motorsports in his Evo X and Chris Hain in his Subaru WRX. Once again we see how deep the field is in enthusiast class, with 11 competitors running that day. Chris and LSL were in a fight over 8th place but LSL used his experience to edge out a win with a time of 1:33.05 (despite bearing issues slowing his pace from Rd 1) to Chris’s 1:33.24. In the other battle the newcomer Surge takes 3nd place by leaning on friend and fellow racer Will Wattonawongiri with a time of 1:28.98 edging out Steven’s 1:29.93 (a healthy 5.7 seconds faster from our first event…in the dark no less). Each of these 2 battles came down to the final session, scraping until the very end and reminding us of what make this competition so amazing. This was also the first event where Surge was able to win himself an NT-05 courtesy of sponsor NITTO.
Now Round #6 is a very important round, being that this is a best 6 of 8 events competition, where Craig Peyron was able to secure his Enthusiast Class Championship in his inaugural year…..and setting a record or two along the way; but the fight for 2nd rages on! But with only Surge and Chris showing up to this event it allowed both the opportunity to gain in the rankings. Surge puts on an amazing performance placing 2nd (securing 2 more NT-05’s) with Chris a close 3rd. They got to stand atop the podium knowing that these positions were crucial to the end of the year standings.
For Round 7, with the cool weather of November in full effect, we arrived at Auto Club Speedway. This was a new track for the AWD Comp drivers, which always has the propensity to throw competitors off. Although all four were at their best placing 1st–4th in Enthusiast class, driving home the point that they are some of the best AWD Comp drivers around, ultimately only 1 could stand atop the podium. Coming in 1st with a 1:57.20 was Surge Dee, 2nd with a 2:02.99 was Chris Hain, 3rd was LSL Motorsports with a 2:04.27, and in 4th was Steven Steck with a 2:05.04. Each pushed hard at a track hitting well over 130mph and yet having the skill to brake the car down to under 50mph for the tumultuous Turn 3&4 combo. These guys have pushed each other at each event making one another faster and yet at the same time sharing in the camaraderie that goes along with racers and what they are all about (trading tips about driving lines, both Surge and LSL returned the following day for Redline Time Attack’s season finale, both going sub 2!). LSL was able to claim his first NT-05 ‘trophy’ and Surge took him the big enchilada of 4 NT-O5’s!
We now head into Round #8, the final round, everything comes down to this and where else would you want to have a finale then at Buttonwillow Raceway. Although Chris Hain has as of now conceded being that he is not able to attend this event (family obligations), we still have Steven, Surge and LSL Motorsports pushing to the very end! With Steven and LSL returning for their second time, and Surge never having driven the famous BRP CW13, who will be able to cut away those vital second to come out victorious? Join us as we find out on Dec. 8th at Buttonwillow!
Who do you believe will be able to pull it out? With tires from NITTO and prizes from Eibach, Road Race Engineering and Infamous Performance Tuning all on the line, does anyone have any tricks up their sleeves…? And remember competitors, safety first! Contact Infamous Performance today for their outstanding safety discounts and Subaru parts!
To get more details on XS AWD Competition go to:
www.extremespeedtrackevents.com
And
www.facebook.com/groups/xs.awd.comp
2013 Super Lap Battle/Global Time Attack Finals
Super Lap Battle only comes once a year and with this year came the best completion in years. Hundreds of hours of preparation and modifications go into each car with the hopes of glory and recognition hanging in the balance. Throughout 2013 my car has been going through an immense transformation from basic street car to a record breaking and one of the fastest cars in street class.
With last minute modifications to the car, the team headed out to the Buttonwillow Raceway Park the Sunday before to test and see what the modifications we would do to the car. Even on old scrub street tires I was able to best my fastest lap at BRP, which was set during theJuly at Redline Time Attack, with a time of 1:55.1. This put us into prime position to put on a new set of tires and break the 1:54.7 Awd street class record, which was set by Alex Peng. Additionally, this provided an opportunity to challenge the overall street class record of 1:53.9 set by Rob Walker.
AWD Street Class restricts competitors to 255 wide 140tw tires. The Jager Racing car is further limited by restrictions set by Redline Time Attack. The RTA rule which has the biggest impact is the turbo inducer rule -restricting it to 50mm.
With that configuration, on a fresh set of tires, I was able to take the car and run around BRP with a time of 1:53.207. This time broke the AWD street class record as well as the street class record overall.
But, within that same session, Massimo Power was able to pilot their car to a 1:53.068, putting me in second place. Another attempt in the second times sessions was executed, but I was unable to accomplish a better time. The team set up for another shot after lunch with high hopes. With the track clean and gridded up by lap time, I set out. Coming out of the last turn on the warmup lap under full throttle, the 4th gear in the transmission let go and our day was done. A years worth of development and anticipation was over with a mechanical failure.
Even with such a disappointment, the team understood the feat that they were able to achieve. Being able to break the existing Awd and overall street class record meant that we are faster than all but one driver and car that have ever competed in Time Attack at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. We then walked over and congratulated our winning competitor on their amazing time and accomplishment and readied for the awards ceremony and for the battle to come… Our journey is not over!
Craig Peyron “The Outlaw”
Craig Peyron burst onto the automotive scene last year showing up to an Extreme Speed Track Events track day at Buttonwillow Raceway Park with nothing more than a thought of going out and having some fun. Little did he know he was about to get sucked into the vortex of the Time Attack scene. While at the event he ended up meeting the likes of Martin Choi, Mark Jager, Rob Campbell and many more, which all pushed him to enter into the Time Attack. Although as we all would later find out Craig did not need much of a push to compete.
After that Craig turned into a regular with Extreme Speed showing up and dominating the XS AWD Competitions Enthusiast Class as well as Redline Time Attack’s Enthusiast Class. Although this wouldn’t be the first time Craig has dominated in the Motorsports world, he has been racing, riding and driving since he was able to hit a throttle. He has raced motorcycles, karts and well anything he can go fast on, these experiences allow Craig’s learning curve to be very fast with his new 2006 Subaru STI. Early on he was able to hook up with a master of his craft Robert Fuller owner of Robi Spec which deals in suspension and chassis setup. Robi was able to help Craig turn his stockish STI into a car that would continually break Time Attack Records throughout 2013. Craig’s first record would come at WSIR where he was the Overall enthusiast class champion as well as a AWD enthusiast class winner with a 1:31.264 at Redline Time Attack. Then Craig was able to go to Buttonwillow and set a record there. He won the Overall Enthusiast Class as well as AWD enthusiast class with a 1:58.332 at 2013 Redline Time Attack. Both of these records were set on Hankook RS-3s in a car with only 327hp.
These record breaking feats are only more amazing by which the way he is able to do so, considering that Redline Time Attack has one of the most strict Time Attack rule sets of any not allowing Craig’s car to have any aftermarket aero, no fueling upgrades, no turbo upgrades, and maintaining a full interior. All these restrictions make these records he sets astonishing, being that if he was competing in a series such as Global Time Attack he would be able to modify all that I listed above!
Overall Craig has had an amazing year and he still has a chance to set more records, with the availability of Autoclub as well as beating his own records at WSIR and Buttonwillow. I have no doubt that he will be setting a few more this year and even more in the future.
Also congratulations to Craig and Shelly for getting hitched!
