Redline Time Attack ’06 Final Round
With the year slowly closing to an end, what better way to end the year then to compete in the 2006 Redline Time Attack finals. This year’s closer was in Bakersfield, California at Buttonwillow Raceway, running configuration Clockwise #13 (CW13). These time attack events give an opportunity for tuner shops to build dedicated cars to strictly go fast around the racetrack. At the same time, it gives us, the average Joe, a chance to compete against the “Big Dogs,” using our daily driven modified rides. Throughout the year, Maxrev and I (StinkyTofu), have been attending track events to hone up our driving skills and to fine tune our suspension. It has always been a mission of ours to extract the most speed out of the S2000 and to show what this car is capable of with just basic modifications.
A little over half a year ago, Maxrev and I both took 1st place finishes in Modified and Street RWD classes at Redline’s California Speedway Time Attack event (For more information, click on this link). We were both pretty pleased with our results and did not want to disappoint for this next event.
Since we are both on budgets, we did not really focus on spending money for horsepower gains. Average speed matters most and thus, we modified our cars with more emphasis on modifications that could increase our cornering speeds: aerodynamics, weight reduction, suspension, and brakes.
Practice thoughts:
Maxrev: Maxrev actually just finished the super street time attack back in November and managed to hit a 1:56.7 with AJ-Racing’s Time Attack S2000 and a 2:11 for another AJ-Racing Time Attack car, their Fit. He needs no practice, enough said. However, the Seamless NSX in his class was clocking 1:56.xx laps during the practice session. This basically meant that Maxrev had no chance in a first place finish with his S2000 as that time matches the time he got with AJ-Racing’s car during the Super Street Time Attack.
StinkyTofu: This was my first time driving my car with the J’s racing bumpsteer kit installed. Prior to the installation of the J’s Bumpsteer kit, my car has always been very loose (excessive oversteer) and the last time I ran this specific configuration (without wing, bumpsteer kit), I clocked a 2:10.xxx. Immediately in my first practice session, I was able to mimic my previous best time with lots of traffic. The car was handling beautifully with a slight understeer on corner entry. I knew I could beat my old laptime, but traffic was holding me back. My second practice session was also full of traffic and thus, I did not feel a need to go out on my third practice session as I’m sure it would have made me more tired for my last time attack session. The top competitor and guy to beat in my class was the 2006 BDX Mustang GT driven by Nascar driver, Chris Cook.
Time Attack:
Maxrev: During his practice runs, Maxrev managed to hit consistent 1:58’s. This was good enough to give him enough breathing space between all the other modified RWD cars except for an NSX, hitting 1:56’s during the practice sessions. Seeing how Maxrev was only able to do 1:56.7 with the AJ-Racing car from the Super Street Time Attack, we knew it was unlikely that he would beable to do it with his own personal car with full interior. Thus, Maxrev did not feel the need to remove his passenger seat for the time attack sessions, as he did not have a chance against the NSX. During the time attack, Maxrev hit a very impressive 1:58.356, earning him 2nd place in modified RWD class, with the first place NSX having a time of 1:55.x.
StinkyTofu: Seeing how other guys in RWD class were hitting 2:06 and 2:05, I thought I was doomed. With words of inspiration from a good friend K and Maxrev, I kept my head up and tried my best to drive my car at the limit without exceeding it. To my surprise, my friends inform me that I had hit a 2:04.443 during my first time attack session, which was good enough for 1st place for that session by about .09 seconds. The 2nd place car, a 2006 BDX mustang GT driven by Nascar Driver, Chris Cook, was breathing heavily on my back. The 3rd place car was no slouch either, clocking in a very respectable 2:05.2. Unfortunately, I was unable to improve upon my time during the second time attack session. However, Chris Cook did and improved his time by an impressive 0.7 seconds, enough to earn him the title as 1st place Street RWD Class.
Results (from www.timeattack.com):
Redline: Time Attack! Over All Grand Champion:
1:51.137 Tanner Foust JIC MAGIC USA/Hankook Tires S15 Silvia
Overall Unlimited Class Champion:
1:51.137 Tanner Foust JIC MAGIC USA/Hankook Tires S15 Silvia
Overall Modified Class Champion:
1:55.014 Billy Johnson Factor X NSX
Overall Street Class Champion:
1:59.767 Nils Leufren RobiSpec EVO
Street Class FWD:
1st Place: 2:11.372 Hung Huynh – www.bakerprecision.com www.cureauto.com 1989 CRX
2nd Place: 2:12.690 Keith Covey 1992 Civic
3rd Place: 2:13.147 Lorin Mueller – Focus
Street Class RWD:
1st Place: 2:03.705 Chris Cook BDX MUstang GT
2nd Place: 2:04.443 Tim Kuo – www.maxrev.net/AJ-Racing/Import Tuning Garage S2000
3rd Place: 2:05.280 Matthew Kogan – JMC Motorsports, Autobahnparts.com, ChaseCam.com RallyDecals – 1992 BMW 325is
Street Class AWD:
1st Place: 1:59.767 Nils Leufren RobiSpec EVO
2nd Place: 2:15.972 Will Alfonso – EVO
3rd Place: 2:17.056 Alvin Tolosa BDX VW R32
Modified Class FWD:
1st Place: 2:02.728 Brandon Mallough – Civic
2nd Place: 2:06.623 Patrick Dupuis – Axis Engineering/Endless/Swift Springs/Nardi USA – 1991 Integra
3rd Place: 2:09.896 Tom Liang – Civic
Modified Class RWD:
1st Place: 1:55.014 Billy Johnson Factor X NSX
2nd Place: 1:58.356 Robert Walker – www.maxrev.net, www.aj-racing.com – S2000
3rd Place: 2:01.245 Aaron Bitterman VRT www.GoVRT.com JWT, Ed Reeser Racing, 2005 350Z – 2005 350Z
Modified Class AWD:
1st Place: 2:03.569 Joe Santiago Eastside Muffler EVO
2nd Place: 2:05.375 Christian Shaffer www.HarmanMotive.com 2005 EVO 8
Unlimited Class FWD:
1st Place: 1:57.425 Brian Gillespie Hasport – Integra
2nd Place: 1:58.630 Jack Mardikian Civic Si
3rd Place: 1:58.992 Chris Rado WORLD Racing 2006 Scion tC – www.world-racing.com
Unlimited Class RWD:
1st Place: 1:51.137 Tanner Foust JIC MAGIC USA/Hankook Tires S15 Silvia
2nd Place: 1:57.645 Billy Johnson VRT www.GoVRT.com JWT, Michael Alvarez Racing -2005 350Z
3rd Place: 2:00.517 Allan Crocket BDX 1988 Mustang
Unlimited Class AWD:
1st Place: 1:58.736 Ryan Novak Harmon Motive WRX STi
2nd Place: 2:00.273 Robert Fuller RobiSpec EVO
3rd Place: 2:08.552 Deiter Kijora HG Motorsports – 2003 EVO 8 – Sponsored by Mothers & Robispec-Powered by BuschurRacing