RAIN DANCE | 2015 SCCA MARCH REGIONAL

It was a rainy one, but that didn't stop the true race drivers from coming out and putting on a show. Not a ton of entries, but considering the amount of rain there was, it was a very entertaining day.  Here's some images captured from the day by Austin Bradshaw, of Flying Bye Photo... [read more]

VIDEO // SEA OF CONES: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT AUTOCROSS

I received an email last night from a gentleman by the name of Morgan Trotter. A resident of Temecula, California, Mr.Trotter is an avid motorsport enthusiast who, like many of us, is limited financially, however still manages to spend a few days each month, "rounding cones in parking lots." Attached to Morgan's email was a nine minute documentary put together by Stephen Chiang, a student of cinematography at Grossmont College. Highlighting the sport of autocross, Stephen's film reminds us there are alternatives to the big dollar weekends we've grown accustom to // [comment]

GUEST BLOG // BRIAN BENTHIN ON SPEC MIATA

Yep, I was that kid; the one that obsessed over his Hot Wheels. The one that at thirteen years old, would wash his dad’s cars purely for the opportunity to move them around the driveway. Actually, I’m still that kid. I just obsess over bigger, heavier cars now.

Fast forward almost 20 years and a friend who’s Ford dealership was sponsoring an open track day at Pacific Raceways asks me if I want in. I had no idea the path down which an innocent, “sure, why not?” was about to send me. Next thing I knew, I was attending race-driver schools, working corners and crewing for friends at club races. I was hooked. Again, I wanted in. I wanted to race... [read more]

While crewing and working corners for sprint races and enduros, I became more familiar with the different racing classes that are popular in my region. I quickly zeroed in on Spec Miata. It’s a great class, the nature of the cars force a focus on driver skill and there are lots of folks to race with. I won’t go too deep into describing the class or car itself, plenty of people have said it better on the Internet already. I will say that Miatas are fairly simple cars, rear-wheel drive, easy to work on, relatively cheap to operate and have amazing support through Mazdaspeed, making them an attractive option for a novice racer.

Enter TC Motorsports. I met Carlo and Jon on a sunny afternoon at their shop. I had my then four-year-old son Nathan in tow, out for a ride in our ‘65 Fastback. I’d seen them at the track, knew of the top-shelf service and fabrication they offered and that they maintained a fleet of rental SM cars and Pro3 BMWs. I stopped by to introduce myself. What I didn’t know was what great people they and the entire team are. Nor did I know that we’d quickly become friends. I’ll never forget how welcoming they were, letting Nate crawl all over their race cars and trailer even though they were trying to pack up for a race in Portland (my boy has the car sickness too, shocking I know).

I chose to build my own car, which in the end is more expensive than buying someone’s completed car. But, our racing budget is limited and slowly chipping away at it was really the only option. This approach is fine; it just takes more time and has the potential to leave you with a car that’s perpetually up on jack stands. It took me about 2 years from purchase of donor car to tech-ready racer. However, thanks to the guidance of Carlo and crew we found creative ways to keep “jack stand-itis” from happening. We segmented stages of the build to align with my budget, like completing just the back half of the cage and spec suspension first which allowed me to take part in track days and driver’s schools. Then when more funds were available, we could finish the cage, other safety items and be off to the races.

May 1, 2010. Jon Ament of TC Motorsports had completed the amazing cage in my car and he, Carlo and Taryn made sure I had everything I needed for my debut in the ICSCC novice-racing program. They even invited me to paddock with them, ensuring my day went smoothly. Finally, I was off to the races!

Getting my car tech’d and the cage stamped by Tom Olsson, the ICSCC steward was an exciting moment for me. Two years of work, planning and obsessing came together. It was legit. This overgrown kid’s 2285-pound Hot Wheel was officially a “race car”, with the papers to prove it. All that was left was to get out there and race against a bunch of other novices with similar levels of adrenaline in their systems.

Oh shit. Now, I’m nervous.

This wasn’t my first time driving the car. Hell, it wasn’t even my first time around Pacific Raceways. I even had very experienced racers paddocked with me, trying (unsuccessfully, I might ad) to convince me I was ready and would do just fine. But my mind raced, faster than any car at the track that day. What had I gotten myself into? Do I have any idea what I’m doing? Will I remember what the flags mean? When do I have to be at pre-grid? Where’s the driver’s meeting, again? How the %&#$ does this HANS work? Should I have slugged an entire bottle of Gatorade? What exactly is IN Gatorade anyway and why does it look like Windex? Did I mention being nervous?

Then I got in the car.

Jon helped me strap in for my first practice session of the day. Somehow, the butterflies went back to the hell from whence they came. I don’t know if Nomex possesses Zen-like qualities, or if clipping in a window net completes some freaky-race-car Feng Shui or what. All I know is, suddenly there was me, the car and nothing else. No nerves, no jitters, and no self doubt. The car was great, it felt good and so did I. Racing fender-to-fender came more natural than I anticipated. I was consistent and steadily improved my lap times throughout practice and qualifying. I ended up posting my fasted lap of the day during the race! I drove heads up and clean. I loved mixing it up with my fellow novice racers, we all did extremely well. When a couple folks did have an off, they reacted correctly and were predictable. I even shook my tail feathers a little exiting Turn 8 during practice. But I regained control, didn’t collect anyone and most important had FUN!

I can’t wait for my next race!

I can’t say enough about Conference (ICSCC), IRDC, it’s volunteers and members or all the amazing people connected to club racing here in the Pacific Northwest. To all you folks that make it happen, thank you. Thank you Carlo, Taryn and Jon of TC Motorsports for all your help and encouragement. I’d also like to thank a few folks in the Spec Miata community that helped me a bunch along the way; Pat Newton, Greg Bush, Jim Boemler and Antonio Garza. Finally and most importantly, a big thanks to my wife Shannon and my kids Nathan and Ava for being so understanding and supportive through all of this, you’re the best!

If you’ve ever considered getting involved with this hobby or sport or whatever you want to call it, do it! Your inner child will thank you.

Brian Benthin

EVENT // NWR SCCA DRIFT SCHOOL

The Northwest Region SCCA held its third annual Drift School on Sunday, April 18. This is one of the few SCCA regions actually running the pilot Drift program and there was a strong showing of both drivers and instructors. For the first half of the day, students learned to control their cars on one of three skidpads, starting with doughnuts and progressing to figure-8's.

The lunch break featured a short session where the students were allowed to ride with their instructor on a full course to experience what drifting is really like. For the final part of the day, the students were let loose on a full course to learn how to link several turns together in one drift.

Follow the link for additional images... [read more]












For a look at more photos from the NWR SCCA Drift School, click here

Photo/Editorial: Danny Sullivan

EVENT // OREGON REGION SCCA SINGLE REGIONAL @ P.I.R.

ColdTrackDays correspondent, Camden Thrasher, spent the weekend at Portland's International Raceway for the Oregon Region of the SCCA's first race of the year. A single regional event that incorporated the chicane along P.I.R.'s front straight, there may have been only a few cars in attendance, but that did not stop Camden from collecting some rather stunning images.

Follow the link for a look... [read more]














Photo: Camden Thrasher
editorial: Justin W. Coffey

15 YEAR OLD TYLER VANCE // TWO POLES - TWO WINS

Though unable to drive to the track, 15 year old SCCA Rookie Tyler Vance put on a driving clinic at round two of the SCCA Cal Club Regional Championship with two Poles, two Wins and the fastest Spec Miata lap of the weekend at Willow Springs International Raceway... [read more]

Saturday - On a rain soaked track the young driver was second quickest overall in practice. Still wet during qualifying, Vance put the 85 on pole in class, 5th overall. The sun broke through for the main and turn one was interesting as the high horse power cars in T1 and ST pushed their way to the front. Vance was shuffled back to 2nd in class, but over the next few laps battled past out of class cars to recapture the lead and take the win. His first SCCA pole and victory.

Sunday - The rain was gone, but the 85 was fast again in practice. In qualifying he once again put it on Pole by nearly 2.5 seconds. A missed shift on the start nearly cost him the lead, but he was able to use slower traffic to his advantage and led the race from flag to flag, the only SM to finish on the lead lap. It was a tremendous weekend for the young driver who is eager to repeat in March when round three takes place at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, his favorite track in CA.

Tyler Vance is the first 15 year old in the country to receive his SCCA Competition License. For more information please visit Tyler Vance Racing or become a fan of Tyler Vance on Facebook.

We would like to thank our partners at Rush Motorsport and Sparco for their support.

Photo/Editorial: Tom Vance

MIATA MONDAY // THE GT-4 CLASS: PURPOSE BUILT

On any given race weekend, you're bound to see a number of race prepped Miatas lined up in a variety of classes. Running amongst themselves, as well as alongside PRO-3 and other spec racing series, the Miata is a known quantity at the track. But on occasion, a different type of Miata might make an appearance at your local SCCA race. With its top cut, roll cage protruding from its small, squat body structure, the GT-4 class Miata is a little known and often overlooked racing car.

Often referred to as 'silhouette' race cars, the GT-4 class, known now as GT Lite, is the slowest of the Grand Touring classes. A wide array of cars compete in the GT-4 class, to include Toyota Celicas, Mazda RX-7s, Nissan 200SX, Honda Civics and Austin Mini Coopers. Racing against a variety of cars of equal power and weight, the GT-4 class Miata is certainly one of our favorite racing cars // [comment]

NEWS // SCCA WORLD-CHALLENGE TO AIR ON VERSUS

The SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge, formerly the SPEED World Challenge, will now air on VERSUS Television begining this Aprill. WC Vision, series promoter and marketer, said the move to the Comcast-owned VERSUS network is the result of better television coverage and time slots... [read more]

According to our sources, the race coverage will air in conjunction with the Izod IndyCar Series, which VERSUS will again broadcast in 2010. Dave Drimmie, WC Vision’s vice president of marketing and communications said, "We are thrilled that our 2010 events will air on Versus. The series returns to a weekend time slot, and this year, our fans will have a longer and more in-depth program. We're also looking at a syndication package that would enable World Challenge to reach a total of 160 million households."

Erik Arneson, vice president of Speed TV's media relations told AutoWeek, "Our schedule is just getting more and more crowded. There was nothing negative about the split at all, and we wish them the best"

SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge // Television Schedule:
Streets of St. Petersburg Sunday, April 18 2 p.m.
Streets of Long Beach Saturday, May 1 4:30 p.m.
Watkins Glen International Saturday, July 17 11 p.m.
Toronto / Mosport Saturday, July 31 3 p.m.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Saturday, Aug. 28 4:30 p.m.
VIRginia International Raceway Sunday, Sept. 26 4:30 p.m.
TBA Sunday, Oct. 17 4:30 p.m.

Images and Info: AutoWeek
Editorial: Justin W. Coffey

GALLERY // ROBERT CARRIER'S TOP SHOTS OF 2009

Now that the year has ended, I've had an opportunity to go through some of my photos and reflect on the events that I was able to cover for ColdTrackDays. It was an absolute pleasure joining the CTD team in 2009, and I'm honored to work amongst such talented photographers. We have some exciting things planned for 2010 and I look forward to seeing what sort of photos I'll have the opportunity to shoot over the next 12 months! Thanks to everyone for supporting CTD – we all appreciate it!... [read more]

SCCA Solo National Tour – San Diego, CA: Qualcomm stadium in San Diego, California – current home of the Chargers football team – hosts a round of the SCCA Solo National Tour every year, and draws some of the very best autocross racers in the entire country. As I've been a fan (and on-again-off-again participant) of autocross racing since my early days of college, I grabbed my camera and headed down to the Q for a weekend of motorsport.

Symbolic Motor Co. Show N' Shine – La Jolla, CA: Every year, the Symbolic Motor Company – an exotic car dealership with two locations in Southern California – hosts a BBQ and Show N' Shine at its service facility that is open to the public. The event is a fantastic way for car enthusiasts to chat with like-minded individuals over a glass of wine while taking in some of the world's greatest cars, including race cars, vintage cars, and exotics.

Long Beach Grand Prix – Long Beach, CA: The streets of Long Beach have played host to some of the world's fastest cars since 1975, and this year was no different. In addition to the main event, which saw Danica Patrick and some of the top IRL drivers navigating the street course in 700hp open wheel monsters, the event also included the ubiquitous Toyota celebrity race and a round of the American Le Mans series.

Redline Time Attack Round 2 – Rosamond, CA: Of all the events I covered this year, I would have to say that Round 2 of the Redline Time Attack was easily the least pleasant. Needless to say, Rosamond can get unbearably hot during the spring and summer months! Despite the heat, lack of shade, and four-hour drive from San Diego, it was still a thrill to catch my first Redline Time Attack event in person.

Coronado Speed Festival – Coronado, CA: Next to the Monterey Historic held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca every year, the Coronado Speed Festival is the largest vintage car race in California. Held on the runways and taxiways of Naval Air Station Coronado, the event draws a wide variety of cars as well as drivers who are there not to showcase their cars, but to compete!

Redline Time Attack Round 8 – Fontana, CA: Compared to the RTA event held at Willow Springs Raceway, the 8th and final round of the 2009 Redline Time Attack season was an absolute pleasure! A leisurely hour drive north of San Diego, Auto Club Speedway is a world class racing facility that far exceeded my expectations, and Fontana in November is much more comfortable than Rosamond is anytime! It all added up to a fantastic event that I thoroughly enjoyed shooting.

SKUSA SuperNationals XIII – Las Vegas, NV: Two words could best describe the 2009 SKUSA SuperNationals kart race in Las Vegas, Nevada: Michael Schumacher. The Formula One legend – who recently ignited the motorsports world with his announcement that he has signed up for the 2010 season with his long-time partner in crime Ross Brawn – was in attendance, and for this reason, I was in attendance as well! Though I was too young to watch him in his Benetton days, I have been a Schumi fan since the days of his epic battles with Mika Hakinnen, and I was not going to miss the opportunity to meet him in person (which I did, albeit shortly)!

For a look at more photos from ColdTrackDays correspondent, Robert Carrier, click here

Photo/Editorial: Robert Carrier