I was thinking I might start using this space to track my car racing hobby. Easy to send to people who are interested and easy to keep track of what I've done so far.

On track time through today:

24 Hours of Lemons, Altamont Motor Park, Altamont, CA, October 2007

• This is a 14 hour endurance race (two 7 hour days) for cars worth $500 or less.
• Car: 1985 Honda CRX Si
• Tires: 185/60R14 Yokohama ES100
• Team was me, Joe Morris, Dean Harvey, Brian Jeffries, Scot Stambaugh, Nick Ganjei
• Pictures here.
• Video here.
• Jalopnik article here.

High Performance Drivers Education Day, Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, CA, December 2007

• Took my 2005 Cadillac CTS-V (400hp, 6-speed) (since sold) to the track for the first time.
• Rode on track with instructor, trying to learn the line in prep for upcoming Lemons race at Thunderhill.
• We also brought the new pisser to get ready for the next Lemons race.
• Joe rented a 2007 Dodge Avenger.
• Philip rented a 2007 Ford Focus.
• Dan drove the Pisser all the way to Thunderhill, with racing seat, no heat, no comforts whatsoever.
• Pictures here.

24 Hours of Lemons, Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, CA, December 2007

• This is a 14 hour endurance race (two 7 hour days) for cars worth $500 or less.
• Car: 1986 Honda CRX Si
• Team was me, Joe Morris, Philip Milestone, Mireya Aretaga, Dan Wetmore
• We blew our motor and stuffed it with toy marmots.
• Pictures here and here.

In January 2008, the racing bug buzzing in my brain, I picked up a SCCA ready 1982 Mazda Rx-7 for SCCA Club Racing in the SCCA's San Francisco Region.

SF Region SCCA Licensing School, Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, CA Febuary 29 - March 2, 2008

• Once a year, the region has a licensing school for new members who want to get their racing license.
• Brutal schedule, Fri, Sat, Sun of nonstop racing and classroom instruction.
• Had a good Friday, car had some carburetor trouble at first but I met a guy who offered to swap his extra carb for mine, and then had no trouble. The car is fun. It has a solid beam axle in the rear, so the rear floats a lot. It is not a stable ride. Because of the solid axle, you can't dial any camber into the rear wheels, so it doesn't squat like all of the Spec Miatas would. But I had some fast runs, even passing some Miatas now and again.
• Saturday, around mid-day, I started losing power. I came into the pits, actually thought I had run out of gas. Turns out, I blew the motor. I was pretty sad.
• In order to finish the school, I rented a Spec Miata from a guy who had brought an extra one and had a blast learning that car and staying on track Sunday.
• I graduated and now have a novice racing license from the SCCA.
• I towed the car to an engine builder in San Leandro, CA who happened to have a 12A first gen Rx-7 motor laying around. I left the car with him and he put in a used tranny, the rebuilt motor, he reworked the two carbs I had to make one good one, installed three JEGS gauges (water temp, oil temp, and oil pressure) and a nice 5" tach with shift light.
• I am hoping to run six regional races this year, the first one likely May 23-25, a double regional at Thunderhill (two races Fri-Sun).
• Tires: 185/60R 13 Toyo Proxes RA1 (required tires for Rx-7 class)

Upcoming: 24 Hours of Lemons, Altamont Motor Park, Altamont, CA, May 10-11, 2008

• The return of the pisser.
• We swapped in a JDM motor in the 1986 body and are going to return to Altamont to run with a mix of our last two teams.
• Team: me, Joe Morris, Philip Milestone, Ryan Gilfoil, Scot Stambaugh.