Race Car Stuff

Since I started my appreciation for the quirky car known as the First Generation Mazda RX7, one of the people who has halped me learn all of the ins and out of the workings of the car has been David Lane. David has owned a 1985 RX7 GSL-SE since it was new. That happens to be the same year and model as my car. In his years of ownership David has subtley upgraded his car constantly. Today he has an incredible performing sports car. The car is original paint that looks phenominal. He loved the car, but wanted to make it a little better in every parameter, but still not lose the character of the GSL-SE. I had the good fortune of driving David’s car about a year and a half ago. He has achieved his goal to perfection.

David was invited to travel across the country and give the opening presentation at an event called SevenStock. SevenStock is the yearly pilgrimage to southern California where Mazda opens their doors to us, the rotary enthusiast, and allow the event at the Corporate HQs in Irvine. Mazda RX enthusiasts get together and celebrate one of the greatest sports cars of all time the Mazda RX-7, and the greatest engine ever, the Rotary!

With David’s permission I have reporduced his SevenStock intorduction here. At the end I let you see a few pictures of David’s wonderful RX7 that simply don’t do the car justice.

I had the pleasure of opening the presentations at the Sevenstock 10 banquet on Saturday, September 22nd. It was an honor to express my thoughts to friends and heros present. Several people suggested creating a version of the presentation for distribution on the internet. Here it is.

David Lane
1985 GSL-SE
Cartech Turbo
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We are here tonight for various reasons–good, rational reasons for some of us, but I’m thinking that for MOST of us the reasons would be hard to explain to others. I’m not an automotive professional of any sort. I’m just a clarinet player. Yet it was….somehow…important for me to be with you today. The reason we get together, of course, is that we own GREAT cars. Mine is a 1985 RX-7. I’ve owned it since new.

And that’s what I want to talk about. Great Cars.

Collectors might tell us that a great car is one that is rare and gains value over time. Collectors don’t want to drive their great cars very much. It decreases the value, and makes them dusty. Collector cars are not the sort of cars I’m talking about. Their greatness typically resides in a motionless state–stationary on the grass at Pebble Beach, or on the auction block.

Exotic cars are not always great cars.
Costly, yes.
Relatively rare, yes.
Fun to drive?……..Sometimes.
Practical for us average types? Hardly. Even if we could squeeze the money together to buy one, we’d never be able to deal with the upkeep.

Some might tell us that a great car requires the kind of power that results in instant immortality when the accelerator is pressed.

Two words: Bugeye Sprite.

So, What makes the kind of cars you and I drive GREAT cars.

Great cars were meant to be driven every day. There is no other way an owner can truly bond with a machine.

Great cars are visual candy. How many of you turn back to look at your car when you get just the right distance away? Research tells us that when a male sees a beautiful female, the physiological reaction is similar to the one a woman gets when she takes a bite of chocolate. That explains a lot of things, but certainly looking at a beautiful car is a pleasure of its own. After all, that’s what we have been doing all afternoon. At least looking at cars won’t make you fat, or get you fired for creating a hostile environment in the work place.

Great cars create great memories. Certainly we all have our favorite car stories–whether from the track, the street, or an event likethis one. But more than that, a great car creates memories in others. I can’t bring my 1st gen to an autocross without people stopping by:

“My Dad owned one of those.”

“I had an Aunt who drove a car like that to work every day.”

“I had 1983 RX-7. I beat the living hell outa that car for 70 thousand miles, and it never gave me a lick of trouble”

And–I knew it was going to happen eventually: “That’s an RX-7? I didn’t KNOW Mazda made an RX-7 that looked like that.”

I was putting gas in the car last week, when a fellow came up behind me and started to stare. All he said was: “Rotary!” I nodded myhead, and asked if he had owned one. “Not me,” he replied. “My brother.” I asked if he had a “pet car” in his past, and he had. A BMW 2002. Another great car.

Great cars are totally involving. Every sense is heightened when you are driving a great car–even if you are just moving the thing from one parking space to another. There are no words for this, but Mazda got it right when the little kid, who looked like one of the Munsters, whispered, “zoom zoom.”

It’s that quality in a car that makes you want to take the long way home.

It’s what makes you look at a twisty road, and wonder what would happen if you tried it just a little bit differently this time.

A great car doesn’t demand. It just wants to play.

There are highly capable cars out there that are simply too reserved to get excited about anything. You know the ones I mean–expensive, usually German, stylish, and capable of mighty feats. But most lack the spirit Mazda captures. It’s a happy puppy thing, responding to every move you make. “Come on! Let’s go for a ride!”

Great cars beget other great cars. It’s what happens when people like you and me take one of Mazda’s great cars, and make it our own. The results are, well, unpredictable, but as we all know, delightful.

….. which brings up the next item:

Great cars are not perfect cars. They are simply the cars worth fixing and worrying about.

Great Cars change lives. In 1967 I bought a Lotus Elan, and someone said: “Why not autocross it?” Three years later, my Mom was watching me get totally lost in a sea of cones when she struck up a conversation with a fellow enthusiast. She ended up marrying the gentleman.

In 1985 I bought the RX-7. A year later I put one of Corky Bell’s turbo kits on it–just to get even with the 5-liter Mustangs of the day. And here I am….

People thought I was nuts when I bought the Elan, and people thought I was nuts when I put the turbo on the RX-7.

They were right.

But sometimes you just have to do something quirky……and it can change your life.

Great Cars don’t just happen. They come from great people.
Great cars do not come from committees.
They do not come from bean counters.
They do not come from car companies that always play it safe.

Great cars come from people of vision and passion. And in the hands of nut-balls like us, they morph into personal expressions of our dreams and desires.

Okay……and our pocketbooks.

Some of us dream of what would happen if our cars had just fifty more horsepower. Others dream of racing. At a quarter of a century old, 1st gen RX-7s are STILL being beat to death as Spec-7 racers on tracks across the country. Can you imagine a Spec-8 racing class in 2028? That’s what you can do with a truly great car.

So, here’s to the great people at Mazda who dream of great cars and bring them to market. And here’s to the great people who provide us with what we need to keep them running, and to make them our own.
And here’s to the great people who bring us together around the country–but especially here at Sevenstock.

As a musician, I understand that the most powerful part of being human comes from our ability to feel; to be passionate; to experience life more fully. In truth, there are no words for it. But for people like us, it’s about great cars. And to paraphrase my favorite philosopher–Tom Lehrer: “When there are no words for what you wish to say, the least you can do is to SHUT UP. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Click here for part I

Last time we got the car through tech inspection and found the screws that were causing a run out problem on the rear wheels.

The previous commentary did not give justice to the process of a car going through the first tech inspection. Everyone is nervous through this process. Building a racecar takes at least hundreds of parts. The theory of technical inspection is that someone looks over the car and checks for the most obvious problems. As with all other SCCA specialties, Tech is manned by a great group of volunteers. They spend much of the race weekend looking closely over racecars. They don’t get to watch the races. They are very good at what they do in making sure the racecars that hit the track are safe and meet the rules. When a new racecar comes through tech, there may be some small thing that the inspectors find that may keep the car from getting on the track for that weekend. The entire crew is nervous until the inspector’s finish and the tech sticker is placed on the car allowing it to run for the weekend.

Steve’s first session is wet. There has been rain, but it has slowed to a mist. I stress to Steve to keep the car on the track. The two worst results from this session are to have the car stuck in a gravel trap or worse to come in contact with barriers around the track. He went cautiously, gradually getting faster during the session. Each of the first few laps there was a different car spinning at the exit of turn 10. I think that Steve was the only Spec RX7 that did not spin during this session. Maybe he had good coaching .

After the session Steve had nothing negative to say about the car, but said that there were cars off the track at several places around the track. One of the Spec Miatas came in on a roll back very bent up. The car was definitely totaled; his race school weekend was over in the first session. Not a desirable situation.

Steve quickly learned why a crewmember was required for a race school. He immediately had to go to debriefing, chalk talk, and classroom sessions. He returned just a few minutes before his next session was ready to go out. I spent much of the time between the session doing small things to the car. I did the usual fluid checks, felt the brakes, a quick glance at all the important nuts and bolts, and cleaning of the windows. I glance at the alignment, and can tell from looking that there would be much gained with a more aggressive alignment. Steve’s car seems to sit much higher than most of the other Spec RX7’s, so I know there is something to be gained there as well. Steve is running a complete stockish exhaust system. There are many small things that will make the car faster, but right now the concern is to finish the weekend with no problems. So, there are no changes that will be made this weekend. Those are for going fast, which is another weekend.

The second session is sunny, but the track is still wet, without even a dry line around at the start of the session. I remind Steve that it has been raining heavily for more than 24 hours, and that if he goes off the track, chances of him getting the car stuck in the mud are high…. So keep the car on the track. Steve goes out and runs well. He passes a couple of cars and a couple others pass him. I lose track of him a couple of laps, but pick him and follow him through the rest of the session. After the session we discuss the car, but Steve is quick to admit that he spun the car while the track was still wet, but he did stay on the track. The car is no worse for the wear, and everything still looks great on the car. Steve takes off to the classroom sessions and I jack up the car give things a check.

The sun has now come out, and the temp warms up to where I have to remove my jacket, and consider removing my long sleeve shirt for a short sleeve t-shirt. Lunch break gives me a break with a trip to the Summit Point concession stand and a step back into my past. Most of the racetracks have tried to do something special for the racers, crews, and fans. Summit Point has excellent bratwurst, wraps, etc in addition to the usual concession stand fare.

Steve’s next session is finally in the dry. Again I remind him that off the pavement is still plenty of mud that is anxiously waiting to ruin a session with the car stuck it the special Summit Point mix. But he keeps the car on the track, and gets some dry track experience. After this session Steve goes to the classroom, and I drive the car out to the nearest gas station. We did not bring gasoline to the track, and his Spec RX7 is street licensed, so I drive it there. On the way I discover a troublesome shimmy in the right front suspension. I have to look at this before the car hits the track.

Jacking up the front, I find something disturbing. The bolts that hold the strut to the lower ball joint have been changed on this car. These struts have through bolts with nuts, and they have loosened. The nuts falling out can cause a catastrophic failure. I disassemble everything and realize that I can’t do much about it with what I have available to me. I tighten up everything, apply some Locktite and put it together the best I can. I warn Steve what feeling to be aware of while on the track.

In the mean time, the clouds have come, and the wind blows very hard. The few awnings that were still up have either been blown away or they have been taken down. As I take the car to the grid, there is rain again. But the sun comes out…. And what is that in the rain? That is ice. There is with small hail or sleet mixed in the rain. All during bright sunshine? This has been a very strange day from a weather point of view. I tell Steve that we don’t have and snow tires for the icy conditions.

As Steve goes out, I run down to the carousel area of the track to see if there are any driving pointers I can give Steve. I watch several cars go off the track, but Steve drives a steady session. After the session Steve and I discuss the bolts in the front struts. I have driven my daughters car to this race specifically for the reason of having spare parts. I may use the struts off her car. We had over to the traditional beer party after the Saturday of racing. But the weather turns very cold, colder than we have coats for. So our trip to the party is cut short and I head back to the hotel for diner.

It was a successful day at a drivers school. Steve was a little slow, but some of that is his car, and some of it is my coaching attempt to keep him focused on the need to finish the weekend without incident. I realize that he is one of the slower Spec RX7’s but this is a drivers school, not a race….. At least not yet.

Next time, Sunday, and the race

That is correct. I decided to be a crewmember for my recent student Steve as he went to his first SCCA Competition Licensing School at Summit Point Raceway. As some of my more regular readers probably know, I consider Summit Point home. Most of my racing years were spent at this track during the years that Virginia International Raceway was closed down. VIR may be a nicer facility, but Summit is where I belong. I know the place well. It has changed over the years, but in most ways it remains unchanged. It still has the character it always had, even if now if has some nicer window dressing.

Part II
While the basic format of an SCCA school has not changed since I attended my first one more than 25 years ago, they have added some features. Each student is required to have at least one crewmember since all of the driver’s time is pretty much accounted for during the weekend. Someone has to keep the car. I really looked forward to getting back to the grassroots of the sport.

One of the nice additions in the last quarter century is the crew classroom session while the driver is attending the Friday night chalk talk. Since my feeling is that there are always things to be learned, so even though I have spent more years crewing than I have driving, I looked forward to the experience. As it was, I learned a few things from the classroom session, but I learned more about the other crewmembers that would be here this weekend. After the class I finally met up with Steve. He took me for a quick tour of the car (your basic Spec RX7) which he has recently completed building from an 85 RX7 GSL. The car was built well, but Steve was also a first time builder, so I planned on checking everything I could over the weekend. Time to go back to the hotel and crash.

Early to the track the next morning, it is still raining. The weather forecast says that the rain will end early, but it will be windy with gusts possibly as high at 50mph. Guess that means any awning will be useless. I get to the track and give the car a quick once over and take it to tech inspection. Steve drove the car there, and I watched it drive there. I noticed a huge amount of runout on the rear wheels. I know the tech inspectors will not notice this, so I let the car go through tech and get the sticker. They asked me to come by later and get the log book number stamped in the rollbar. So the car passed tech.

As soon as we get the car to the paddock space I tell Steve about the wheel runout. He only has time to look before he has to go attend more class sessions and go for his instructor ride around session. I realize that the cause of the runout is either the rim is bent or the axle is bent. So I plan to replace the rear wheels with a set of aluminum wheels Steve has as spares. When I remove the wheel I discover the problem. The brake rotors are held on by screws that are not flush with the mating surface of the rim. So I only have to remove the screws and put the wheels back on. I had to borrow a couple of tools from nearby competitors to remove the screws, but it was accomplished and the problem was fixed. I check the car over some more and find a few details, but nothing the must be changed.

Next time… The car hits the track.

One of my recent High Performance Driving Education (HPDE) students, Steve, is taking the next step this weekend. He has built a Spec RX7 racecar and is taking the car to his first SCCA competition licensing school this weekend. I guess he was happy with my HPDE instruction, as he has asked me to crew for him at the licensing school. One of the true joys I get out of my racing involvement these days is opening up this fantastic sport to others.

To many people who watch racing on television or from the grandstands it seems so completely inaccessible. The sport seems so expensive that no “mere mortal” could ever get involved. In reality, nothing is further from the truth. There are various classes of racing that anyone can get into for a few thousand dollars. Used racecars are readily available that make nice starting platforms. All forms of racing have entry levels where the costs are reasonable.

Steve’s Spec RX7 is a great example of one of these entry levels of racing. The cars can typically be built from an 81-85 RX7. Most people end up with about $2500-5000 tied up in the car. In addition since this is an entry level form or racing there are always race ready cars for sale for about the same prices. The cars basically do not depreciate. If the car is maintained, it can probably be sold without losing any money when it is time to move on to another racecar.

Keep reading the next couple of days. I will be reporting on how Steve’s race weekend goes.

I think I have use that title before… I went another week swamped with my “real” job. I wish enough of you read this that I could quit, but lets just say that is a long ways from happening. So catching up in this busy past week in the racing world, here is my take on what has happened.

NASCAR at the Glen

I actually had time to remember to record this, and managed to squeeze in watching the race. I love Watkins Glen, but the races there have managed to turn into caution flag fests. The sand traps are nice to have, but having 4 or more laps of caution for every car that goes into the gravel in a 90-lap race gets pretty bad. NASCAR used to use localized cautions on road courses, but if the Glen doesn’t replace all of the gravel traps with pavement the races will continue to be this way. With the current money structure, there has to be funds available to pave over the remaining gravel, it sure has helped turn 1.

I am still also wondering why Kevin Harvic was not black flagged for leaking fuel. That was pretty significant.

I love road courses, but if the gravel traps are still there next year, I might spend the day getting caught on the work I have to do my cars.

Jeremy Mayfield vs. Ray Evernham

I was wondering if this was going to turn into a WWE match all season long. It was obvious there was some major tension between the two. I know that Dodge, Nextel, etc. have some serious money tied up in Mayfield promotions. Truth is that the general public seems to think Jeremy is a really nice guy and they enjoy the racing the Charger vs. the Magnum through the car wash or the back and forth banter between Mayfield and Tony Stewart on their Nextel walkie talkie phones. Well the strain between Ray and Jeremy got intense enough that Mayfield was let go. I will not begin to take sides, I like both of them. The #19 Dodge team was just not performing this year for whatever reason. As much as I like Mayfield, I can’t help but feel that he will never again get into a Nextel Cup car that is capable of winning a race or making the Chase to the Cup.

To make it a little more interesting, Kasey Kahne was on a local radio morning show this week. In an off the cuff remark on the air, he said that if he does not make the chase (he currently sits in 11th place 54 points outside the chase) that he will probably not be back at Evernham. Hummmmmm…… I guess a series high 4 wins and 11 top 10 finishes is not enough to keep a ride these days.

Extreme Wednesday

I went with a large group of my Rotary (engine) friends to Extreme Sports Wednesday at Langley Speedway. We had a great time. This is some in car footage from a friend’s 2005 Mustang GT:

Dustin Mergi’s Mustang

Do him a favor and do a right click and save as to watch the video.

Paul Tracy

I can be considered a Paul Tracy fan. I would like to see him win another championship. But he has been driving… like…. Well Mario Andretti lately. He seems to think nobody except him is on the racetrack. This is not even mentioning his off the track…. “events”. I normally say that whenever a driver first gets out of a car, if they go over and punch someone, yell at a course worker, or call someone ……uh.. colorful names when some bimbo announcer sticks a microphone in their face, I can forgive it. In this situation, adrenaline is flowing, and emotions are in full overload. Give them a break. But what is up with Paul the past few weeks.

The Big Cat Fight

At Kentucky Speedway the media hyped up a battle between Danica Patrick and the return of Sarah Fisher to the Indy Racing League. Sarah had been out the series for a number of years. Many said she never had a good car that was capable of winning, but in spite of that she had won two poles in her brief career. Taking into account the competitiveness of women in general, one could understand the envy she had for Danica Patrick. Danica came into the series with a top notch ride, very nearly won the pole for the Indy 500, and managed to milk the sexiness aspect into publicity, which means sponsor dollars and a better car. Well in the race they two of them never really ran together, but both of them ran very good races. Danica again out running her Rahal teammates, and Sarah soundly running in the meat of the field. Afterwards neither of them really mentioned the other in post races interviews, much to the chagrin of the media and the IRL promotional department. I give them both a “well done!”.

Autocross This Weekend

I am going to a Tidewater Sports Car Club autocross at ACU-4 which is probably the best autocross site on the east coast. I will be taking my RX7, and just enjoying myself. For more information about the event check out August 20th, TSCC at ACU-4. Watch for pictures and results on Monday.

Ever want to race cars, but have never found the right first step? If I had a dollar for everyone that has told me this…. you know the rest of that sentence. So many people want to give it a try, but don’t have the car, or the opportunity, or the money or whatever. I can understand all of these things. I have felt most of them myself.

If you are one of these people, The Mazda Zoom Zoom Live is THE place you need to be. For a lack of a better phrase, it is a themepark of racing. Autocross is the place I think every racer should start their racing career. There is much to be learned about simple car control that an autocrosser can master, that honestly many racers these days have not developed.

So the next excuse given by these “want-to-be” racers come up with is “but I don’t have a car to autocross”. Well Mazda has solved that by providing car for everyone. The Zoom Zoom Live events allow anyone to “test drive” a new Mazda on an autocross course. YOU get to autocross Mazda’s cars, at using their tires, their gasoline, etc.

Then comes the cost excuse, “Events like this usually cost more than I can afford right now”. Well these events are FREE. That is right, not only are they free, but everyone that enters get some sort of prize (maybe a T-shirt or a hat) and probably some buying incentives if you are thinking about buying a Mazda anytime soon.

So when the excuses run out, get your but to one of these events. Mazda Expects to have 50,000 entrants over the year. Most of these people will be first time autocrossers, but some will be some of the best in the country. You will have a good benchmark to judge how well you are doing. The only draw back is the lines are similiar to waiting for a ride at a typical theme park. It is best if you get there early on Saturday or late on Sunday.

Go to the web site, find the event close to you, register and GO. Get off the couch, turn off the TV and get in the driver seat. It will open a whole new world to anyone who has never raced. Be there!!!!!

Mazda Zoom Zoom Live!!

The first event is August 12-13 at FedEx Field in Washington DC.

This is what this poster wrote:

Gerkins31:
OK, so a friend of mine was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease 3 years ago and given one year to live (that’s right, math majors, he’s beat the clock for two years so far. He’s had an FD sitting in his garage for a while collecting dust, which he’s always wanted to rebuild. Now that he can’t walk and doesn’t have much strength left in his arms, that dream faded. Until, that is, we got the idea to pool together some money, steal his car overhaulin style, and redo everything on his car exactly the way he always wanted it. It would take too long to list all the things we did/redid/modded, but after 3 weeks, a lot of free labor from friends, and almost 13K , we surprised him with his car on Sunday. I have a couple of movies and around 250 pics, but these give a pretty good idea of Project “Mark’s7.” pay it forward biatch.

Click on the picture for a link to the story

Echoing earlier British reports, Detroit sources say RX-8 will add a two-door coupe and cloth-top convertible in spring 2006 as early-’07 models. Both are likely to be two-seaters on a cut-down RX-8 platform. Don’t rule out unique styling–or the RX-7 name–to brand these as “true” sports cars in the original RX-7 tradition. We’ve heard talk of a larger, 1.6-liter rotary engine that could show up in all three models. Horsepower is whispered at 300 hp in normally aspirated form, and an even more-potent supercharged version is said to be in the works. Stay tuned.

As for the RX-8 itself, sources see no major changes for the next couple of years. A possible exception is availability of a stronger automatic transmission, either a 5- or 6-speed unit, so buyers who choose that option will get the same power as shift-it-yourself RX-8s.