Testing at WSIR

Last month, we were at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park in Rosamond, CA. (www.willowspringsraceway.com) S1 Events (www.s1events.com) was on track, and as we were there to support them, we also were there to meet and test with a new driver, Jeff Bucknum. (www.jeffbucknum.com)

After the introductions, and a quick "tour" of the car, Jeff was ready to hit the track.

I have to say, that weekend was super-hot and SUPER-windy!! I'm amazed that there were that many people there who wanted to suit up and drive!

After a session or two, Jeff de-briefed with Glenn, and asked for a couple of minor changes. Glenn agreed to try a different setting, and got right down to it....LOL no pun intended...


Fortunately, Glenn is really familiar with these cars, so the adjustment took no time at all and Jeff was ready for a couple more sessions.

At the end of the day, Jeff discussed some handling items with Glenn, and decided that he was someone he could work with...HAHA. But seriously, Jeff enjoyed the car and brought it back in one piece...and Glenn was thankful...LOL

We look forward to working with Jeff in the future, and hopefully we will get that chance. Thanks Jeff!

California Speedway May 16-17

This past weekend, we were at California Speedway!

Shields Bergstrom flew in to do a final "shake-down" weekend with Phil's car, and John Trefethen (www.trefethen.com/our-story/one-family/john-trefethen ) was running as well. (info for Shields at www.redflymotorsports.com under advanced driver training)

It was SUPER HOT all weekend, but the guys powered through, and drank lots of water! (the air conditioning in the trailer was a popular spot to take a break...LOL)

I didn't realize that lunch had become a contact sport!! LOL It looks like the guys were definitely hungry...and I brought the right food! HA HA

Phil Blanke from MOTEC came out to help us sort out John's car, and there were a few "tech sessions" in the air conditioned trailer...The good news is, I think the solved virtually all the issues with the MOTEC stuff - YEAH!

Shields did a great job on Saturday...and he had a great time. He ended up 2nd in class for the race! YEAH Shields!!

On Saturday evening, our crew had dinner with Ball Racing. They were gracious enough to host the shindig. We donated tri-tip, pasta salad, shrimp ring, and veggie tray to David's whole turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, and MARGARITAS!! YUMMMMMYY!!

Even though it was hot all weekend, it was a great time for everyone. Shields had a good time on track & came in 2nd in class for his race, John was glad we had been able to work out a lot of the "kinks" in his car & came in 3rd in class for his race.

Fortunately we had no major shunts or damage to either car - although Shields, what did you do to the side window?!?! LOL

S1 Events Day at Willow Springs

Well, 2009 is off to a fun start! We were back at Willow Springs Raceway ( http://www.willowspringsraceway.com/) on Jan 31 for a S1 Events day. (http://www.s1events.com/) We had Chad and his 996 sign up, and Chimeren and Taylor came along. I also convinced my bud Stacy to come up with me and hang out and take lots of pictures.

Phil, the GS car owner came up as well.

We had a new pro driver, Shields Bergstrom, fly out to meet with us and to test the blue GS car on the track. The S1 Events team, has Craig Stanton (http://www.craigstanton.com/ ), Nathan Swartzbaugh (http://www.nathanswartzbaugh.com/ ), and Drew Stavely to do all the instruction for their events.

This was only the 2nd event for S1, but they had like 40 entrants! What a great turnout for them! Those entrants that brought their own cars, brought some pretty ones! There were a number of Porsche's there, GT3 street, 996, RSR, and others. There were a couple of Lotus, and Ferrari's there as well. There was even an Audi R8! What a bunch of great marques assembled together for the day.

GYM (http://www.glennyeemotorsports.com/) loaned about 15 driver suits to S1 for their drivers and a couple helmets as well. Throughout the day, you could see GYM blue driver suits running around.

Lunch was great! They have prime rib with all the fixings! The line was long, but moved quickly as everyone wanted to dig in to the yummy food. At lunch, we had a little surprise for Chad's daughter - it was her birthday. She turned 14! We had a cake for her and Glenn & I gave her one of our retired crew shirts signed by all the pros at the track! (I understand, that the Jonas Brothers poster has now had to find a new home on her wall at home) Craig received a small gift from us too. Because he has worked with us for a few years now, and is just such a fabulous person and friend, we had one of our retired crew shirts embroidered with his name for him.

I made sure Stacy got to get a couple rides on the track. She got to ride with Chad in his 996, and Jim Swartzbaugh gave her a ride in his Porsche street RS. Phil, the GS car owner got to have Nathan take him for a ride in the street RS, and after putting a passenger seat in the GS (borrowed from Chad), Craig gave him a ride in his own car!

Shields had a successful first time in Phil's car. A couple of his sponsors showed up to watch him test the car. Glenn installed the cameras for the data system, and Shields was off and running. Let's hope he (& his sponsors) will want to rent the car for some of the Koni Challenge races this season (fingers crossed)

At the end of the day, everyone had a great time. Lots of track time, good food, good friends and many laughs. Hallie had everyone get together for a group picture by the pit wall.

Check out the slide show below to see all the fun pics of the day!

Ferrari Test Day @ WSIR

On January 21 we had our first day at the track for 2009!

Glenn, Stephan, Joe, Jeff (car owner) and myself were at Willow Springs Raceway ( http://www.willowspringsraceway.com/ ) in Rosamond, CA for testing of the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB4.

Glenn had just finished up working on fixing/updating some suspension and A.I.M. data issues and we were all anxious to see how it worked!

There were a couple minor issues, that just took some small adjustments at the track. There was a little bit of sway bar interference, basically a clearance issue.

All Stephan had to do was grind a small area on the suspension arm.

Glenn was tasked with trying to fix some of the A.I.M. data system malfunctions. He checked the data system info on the computer after each session, but determined that there was too big a mess in the wiring, and configuration ( he even called the A.I.M. tech from the track) to actually be able to do a shake-down with data.

There was a small problem with the throttle pedal, but Stephan was able to take it apart and clean it, then reinstall to fix the problem. A small adjustment, and Jeff was ready for the next session.

Jeff had a great time at the track, and got to run ALL 5 SESSIONS! His times were 13 seconds a lap faster than the last time he had been at this track, and they were consistent all day.

So, with a mildly successful test day at the track, Glenn and Stephan had a list of things to "tweak" before the next test day. Glenn says they had a home run on the suspension, but only a base hit on the data system.

After a long day at the track, there's nothing much better than good mexican food! We all went to eat at a little restaurant down the road from WSIR called The Golden Cantina. (4001 Knox Ave. Rosamond, CA 93560 Tel:661-256-6737) They have tasty food, good margaritas, and have fun and lovely view of a small airstrip. If you're lucky, you'll get to see a small plane takeoff or land. The staff are friendly, and you will definitely leave with your tummy full!