Falken Tires is now a part of making Track Night in America the absolute fastest way to get on track. The Falken FastPass is designed to let drivers in Track Night Advanced and Intermediate groups to move quickly through all the information needed for participation at Track Night in America events. The goal is to take participants from the entry gate to the thrill of on-track driving in the shortest amount of time possible.
Additionally, Falken Tires joins Tire Rack and others as a Technical Partner for the Track Night program. Through this partnership, Falken is able to provide technical information, product information and tips to ensure Track Night participants get the most out of their tires and their on-track experience.
“Falken is consistently looking for events and opportunities to introduce our tires to potential customers,” added Jonathon Bradford, Falken’s Motorsports and Events Manager. “The fact that many young people today are less likely to buy a car, much less get a driver’s license, may sound discouraging, but programs such as SCCA’s Track Night, which are introducing more people to driving and car culture, are exactly what we need, in virtually every community. Between events such as this and our sponsorship of various other motorsports, we want to be as involved in grassroots marketing efforts that introduce our brand and the passion driving brings as possible.”
Heyward Wagner, Director of Experiential Programs for SCCA, echoed Bradford’s thoughts. “SCCA is proud to announce Falken Tires as the presenting sponsor of Track Night’s FastPass program. From the real-world proving grounds of motorsports, Falken brings products to performance driving that are proven to give an exhilarating experience on the street and track. It is a natural fit for Falken to be part of the Track Night Technical Partner Team and exciting for us to see Tire Rack now offering a selection of their products,” Wagner said.
To celebrate Falken Tires partnering with Track Night in America, all Track Night event entries for the remainder of May are eligible for $25 off by using the code “I<3Falken” when registering for an event at http://www.TrackNightinAmerica.com.
SCCA Track Night in America Driven by Tire Rack is a non-competitive, entertaining, easy and inexpensive way for nearly anyone who loves cars or motorsports to get on a racecourse in their own vehicle during weeknights. All that is required is that participants be at least 18 years old with a valid driver’s license and have access to a helmet and street car in good working condition. The cost is never greater than $150 per event, and no previous on-track experience or Sports Car Club of America membership is required.
Drivers participate in the Advanced, Intermediate or KONI Novice Experience group so on-track activities remain fun for all. Everyone gets three 20-minute sessions on course, as well as feedback from SCCA driver coaches on site. Admission is free for people who just want to stop by and watch the fun, and leisurely circuit parade laps are provided for all Track Night guests.
About Falken Tires: Falken Tires, the official tire of Major League Baseball, is a global, full-line tire manufacturer with a long history of delivering high quality, high value products for cars and trucks. Falken Tires, the company’s North American arm, is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and serves as the West Coast distribution center. The company currently manufactures and markets 14 car and light-truck tire models under seven lines in nine categories and 300 sizes. The company also makes and sells a full lineup of medium truck (OTR) tires for commercial use. Additional distribution locations can be found in Illinois, New Jersey, Texas and Florida. Founded in 1983, Falken Tires is a subsidiary of the 105-year old Sumitomo Rubber Industries in Japan. For more information, visit falkentire.com, @FalkenTire on Twitter, or facebook.com/falkentire.
About SCCA: The Sports Car Club of America, Inc., founded in 1944, is a 65,000-member motorsports organization that incorporates all facets of autocross, rally and road racing at both club and professional levels. With headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, the SCCA annually sanctions over 2,000 events through its 115 Regions and professional subsidiary. To learn more, please visit http://www.scca.com.
Springtime in the Mid-Atlantic means Mother Nature gives you a little bit of everything, and that’s exactly what competitors got at the Tire Rack Washington DC ProSolo this past weekend.
Rain on Friday during course setup gave way to beautiful skies and dry pavement for practice starts and course walks. The sun was back out on Saturday and temperatures climbed into the 70s throughout the morning, but a rainstorm moved in during Group 4’s afternoon runs leaving more than half of the drivers without a chance to improve. Sunday brought challenging conditions, with high winds keeping course workers busy chasing windswept cones and low temperatures leaving many struggling to build heat in their tires.
The courses by Lee Piccione featured long uphill straightaways at the start, with long downhill acceleration zones separated by a mix of slower on- and off-camber corners. Finishing up with off-camber entries to three-cone slaloms, both sides made it very challenging to put together a fast run. Even if you hit every mark perfectly, a bad launch up the hill would negate the rest of your run. When drivers got everything right, it was a very rewarding experience.
B Street saw a great four-way battle between Justin Whitehead in his 370Z and a trio of Corvettes driven by Andrew Graul, Joseph Barbato and Ricardo de Leon. Barbato had the fastest left-side time on day one, but coned away his fast right-side times. Graul posted the fastest right-side time and earned the top spot for Saturday, and Whitehead stuck it to the other Corvettes with a combined time just two tenths behind Graul. On Sunday morning, Barbato stayed clean and put down the fastest right-side time, moving himself to the front of the pack. Also on a mission to jump a few positions, de Leon threw down the fastest left-side time and leapfrogged to second place, just nine thousandths ahead of Graul. With only a hair more than half a second between the top four drivers, it was quite a show.
Street Touring Sport also put on quite the spectacle with a similar shakeup on Sunday. With a wet course on Saturday afternoon, the Class was left standing on their times from the first heat. Julian Garfield had the lead by half a tenth over Benjamin Wagstaff, with Mike Snyder just two tenths behind. On Sunday, Garfield was unable to find time as first driver on cold tires and was bested by his father, Brian Garfield. Wagstaff jumped into first place with the fastest left-side time and Snyder moved up to second with the fastest right-side time, with the Garfields rounding out the trophies.
In the Ladies Challenge, Rachel Baker knocked out Stephanie Reeve and Tamra Hunt to get to the final round. After a red-light by Shelly Monfort, Sara Odioso then took out Jennifer Bedell in the second round. Feeling the pressure, Baker coned her left-side run and handed the win to Odioso. The Bonus Challenge saw Laurence Casey against Wojtek Hajduczek in the final round, with Hajduczek edging out Casey for the win.
The Super Challenge saw breakout after breakout as the day’s temperatures peaked and drivers finally got some heat into the tires. After facing Chris Faircloth in the opening round, John Vitamvas moved on to face Mark Daddio in the second round. Daddio pushed a bit too hard and tagged a cone, allowing Vitamvas to continue on to defeat Cy Lee in the quarterfinal and Sam Strano in the semifinal. Fresh off his dominant Street Touring Xtreme win, David Marcus bested Michael Natilli in the first round, Mike Snyder in round two, and Ryan Lower in the quarterfinal. Billy Davis fought hard against Marcus in the semifinal, but it was Marcus that got to face Vitamvas in the final round. Vitamvas took the hard-fought victory, his first-ever Super Challenge win.
Two cars running two side by side mirror image courses, starting with a dragstrip style start complete with Christmas tree. If you are naughty and leave too soon, you get a red light and no time instead of a stocking full of coal. But if you start well, Santa’s gift to you is harrowing launch into a slightly shorter and slightly less technical version of a Championship tour course. Once you finish your side, you switch immediately to the opposite side and run the mirror image of what you just ran. Rinse and repeat one more time for a total of two runs each side, and you are done for the session. There are three sessions over the weekend. The combination of the lights, the launch, watching a car take off next to you, and having very little time between runs to compose your thoughts lead to the most exhilarating autocross experience you can have.
And ProSolo at Mineral Wells is exceptional.
In 2015, Mineral Wells had the longest ProSolo course of all the locations on the ProSolo tour, almost twice the length of Packwood or Toledo. The site is an airport tarmac at the local airport that was previously used for helicopter parking/training. The tarmac area is close to square so the course is not out and back like perhaps Blytheville, instead there is usually more space for it wrap around. This enables the course designers to put different elements than you might see on other ProSolo courses. Here are some of my co-driver’s runs from last year:
While not a high grip concrete site like some places in the country. Mineral Wells does have asphalt that has aged very well but still stays together well enough to avoid becoming a gravel trap (although you will want to stay on the driving line by the end or the weekend). And over the course of the weekend the line will rubber in and the times will drop significantly. 60ft Times were only about a tenth slower than the ProSolo Finale last year. The site has a slight grade to it which causes the mirror courses to be angled the same direction so an on camber turn on the right side may be off camber on the left side. This tends to work itself out over the entire run but as with most ProSolo courses one side is usually faster than the other.
The town of Mineral Wells welcomes us with open arms each year. Despite not being big enough for their own Home Depot (The nearest one is in Weatherford, 25miles to the east), Mineral Wells is quite the tourist destination. SCCA events are far from the only game that comes through town and the citizens of Mineral Wells are quiet accustomed to motorsports enthusiasts like ourselves. Downtown Mineral wells still has some interesting buildings left from its heyday, when people would travel there to enjoy the mineral springs, including the abandoned Baker Hotel.
The Mineral Wells is one of the only events I have attended to have parties/dinner for the competitors both evenings. Vorshlag graciously sponsors a welcome party Friday night and The Mineral Wells Chamber of Commerce brings out BBQ for every one on Saturday night.
Camping is allowed on site, and Mineral Wells has many comfortable newer hotels nearby. If you at looking to arrive and drive, DFW airport is less than a 90-minute drive away, and you are likely to negotiate a co-drive with any number of Texas autocrossers.
Come to Mineral Wells, June 4th-5th, and experience Texas Sized ProSolo.
Springtime in the mid-Atlantic means that Mother Nature gives you a little bit of everything, and that’s exactly what competitors got at the 2016 DC ProSolo this past weekend. Rain on Friday during course setup gave way to beautiful skies and dry pavement for practice starts and course walks. The sun was back out on Saturday and temperatures climbed into the 70s throughout the morning runs, but a rainstorm moved in during Group 4’s afternoon runs leaving more than half of the drivers without a chance to improve. Sunday brought challenging conditions, with high winds keeping course workers busy chasing windswept cones and low temperatures leaving many struggling to build heat in their tires.
The courses by Lee Piccione featured long uphill straightaways at the start, with long downhill acceleration zones separated by a mix of slower on- and off-camber corners. Finishing up with off-camber entries to three-cone slaloms, both sides made it very challenging to put together a fast run. Even if you hit every mark perfectly, a bad launch up the hill would negate the rest of your run. When you got everything right, it was very rewarding to drive. A big thanks to Lee for his excellent use of the lot at FedEx Field.
B Street saw a great four-way battle between Justin Whitehead in his 370Z and a trio of Corvettes driven by Andrew Graul, Ricardo de Leon, and Joseph Barbato. Barbato had the fastest left-side time on day one, but coned away his fast right-side times. Graul posted the fastest right-side time and earned the top spot for Saturday, and Whitehead stuck it to the other Corvettes with a combined time just two tenths behind Graul. On Sunday morning, Barbato stayed clean and put down the fastest right-side time, moving himself to the front of the pack. Also on a mission to jump a few positions, de Leon threw down the fastest left-side time and leapfrogged to second place, just nine thousandths ahead of Graul. With only a hair more than half a second between the top four drivers, it was quite a show.
Street Touring Sport also put on quite the spectacle with similar shakeup on Sunday. With a wet course on Saturday afternoon, the class was left standing on their times from the first heat. Julian Garfield had the lead by half a tenth over Benjamin Wagstaff, with Mike Snyder just two tenths behind. On Sunday, Garfield was unable to find time as first driver on cold tires and was bested by his father Brian. Wagstaff jumped into first place with the fastest left-side time and Snyder moved up to second with the fastest right-side time, with the Garfields rounding out the trophies.
In the Ladies Challenge, Rachel Baker knocked out Stephanie Reeve and Tamra Hunt to get to the final round. After a red-light by Shelly Monfort, Sara Odioso then took out Jennifer Bedell in the second round. Feeling the pressure, Baker coned her left-side run and handed the win to Odioso. The bonus challenge saw Laurence Casey against Wojtek Hajducze in the final round, with Hadjudcze edging out Casey for the win.
The Super Challenge saw breakout after breakout as the day’s temperatures peaked and drivers finally got some heat into the tires. After facing Chris Faircloth in the opening round, John Vitamvas moved on to face Mark Daddio in the second round. Daddio pushed a bit too hard and tagged a cone, allowing Vitamvas to continue on to defeat Cy Lee in the quarterfinal and Sam Strano in the semifinal. Fresh off his dominant STX win, David Marcus bested Michael Natilli in the first round, Mike Snyder in round two, and Ryan Lower in the quarterfinal. Billy Davis fought hard against Marcus in the semifinal, but it was Marcus that got to face Vitamvas in the final round. Vitamvas took the hard-fought victory, his first-ever Super Challenge win.
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