Winter Upgrade

As we wait for the next racing season to roll around, we constantly think of ways in which to improve the car. Of course we must constrain our ideas to those that will not add any modification points so we are not bumped up into the next class. That brings us to the modification of the day..... brake ducts! With our ever increasing speeds going into every corner, we rely more and more on our brakes. In the past we've seen our brakes get so hot they burst in flames (nothing serious but still very very hot). One of the consequences of repeatedly heating of the brakes this high is that the rotors start to form pretty serious stress cracks. So the idea here is these new ducts will both improve our current braking performance by keeping rotor temps down, and increase the lifespan of our rotors.

Season Finale

This past weekend found us down in Kansas at Heartland Park Topeka for the final race of the season. To start, this was an amazing track, definitely one our top favorite tracks. It's a fairly highspeed track with a couple good straights combined with a good variety of corners and elevation changes. It took a few laps to figure out that layout and come up to speed, but after that our pace was great. Even though we were the only ones to show for TTB we were enjoying running laptimes within those in the TTU ranks. Since this was the first time NASA has been to HPT our best laptime of 1:52.110 set the benchmark in TTB for next year. On top of all that, we claimed the Championship for NASA Central Region Time Trials B!

It was a great way to end the season and we really look forward to returning next year even stronger.

Check out the video below to see a few hot laps around Heartland Park Topeka as we chase a TTU Corvette and pass at TTU Lotus Exige. 

MPH - Round Two

We found ourselves at Motorsport Park Hastings again this past Labor day weekend. It was another hot one will temps dipping into the 90s. Thankfully our new oil cooler was up to the task and did a great job keeping the car running cool all weekend long. The weekend finished out with us taking another two 1st place finishes and we even reset our lap record set back in May to a new blistering 1:37.002. Check out the video below, lap 3 is our record setting lap. Otherwise we will be back at it in October for the last race of the season down in Kansas City.

Mid-Season Upgrade

After the sweltering heat we endured during our last event at MAM back in July, we decided the car could still use some improvements in the cooling department. During that event we saw oil and water temps constantly hovering around 220 and 250 degree respectively. Since we already upgraded to an aluminum core radiator at the start of the season the next step is to improve cooling of the oil. From the factory the STi lacks a oil-to-air cooled setup. There is however a small oil-to-water cooler right above the oil filter that in race situation is more than likely acting as a oil/water heater more than anything. This is where our new oil cooler setup steps in.

This setup, consisting of a Setrab oil cooler, should help keep our operating temps in check 

Video from MPH

A little bit behind, but better late then never. Check out our latest clip of a couple laps around Motorsport Park Hastings back in May! I'll work on getting out some footage from MAM within the next few days

Mid Season & Mid America Motorplex

What a HOT weekend! Literally though it was extremely hot this past weekend at MAM. Most of Saturday was well into the 90s and I do believe it got up slightly over 100. Sunday was a little better starting off with a cooler morning the low 80s but quickly rose after lunch. It was brutal.

The weekend was a fun one though (when isn’t time on track fun?) even with it being as hot as it was. It was nice to return to MAM since it had been 2 years since we were last here. Nothing has really changed, it’s still the same extremely flat, wide, and fast track it was before. From the grandstand you can see the entire track, actually you can see straight across the track even when you’re driving on it. The overall showing for this event was lighter than normal, I would contribute that to it being the first time NASA Central has run at this track and probably more so because of the extreme heat. Even with our upgraded aluminum core radiator our STi was struggling to keep water and oil temps in check. We will be looking into an external oil cooler setup for the future.

Both Saturday and Sunday followed along similarly, winning both with a best of 1:44.5 and 1:44.25 respectively. Also since this was the first time NASA Central has been at the track our 1:44.25 set the mark as the TTB track record for MAM. These two wins put us into the lead for the TTB season championship. Here’s a quote from a recent NASA Central news letter:

TTB has been all about Team STi Guys in their well prepared Subaru WRX. With a 200 point lead they can wrap up the championship with two more events. Region Director Matt Rivard has been threatening to run his Mazda RX8 in TTB as well as PTB but teething problems keep getting in the way. Will Rivard make Team STi Guys work for their next win?

Our next event will be over Labor Day weekend back at MPH as we’ll have to miss the August event at MAM.  Hopefully we’ll be bringing along our good friend Rex in his ultra modified Acura TL.

MPH in Nebraska

It was a fun weekend in Nebraska. Was our first time visiting the Motorsport Park Hastings track, and it was a fun challenge to learn a new course. The track is pretty flat with a few slight elevation changes, fairly high speed straights, and number of challenging corners. Overall a good weekend with a couple 1st place finishes and a new track record! 

Next event will be at the end of June at MAM. It's been a couple years since we've last been there but it's a fun track and we're really looking forward to visiting it again. Until then, watch for pictures and video from this past weekend. 

New Season - Autobahn

The season opening event at Autobahn a couple weeks ago was a blast! Always great to get back on track from a long winter break. The weather was slightly cool and very windy, but it was sunny and dry so we absolutely couldn't complain. Jumping back into the pace of things we took 3rd both days. Check out video below to get a glimpse of the weekends action!

Master Transfer

We'd like thank our newest sponsor, Master Transfer, for supporting us going into the 2012 season! 

Master Transfer was started by George & Jack Master and has been in operation since the late 1940’s. We started as a small local cartage company with 5 trucks and it stayed that way until 1998 when Chad and Mark Master took over the business.  With their vision and drive, they have grown Master Transfer into a full service On Demand & logistics company servicing twelve Midwestern states with over 120 trucks and 250 trailers.  As we continue to grow with the help of our valued customers, you can be assured that Master Transfer will continue to stay on top of industry trends and lead the way.  Whether you need one pallet across town or a truck load across state lines, MASTER TRANSFER IS YOUR ON DEMAND SPECIALIST!

Check out their site at www.mastertransfer.com