In reply to adam525i :
That is the old Asheville speedway in NC. It's been repurposed into a community park. The track is striped with lanes for walking/skating/biking and there's a roller hockey rink in the center. It's a real nice park and cool to see the history being somewhat preserved rather than demolishing the track.
edit: looks like you're right. It is indeed a velodrome.
In reply to Lof8 - Andy
That explains the low banking and now that I see it, slightly odd shape. Really cool to see it preserved and used though. It's known as the "Mellowdrome" lol
GCrites80s said:OK, so BMW bottle caps on Corollas. As much of a revelation as seeing 3rd Gen Camaros with BMW wheels bolted right on.
Check this out. Miata wheels on a 'rolla looking real smooth!
Bummer response regarding SXSs at rallyx nationals this year:
Hi Andrew, unfortunately we are not going to allow UTVs at the National Championship this year. We are continuing to evaluate the safety concerning rollovers. Our safety team is going to make it a point to gather as much data as possible this year as to give us a better idea if more rules need to be implemented to keep everybody safe or if we are good to go with what we currently have. Thanks for your inquiry.
Putnam County Speedway in Palatka had been sitting dormant for a year or two, but recently a new owner took possession and scheduled a night of SXS "stadium" races. My YXZ has had the engine out for a couple of weeks for a rebuild, so I didn't have any means to attend. Until a buddy of mine offered to let me race one of his backup cars. I love driving new tracks, so I took him up on it. Turns out his backup car is a fairly beat Polaris RZR 1000 that I'd be sharing with his daughter, who would run it in a different class. I got to do a few practice laps, and man, it is faaar from my YXZ. It has a stock seat (no side support), 4 point harness, and steering like a school bus - approximately 30 turns lock to lock. It was so bad, I was actually hesitant to pilot it in a race. But "unfortunately" the machine overheated during his daughter's first race and wasn't able to continue. So I cracked a beer and spectated the remainder of the races. The track was pretty cool, but the jumps were designed rather poorly - larger jumps to flat landings. Spectating was fun, got to experience a new track and one of my buddies won his first wheel-to-wheel race - overall a fun night despite not racing myself.
My Dad is starting to age pretty quickly. He loses his train of thought pretty regularly and struggles to find the words he's trying to say often. It sucks. So I invited him out to the Sebring track night in America with me. The goal was to put him behind the wheel for the slower paced "track touring" laps but he didn't feel up for that. So I drove those and he rode shotgun. I was able to hang back and give him a few hard rips through some of the corners. I attribute my passion for cars and racing to the many trips we took to Sebring as I was growing up. Kind of sad to think these were likely his last laps around the track. My mom seems to think his doctor may be taking his license soon. :/
we had a great time today :)
In reply to Lof8 - Andy :
Soak up every moment bro. You are an A+ son for taking your Dad out on track. I know it meant the world to him. Life is short. Get busy living. See you soon man. Ill be Praying for your dad.
Thanks Jon! I'm doing my best to have as much fun with him as I can!
Good news on the YXZ engine. Block, pistons, and head are all good. It needs some valves and rings and will be headed back to me early next week!
Very cool that you were able to get him out! Those are great memories to have for both of you!
Since picking up the Spyder 5 years ago, my main goal has been a Challenge autox win. The first 3 years netted 3 2nd place finishes, by tenths of a second. Last year I won the GTU$ class autocross but it was a 2nd overall. Yesterday was finally the day! 1st overall by .026 seconds over Jonathan's ninja turtle miata. There were 5 or 6 cars with a legitimate shot at the win, all putting down times in the 50s. I had 5 dirty runs and finally put up a clean one on my last competition run. The Challenge is always a blast but this one is extra special! It was great to see the GRM family!
In reply to Lof8 - Andy :
Congrats. Well deserved.
Yes, huge congratulations! Tight, tight field and it was your day!!
I used my Challenge winnings to order some H&R sway bars for the e36 from Tirerack 
My wife and I decided that we should sell our lil RZR and jet ski (that we've used once in a year of ownership) and get a 4 seater RZR, so we can bring more friends on off-road adventures. This was the cheapest one on marketplace by about $4k and needs a lil bit of unberkeleying. The original owner apparently thought he was Xzibit and loaded it up with speakers, amp and LEDs, none of which work anymore.
also pulled the Crown Vic over to the lift bay. Freedom Factory is hosting another Vic race next weekend. It's still in rallyx mode - needs rear tires swapped and front alignment adjusted. The following week, it's right back to rallyx mode for the Firm. Fingers crossed no major damage at the roundy rounds!
In reply to Lof8 - Andy :
Congrats again sir! Still dont know how you went that fast with those massive cajones...
surfshibby07 said:In reply to Lof8 - Andy :
Congrats again sir! Still dont know how you went that fast with those massive cajones...
Lol! Thank you! Flat footing that viper takes more nads than I got!
I had the old 2 seater RZR on marketplace and received a trade offer this morning for a RHD honda Torneo SiR. It's pretty much the same as an Accord from what I gather. I told him to bring it over. It's real clean, ice cold a/c, 2.0 Vtec engine (f20b) FL title and only 75,000 miles. The bads are an odd sparkle in the paint color, auto trans and a broken rear view mirror. It's interesting and driving from the wrong side is kind of fun, so I made the trade. Not really sure what the plan is yet. Might throw on some better oem wheels.
the sidewall flex in these Avons is pretty wild. The tread width is an inch wider than the rim width. In this photo, you'd think the tires were stretched significantly onto the rim.
In reply to Lof8 - Andy :
That is super cool!
The Freedom Factory race a couple of weekends ago got canceled for reasons that aren't real clear. I intended to pull the Vic up to Auburndale, instead, to try out a new track, but rain threatened enough that I decided not to make the tow. But last weekend was a Firm rallyx and that was a blast as always! Here's a cool drone video from one of my runs.
That looks like an incredible amount of fun.
Is that Tahoe stuck in the ditch? Sure looks stuck.
AxeHealey said:That looks like an incredible amount of fun.
Is that Tahoe stuck in the ditch? Sure looks stuck.
Lol, I think its just one of the Firm staff/corner workers. But they might be stuck, I dunno.
A couple times the drone was looking at you down low in front. Were you conscious of it at all during this run?
TurnerX19 said:A couple times the drone was looking at you down low in front. Were you conscious of it at all during this run?
Yeah, you can see it at times! At the end of one run, the pilot sat right in front of me for a few seconds. I gave him a thumbs up. I haven't seen him post that one up yet. There were at least 2 drones flying most of the day.
The recent announcement of SCCA "club spec", where the club plans to pick a chassis and let people compete across multiple disciplines, got me thinking. The Lemons team I'm on races a '96 Corolla and 2 of my teammates also own beater/rallyx corollas. I decided it's my turn to grab a Corolla and we should mimic the Club Spec with our beaters. CFCC, or Central Florida Corolla Cup is what we're calling it. We're just going to pick random autox, rallyx, and time trial events where we can all get together and see who can set up and pilot a Corolla E36 M3 box the best!
I found this "Chevy Prizm" in Orlando for $1500 otd at a buy here pay here lot. 5 speed, 200k miles, runs great, cold a/c!
the "spec" suspension seems to be these $275 Amazon coilovers, as that's what's on the lemons car, and it works great, especially for the price!
add some free e30 bottle caps and 14" Azenis from my old circle track neon.
I bought the car Friday, installed the coilovers Sunday, and here we are! I need to lower the rear a bit more, but she feels planted!
I plan to fix some shifter slop and add a race seat and a few other driver comfort tweaks. I'm pretty excited to toss around this lil Econo beater! Under $2k for sure, so maybe a Challenge is in its future too!
In reply to Lof8 - Andy :
I love this idea. Those little corollas are awesome! I love running 14in wheels because those Azenis are probably the best deal in Motorsports. $100 on amazon free shipping on amazing to your door. Its so awesome. We are building a similar setup with a little civic we got. We want it to be a beater car we can let friends drive at track days and rallies etc.
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