Sunday, July 23, 2017

Testing with Dave at NNJR SCCA

Nationals is only 6 weeks from now and this is the first time this season I've been able to take Bumblestook out for some home region testing with the NNJR SCCA at the Meadowlands. I asked Dave Corsaro  to codrive with me for this event so he could help me quickly dial the car in. Although we had the threat of rain, first heat ran mostly without a hitch in the dry but then the skies suddenly opened up just before our heat.

NNJR SCCA - Meadowlands, NJ - 7-23-2017
Our first two runs were done completely in the wet and it was a pure exercise of car control as Bumblestook wanted to drift more than she wanted to go straight. The course started drying up by my third run but just as Dave was about to go for his first dry-ish lap, the skies opened up again, wetting the dried parts of the course once more. Thankfully though we got a break and it finally did stop raining and a combination of winds and hot conditions allowed us to take our final 2 runs in the dry. 

Dave about to go out for his first lap in wet conditions- 7-23-2017
Dave identified a slight push in the car in our 5th runs and wanted some more front bite so we took out some front compression. I took my final run and the car felt much better. I dropped a good chunk of time and the course was now completely dry (well at least the racing line was). Dave finally got to drive Bumblestook at full speed for the first time and set a good raw time but nicked a cone in the slalom. Unfortunately that was the extent of our testing. The pace was definitely there to compete for the top spots but we ran out of runs. I may try to raise the rear bar a bit at the next event to get just slightly more rotation. It's tricky to tell based on today's data as the conditions were constantly changing. Overall though, I think it was a successful day. Her power delivery with the new tune was smooth, the new alignment seems to be balancing the car well and the handling is ballpark where we need it to be so it's just minor adjustments from here on out. 

NNJR SCCA - 7-23-2017