Thunderhill Raceway, February 26th 2005

THUNDERHILL RACEWAY
February 26th 2005

Saturday was the first time I have had the opportunity to take a ride on a track in a car. The only track time I have had was a bicycle race at Laguna Seca I competed in back in high school (the hill was a bitch, but the corkscrew was awesome). I took a visit to Thunderhill to meet Sean to pick up some springs for my TT. Driving in, I muttered to myself, "Damn, I need to hang out here more often," as I drove past race prepped BMWs and Porsches. Sean had offered to give me a ride in his silver EVO (#680), so earlier in the week I picked up a G-FORCE helmet. The ride was an incredible experience, almost as good as the bobsled ride I took at the Olympic track in Utah. At the first corner I thought I was going to pee my pants. That feeling lasted for most of the first lap. The next couple laps I thought I might puke. By the end, I couldn't get a stupid-happy grin off my face. After exiting the track, Sean and I found the guy we had been chasing around for most of the session. Patrick was driving a nicely prepped white Evo with a red flaming number 69 on each side and complete roll cage. I spent the rest of my time walking around taking pics of the cars on the track and in the lot, and talking with other drivers and spectators.

The whole drive home I spent thinking of setting up my TT for autocross racing and my recent talks with Ed at Motorsport Dynamics about my suspension and wheel/tire plans. I suspect I'll be giving Ed another visit very soon, but this time with cash in hand.

Click images for a larger picture