We were originally grouped with Spec Racer Fords, but we wanted to be able to dice a bit on track with our competitors, so we requested a switch to the Improved Touring group.
Before the race, we corner-weighted the car.
Post-race, we scaled in perfectly: Just 8 pounds over minimum weight.
After the Saturday race, the only maintenance the car needed was a tire rotation. Our new marketing assistant, Darren Vannoy, doubled as our pit crew for the weekend.
Thank you, sandwich, for providing both nutrition and a little road-hugging weight.
Our B-Spec Ford Fiesta did great during our SCCA drivers school. Now it was time for the car’s first on-track event, the Louella Cook Memorial Race at Georgia’s Roebling Road Raceway.
During the initial weigh-in, we came in just a few pounds below minimum. Solution: Eat a big lunch. Insurance on top of that solution: Run the car with a full tank of gas.
On Saturday, we discovered that our run group was mostly Spec Racer Fords. These purpose-built racers are considerably faster—not to mention much lower to the ground—than our little Fiesta. As a result, we found ourselves driving in our mirrors, a truly nervous situation.
For Sunday’s race, we requested a switch to the Improved Touring group. This move gave us some people to dice with, providing a much more fun experience.
End result? Two first-place finishes that weekend plus the B-Spec track record. Okay, so technically we were the only B-Spec car at the track, but a win is a win, right? Post-race, we weighed in a scant 8 pounds above our minimum weight. Glad we ran with an extra fuel load.
The car was dead-nuts reliable, too. It didn’t require a drop of fluid or any surprise repairs. The only work we needed to do all weekend was rotate the tires. Roebling is composed of mostly fast, right-hand sweepers, so the front-left tire does most of the work.
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