It was a great weekend at the wannaGOFAST GA 1/2 mile event. I really look forward to this one as it is 2 hours from my house. There were a lot of friends and my family there. On Saturday, I hit a new personal best of 178.00mph. The car had 180+ in it but I couldn’t keep the wheels from spinning…even at 178mph while crossing the traps! It made for a crazy ride every single pass.
The main reason every run was so scary was that I think the rear shocks are finally completely blown. The rear end of the car was bouncing really bad and it was making the suspension light come on every time the nitrous hit. Having the rear end weight and unweight at those speeds isn’t the safest thing to do. On one pass, a friend of mine went to record it with his phone to eventually just drop it and start running because he thought I was about to put the car in the trees. Luckily, I lifted and was able to get it straight…but by that time I was already in the wrong lane! The ride home was really rough like there isn’t even any fluid left in them. I have been wanting to upgrade the suspension for a long time now so this is the perfect opportunity to look at aftermarket options to really get the car to hook. Because of this…this write-up isn’t a pass by pass reading like the others. All of the passes were a mess and I was nervous to start every nitrous pass of the weekend.
That said…for those of you that know the GA track…it is not a record setting event at all so I am still extremely happy with 178mph especially with the traction issues I was having. 180 soon…
By far the highlight of the weekend was being able to race with my wife for the first time in her M3. This was her first time racing ever and she enjoyed the hell out of it. I don’t know how…but she was able to pull off back to back 135mph runs in a car that is only supposed to do 131mph in the half. She was driving the hell out of the car and now she wants to go faster. I foresee an ESS blower in her future!
We even got to line up for a pass. I needed to do a boost only log (as it turned out I fouled a plug on the previous nitrous pass). She left early on me on purpose! I was able to pass her half track on 7 cylinders. It was awesome watching her drive.
As always…the support from Vengeance Racing at the event was outstanding for both me and my wife. I really couldn’t have this much fun with a car without those guys. This had to be the best time I have ever had at a 1/2 mile event. While my setup wasn’t working the way I wanted (the power was there and the car was running great…I just couldn’t get it to the ground), being able to enjoy this with my wife and race with her is something I will never forget. I can’t wait to do it all again with both cars faster. She is officially addicted to 1/2 mile racing.
Also a huge thanks to Danny, Ryan and the rest of the Shine Auto Salon crew for the hospitality for me and the family over the weekend. The lake house was awesome and it was great hanging out with friends over the weekend.