Daytona

[pdub]

It's late at night in our time zone. It's a good thing there's such a thing as video. I can't stop watching the in-car video from Red's runs at Daytona. I just can't stop watching it. It's too much fun. That's the trophy from an unforgettable Track Day, passed a very few, got passed by many. It's a good thing a digital video doesn't wear out like an old VHS tape would.

It was an unsaid thing to myself before we ever went down there, don't hit the wall where Dale Earnhardt did. The exit to Turn Four. Well, you don't have time to think about that when you're driving through there at speed. When you're going through there, even at speed, the view from the track level is incredible. You can see all the way through the tri-oval into Turn One. I mean a LONG way. Let 'er rip Tater Chip, if nobody else is in the way. That's the last thing Dale Earnhardt saw in his life. Gosh, whatta view.

Whatta way to go, and whatta spot to do it in.

[Jimbo17]

Your comment about not hitting the wall on the four turn is interesting because after having an opportunity a few years ago to drive the track and getting up to speeds in the mid 150's I found this corner of the track for some reason to be different then the other corners.

Corners 1, 2 and 3 are more sweeping type corners where you have plenty of room to enter and go through the corners fast but turn 4 you can enter going fast but as you exit the turn the outside wall comes up much faster and you can feel the car starting to drift towards it and it really caught my attention fast !!!

I was in one of the Petty Driving School cars at the time and since they have a different gear in the rear end that only let's the motor turn between 6300 RPM's and 6700 RPM's the only way to really go faster is to drive the car up the track and hold your breath for a while !!!

It really is a great deal of fun to drive Daytona but there is something different about the exit of turn 4 that you have to be careful for sure.

I find it interesting that when you sit in the stands or watch it on TV you don't notice any difference in turn 4 but when you drive the track even at speeds in the mid 150's you realize that you have respect for that turn 4 wall upon exit or you can catch a piece of it.

Just my opinion.
Jim Hill

[pdub]

If Four is not a decreasing radius turn, it sure feels like it, and when we were there, we were running the road course. with the road course setup, the Bus Stop at the end of the long straight interrupts the huge speed of running whole laps on the big track. It dumps you back out onto the big track at the entrance to Three, very close to the Juan Pablo Montoya Memorial Pavement Patch. And then you start accelerating again.

I think big track Turn Four is a decreasing radius turn. You all of a sudden have to steer the car more to get through there and stay off of the wall. But nobody ever talks about that.

[silver_bullet]

..

[pdub]

I found at Daytona you can tell on Track Day who has experience, any sort of track time. In the I Group (Solo) we should have had enough enough track time already to get cleared by an instructor. Or supposed to. I sure did, more than I wanted.

That yellow Dodge, that driver wasn't looking in the mirror. For at least two laps. 5 miles. Staring straight ahead. No idea what was happening around them. It's a 360 degree deal, you'd better watch. Certainly what's ahead is more important, but behind is the whole flow. Hey, at least check a time or two, and be aware.

Going that fast IS intimidating, but if you're focused on the hood and that's all you're focused on, you're not in the game. Just sayin.

[silver_bullet]

Dub... I've had a few hours to think about this, and, I think that by looking at the layout, it may be that the radius doesn't decrease as much as the banking flattening out from 31 degrees to 18 degrees in the transition from turn four to the tri-oval...

[pdub]

Dub... I've had a few hours to think about this, and, I think that by looking at the layout, it may be that the radius doesn't decrease as much as the banking flattening out from 31 degrees to 18 degrees in the transition from turn four to the tri-oval...

Well, it's the same thing coming out of Two onto the back straight. The farther away from the apron you are, the more weird that seems. There's definitely a transition right there but it's something to get used to pretty soon, a couple laps. You'd think it should be the same coming out of Four, but somehow it's not. I think the devil lives in Turn Four. And he's waiting to get you.

[silver_bullet]

https://<iframe src="https://player....Vimeo</a>.</p>

[pdub]

Patrick, can't get that link to work over here....

[pdub]

We paid for pro photos since we were there. A once in a lifetime thing. But now we hope a twice in a lifetime thing, I've just GOT to do that again, it was just too much fun.

This one....here comes more money and cussing and wrench throwing in the garage. All in the pursuit of fun. I've addressed everything on Red, horsepower, brakes, that's all there is, right? Nope, there's still the suspension...I had no idea what was going on until right now...a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. Never mind the bow tie up front, Red's the second one back in the photo. This is bad, we need to fix this.

[silver_bullet]

Patrick, can't get that link to work over here....

try this then....

https://youtu.be/5kaiLcwHXB4

[pdub]

HHahhahahHAHAhAhahahaH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pdub]

Okay, let's talk suspension. Hey, FastEd....HeLLLLLP !!!!!!! Whatcha got on that race-ready ride?

[pdub]

Well DANG.... I may be looking at it wrong, but it looks to me that fast Ed is no longer a BS member.....DANG

[silver_bullet]

Here's the call-out for any Mustang aficionados out there...HELP P-dub sort out mustang suspension!

P-dub... Call Ride Tech Ryan! I'm sure he can give some up-front constructive criticism... he'll probably help you with your suspension too....