Farewell to Panic Motorsports

Steve Bartok, the head of Panic Motorsports, working with the NMS Miata on the Panic Dyno some years ago. If you need a Dyno for your garage, this one is for sale. 

Around Columbia South Carolina and much of the Southeastern USA, Panic Motorsports has long been the go-to shop for all things Miata racing. However, they've recently announced that they are closing, so we'd just like to thank them for various projects they did for NMS, mostly on Brian's Miatas, but also on installing a new sway bar on my FIAT 500 Abarth.  While it's still there, here's the PANIC MOTORSPORTS website: 

PANIC MOTORSPORTS LINK

Another busy day at Panic Motorsports.

If you're in the Columbia SC area, you might be interested in visiting Panic on the weekend of January 4-5 for their going out of business sale. Odds are if you are in the market for anything Miata related, they've probably still got it! Brian and I got a sneak preview before Christmas, and they have a few vehicles, maybe a race car, and lots of tools and other gear for sale. Need a car dyno? They've got one!

Here's the blurb from the PANIC MOTOSPORTS FACEBOOK page: 

   "THIS WEEKEND'S Panic Motorsports' ULTIMATE Garage Sale! Join us at the shop:

    1475 Old Dunbar Rd, West Columbia, SC 29172

    Saturday, 4 January 2025, 8am-5pm

    Sunday, 5 January 2025, 8am until we're worn out"

NMS TOP TEN OF 2024

2024 with NMS in Victory Lane!

Here we are at the end of another year, and before we plan for 2025, let's review 2024. Since I'm a big fan of a good TOP TEN LIST, or a funny TOP TEN LIST, or pretty much just about ANY OLD TOP TEN LIST, (and I'm pretty sure we did at least 10 interesting car related things this year) let's count down the NMS TOP TEN for 2024! Oh, and as always, this list may not have exactly 10 things. Your mileage may vary. Void in Greenland. No wagering!

10: Tools, Tires, Lights

I think I bought more tools this year than any previous year, inspired mostly by the student discounts from Snap-On for being enrolled in Auto Tech school.  As usual, I bought tires, and even sold some I didn't need too! Light wise, I bought flashlights and a UV flashlight for AC leaks to use in school, and with Brian's help installed LED lights in my garage. If you can't see what you're doing, get more lights! A fair amount of tools also came from Harbor Freight, which you should be able to find near you. 

GARAGE LIGHTS

TIRES

NEW JACK CITY

McLaren Senna, my car of the year

9: McLaren Senna

I attended a lot of car shows and Cars and Coffee events, and saw a lot of nice cars, but the stand-out of this year was spotting a McLaren Senna at the Lamborghini of Charlotte Exotics and Espresso event. Just about anything related to former driver and 3 time F1 world champion Ayrton Senna gets my attention, so seeing one of the 500 McLaren automobiles named for him is always very cool. If you're looking to buy one, the Internet says they go for about 2 million dollars. Speaking of Senna, there is a new series on Netflix about him that just started last week too.  

SENNA AT CARS AND COFFEE

Bowling Green Kentucky is the home of today's Corvette. 

8: Corvette Museum Visit

In the midst of some other traveling this summer, we managed to cruise into Bowling Green Kentucky and visit the Corvette museum. While I may not ever drive a Corvette, I have a big appreciation for them and it was cool to see a lot of new and old models on display. When I win the lottery I'll consider ordering one and then taking delivery inside the museum, since that's one of the cool options that Chevrolet offers. We saw several new cars lined up inside just waiting for their new owners to show up that day. I'm also happy to report that they have repaired the sink hole that swallowed up some of the museum's cars a few years back! If you're looking for more to do in Kentucky then drink bourbon and go to the horse races, visit the home of the Corvette!

CORVETTE MUSEUM

NMS #86 Nissan 350Z race car
about to undergo an Air Conditioning System Delete.

7: 350Z Car Updates

NMS-South has been very busy with a lot of work on the 2008 Nissan 350Z in preparation for racing in Spec Z with NASA in 2025. Various parts have been updated, the roll cage is installed, and we even spent some time with a block of dry ice to remove some insulation. We combined this project with my Air Conditioning class at York Tech and removed the AC system too. And yes, Brian owes me "More Than a Cheeseburger" for that work! If one 350Z sounds like a good idea, he also bought a 2nd one to fix up, and his wife Alicia has one. 

350Z AC DELETE

350Z DRY ICE SPECIAL

ANOTHER 350Z

NMS #77, Porsche Club Autocross Class Winner

6: Autocross

The NMS Cayman ran all six events with the Carolinas Region Porsche Club of America, and took the class victory for similar cars. With a best event of 2nd place overall, there were no Fastest Times of the Day like the previous year, but it was fun to get out there and compete. Like most years I've auto-crossed, there weren't a lot of cars at every event in my class, but hey, you've got to enter to win!

FEBRUARY REPORT

AUTOCROSS #2

APRIL REPORT

MAY REPORT

AUGUST REPORT

OCTOBER REPORT

NOVEMBER REPORT-SEASON WRAP

Camshafts

5: York Technical College Automotive Classes  

OK, this isn't directly driving a car on track, but learning to work on your car is the next best thing. As an older student, I'm still trying to learn more about cars in general, and then apply that knowledge to keep my cars going, and just maybe make them go faster. 

UPDATE 1

UPDATE 2

UPDATE 3

UPDATE 4

UPDATE 5

UPDATE 6

UPDATE 7

UPDATE 8

UPDATE 9

UPDATE 10

UPDATE 11

UPDATE 12

UPDATE 13

Need an instructor? Brian is your guy!

4: NASA Instructor Qualified

Brian achieved a big goal and is now qualified as a NASA on track driving instructor. He has gone all the way from beginner (HPDE 1) to the top level (HPDE 4), competed in Time Trials, and now has Instructor on his resume. One perk of being an instructor is that you get to spend the weekend at the track for free, and drive your own car when you're not instructing. On top of that, instructors also earn various contingencies from NASA sponsors, which earns them free stuff or big discounts on things like tires and brakes. A dang good deal right there!

INSTRUCTOR

At Carolina Motorsports Park

3: On Track with NMS 

Both NMS drivers spent a good amount of time driving on track this year, and we both agree that you get a whole lot more driving experience at a track event than in a lifetime of 40 second autocross runs. For NMS-North, 2024 included a NASA HPDE weekend at Carolina Motorsports Park, and an SCCA Track Night in America on the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway. CMP is where I've done the most track driving, but the ROVAL was a first for me. With the added cool factor of driving on a track that the NASCAR drivers use, it was a blast, even on a very hot day. Down at NMS-South Brian kept busy with driving the Lemons race at CMP in April, NASA instructor school at CMP in May, another NASA weekend at CMP in November, and instructing at Road Atlanta with NASA in December. 

FEBRUARY AT CMP

ROVAL-NEW TIRES

DARLINGTON CHARITY LAPS

DARLINGTON UPDATE

The CORONET raced LEMONS in 2024!

2:  24 Hours of Lemons

Brian and the Bunch of Idiots team entered another 24 Hours of Lemons race at CMP this year in the 1970s Dodge Coronet, and as usual had an epic weekend. If you're not familiar with Lemons racing, it's easy! Just get a $500 hooptie, install safety gear like a roll cage and all the gear the drivers wear for safety, and go racing! In a normal year, this would have easily been the NMS #1 highlight of the year, but then in the Fall, something else came up!

LEMONS BLOCK PARTY

LEMONS RACE WEEK

CORONET ENGINE

BUNCH OF IDIOTS IN LEMONS VIDEO

The Bunch of Idiots MAX WIIINGS 33 TEAM after the final race.

During the qualifying race. 
Yes, that is a gravel track!

1: Red Bull Non-Stock 600

Totally out of the blue, one day in September or so I saw an ad for something called the Red Bull Non-Stock 600. I had no idea what that was, which is easy to understand because this was the first time for this event. It was sponsored by Red Bull, and to kind of tie it in with Charlotte NC being the home of NASCAR, it was going to be some go-kart races where Red Bull provides the karts, and each racing team provides some goofy theme and drivers. Long story short, Brian sketched up a concept kart, we threw together an application at the last minute, got accepted, and then had a month to put together an oddball theme on to a go-kart body, and then go race it. Brian and I spent most of October on this crazy project, and then on November 9th we raced it with Kyle and Luke (you know, the Bunch of Idiots again) against the other wacky 19 entries. OK, we didn't win, but we easily got into the final race, and it was both the goofiest and dumbest thing we've ever done. Along the way we got a free dinner (and adult beverages) at the kick-off event, a lot of free tools from the race sponsors like Northern Tool, had some free hot dogs and RED BULL on race day, and it was big fun! Plus, all the bruises have finally gone away too!

PROJECT K

PROJECT K REVEAL

RED BULL NON-STOCK 600 KICKOFF

MAX WIIINGS TEAM

KART UPDATE

RED BULL KART RACE RESULTS

A LOOK AT ALL 20 KARTS

Memorable December Cars and Coffee

Exotics and Caffeine at McLaren Charlotte. Wow!
Author in appropriate McLaren hat, celebrating their F1 Constructors Championship. 

One nice thing about living near a large city like Charlotte, is that on an average weekend you can find multiple car events to attend. There are a good number of events that always happen on a specific weekend or night of the week, and the 2nd Saturday of the month is one of the best examples. On the 14th of December I managed to swing by two hot spots for automotive fans, at the Porsche of Charlotte "Stuttgart Saturday" and the McLaren of Charlotte "Exotics and Caffeine." While these events go by various names, most typically Cars and Coffee, or something more creative like these two or a Caffeine and Gasoline, or Espresso and Exotics (like at Lamborghini of Charlotte,) they all are free, attract big crowds at the fancy car dealerships, and are great places to mingle and talk cars. Heck, both events today had free coffee too! 

SPOILER ALERT!
I mean, what's more special than a plain old Porsche 911?
A Porsche 911 with extra go-fast parts from Manthey Racing!

On display in a glass walled room, one of 1,270 Porsche Carrera GTs. Recent auction prices, let's say $1,400,000. Think that's a lot of money for a used car? Keep reading!

I started at the Stuttgart Saturday at Hendrick Porsche, complete with a Porsche hat on my American head, and just to cover all the bases, of course the Porsche company is based in Stuttgart Germany. When I was lucky enough to get stationed in Germany, I'm sure I drove through Stuttgart, but didn't really visit anyplace there. My Army band had a big gig there in a several nights long marching band show, but I did not attend that one due to a surgery in the family. With one show per night, we had scheduled some free time events for the band members in town, and I honestly don't remember if they went to Porsche or Mercedes. Oh well. 

Still under covers, a brand new 2025 Porsche 718 Spyder. Already sold, I'm sure it was custom ordered by a customer that is about to go very fast! Let's say 493HP fast. 

My personal favorite, and way under a million dollars, here's a brand new 2025 Porsche Cayman GT4 RS. Sure, it's still sticker priced at $220,000 or so, but it has the engine from a 911 GT3 in it, and makes a perfect present if you're still shopping for me! Again, already sold to a customer that was lucky enough to get an allocation and order it. 

Several highlights at Hendrick Porsche involved Porsche cars of course, but there were also some other cool cars to see. Two brand new Ferrari 296s were parked outside, as well as a classic Morgan and a Ferrari 360. There were plenty of 911s of various types, including the higher performance GT3 models, but the coolest and rarest of all was a Carrera GT. They typically sell for over a million bucks, so I could understand that this one was on display in a glass walled room, with signs that said "do not enter." 

A classic "whale tale" 911 outdoors. 

1st Edition Lotus Emira. They just came to the USA this year in 2024. You can buy one at Lamborghini of Charlotte just up the road. 

Ferrari 360 attended the Stuttgart Saturday. There is a Ferrari owners group in Charlotte, the Charlotte Area Ferrari Enthusiasts (CAFE.) 

A classic Morgan! Oh, they still make them like this too!

A couple of brand-new cars that had sold, or more likely been custom ordered by customers, were a 2025 718 Spyder still in the shipping protective cover, and a 2025 Cayman GT4 RS. With a sticker price of $220,000, it's a bit fancier, newer, and way faster than my 2009 Cayman. This version of the GT4 RS is the first time they have ever put a 911 GT3 engine in a Cayman, so I've got one one on my Christmas list if you're shopping!

Don't worry, I really am at the McLaren event, but they also sell Rolls Royce! And they had a LOT of Rolls Royce cars for sale! Here's a row of the Rolls Cullinan, their SUV. They start at about $400,000. That's each, not the entire row here. 

Papaya colored cars, must be McLaren! Again, they have a LOT of cars in stock. 

Over at McLaren of Charlotte, there was a HUGE crowd of people. Now, they probably usually don't get a lot of customers since they specialize in brands like McLaren, Rolls Royce, and Koenigsegg, so when they host an event like this, tons of car fans turn out. So many in fact that I could hardly get near the place, and that's after braving the ridiculous traffic around a Costco store! This was the first local McLaren type of event like this that I've known about, so maybe they do it more often, maybe not, but it was a sure fire hit that I didn't want to miss. 

Mansory. What's up with that name on a Rolls Royce? Glad you asked!

The Mansory folks in Germany specialize in taking your every day Bb fancy car (like a Rolls Royce) and then they make it fancier! I looked at their website, and can only summarize what they do. Need your luxury SUV armored? Give them a call! Here's the link! 
MANSORY

There were a LOT of new McLaren Arturas on the lot, some GTs, some used cars, and a boat load of new Rolls Royce cars, both the regular cars and the Rolls Royce Cullinan, their SUV. I mean come on, about 15 shiny new Cullinans sitting on the lot, outside? I know Charlotte is home to an NFL team, an NBA team, and the world HQ of Bank of America, but holy smokes that's a LOT of high-end cars. 

Just a Ford GT

One of many Lamborghinis

The most amazing car was sitting outside, front and center, behind some barriers of course. This was a 2021 Koenigsegg Regera. For starters, they only made 80 of these speed demons, and the sales price started at $1,900,000 when new.  That's MILLION with an "M." I'd guess it costs more than that now!

The Koenigsegg Regera has 1500 total horsepower. Not 150, but 1,500!

Regera front and center!
It's got 919 miles on it, so maybe you can talk them down in price!

The Regera is for sale. Contact McLaren Charlotte. 
Top speed 249MPH. 
I know there's a test track in Germany where you can go that fast. 
Have fun if you do!

The McLaren folks put on a great event, again with free coffee, some raffles for charity, some puppy dogs that I think were plugging a fund raiser of some sort, some free energy drinks, a souvenir area that was selling McLaren F1 team shirts and hats, and a place to have your photo taken with Santa! But wait, there's more!

McLaren Elva in green or white?
These have 804HP!
Started at $1,695,000. Each. 

McLaren Elva
This one is for sale, contact McLaren Charlotte!
ELVA FOR SALE

Elva rear view
The standard version had no windshield or windows, but you could get 
a windshield if you want!

You only live once, go ahead and get the Elva in this green! You won't lose it at Walmart that way. Top speed 203mph. 

INSIDE the dealership there were more cars, and the highlight for me here was not one, but TWO McLaren Elvas. I'd only seen one in person before, so now I can say I've seen 3 of them. From what I can see on line, that would be 3 out of only 149 built. Hey, I've spotted 2% of them! Only 146 more to see!

If you want to learn more about the Elva, check out Doug DeMuro's video on YouTube: 

DOUG DEMURO ON ELVA

Or check out Jay Leno's take on the ELVA, with great info from the McLaren guy that designed it!

JAY LENO ON ELVA

I Survived Electrical Class!

Our instructor Bobby Griffin is heating up some bolts that don't want to come off of a Ford Escape exhaust. We're dealing with this so that we can more easily get to the turbo on the back of the engine. PRO TIP: when a heated up bolt drops to the floor, DO NOT PICK IT UP. (It's going to be a little bit hot!)

Back in January I enrolled at York Technical College to study Automotive Technology. Since then I've learned a lot in classes like Brakes, Air Conditioning, Engine, Emissions, Ignition, and Fuel Systems. But then this semester consisted of 3 classes on Electrical Fundamentals, and Active Devices and Sensors. Talk about a subject I knew nothing about, electricity would be it!

One part of electrical training is the ATECH room, where we have actual car components like this power seat board. All the parts, motors, switches, and relays work, plus the instructor can introduce different faults to the system before the students have to diagnose what's wrong, using the handy Digital Multi Meter (DMM.) For these classes we have Snap-On DMMs to use, and we got certified in using them from Snap-On too. 

I learned a lot, passed all three courses, and after a break for the holidays will go back for Automatic Transmission and Automotive Diagnosis. After that semester, I'll still have to take Manual Transmission class and a few more, but I'm pretty sure the electrical classes were the toughest! If you're keeping score at home, I just barely managed to keep my straight-A streak going with these electrical classes. How close was "barely?" Well, apparently if your grade is 89.65, it rounds UP to a 90, and 90 is an A. You can look up the word "barely" in the dictionary and this is one of the examples!

Besides classroom learning, homework, tracing wire diagrams, doing math to calculate Volts, Amps, and Ohms, we spent some time working on cars too! This is a couple of oil changes in progress, with a Toyota Corolla up close and a Chevy Volt in the background. My oil changing group was the one that did NOT drop their oil pan bolt into the oil receptacle!

In the Active Devices and Sensors class we learned about airbags. In this photo we've blown up a side curtain airbag in the shop. These were defective units that were donated from a local dealer. Airbags have to be set off before they can be disposed. We learned that front seat air bags quickly deflate so that you can get out of the way, but the bigger curtain airbags remain inflated, to protect you from any secondary side impacts. PRO TIP: When you set off an air bag in a big shop, it's LOUD!

Not strictly an electrical thing, but we assisted in replacing a turbo on a 2016 Ford Escape. 
A group from the morning class did most of the work, and my group in the afternoon class also did some of this job. Worth noting here, my group was NOT the group that installed the turbo and forgot the gasket, but we caught it and corrected the other guys mistake!

2024 Charlotte Car Show

Going to the annual new car show is still a thing, so let's check out the scene at this year's Charlotte NC version. 

At the indoor Electric Vehicle test track, we got to ride in (that means "not drive") some very nice EVs from Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus. They all were very luxurious, plenty big, and mostly very powerful with tons of torque. If you need a groovy electric vehicle that is very comfy and on the expensive side, probably all of these would be just fine. One even had massaging seats. 

They still make the MIATA? Of course! No matter the question, remember what M.I.A.T.A. stands for: Miata Is Always The Answer!

Classic Jaguar E Type, and a Lamborghini Miura. Oh, these are not new cars!

Miura

The NASCAR prototype electric car. 

One of the local community colleges in Charlotte had this Toyota Prius hybrid cut-away on display. After the holidays when I go back to school I'm going to ask my school if we can cut a car in half and make a display like this. 

The electric VW I.D. Buzz had a lot of people checking it out. I'm not sure they'll sell a lot of them, but people familiar with the old VW bus love this thing. 

This was one of the Subaru models Julie checked out. You'll notice the flat bottom steering wheel in this electric Solterra. Near Rock Hill SC you can find them on dealer lots starting around $46,000, with zero percent financing for 6 years. 

In case you missed it, the Chevrolet Corvette is now a mid-engine car. I'd pick on in a different color, but hey, they're awesome!