MUSTANG WEEK Comes to Charlotte

This was my favorite, 1967 fastback!

You might have heard of the Ford Mustang, the eighth highest selling American vehicle of all time at around 10 Million. It's just possible you've owned a Mustang too! In my case, it was a 2004 GT convertible, and in addition to surviving a tornado directly overhead, was a great car! What I'm trying to say is that Mustangs are all over the place, and the Mustang Week event happens in various places each year, and this week it's Charlotte NC. 

Just part of the schedule for MUSTANG WEEK

One of the minor events was an informal Cars and Coffee in Fort Mill SC, just outside of Charlotte, and that's where I headed this morning to spot a few Mustangs. From what I read on the Internet, around 5,000 cars attend this event, with about 30,000 spectators, so they were not all in Fort Mill at the same time!

Cobra

The bigger events will be at ZMax Dragway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, and other big spots around the city. Many of these events charge admission, and include drag races, burnout contests, car shows, a track day, and lots more. For all the info check out their website: 

MUSTANG WEEK CHARLOTTE

One of the newer high performance models is the Dark Horse Mustang. Please ignore my legs. 

This Cars and Coffee was sponsored by Rally Point Detailing in Fort Mill, and they were supported by the great folks from Knowledge Perk coffee. 

Ford? Yes! Mustang? Yes! Cobra? Yes! GT 500? OH YEAH!!

Wild interior!

Nice wheels with Mickey Thompson tires. 

Thanks to Rally Point detailing, and Knowledge Perk coffee in Fort Mill for hosting! 
And yes, the coffee was great!

NMS Visits Discovery Parts at Atlanta Motorsports Park

NMS at Atlanta Motorsports Park

Atlanta Motorsports Park is more than a track, it offers club memberships. Think private golf club, but use the word "racecars" instead of "golf." Here's a link to their website, and while it's out of my price range, just one winning lottery ticket could change that little situation!

ATLANTA MOTORSPORTS PARK

2027 Corvettes at AMP

MORE 2027 Corvettes at AMP. 

On our recent visit to see the Exocet in northwest Georgia, we managed to stop by Atlanta Motorsports Park on the way home and visit Discovery Parts. To our surprise, the track was hosting an event with Chevrolet unveiling the new 2027 Corvettes! There were plenty of shiny brand new Corvettes all over the place. Somehow Brian just happened to be wearing a Corvette shirt that day, so he fit right in!

Yes, they have race seats at Discovery Parts!

Brian checks out one of the seats. They come in different sizes.

The Chillout system is basically an air conditioner that pumps very cool biodegradable coolant mix through tubes built into a shirt the driver is wearing. This is newer technology than other systems that pump plain old Bb cold ice water. This system is more expensive, but is battery powered, so you don't even have to wire it into your car's electric system.

Chillout also makes this cheaper system that uses good old fashioned ice cubes and ice water. The salesman told us that you could just strap this into your passenger seat, with no requirement to bolt it down to the floor of your car, although of course that would be safer. I think Chillout just released this item, because two days later I got an email announcing it. 

We went into Discovery Parts and the friendly staff helped us try out various driver seats for track use. Before you buy a new seat for your car you definitely want to sit in some different models and see how they feel. While your average car seat gets the job done, in a performance situation you really want to be wearing the seat, because it not only holds you more firmly to assist in having more control over driving, but it's also part of your safety system. The seat works with your helmet, HANS, and harness to hold you in place and reduce any injury if you have an incident in the car. 

Indy 500 Pace Car Vette? CHECK!

Full blown Corvette ZR1X racecar that competed on Pike's Peak? CHECK! Did I say "competed?" I meant to say it just set a new record for production cars!

AMP track from the pits, Racetrack Condos in the background. Sorry, but they are all sold out. However...

You can purchase a now under construction Motor Club Circuit Villa trackside, starting at only $649,999.00

Since we had just visited the Exocet shop and were thinking about Miata sized cars, there were a few seats that were small enough to fit in a Miata, and that's what we tried out. After looking at several brands, I'd summarize it to say that the price range went from say $1,000 or so up to the super light weight carbon fiber seat that was around $2,400. 

August Autocross Report

PICKLES? Well, we were driving at the Winston-Salem FAIRGROUNDS, so...

Welcome to our one and only autocross event for August! Why only one event? BECAUSE IT'S TOO DANG HOT OUT THERE!

Lots of Novices on a course walk. No, the cars weren't driving yet! They are getting some driving tips from an experienced driver and learning the course before driving it. 

OK, once again with the Triad Sports Car Club of North Carolina, NMS joined the competition at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds for a fun-filled day of driving. This event was first scheduled for August 16th, but then the date shifted to the 23rd due to some other event being held at the Fairgrounds. Oh well, NMS was driving to defend their 1st place in B Street class, and here's how it went. 

One thing the Triad club does very well, reveal the run groups, and show you how if you're driving in the 1st group, you're working in the 3rd group! EASY!

In a field of 114 total drivers, the NMS #77 finished as the 50th fastest driver, and 50th fastest on PAX adjusted time also. This puts the ruby red car in the top 50% on the day, so not bad for a slow driver! There were 34 different classes at this event, so that groups similar cars with similar performance together. 

Can an Alfa Romeo autocross? HECK YEAH BRO!

NMS #77 set up in luxurious facilities (canopy!)

Taking a photo to track my tire pressures, temperature, time, fuel level, traction control is OFF because I'm crazy that way! I mean, the car does better that way. 

Can electric cars do autocross? HECK YEAH!

In the B Street class of only two cars, NMS once again takes 1st place, and retains 1st in BS class for the year. With only two more Triad events this year, NMS is gunning for that 1st place at the end of the year as well. The other car in BS only managed to complete one run instead of the five allowed, so I'm not sure if there was a mechanical or other issue. Regardless, 1st is 1st, and hopefully all is good with the other driver and car. 

NMS lined up on grid. I ended up driving first in the 2nd run group. 
Did you notice the pickup truck #44? 

Right behind these front cones you see one of the grates all around the fairgrounds, and the club set up the course to avoid them. In the background between the two people walking the course, those TALL cones are surrounding one of these openings that did NOT have a grate covering, so the club did the safe thing and did not have us driving anywhere near there. 

Weather wise it was very nice for summer, about 82 degrees when I was driving around noon, and the track was dry with only moderate goose poop around the site! Sometimes there is a LOT goose remnants around! As a bonus, a Scout troop was at the event selling hotdogs and hamburgers and drinks, so that was nice. The smell  of burgers on the grill most of the day was a nice touch too!

The club trailer, with that website again:
WWW.AUTO-X.COM