EvoJoeRacing: NNJ Pro Solo Update & Results
EvoJoeRacing: NNJ Pro Solo Update & Results
Hey Everyone,
This past weekend I got to participate in one of the BEST Autocross events I have ever raced in! The SCCA Pro Solo. It was my first time ever racing in a Pro Solo autocross event and all I have to say is wow, that was awesome. The Pro Solo was hosted by Northern New Jersey at the New Meadowlands Stadium. It was the first time NNJ hosted the Pro and they did an AMAZING JOB. My hat goes off to Perry and the NNJ crew who pulled this off.
For those who have never been to a Pro Solo event, its a completely different style of racing that mixes both drag racing and autocross. There are 2 mirror image courses set up side by side and you go head to head with another drive in your class. There is a Drag Tree that you stage up to, it counts down and you go on green! They record your Reaction Time, 60' times and your lap time. After you finish your lap on the right side, you switch sides and race again. The fastest combined time of both Right and Left courses is the winner. If you guys have seen the Ken Blocks Gymkhana events, its very similar to that, A drag race start into the cone maneuvers.
The Pro Solo is a weekend event. Friday is registration, Tech, and practice runs. For novices to the Pro, they host a beginners crash course to the pro which give a run down on how the event works, what your supposed to be doing and also gives you practice starts on the Tree so you can get used to the timing. This is important as in the Pro Solo Reaction times under .500 is considered a RedLight and that run is thrown out. Unfortunately i was not able to attend Fridays events so my Solo weekend started on Saturday Morning.
Since i was unable to make Fridays Tech Inspection, I needed to Tech on Saturday at 7am. So 445am I was up packing the car for the 1.5 hour drive to The Meadowlands. Got there at 645am, unloaded the car and drove straight over to tech, registered and got my work assignments. The Pro broke up the car glasses into 8 groups and 4 heats (2 groups per heat). I was in Group 8 Heat 4 so the last ones to run. There was 2 sessions on Saturday, Morning and Afternoon. We got 4 Runs per session, 2 on the left and 2 on the right. So Saturday had 8 runs, 4 on left and 4 on right. After I teched and registered i went to go check out the competition. There were 4 other cars in the Street Modified class, 2 were 2 driver cars so there was a total of 7 drivers. There was a 240sx driven by National Champion PJ Corrales and David White, a Evo 9 driven by National Champion Corey Ridgick, an Evo 9 driven by Aaron Shoe and a M3 driven by Scott and Howard Mandell. All of which were running on 285/30 Hoosiers. I was the only one there running on street tires! (255/35 Star Specs) I definitely brought a Knife to a Gun fight. I knew this coming into the Pro and my goal was to put up some killer times on street tires that got people saying "You did that on street tires? DAYUM" And thats exactly what I did.
Onto the Course Design. Ill describe out the Right course as the left is just a mirror image of it. First you pull up to the Tree. You have 20 seconds to stage. Once you and your competitor are staged the starter points to make sure your both ready. Give a thumbs up and the tree starts. Typical Drag tree Yellow Yellow Yellow GREEN. You launch the car and drag race about 150ft -200ft to the first right turn. Its cool because you are drag racing side by side and when you reach this cone you split and cannot see your competitor. The first turn was a right hand 75deg or so turn that was just a pointer cone. Really fast and open turn that had a short straight after it. This lead up to a sharp 90 degree turn that set you up for a 4 cone wide 25 pace slalom. This slalom was awesome because it was angled so that you were gradually getting closer to your competitor. By the last cone you were side by side again setting up for the turn around. The turn around was a sharp right hander with a narrow exit. You were now on the return portion of the track. This part was FAST! It was a set of offset gates. Right turn, left turn, right turn then hard brake to a 90 deg right turn. You are now facing head to head playing chicken with your competitor. This lead to a sharp left turn to the finish. The course was soo awesome!
Ok so onto my first heat. I started out on the right side racing against Scott Mandel in the M3. First run i wanted to get some heat in the tires, learn the course and figure out the timing of the tree. Staged up and launched it. i had a .870 reaction time with a 1.806 60'. Finished the course with a 32.367. A pretty fast time and i knew there was a lot of time i left out on the track. Switched sides and ran the left course. Still gauging the tree i had a .579 reaction time with a 1.805 60'. Raced through the course and finished witha 32.367. I noticed that the turn around seamed a bit tighter on the left course then the right. Turns out it was. The left course was about .4 seconds slower then the right course. Switched sides and it was on to my second runs on the right and left sides. Right side run had a .717 RT with a 1.778 60' My best 60' with the car and ran a 31.649! Moved over to the left side and i redlighted with a .469 RT and a 1.807 60'. That run was junk. That ended my first heat on Saturday. Dayum that was fun!
So we repeated the same thing in the afternoon and then again on Sunday morning. Heres the run times.
Out of the entire weekend my fastest times were on the right a .508 RT 1.778 60' and a 31.087. On the left was a .505 RT 1.768 60' and a 31.962. I actually ran a 31.562 on my last run but i coned it. I actually only hit 1 cone this entire weekend! Finally getting used to the car.
So those times put me in 5th place out of 7 and only 1.5 seconds behind 4th place. For racing on street tires this was a HUGE success in my mind!
It was such an awesome weekend, i had a blast with the Pro Solo and cannot wait to do it again. I met a lot of great people and it was awesome to see some big names in the AutoX world out there racing. Next step for me is to get my hands on a set of Hoosiers and rims to really take advantage of this cars potential.
I want to thank Tach Motor Works, Espec Tuning, Touge Factory, Stance, TRE, Spoolin Up, CustomizeMyEvo.com and Unique Finish for getting this car to where it is. This thing is truly a monster out there on the track. Id also like to personally thank Moses from FUELEDMAG for coming out on both Saturday and Sunday and taking Photos and Videos of the car and event. You did an awesome job man and I really thank you for all the coverage you have provided me. I look forward to being in the next issue of FUELEDMAG!
Here are some of the Photos that Moses took. More photos are posted up on my website and flickr account:
http://www.evojoeracing.com/Photos/2011/index.html
Thanks
EvoJoe
This past weekend I got to participate in one of the BEST Autocross events I have ever raced in! The SCCA Pro Solo. It was my first time ever racing in a Pro Solo autocross event and all I have to say is wow, that was awesome. The Pro Solo was hosted by Northern New Jersey at the New Meadowlands Stadium. It was the first time NNJ hosted the Pro and they did an AMAZING JOB. My hat goes off to Perry and the NNJ crew who pulled this off.
For those who have never been to a Pro Solo event, its a completely different style of racing that mixes both drag racing and autocross. There are 2 mirror image courses set up side by side and you go head to head with another drive in your class. There is a Drag Tree that you stage up to, it counts down and you go on green! They record your Reaction Time, 60' times and your lap time. After you finish your lap on the right side, you switch sides and race again. The fastest combined time of both Right and Left courses is the winner. If you guys have seen the Ken Blocks Gymkhana events, its very similar to that, A drag race start into the cone maneuvers.
The Pro Solo is a weekend event. Friday is registration, Tech, and practice runs. For novices to the Pro, they host a beginners crash course to the pro which give a run down on how the event works, what your supposed to be doing and also gives you practice starts on the Tree so you can get used to the timing. This is important as in the Pro Solo Reaction times under .500 is considered a RedLight and that run is thrown out. Unfortunately i was not able to attend Fridays events so my Solo weekend started on Saturday Morning.
Since i was unable to make Fridays Tech Inspection, I needed to Tech on Saturday at 7am. So 445am I was up packing the car for the 1.5 hour drive to The Meadowlands. Got there at 645am, unloaded the car and drove straight over to tech, registered and got my work assignments. The Pro broke up the car glasses into 8 groups and 4 heats (2 groups per heat). I was in Group 8 Heat 4 so the last ones to run. There was 2 sessions on Saturday, Morning and Afternoon. We got 4 Runs per session, 2 on the left and 2 on the right. So Saturday had 8 runs, 4 on left and 4 on right. After I teched and registered i went to go check out the competition. There were 4 other cars in the Street Modified class, 2 were 2 driver cars so there was a total of 7 drivers. There was a 240sx driven by National Champion PJ Corrales and David White, a Evo 9 driven by National Champion Corey Ridgick, an Evo 9 driven by Aaron Shoe and a M3 driven by Scott and Howard Mandell. All of which were running on 285/30 Hoosiers. I was the only one there running on street tires! (255/35 Star Specs) I definitely brought a Knife to a Gun fight. I knew this coming into the Pro and my goal was to put up some killer times on street tires that got people saying "You did that on street tires? DAYUM" And thats exactly what I did.
Onto the Course Design. Ill describe out the Right course as the left is just a mirror image of it. First you pull up to the Tree. You have 20 seconds to stage. Once you and your competitor are staged the starter points to make sure your both ready. Give a thumbs up and the tree starts. Typical Drag tree Yellow Yellow Yellow GREEN. You launch the car and drag race about 150ft -200ft to the first right turn. Its cool because you are drag racing side by side and when you reach this cone you split and cannot see your competitor. The first turn was a right hand 75deg or so turn that was just a pointer cone. Really fast and open turn that had a short straight after it. This lead up to a sharp 90 degree turn that set you up for a 4 cone wide 25 pace slalom. This slalom was awesome because it was angled so that you were gradually getting closer to your competitor. By the last cone you were side by side again setting up for the turn around. The turn around was a sharp right hander with a narrow exit. You were now on the return portion of the track. This part was FAST! It was a set of offset gates. Right turn, left turn, right turn then hard brake to a 90 deg right turn. You are now facing head to head playing chicken with your competitor. This lead to a sharp left turn to the finish. The course was soo awesome!
Ok so onto my first heat. I started out on the right side racing against Scott Mandel in the M3. First run i wanted to get some heat in the tires, learn the course and figure out the timing of the tree. Staged up and launched it. i had a .870 reaction time with a 1.806 60'. Finished the course with a 32.367. A pretty fast time and i knew there was a lot of time i left out on the track. Switched sides and ran the left course. Still gauging the tree i had a .579 reaction time with a 1.805 60'. Raced through the course and finished witha 32.367. I noticed that the turn around seamed a bit tighter on the left course then the right. Turns out it was. The left course was about .4 seconds slower then the right course. Switched sides and it was on to my second runs on the right and left sides. Right side run had a .717 RT with a 1.778 60' My best 60' with the car and ran a 31.649! Moved over to the left side and i redlighted with a .469 RT and a 1.807 60'. That run was junk. That ended my first heat on Saturday. Dayum that was fun!
So we repeated the same thing in the afternoon and then again on Sunday morning. Heres the run times.
Out of the entire weekend my fastest times were on the right a .508 RT 1.778 60' and a 31.087. On the left was a .505 RT 1.768 60' and a 31.962. I actually ran a 31.562 on my last run but i coned it. I actually only hit 1 cone this entire weekend! Finally getting used to the car.
So those times put me in 5th place out of 7 and only 1.5 seconds behind 4th place. For racing on street tires this was a HUGE success in my mind!
It was such an awesome weekend, i had a blast with the Pro Solo and cannot wait to do it again. I met a lot of great people and it was awesome to see some big names in the AutoX world out there racing. Next step for me is to get my hands on a set of Hoosiers and rims to really take advantage of this cars potential.
I want to thank Tach Motor Works, Espec Tuning, Touge Factory, Stance, TRE, Spoolin Up, CustomizeMyEvo.com and Unique Finish for getting this car to where it is. This thing is truly a monster out there on the track. Id also like to personally thank Moses from FUELEDMAG for coming out on both Saturday and Sunday and taking Photos and Videos of the car and event. You did an awesome job man and I really thank you for all the coverage you have provided me. I look forward to being in the next issue of FUELEDMAG!
Here are some of the Photos that Moses took. More photos are posted up on my website and flickr account:
http://www.evojoeracing.com/Photos/2011/index.html
Thanks
EvoJoe
Hey Aaron. Yeah man real nice meeting you also. Had a great time battling you in the RT & 60's the last 2 sessions haha considering thats really all i was able to really compete with. Im working on getting a set of hoosiers and some RPF1's.
PJ and Corey were KILLIN IT on Sunday... geez those 29's were insane!
Hope to see you at another event this season! Good luck this year man
PJ and Corey were KILLIN IT on Sunday... geez those 29's were insane!
Hope to see you at another event this season! Good luck this year man
Great write up Joe,,, reading it makes me feel like I'm in the passenger seat next to ya!!
I have some ideas for your next outing.. Let's take the time to sit and chat next week!!
I have some ideas for your next outing.. Let's take the time to sit and chat next week!!
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Thanks guys... I am working on session 3's video.
LOL @ Aaron... i kept comparing us at the turn around... you were always just infront of me coming out of the slalom... Street tires FTL...
LOL @ Aaron... i kept comparing us at the turn around... you were always just infront of me coming out of the slalom... Street tires FTL...
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