Desire to have #FunWithCars starts young!

Written by James Ray Volunteer grid worker Greg Holt is a great example of someone whose passion for race cars started early in life.  He shares an old family photo showing him sitting in the cockpit of an older cousin’s micro midget sprint car.  Greg’s father, Henry, can be seen holding onto the roll bar, like he is worried Greg might take off!  Another more recent family photo shows Greg as a young father and playing with oldest son Eric’s slot car racing set.  Many of us catch the fever young in life and it never leaves us.  We just want to have #FunWithCars! For those unfamiliar with grid workers, they are the ones wearing white helping position the race cars in starting order before each on-track session.  Volunteer grid workers provide valuable service by checking driver safety gear and verifying each car displays a current-event tech inspection sticker.  They look at driver harness belts and HANS straps to ensure they are fastened, check that helmet and gloves are on, window nets are up, and (for open cockpit cars) that the driver is wearing arm restraints.  As race cars [...]

By |2021-04-13T15:19:03-04:00March 26th, 2021|Featured, Racing Life|

Building a B-Spec: Part 2

Cages, Seats and Engines When we left JB and Steve before Christmas, the two new B-Spec builders had both acquired their donor vehicles and begun stripping them down to turn into racecars. The ordering frenzy for parts had started, as well as the research on how best to build and fabricate the roll cage and fit a race seat inside the gutted shells. Engine decisions were also looming - stick with the donor stock or rebuild?  Go Local or Ship It Out When it came to choosing a fabricator for the roll cages, both drivers had multiple factors to consider. The convenience of a local shop, or the hassle of transporting to one farther away? Costs, availability, and turn around times? And the extent of what needed to be accomplished? JB opted to stay local and commissioned Flatout Motorsports to do the cage for his Sonic. “The car was sent to Flatout the week of Thanksgiving. The decision to send it to them was all about time. The few installers I talked to said they could not touch it till March so it was an easy decision. We estimated 6-8 weeks, giving [...]

By |2021-03-07T17:01:42-05:00March 6th, 2021|Featured, Racing Life, Road Racing|