I had been looking forward to the Redline Time Attack finale at Auto Club Speedway ever since our departure from the track following round 4, nearly 6 months ago. I was looking ahead to this last event of the year with high hopes in mind; my goals for this event were to clinch the AWD Street Tire Class record, showcase the progress the car has made, and ultimately leave the 2010-year on a very high-note. The racing god’s had other things in mind. The first signs of derailment presented themselves in the form of a parts supply miscommunication that subsequently left us high and dry without any parts for our transmission rebuild. I accepted this, and went into the weekend knowing very well that we could have issues with the transmission

Auto Club Speedway is one of the few North American Road courses that I can honestly say I love. That being said, it is also one of the most taxing on the driver. Intense G’s through the oval compounded by speeds in excess of 160 mph definitely take a toll on nerves. When the crew noticed my feet propped out the passenger side window, as I was fast asleep, what they may have failed to recognize was that this was a driver who was truly in his element. It was 70 degrees out, the banking of the Auto Club Speedway wrapped around my napping spot; I was brushed by a slight breeze and hummed to sleep by the endearing repetition of the ubiquitous impact gun. I can guarantee you that when passing by, no one could tell that beneath the contentment of that napping driver, was the fiery excitement and utter-eagerness that every driver feels before their first on-track of the weekend.

Considering the wounded state of my transmission, I made the call to limit on-track practice to a 3-lap session late in the day Friday. On my out lap the car shakedown went well, I picked up my visual cues with relative ease and started jotting down mental notes on possible setup changes. However, just as I began to setup for turn 1, the engine chose that moment to let go and cast doubt on the rest of weekend as well as cover the windscreen with coolant.

Just as I prepared for the first corner coming off the banking and 150+mph, the coolant catch-can had apparently pressurized to its venting point, and subsequently released a deluge of water across the windscreen. For this split second, it was quite frankly like driving blind. It was merely only a second, or even a fraction there of, but at those speeds in that environment it seemed like an eternity. At the time I was still questioning the cause of the spray, but following a quick tow back to our pit the crew had made a swift assessment. Things were not good. Our calibrator Tim Bailey needn’t utter more than the word “blown”, a particularly sensitive word for us Subaru guys, and it was ever apparent that the head gasket had disintegrated. I was back to my hurried, anxious self as I started making calls to our contacts in the LA area. One of my sponsors, Subaru of Ontario came through in a big way.

My contact Julian, compiled a complete gasket set from their dealership inventory, even scrounging a few from some friendly customers of the dealership. He personally delivered them to the track at around 9:00 Friday evening, along with the service departments only engine hoist. Following the acquisition of the requisite gaskets, the decision to do an on-track rebuild wasn’t even a matter of discussion. The crew just buckled down and dug in, by 11:30 the Cosworth long block was out of the car resting on a used tire, the heads were off and ready to accept the new gaskets. We wrapped up the gasket overhaul by lunchtime on Saturday, and the car was together and running by 1:30. This was no team Joest turn-around time, but for just a group of three I was ecstatic with the team’s ability to get the car back on track in running shape. Following two more shakedown laps, the car wasn’t just running, it was haulin’ some serious tail! Logs showed consistent oil pressure and reasonable water temps. With our engine issues out of the way, I made the call again to park the car until Sunday practice – the thought of potential transmission issues still loomed in the back of my mind.

Due to some minor mechanical issues that arose, we didn’t end up making it out on track until the first Time Attack session on Sunday afternoon. This may have been a blessing in disguise granted what happened next. Despite swapping to LIC’s trans fluid (which drastically reduced grinding between 5^th and 6^th), the 4^th gear synchro really started to go. Even on the warm up lap, the car would refuse to find 4^th, and would only occasionally engage. I figured after a night of engine work, there was no way I was about to let a failing synchro put us at the back of the pack. We may have been out of the hunt for a track record, but I was determined to get one, if only one, flying lap out of that car.

I went for it, with the transmission squawking back with every shift. Gary Sheehan shared some words with me prior to the session, “So you don’t have fourth gear, eh, it’s your job to make it work.” 4^th gear held together for about ¾ of a lap, and just as I tracked out onto the oval and made the move from 3^rd to 4^th gear it was unmistakable that 4^th had finally checked out. Much to my chagrin, I quickly popped the car into 5^th and completed the one timed lap of the weekend, 1.50.6, and good enough for 4th.

The finale at Auto Club this past weekend marked a bittersweet end to a fantastic season for me, the car, as well as the COBB Tuning Team as a whole. While I fell short of my track record aspirations, this particular event was the only one where we didn’t podium. This is an achievement that I am very proud of, and is one that we as a team collectively earned. I would like to give thanks to all of my sponsors who made this year a reality: Velocity Carbon, AST Suspensions, Jongbloed Wheels, Adrenaline Racing, MSI, Subaru of Ontario, OS Giken, and LIC Motorsports. Additionally, I would like to express special thanks to COBB Tuning and the COBB Tuning Motorsports crew for their sponsorship and support that kept me on podium. To my car chief Brian Marsteller, the individual with whom I worked closest with every weekend to squeeze those last few tenths out of the car, I extend a sincere thank you. Thanks to everyone who has followed our Facebook feed, snagged a poster or two, or been involved with our efforts this year. See you guys next year!