Just three days before Round 4 of the Redline Time Attack, I was deep in the Klamath Forest of Northern California, kayaking and rafting the Klamath River. The week before that I was in a Chemistry classroom taking my final exams for general chemistry. Needless to say, I was a bit removed from the current scene evolving at COBB Tuning Surgeline. As both Tim Bailey and Brandon Lumpkins could tell you, that scene was one of calculated, methodical mayhem.

The STI had the rollcage torn out, a new one welded in, the motor taken out, rebuilt and replaced, a transmission swapped, and new differentials installed. Both Brian Lock and Dustin Harris worked tirelessly to finalize preparation on the COBB teams automotive arsenal; all the while I was several hundred miles away with my fingers confidently crossed. I made the scenic trip down Highway 101 to California’s Central Valley, and continued down to Fontana, home to Auto Club Speedway all the while mentally preparing myself for challenge of getting back into the car at a very fast track.

Seeing the car for the first time in over a month was exciting; the new AIM system had been installed and the new roll-cage was gleaming like a real work of art. Going to bed that night wasn’t easy, I was stoked to get back on track – especially at Auto Club, where every element of both the car and driver would be tested. I had already gotten a taste of what Auto Club Speedway had to offer, back at a NASA test weekend in January, so my initial “newbie nerves” were calmer than usual. We began Saturday by running quick and consistent 1.56’s. The car felt remarkable. The chassis was notably stiffer; the difference between a cage with 17 contact points and a cage with only 8 is amazing.

With the refreshed engine and larger turbine housing, car was tuned to just over 500whp at 21psi. I found that this horsepower was very useable as the car was “breathing” so much better given the new exhaust header, Cosworth intake manifold and larger turbo. Our familiar West Coast competition was out in force: Steve Ruiz and the StopTech Team, as well as the “dren machine” piloted by HB Speed’s, Jon Drenas, were both present. Ruiz was running some quick 1.54’s out of the gate, while I was hovering in the 1.55’s. While I had experience on the roval, my strategy was to more or less putt around Saturday, get used to driving a racecar again and hide my cards until Sunday.

The lowest we went on Saturday was right around a 1.53, but the car had so many more seconds in it. I told my crew chief Brian, “Man I wouldn’t worry about times, this thing has got a mid 50, maybe even a high 49 in it.” We took the day in stride, enjoyed ourselves and went out for some go-karting Saturday night. I was confident but cautious come Sunday morning. We had been in this position at both Buttonwillow, and Vegas – ahead at the close of Saturday, only to wind up 2nd at the end of the day on Sunday.

First session out I gave a ride and started to push the car. My goal was to dip into the 52’s and I was quite surprised to here that we managed a 1:50.7 with a passenger in the car. I went out again, this time alone, in practice/qualifying and ran a 1.49.7 placing me in a comfortable 1st place qualifying position, almost 3-seconds faster than Ruiz. Ruiz’s car seemed to be slowly ailing at Round 4, signs of the car overheating didn’t relent which was disappointing for both the StopTech Team and us.

The refreshed and re-vamped STI was invigorating to drive, the new OS Giken rear diff allowed the 500whp to really hurl the car out of the corners to an extent I’ve never experienced in the car. The new Hankook RS-3s we were running provided better initial grip than the Yokohama’s we had run at the previous 3 events. These new changes made the car incredible to drive, and allowed us a solid position at the head of the Street Tire Class. We opted out of the second qualifying session, choosing to keep time on the motor low and conserve our equipment.

By the time the first Time Attack session rolled around, no-one in the street class and only a handful of modified AWD cars had dipped below the 1.50 mark. Our strategy going to the Time Attack mirrored that of our practice/qualifying strategy. It looked like all we needed was to match the 1.50.7 set in practice, and we would secure an overall victory in the Street Tire Class. By the second Time Attack session we had secured a 1.49.7, putting us solidly in first and giving me and the team, our first Street Tire Class win!

Ambient temperatures had dropped by the time the super session rolled around, and as we rolled out to the grid it looked like Round 4’s super session would finally be a race. There were by far more competitors than ever before, at least 15 spread between the three classes.

Glancing over the time spread, it looked like it would be an interesting battle between me, Mike Bonnani in his beastly 135i, and several MOD AWD cars. We rolled out for our pace lap and then the green flag flew. The Mazdatrix RX8 jumped the start and flew by me on the inside. My crew chief, Brian Marsteller, rattled off instructions across the radio, “Clear left, clear left, and stay low. Go low, clear on the right, clear on the right get high.” By the time we reached NASCAR T2, Brian had woven me through a group of nearly 6 cars. I finished off lap one matching the 1.46.1 of the Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI and was soon chasing down 2nd place following a spin by Takata driver, James Elterman which put me in 3rd. Elterman eventually overtook me, placing me in 4th overall, and 1st in Street Tire Class.

This weekend at AutoClub marked the first, 1st place finish in street AWD for me, and was sweetened by an overall first place finish in the Street Tire Class. This weekend was a huge win for the entire COBB Tuning Motorsports effort. With Brian Lock claiming an overall event win in the GT-R, and us taking the overall win in Street Class, the hundreds of hours spent on preparing the cars finally looked to have paid off. I would like to say thanks to our sponsors, Velocity Carbon, AST Suspensions, Jongbloed Wheels, and OS Giken for giving us our edge.

I would like to give special thanks and appreciation to Brian Marsteller for his un-paralleled support as car chief of the #21 STI and also to Dustin Harris and Brian Lock and the rest of the COBB Tuning Surgeline crew for not only working around the clock for a month to get my car ready, but for making it capable of bringing home the win I have been trying for all season.

Additionally I would like to thank my family, friends and my Dad especially for their continued support. We are off to Autobahn Country Club in about a week for Round 5. We are definitely looking for another COBB sweep of both Modified and Street Tire Class!