600rr_rocket

Welcome to the third 2010 S2K Challenge event, held at Buttonwillow Raceway on April 11, 2010. A total of 39 S2000's showed up to event...shattering our attendance record since the inception of the Series in 2009!!!













The variable that affected all the participants was the weather. For weeks before the event, people were closely eyeing the possible forecast of rain. The morning session started off cold and perfect, around 49F. The first session reflected the fastest lap times, with several drivers below the magical 2:00 barrier. Then came the WIND!!! Winds gusted up to 46mph at times (knocking over EZ-ups, tools, equipment, etc.) and having people scrambling for shelter. I remember hiding in my rented garage and people would come in like refugees. Every time we opened the door to peek outside…it looked like armageddon with the sky completely filled with dust clouds. The warmer weather combined with the high winds, needless to say affected lap times, as particpants’ lap times rose on average 2 seconds from the morning session. Dirt was scattered on the track (making for slippery conditions) and the high winds would affect car handling on all different parts of the track. And after the day was over and the awards ceremony was finished, the anticipated rain finally hit causing for some scary conditions on the drive back home, especially over the Grapevine on I-5.





Stock Class



We saw the greatest growth of participants in the The Stock Class, which was designed for newbie drivers in a near completely stock S2000 setup. It was good to see so many new entrants learning from the veterans and learning the basics of track driving. Charles Ng, once again set the bar for the Class and set a blazing 2:05.1! Congratulations to Douglas Chan (2nd) and Travis Wong (3rd) for their podium finishes, with respective lap times of 2:10.6 and 2:14.9!



Street Class



One of our newer (and most improved!) drivers, Konstantin Nikiforov took 3rd place in Street Class with a 2:05.5. Joel Perez once again nonchalantly showed up late for the event, did a couple practice sessions, and came in second with a 2:04.7. Nam Yoon, our 2009 Street Class champion once again set the bar with a blazing fast 2:03.7 lap.



Modified Class



Coming in at 3rd place was Edward Lee, who managed to speak by with a 2:02.8 after running out of gas on the second hot lap. Jim Tway, our Mod Class newcomer came in at 2nd place with a 2:00.7, only half a second behind our 2009 Mod Class Champ, Mark Tsai who came in with a 2:00.2.



Unlimited Class

Our exhibition class featured 4 entrants with heavily setup S2000’s Paul Flores had trouble with his supercharger and both could not participate in the Time Trial (thanks for the gridding assistance!). Robert Burch in his W2W ready S2K came in 3rd with a 2:04.7. Alex Doan (pictured) with a very cool looking Spoon kit S2000 came in second place with a 2:03.5. Jei Chang from BlackTrax Performance with his supercharged S2K came in first with a 2:00.9.



Class Standings



Special thanks to Cobblestone Realty for the prize plaques and BuddyClub USA for the 1st place award brake pads (new Race Spec pads)!!!

Also special thanks to Nam Yoon for the high-res pics!

Hope to see you all at our next event at Spring Mountain on May, 16 2010 (Sunday)...cheers!

600rr_rocket

^ My “money” shots coming down Cotton Corners…my left rear tire dipped into the dirt and I had to go to full lock to save myself from spinning…I swear I was not intentionally drifting!!!

I managed to SQUEAK by in 3rd place with a 2:02.8. Meaning, there were other Mod Class contenders that could have easily beat me if it weren’t for DQ’s, mechanical issues, etc.

It was a pretty hectic weekend for me…rushing to get my EMS tune and mounting my NT01’s on Saturday and then driving up to visit my buddy Kangwoo at the hospital in Bakersfield. Drove back to Buttonwillow Motel 6 and got maybe 3 hours of sleep.

I managed to do 2:00 flat (in three consecutive laps) on my NT01’s in the morning session…but alas, breaking the magical two minute barrier once again eluded me. Once the crazy winds picked up and track conditions worsened, I was unable to come close to 2:00 for the rest of the day. And stupid me, I forgot to keep an eye on my fuel levels and I ran out of gas on my second Time Trial lap…doh!!! I was pretty sure I could do a 2:01 on that second lap…

After the awards ceremony, the rain really started to come down. Tiffany and I picked up Kangwoo from the hospital in Bakerfield and then headed back to LA in the pouring rain. I was lagging as the speed limit for trucks w/ trailers is only 55mph. But wow the rain was coming down so hard…I couldn’t even see the lane markers…I had to follow the tail lights in front of me for guidance. Plus I was running on like 6 hrs of sleep the previous two nights and I was falling asleep at the wheel. After being stuck in traffic from that huge pileup near the 14 interchange, I decided to exit and take a “nap” in my truck. That “nap” lasted until 5am in the morning! I rushed home, unloaded the car, unpacked, quickly showered and somehow made it to work at 8am. Thank goodness for Starbucks…

the s2k dude

good times. driving home in the rain sucked.. especially when you are trailing a car with no hardtop haha..

Squirtle

what did you put down for best time of day Justin?

the s2k dude

2.14. lots of places to make up time. never been on that track before or tracked an S. ill shoot for 2.05s next time. i just need someone to follow

Urge

How much rain was there?

kinchu007

I did my personal best 2:08, am still struggling with a loose rear end and proper line on Riverside where I lose A LOT of time...can barely hit 90mph on corner exit.

Mike finally made it to the track this year so I wasn't the only CR out there!

Thanks to Ben for buying me gas when my VISA card wouldn't work

Congrats to Nam for setting (I think) an S2K Challenge Street Class Buttonwillow record of 2:02! That's the time to beat now

psychoazn

I also managed to get completely embarrassed by the stock class guys with a pitiful 2:13 A few well placed tips from Nam improved my speed through a few sections by quite a bit... only reinforces my need for a datalogger to really start improving, as my intuition isn't quite working for lines.

I think I'm going to keep the alignment for now... I was getting more comfortable with the looser rear, and my times were dropping all day as I was regaining confidence in my car.

I hope everyone made it home alright through the Grapevine... the rain/wind was pretty crazy when I got there.

samlee888.com

i usually don't come out to the speedventures events, but i enjoyed this one a lot and will be coming out regularly now. it's really cool seeing all the s2000s. thanks si for giving me a ride.

first time tracking in 5 months, just got the s2000 last month. ran a 2.13 in blue group traffic in a stock ap2 s2000 with rs3 tires. i think next time if i take traction control off and get some clean laps, take a better line in riverside and stay flat out in certain sections, i can get it down to a 2.10.

i shouldn't have signed up for blue, lol.

the s2k dude

^^ lots of traffic in blue... i hope i didnt hold u up .. dont really remember seeing a LBP tho..