Lane's SCA - SPC at Gingerman 10/8/2000 (2)

Bill H and Dave S drove in from Milwaukee in a rented Ford Mustang. Even with the stock tires, the car wasn't that bad out on the track.

Many thanks to Bill for his efforts in adding yet another rental car to the NMC Racing team. You can read a bit more about "Not My Car Racing" in my 2000 SPC Rally coverage, as well as several other track events in the archives.

NMC Mustang (30k)

The guys from SpeedTrial USA also participated in the rental car enjoyment with his Nissan Maxima, which did a significant amount of offroading during the course of the day.

SPC standard rental car disclaimer

We realize that there are some people reading this who would think that driving a stock rental car in this manner is dangerous and irresponsible. In the hands of a driver with some experience and the proper safety equipment, risk to the vehicle & driver is minimal, and mechanical wear from a day out on the track does not cause any permanent damage to the vehicle. After all, most of us use our own own daily-drivers on the track and don't drive them any differently.

Brakes (26k)

David managed to finish off a set of brake pads with his furious driving out on the course.

A VW Golf ran hot into turn 11 and hit the tire wall & guard rail. The driver was alright, but the car had considerable damage. The SpeedTrial guys quickly called a 'time-out' meeting to get all the drivers calmed down & discuss what may have gone wrong. It was a grim reminder of what can happen in a split second, and that we all needed to be alert and cautious on this cold and damp track.

A pair of VW Golfs running down the front straight, with the turbo Miata following. Many people enjoyed watching the Golfs run hard and occasionally lift a rear wheel thru turn 2.

Golfs (16k)

Jason (19k)

On his first time on the road course, Jason P developed some nasty rod knock indicating a bearing problem (hmmm, sounds familiar). After the day was over, David the tech was able to replace the offending bearing(s) in only a few hours so that the engine would at least get Jason back to WI. Wow, what a guy.

This should be a reminder to everyone to check your oil level often!!!

Except for the bad luck of a few individuals, most of the drivers had a great time and had another great experience out on the track. You can see more pictures from this event on SpeedTrial's website HERE.

Interested in driving, riding along, or spectating? Watch the SPC website for a schedule of future track dates, or take a look at Driving Events.com to find events in your area.