JD Scion tC and Gardner Grab Two Poles and a Win at Buttonwi
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JD Scion tC and Gardner Grab Two Poles and a Win at Buttonwi
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 14, 2007
JD Scion tC and Gardner Grab Two Poles and a Win at Buttonwillow Despite Pre-race Electronics Woes
Team Also Breaks Time Trial Track Record by Almost a Full Second
TORRANCE, Calif. — This past weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway, Dan Gardner and the Jackson-Dawson team took pole position and the win on Saturday, and pole position on Sunday in NASA’s Performance Touring E (PTE) class. The team also grabbed two firsts in TTE, breaking the track record in the Time Trial series by posting a 2:15.8 lap time, almost a full second better than the previous record from 2005. And it would have been more had Gardner run his best qualifying time during one of the TT sessions.
"After the record eluding us last month, we came back strong at Buttonwillow," said driver, Dan Gardner. "It wasn’t easy to get in the groove mentally due some really frustrating electronics issues that we struggled with right up until the race weekend. Friday’s test day was really helpful to clear out some of the cobwebs and get down to the business of driving."
More than a week before the event, the team had installed the AEM standalone system put together by Dezod Motorsports. Once everything was in place hardware-wise, the car was taken to i-Speed/Crawford for tuning. Everyone collaborated to try to get the car up and running, slaving away all weekend and into the next week. Still, a problem with the power cutting out at 4,600 rpm would stymie all the best efforts.
As with many things the team has had to engineer from scratch this season, engine management proved to be no less of a struggle. The team simply ran out of time with the race approaching, and it was with regret that the project had to be tabled for the time being. The stock ECU went back in, the ballast came out, and Gardner would have to make due with less power coupled with a pesky rev limit that had him in the wrong gear in many places on track.
On the plus side was the addition of suspension bushings and motor mounts from Energy Suspension, who worked hard to make lots of pieces from scratch for the team. The stock rubber came out, and in went super-firm polyurethane. Surely it would be an advantage over the deflection from the stock bits. On track proved that to be the case, as the car felt a bit crisper just about everywhere.
Motul supplied the team with more great fluids, and the team changed the engine oil and brake fluid. The latter proved to be mandatory, as the fluid from the front calipers came out a murky brown, having been over-heated for too long.
On Saturday’s race warmup Gardner managed a 2:15.3. Qualifying would be a hair slower at a 2:15.7, but it was good enough by a couple of tenths to outqualify the red GTI. The start would be an outright mess, with cars fighting hard for position going into turn 1. Several crashes would ensue. Indeed, out of the right side of his vision, Gardner would see a yellow Honda sliding sideways across the track after having been hit. Several cars were in the dirt as others were crashing as well.
In the blink of an eye, Gardner saw a car quickly shift to his right. A fraction of a second later he took the Scion off track to avoid a collision, standing on the gas and motoring down the straight with all four wheels in the dirt. Slowing Gardner eased two wheels on track, but as he did a black Honda came rushing toward him. He held his position to avoid contact, and came fully back on track as the esses were approaching.
Gardner had lost sight of the GTI, though a couple of red cars were up a ways ahead. Gardner gave chase, though he never would catch up to the cars out in front. Three quarters of the way into the race, Gardner figured that the GTI had either checked out or was behind him some ways back. He drove in coast mode for the last quarter of the race, took the checkered, and then tried to figure out where the GTI had gone.
As he pulled into the hot pits, crewman and acting crew chief, Craig Allen, informed him that the GTI had crashed on the start and was disabled. Gardner later met up with the VW driver and saw the damage which had taken him out of the race. Not exactly the way he had wanted to win, but Gardner would take first either way, as none of the other in-class cars were fast enough to put up a fight.
“You never wish for a competitor to crash” said Allen. “Frank [the GTI driver] has been a great competitor. He’s really brought out the best in us this season. We hope he can make a speedy return, and give us a good fight once again.”
On Sunday the race director would throw a curve ball at the field. The race would begin with a standing start, dropped clutches, smoking tires, and all. This was a first for Gardner and the tC, but it was also a good test for the Centerforce clutch. Gardner was again on pole, having ripped off a weekend best 2:15.1 lap time.
The starter showed the green flag to competitors as Gardner brought the revs of the 2.4-liter up to speed. In a furious wave of the flag Gardner dropped the clutch and fed in the throttle, leaving black streaks behind as the car lurched forward and threatened to slam into the rear end of the Civic hatchback in front of him. Gardner tried to make room on the right side of the track, but there wasn’t enough, and Gardner didn’t want to risk a crash going into turn 1.
Patiently, Gardner waited for cars to get through the first few turns before making any passing moves. During the first lap, no great opportunity for a pass presented itself, but on the second lap Gardner started to move through traffic. By that time his in-class competitors were well out of sight behind him.
In lap number 6 Gardner was around 30 seconds ahead of second place, and had virtually checked out of the race. He slowed the pace down a bit, making sure nothing would take him out of the race. There were very few cars around him, and so when he turned the car into the kink before the bus stop, it was with much surprise that the car got immediately and severely loose. Gardner corrected back and forth, but in the end the car would go off track sideways.
Still unsure of what had happened, Gardner literally waited for the dusk to settle, as he watched several cars zoom by. When it was safe, Gardner got back on track just as the second place Miata was passing him by. After a furious but quick fight, less than a lap later, Gardner had regained the lead, and started to put distance between him and the Miata.
But coming over cotton corners, Gardner looked down and saw the red oil pressure warning light aglow. A quick glance over at the gauge showed zero pressure. Gardner took two quick seconds to make a decision, shut the motor off and coasted to the inside of the track, putting the car in the dirt as it came to a rest.
Gardner surveyed things, and just decided that it wasn’t worth it to lose a motor in a regional race. The loose handling coupled with the light and the gauge reading led him to believe that there was a good chance that something had indeed caused the loss of pressure. On top of that, the water temperature started climbing to unsafe levels. Gardner quickly turned the key to the accessory 2 position in order for the fan to turn on. The water temp stabilized but was slow to come down, as it was 100 degrees outside, and there was zero airflow.
When the race was over, Gardner got towed back into the paddock. Back in the garage, Allen checked the oil and confirmed that everything looked fine. After an hour or two of troubleshooting, Gardner and Allen determined that a faulty oil pressure sender was to blame. A $10 part had cost the team the race.
“Yeah, it absolutely sucks to lose this way,” said chief mechanic, Chris Viscovich. “After talking with Dan, and hearing the situation, I know he’d do the same thing again in a heart beat. Better safe than sorry. Had it been Nationals though…that’s another story entirely!”
Gardner did still accrue some season points, as he had completed more than half the race before pulling off track. The team still leads the points race, having accumulated 750 season points in NASA’s SoCal region.
As for the car getting loose and going off track, the team later found that a competitor had blown a head gasket and was pumping water on the track. Not surprisingly, Gardner was several car lengths behind that car when he did go off track.
Photos from the Buttonwillow race can be found at:
http://gallery.aboutgardner.com/gall...willowJune2007
The next NASA race is at Willow Springs on July 7 and 8.
The JD Scion tC is currently fitted with
• Scion-supplied OE and TRD parts
• Nitto 225/45R17 NT-01 tires
• Enkei RPF1 17x8 wheels
• Recaro Pole Position Seats
• Progress Technology coilovers, rear swaybar, and camber bolts
• Dezod-supplied AEM standalone engine management, plug and play harness and stainless clutch line
• Kaminari carbon fiber roof
• Centerforce clutch and lightweight aluminum flywheel
• NST underdrive pulleys and shifter bushings
• AIT carbon fiber hood
• Wild Pony Motorsports-supplied camber/caster plates
• Goodridge stainless brake lines
• Carbotech XP10 and XP8 brake pads
• G-Force 5-point harnesses, racing suit, gloves, and helmet
• TRD cold air intake and limited slip differential
• DC Sports Header
• Energy Suspension bushings and motor mounts
• HoseTechniques silicone hoses
• Motul brake fluid, engine oil, transmission fluid, and super coolant
• RobiSpec brake ducting
In addition, tire mounting, balancing, and repair are performed by America's Tire Co., tuning is done by i-Speed, alignment is performed by M-Workz, car care products are supplied by Mothers Polish, body work is done by Royalty Auto Body, team clothing is supplied by turn3, and dyno testing services are done by Harman Motive.
Jackson-Dawson Communications (JD) is a 25-year-old privately held company that provides creative and strategic services to a range of national clients. Core competencies include retail training, event marketing, marketing services, business theater, video and media production services, meeting planning, print graphic and design services, staging service and vehicle management.
With corporate offices in Detroit, MI, Jackson-Dawson also maintains offices in Torrance and Irvine, CA, Manhattan, NY, and Spring Hill, TN. Jackson-Dawson owns and operates several divisions: Peloton Creative Group, BenMar Communications, Drivers Talk Radio and Drivers Talk Testing.
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June 14, 2007
JD Scion tC and Gardner Grab Two Poles and a Win at Buttonwillow Despite Pre-race Electronics Woes
Team Also Breaks Time Trial Track Record by Almost a Full Second
TORRANCE, Calif. — This past weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway, Dan Gardner and the Jackson-Dawson team took pole position and the win on Saturday, and pole position on Sunday in NASA’s Performance Touring E (PTE) class. The team also grabbed two firsts in TTE, breaking the track record in the Time Trial series by posting a 2:15.8 lap time, almost a full second better than the previous record from 2005. And it would have been more had Gardner run his best qualifying time during one of the TT sessions.
"After the record eluding us last month, we came back strong at Buttonwillow," said driver, Dan Gardner. "It wasn’t easy to get in the groove mentally due some really frustrating electronics issues that we struggled with right up until the race weekend. Friday’s test day was really helpful to clear out some of the cobwebs and get down to the business of driving."
More than a week before the event, the team had installed the AEM standalone system put together by Dezod Motorsports. Once everything was in place hardware-wise, the car was taken to i-Speed/Crawford for tuning. Everyone collaborated to try to get the car up and running, slaving away all weekend and into the next week. Still, a problem with the power cutting out at 4,600 rpm would stymie all the best efforts.
As with many things the team has had to engineer from scratch this season, engine management proved to be no less of a struggle. The team simply ran out of time with the race approaching, and it was with regret that the project had to be tabled for the time being. The stock ECU went back in, the ballast came out, and Gardner would have to make due with less power coupled with a pesky rev limit that had him in the wrong gear in many places on track.
On the plus side was the addition of suspension bushings and motor mounts from Energy Suspension, who worked hard to make lots of pieces from scratch for the team. The stock rubber came out, and in went super-firm polyurethane. Surely it would be an advantage over the deflection from the stock bits. On track proved that to be the case, as the car felt a bit crisper just about everywhere.
Motul supplied the team with more great fluids, and the team changed the engine oil and brake fluid. The latter proved to be mandatory, as the fluid from the front calipers came out a murky brown, having been over-heated for too long.
On Saturday’s race warmup Gardner managed a 2:15.3. Qualifying would be a hair slower at a 2:15.7, but it was good enough by a couple of tenths to outqualify the red GTI. The start would be an outright mess, with cars fighting hard for position going into turn 1. Several crashes would ensue. Indeed, out of the right side of his vision, Gardner would see a yellow Honda sliding sideways across the track after having been hit. Several cars were in the dirt as others were crashing as well.
In the blink of an eye, Gardner saw a car quickly shift to his right. A fraction of a second later he took the Scion off track to avoid a collision, standing on the gas and motoring down the straight with all four wheels in the dirt. Slowing Gardner eased two wheels on track, but as he did a black Honda came rushing toward him. He held his position to avoid contact, and came fully back on track as the esses were approaching.
Gardner had lost sight of the GTI, though a couple of red cars were up a ways ahead. Gardner gave chase, though he never would catch up to the cars out in front. Three quarters of the way into the race, Gardner figured that the GTI had either checked out or was behind him some ways back. He drove in coast mode for the last quarter of the race, took the checkered, and then tried to figure out where the GTI had gone.
As he pulled into the hot pits, crewman and acting crew chief, Craig Allen, informed him that the GTI had crashed on the start and was disabled. Gardner later met up with the VW driver and saw the damage which had taken him out of the race. Not exactly the way he had wanted to win, but Gardner would take first either way, as none of the other in-class cars were fast enough to put up a fight.
“You never wish for a competitor to crash” said Allen. “Frank [the GTI driver] has been a great competitor. He’s really brought out the best in us this season. We hope he can make a speedy return, and give us a good fight once again.”
On Sunday the race director would throw a curve ball at the field. The race would begin with a standing start, dropped clutches, smoking tires, and all. This was a first for Gardner and the tC, but it was also a good test for the Centerforce clutch. Gardner was again on pole, having ripped off a weekend best 2:15.1 lap time.
The starter showed the green flag to competitors as Gardner brought the revs of the 2.4-liter up to speed. In a furious wave of the flag Gardner dropped the clutch and fed in the throttle, leaving black streaks behind as the car lurched forward and threatened to slam into the rear end of the Civic hatchback in front of him. Gardner tried to make room on the right side of the track, but there wasn’t enough, and Gardner didn’t want to risk a crash going into turn 1.
Patiently, Gardner waited for cars to get through the first few turns before making any passing moves. During the first lap, no great opportunity for a pass presented itself, but on the second lap Gardner started to move through traffic. By that time his in-class competitors were well out of sight behind him.
In lap number 6 Gardner was around 30 seconds ahead of second place, and had virtually checked out of the race. He slowed the pace down a bit, making sure nothing would take him out of the race. There were very few cars around him, and so when he turned the car into the kink before the bus stop, it was with much surprise that the car got immediately and severely loose. Gardner corrected back and forth, but in the end the car would go off track sideways.
Still unsure of what had happened, Gardner literally waited for the dusk to settle, as he watched several cars zoom by. When it was safe, Gardner got back on track just as the second place Miata was passing him by. After a furious but quick fight, less than a lap later, Gardner had regained the lead, and started to put distance between him and the Miata.
But coming over cotton corners, Gardner looked down and saw the red oil pressure warning light aglow. A quick glance over at the gauge showed zero pressure. Gardner took two quick seconds to make a decision, shut the motor off and coasted to the inside of the track, putting the car in the dirt as it came to a rest.
Gardner surveyed things, and just decided that it wasn’t worth it to lose a motor in a regional race. The loose handling coupled with the light and the gauge reading led him to believe that there was a good chance that something had indeed caused the loss of pressure. On top of that, the water temperature started climbing to unsafe levels. Gardner quickly turned the key to the accessory 2 position in order for the fan to turn on. The water temp stabilized but was slow to come down, as it was 100 degrees outside, and there was zero airflow.
When the race was over, Gardner got towed back into the paddock. Back in the garage, Allen checked the oil and confirmed that everything looked fine. After an hour or two of troubleshooting, Gardner and Allen determined that a faulty oil pressure sender was to blame. A $10 part had cost the team the race.
“Yeah, it absolutely sucks to lose this way,” said chief mechanic, Chris Viscovich. “After talking with Dan, and hearing the situation, I know he’d do the same thing again in a heart beat. Better safe than sorry. Had it been Nationals though…that’s another story entirely!”
Gardner did still accrue some season points, as he had completed more than half the race before pulling off track. The team still leads the points race, having accumulated 750 season points in NASA’s SoCal region.
As for the car getting loose and going off track, the team later found that a competitor had blown a head gasket and was pumping water on the track. Not surprisingly, Gardner was several car lengths behind that car when he did go off track.
Photos from the Buttonwillow race can be found at:
http://gallery.aboutgardner.com/gall...willowJune2007
The next NASA race is at Willow Springs on July 7 and 8.
The JD Scion tC is currently fitted with
• Scion-supplied OE and TRD parts
• Nitto 225/45R17 NT-01 tires
• Enkei RPF1 17x8 wheels
• Recaro Pole Position Seats
• Progress Technology coilovers, rear swaybar, and camber bolts
• Dezod-supplied AEM standalone engine management, plug and play harness and stainless clutch line
• Kaminari carbon fiber roof
• Centerforce clutch and lightweight aluminum flywheel
• NST underdrive pulleys and shifter bushings
• AIT carbon fiber hood
• Wild Pony Motorsports-supplied camber/caster plates
• Goodridge stainless brake lines
• Carbotech XP10 and XP8 brake pads
• G-Force 5-point harnesses, racing suit, gloves, and helmet
• TRD cold air intake and limited slip differential
• DC Sports Header
• Energy Suspension bushings and motor mounts
• HoseTechniques silicone hoses
• Motul brake fluid, engine oil, transmission fluid, and super coolant
• RobiSpec brake ducting
In addition, tire mounting, balancing, and repair are performed by America's Tire Co., tuning is done by i-Speed, alignment is performed by M-Workz, car care products are supplied by Mothers Polish, body work is done by Royalty Auto Body, team clothing is supplied by turn3, and dyno testing services are done by Harman Motive.
Jackson-Dawson Communications (JD) is a 25-year-old privately held company that provides creative and strategic services to a range of national clients. Core competencies include retail training, event marketing, marketing services, business theater, video and media production services, meeting planning, print graphic and design services, staging service and vehicle management.
With corporate offices in Detroit, MI, Jackson-Dawson also maintains offices in Torrance and Irvine, CA, Manhattan, NY, and Spring Hill, TN. Jackson-Dawson owns and operates several divisions: Peloton Creative Group, BenMar Communications, Drivers Talk Radio and Drivers Talk Testing.
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