Saturday TTN Notebook: Teamwork and Unique People With Unique Cars
Saturday TTN Notebook: Teamwork and Unique People With Unique Cars
A popular mantra at SCCA track days, from Time Trials to Track Night in America, is that this is a “team event” – even though everyone is competing, working together ensures a clear track and the best practices to maximize everyone’s enjoyment.
That was how Saturday morning at the SCCA Tire Rack Time Trials Nationals Powered by Hagerty began, as a field of street cars and time trials cars went on track for some Touring Laps from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. to help dry the track.
With the track dry and the schedule only slightly delayed, competitors moved into the Track Sprint portion of the weekend. Every competitor gets three runs on both the east and the west portion of the track – and the best time on each, coming from a standing start like autocross, gets added together for Saturday’s portion of the final score.
Just Cruisin’
It’s only natural – the high end, exotic cars that tend to be the ultimate quickest get the most attention. But those builds can be out of the reach of many of us – and there is a place at Time Trials Nationals for everyone.
Just ask Alan Lani. His car isn’t the most expensive and it’s certainly not the quickest. But he’s having as much fun as anyone, and it’s garnering a lot of attention from some that might traditionally be considered slightly more, well, “cool.”
Why? Because he came to NCM Motorsports Park with a PT Cruiser. On purpose.
Lani didn’t begin his Time Trials career yearning for a PT Cruiser. He has had an NB Miata and a BMW, but was looking for something different.
“I had originally bought a different PT Cruiser on Facebook for $500 that had a five-speed and disc brakes and it might have been a halfway decent car,” Lani said. “I ran out of time to finish it. Rather than miss the event, Friday of last week, I told my girlfriend ‘I’m taking your car.’ This is her daily. That’s part of why I chose PT Cruisers. She loves them, but they haven’t been built in 15 years. But I’ve built her three different cars, so I know the platform. I have parts sitting around. It's not a big deal.”
So Lani took the Hawk Brakes and shocks for the car that hadn’t yet been built and put it on the daily driver. There was some concern about the height versus the width, so he overnighted some lowering springs to the track and put them on by flashlight in the paddock. And then, he did what everyone is doing – he drove.
“It’s been hilarious,” Lani said. “The interest has really surprised me. I was just doing this not to miss the event and people have been really excited.”
So, sure – the underpowered and overbraked car isn’t going to set any speed records this week. But he’s going to get the same amound of track time, and have the same amount of giggles, as anyone.
“Every car has its challenges and learning how to drive this car fast has been really exciting for me,” he said. “It doesn’t accelerate worth anything, I had a top speed of 92.4 yesterday. With the Hawk Brakes and the SRT calipers on the front, it’s actually got 1.1g of cornering and braking. Just trying to figure out how to be, I won’t say fast, but not as slow, in a PT cruiser has been interesting. “
Feeling Peachy
They’ve been described as “motorsports monks,” taking a vow to dedicate their life to the motorsports dream, and making it happen. And for the Peachey brothers, it’s been a successful whirlwind.
At Time Trials Nationals, Justin is representing the clan – and doing it well, consistently in the top two overall in his Corvette. Known for grabbing the steering wheel and and hustling his car around any surface – whether it be a parking lot or on track – Peachey is just living his dream.
“I’m just having fun,” Peachy said. “Some people only autocross, and some people only do track stuff but don’t try autocrossing. I like trying new things, and they’re all fun in different ways. I’m just trying to do as much as I can.”
That includes buying a car and doing whatever it takes to go as fast as it will go.
“I bought the car mostly stock and got competitive in the CAM-S autocross class,” he said. “As those rules changed, I built to those rules, and it’s still primarily an autocross car and it still is a CAM-S legal car. I’ve tried to make it as fast as I can for those rules, and kind of on a budget too. There aren’t a lot of high dollar parts on there. I try to make the money that I spend on it count for going faster. I’m not necessarily making it a show car.”
But there’s no such thing as an ugly car in victory lane, and that’s where Peachey spends his time – at least when he’s not behind the wheel.
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
When we first met Elias Espinal, he was attending his Bachelor Party – at Time Trials Nationals, where he was also competing with some buddies.
Good news – now married, he and Yuting, his wife, are still here. And even more exciting, there’s now a one-year-old daughter, Elise, tagging along and playing with cars.
“The only Time Trials Nationals I missed was last year, and that was because she was born the week before,” Espinal said. “This year, we’re making it back! We’re here with my Camaro, but it just so happens that my Camaro’s wheel bearing broke. John Lee, being as awesome as he is, let me drive his Mustang. It’s been a fun time.”
Of course, when the baby is tagging along, some things are different. For one, there are a few more things to keep track of. But secondarily, the first few times at Time Trials Nationals, the accommodations were a tent in the paddock. Now? Well, it’s definitely a hotel.
One Day To Go
With Saturday’s Track Sprints in the books, the class winners are starting to take shape. All of the awards will be handed out on Sunday, when every driver’s best times on the full circuit will be added to the current scores for a final time and a ranking.
