It’s been a little over two months since Grassroots Motorsports (GRM) launched its Path to the Podium video series, and we’ve been on the edge of our seat waiting for episode two. This series follows along as GRM’s video editor makes the jump from SCCA® Track Night in America® Driven by Tire Rack events to the Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge, all in a Club Spec Mustang.

It’s remarkable that we’ve been on the edge of our seat waiting for video number two, because a seat is one of the items they chose to install in this episode, as they move the Club Spec car from SCCA Time Trials Safety Level 1 to Level 2.

Club Spec is a build once, participate everywhere class created by the Sports Car Club of America™ in 2023. The concept took two vehicles, the NC Mazda MX-5 and the early S197 Ford Mustang GT, and built a spec kit that would be legal for SCCA Solo® and Time Attack competition all while keeping a manageable street demeanor. Those two classes have seen success, and now there is a third Club Spec car, the 718 Porsche, which will be joining the fun in 2027.

Discover all there is to know about Club Spec by clicking here.

“It is time to get our SCCA Club Spec Mustang on track, and we’re only going to do that if we can do it safely,” GRM’s Tech Editor JG Pasterjak explains at the beginning of the video. “That means we are here in the shop today bolting in some safety equipment.”

Safety equipment, Pasterjak explains, is about more than keeping the driver out of harm’s way. “It’s about driver protection,” he says, “but it’s also about driver efficiency and effectiveness.”

The series follows video editor Tropea as he progresses in series and skills, ultimately heading to the 2026 Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack National Championship taking place Oct. 22-25 at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, TX.

Tropea’s prior track experience includes an SCCA Track Night in America, and while Track Nights are low-stress events where there is no clock logging lap times, Tropea discovered he was going faster than the stock seats and belts could hold him in the turns. “Even at my level of driving skills, I noticed I was sliding around in the seat having to hold myself up and not being able to go to my full potential,” Tropea says.

“That’s terrible for performance, obviously, but that’s also terrible for safety because if you are expending a lot of [physical] energy and a lot of emotional energy keeping yourself steady in the seat, you can be a hazard to other drivers, you can be a hazard to yourself, and it does no good for your lap time,” adds Pasterjak.

The second episode in the series serves to remedy this by upgrading GRM’s Club Spec Mustang from SCCA Time Trials Safety Level 1 (which is stock) to Level 2, allowing for numerous upgrades. The video follows along as they install a fixed-back Cobra racing seat courtesy of HMS Motorsports, a six-point Schroth harness (also from HMS), a four-point roll bar from Competition Motorsport, and seat mounts from Vorshlag Motorsports.

“Don’t think of safety just as safety, although that is very, very important,” Pasterjak says. “Think of it also as an upgrade in driver efficiency and driver effectiveness.”

Catch the video on GRM’s YouTube channel. 

Learn all about the Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack Challenge and Tire Rack SCCA Time Attack National Championship at timetrials.scca.com.  

Photo courtesy Grassroots Motorsports