The last opportunity I had to get some track time for the year was at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia. Only ninety minutes away from my home, it’s a track I’m very familiar with. I’ve raced many times there, but it has been about two decades since I have. This track holds a special place in my heart, and I was excited to be back.
I arrived at the track on Friday evening to set up camp for the weekend. It was cold, but thankfully, I was well-prepared. I brought an electric heater to hopefully keep the temperature inside my tent above freezing. Once I was inside my sleeping bag, it wasn’t too bad. I had spent the week before the event preparing my car, checking the tires, and making sure everything was in top condition. I was ready for the weekend.
When I woke up in the morning and stepped outside the tent, I was a bit shocked. It had rained overnight, and the car was covered with ice. I’ve experienced snow flurries before at the track, but never ice. The ground was warm enough that the pavement wasn’t icy, so thankfully, the event wasn’t delayed. I just needed to deice the car first, a process that involved careful scraping and warming the engine to melt the ice on all the glass.
As I ventured out for the first session, the track still bore the remnants of the overnight rain. That coupled with the cold temperatures made it a challenge to warm up the tires. Yet, this only added to the thrill of refamiliarizing myself with the track. The lap may be short, but the sheer joy of driving on this track was something I had forgotten.
My favorite section is coming out of turn 6, the Carousel, a tight, sweeping right-hander, and into the Esses, turns 7, 8, and 9. This section requires precision and skill, and I remember in the touring car, turns 8 and 9 were flat out, but I wasn’t that brave in the Cruze. Maybe I’ll be a little more daring on a warmer day with a dedicated track tire, but it was still quite enjoyable, a thrilling part of the track that always gets my heart racing.
During the later sessions, the track warmed up, and the tires provided more grip. The car felt good. The handling felt balanced, and the engine felt strong down the front straight. Even though I was still one of the slowest cars on the track, I was filled with a sense of exhilaration and joy. I was having a blast, and that’s what it’s all about.
Sharing the paddock with me was a very fast driver with his Honda S2000. However, he was facing an issue with fender clearance. I stepped in, lending him my tools to resolve the issue. This is one of the aspects I cherish about races and track events-the opportunity to meet new people and forge bonds with fellow drivers, making the experience all the more enjoyable.
Saturday night was Halloween, and it was a crazy night. Someone had music pumping until two or three o’clock in the morning. I didn’t participate in the festivities, but it sounded pretty wild. Now I understand how the old guys felt when I was racing in my younger years.
Sunday could have been more fun. In the first session, the car was misfiring like crazy, a problem that can be both frustrating and dangerous on the track. I brought it back to the paddock to investigate. I downloaded the log and saw that cylinder #3 was the issue. I switched the coil from cylinder #3 to cylinder #1 to see if the misfires moved, a quick and easy diagnostic technique.
I took one lap and returned to the paddock during the next session as it was still severely misfiring. I downloaded the log, and the misfire had moved with the coil, so the coil was obviously bad. I didn’t have a spare one with me, so that ended my day. It only misfired under full throttle, so I wasn’t concerned with driving it home.
That’s how it goes sometimes, but at least it was just a coil and nothing majorly wrong. Despite the cold weather, lack of sleep, and an annoying misfire, overall, it was a delightful weekend. I met new people, saw some cool cars, and drove mine as fast as possible around a fun track. It sounds like a fun little weekend to me, and I can’t wait for the next event!
DS
