NASA Utah Motorsports Campus

[Bill Pemberton]

#567005

Congrats , ran there years back in my 08 ACR and it still ranks as one of my favorite tracks. Woodhouse Auto Family invited a bunch or Viper owners and friends to run there many years back and Alan Wilson ( Track designer ) was there. He was under the impression we were all there from Woodhouse Ford ( since it was the Ford Performance School ) and the Ford Store was the largest Ford Truck Store in the World for 14 years – they bought two more stores close by, so those ended up robbing some business from the Blair MegaDealer. The fun part , though, is Alan , thinking he was chatting with a bunch of Mustang Maniacs mentioned he designed the track with Vipers in mind. He said , ” The crazy V10s run insane speeds and they need a lot of run off, so I made sure there was plenty of dirt for them to slow down in, ha.” He found out later all the drivers were Snakecharmers ( except for one Corvette driver ) and he had to chuckle at his comment. So rock and roll at the Utah Viper Campus , the track was made for Venomous Vehicles.

[Shannon Whitehead]

#38042

NASA Rocky Mountain and Utah had this crossover event scheduled and being as I had never been to UMC on 4 wheels I decided I had to make the trip. Made the 9-hour tow out from Denver to SLC Thursday morning. I knew it was going to be hot, and as opposed to getting a hotel room decided to have a travel trailer dropped off in the paddock for me from RV Share. That would turn out to be a mistake, as I no longer think I can be at the track without a 68-degree space to go to after a session, I’m hooked. For those of you in hot climates, it might be worth a try for a long weekend. Having a “living room” to relax in was nice.

Friday morning practice started with solid rain and I decided to pass, as I did not want my first laps to be out in the rain on the Proxes RR. Session 2 started, and I went out for my first laps, very relaxed as there was still a little water on track. I normally go really slow at first to try and find the tricky spots and the places I can really lean on the car. Towards the end of the session, I started hearing a hard “pop” from the front end on any right corners when I was rolling on the throttle. It was consistent for the last 2 laps, and as I had heard things like that before that disappeared, I ignored it…. bad idea. Best lap was 2:16, which I knew was NOT going to cut it. I had a time in my head of 2:04, because I knew that would be what was needed to win TT2 against a fleet of 718 Clubsports. Not happy, but it was my first session and I start slow.

3rd session starts and I grid towards the front right behind a 991 cup car, thinking I would get open track and could follow him around a little. Very first right, turn 2, which is the beginning of a very fast sweeper sequence I get that pop and my car immediately goes from turning right to driving straight towards the dirt. After a second, I pull it back in barely missing the dirt. The same thing happens in a few other corners, and I pull the car back into the pits.

I am not by any means a mechanic or a wrench. I can tell what the car is doing and how to describe it, but not at all fix problems. I also left home forgetting my box with wrenches, ratchets, and sockets. I immediately think the worst and started planning my escape home, when I would get there, etc. I sent a video to someone at home getting advice and then the endurance team next to me could see I had jacked the car up and was looking around clueless and asked what the issue was. I showed them the video and described it and they immediately told me what was wrong. Someone hopped under and a left side camber but was loose. So, every time I was loading the left up while turning right, my camber would go from negative to dead neutral. The guys tossed me the tools I needed, and I went thru every one of the cambers bolts/nuts to double check them and make sure they were tight. I was very gracias and offered to help the guys in the pits during the enduro night if needed. Last session I took easy for first couple corners to make sure my repair worked, and it did. Confidence built a bit and pushed down to a 2:10, still not fast enough, but at least I was figuring the track out. I also spoke with one of the locals from Zelus Motorsports about some of the track secrets to try out, and created my gameplan.

Saturday morning it was go time. Zoom meeting to run thru everything. NASA Utah does things differently than Colorado, in that session #1 on Saturday is a real session, not just qualifying for grid position. So, if you get clear track, fast times are possible. I was able to squeeze out 3 clear laps. This track really does have camber on every single corner, so once you trust it, you can really throw the car in hard. 2:06.545. 4 seconds off from Friday, and right from jump put me in 2nd in TT2. The advice I was given in a couple of sections was game-changing. My times all got slower over the day, but I used that time to just practice and get ready for Sunday. Ended up 3rd place in TT2. Sat night, I had gone thru the video and the data, and a good chunk of bourbon, and had a game plan. It was easy to work on the plan with GT3 Huracan’s and AMGs screaming by my trailer until midnight.

[video=youtube_share;iiN7XGVTm9s]https://youtu.be/iiN7XGVTm9s[/video]

Sunday morning is always my favorite part of the whole weekend. The grids were posted, and I knew I was fucked, somehow, I was gridded #16. In front of me were people a solid 2 seconds slower, but I pushed on. I grabbed the bumper of a ZL1 that is local to me for 3 laps until he let me get by, then past a couple of other cars. I got clear track towards the end of lap 4. At that point, the car was already at 239 coolant and 268 oil but I was frustrated and just went for it anyway. Cranked out my fastest laps of the weekend on laps 5,6 and 7.

2:05.843 according to the transponder. Looked at 2nd place, which was .6 away and I knew it was locked up. Even better, I was a solid 1.5 seconds faster than the Clubsports that were in front of me the day prior. I went ahead and ran session #2 before driving home, because I knew I wouldn’t be out here for 6 months and wanted to practice a few sections. Could not get the time any lower but that was fine. 1st in TT2 for the day. And with the temps, I already knew I had a 2:04.xx in it had I gotten space earlier.

[video=youtube_share;2CwbjDCYkLI]https://youtu.be/2CwbjDCYkLI[/video]

You will notice I am having a solid 4 seconds on rev limiter on the main straight. I tried playing around with shifting to 5th, and immediately would drop 6MPH. A different 5th gear ratio will need to happen before next season. I think from the older threads a .84 would work in the stock transmission, which would give me exactly the extra speed I need.

Out of all the track days and the weekends, I have to say this really ranks up there. I knew up front that there were a lot of teams based out of UMC, and most of them being the German variety, and it was awesome and tough competition. I also got to see how the big boy endurance teams play, and they are a real operation. I can’t wait to get back here next season for the same version of this track. With a new 5th gear ratio, and a solid practice day I know I can get down to 2:00 flat. If they end up getting the NASA Championships back there in 22, I may even try and run every event that doesn’t align with Rocky Mountain. Just to get the practice for championships. It is a track that rewards high-speed stability/aero. If you have not been to this track, you really need to come out for an event, it really is an impressive facility and an awesome experience.

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