At Indianapolis Motor Speedway with The Varmit!

Happy Friday!  The shop was closed last Friday to enjoy some much-anticipated track time with the Mid-Ohio Region Porsche Club of America!  Our very own Nick Sartor built his e28 race car, and is a racer and performance driving instructor.  Nick Howard drove in his RMW e30 as well.  Reggie drove The Varmit, an e30 with newly installed roll cage! As you can imagine, they were all pretty excited to drive their German cars!  Today we're sharing some images from Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, along with a bit of Reggie's perspective on the event.  Before we get to that, we'd like to wish our shop helper, John, a fantastic school year! He recently had his last day on the job before heading back to college, and he has been training and guiding our new shop helper, Brandon, for the past several weeks.  John, we sincerely thank you for all of your hard work!  It's been an honor having you as part of our RMW crew. 

Describe what it's like to drive on the track at IMS:

"The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of, if not the most famous tracks in the world. So many legendary racers have run here. Even though we are going down the straight slower and backwards compared to the Indy 500….and, well the stands aren't filled with fans, just seeing the Pagoda and all of the stands gives you a glimpse as to what it is like to be a professional driver in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing".  All in all it is pretty magical." 
 

This was your second time attending this event. What did you learn this time? 

"I picked up 5 seconds on my lap times this year, but I know there is still a lot of time to gain. I'm sure I can push my braking zones back a bit further and I think I could probably tweak a couple of my turn-in points. This is my first event this year and 2nd in "The Varmit" (1st since getting the cage and seats installed), so I am still getting to know the car."

The highlight of your driving experience this past weekend was: 

"Visiting with friends, new and old. You're at this event for about 10 hours and only spend 1.5 hours on the track. The rest of the time you are learning from your instructors and peers and just catching up."

Tell us some of the features of The Varmit that enhanced your performance this year:

"This year The Varmit got a full roll cage, racing seats, and 6-point harnesses. I also put a more appropriate rear gear ratio in the car (from 3.73:1 to 3.25:1).  Of course the roll cage is for safety, but it also makes the car really stiff and allows it to handle even better than it did prior."  See related posts here and here. 

What are your future plans for The Varmit? What work do you have planned before your next track event?

"I have found that track events stress out my power steering system. I'll be adding a power steering cooler to address this issue. I don't currently have any other cooling issues, but to further bullet-proof the car and give it more longevity, I plan to add an oil cooler, brake ducts, a better cooling fan, and a cold-air box for the intake. Basically, I want to drive this car to MY limits without finding the car's mechanical limits." 

Share any words of wisdom for those who are interested in participating in this event next year: 

"Get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and bring spare brake pads and rotors." 

The Varmit #777 looked great coming down the straight!

In car #88…Nick Sartor!  Go, Nick, go!!!

Emerson loved the wind, the noise, and cheering for Daddy! 

Graham watched the cars come down the straight-away toward the yard of bricks: 

It was like herding cats to get these RMW fans to pose for a quick photo! They didn't want to miss any action on the track! 😉

Thanks for joining us this week!  We're gearing up for Carmel Artomobilia on Saturday, August 26th – we hope to see you there!