The annual autumn race at Road America, and we bring three cars!

Our three team cars: #196 Fart-kontroll Saab 9-3, #179 Molasses Pontiac Firebird, #195 Gensoku Mazda Miata.

We love going to Road America. It's a terrific race track with a variety of corners, hills and long straights. In addition, there are plenty of really good restaurants in the area which give the team a chance to socialize when we are not at the track.

Our original plan was to take the Fart-kontroll Saab 9-3, and Travis McCormick was anxious to bring his Molasses Firebird up from Iowa as it ran pretty well at its last race at Raceway Park of the Midlands near Council Bluffs.

In the final weeks before the Road America race, a miscount of who would be driving with us meant we had nine drivers for the two cars, plus a couple of others who had expressed interest. With a potential of eleven drivers, Mark Fitzpatrick's Gensoku Mazda Miata was added to the entry list. Fortunately it did not need a lot of work to prep it in time for the race.

Old intercooler at bottom, replacement above.

The Saab was in pretty decent shape after the previous race, so we decided to make a few upgrades. We started with the intercooler. The stock intercooler on our Saab had both inlet and outlet at the same end, which meant the air traveled in a U shape. Other Saabs came with a flow through intercooler, with inlet on one end, outlet on the other. Just such an intercooler setup had been removed from a parts car, and it took only a few minutes to replace. The front bumper sits directly ahead of the intercooler, so we cut a large opening in the bumper cover and the aluminum bumper frame so that air would ram directly into the intercooler.

Large opening cut in the bumper for better air flow.

ChumpCar had made a rule change regarding suspension bushings, and the OE rubber bushings could now be replaced with polyurethane aftermarket pieces. We found just what we wanted at eEuroparts.com in the Powerflex Black lineup of parts. The Powerflex Black bushings are made of a very stiff polyurethane, too stiff for street use. We ordered a full set in order to stiffen the front and rear of the Saab.

Finding a good set of racing brake pads for the 9-3 has been difficult. There are several companies that will make brake pads to order, but there is little available off the shelf. We have been using EBC Yellowstuffs, and they last a weekend, but just barely. EBC also offers a more aggressive brake pad in the Bluestuffs line, but they are a special order. eEuroparts.com came through with a set of Bluestuffs for front and rear. In addition, the brake rotors were looking a bit rough after three weekends of endurance racing, about 3,000 miles total. We had installed the Saab Viggen brake setup with larger diameter rotors prior to this season, Frozen Rotors is our preference as the discs last much longer than standard.

During a test day at BIR a few days before the Road America weekend, we gave the changes to the 9-3 a bit of a workout, and were especially impressed by the braking.

The Miata was in need a bit of alteration before it could compete in ChumpCar again. The reason it ran in the Exception Class (EC) at Brainerd was because of the roof. ChumpCar gives each car a basic value, and the roof added value to the car, which would award penalty laps at the beginning of each race. The biggest difference was that it still had the rear glass, as Mark still used it for his street Miata, and ChumpCar requires all glass other than windshield and mirrors must be removed. To run without the top meant that there would have to be a roof net, so that was added.

At its previous race at RPM, the Firebird suffered fuel starvation in some corners while the gas tank still had plenty of gas. To remedy that, Travis added extra fuel pumps in order for the fuel pressure to remain high until the tank was truly empty.

Dinner at Al and Al's Steinhaus

We arrived at the track on Friday afternoon and met up with team members from other locations. Our driver lineup included the usual suspects: Tim Winker, Mark Fitzpatrick, and Mike Mandy. Ben Wedge, Eric Peterson, Jeff Gadbois and Skip Starkey would be returning. Aidan Hicks was back for his first event this season. Travis was on hand with the Firebird, and Mike Borden would be joining us for the first time. Ten drivers altogether. In addition, Larry and Cyndy Walter were on hand as crew, as were Sweden Torgerud, Bethany Porter, David Hueppchen and Jim Hickstein.

Once the race cars were race ready on Friday afternoon, most of the team headed for Sheboygan where we had a sumptuous German dinner at Al and Al's Steinhaus. Good food, good bier, good company! And not one BMW team in sight.

On  the grid prior to racing.

Saturday morning was cool and overcast. All three cars were lined up in the pits awaiting the start, getting a final once over, checking fluids and tire pressures. Mark was first up in the Saab. Travis started in the Firebird to make sure all was well with that car. Jeff was aboard the Miata as the cars took to the track.

All three drivers fell into a comfortable pattern. Mark brought the Saab in after about an hour as he would also be driving the Miata later in the day. On new tires, Mark set the fastest time for the weekend in the Saab, 3:00.874. We were in 23rd position just prior to the first pit stop. Ben wedged himself into the aluminum seat for his stint. 

Travis brought the Firebird in next as the thirsty V8 demanded fuel, turning the car over to Mike Mandy. Jeff drove nearly two hours before turning the Miata over to Aidan.

Ben drove a steady pace in the Saab, turning laps in the 3:05 to 3:10 range, depending on race traffic. He radioed in that he felt a vibration but was unable to pinpoint what it might be. The Saab was up to 17th place when Ben came in for the driver change on lap 52. 

Skip was out next and also turned consistent laps until he, too, felt the vibration, and knew it would require immediate attention. Unfortunately the Miata came in for a driver change and the Firebird broke down on track at the same time  It was a few minutes before we could take a look at the Saab. The diagnosis was a torn outer CV boot in the left front, which allowed the grease to leak out and the CV to fail. Fortunately we had a spare left front axle and set about to make repairs. It took just over an hour, and the Saab was back on track in 53rd place with Skip finishing out his driving stint.

Mike Mandy managed a fast lap of 2:58.700 in the Firebird before turning it over to Eric. Eric had only turned a few laps when the rear end failed. The Pontiac was out for the day.

The Saab made its final stop after 74 laps with Tim prepared to take the checkered flag. On his first lap he spun the car under hard braking due to a failure of the anti-lock braking system (ABS). Without ABS, the rear brakes would lock up and the rear of the car wanted to pass the front. Tim took it easy under braking which meant slightly slower lap times, but managed to move up from 50th overall to 44th by the end of the race, and 15th in Class C.

The Miata ran a steady pace all day, with stellar drives by Mike Borden and Mark in the late stages, ultimately finishing in 28th place overall and third in Class A!

Everyone set about making repairs for Sunday's race. The wire for the ABS sensor in the left front was broken, apparently a byproduct of the axle failure. A bit of splicing and it was again functional.  Brake pads were replaced as necessary and fluids were topped off.

The Miata also needed brake pads; the rears were worn down to the backing plates.

One of the local Camaro teams offered to help with a rear end for the Firebird. They had a couple of spares among their parts stash. Unfortunately neither was an exact match so compromises were made. The best choice had rear drum brakes, which were incompatible with the master cylinder. Since the fronts do the majority of the braking, it was decided to make a few laps at the start of the race, and if the front brakes were incapable of slowing the car, the Firebird would retire early.

Tim works on team strategy in the pits.

Overnight rain made the track wet for the start of Sunday's racing. That would be an advantage for our front wheel drive Saab. Skip was the first driver as he wanted to head home early. Mark was aboard the Miata, while Travis was first up in the Firebird as he was most familiar with its quirks.

Mark came in on the pace lap because the rear brakes were locked up. It was determined that a caliper piston had become displaced due to the worn out pads on Saturday. Repairs were made and the Miata was on track a few laps down.

Skip was pretty quick, using the Saab's FWD to move up through the pack. He was running 15^th overall when another car bumped the Saab in the right rear door and both drivers were given a black flag for making contact. It was time for Skip to come into the pits for the driver change anyway, so skinny Aidan attempted to make himself comfortable in the cavernous driver's seat. After about ten laps he called in that the transmission was stuck in 4^th gear. He made it back to the pits where it was discovered that a bolt holding the linkage together had fallen out. Another bolt of the proper size was located, but getting it into place was difficult. Ultimately we turned to Sweden, Aidan's girlfriend and a professional mechanic, to make the repairs. Her smaller arms allowed her to reach in among all the hoses and wiring to install the replacement bolt. The repair took about 15 minutes, which translated to about 5 laps lost.

Travis, too, was given a black flag after he tagged and spun one of the many BMWs. Damage to the Firebird was minimal, but Travis decided he'd had enough driving and the car was again turned over to Mike Mandy for the next stint.

While the rest of the crew looks on, Sweden does the work.

Jeff had gone home Sunday morning, which left us short of drivers. Most had no desire to drive the Firebird with its questionable brakes. We were able to track down a driver from another team whose car failed on Saturday. Derrik Cole from the Left Shark Hyundai Tiburon team agreed to give the Firebird a try. He was able to set the fast time for the day in the Pontiac at 3:03.750. Unfortunately the replacement rear end gave up a few laps later and the Firebird was pushed onto the trailer for the long trip back to Iowa.

Eric was second up in the Miata, followed by Mike Borden, who set the fast time for the day at 3:11.621. Since they had each already done a full driving stint earlier, Mark and Aidan split the final stint to finish the race stopping only for a driver change which meant a quicker pit stop.

Tim and then Ben were the last two drivers in the Saab. Tim set quick lap for the day at 3:03.781, pretty good for a guy in his 60s. For the final laps, Ben kept pace with Aidan in the slower Miata, allowing for a team photo as the two cars took the checkered flag.

The Saab was credited with 25th place overall and 10th in Class C, while the Miata finished 34th overall and fifth in Class A.

Thus ended a rather successful season for the team. The Saab finished every race this year and added over 7,000 racing miles to the odometer. The Miata made a successful debut with a class victory and also finished every race entered.