So it's still your street car? Do you drive it regularly?
Everyday, unless it's being worked on or prepped for a race. That's part of what I love about this car--you can make it fast on the track, and still keep it completely comfortable on the street.
What events can we expect to see you and the EVO competing in this year, while we use it to kick everyone's ass in the Castrol Syntec Top Car Challenge?
I'll be pretty much everywhere the guys from AMS in Chicago go: all the time attack events, Super Lap Battle qualifying rounds and Finals at Buttonwillow in the fall, and whatever else I manage to get into in between that. And of course, the Castrol Syntec Top Car Challenge.
So what is your plan of attack for this competition? Remember, it's going to have to battle high-dollar European exotics, big-power American muscle, and other imports and sport compacts on the drag strip, the dyno, through braking tests, road racing, on the street...
EVO Xs are already one of the best road race and time-attack platforms out there, and mine was built specifically for that, so that will be no problem. It runs faster than the exotics all day long without a hiccup. Since it's also my daily driver, it's definitely going to drive better on the street than most other heavily modded rides--and it gets great gas mileage. Braking should be no problem either--all a part of a good track car. And stripped down to race weight, its AWD drivetrain is going to make it very fast in the quarter. Power is up significantly over stock, but we didn't want to kill its throttle response with lag from some giant turbo just to make a big peak power number, so it might have a little trouble taking out the V-8s on the dyno . . . but we're still working on some tricks in that department!
Awesome. Sounds like a killer! What do you see in your motorsports future?
Professional driving, hopefully. I'd love to get into Koni Challenge or Speed World Challenge. ALMS would be a dream. But I'm just planning to enjoy each season that comes my way. I'm happy to be where I'm at right now, just scraping together enough to build my car and enjoy it . . . and shake up some of the other guys in the process [laughs].
Solid outlook. Got any other encouraging words for the people?
First, learn how to drive your car: go through NASA's HPDE ranks. Second, don't worry about building your car before you've learned its limits. It's much easier and more rewarding to learn the limits of a slower car than a faster one. Upgrade as you go, and re-learn the new limits on the track every step of the way.