MotoIQ made the trip to Texas Motor Speedway to see what all was going down. Wes Dumalski and Sarah Forst were on scene to see what all the talk was about at Round 5 of Global Time Attack. Here is a link to the write up. Global Time Attack - Round 5 - Texas Edition
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Turbosmart review from Global Time Attack Round 5 in Texas. We cannot thank then enough for all their support this year. Turbosmart USA Review The whole crew heads to Texas for Round 5 of Global Time Attack. Travis will be running in Unlimited AWD, Taylor is running Street AWD, and Markos will run Enthusiast AWD. Be sure you come and check it out if you are in the area if not there will be a live stream from the track. Go and check out Global Time Attack for more information. A full recap will follow the event. Be sure you go and pick up this months issue of Modified Magazine for the full story on the Tuner Shoot that our Snail Performance 09 Wrx competed in. Big thanks to LIC Motorsports, Turbosmart USA, Whiteline Flatout, and WheelDude.com for all your help. What an awesome weekend for the Snail Performance crew at Willow Springs Raceway for the first ever Global Time Attack event. We were honored to be invited to come out and run with some of the big names in time attack. The Snail Crew packed up and headed out on Thursday night to get to WSIR for the Friday test and tune day. Friday morning I, “Travis”, got a text from Noah Levy of LIC Motorsports to let them into the hotel room we took over because they were running behind. After everyone was cleaned up we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed up to the track for some testing. First things first, we got our paddock all set up before unloading the car. Markos checked out the Snail Racer and also changed the oil in the car as we didn’t have time to do it before we left. With the car ready to go we hit the track to get a feel for it again as we don’t get to run WSIR but about once a year. The car was running great but the front grip on the car wasn’t where I wanted it. We decided to make a few adjustments to the car to hopefully get the car to stick in the front some more. However, nothing seemed to work for us and the best lap I could pull off was a 1.31.xxx for the day. Saturday rolled around and while talking to Noah about the car he said I could use some of their take off NT-01 tires to see if the car would like them. So Jerome and I loaded up the truck and headed off to get the tires swapped around. We got back just in time to get the wheels put on and get out for one of our GTA sessions. The car felt a little better on the other tires. The front was gripping better and I was able to pull off a little faster of a time for the day. For the last session of the day, Tony from UMS Tuning asked me if I could go out on track with him to show him the line I take at WSIR as he has never ran this track before. So I took the opportunity to take the LIC car out on track to get a feel for this car since I had been following the buildup on it in the Underdogs all last year. Noah and Adam are really great at what they do, the car felt awesome on track. Even though I was only driving the car about 70% on low boost I did a 1:34.xxx in the car. I would love to get in the seat of their car again and go at it at 100% to see what it can really do. Thanks again to Noah and Adam for letting me drive the car. After the event full day it was time for some (BTA) Beer Time Attack. Sunday morning, last day at the track, time to hit it and give it everything the car had. So we filled the car with fuel and hit the track for the morning session. I pulled off a 1:30.656, best time of the weekend so far. Last session of the day for the fast group I was able to get the car to lay down a 1:30.383 putting us in 3rd place in Limited GT AWD. After that session we all started to pack up so we would be ready to roll back to AZ after the award ceremony. 5 PM the whole crew headed down to the AFI trailer for the award ceremony. We took home 3rd place and a set of steak knives “good thing is we love steak”. In the end the Snail team had a blast at the first ever GTA event and looking forward to running in some of the upcoming events. Big thanks to John Naderi, Jason Dienhart, Mike Kenny, and everyone that helped make GTA happen. You guys did a great job!!! See everyone again soon at the track. Well if one track weekend isn’t enough how about 2 in a row! The following weekend after the Modified Tuner Shootout/NASA AZ Night Event there was a Redline Time Attack Event. I “Travis” decided it would be a great idea to run because it was at Firebird International Raceway Main Track, a track we don’t get to run all the time. So I call up some of the AZ guys “Tony Szirka from UMS Tuning and Phil Robles” to see if they wanted to run. Tony was game, just had to work out a few things on his car and he would be ready to go. Phil wanted to see if the guys over at Ksport wanted to bring out their RDH 2004 Integra Type R to play. After getting the word back from Phil that Ksport was game I called up Nick from RTA to work out all the details for the weekend. Friday rolled around and I was down at Snail Performance waiting for Adam from DBtuning to get there with the guys from THmotorsports.com with their 04 Sti. I had talked to Adam earlier that week about how he was going to be tuning THmotorsports Sti and I told him to come on down to AZ and they could use our dyno here. They got to the shop around 6pm so we didn’t waste any time getting the car on the dyno and start tuning. We finished up around 10pm so we packed up and Adam and I headed down to UMS Tuning to see how things were going there. Tony was finishing up the last few things on his car to get it up and running then on to the dyno to check everything out. Saturday morning we all headed to the track only to get rained on for the first part of the day. The guys over at THmotorsports hooked me up with a used set of Toyo R888’s to run so I could run in Mod AWD. Tony from UMS Tuning ran his EVO in Super Mod AWD and Phil Robles AKA "The Ksport Cowboy" ran the Ksport Integra in Super Mod FWD. I headed out on track get a feel for the tires with the track still a little wet and after a slow spin in the tower turn I decided to play it safe and come in. Later that day the sun came out and started dry up the track so we all hit the track hoping to lay down some faster times. I ended running a 1:06.323 for the day and Phil laid down a 1:07.623. The weather started to move back in so we packed up for the day and headed out for the night. Sunday brought clear and sunny skies making it a nice day for racing. The track was dry and we all suited up for our first practice of the day. Practice went pretty well for all of us and with just a few minor adjustments to the cars we were ready for the first time attack session. About an hour later we all headed down to grid to get lined up for our first TA session. I headed out on track but I forgot my gloves so I had to come back in and get them. However, this worked out in my favor for when I headed back out I had an open track to myself. My first lap I ran a 1:05.571 and if my second lap was fast as my Aimsports was telling me I was on track for a low 1:04 lap. Coming up on the tower turn my tranny start to make a noise and to play it safe I just brought it in. I could have possibly taken the AWD Mod class record but the car thought otherwise, maybe next year. Tony hit the track with his EVO pulling off a 1:06.168 lap time on some very tired tires so not to bad of a run for him. The Ksport Cowboy took the track in the Ksport Type R after a quick tire swap he was able to get a clean lap in with a 1:08.447. Though they were having tranny problems too he ran very close to his Saturday practice time So, overall we all had a great weekend at the track minus the car problems. I ended up with a first place win in Mod AWD and second place overall in TA, Tony took first in Super Mod AWD, and Phil took first in Super Mod FWD. After the awards we all watched the Circuit Battle and of course we started up Beer Time Attack at that time too. Big thanks to Nick at RTA for getting us in, THmotorsports for help me out on the tires, TAYKO Garage for track side support, Ksport, and everyone that helped us out at the event. Photos by Kyle Lewis, Dough Hughes from WayPast210.com, and UrbanRacer.com.
With the week before the Modified Tuner Shootout becoming such a blur, it is difficult to decide where to start when talking about the work that was done. It began Wednesday, the 30th of March at 7PM. Taylor’s motor was sitting on an engine stand and the 2003 WRX Snail Racer rested in the garage waiting for one of many turbo applications to be selected and put on for the weekend race. We got right to work on the Snail Racer after having finally decided on a boost application. After just a few short hours the car came to a roaring start and was ready to do battle with the other racers come Saturday. After buttoning up a few last things, the Snail Racer was loaded into the trailer and the second project of the night was underway. It was now 2:00 AM and we loaded Taylor’s motor into the back of the truck and made the trek down to TAYKO Garage to install the freshly built Snail Performance motor into the 2009 WRX. It took only a few hours before the motor was in and besides some small parts, was ready to fire. The team took a quick break for some much needed rest while Taylor finished the last of the installation. By 8:30 AM the car was waking the neighborhood for the first time since last season and ready to be tuned. The team packed up both cars and headed down to Snail Performance Tuning headquarters. Within a few hours both the Snail Racer and the Snail WRX Hatch were ready for the weekend. Only one last thing was left to be done as the Snail WRX Hatch was dropped off at AZ Auto Graphics for its overnight installation of the Snail Performance livery. Friday morning we headed down to UMS Tuning for the dyno portion of the Modified Tuner Shootout. The dyno testing went well considering the Snail Racer’s engine was a little tired from all the racing, but we were happy with the results. We cannot speak about the results of the day so be sure to pick up the August issue of Modified Magazine to see how the Snail Racer stood up against the other competitors. We stayed at UMS for the rest of the day meeting and greeting everyone at the event and watching the rest of the cars run on the dyno. Travis was interviewed by John Naderi from Action Live Media at the dyno to give everyone a quick rundown on the car. After all was said and done at UMS Tuning we packed up and headed down to Firebird International Raceway for the 1/4 mile drag portion of the Modified Tuner Shootout. Being back at the drag strip was an interesting change as I (Travis) had not been down the ¼ mile in years. However, it took only one sprint down the strip and I regained my old confidence and showed what the Snail Racer was capable of. It took all 3 runs to get a pass we were happy with but all was well as the car was still in one piece. After the drags it was time for Beer Time Attack qualifying sponsored by AFI Turbo. Saturday morning we got to the track and had the Snail Racer ready to go for the Modified Tuner Shootout Auto Cross event. I took it out for the practice and the first timed lap. I then gave the reins to Markos Mylonas, driver of the Snail Performance RS, to take over for the last two runs. Markos did pretty well for his first time auto crossing the car and for not having a lot of seat time with it. Once the auto cross was over it was time to get the rest of the Snail cars ready for the NASA AZ night event. This year’s event was going to be awesome as we were going to be running Firebird’s West track in the morning, followed by Firebird’s Main track that afternoon/night. Later that night the UMS Tuning Time Attack Series Round 4 was set to be underway. Taylor, Markos, and Jerome hit FIR West track. This was Taylor’s first time back on track this season. With a freshly built motor there were some kinks to be worked out but soon the car was running like a champ and ready for the Main course. Thanks again to Chris from Race Photo Labs for loaning some parts to Taylor from off his personal photography mobile. Jerome and Markos’ cars were running fine so they kept hitting the track and getting faster throughout the day on FIR WEST. I got to take the Snail Racer out on FIR Main for a slow run to get a feel for the track before practice opened up for the Modified Tuner Shootout participants. When practice opened up I hit the track to start learning the Continental tires that they supplied us with for the event. After a few laps and adjusting the tire pressures I got the hang of them and was ready to go for the Modified Tuner Shootout Time Attack. Later we all gridded up for the Time Attack for the shootout, the car was running great allowing me to set a pretty good lap time. Finally all the competitors were brought together to get the results from the Modified Tuner Shootout. Once again, we cannot talk about the results; let’s just say we are happy how everything turned out. Just make sure you pick up a copy of the August issue of Modified Magazine to get all the results. Later that night is was time for the UMS Tuning Time Attack Series. We had over 30 cars signed up to run the event. Snail had all four cars back in action for TA. I place first in TA-C and first Overall in TA while also setting the new UMS Tuning Time Attack TA-C track record with a 1:05.849. Jerome ran a 1:08.186 for 4th place in TA-C. Taylor pulled off a 1:09.321 putting him in first place for TA-B and also setting a new UMS Tuning Time Attack TA-B track record. Markos ran a 1:17.449 in TA-A in his Subaru RS (Markos wants to add: “26:1 power to weight”) “no turbo ;( soon to be changed though”. So to sum it all up, the NASA AZ Night Event, Modified Tuner Shootout, and UMS Tuning Time Attack Series were an awesome time and we all can’t wait until next year. Big thanks to all the guys at Modified Magazine and Continental Tire for providing all of us with tires for the event. To top off the night AFI Turbo restocked up on beer for the Beer Time Attack finals. It was great meeting everyone the list is too long to list everyone but you know who you are. Hope to see you guys at the next event. We are planning on going to the next NASA AZ/UMS Tuning Time Attack Series Round 5 at Inde Motorsports Ranch May 7-8 followed by Willow Springs International Raceway for the first Global Time Attack Event on May 21-22. Hope to see everyone there! Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! The Snail Performance crew certainly did. Thursday the team headed to Payson to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with Markos’ Grandmother. We ate up some delicious turkey, all the trimmings and then had pumpkin pie. On Black Friday I headed down to Salazar Subaru to get some Hankook Z214 C91 race tires mounted up on the car and to get Taylor’s RS-3 put back on his wheels after letting me borrow them. While I was down there I went ahead and swapped out the front wheel bearings on the Snail Racer as they were getting tired. With all that done we loaded up the car and headed down to the track to drop off the car and trailer for the weekend. Saturday was the NASA AZ Turkey Day Enduro Weekend. I wasn’t racing but I went down to Phoenix International Raceway to see everyone and what all was going on at the track. Later that afternoon Taylor and Markos got to the track to get a head start on prepping their cars for the track tomorrow. That night the team headed to the NASA BBQ for some steak, chicken and some drinks. Big thanks to everyone that cooked up an awesome meal. O yeah let’s not forget Tony’s car getting tased. I cannot confirm or deny if Snail Performance had anything to do with this. LOL Sunday morning drivers meeting Markos, Taylor, and Jerome head off to the DE4 break out. However, for me it was a different story. At the BBQ Tage “NASA Director” asked me why I was still running in DE4 so I told him “I was just having fun running with the rest of the team.” Tage told me to show up for Time Trial ”TT” on Sunday no if ands or buts. So I did… First session out in TT was awesome! I was asking myself why I didn’t do this a long time ago. Needless to say I will be running TT next year for good. Back to the rest of the team: Taylor ran into some engine trouble first session out which didn’t surprise us much. The motor is completely stock and he has been running it all year at the track on a very aggressive race gas tune. We don’t know what happened with the motor yet; we will be pulling it out of the car soon. Markos and Jerome’s cars were running well on track every session out. They were working on getting the best line for the UMS Tuning Time Attack. Later that afternoon it was time for the UMS Tuning Time Attack final event. Points were tight in most of the classes with this event being really important to a lot of the competitors because of the double points. I was up first so I hit the track eager to run my best time at PIR. I had been running 1:09.xx all day in TT and I knew my car had more in it. First lap out the Aimsports flashed best lap showing I ran a 1:07.115 not bad I was happy with the time. Second lap I gave the car all I had and crossed the start/finish with a lap time of a 1:06.764. This locked me in for 1st place in TA-C and 3rd place Overall. Jerome was up next; he went out and ran one of his best times at PIR also with a 1:12.274. However, he didn’t get to place as he missed a few events due to some Air Force training. But next year he will be back with a completely different setup on his car. Jerome was also nice enough to let Taylor run his car in TA to try and get some points to stay in the running for a podium finish. Taylor ran a 1:13.38 but it wasn’t good enough to stay on the podium. Taylor says he was holding back because it wasn’t his car better to be safe than sorry. Taylor will be back next year with his car rebuilt and ready for TA. Last up was Markos he has been fighting a battle with Honda’s all year and of course Jon Via. But he did it with a time of 1:16.327 allowing him to hold on to the 2nd place spot in TA-A. Not a bad year for the Snail Performance team, we are already looking forward to see what 2011 will have in store for us. Overall results: Travis Barnes 1st Place Winner in TA-C & 3rd Place Winner Overall in TA all classes combined Markos Mylonas 2nd Place Winner in TA-A With only two weeks into the month of November, it has proven to be a very busy month for the Snail Performance team. Just weeks after Subiefest wrapped up; we pulled the motor out of the Snail Racer due to leaky head gaskets. Time was running out to have the racer ready for Super Lap Battle as SEMA was quickly approaching. With days to spare, the motor was back in the car and ready to be buttoned up, however a quick trip to Las Vegas put a hold on completion. SEMA proved to be quite the event with the guys from LIC Motorsports, DB Tuned, and many many others, however that’s another story. Snail Performance returned to Phoenix just three days before the departure for Super Lap Battle. Following a last minute phone call, Snail driver Travis Barnes was invited to participate in the Import Tuner Magazine Evo vs. STI shootout. This was very exciting for the team, not only because of the participation, but also because this day would be used as a shakedown for the Snail Racer. The final touches were put on the Snail Racer with just enough time to fire it up and load it into the trailer for the 9 hour drive to Buttonwillow Raceway. Monday night rolled around the Snail Team was heading west to Buttonwillow Raceway. Having decided to drive through the night, arrival occurred early Tuesday morning. After camping out for the rest of the night, we awoke just in time to see the gates open at Buttonwillow Raceway. The trailer was unpacked and we were ready for the Import Tuner Magazine Evo vs. STI shootout. With street classing being a must for the event, the Snail Racer was equipped with 265/35/18 Continental Tire provided Extreme Contact DW tires. With only a few laps under his belt, driver Travis Barnes quickly found a groove on track and started to turn it on, pushing the car to the limits of the tires. This proved to be successful as the Subaru STI’s ended victorious over the Mitsubishi Evo drivers taking the overall shootout win. Early Tuesday morning, the Snail Team was awoken by fellow Arizona driver Tage Evanson making laps around the Snail Performance trailer. With tech having been completed the previous day at the shootout, the Snail Racer was ready to compete against the other cars in the Super Lap Battle Limited AWD class. It was a beautiful day at the raceway, perfect for a turbo car looking to stretch its legs. The Continental Tires were swapped out for a stickier set of 275/35/18 Nitto NT-01 tires and it was time to race. With the added grip, the 479 AWHP of the 2003 Subaru WRX Snail Racer came to life. Now with some experience on the Buttonwillow Raceway 13CW configuration, driver Travis Barnes was able to show the potential of the Snail Racer. With each lap, consistency of both driver and car were proven. In the end Snail Performance finished in 4th place Limited AWD, and 25th out of a 42 car pack, turning a fast lap of 1:59.652. Having never competed at Buttonwillow, Travis was pleased with his time; however ideas are already in the works to shave seconds off this time. With the last out of town race of the year complete, the Snail Team focuses its efforts on the season finale of the UMS Time Attack Series at Phoenix International Raceway. With each driver still in the running for podium contention, hopes are high for a successful event. The Snail Performance Team would also like congratulate Sierra-Sierra Enterprises for shattering the Buttonwillow Raceway track record by running a 1:41.046. UMS Tuning for finishing 3rd in Unlimited AWD with a 1:53.086. Tage Evanson for his 1st place finish in Unlimited FF with a 1:51.653. Phil Robles aka "K Sport Cowboy" took 3rd in the K Sport Integra Type-R in Unlimited FF with a 2:00.146. Gabe Ortega finish 3rd in Limited FF with a 2:03.633. |
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