Honeybadger

Something magic happens when I switch the race car on pressing the master switch, flipping the ignition toggle then pressing the starter button on the 2003 Cup car. The world slows down, the noise of the car drowns everything else out... an instant sense of joy, fear, privilege and presence. That little flat six with all its growls, whirs, whistles and flame-shooting pops says “Hello, you are here. Present. Right here. Right now. Pay attention or I’ll kill your ADD ass.”

It’s only fitting to wish those who are close loyal pals share in this rare experience. So, we planned months in advance with Steve and Jim at Vision Motorsports to figure out how to get Vader 428, air cooled 86 V3/SCR/GT4/GT3 and future GT5 car out to the track in tandem with the Honeybadger #70 03 Turbo cup car to Streets of Willow simultaneously having only 1 trailer. Old tires, and having fun as the only goals. Just me, the crew of Bobby Lee Litchfield, Ben Litchfield, Hunter, and Will with both cars and as much as we can extract in the June weekend.

Found giving back and coaching friends in these two old cars somehow more rewarding than racing. Absent competition, it is just driving for appreciation of the moment. Sharing my love of the sport. We found out quickly that it is a sport. Bobby Lee Litchfield drove the elemental stick shift #428 3.4 liter 915 trans car on its super old michelin slicks Saturday. Dwain Dement gave a track drive and walk. All the yellow drivers got to drive their cars to each corner and get out and have a look thru the approach to each section by co-owner of DK racing school and perhaps the fastest driver to ever touch any track in the willow springs complex. I saw this caravan pull away and RAN out to join them…felt the hill as my dad-size 52 yr old body have to walk a bit climbing the waterfal approaching the bowl as Dement held court talking about the cones he had placed at dawn. Took pictures while catching my breath. The run was worth it. Note to self…drive next time. Got a ride from Dwain in his jeep for the remainder. Everyone should register as yellow for this. A track walk with Mr Dement is worth the price of admission for any level of driver. Even as a racer, i learned a ton from understanding how Dwain breaks the sections down. Or just sign up for one of his DK schools, i sense it is worth the spend. Then the whole group got to follow Dwains line around the track as he led in the stick shift 4 cylinder lifted jeep.

So the Blue #70 is a beast and loves loves loves short tracks. That 360 ft lb of torque in our GT3 tune comes alive if and only if you can keep the turbo spooled. considered my own goals for the weekend. Lets just go feel out the car. I’ve never gone faster than like 1:22 here i think. This first session we just drive the lines i just saw in the jeep. Out pops a 1:20. Next session a 1:17.96. And even on these highly used Yok slicks starting to understand if I focus a bit this car might be very very very fast here. I dont drive #70 to apex, the apex just comes to the car on a silver platter served with vermouth and some patte.

Bobby Lee driving Vader 428 got right down to his time from last year in the first session of 1:27 by lap 3. Bobby has zero fear and having driven air cooled GT3 spec car last year on the same tires he just got after it and was rocketing down the hill counterclockwise in 4th at 6500 rpm and braking late as possible on those complete horse-shit tires. Know what a slick feels like 2 years old on 15th heat cycle? Its like ice skating, on oil. By his second session Bobby realized he wants to carry the garmin in car so he has video and can figure out where to pick up speed. You know what happens when you are on ice skates and have the wish to go faster at a tight track?

Bobby had never spun vader and found himself spinning in the dangerous section 2 turns after the bowl. He went 2 feet in, and the car remained on track. Bobby came back in with eyes big as saucers and a bigger smile. I got a chance to coach Major in his new car, a 2016 Cayman with a bunch of GT4 style mods. Much more fun than his Nissan Z last year when I coached him.

By lunch I decided to bring my first victim, I mean guest, out for very slow laps in #70. Hunter and I cruised around the track in the fastest car there slowly absent helmets for lunch laps. Had no idea how loud that car is inside. My ears were still ringing days later.

Bobby undaunted hit the track for session 3 in Vader and only found a bigger off trying to hold the car flat in throttle in 2nd gear and the wheel cranked in the penultimate corner counterclockwise Bobby had a 4 off and went yard but went 2 feet in for a nice safe stop. Drove in and needed the full leaf blower experience. After that it was nap time for Bobby and he skipped session 4. Heat stress and changing conditions, heat and fatigue all effect drivers… however newer drivers are effected quadruple.

Ben was up for his ride in #70. Last year he puked after some passenger laps in vader. But after laps in 70 he was fine. Colin Benadi was kicking butt out there in Ebens #16 car and Eben could not help it but go out and do a 1:17.94 (two hundreds faster than my morning time). We are all laughing sitting in the trailer, saw that Eben! I go out and do another session in #70 1:17.88 with a bobble that cost a half second. No track records…but we got the last one in on my pal and great competitor Eben…hahaha. Thanks again for selling the Turbo sir. :)

Sunday the track cleared out as nearly all the Saturday drivers disappeared. Will rolled into the track and we immediately had his tesla model 3 on the track drive and walk with Dwain Dement, me and Seth Hodesh. After it was super fun to sit passenger in the tesla as we followed Dwain’s Jeep for several line familiarization laps. Will had not ever seen this track before and it was a good move to have him learn line in his car before he was learning to drive an air cooled porsche and also learn heal and toe downshifting.

I did a couple demo laps for will in Vader at a 1:29 pace re highlighting everything Dement had just told us but adding in the shift points and braking points for the air cooled 911. Then like that, Will got his first laps in a real completely analog race car. Dude came back drenched in sweat after some laps. Bobby and I got him to drink water and talk about his experience. Got Bobby Lee out for a student ride in #70. We did a 1:18 pace with Bobby as a passenger. Will was not ready for that yet so we just has him drive with me as passenger pointing out the apex and exit and brake zones. We jumped out of vader and straight into the honeybadger for Will’s ride. Maybe 1 minute to switch cars and places and we were back on track. I pointed out the critical spots to unwind the wheel as you slowly feed throttle. It makes a lot more sense in the turbo as the car gets down to a few millimeters away from the apex cones and safely goes thru the water fall “goalposts” flat in 5th. Will got his 1:18 passenger lap but several slower ones where I pointed to the critical spots.

A few minutes a sandwich and some chats and Will jumped back into Vader and went 6 seconds faster than his previous session and cranked out 10 near identical laps with one in there 2 seconds better than the rest. Another new member has seen what it is we do here. 3 sessions had taken their toll so Will was finished for the day and we all got to drive home with working race cars and smiling faces in the end. Its a sport, it is hard. Some of us that have done this for a long time forget the fact that this is so hard. And that one day that slippery slope began on some track with some instructor that changed us forever. And then you wake up someday with two race cars….and a drive to give back the miracle that only those who know racing a Porsche really know.