A Double Post.

After last year's SCCA Solo National Championships, Speedway put together the below video compilation of the event. It was inspiring but viewed by all at the wrong moment. The season was over. The adrenaline was gone. I've RE-posted the video to further fuel the fire and enthusiasm for the fast approaching 2011 SCCA Solo National Championships, now only one week away! I hope this video helps you get through whatever hurdles you may have to overcome in preparation for the Championships.

120 Seconds of Fury - The Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals

Road & Track talks about what makes the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships such an intense event.

2010 SCCA Solo National Championships and beyond...

By: Jake

The dust has since settled and the SCCA Solo National Champions stand alone in glory. It was incredible to watch , and compete against , the 2010 SSM champion 3-Rotor RX7, (which sports what seems like every functional go-fast part conceivable) as it devoured the courses in record time at the hands of Erik Strelnieks. Even more astonishing was watching the Thompsons' RX7 run in its transient development stage (chassis tuning and weight reduction were prevalent but the powertrain was as virgin as that Mary chick I keep hearing about). The car posted podium worthy times at the hands of Carter Thompson. Undoubtedly, Super Street Modified breeds the best of the best in tuning and in driving.

As I was merely a sophomore at Nationals, I continued to discover new hurdles and small glories of national championship competition. A new season, a new class, and a new tire. There was a lot to learn this year. Afterward, like many others, I've been pondering how to improve the car setup in the off season and formulate an attack plan targeting a Solo National Championship.

Perhaps a blessing in disguise; the Hamfist Racing SSM RX7 had the unfortunate pleasure of popping an apex seal at the last NNJR-SCCA autocross of the season. I assure all she'll be back stronger and faster than ever. Despite the overwhelmingly popular trend of bastardizing Mazda RX7s with V8s (blaspheme), her surgery will include a Wankel heart transplant to boot - details coming soon.

PREPARATION-H.amfist 2010

By: Jake

It's that time of the year again. The SCCA Solo National Championships and ProSolo Finale are eminent and everyone is scrambling to finish their last minute projects to ensure every last thousandth of second is cut on the vast concrete of Lincoln Airpark. The Hamfist fleet is no different. This year only the SSM RX7 and STR S2000 are making that 13o0 mile blast to corn country.

Each ride has undergone ritualistic last minute corner balance and alignments. The S2000 got fresh differential oil, a fender liner trim, other general maintenance, as well a fresh set of shaved ______ tires (make will remain top-secret until race day).

Dave at Speed One (formally KDR Performance) strapped the RX7 to his trusty dyno and eeked out every last bit of power from the 1.3 liter rotary engine, upping the turbo pressure to 1.2 bar. The end result was 377 whp and 311 wtq. Then to shed some weight off the cars' hind quarters, the RX7 went on a diet at Speed One. The OEM fuel tank was hacked in half, minimizing the amount of gasoline required to race without starvation issues as well as dry tank weight. The car can now race with a mere 3 gallons in the tank. Sadly, the weight savings were offset by a gargantuan custom dual-element APR wing. The wing is a prerequisite to winning an SSM title at Nationals - the last 5 year's worth of champions were in big winged FD3S RX7s. Hopefully the added rear downforce will allow early application of the throttle out of turns and overall increased grip. The wing elements themselves were doners from an APR GT wing, however all the mounting hardware and risers were custom built by Dave Corsaro at his Johnson Scale workshop. Hours upon hours of precision measuring, cutting, drilling, and fitting had gone down without a hitch during this custom install until the inevitable 2:30am mistake occurred. In a state of utter exhaustion and frustration the wing was put on hold for another day. Remember kids, don't use power tools at 2:30am.

See you autocross fanatics in the field of dreams. Hope your last minute preparation went smoothly.