This past week September 24th & 25th, 2005 AudiBMW.com Racing put the #4 Ex/Istook Grand Am Cup Audi S4 on the track for the first time.

What a great weekend! We got down to Summit Point Raceway in WV early Friday evening. At the last minute we decided to camp so we had a lot of work to do setting up our compound. The team for the weekend consisted of Tim Sprinkle (Team Manager), Todd Sprinkle (Driver), His wife Shelly, Jeremy Cadwallader (Team Engineer), his fiancée Jennifer Young, JT long (Data Acquisition) my wife Tonya and myself, Bill Miller (Driver). Shelly started the big pot of chili as the rest of us got to work. We unloaded the cars, setup the canopy, and put up our tents. Once we got organized we sat back had a few cold ones and as usual discussed various aspects of racing. After the chili and corn bread which were both great and a few more beers it was off to bed. The weather was perfect, it has been so hot all summer this was the first night in our area it was actually a little cool. I usually don't sleep well on race weekends but I was out in no time and didn't wake until about 6am.

I was so excited to see the difference in the #4 car and our #06 car. The #06 car has been to Summit a few times now and it has been very consistent running in the low to mid 1:24's every time. We have made a few minor changes to the car since and I wondered if they would shave any time. In the last few weeks we have gone over the #4 car at the shop but we didn't want to make any drastic changes. We simply didn't want to change anything without having a good base line.

The event we were attending was a Mid-Atlantic Region NASA race. I have raced with these guys a few times this season and in my opinion it is one of the best race organizations in the country. They make it so hassle free it's amazing. From the online registration to the at the track organization it's a real pleasure to race with these guys. Todd and I felt this would be the perfect venue to compare the #4 and #06 cars for the first time. NASA has a great setup for race weekends. The schedule consists of practice, qualifying and racing both Saturday and Sunday of the event. This gave the opportunity for both of us to drive both cars the same weekend.

I drove the #06 car first on Saturday. I have spent a good deal of time in this car so I felt very comfortable from the beginning. Other than a pretty heavy over steer problem the car felt as strong and comfortable as it always has. I did however have a small incident with a very fast and well prepared M3 BMW. I had a slow speed spin under heavy braking going into turn 5 (a slow speed hard left hander) and the M3 as hard as he tried could not avoid me. The damage to the #06 was minimal while the M3 suffered from a bent wheel and a blown tire. The Audi finished the session. As usual I was in the mid 1:24's. I knew if I could get the over steer out of the car I could be in the 23's if not the 22's.

Back at the pits I asked Todd what he thought of the #4 car. His comments were good power, better than expected braking and terrible handling in fact diabolical and having a mind of it's own were some of the ways he tried to describe it. The braking was one concern we had about the car because the #06 car has a manual Tilton brake setup. This is a superior system but it is not legal for Grand Am Cup. So I was pleased to hear that he felt good about the StopTec setup on the #4 car. The suspension although very important should be one of the easiest pieces to the puzzle to get a handle on. Through working with the #06 all season I have gained some knowledge of the suspension setup and how important it is to these cars. As stated in earlier posts triple adjustable JRZ's are great shocks but with a total of 29 settings per shock it can become very frustrating at times to find the right combination of settings. For the qualifying session I stiffened the #4 car up all the way around. Hopping the car would feel more stable and consistent. For the #06 I stiffened the high speed bump and soften the front rebound. As stated earlier the #06 car was in the mid 24's and the #4 car was in the mid 26's.

During qualifying the #06 felt better but still had some over steer issues when pushed hard. Back in the pits Todd said the car felt a lot better and he was over a second quicker. When the results were posted we were sitting in 2nd and 3rd with a Porsche GT3 Cup Car on the poll.

At this point we didn't want to make any more changes to the cars. With the next session being the race we feel it's more important to have the cars consistent even though they may not yet be right.

NASA sometimes uses a rolling start and other times and F1 style standing start. You have one guess to figure what a kind of start two Quattro drivers want to see. A Standing start it is. I roll up next to the Porsche on the outside and wait for the orange flag to appear at the start finish. I bring the RPM up to 5,000 and wait for the green. I dump the clutch and hold on, these cars hook so hard it's amazing. What I find hard to believe is how well engineered the drivelines are in these cars. So far we have not had any transmission, axle or driveline issues of any kind. Considering we are around 400 HP and running soft compound race tires it is a true testament to Audi's commitment to building quality products. I pull the Porsche hard in 1st hit 2nd and I'm still in the lead. Half way through 3rd I hear Porsche coming up the inside and my feeling of dominance is over! That Porsche rolls. I have no idea what kind of power it has but I can assure it's not lacking and at 500 less lbs than the Audi it was all over. But wait under braking going into turn 1 I caught him we come out of turn 1 side by side heading toward turn 3 I attempt to take him on the inside. How great would it be to take the lead back from the Porsche? On the inside I accelerate hard through the exit. The rear gets loose, no problem its AWD ease down with the right foot and she'll hook eventually. As I'm sliding backwards off the track looking at most of the field passing me I realize I should have thought through my plan a little further. After coming to rest a couple hundred feet from the track and inches from the tire wall, I get back in 1st and head back to the edge of the track. I wait for my opening and pull out. Now I'm behind about 30 Spec 944 Porsches and Spec E30 BMWs. I'm thinking to myself it would have been so much easier to let the Porsche have the corner to begin with. After I get myself recollected I'm off to regain my lost positions. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful, for me anyway. I did get back to 3rd position overall only behind the Porsche in 1st and Todd in 2nd in the #4 car. After reviewing the in car video later I now realize a few of my mistakes. One, the tires were cold. Two I was on the inside and as I accelerated I couldn't unwind the wheel as I normally would have in turn 3. I was asking the ties to do too much and it just wasn't going to happen, obviously. The good news is the car was fine and I think I have learned from my mistakes. The #4 car although the handling is still not where it should be ran a flawless consistent race with Todd behind the wheel.

We had a great time Saturday night. After going over some things on the cars and socializing with some of the other racers it was time to get down to some serious smoking. Smoking of the chicken wings that is. I brought along my big smoker from home and 20 lbs of large marinated wings. The best part about smoking beside the taste is the fact it takes a few hours to cook the food. It gives you plenty of time to discuss the day’s events and through back a few cold beverages. Not that Captain and Seven doesn’t taste good every day, but for some reason it’s just that much better after a hard day of racing. The wings turned out great. No frying just two hours of hickory smoke and lots of Franks Red Hot. It was only around 10:00 but we were all pretty beat. I don’t know about everybody else but I hit the air mattress and I was out.

I awoke around 5:00 and I couldn’t stop replaying yesterdays spin in my head. Why would I make such a fundamental mistake? I knew I wasn’t going to sleep so even though it was still dark I got up and walked the track. I took my time and really thought about everything from braking points to the condition of the paving and everything in between. It’s amazing how things look different when you’re not going by them at 150 mph. It was about 6:00am when I got back and the rest of the group was starting to come alive.

We started going over the cars and getting them prepared for the day’s battle. I was so excited to drive the #4 car for the first time. It’s just thrilling to have admired the car so many times from either the stands or on TV and know that within a few hours I would be in that very seat. The drivers meeting came and went and I was headed out on track before I knew it.  Headed down towards turn 1 the car felt pretty good. The shifter has been an issue in the #06 car but the setup in the #4 car felt great. Even though it was only the warm up lap I tried to use the brakes pretty hard just to see what I should expect of them and they felt great so far. The handling on the other hand just didn’t feel right. It seemed very soft and unsettled even at far below race speed. I came down the front straight with the green waving and headed back to turn 1. The motor was very smooth and had plenty of power, brakes felt great, turn-in was ok, hard acceleration out of the corner was awful. The rear was very unsettled and the whole car just bounced through the turn. I continued around the track at about 80% power and pulled into the hot pits. Tim came running up and I had him firm the compression and the high speed bump. Back out for another lap. Better, so I know we are going in the right direction. Back in the pit, turn everything as far counter-clockwise as you can I yelled to Tim through my helmet. Back out. The car felt much better, not great, but much better. Came in, end of session and to my pleasant surprise JT said I was down in the 1:24’s. Over a second better than Todd’s best time from yesterday and it wasn’t because I am a better driver, we were just starting to get the car to work. Back in the pits Todd was very impressed with the #06 car. I think he ran in the 1:25 range for his first time in the car.

A few hours later it was time for qualifying. I made some changes to the seating position so I was a lot more comfortable in the car. I pulled out on the track with Todd right behind me. Once around the track and the green was out. Approaching turn 3 Todd pulls in front of me. Not to sound arrogant, but man does that car ever look and sound good from behind. He down shifted right in front of me and a flame erupted from the 5in Champion Exhaust. We also just installed the touring car wing from LL TEK between that and the wide RS4 fenders and bumper the car looks so aggressive. I never thought I would have a smile on my face after just being past by another car. I’ll post a video clip below. Anyway the #4 car is running good with the exception of the handling issue mentioned earlier. We have a few thoughts on how to correct it, but it wasn’t anything we were prepared to undertake at the track. I started to become comfortable with the car and I was anxious to see my qualifying times. JT pointed the clip board, mid 1:23’s right behind Todd also now in the 23’s. Nice, with some basic suspension tuning we have taken 2 ½ seconds off the #4 car. I still feel the car isn’t stiff enough in spring rate but we weren’t going to change that at the track.

It’s race time, another standing start. Porsche on pole, Todd on left, I’m behind the Porsche and there is an E36 BMW to my left. 5 grand, green flag, clutch flies and I try to go around the Porsche on the right. We are staged right at pit out so the track is very wide right there. I pull up along side the Porsche but by then he is hooked up and rolling. I tuck in behind him and take the inside line through turn one with Todd on my left. We come out side by side but with the rear unstable I just couldn’t put down as much power as Todd. I fell in line behind him and settled in for the next 12 laps. I wish had more eventful race coverage but other than wedding my way through 944’s and E30’s as I lapped them, the race was as mundane as exceeding 150 MPH in a 3150 lb AWD Audi can be. As I right this we still do not have our lap times for the race but Todd and I did Finish 2^nd and 3^rd respectively overall and 1^st and 2^nd in class. The Porsche runs in GTS U and we run in GTS 4.

It was a great weekend. In between racing, I also instructed Jeremy (our team engineer) in his first NASA driver’s school. For his first time he showed some very impressive talent and a very open minded approach to learning race skills. I am very anxious to see how far he continues in the sport. NASA is a fantastic organization. Chris Cobetto is the Mid-Atlantic Region Director and he does a spectacular job of organizing his events. I have grown up in an Automotive Event Industry (Carlisle Events www.CARSATCARLISLE.com ) and Chris really deserves a lot of credit. If anyone at any level has the desire to try a track event, NASA has a fantastic program for beginners and pros alike. I would be more than happy to answer any emails regarding getting started. Also go to www.NASAPRORACING.com for more details. Working with Tim and Todd was great. Tim always has a way of calming down a tense situation. After my spin during the race it was great to have his voice on the other end of the radio to get my head back in the game. JT is the best. He is always there to figure out the numbers. Whether its tire pressures, tire temps, fuel level, lap times, schedules, etc., he’s always on top of it. The best part is we are off to do it all over again Monday, October 3^rd and Tuesday, October 4^th at the Quattro Club Event also at Summit Point. We will have a few suspension changes and brand new Hoosiers so we should at least be in the 1:22’s. If anyone else will be attending email us and let us know Bill@AudiBMW.com