This time last week, I was outside in my t-shirt and shorts starting to get ready for the first CCA driver’s school of the year at Summit Point. This year, the first school was to be on the main circuit, usually everyone’s favorite event. In February as the snow was blowing, we were all a bit concerned by having the event so early in the year, but as March started to warm up, those fears seemed unfounded. And then it started to snow again. I remember heading out the unplowed backroads from Charlestown to Summit Point thinking, “what am I doing?…” The idea of traving at speed on a track was far fom my mind as I concentrated on staying on the road.

When we arrived, the track was plowed, but covered in places by thick sheets of black ice. We proceeded with classroom work and opened the skid-pad. By 11 it was time for quick reconnaissance laps of the track which proved to have warmed fairly quickly. There was some standing water, some bits of ice, and places where the snow was still blowing across the track, but it was doable.

Since the track was covered with snow and ice and I had just changed my suspension, I thought it best to keep with my all-season tires for the first day. I figured that way, I wouldn’t get into trouble since I wouldn’t have much traction to start with. It turned out to be a good strategy as the snow melted and the track became quite wet in spots. By Sunday, the weather had warmed to the 40’s and the snow retreated quite rapidly. The track was still wet in spots, but it was sunny most of the day so the shaved track tires came out and my pace picked up considerably. In all, my pace was still off of the lap times from last Fall, but then again, we aren’t keeping track. Here’s the last session Sunday:

The new suspension worked out great. The car is very stable at speed, neutral in the corners, and turns like a cat on carpet. The cold, dense air really gave a boost to the super-charger and I found myself hanging with much higher horsepower cars that I couldn’t keep up with in the summer.