We made the 1000 mile trek down to Palm Beach, FL on the 14th for NSCRA round 3, taking place on the 16th. This was a “night” race, with qualifying starting around 1pm. We were out at the track all setup, through tech and ready to go at 10am – leaving us some time to talk with the media guys out there and let them know to keep an eye, and a lens, on us. Made the first round of qualifying, with a 9.6@117mph – had to let out of it at the 1000ft mark because the car kicked out sideways – this still managed to leave us in the #1 qualifier spot. We werent sure why the car lost traction at 140mph, but the next 3 RWD cars that ran the same lane all lost control at the same point on the track, so we knew something was up with the track surface.
Talked to some of the track officials and asked them to check it out, they found water coming up through the track surface and we were told it would be cleaned up for the 2nd round. Unfortunately before the 2nd round began, a huge storm blew through, dumping down several inches of rain over about 2 hours. The track officials tried to dry everything up, but due to the altitude of the track, ground water levels were now higher than the track surface, and water was continuing to come up through the cracks in the concrete making it unsafe to run on the track. The event was called due to rain.
We werent leaving Florida empty handed again, and were determined to at least get some decent coverage out of the 18 hour drive there. We arranged to meet the NSCRA team back at the track for a Wednesday night test and tune. The plan was to make the first 8 second pass in a True Street trimmed car. They came out with cameras to take some video footage which will be released along with an article on the car this week on the NSCRA website (www.nscra.com), and we are told they will be posting it to over 100 forums as well.
8’s were in sight, however the officials at Palm Beach International Raceway had done next to zero track prep, as there were only about 4 cars running this test and tune. The track was cold and slick, but as more proof that we have got the traction issues worked out, still managed to cut several 1.45/1.46 60fts. Made a total of 5 passes; the first pass out a 9.09@154mph, with a steady misfire and letting out of the throttle a hair up at the 1000ft mark with the car swaying hard due to the slick track – this is a new record time for a “True Street” car, and for a Supra driven by a factory auto transmission. Second pass out was a 9.19@153mph, with some wheel spin before the 1/8th and easing out of the throttle again to regain traction. Third pass was a 9.07@154mph – again having to let out of the throttle just a little bit before the 1000ft mark due to hard swaying on the slick track.
The last 2 passes were useless, with track temperatures dropping quickly due to ambient air temp falling and no cars running on the track. The track was just too slick at that point and wouldnt hold any power. The end result was setting the bar for the True Street class, a new record for a Supra w/Toyota Auto trans, and we’ve been looking into if this is a new 26″ tire record for Supra’s.
