In my opinion, the track was terrible. I am not one to bad mouth facilities but after racing the Ford GT for over 12 years in speeds from 200-300mph we pretty much have these cars figured out. We have just been working on the half mile and the goal is to have the car trap 250-260mph in the half for a rear wheel drive car. When the car went 300mph in the mile it clocked 240mph at the half on a Hoosier R7, which we all know is not the best tire for the application. We have been experimenting with different tire combos and working to see what is better off the line while still giving us the safety and stability at higher speeds. Last year at this track we struggled to put the power down on any tire but were told this year it would be different and they were going to "clean" the track. Well, they stuck to their word and they did powerwash it but unfortunately, the fields/crops right next to the track do not lend to much cleaning. The biggest issue we found was the surface seems to be of great quality but the one thing missing is any grooves in the concrete. The concrete is just smooth and once that layer of dust/dirt/grime gets on top from the fields next door and when the wind picks up it just causes the surface to become slick as glass. We tried everything we could but as mentioned above the car added about 24lbs of boost from 3-4 shift and already at the speed of 207mph the tires and track were not having anything of it. We could always try and knock the boost out but trying to run a big number we know that is not going to get the job done. The car still had the 300mph tune in it so we know it will hold it but just not at this track. We learned a good lesson, if you make a pass and the track doesn't hold, no reason to keep trying to make up for it, put the car back in the trailer and wait till a better facility is available. I know of at least 5 crashes over the weekend mainly from real wheel driven cars that should have never happened. So many racers were just making it a peddle fest the entire length of the track. Breaking tires loose at over 200mph and making it look like a John Force funny car burnout gets your attention real quick. Still, what a great job Ford and Camillo did with the GT and the aero design to keep it on the ground and not go airborne. I witnessed a GTR on Sunday loose a wheel on the front at 205mph and fly at least 50 feet in the air and began to roll once back on the ground. The driver survived by the grace of God but for some reason GTR's do not like to decelerate and stay on the ground much over 200mph. Just a great car the Ford GT is to be doing what we are doing but obviously safety comes first.
Thanks,
Mark H.