Please bear with me, as this got longer than I intended. I don't think that's a bad thing, and it does contain some awesome material, including pictures, links to magazine and online article features, videos, etc. I know some of this may have been posted in bits and pieces, but here it is all bundled together, and I'll probably do it again at the end of summer.
This summer has been absolutely and completely crazy, and I have not been able to update as often as I should. This summer I went full time at my job new, a Verizon indirect company called BeMobile, as a sales associate. I love it so far! I finished my bachelors degree, had some military training, and am preparing for grad school...so I've definitely been keeping busy.
I'll jump right into it. For those that don't know, this car was featured in the May 2012 Reader's Rides issue of Modified Magazine with the old wing, factory body, and older Enkei PF01 wheels, as well as the older race livery. The feature can be viewed here as a high-resolution scan from the article, so it can still be read:
http://www.c3vr.com/member_uploads/6601_6700/6623/Modified_feature.jpg
The first thing I'll say about this year is that the car was finished on time back in April. With the help of some very, very good friends, magic happened and we got the INGS+1 body kit installed, wheel hub swap complete, Enkei wheels powdercoated and on, fenders rolled, APR spoiler mounted, and all of the sponsorship vinyls done through Signs & Wonders in Bismarck, ND, in time for a big local car club meet, show, and BBQ, which had over 200 people in attendance.
We left the show a little early to prep the car for its first track outing ever, a visit to Brainerd International Raceway for the BIR-hosted performance driving school and practice sessions.
Brainerd International Raceway - School & Practice Sessions, 5-7-2012
The car performed fabulously. Between the improved aero (thanks APR) and the increased grip (thanks Enkei/Dunlop), and the existing suspension mods, the car was incredibly predictable around both BIR's 2.5-mile competition road course and the longer 3.1-mile course with the long, fast straight. The BIR instructors really pushed me outside of my comfort zone as a driver, and after lunch progressed me from their novice group to their intermediate group based on my progress. Unfortunately I was a little occupied with absorbing all of the new information to really have any good media from the trip...we wound up with three pretty good pictures and hardly any video.
QUICK VIDEO CLIP: http://youtu.be/qla6IhpAO_A
Badlands Region SCCA Autocross - Minot, ND 5-20-2012 + AutoMersion Online Journal feature!
After what I felt was success at the track, I returned to North Dakota to apply what I'd learned to a local autocross event. Ross Perkins, a local photographer and automotive journalist, was present for the autocross event, and approached me after the event about doing a feature on my car. Ross has an excellent way with words and it really shows in this article, and boy does he know what he is doing behind a camera! Ross was kind enough to do the full official photoshoot for the car's new look, and captured it in a spectacular way! As for the event results, I worked my car to 2nd place out of 37 total entries, 1st in class.
Ross's article, along with his pictures, can be found here: http://automersion.blogspot.com/2012/06/feature-apex-performances-2004-subaru.html
Badlands Region SCCA Autocross - Devils Lake, ND 6-2-2012
The next BRSCCA Autocross took place in Devils Lake, ND, on a much smaller course. A good crowd was in attendance...this event coincides with Devils Lake's annual Devils Run Car Show so we generally have a lot of show-goers come to watch the spectacle. A difficult boost leak left the car running at less than peak performance, landing me solidly in 10th place out of 35 total entries, however, it was still a 1st in class for me. Also, I forgot my number magnets at home, so 911 was represented by painters tape on the rear windows. A couple pictures from another participant are here:
Buggies & Blues Car Show 2012 - Mandan, ND, 6-9-2012
WARNING. MASSIVE PICTURE DUMP!!! The week after autocross, we opted to skip another autocross event in Fargo, ND to attend one of the biggest car shows in central North Dakota. Buggies and Blues is held in Mandan, ND, and half of Main St is shut down, along with some adjoining streets, to fit tons of classic cars, new muscle, modified imports, and more for the public to view as they walk down the streets and visit various food and clothing vendors, etc. A local shop was in attendance with a portable 2WD dyno as well. The car was looking quite clean lined up with some of our friends for the show, and the half-stripped interior, wide tires, and aggressive aero drew a consistent crowd throughout the day. Buggies & Blues is a non-judged car show, essentially an expose for people to enjoy, but there was plenty of great exposure there!
After the show, we all went on a little cruise and took quite a few pictures of our cars together.
At this point there was a long interim where the car didn't do a whole lot. My out of town military training, coupled with the fact that we (SCCA Badlands Region) lost all of our venues for local autocross events (one business sold their lot, the other two are under construction), forcing us to cancel all Bismarck-Mandan events this year, created a mid-summer dead spot where the most we did was attend some small local cruise nights. At the end of July, however, Sami and I jumped right back into it.
Brainerd International Raceway - School & Practice Sessions, 7-20-2012
Another visit to BIR for their road racing school and practice sessions. At this point, I am trying to log as much seat time as possible so that I can apply for a regional SCCA Time Trial competition license and progress into official competition next year. I was offered the opportunity to begin in the advanced group this time around based on my instructor evals from last time, but I declined and asked for another instructor this time around. I worked throughout the day to step outside my comfort zone again, focusing on improving my line and paying special attention to shift points and braking zones. By the end of the day, I could tell, and my instructor (and the wife) agreed, that I had gotten much faster; I was taking some of the BIR turns faster than I ever had.
Perhaps the highlight of my day was the opportunity to pass a brand new Nissan GT-R (yay driving skill), and my unofficial grudge match with a 2013 Shelby GT500 after the instructors moved us up into the next group for the late afternoon sessions, allowing us to run on our own. My very conservatively-tuned STi easily kept pace with the 662-horsepower GT500, and though he gained ground on me in the straights, he lost it all in the turns, and it was very obvious that I was faster than him through almost the entire infield of the 2.5-mile competition course. At the end of the day I shook hands with the owner, who was quite nice in addition to being an excellent driver, and he commented on how well my car handles.
The lead instructor said he would absolutely sign off on my being prepared for a competition license based on my years of autocross experience plus how quickly I advanced through the groups, so the full Time Trial comp license should be just around the corner!
I was much more diligent about my GoPro use this time around, and my wife was handy with both our DSLR and video camera, leading to the following pictures and music video:
MUSIC VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fgXOGrCntM
Whew! That does bring us current. We are currently looking forward to Motor Magic weekend in Minot, ND, our SCCA region's biggest event of the year. However, after our latest outing to BIR, the car seems to be plagued by some rather odd tuning issues that could prevent it from running, and unfortunately, I am currently without a tuner. I am working with Cobb to attempt to get the issue isolated and sorted and get back in the saddle before Motor Magic, but it is a possibiity that the car will be on the bench for the rest of the season if it needs a complete retune.
On September 8th, Kupper Automotive will host their local Customer & Military Appreciation Day Car Show in at their dealership in Mandan, ND. This show has gotten bigger every year, raising thousands of dollars for charitable organizations that work with military families, and this year will be no different, with planned appearances by Dave Mirra's #40 rallycross car and Dale Earnhardt Jr's #88 NASCAR. This will be the 3rd year in a row for my car to attend. The previous two years we landed People's Choice awards, and last year we were shy just a couple votes of Best in Show...I think the final count was two or three votes off. This year that award will be ours! We are currently working with vinyl sponsor Signs & Wonders to prepare an awesome, up-to-date show board that really showcases my purpose in turning this car into a racecar, complete with pictures, and of course, a list of sponsor information, that will be displayed at the Kupper show.
This Saturday I am heading to small town Carson, ND for a car show with some cash prizes hanging in the balance, so wish me luck! People's Choice is a $250 prize, and Best in Show is a $1,000 cash prize, but the odds are generally weighed in favor of the classic muscle, just because of the local demographic. We'll have to see how we do and gauge any changes we can make to our presentation and marketing of the car prior to the Kupper show!